I find myself often having to explain to people how our reaction to certain events or actions depends a lot on the existing context where we were relating to s...

Back in the latter part of the 20th century, a lot of subcultures held onto a concept called "selling out", a nebulously-defined idea based on a nega...

Security reports from other sites are welcome. Why aren’t safety reports? One of the most fundamental triumphs of the last few decades of open source culture...

Here’s how you do it. Build a platform which relies on cultural creation as its core value, but which only sees itself as a technology platform. Stick to t...

“You can’t say anything anymore! You can’t even make jokes!” There’s a constant complaint from people in positions of power, mostly men, who keep making the...

Sometimes I get an idea in my head and I just can’t let it go. For a few months, I’ve heard this nagging sound in the back of my mind, asking me to revisit Am...

I’m a normal guy. I don’t drink alcohol. I don’t smoke cigarettes. I don’t do any illegal drugs. I don’t drink coffee. I never graduated from college. I’ve...

Even though I’ve been having a lot of conversations recently about being a dad , the truth is that on any given day what keeps me up at night is the things I’...

Graham Crackers were created to stifle the libido. Marshmallows are a sickly-sweet, cloying blob that, when properly heated, becomes a sort of confectionery na...

I’ve seen a lot of hand-wringing from techies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley saying “Why are we so hated?” now that there’s been a more vocal contingent o...

For a dozen years, I’ve been trying to document where I am relative to where I was, but this year I’m tired. I’m finding the weaponized grievances and the comm...

There’s been a delightful debate the last few days about how to accommodate the increasing number of people who want the experience of watching movies in publi...

Every great career in rhythm and blues leads only to heaven or hell. The path to hell is obvious: From Sam Cooke gunned down to James Brown leading a multi-sta...

When I used to fly a lot, people would ask me why I was such a big fan of Virgin America. Some of it is the usual stuff — they have wifi and power outlets, and...

Most people in my social circle have varying degrees of disdain towards Starbucks as a force for cultural homogenization, particularly as the company is percei...

My iTunes library, of about 12,000 songs consisting of 60GB of data, got corrupted today. The MP3 files themselves are okay, but all of the metadata is blown a...

A good friend of mine asked for some tips the other day on dealing with minor depression. I’d mentioned managing mental illness a few years ago on my blog, a...

About a month ago, Fortune ‘s Jeffrey O’Brien interviewed Seagate CEO Bill Watkins , and pulled the conversation’s most memorable quote for the headline: “Le...

When we were unpacking the delightful Nintendo Wii a few weeks ago, I was marvelling at how well-thought-out the process was. Beautiful, pleasant, and of cou...

I don’t ever know how to respond politely when declining a drink without sounding like either a religious teetotaler or a recovering alcoholic (I’m neither) so...

The upcoming release of Steven Johnson ‘s The Ghost Map served as a useful prompt for Steven’s list of the best books about plagues in the Wall St...

Mariah Carey killed her career by divorcing her boss and making a shitty movie, and then she gets to come back because she’s filling the void left by Bone Thug...

Instead of Rocking the Vote, disappointed Kerry voters can just sit around and wait for the baby boomers to die . As a side bonus, we’ll also get to stop hear...

“ Half the country is not stupid. We’re all stupid. ” Were I a true political blogger, I might add “Indeed.” as my comment here. Instead, I’ll add that I still...

There’s lots of business books that say we should learn from the wisdom of children, and I completely agree. During meetings, you may find the following two ph...

Things are, as always, just fine in the Jackson family. For example, Jermaine has a young son, Jermajesty. As in Jermaine + Majesty. Because that’s a name that...

To the guy who just rolled by my window booming Chubb Rock’s "Treat Me Right": Thank you!...

I’m starting to reconcile myself to the fact that I actually still enjoy a number of R. Kelly songs, but it is while listening to his exhortations at the begin...

I could never figure out exactly why I liked Alicia Keys’ “ You Don’t Know My Name ” so much. I mean, it’s a fine song, featuring beautiful production by Kanye...

The compulsion to quote and link is too strong…. Being stuck in an airport last night without connectivity, I found myself ripping the pages out of a print mag...

I grieve for Mandy Moore. The poor girl has been unfairly lumped in with lesser lights of girl pop stardom, barely staying above Willa Ford levels of obscurity...

A few random thoughts that have occurred to me of late: Whenever I wonder about random things like "Why are commercial toilets shaped differently than...

I have an older, kind of broken-down laptop that I wanted to do some research and testing on, so I installed a fresh install of a new operating system on it. H...

Well, looks like I didn’t choke to death in a pool of my own vomit . That ‘s good news....

Today I had a Patrick Swayze song stuck in my head. It’s the worst thing that’s ever happened in all of human history....

