Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 705

Mortality in three acts

Love this.

My happiness is at risk

Just another reason to avoid people who have little more than television to talk about.

Its just better

I've been listening to a lot of rock music from today's most popular bands: Bowling for Soup, Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World, Fountains of Wayne, Green Day, Avril Lavigne, Good Charlotte, and the like. Having grown up on popular 80's rock and metal bands like Def Leppard, Poison, Tesla, Bon Jovi and the like (too many to name), this new form of rock was difficult to digest at first, more punk than metal and faster than most of the popular songs from the 80's. But I found it to be good music for...

The Ethicist, with a twist

I like Randy Cohen, the writer for the NY Times ethicist column, and I especially enjoy his weekly podcast.

Recently, a friend of mine asked me if something he was planning to do was ethical, and unintentionally, my response sounded a lot like one that Randy Cohen would write.  My friend, also a listener to Cohen's podcast, noticed this immediately and pointed it out to me.

He was right.  So I got wondering how I might supplant Cohen and take over the Times ethicist column myself. 

...

An utter lack of pomp and circumstance

I was listening to the hosts of Slate's Culture Gabfest discuss the recent firing of movie critic Todd McCarthy, who has been writing at Daily Variety for 31 years.

Clearly outraged by the decision, host Stephen Metcalf derisively stated that McCarthy was "unceremoniously fired."

Just for the record, if I am ever fired, I would also like it to be unceremoniously. 

What's the alternative? 

"You have been ceremoniously fired.  There will be a small but dignified parade around the parking...

Not OMG

OMG Facts, a website that tweets out supposedly amazing facts throughout the day, recently posted two that I considered less than amazing and downright commonplace. 

First:

Soccer is the most viewed sport in the world.

Didn't everyone already know this?  It's the most popular sport in the world.  The World Cup draws almost as much attention as the Olympics.  And millions of suffering parents stand along the sidelines each weekend, watching their hapless children kick a ball in random...

Is television a window into the soul?

Recently I've been plagued by this question:

is it right to judge people by the television they watch?

Now before you go telling me that it's not right to judge people at all, please stop.  I don't care how many times we've heard some lunatic shout "How dare you judge me!" or "What give you the right to judge my life?" 

We all judge people everyday, on an almost minute-by-minute basis. 

You look at the clothing that a person is wearing, the words that a person is using, and the people...

Stupid Saint Patricks Day

My mother's birthday was on March 17, so Saint Patrick's Day never meant a lot to me.  I'm glad.  I've come to detest Saint Patrick's Day, and contrary to popular opinion, it's not simply because I choose to be contrary. 

Saint Patrick's Day is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland. So if you're an Irish Catholic, I understand your participation in the day. But considering that less than 12 percent of Americans are of Irish ancestry, and...

Sunset of my DJ career

With the sale of my second book, it now appears that my career as a DJ is coming to an end. With a new daughter at home and a more profitable use of my time, this business and career that I launched on a whim in 1997 is now becoming somewhat obsolete. The long Saturdays away from my family, the evening meetings with clients, and the hassle of running a small business are probably no longer worth my time. I am committed to a few more weddings next year, and then I will probably make myself...

World War II in under two minutes

Urban Dictionary provides a definition for World War II that I love.  I've cleaned it up a bit before posting it here:

Germany invades Czechoslovakia.

Britain and France tell them to knock it off.

Germany invades Poland (Russia also invades Poland from the other side, but everybody forgets this).

Britain and France declare war. This is the official kick-off of the war.

Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania all join the German side (Everybody forgets the last three).

Axis forces cut...