“Ethics” by political cartoonist Clay Bennett. For several years now, journalism has been slowly decaying into a ghostly semblance of its former self. Some claim the internet is to blame, providing instant access to information faster and more effectively than the media ever did. Others claim that the wealth of air time has watered down [...] Read more »
“Does anyone have a buck I can borrow?” “Sure, I do,” I said, reaching for my wallet. “Don’t do it, man,” Harold interjected. “He’ll ask for a pound of flesh in return.” — Jew jokes are my bread and butter. Generally people know I’m a Jew within the first hour they know me, and they [...] Read more »
A spoonful of sugar. Taken from the BBC’s Good Foods Glossary. The best advice I ever received came from a fictional umbrella-toting nanny. “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” she sang. The irony is that taking this piece of advice at face value, it’s often wrong. Most liquid medicines are already sweetened [...] Read more »
A duck lands in the Vltava in Prague. For more splashy pictures of the Czech Republic, click here. There’s a lot about religion I dislike: the sectism, the hatred, the jihads, the hypocrisy, the difficulty in changing any of the doctrines that no longer apply, the literal interpretations. The list could go on for eons. [...] Read more »
The gate of Dachau reads, “ARBEIT MACHT FREI.” It means, “work will set you free.” For more pictures of Dachau and Germany, click here. “Not yet. Not yet, Ben,” I tell myself. I can feel the tears welling up. “You’ve still got more to see.” Only 20 minutes ago did I walk through the gate [...] Read more »
The sun crests over the Jaisalmer Fort as the city begins to wake up. For more stunning pictures of India, click here. It’s 5 AM in Jaisalmer and I’m up too early. A half hour ago, my alarm went off as I dozed on the cool rooftop. Despite being in the middle of desert, the [...] Read more »
The Santos Kiluus shrine sits abandoned off a back road late at night. For more religious images from Guam, click here. It wasn’t by choice that I’ve received most of my nicknames. There were five other Bens in my grade in elementary school, three of which played on the soccer team. When I was dubbed [...] Read more »
One thing I love about Boulder is that it’s prime ogling territory. In Boulder, the ratio of beautiful and healthy people is incredible. If I’m not getting my facts wrong, Boulder remains the skinniest city in the skinniest county in the skinniest state in the country. And while often that means the women wandering around [...] Read more »
A few weeks ago, Entertainment Weekly had a feature on seminal punk band Bad Religion‘s new album. Though it was hardly the point of the article, a small sidebar featured information about a small textbook entitled Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant: A Professor and a Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & [...] Read more »
Tonight I watched the documentary Jesus Camp. By ten minutes in, I was disgusted and scared for the future of humanity. It’s not because of the fervor these kids show, but rather the fervor the adults guiding them show. Before I get into the meat of the film, I’d like to comment about it as [...] Read more »