Pets aren’t people… are they?

When I was growing up, I never understood why people would get so upset when their pets died. Of course, I never really cared for the pets I had—starved my hermit crabs to death; fed my guinea pigs but didn’t love them. I wasn’t sad when they died. Then, years later, my then-girlfriend (now-wife) and… Continue reading Pets aren’t people… are they?

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Enjoying the Car-Free Life

Even though I was the one who nudged my wife to get rid of the car, she seems to be appreciating it a lot more than I am. I love it, but she keeps remarking how good it is to be without a car—probably because until recently she was the main person using it. We… Continue reading Enjoying the Car-Free Life

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Who are we, really?

I’ve heard it in movies, and I’m sure it’s based on real life: Why can’t you love me for who I am? or You don’t really love me for me. Who is me? Who are we as people? Let me give you an example. Let’s say I’m single and really into a dyed hair phase.… Continue reading Who are we, really?

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Living Cheaply

I have to say I was impressed when I saw Steve Jobs demonstrate the iPhone back in January (I didn’t see it in person, but it was impressive even on video). I’m not going to buy an iPhone, though. I’ve grown to appreciate living cheaply. I don’t want to carry around a $500 gadget on… Continue reading Living Cheaply

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Pressure to have kids

There was an English teacher at my last school who tried to frame most literature discussions in light of what she called “the master narrative” (I’m sure she didn’t coin the term, though). The master narrative is basically growing up healthy, getting good grades in high school, attending the “right” university, getting a good job,… Continue reading Pressure to have kids

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What I learned about weddings

I’ve been to countless weddings, one of which was my own. This is what I’ve learned about them over the years: Family will try to take over. If you’re lucky, you might get away from it; “lucky” meaning that you have enough money to pay for it yourself, aren’t that close to your family, have… Continue reading What I learned about weddings

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Musings on Making a Difference

A few Sundays ago, the pastor at our church gave a sermon about making a difference, examining how there are basically two approaches—institutional and personal. Institutional change seeks to change how society and laws are structured so that it affects the greatest number of individuals. Personal change is what he called the “grunt work” of… Continue reading Musings on Making a Difference

Voting on TV v. in Politics

Recently, this letter was published in the Boston Globe: ‘Idol’ or idle time? May 29, 2006 I WAS TAKEN aback after learning that more people voted for “American Idol” than for any president. I find this fact appalling. What could be more necessary then voting for our proper leader? But I think a lot of… Continue reading Voting on TV v. in Politics

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The Context of Consumption

The recent trend in academia, particularly in the realm of film and literature, is to approach works of fiction with the postmodernist stance a work is best understood in relativist terms by examining the author’s time period, biography, and viewpoint in light of our current prejudices and values. What gets mentioned only passingly is the… Continue reading The Context of Consumption

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