The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

It's becoming increasingly more common for people to boycott certain companies, products, or even celebrity names. They don't like the thought of their money going to these people with whom they strongly disagree on a matter they feel is important. While I can understand and often respect such financial protests, the following questions immediately fill my head when I hear about such boycotts: 1) At what point do we draw the line?; 2) Are these boycotts at all effective (and if so, how effective are they?)?; 3) With uber-wealthy individuals and companies owning so much, are boycotts of all their products even possible?; and 4) As far as celebrities go, is it really fair to boycott a person's talent due to a mistake in their personal lives, especially since they're afforded much less privacy than the general public? I don't really have answers to these questions. I just find the matter to be interesting and am curious to hear people's stories on their own boyco...

Just recently, I got into a conversation regarding pornography. I've personally never been into the genre, so I've never held a strong opinion on it one way or the other. Based on the discussion I had, however, I began doing some research on the matter, because there appears to be wildly differing opinions on whether or not viewing pornography constitutes as cheating when a person is involved in a serious relationship. Also, there often times appears to be an assumption by some women that "all" men regularly watch pornography, so it simply has to be accepted by whomever they're with. Through this research, I found that the consensus amongst professionals (shrinks and the like) was that while viewing pornography in isolation doesn't necessarily constitute as cheating, it can definitely be construed as cheating when other factors are taken into account. Amongst commentators of these articles, it appears as if a solid majority of them don't feel pornography...

In light of my poem (and myself) being attacked mostly due to a misinterpretation of it and a friend of mine being told that her poem wasn't actually a poem, I wrote a blog and posted it on that site, which reads as follows:  It seems that some people like to believe they have the answers to all of life's questions, that the grey matter in others' eyes is black and white to them. There is no uncertainty in their minds. If another disagrees with their opinion (fact according to them), it's inevitable that the other individual is mistaken. There are certain scenarios where this is understandable, I suppose. If Person A contends that 4 + 4 = 7, Person B can speak matter-of-factly that Person A is incorrect. However, I don't understand how that black-and-white form of thinking can be directly applied to the world of art, which I (and others I know) have run into recently. In recent days, I have been witness to two people (there are many others, I'm su...

Over the holidays, my brother and sister-in-law flew into town to spend a few days with the family. At a pub in the afternoon, we sat down to eat and were approached with a question from my brother, as he asked, "Do you think God has a reason for making people ugly?" I responded with, "Well, it's all rather subjective, don't you think?" He fired back with, "Yeah, I guess so. But, I mean, people that most everyone would consider ugly, do you think God has a reason for making them so?" I kind of stared in disbelief and said, "Well, you point to any one person you may find unattractive and while the vast majority may agree with you, I can guarantee you that someone will find them appealing." My mother talked about Fred Astaire and how he wasn't kind to the eyes, but was extremely talented and his talent is what made him attractive. I talked about Larry Bird and Kid Rock and how I know women who find them good looking and he res...

Those were the exact words I heard today when discussing movies with someone. He brought up some films in which he felt there was ultimately no point, such as: "Lost in Translation," "The Life Aquatic" and "The Royal Tennenbaums". I was going to explain the "points," but he was reluctant on listening. What's the point of any movie or work of art? To entertain, to bring about emotions, to provoke thought, open minds, bring about laughter and tears, to teach, to inspire, to let one escape, to provide a cathartic release, I could go on and on. Now, after viewing a film so awful that it made your parents' home movies look like Oscar-contenders, is it logical to then ask the question, "What was the point in the making of that film?" Yes. But, is it logical to ask, "What was the point?" As in, what message is the movie trying to relay onto its viewers? No. Because, sadly enough, even the worst of films probably have some...