The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

The intentions behind political correctness are good, and in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the hindrances. In saying that, however, there are times the PC-police go too far, and at no time is that more evident than in a recent event surrounding Ellen Degeneres. Actress, comedian, and talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres, recently posted a happy birthday tweet to her friend Katy Perry's page. The tweet read, "Happy birthday, #KatyPerry! It's time to bring out the big balloons!" Attached to the post was a picture of Ellen making a goofy face while staring at Ms. Perry's chest. Perry appeared to be laughing in the photo. To my surprise, there were a number of complaints made regarding Ellen's tweet. Piers Morgan responded, "If a man made this joke, Ellen would lead the cries of 'SEXIST PIG!'" Michael Rapaport echoed those sentiments, as he tweeted, "Imagine if Cam Newton or any other Man sent out this tweet & photo." A t...

Is it just me, or does it seem like, after a certain point, birthdays become progressively more depressing? On our 16th birthday, we can celebrate getting a driver's license. On our 18th birthday, we can celebrate being able to vote (and smoke, I suppose). On our 21st birthday, we can celebrate being able to drink alcohol (well, legally). After that, there aren't too many birthdays where we can say, "We're now even more of a legal adult today!" When I hit 30, I thought to myself, "Where in the world did my 20s go?" Not much changed when I turned 31, 32, and 33, respectively. When I turned 34, however, I was officially in my mid-30s, and due to that, started feeling like I couldn't pass for being in college anymore (even though I do still occasionally get carded). My 35th birthday was significant, in that it was the midpoint between 30 and 40, the age which many label as being "over the hill." Now that I turned 36 just yesterday, I'm in ...

As I noted a few days ago, I turned 34-years-old last Saturday, and as I also noted, contrary to popular belief (or wishful thinking), I don't feel 24-years-old anymore. When I was out one night last weekend, I was asked, "So, do you feel a year older?" This seems to be quite the common question whenever a person celebrates their birthday, especially after they reach the age of 30 or so. Another common question is asked by the person celebrating his or her birthday, which is, "Do I look a year older?" Whenever these questions arise, I want to get into the following back-and-forth, because they don't make a whole lot of sense when one thinks about them: Dexter Shotsonthehouse: "So, it's your birthday, is it?" Me: "Yeah, it is" Dexter: "How old are you?" Me: "34" Dexter: "So, do you feel it now? Do you feel a year older?" Me: "I feel a day older than I did yesterday." Dexter: ...

So, I turned 34 on Saturday. In the days following, I've pondered about several things as is often the case when we approach this time of year: - Where in the world did these past four years go? - Am I really only six years away from turning 40? - Why does my 21st birthday seem so long ago? Was it really 13 years ago? - I can't possibly be thinking about using Just For Men Original Formula to remove some white from my hair, can I? - Why is it people remove ten years from a person's age and will say "50 is the new 40" or "110 is the new 100"? Does that mean 34 is the new 24? Really? There are days and weeks that just don't seem to end, yet there are also years that seem to pass us by at the speed of light, where we have to think back and wonder where the time went. This has happened to me in recent years. I can remember moving from Omaha, Nebraska to central Ohio approximately 7 years ago. I was 27, through with college, drifting apart fro...

While I sometimes wish I didn't, I love Facebook. It has helped keep me in regular contact with friends and family all across the country. Whether they live 20 minutes or 1500 miles away, we're able to regularly chat, e-mail back and forth, joke around, and catch up with one another. However, while I make Facebook sound almost perfect, it's anything but that. One of the major reasons why people stray away from social networking sites such as Facebook is privacy concerns. Granted, there are options on the site which allow for people to tinker with their privacy controls some, however, so long as they have an account, there is a risk for lack of privacy. Politicians, judges, lawyers, and employers have yet to really discover the true boundary between what information should be left alone on a person's Facebook account and what information they should have the legal authority to use against that person. Some employees have gotten fired for posting critical messages r...

I have a feeling my upcoming birthday is going to be quite the strange one. It's almost exactly one month away (February 28th). I was really excited about it a couple weeks ago. I had just discovered that one of my favorite Indian restaurants would be re-opening about a week after my birthday, and my favorite band Muse will be playing in Columbus almost exactly a week after my birthday as well. Just this past weekend, I found out that the bar I go to in town will be having a karaoke DJ playing there the weekend following my birthday, in honor of my turning 32. However, it's now uncertain if I'll be able to go to the before-mentioned concert. My girlfriend and I have had a rocky couple of weeks, and are currently in the process of trying to talk things over and work things out, and she would be my date to the show if I went. I also just found out that on the day of my birthday, my brother and his wife will be moving into their new house. Just yesterday, I learned that ...