The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

One reason why I don't care for Donald Trump is his rhetoric. The man's native tongue seems to be hyperbole. When's the last time you heard a speech or even an individual quote where the president didn't include one of the following words: Biggest, huge (yuuuge), best, greatest, etc.? I can't remember one. Having said that, I'm not going to mince words here. Even though there remains a minority of reasonable, respectable Republicans, in large part the GOP has sold its soul to the devil. The once highly respectable Republican Party is officially on life support and trending towards death at a rapid pace. While the Democratic Party is anything but perfect, it at least tries to fight for more than just their own wallets. That's no longer the case with the Republican Party. They continually get voted in by the people and wind up representing just themselves. Not only that, but they've taken a stand against: Science, equality across the board (whether it ...

When debating someone yesterday, I got called an elitist because I used big words and stuff. The odd thing about the comment was the fact it was meant to be an insult. I've heard many conservatives refer to President Obama in such a manner over the years. My question is, when did being labeled an elitist  become such a bad thing? Here's the definition of the term: "(of a person or class of persons) considered superior by others or by themselves, as in intellect, talent, power, wealth, or position in society." So, once again, why is it now an insult to call someone an elitist? If we use the before definition, this is how the insult comes across: "I hate you! Other people consider your intellect so superior! Yeah, take that!" Imagine how ridiculous we'd sound if we used other at least somewhat complimentary terms as insults. Here are a few examples: - "Oh yeah?!? You think that, do ya?!? Well, fine then, but at least I'm not beautiful l...

I've seen (heard, I suppose is the more appropriate word) it many times, when a band enters a point in their career where they seemingly lose the identity they had which brought them an initial appeal to listeners. In some cases, bands are labeled as "matured," as they transition from a raw, less-produced, perhaps more emotional and personal-style of music to more cliched, overly produced, radio-friendly rock. Often times, I see the term "matured" as synonymous with "monotone," "repetitious" and "business over pleasure". Two bands that immediately come to mind for me are Linkin Park and Nine Inch Nails. The rap/rock hybrid of the early 2000s played into Linkin Park's hands and they tended to stand out on their own from the rest of the like-minded bands of the time. But, over the last 10 years and with each successive album, they've put much less emphasis on the rap and more on the singing, making them sound more like an ev...

I've always been a firm believer that communication (along with trust) is perhaps the most important factor in any relationship, especially between spouses. As I've aged (an elderly 30, I know), however, I've noticed a trend of de-emphasizing communication and its significance. I can only imagine what the next wave will be in this very trend. We started with face-to-face interaction, before expanding our communicative options with the introduction of the telephone. Years later, Al Gore founded the internet(s) and through the keyboard, a computer screen and Mr. Gore's magic, we were able to contact one another through e-mail. Not too terribly long ago, through our cell phones, we became able to type quick notes to other people with text messages. It seems like just yesterday Twitter became the new smash hit, as people could type up to 140 golden characters of random information and express it to friends, family, the world or to simply amuse themselves. So, what's n...