The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

No matter the medium, there's something genuinely precious about experiencing art which connects with you on an indescribable level. Whether it be a poem, a painting, a book, a song, or even a joke, the potential power of art on one's being is truly remarkable. In the modern age, however, art has seemed to lose a bit of its luster with the younger generations. Picture yourself coming home from a long workweek. You come home; grab a glass of wine; and all you want to do is sit in your recliner; and listen to your favorite album. After a few sips of wine, you lay your head back; close your eyes; and allow the music to seep into your pores. A relaxation you haven't felt in what seems like weeks dawns on you, and you feel at peace. It's almost as if the song is being sung directly to you. ...and who's to say it's not? Who's to say this song, this album hasn't placed you at ease after attending twenty meetings over the course of the past five days, and taken ...

When standing back and thinking about it, isn't the concept of money odd? For most of our lives, our main goal revolves around having more pieces of paper than the next person. We continually chase after this piece of paper. This piece of paper is central to our well-being and existence. When someone runs out of this paper, he or she may suffer dire consequences because of it. We use this paper to get houses, cars, food, clothes, and booze. When we hand this piece of paper to someone, we tend to get something for it. To say this paper is magic would be doing a disservice to magic. No matter how much paper we possess, we always seek more. We can never have enough paper. When feeling generous, we hand paper to those without much paper, if any. Sometimes people become so obsessed with this paper, they commit crimes due to it. Yup, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should probably instead read, "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, if you have paper."

Money has always fascinated me. Think about it. This piece of paper with pictures and numbers on it tends to dictate our lives. We've all agreed on this. It's what provides us opportunities, what we work for, what gets us things, what we, more or less, live for. Just imagine if we provided the caveman like the one from Encino Man a large wad of money; how would he react? A look of confusion? A shrug of the shoulders? Those possibilities are far more likely than jumping for joy and making it rain, as the saying goes. We drive/ride in vehicles to get us from point A to point B. We cook food and drink water to survive. We work to support ourselves, our families, and make a difference in the world. We travel, drink, partake in hobbies to relax. What do all of these entities revolve around? A piece of paper. Whenever thinking about the concept of money, I tend to also think about the afterlife. Is there such a thing? If so, will those who made and worshipped money likely be punish...

As a child, I loved the 4th of July. Between family barbecues to my parents having time off to spend with my brother and I, to of course, fireworks, the 4th of July was my favorite holiday outside of Halloween and Christmas. As is often the case, however, the more I've aged, the more my viewpoints about the major holidays have changed, none more so than the 4th of July or Independence Day. Over the past 5 to 10 years, I've noticed an increasing number of children and pets being frightened by the loud sounds of fireworks. Not only that, I've grown bored of the repetitive nature of fireworks displays. Honestly, if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. Worst of all, though, is a question which constantly rings in my mind all throughout these holiday festivities: "What does Independence Day truly mean anymore?" On July 4th, 300 million+ Americans celebrate their independence. But what about illegal immigrants and DREAMers who could be deported...

What day were you born? How old are you? When did you start seeing her? How many times have you been married? What's your phone number? Address? Credit card number? Social security number? How much money do you make? How many kids do you have? When's the due date? What do you pay in taxes? Here's your prison number. Welcome to our bank; here's your account number. Did you set an ATM pin number? How about for your phone? What's the speed limit? Do you know how fast you were going? Here's a ticket; pay the fine. What time is it? What time do you work? Is it a 9 to 5? How much do you get for overtime? How significant was the raise? The bonus? How many miles are on this road trip? How about the flight? How long will it take? How tall are you? How much do you weigh? Is she a 10? What year is this? What was the score of last night's game? What are the teams' records? Know this guy's batting average? How are his fantasy numbers? Speaking of fantasies, how m...

Former Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden recently came under fire when the 87-year-old was interviewed by Mike Golic. During their discussion, Bowden said this: "My last years at Florida State, 65 or 70% of my boys did not have a daddy at home. They were raised by mommas, sweet ol' mommas. Thank god for them mommas. Or grandmomma. Many times it was grandmomma, or big sister, or aunt. But where's the man? A boy needs a male figure. And the girls do too. Somebody to discipline them and make them be a man. I used to kid about this, you know, they grow and wanna be like their momma. A boy needs a male figure. And the girls do too. Somebody to discipline them and make them be a man. I used to kid about this you know, they grow up and they want to be like their mama. That's the way they were raised. That's why they wear earrings." After Golic provided a nervous laugh and attempted to change the subject, Bowden chimed in by saying, "I'm ki...

