Essay

A Most American Holiday

November 18, 2015

12 Min read

A

There is really no more American holiday than Thanksgiving. It embodies everything we think of as good about America. Celebrating a bountiful harvest. Giving thanks. Sharing with family, friends and neighbors. The promise of good things to come. Some of you might be thinking, “What about the Fourth of July? What about celebrating the birth of our great nation? Independence Day? Isn’t that the most American holiday?” No. It’s not. Allow me to explain. Lots of countries have an Independence...

Read on Read later Add comment

Bias And The Romance Of Violence

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

November 16, 2015

19 Min read

2 comments

B

I love violence in movies. I love a good fight scene. I love watching kick-ass military elites take out a platoon of enemy combatants. I cheer for the good guys and curse the bad guys. And there’s nothing like a scene where the good guy knows karate and just goes through six bad guys like they’re mentally challenged puppies. But it’s a fiction; a fantasy. None of it’s real. The problem is we’ve allowed that fantasy to creep over into reality for decades and now we’re paying...

Read on Read later 2 comments

Walk A Mile. Check My phone.

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

November 15, 2015

4 Min read

Add comment

W

I recently purchased a Fitbit, a wristband computer that records your steps, heart rate, etc. If records a ridiculous amount of information and displays it all in these cool graphics on your phone. Nothing like a little mild OCD to help motivate you to lose weight. Walk a mile. Check your phone. Climb the stairs. Check your phone. It records how you sleep. How many steps you take throughout the day. How many flights of stairs you climb. Your heart rate, both resting and active. It also keeps...

Read on Read later Add comment

How I Gained The Weight

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

November 13, 2015

9 Min read

Add comment

H

Everyone will tell you how they lost the weight. They can’t wait to tell you how they lost the weight. But no one tells you how they gained the weight. I’m sure it’s no mystery. Eat shitty. Sedentary lifestyle. Booze. Well, this is my story. I went to the doctor recently to make sure I wasn’t dying. So far so good, but they’re still going to do some tests. One involves sticking something down my throat. The other involves sticking something up my ass. Maybe they’ll meet in the...

Read on Read later Add comment

A Little Slice Of Heaven

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

November 5, 2015

6 Min read

Add comment

A

There is nothing more satisfying, more perfect, or even more mystifying, than a perfect slice of pizza. When done properly, pizza contains the perfect blend of chewy textures, combined with salty, acidic and smokey flavors, all in a food you can eat with your hands. And it’s cheap! However, finding that perfect slice is much more daunting than you’d think. It’s such a simple food, with only a few ingredients, that you would think it wouldn’t be so hard to find, but if you really believe that...

Read on Read later Add comment

In Praise of Subtlety

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

November 3, 2015

6 Min read

Add comment

I

We live in a loud world. The music. The traffic. The colors. The entertainment. The styles. The music. It’s all deafening. Kanye and Kardashians. Big egos and asses. Poster children for the era we currently find ourselves in. All hype. No humility. Even the written word seems to have gotten loud. John Stewart doesn’t make a joke. He destroys. Obama doesn’t make a point. He annihilates the Republicans. She’s not pretty, she’s stunning. You didn’t find something amusing, you can’t stop...

Read on Read later Add comment

Why Your Children Are Up Your Ass

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

November 2, 2015

8 Min read

Add comment

W

“Our kids don’t really know how to play independently, seldom get lost in their imaginations, and are always two feet away from us. It drives us nuts. You’d think we spoiled them rotten but it sure doesn’t seem like we did. I’ve written about this as a cultural phenomenon of “narrowing worlds and great expectations” for parents but I can’t believe everyone struggles with this to the same extent as us. If you do, let me know! I don’t remember...

Read on Read later Add comment

Halloween Is Not for Everyone

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

October 29, 2015

5 Min read

Add comment

H

“It’s almost that time of year when underaged kids get into costume and traipse around the neighborhood ringing doorbells and begging for treats.” When it comes to Halloween, I believe the world is split into two groups: those who love Halloween, and those who think it’s a pointless waste of time and money spent trying to recapture your youth and somehow simultaneously dressing like pimps and whores. I’m in the second group. I haven’t liked Halloween since the fifth grade or so. I’m...

Read on Read later Add comment

Nothing’s ever the same as it was

By David Todd McCarty

In Essay

October 19, 2015

4 Min read

Add comment

N

Nostalgia (n). 1. A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. When looking through old photographs, we often say things like, “Look at this picture of me from when I was younger.” But as my wife would tell you, all pictures are from when we were younger. Time marches on and nothing ever stays the same. Nostalgia is more emotion than truth. We look back through rose-colored lenses at a time when we believe things were...

Read on Read later Add comment