How the Fast Food and Fast Living Culture of the Postmodern Era is Destroying Our History
Recently, my wife and her friends Luke and Lucas from the YouTube channel Luke Explores checked out the now long-abandoned I-86 Diner in Parksville, New York. It’s a relic of the grand tradition of American dining—one of many across the nation buried beneath the weight of greasy takeout bags and UberEats orders. Thanks to what […]
How Society Has Normalized Bullying
A society that normalizes bullying is no society at all. But here we are, in the grand age of progress, where we’ve apparently decided that bullying suddenly isn’t that big of a problem—it’s just an edgy personality trait for future leaders of our nations. It’s as if we took all those anti-bullying campaigns from the […]
To Be a Shaker
If my life story were to be published as a paperback novel, it would unfold as an epic tale of drama, strife, and an endless struggle to survive. It would unfold as a riveting saga filled with triumphs, heartbreaks, and an uncanny ability to trip over my own feet at the most inopportune moments. Even […]
From Print to Pixels: A Snarky Retrospective on the Decline of Sports Writing
Back in 2003, when I was a starry-eyed high school junior with delusions of grandeur about journalism, I wrote a research paper on sports writing. To my naive self, sports journalism was the ultimate gig: a way to capture the raw thrill of the game, the drama, and all those riveting details that keep fans […]
How Becoming a Better Editor Made Me a Better Writer
Since the 2020 pandemic, my primary focus in my life was to make the best of my writing archives. As of September 2022, however, my focus has shifted slightly: make my writing archives better. This is, in fact, a very straightforward process. Find the posts that used to get love and improve them, then find […]
Before You Become a Great Writer, You Must Write Badly
When I was growing up in the nineties, grunge was king, the internet made a noise like a dying robot when it connected, and people weren’t afraid to tell you the hard, sometimes brutal truth. I miss that brutal honesty the most. Back then, getting to the top of your class involved being really bad […]
Mistaking Round Numbers for Milestones
Perhaps I have always been a bit too obsessed with round numbers, those symmetrical, whole figures that seem to promise completion, contentment, and ever-elusive satisfaction. I know I’m far from alone in being struck by this notion. In the online world, round numbers are extremely sought after, especially when they count followers, subscribers, or page […]
Why Failure Is Inevitable When You Let Your Guard Down
“Failure runs parallel to letting your guard down.” – Eric Longenhagen & Kiley McDaniel, Future Value No matter how hard you try to prevent it, failure will happen in your life. It’s an unavoidable part of being human, especially when you have your guard down. Sometimes you think it’s safe to relax and let your […]
Butterflies and Rainbows
Life isn’t always butterflies and rainbows. For us mere mortals, life is often like trudging through a murky swamp. If there is an occasional butterfly flitting by, it’s only to remind us that not everything is pure misery. In our darkest moments, when we seek guidance from peers and loved ones, we’re insisted to do […]