The cereal that I eat most days has a big blurb on the back of the box that says, "Just two bowls a day for two weeks and you can lose six pounds!" a...

One of the great things about working at home all day via WiFi is that I get to waste my time in true guy fashion, sitting on the couch surfing the web and wat...

My, you’re all a sensitive bunch! I wrote a little ha-ha peevish thing yesterday and now everyone thinks I’m mad. This is what I do for fun , kids. Since ever...

There’s a couple of things I ought to share with you. "Charlotte’s Web 2"? I think I’ve already stated my opinions on unneeded sequels, but what...

I don’t want to be the one to rain on your parade, but if you spend most of your free time developing your Everquest character, you are never going to be elect...

So there have been a whole lot of visitors to this site this week, as hitting the Top 10 on Blogdex and Daypop three times each, and then getting slashdo...

There’s a good bit of information that I think my readers should know. To those who come here for the silliness, the ramblings about New York, the pontificatin...

There’s a unique character to kids who live in Manhattan, something that distinguishes them, beyond the obvious images of necks craned upwards at impossibly ta...

I just got out of the shower, and these are the things I thought of. I am somehow unable to take a shower in anything less than thirty minutes. I say to pe...

This could happen to me , and it probably wouldn’t happen to you. They didn’t mention the appearance of the guy who was actually the source of the problem. Ye...

I am kind of half-hoping to choke to death in a pool of my own vomit in the next 12 months. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love my life, and I would never want...

It’s like staring into a mirror ....

Should’ve seen that coming....

I went to buy a sandwich tonight and the young muslim boy behind the counter was making a concerted, but not entirely successful, attempt not to laugh as he as...

From Overheard in NYC observes a young girl and her father waiting for the subway: Then they begin to dance: he takes her hand and puts his other arm aro...

Jeff Jarvis revisits some copy desk stories from his days in the paper business in Chicago: On my first day at Chicago Today, I made the mistake of going...

And all good things, they say, never last ....

I thought everyone had read this, but then I mentioned it to a few people, and they hadn’t seen it. Do yourself a favor and read Clay Shirky’s thoughts on the...

One of the interesting things that’s emerged from the last year is the propensity for people to use the word, and the concept of "evil" again. I ha...

The most satisfying thing about my job is getting to work with very talented writers. From Laura Conaway’s " Baby Outs Me " : But the day those n...

Ugh, if I had known that it was going to get stupid and boring so quickly, I’d never have mentioned my thoughts on movie-going and culture . But then, every d...

From time to time I like to look at the news, the current events, and try to understand what all the different factions are arguing about. Now, as I understand...

I overheard a man shouting into his cell phone on the corner of 4th and Broadway: “You’re a giant! Stop complaining! Make it happen!”...

Someday, Mimi Smartypants will be one of my wives. Part of the reason is because a wife should be helpful, and she helps me stave off my desire for a dog by...

The tiny school district where I went for my entire education has been the scene of six unusual student deaths in the past few months. The disparate causes o...

This one time, I got the Outliner virus, and then while I tried to fix it, I used another computer. But I was too much of a douchebag to check if the other com...

It is the curse of humans that when we fail, it hurts most those least able to bear the brunt. Not the invulnerable, but the child or the animal or that other...

Oh, and I try to avoid current events because the news makes me cry, but if Enron and Global Crossings and, probably, Arthur Andersen can get (effectively or e...

The interesting thing about the fact that everybody objected to Smart Tags back when Microsoft wanted to include them as an option in Internet Explorer 6 is th...

step four: go out and buy a new sweater for FIVE BUCKS! yay!...

Doesn’t it all seem so anticlimactic after all that?...

Today, the residents of Casa Dash don’t like water and we don’t like geography....

Today, I drank so much soda that the sugar and caffeine have left me jittery. This is not a course of action that I would advocate you emulate....

I don’t do the New Year’s Resolution thing, but if I did, I’d use Stan’s . Addendum: And he keeps it all the way real by breaking down white folk smell . W...

Boring....

Sign you are not the "bad boy" in the band: You start crying when you get arrested . According to The Smoking Gun : “The cops arrested him, p...

I was re-reading an email I had sent to a friend who had emailed me on my birthday, in the first week of September. In my reply, I had said “After [personal re...

Unable to post. Tryptophan coma. Back in hometown, sleeping in childhood bed at parents’ house and gnashing teeth for all the same old reasons. Now back to sle...

I have an obnoxious habit of talking almost constantly when I’m in a group of people. I don’t do it when it’s just one or two people, but more than that and I...

I know, I know. A month gone by. And still, that fucking smell everywhere. It’s like my own telltale heart, it’s a damned spot what won’t out. I’ve always thou...

