culture
Requisite to Good Leadership: Holding Your Leaders Accountable
In 2008 the popular television show How I Met Your Mother put forth “The Pyramid of Screaming” as a model for explaining where some of our frustration and come from – and where it can go to. The concept, detailed thoroughly in The Bro Code (a humorous read, highly recommended), essentially explains the process in [...]
Hikikomori – a digital recluse?
In the March 15, 2010 edition of Newsweek, Devin Stewart reports that “the estimated number of hikikomori” is burgeoning. Hikikomori, as it turns out, is the Japanese term for “shut-ins who have given up on social life.”
Stewart seems to suggest that this is related to the miserable economy, where Japan’s massive debt has contributed to [...]
Email Addiction. Side-effects: Stupidity.
Way back in aught 08 (September 2008), I wrote about the building evidence for Internet addiction. The March 2010 Entrepreneur brings us an article by Joe Robinson (“Email is Making You Stupid“) which explores several aspects of technological addictions – including the harmful side-effects.
This article suggests that the burgeoning amount of emails, instant messages, tweets, [...]
An eye for an eye equals justice?
By now, you’ve certainly heard about the criminal case of an American student studying abroad in Italy – the alleged “mastermind” behind the death of her roommate. Chances are also pretty good that you’ve heard the verdict: 26 years in prison.
This morning I read an article which quoted the victim’s family’s lawyer as having said,
“With [...]
Language, measuring out our lives.
The November 30, 2009 Newsweek ended not with a bang, but with a sobering back story, entitled “What’s the Last Word in Capital Punishment?” (I had hoped to provide only a link, rather than recap the story, but can’t seem to find this on Newsweek’s website). Against the backdrop of a syringe, this story displays [...]
No Logos in Starbucks’ Logo
The other day I visited Starbucks after a hike. I ordered a tall latte and, as I waited on the barista, wandered around the store. I perused the obligatory black-and-white art, the collection of coffee mugs, and a rambling mess of Starbucks paraphernalia. When I had made an almost complete circle back to the barista, [...]
Offender Laws Offend the (Moral) Senses
Lately I’ve noticed a string of periodicals publishing stories which claim our sex offender laws are too harsh. I read one story and was unconvinced. I read another and, though I started puzzling over the matter in earnest, remained unmoved. A quick succession of a third and fourth article on the subject really had me [...]
Ropin’ In a New Genre
It seems each year, some organization ropes in another one of our fifty-two weeks and lays claim to it. Scanning Epromos’ list of these occasions, you might not be surprised to notice weeks have been designated for “Administrative Professionals,” “National Head and Neck Cancer Awareness,” Be Kind to Animals,” “National Tourism,” et cetera.
And yet, there [...]
The Economy Can’t Open Our Eyes to Angels and Demons
At my father’s insistence, I’m reading Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons. While lounging with the book today, a passage caught my attention, especially in light of recent news from the Pew Research Center:
“Perhaps miracle is the wrong word. I was simply trying to speak your language.”
“My language?” Langdon was suddenly uncomfortable. “Not to disappoint you, [...]
The Sexting Phenomenon and Accountability
I’m probably crossing a line with this post. I’ve been sitting on this one for about a week now, discussing this with friends and reflecting on it. My opinion hasn’t changed.
By now, you probably have heard of the sexting phenomenon. If not, in brief, it is the act of sending nude or semi-nude pictures of [...]
