What if I told you I met somebody once who personally knew James Polk? Or Dred Scott? Or John Keats? Impossible, right? I mean, it’s 2016. These men were all born in the 1700’s.
And yet . . . Continue reading A Handshake for the Generations
Reflections on a Year of Blogging
Well, it was just over one year ago that I began this blog, publishing my first-ever post entitled “On Rainbows and Shadows,” an opinion piece about marriage equality published in the wake of last year’s historic Supreme Court decision. In it, I spoke of my experience growing up in the rural midwest in the 1970’s and ’80’s, how it shaped my early views of homosexuality, and how those views came to evolve over time. It was surprisingly well received, going “mini-viral,” and getting picked up by Idaho’s largest newspaper, the Idaho Statesman, where it ran as a guest opinion in the Sunday edition. Continue reading Reflections on a Year of Blogging
Hey Idaho GOP: Stop Campaigning With Our Tax Dollars
In Idaho, elected officials are not permitted to use public tax dollars to campaign for office. Yet, this is precisely what they do when they pass laws they know are unconstitutional and are certain to be overturned by the courts. Unfortunately, it’s not a rare occurrence. Continue reading Hey Idaho GOP: Stop Campaigning With Our Tax Dollars
80 from the ’80’s
Ok, so this one is just for fun: 80 albums from the ’80’s. To be clear, I don’t dwell in the ’80’s or in it’s music, really. But it was a formative decade— where I spent the entirety of my teen years plus some— and one that continues to inform a lot of my thoughts and tastes today. And there was some great music back then, especially lurking just below the surface, blasting on college radio stations, or sneaking out from this independent label or that. Continue reading 80 from the ’80’s
Record Store Day Reflection
It’s Record Store Day again — that greatest of all the made-up consumer holidays. There are a lot of reasons to love and support independent record stores — from the role they play in supporting independent and local music and artists, to providing an outlet for non-mainstream genres like jazz, bluegrass, and “world” music, to the simple value local, independent businesses add to our communities. Yet there is another benefit they provide that might get overlooked; that is, they help keep our cultural history alive and in circulation. Continue reading Record Store Day Reflection
On March Sadness
What makes a sad song sad? I mean, really sad, as in palpably sadder than the endless barrage of songs otherwise purporting to be sad? This was the essential challenge of an online “tournament” I recently participated in, dubbed “March Sadness.” Continue reading On March Sadness
365 Days of Gratitude
202 days of gratitude, more accurately, spread out over 365 days. That’s the number of days I actually wrote in a gratitude journal over the past year, in an attempt to increase a feeling of gratitude in my life.
Looking at my life from the outside, you might have wondered why I would need to embark on a “gratitude enhancement project” at all. After all, I had it pretty good. Damned good, really. It might have been fair to say, even, that I hadn’t a single legitimate thing in the world to grumble about. Continue reading 365 Days of Gratitude
Starbucked: Lessons From the Imaginary War on the Imaginary War on Christmas
It was a strange week in social media land. If you somehow missed it, here’s the twenty second version: a controversy erupted after the coffee chain “Starbucks” unveiled its 2015 “holiday” cup. Unlike past years, when the cup was adorned with snowflakes or reindeer, etc., this year’s cup is simply solid red, and devoid of graphics other than Starbucks’ normal logo. A self-professed “social media evangelist” publicly criticized Starbucks in a video, asserting, among other things, that Starbucks changed its cups because it “hates Jesus.” The video went viral, sparking countless others to react to the backlash by mocking those purportedly “outraged” by the cups. So it has gone all week. Continue reading Starbucked: Lessons From the Imaginary War on the Imaginary War on Christmas
Refugees Welcome
I’ve tried writing this post for several weeks now—since attending a rally at the Idaho Statehouse dubbed “Refugees Welcome in Idaho.” It was a nice event. Nothing fancy — just a bunch of people gathering on the Capitol steps for a photo, in an attempt to show support for refugees in Idaho — both those who are already here, and those who will likely be heading here in the wake of the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. This seemed like a simple enough story to write—a humanitarian “feel good” piece, if you will—although as I thought and read more about it, it proved to be anything but simple. First, a little context: Continue reading Refugees Welcome
Six Observations on the Body Positivity Movement by a Liberal Father with Daughters
I’ll admit I was slow to the take on this one. I really only started noticing this a year or two ago – this trend in social media and advertising to highlight “non-traditional beauty” and emphasize “body positivity.” But once I started noticing it, I noticed it everywhere, and the movement only seems to be gaining steam. Just today, I read an article entitled “24 Women Bare Their Scars To Reveal The Beauty In Imperfections,” which featured a cover photo of a young, remarkably fit woman pulling up a skimpy knit tank top, as though undressing, revealing two long scars on her abdomen. She was wearing snug-fitting jeans, which nonetheless seemed to be falling off her buttocks, and she looked, well, amazing, which of course was the whole point. Continue reading Six Observations on the Body Positivity Movement by a Liberal Father with Daughters