Category Archives: Rants

Conservatives Want A Right-Wing Version of ‘SNL,’ Which…Sure, Okay

08 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Dumb Ideas, Entertainment, Politics, Rants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Saturday Night Live has been a staple of American television for nearly a half-century. Which is kind of a weird thing to write, because hardly anybody seems to actually enjoy the show. Even when the show is firing on all cylinders (and I honestly can’t recall the last time that happened), the general praise is that it reminded the viewer of the show’s golden years.

It’s usually not a good sign when the most fervent praise you can offer a show is “A reasonable facsimile of the heights already achieved by the show in seasons past.” Nevertheless, despite perpetually being two or three years removed from when it was good, SNL somehow remains on the air.

Continue reading →

The Term “Fake News” Will Ruin Us.

20 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by in Politics, Rants, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

If you’ve listened to Donald Trump speak at any point over the past year and a half, you’ve likely heard him use the phrase “fake news.” It’s become one of his favorite rebuttals — so much so, in fact, that he claimed to have invented the term “fake news” in late October. Much like the man himself, this marvelously idiotic assertion is what happens when you combine boundless egotism and staggering ignorance.

Continue reading →

Progressivism Is Not Built On Hate. It is Built On Anger.

19 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Journalism, Politics, Rants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

By and large, media outlets tend to lean in one direction or the other on the political spectrum. It’s a shrewd business move, really — the average consumer doesn’t just want a dull recitation of the facts. They like to be told what those facts represent; they want the information placed in context for them, and outlets are more than happy to oblige.

Consumers can always check the news wires (Reuters, AP and the like) for the latest information and use that information to inform their stance on a given issue. If we all did that, however, there would be no need for FOX News, no need for MSNBC; those outlets exist not to give us the news, but to tell us how we should feel about the news.

This is not ideal.

Continue reading →

American Exceptionalism Is Dead

17 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by in Politics, Rants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

There are three tenets that comprise the notion of American exceptionalism. The first is that the history of America’s founding (as a bastion of freedom and acceptance for all, regardless of their political or religious leanings) imbues the United States with different DNA than that of every other country in the world.

The second is that America’s purpose is to serve as a force for positive change in the world. And the third is that the first two tenets combined serve as incontrovertible proof that the United States is naturally superior to other nations.

Continue reading →

Read The Damn Play

20 Tuesday Jun 2017

Posted by in Politics, Rants

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

As many of you have heard by now, there’s been quite the kerfuffle about this year’s Shakespeare in the Park production of ‘Julius Caesar’; specifically, its use of a Donald Trump lookalike in the role of Julius Caesar. The backlash is coming almost exclusively from the right, and the play, along with Kathy Griffin’s photo shoot, are being held up as evidence to support the narrative that liberals are bullying and threatening anyone who doesn’t agree with them, so they’re the REAL Nazis!

This is, of course, nonsense.

Continue reading →

Stop Being Quirky

08 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by in Rants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

 

Quirky3

I was walking my dog Max a little while ago, because he’s a good boy when he’s not eating everything in sight. I got to a crosswalk, and as I waited for the light to change I saw a girl walking down the street, dressed in that “retro ‘90s” style.You know what I’m talking about: mid-level socks with frilly tops, tennis shoes from some weird-ass, extinct brand like Avia or Etonic, purple nylon windbreaker with an elastic bottom that makes that swshh-swshh-swshh sound when you walk, hair in a scrunchie. The retro ‘90s fashion trend is as bizarre as the one we just finished with the ‘80s, but without any of the charm.

Anyway, there she was, dressed like she was about to go play with a Skip-It in the park. I took notice, but I’ve seen enough people dressed like this that it’s not a particularly strange occurrence. What was strange was how she was walking: she had her arms straight out from her sides like she was about to engage in some light calisthenics. In fact, she wasn’t even walking; she was strolling. Ambling, even; in fact, I daresay she was meandering.

Continue reading →

Mitch McConnell Is Worthless

25 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by in Politics, Rants

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

Mitch McConnell.jpg

From the moment he made his way down the escalator at Trump Tower and thrust himself into the conversation, Donald Trump has dominated the media’s reporting on American politics. Reporting on the latest misdeeds of Donald Trump has proven to be a full-time job, and criticizing Trump has become de rigueur. And while Trump has certainly done and said plenty to justify the constant media coverage, one problem with the media focusing all of its efforts on investigating and breathlessly reporting Donald Trump and the Terrible, Awful, No-Good, Very Bad Cabinet Appointments is that it inevitably takes focus off of others to whom we really, really should be paying attention.

Like Mitch McConnell.

Continue reading →

The Oscars Have Always Been Bullshit

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Movies, Rants

≈ Leave a comment

Oscar Asterisk

There’s been a fair amount of uproar (in fact, I’d go so far as to call it a hullabaloo) recently about the Academy Awards. Before the awards were given, many actors (rightfully so, mind you) decried the lack of diversity among the nominees, which led to thinkpieces about those actors, whether or not their assertions were valid, and what we can do about the astonishing whiteness of the Oscars. Continue reading →

Upworthy/Summer Music

29 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by in Music, Rants

≈ Leave a comment

I realize I’m a bit behind schedule here since summer is set to end in approximately 8 hours, but I figured I’d give you all (both?) a rundown of the songs I’ve been listening to since the last time I put together a playlist.

But before I do, I’d like to cover a topic that’s been bothering me for going on, oh, fucking forever: Upworthy. Here’s a quick vignette that describes what Upworthy is like:

Continue reading →