I read an article on the left-leaning website Salon  recently which suggested it might be better in the long-term if a far-right conservative won the 2016 presidential election, so more could see how disastrous an experience it would be, wake up in the process, and be more apt to voting Democratic in the years following. I've always despised this line of thinking, for regressive changes in the short-term could have significant impacts in the long-term. However, for as much as I and many others fight to prevent those regressive changes, based on all I see and hear, maybe this country deserves a president like Donald Trump. Just last night, I heard a person say, "One thing I like about Donald Trump is the man makes people think," to which I laughed and said, "Uh, not really, but okay..." Yeah, proposing that a wall be built along our southern border to try and prevent Central American immigrants from entering our country is really thought-provoking. Barring th...

I often times regret studying psychology in college, because it's led to me having a tendency to over-analyze everything, and not only that, but ten years after I graduated, I've yet to utilize the degrees I earned a great deal. However, once in a while, what I learned through the course of college, especially in the field of psychology, pays its dividends, where I'll have an "ah-ha!" moment and think to myself, "Now, if I hadn't have studied psychology, I probably wouldn't have thought of that." Such was the case when recently thinking about the Indiana RFRA law (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) and how many Christians positively reacted to it.  It really befuddled me to hear Christians say such things as the following in response to the passage of the bill and the backlash it received:  - "We're not discriminating against anyone! Liberals are discriminating against us for our beliefs!" - "What these liberals want...

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: ...

As we head toward New Year's, like a lot of people, I can't help but reflect on the past year, and I almost have to chuckle at the fact I'm ill at the moment, because 2014 has been anything but a smile-inducing year for me, and unlike a lot of years, I can't wait for the clock to strike midnight in a couple of nights to symbolize that one chapter, no matter how trying, is over, and there can be hope for the chapter(s) ahead. The year was fairly uneventful until the month of May. I released four new books. I was mentally exhausted at that point, yet my spirits were high. I felt a new sense of hope for my literary future. My mind had been clicking more/better than at any other point in my life. I finally felt ready to go in full marketing mode, and that's when that mental exhaustion was met by a series of unfortunate events, which left me emotionally and physically exhausted as well. My girlfriend of two years and I decided it was best to part ways. A couple of days...

The past, present, and future are all connected - at least the past and present, for the future is never a guarantee. Some people focus so much on past mistakes and incidents that they're unable to enjoy the present, which limits them in their future. Others are so wrapped up in the present, it becomes increasingly difficult to plan for the future. Lastly, others spend so much time preparing for their future, they're unable to enjoy the present, which makes it more difficult to enjoy certain aspects of their future. Trying to balance all three time periods can be extraordinarily difficult, but I think it's fairly critical to at least be cognizant of this juggling act and attempt to find balance for a happier life. When I was growing up, it was often times very difficult for me to focus on and enjoy the present. I was often times hobbled by some unfortunate childhood incidents, as well as some serious health problems. This led me to focus on the past, which depressed me in...

Just as it appears that a growing number of modern-day Republicans have gone off the deep end - going so far to the right that they've completely fallen off the spectrum and have started their own - it appears that a growing number of Libertarians are following a similar path. Libertarians tend to like the saying, "I want the government out of my wallet and out of my bedroom!" In other words, they have attempted to differentiate themselves from the two main parties by saying the government shouldn't be involved in our lives from an economic standpoint (differentiating themselves from the Democratic Party) and from a social-issues standpoint (differentiating themselves from the Republican Party). Sure, that sounds well and good from a sloganeering standpoint, but then many take that very slogan and run with it as far as their minds can wander and it gets them into trouble on multiple fronts. Libertarianism's main concern is in maintaining our freedom. Again, tha...

I think the most confusing word in the English language is "love." Look no further than the dictionary for proof of that. At dictionary.com, the word love is given not 1, not 2, not 22, but 28 definitions. When a word can confuse even the dictionary, chances are it's quite the puzzling term. There's even a song by the title of, "What Is Love?" I think one reason the term is so perplexing is like with a lot of things, there are many shades of grey to it, but unlike a lot of things, it involves a great deal of emotion, and as I and many others have learned, emotion can blindside us at times and override rational thought. It's common for a person to love a friend, a family member, and a spouse, yet these forms of love are felt and expressed differently to each person. Love appears to take on a life of its own to each and every important person in our lives. So can love truly be defined at all? Is this why there are 28 definitions in the dictionary an...