Tuesday, December 8 2009
Farmville: Fetch Me My Manure Boots
The surging popularity of the virtual farming game 'FarmVille' seems to imply dissatisfaction with almost every aspect of modern life -- except maybe virtual reality.
Tuesday, November 3 2009
After the Rapture: Passing the Saving on to You
The Rapture may whisk the Saved up to Heaven ... leaving all of their corporeal assets untended. For the business-minded, earth-bound heathen, there’s money to be had in the leavings.
Monday, September 28 2009
Creepy Crawly Ad Bots
‘Contextual ads’ generated by Web crawlers based on private email content might provide fresh, up-to-the-second advertising copy, but these so-called geniuses are no Don Draper.
Tuesday, September 1 2009
He’s Just Not That Into Anyone
Asexuals, also known as “aces”, have begun to assert their place as a valid and healthy sexual orientation; even SpongeBob is in on the (lack of) action.
Tuesday, August 4 2009
De-synchronized Swimming
In an era of US history marked by unprecedented strides in racial equality, suburban swimming pools seem to maintain time-warpish levels of racism.
Monday, July 13 2009
Catalogs: Disposable but Indispensable
Practically its own highly succinct form of literature, I’ll take a good catalog over a bad magazine any day.
Monday, June 1 2009
I’m in UR Culture, Rewriting UR Bible…
The outrageous and mysterious popularity of LOLCats has provided an updated take on the personification of cats, as well as a bizarre new translation of the Bible.
Thursday, April 23 2009
The Ghost and the Machine
Things don’t just go bump in the night anymore – they emit high-frequency audio evidence, are recorded and saved in .WAV format, and bore us (rather than scare us) to death.
Thursday, March 12 2009
Facebook Children of a Lesser Cause
Valid fundraising on Facebook could help legitimize the site (if it’s not too late) -- but who thinks heavy metal, beer, and Paris Hilton qualify as legitimate causes?
Friday, February 13 2009
Love Rated XOXO
Could the lighthearted, seemingly innocuous genre of the romantic comedy actually be as psychologically damaging as onscreen violence and sex?
Thursday, December 11 2008
Look What the Cat Lady Dragged in
The so-called “crazy cat lady” seems to be one of few sexist stereotypes that remains alive, well, and somehow immune to politically-correct backlash.
Wednesday, November 12 2008
My Name is URL
Welcome to the latest strain of cultural insanity: people changing their given names to slogans, political ads, and website URLs.
Wednesday, October 15 2008
Not “Lovin’ It”
TV commercials are becoming more overt in reflecting the "culture wars", particularly the fierce backlash against intellectualism.
Wednesday, September 10 2008
Adultery, Adulterated
Is the latest rage over "emotional infidelity” a genuine concern for those in a committed relationship, or is it just the latest trumped-up, talk show filling, anxiety-provoking non-issue?
Thursday, August 7 2008
Smell Me
Regarding the ‘fume’ in perfume, and society's acceptance of forcing one's effluvium up the nasal orifices of others.
Tuesday, July 15 2008
Fun for the Entire Family
The kid-friendliness movement has claimed its final frontier – a kid-friendly sex shop – but is such an establishment even remotely sex-friendly?
Monday, June 2 2008
I Me Mine!
If, as Sir Tim Berners-Lee suggests, the Web is still a drooling, id-driven baby that wallows in its own (proverbial) feces, it makes sense that we continue to be mired in its arrested development.
Thursday, April 24 2008
No Reply Needed
Have 'REPLY ALL' emails become the latest outlet for the modern obsession with self-expression and fame?
