I am very sick of this statement. I read it often in articles where a person is talking about how they were poorly raised by their negligent parents. They always cover it up with, "But, they didn't know any better. They did the best they could." No, they didn't. You just said that your father drunkenly beat you. That is the WORST they could do. And in lesser cases, it's STILL not true. No one does the best they could. They may not have killed you. But, this shouldn't be admired, and this overused, generic and utterly false statement should never be used again.

Does the excuse of being "natural" make something inherently "right"? Or, the oft-used, "I was born that way." Giving away all of my money would be very unnatural, and yet, it is arguably a very good thing. Lying is very natural, and yet it is wrong.

I'm sick of pennies. I'm sick of getting them back when I don't have exact change. And I'm sick of my car's change tray getting filled up with these slightly more than worthless copper engravings filling up my car's change tray. How can we tip this personal problem for me, and get rid of pennies for good? Oh yeah, and it costs more than $.01 just to MAKE a penny, so more than my personal grievances, they're not very economically sound either. My gut reaction is to just start paying for little purchases in pennies until an outcry is reached. But, all that will probably serve to do is get businesses mad at you. And they likely do not have the power to put a stop to the manufacturing of pennies. So, what about something like paying our taxes in pennies? Then the government can see how annoying they are. Any ideas like this that could tip this problem?

Lots of people have God experiences. Ones that make you go, "Holy crap. God IS real!" Let's say it happens to a Catholic girl during a Church service. A boy at the beach, who comes from a Hindu family. A man in a mosque. An old Jewish lady at her home. They all usually assume that the God they had an encounter with is the God of the religion they're most familiar with or have familial ties to. How do we get past that? Meet God. And seek truth.

"Dating is not finding someone you love. It's choosing someone to love."

My last three days were spent at the musical festival, Lollapalooza, in Chicago. There were many highlights, all brought to you today by the letter R, including Radiohead, The Raconteurs and Rage Against the Machine. This post will reflect upon my experience at Rage Against the Machine, who were, apparently, also sponsored by the number hate. I passed up Wilco as the Saturday night closer, even though there was a circling rumor that Barack Obama would make an appearance and likely give an impassioned address about how we were the change that we have been waiting for. I simply couldn't pass up the chance to see Rage live. They did not disappoint. 3 show stoppages for injuries and calls to stop hitting/trampling each other. Political cries from the stage that seemed to empathize the rumored speaker's ideas, but with added rhetoric and casual threats such as "take this violence to the streets" and "if Obama gets into office and doesn't do what we say, we're going to go burn Washington to the ground". If Obama loses this election, we'll hear that it's simply because of his race. If he wins this election, who does he have to cater to? The Gandhis in his party or the revolutionaries?

"He's all rhetoric." This was Hillary Clinton's argument against Barack Obama's celebrity gained through his superior oratory skills. And I'm sure it's an argument we'll continue to hear up 'til November. So, let's redefine the word. Rhetoric is simply the ability to use language effectively. It's a science. It's a communication skill. And it's extremely effective. You could be saying all the right things. But if you're not getting attention, or capturing any imagination, it's ineffective. Rhetoric should be admired. If nothing else, because it works.

If marketing cigarettes to children is illegal, then shouldn't the kid trying to get his friends to try them be arrested?

My wife's car was up for emissions testing this weekend. This because of regulation meant to ensure that our exhaust pipes are only letting out a certain amount of evilness into the world. So, I drove over to the next town where the testing facility was and sat in line for 22 minutes in that hot summer sun with the other 30 or so cars at any given time on both sides of me, in idle, as we waited to get the documented approval that we were doing our part to save the world.

Most authors are required to convey their message through words alone. They allow us to envision worlds and ideas that they create without offering a single image. And yet, they always put their mug on the book jacket in the "About the Author" section. This is a mistake around 95% of the time. I like it better thinking you're not a nerd. Let me envision you. Stick to words. You're great at it.