armchair cultural observation since 1995

Quotations rss

Steroid irony

Greg Downey explores our reaction to athletes taking drugs we see no problem taking for other reasons.

Oppositional Conversation

“Here’s a new phenomenon I’ve tentatively identified: oppositional conversational style.” -Gretchen Rubin

The equivalent of looting

“What the corporate backed Free Culture movement is asking us to do is analogous to changing our morality and principles to allow the equivalent of looting. Say there is a neighborhood in your local big city. Let’s call it The ‘Net. In this neighborhood there are record stores. Because of some antiquated laws, The ‘Net […]

Civility

As usual the blowhards on the left and right are getting it all wrong.

A weirdly neutral intermediary

Is Facebook a deliverer of news you might otherwise never need to hear?

A wall of sound unlike any other

Vuvuzelas have created a wall of sound, all right.

Meme madness

Have internet memes become an “insatiable parasite?”

Going to the brand chapel

Have brands become our modern day church?