I've become curious if there is a significant segment of the population that really enjoys a recession. And I'm not talking about how there's a silver lining on the cloud, but actually prefers the recession to a growing economy. Food costs less. Gas costs less. Cars cost less. TVs costs less. If you're in a relatively stable line of work (e.g. healthcare), I've got to think this is the best environment to be living in, all things selfishly considered.

At what age do you start congratulating people on unexpected pregnancies? We're so used to congratulating people when we hear the news that they're pregnant. But, more often that not, the person was married and trying to conceive. If you're in high school and your best friend gets knocked up, you don't offer your congratulations do you? And yet, saying "sorry" sounds weird, too. But, if an older friend is dating someone and gets pregnant, what should the response be?

You ever catch yourself wondering how seemingly intelligent people can believe the world is only 6,000 years old? It's the same reason Daniel Faraday's explanations of time travel and spontaneous island movement on LOST kind of make sense when he tries to explain it. He's always wearing a tie. This postures him as an authority figure. And he's a scientist, which means he knows more than you do. That's all it takes. There are in fact "scientists" who believe in a young-earth, and that either our current dating systems are flawed or that the earth has "appeared" age. If you hear one of them talk, and they're wearing a tie, you're going to believe them, as long as you've never been presented with a more compelling argument from another tie-wearing scientist. And for those who believe the Bible to be true and hold to an ultra-literal linguistic view of the Creation story in Genesis, it's easier to reconcile this belief with a 6,000 year old scientific earth. And so, they're ok with it. After all, a "scientist" believes it.

#2. John Adams
Lyrics can be found on the YouTube page itself.

The historical tradition of walking the plank actually has a unique sense of morality doesn't it? It's not murder in a strict letter of the law sense. It's a self-inflicted punishment. You simply have no choice whether or not to enter into it. Pirates traditionally believed their ships to be sovereign vessels under the rule of no country or man. But they willingly submitted themselves to their ship's captain and the code of the ship. They took it seriously. Stealing from others was ok. But, all stolen booty must be shared among your fellow shipmates at the penalty of death. There were "good" pirates. It's only if you believe in a different set of ethics that you view pirates in the barbarous sense that you do. In terms of avoiding hypocrisy, many pirates lead the way. It's fascinating, and makes you wonder if in God's eyes, we're simply "good" pirates. Decent people only in comparison to the rest of the lot. It's worth noting that in those days, if a King ever caught a pirate ship, he had no respect for their claimed sovereignty and held them guilty according to his laws.

Testimonial TV Ad Copy: My first car was a 1990 Hyundai Excel passed down from my mother. I drove that car into the ground. In 2003, I test drove a bunch of different replacements from a bunch of different manufacturers and decided on a 2003 Hyundai Sonata. A year later, my wife bought a used 2000 Hyundai Elantra. We're not Hyundai loyalists. We've just never found a better value for a car. an anti-loyalty campaign. what do you think?

While golfing the other day, I met a college student who told me he recently decided to major in journalism. He had just finished a couple of years of general education classes at a local Junior College and was heading up to a major Illinois school to continue his studies. I didn't know what to say. If there were any major I would try to veer my children away from right now, it would be journalism, simply for marketability sake. I'm not exactly sure what the future holds for journalism, but I just don't think there's going to be much money in it. I remember when I started college in 2000, my friends went into a wide field of studies, from psychology and medicine to business, communications and journalism. All of them seemed like decent decisions. What fields today do you think would be smart for newly entered collegiates to enter? And which would you plead them to stay away from?

So, in order to try and promote my coffee-table book, "Why Every President Sucked: America's Undying Pursuit for a King," I have decided to write a satirical song for each president detailing the historically true, sucky action I cover in the book. Here we go.
#1. George Washington
Lyrics can be found on the YouTube page itself.

This documentary film from 2005 chronicles the lives of several troubled black boys from the projects of Baltimore as they are swept to Kenya for a year of personalized education. The movie is fascinating, and also ends up being a huge PSA for charter schooling in this country. One of the many poignant moments in the film for me was when one of the children was proudly touting his strength, struggled to remember a name, and then likened his strength to that of Frederick Douglass. Growing up, I remember learning about a whopping total of three men each year during Black History month. One was Frederick Douglass. One had a dream. And the other farmed peanuts. With the election of Barack Obama, the expectations for children like these in Baltimore just skyrocketed. Praise the Lord.

A few years ago, my 6'7" tall friend Matt was visiting and got a headache. He asked for some Tylenol. I gave him two. He looked at me and said, "Dude, I'm 250 pounds. Give me four." I had never thought about that before. I just had "Take 2 Tylenol" ingrained in my head ever since I was a kid. My wife and I are currently on the same antihistamine for our allergies, and I remembered that story this morning. So, I ran to check the bottles, and sure enough, each of us are getting 180 mg each. So, the question remains: Is she getting twice the proper dosage, or am I getting half?