This past week in Columbus there was a tragic story that makes you think about how you would respond if you were confronted with a very difficult situation. At midnight last Sunday night, a naked man knocked on the door of a West Side home and stood on the porch asking for help. At the [...]
Posts Tagged ‘modern culture’
What Would You Do?
Posted in Columbus, crime, Family, tagged Columbus, Coumbus Police, crime, Family, Life, Mental Health, Mental Illness, modern culture, News, Police on January 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When “Friends” Aren’t Friends At All
Posted in Reflections, Technology, World, tagged England, Facebook, Friends, Kitty Genovese, modern culture, Reflections, Technology, World on January 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
From England comes the disturbing story of a woman who posted on her Facebook page that she had taken pills and was committing suicide. None of her Facebook “friends” who lived nearby did anything to check on her condition, and some of her “friends” chided her. By the time authorities checked on her, some 17 [...]
Spam, On The Lam
Posted in Humor, Technology, World, tagged Computer scams, computers, economics, Email, Humor, Internet, modern culture, Spam, Technology, World on January 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The volume of global spam has fallen precipitously in recent months. According to the security firm Symantec, the volume of spam has fallen from more than 200 billion spam emails per day in August to “only” 50 billion spam emails per day in December. Of course, 50 billion bits of spam is still 50 billion [...]
The Submissive Indignity Of The Tooth Cleaning Appointment
Posted in America, Humor, tagged America, Dental Appointments, Dental Hygienists, Dentists, Humor, modern culture, Tooth Cleaning on December 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In modern America, we take for granted a lot of things that are really weird, if you stop to think about them. I was reflecting on this the other day when I was lying flat on my back and some perfect stranger wearing a white suit, rubber gloves, and a surgical mask had her hands [...]
Anywhere, U.S.A.
Posted in America, Travel, tagged airports, America, Consumer Culture, Consumerism, Humor, modern culture, Travel on December 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Going through any airport in the United States is an experience in soul-deadening sameness. Every airport has the same features, the same stores, the same signs, the same walkways, the same arrival/departure boards — in short, the same everything. Why is this so? Is it because airport designers and managers believe that most Americans are [...]
Oblivious To “Icing”
Posted in America, Humor, tagged Aging, America, Humor, Icing, modern culture, Popular Culture, Smirnoff Ice on December 6, 2010 | 1 Comment »
At a certain age you begin to suspect that you may have lost touch with popular culture. You realize you don’t really listen to popular music or watch TV shows aimed at the 18-to-30 demographic anymore. You start to ask yourselves questions like: “When did everyone get so huggy?” And: “When is it socially acceptable [...]
Likes, Dislikes, And Phony Facebook Apps
Posted in America, Humor, Technology, tagged America, Computer scams, computers, Facebook, modern culture, Technology on August 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
There appears to be no end to the ingenuity of scammers, spammers, and computer tricksters. After the tales of woe from the likes of Ethiopian bankers and Hong Kong divorcees get long in the tooth, the scammers try something different. There’s nothing newsworthy about new computer schemes . . . unless they have an implicit [...]
Portion Control
Posted in America, Food, Humor, tagged America, Food, Humor, modern culture, Monty Python, restaurants, Shish Kebab on August 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Last night we went to dinner at Shish Kebab, a Turkish restaurant selected by Dr. Science. It was a very nice place with good food, but the portions were enormous — too much, I think, for any person with a normal appetite to finish in one sitting. This scenario has become all too common. Has [...]
The Need For Speed
Posted in Reflections, Technology, tagged computers, Internet, modern culture, Personal Computers, Reflections, Technology on July 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We’ve been at the Sawmill Creek Lodge in Huron, Ohio the past few days for the Webner family reunion. Although Sawmill Creek has many fine amenities, it does not have in-room wireless connections, and therefore Kish and I can’t use our own laptops to access the internet. As a result, we have made liberal use of [...]
GoodBye, LeBron
Posted in America, Ohio, sports, tagged America, Cleveland, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Lindsay Lohan, Miam Heat, modern culture, NBA on July 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Well, LeBron James has decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. I don’t follow the NBA, so I don’t really care. The Cavs’ owner has unloaded on LeBron, calling him narcissistic and disloyal. I’m not sure about that — I think an athlete has the right to decide where he plays, [...]
The Terrorists Amongst Us
Posted in America, crime, tagged America, crime, Domestic Terrorism, Faisal Shahzad, modern culture, terrorism, Times Square Bombing on June 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Faisal Shahzad, the terrorist who tried to set off a car bomb in Times Square on a crowded Saturday night, pleaded guilty yesterday to a series of terrorism and weapons charges. He apparently intended his guilty plea to send a message to the United States that if it did not stop “meddling” in Muslim lands [...]
The Unexpected Freedom Of A Rainy Sunday Morning
Posted in America, Books, Ipods, Reflections, TV, weather, tagged House, Ipod, modern culture, Personal Projects, Rainy Days, Reflections, TV on May 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It is raining cats and dogs in New Albany this morning. Steady rain, with an occasional thunderstorm, is expected to be an all-day thing. So, the weekly round of Sunday golf has been canceled, and at 9 a.m. I look forward to the day and wonder what I will do to fill it. There is [...]
The Golden Age of Magazines
Posted in America, TV, tagged advertisements, America, Consumer Culture, Consumerism, LIFE magazine, modern culture, TV on April 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
For some reason we have an original LIFE magazine from 1948 — October 11, 1948, to be precise. I’m not certain how we received it, although I think it was picked up as a promotion for a website, called www.originallifemagazines.com, that sells the magazines as keepsakes to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. It’s a fascinating [...]
The Appeal Of Texting
Posted in America, tagged America, Communications, modern culture, Texting on April 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project has found that texting is now a more popular form of communication for American teenagers than cell phone calls. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has kids. Kish and I have long recognized that texting is the most certain way of reaching Russell, [...]
The Sad Decline Of Office Coffee Consumption
Posted in America, Work, tagged America, Coffee, Health, modern culture, Office Coffee, Starbucks, Work on January 30, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Yesterday at the office I went to get a cup of coffee at about 9 a.m. and saw, to my slight surprise, that the pot I had made an hour or so earlier had remained untouched by any other person on the floor. It brought home the fact that fewer and fewer people, at our [...]
