Category Archives: Culture
Interdependence Day
About this time last year I wrote something I titled “Interdependence Day” in which I criticized the highly-valued (and very American) character quality of independence. I pointed out that the American dream is really just a lifelong transition from community to individualism: we move out of our parents’ house to a college campus, then to [...]
Evangelism at the Plaza
I’ve noticed that the studios lately have been experimenting with new ways to promote their movies. In both Chicago and Minneapolis, street teams have approached me to ask if they could take a picture of me holding a promotional item of some sort. I’ve worked out that they’re paid for each one of these photos, [...]
Rerun: Some New Thing
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, all of my writing energy lately has been directed elsewhere. I hope to start writing here again in the next two or three weeks, but until then I will be “airing reruns” from the past five years.
This one was originally posted February 10, 2007.
I have been working retail for the [...]
Informed Apathy
It’s hard to imagine how different life was two hundred years ago. The telegraph had not yet been invented. Information only travelled as fast as the person who carried it, and it was valued in proportion to how far it had to be transported. Local news was abundant and travelled quickly, and it usually directly [...]
Kurt Vonnegut: Everything Good As New
Billy looked at the clock on the gas stove. He had an hour to kill before the saucer came. He went into the living toom, swinging the bottle like a dinner bell, turned on the television. He came slightly unstuck in time, saw the late movie backwards, then forwards again. It was a movie about [...]
Jeff Crump: Mesmerized by the Promise
Three quotes this week. They all share a common theme despite their diverse sources.
Marketers know what we want. There is hardly an industrial-grade fast-food burger that is not advertised with images of dewy, plump tomatoes, wholesome bread straight from the oven, some kind of premium beef. The reality of flaccid vegetable matter, a soggy bun [...]
Normal
Ryan met me in the parking lot of the Family Video on a Saturday afternoon. We went inside carrying chairs and popcorn, set them up in front of one of those corner televisions in the back, and watched the movie that was playing as though it was our living [...]
Economic Counter-Protesting
I came across this yesterday and it’s been running through my mind ever since. It seems that the idea of “economic counter-protests” has been catching on as a good way to fight against Westboro Baptist Church.
The way it works is this: If Westboro decides to picket an event or place with their inflammatory signs, [...]
Reality, pt. 2: The Extent of Human Suffering
Amanda and I don’t own a television. This is hardly a culture crusade; we just don’t watch many shows, and thought it was better to be deliberate about the ones we did watch. It also forces us to be more creative when we have an evening with nothing to do. But not having a television [...]
Reality, pt. 1: The Pigness of the Pig
Without a doubt, my favorite fast-food hamburger is the Whopper Junior from Burger King. It has no equal among dollar-menu sandwiches. The lettuce, onion and pickles are joined with the mayonnaise in perfect balance. The Whopper Junior also noticeably lacks mustard, and though I enjoy mustard, the choice to only use ketchup on this sandwich [...]