And now for a bit of time travel: There was a high school in Mississippi that used to have two separate homecoming elections, with two kings and two queens. Th...

null...

I really, honestly, truly woke up this morning wondering if it was Friday. That can not be a good sign....

Oh, by the way, Manties ....

I know, I know, let’s move on. I’m feeling better, some time has passed, talk about something else. I have been, really. Trying to live as much as possible. My...

A couple of things that I should let you all know: I am fine overall, and doing better emotionally. I really, truly appreciate all the kind words and e...

I wish so badly that I had someone to hold on to right now....

Linked as a Cruel Site of the Day , August 24, 2001. Just a note to let you know: I already saw it. That forward? I got it. I've gotten it. I do not w...

And didn’t Saima say she was supposed to be back by now?...

Although I’m naturally in favor of stronger parent-child relationships, I am a bit skeptical about the newest organization that has formed to promote them. Lad...

I’m tired of reading articles that say things like “Microsoft will start inserting links into pages where there were never intended to be links in the first...

I suppose it’s fitting that Caterina illustrates so well a point I’ve been trying to make for ages. Because a guy like me is sometimes afraid to say it. Neve...

My last name is Dash. I got my name from my father, who got it from his. My heart aches because my dad no longer has a dad of his own. I barely knew him, but I...

Wow, you people are the best. I take back all the nasty things I said. Since my pathetic little whining about Amazon trusted friends went up the day before y...

I’ve probably offended more people in the past 2 days during all sorts of random conversations than I had in the entire 2 years prior. I tend to speak my mind...

Sorry for the lack of updates, I’ve been out having a life. As it turns out, I like people better than websites . And I’ve been spending a lot of time in the...

Using the latest technology, with all of the amazing advances in efficiency in production and distribution, keeping one 100 watt light bulb lit for one hour ta...

Note to those who might judge me harshly for some uncouth behavior in Texas: Yesterday I was literally Walking In Memphis, yet you have recieved no Mark...

Do you know why he shares his names with Jesse James ? Because he shoots so well . I did many things during my trip to Texas. I don’t know if it’s because...

I say it to people a lot when I’m giving them advice, but I guess I’ve never said it here… Whatever the worst thing is in someone’s life, it’s The Worst Thing....

Over at Disturbing Search Requests , Dan blogged requests for “Anil sex photos” which I actually get a lot of. In fact, I could have my own subsite on DSR f...

I was going to complain that my friend Jon uses too many big words, but then he started talking about professional wrestling and I remembered that he may a...

need more love...

Sometimes I have a revelation and I understand why some of the cliche, some of the idiom, of romance and heartbreak and bittersweet becomes as pervasive as i...

Sigh. I’m such a loser geek. In addition to going around compulsively micropaying everybody or buying stuff off their Amazon WishLists, I’ve got to go blow $10...

Hey, Jeeves, how can I punish my thighs?...

It’s amazing, I wish I could just grab the whole bunch of you and give you a hug, because I’ve been through exactly what you’re going through now, but I didn’t...

There’s a million little bittersweet moments and a million more subtle heartbreaks when a relationship ends; I guess they’re universal. But at the time, it is...

You know that saying, "Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me"? Well, what if someone keeps fooling me over and over, and I know they...

I really must be a product of my culture, this is the goverment homepage of the state my parents are from. Absentmindedness as a tribute to one’s heritage…?...

So the problem with my habit of complaining all the time is that when I have a geniuine complaint, I’ve already used up all my whine quota. Suffice to say, I w...

I think it’s weird that I’m the only person I know who wears blue jeans....

It’s actually accumulating now, so today’s theme song is Sometimes it Snows in April …...

A panda walks into a restaurant, sits down, and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun, and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to...

Agh . Much sorriness to all of you, I have not dropped off the face of the web, nor am I ignoring your emails, but my little notebook from which I run most of...

Sigh . Same story, different decade. Everyone splits into their own little cliques and I’m not in any of them. Guess I’ll just cut school today....

Coincidence? Right after Columbine, the WB cancelled their episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer because of parallels in the high school violence theme. Now, s...

Dirty Little Secret: The Internet Sucks . My partner in crime Helen wanted to replace a little black dress she accidentally shrunk. Nothing special, a rayon,...

Went to the grocery store the other day. (Did I mention I love grocery stores ?) The fellow in front of me in the express aisle had three items: A 6-pack of...

While traveling back to Pennsylvania today, I had occasion to reflect on a recurrent observation of New Jersey that I have every time I go through the state....

Little bit of not-quite-wisdom which I have realized is very, very true: We hate most in others that which he have failed to see in ourselves . Or, as I like...