History

Jan
29

We’re All Trolls: 11 Ways We Can Stop Being So Damn Divisive!

Justin on January 29th, 2010

Lately, I’ve been arguing against the perpetual “us vs. them” method of storytelling because I think it’s ruining our ability (and desire) to understand each other.  Opposing groups have always been quick to condemn “the other,” but the degree to (and zest with) which we do it these days borders on alarming. A few days [...]

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Armchair Sociology, My Social Media POV 6 Comments »
Jan
20

How to Break Up with the Newspaper Industry

Justin on January 20th, 2010

Let’s be honest: it isn’t working out.  In fact, it hasn’t been working out for almost 20 years now.  And let’s not point fingers because we’re both to blame. Don’t Cry, Your Newsprint Will Get All Blotchy. In a healthy relationship, both parties respect and appreciate one another.  They know neither side is perfect, but [...]

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Armchair Sociology, My Social Media POV 11 Comments »
Dec
21

Spoken For: The Insanity of the Filibuster

Justin on December 21st, 2009

Let’s say you’re at a wedding, and everything has gone smoothly until the pastor says, rhetorically (as always), “if anyone has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace.”  And then one guy, sitting in the last pew on the bride’s side, stands up and regales the audience with a lengthy anecdote about how [...]

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Armchair Sociology 10 Comments »
Dec
8

10 Words That Don’t Mean Anything

Justin on December 8th, 2009

I remember the day in 1993 when MTV News reported Al Sharpton was leading a funeral service for the word “def,” announcing that a word which had once meant something specific to a certain culture had now been appropriated by the mainstream, thus robbing it of any relevance to the culture that coined it. But [...]

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Armchair Sociology 9 Comments »
Dec
2

Do You Want Them to Remember You Tomorrow?

Justin on December 2nd, 2009

Last night, Amber Naslund and Christopher Penn were having a Twitter conversation about the experience of re-reading books. Their dialogue included this (abbreviated) exchange: Christopher: “The very best books read [like] new every time you pick them up… You’d swear new pages got added.” Amber: “Some [books] need different contexts and lenses I guess.“ Christopher: [...]

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Armchair Sociology, My Social Media POV 5 Comments »