Innocent Abroad

Some people speak badly of racial profiling as though it were some intrinsically racist thing.  Face it– the human mind naturally groups people together, and sometimes those groups are imperfect, but without some kind of system in place, chaos reigns.  What’s more, racial profiling is efficient, and needs to extend even further than airport security […]

I loved you once, when I was seven and you were just that faceless redhead with the sculpted mullet opposite Fred Savage in The Wizard. Twelve years later, a little trick of fate via the internet brought you back into my awareness and I realized that I still loved you, albeit for different reasons. […]

Not even touching the ludicrous idea that it’s illegal to sell what is perfectly legal to give away, in light of recent events I feel the need to call the basic concept of prostitution into question. Generally it’s described as ‘sex for money’, but this model becomes breaks down immediately; what if no ‘knowing’, […]

I finally read A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, the ex-addict who wrote a memoir about his struggle with drugs and alcohol and time spent in rehab. It was very good if a little overly dramatic and predictable– but I’m sick as hell of people badmouthing him for fictionalizing his account and calling […]

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”
–Bill of Rights
“I only wish the NRA… would be careful to recite the whole of it, and then tell us how a heavily armed man, woman, or child, recruited […]

“I’ve got a cupboard with cans of food,
filtered water, and pictures of you
and I’m not coming out until this is all over.”
–Ben Gibbard, We Will Become Silhouettes

Dear Kurt, before I say anything about your brilliance or legacy, I must say one thing: you fell? Fucking clutz!! I read the words on CNN “Novelist […]

The virtue of being in Australia at the moment is this David Hicks fiasco—I don’t know how much attention American media is giving it, but it’s huge down here and fascinates me endlessly as the perfect example of government screwing the pooch so badly that an admitted terrorist doesn’t actually get punished for his crimes […]

I like to drink. There’s nothing wrong with that inherently— well, health factors aside there’s nothing wrong with that except for one nagging complication: I’m poor.
In my refusal to sacrifice drinking in favor of paying rent, I’ve had to be very creative when it comes to finding cheap booze. Having rich friends is […]

With the kind of rapt attention that can only be paid to car wrecks and carnival sideshows, in the vacuum of activity between orientation and commencement of classes I find myself daily watching the Aussie version of Howie Mandel wonder-showzen ‘Deal Or No Deal’.  It’s similar to the U.S. version, but with differences key enough […]

You can’t be from Southern California and not feel at home here. From the intense heat to the artificial greenery to street grids to brown hills on one side and the ocean on the other, it’s home through and through. It’s only been a week, but something about this place makes me feel […]