I was on the phone today listening to a person tell me about a rough time they’d recently been having. Long before formally studying psychology I gained a reputation among friends as the person who would listen, and I’ll probably be listening long from now. The call today though was interesting in that, at a certain point, I made the observation that one shouldn’t give up all they had worked for simply because they were tired and times were rough. And since the person I was talking to shared the same religious beliefs that I do, I also made the observation that the Catholic view on suffering is that it is an ever present part of our world and not something that can be ignored.

Now whether you believe… Continue reading

I… Continue reading

OK, so I came across a rather interesting story earlier this week on Consumerist that I thought I’d share in order to make the following point: Loss Prevention Employees (Or Asset Protection, or plain old Security) at large retailers are just for show. Here’s the story:If you work at Best Buy, don’t tackle any knife-wielding shoplifters or you’ll be fired. That’s what happened to two Best Buy employees who chased a couple shoplifters who were fleeing with armloads of merchandise towards a waiting car. Read MoreSo those guys who give you dirty looks as you leave the store? That’s their only real job. See it breaks down something like this… Continue reading

Karey & I were up in NYC today to drop off some things at Columbia. Saw this outside Uris Hall… Continue reading

One of the more interesting ad campaigns I…

If you don’t know, and I wouldn’t doubt you if you said you didn’t, Ghost Hunters is a show on the SciFi channel that focuses on a group of individuals who seek to document evidence of paranormal activity. Karey enjoys watching the show religiously, and I enjoy watching it was well (I don’t particularly like the cast of the spin-off show, Ghost Hunters International, so I usually sit out for that show when it comes on). Anyway, the Ghost Hunters go about “hunting” a bit differently than other shows I’ve seen on the subject, which is why I’m posting on it. The investigators firmly believe a core tenant of good scientific investigation: The best way to prove the existence of something is to try your hardest to disprove it… Continue reading

I read about DeadAtYourAge.Com on Download Squad yesterday and decided to pay it a visit. It… Continue reading

Deadliest Catch starts up again tonight, and again I’ll be watching it. Karey & I realized a few years ago that the show really is essentially the same thing year after year. They go out, they fish for crabs, things break (both ships and people), good times, bad times, etc… It’s not like I think this year God himself will make a special guest appearence as the Relief Captain of the Cornelia Marie or that Time Bandit’s sauna will catch fire. But for some reason the show is addictive, which is why I’ll be watching… Continue reading

3 ‘phenomenal shots’ ended pirate hostage crisis – CNN.com“The on-scene commander saw that one of the pirates still held that AK-47, was very, very concerned for the captain’s life — and he ordered the shots to be taken,” Gortney told CNN on Monday.Even with the small boat “moving up and down a couple of feet,” the SEALs hit their targets. “Remarkable marksmanship,” Gortney said.I really hate to feel good about anyone dying, but I will admit to being a bit happy upon hearing that the three remaining pirates holding an American hostage were gunned down. I find myself wondering though – what does this tell the pirates.Hopefully it tells them to stay away from boats flying under the American flag, which I would probably do if I were a… Continue reading

Teenagers, one of the latest singles by alternative-rock / emo / whatever band My Chemical Romance is a pretty humorous and ironic song that I figured I’d highlight here, for really no reason other than to put my thoughts out there on it (That’s what blogs are for right?). It actually applies to the title of my blog, as the song is amazingly sarcastic. Possibly too much, as Jill Weinberger pointed out in May when she wrote this:

“The video ends with the words “VIOLENCE IS NEVER THE ANSWER” and a message urging kids to get help if they feel like acting out. Still, there’s a fine line being walked here, and when your lyrics go, “if you’re troubled and hurt, what you got under your shirt will make them… Continue reading