“The Real World…”
I started watching old episodes of the “The Real World” recently. If you grew up in the nineties or early aughts then you remember the cultural power of MTV and this one show in particular. Continue reading “The Real World…”
Tag: late capitalism
Charity (Junk) Mail
Every day the mail carrier delivers a fresh clutch of solicitations. They arrive as a steady stream of appeals to guilt or preemptive exchanges of value for donations, or even a little bit of both from the more sophisticated of the bunch. Continue reading Charity (Junk) Mail
Volume XXI – November 2022
The ferris wheel emits a swirl of light visible from all parts of the boardwalk. It stands sentinel over the crowds snaking in all directions, over chipped and fading hardwood, through the smell of fried fats and salt air, the screams and squeals of fun impending or reaching its conclusion. Continue reading Volume XXI – November 2022
Gene
Home by 6:30 on the dot. Cat fed and dinner on the stove by 7. A quiet meal, alone at the dining table, staring at a beige wall by 7:30. Dessert, on the days when he’s feeling a little naughty or just doesn’t care, by 7:45. Continue reading Gene
Work
There is a weird notion, expounded in the dark corners of the web and the snazziest social media profiles, that work today is more demanding or soul crushing or harder than it was in previous eras. Continue reading Work
Steve
Steve stood on the courthouse steps striking a pose of defiance. He looked deep into the gaggle of arrayed cameramen and let out a rebellious cry for freedom. This was his William Wallace moment. Continue reading Steve
Money
Does money measure everything? Is it the arbiter of success, genius, some innate quality that defines self-worth? Is money worship itself a uniquely American phenomenon? I’m curious because I’ve recently heard someone call Elon Musk the smartest person alive. An idea that never occurred to me because it’s the kind of assertion that would elicit … Continue reading Money
15 Minutes of Gun Fame
A group of heavily armed men move snake-like in military formation along a commercial strip of the city. A crowd forms on the other side of the street behind cover and watches the action unfold through their phones. Another group of heavily armed men enters view, coming up the street, moving directly into the cross-hairs … Continue reading 15 Minutes of Gun Fame
The Grifter
He sat in his well-appointed dressing room and stared through himself in the mirror, not seeing his imperfect facial features and flabby body under his clothes, but instead the idealized version of himself concocted out of thin air, made into mythology, and sold to the masses as a genuine article of American entrepeneurship and social … Continue reading The Grifter
A Walk to the Bakery
I take extra care in putting on my boots, gloves, hat, and coat. The truth is I like being buried under layers of fabric, feeling the splash of freezing air on select parts of my face while the rest of my body is insulated in relative comfort. Continue reading A Walk to the Bakery
GLAZ 