Have a Pleasingly-Fine Day

Bonjour.  I'll be traveling abroad for awhile.  If you don't hear from me, you can probably assume I decided to stay in the Galapagos near Bali.  Please continue to treat this free blog as a shrine.

Have a pleasingly-fine day.

FG

Who is Flash-Ryan Danger Fox?

Who is Flash-Ryan Danger Fox?  No one really knows.  He’s constantly changing.  If he were a drink he’d be one part Hugh Hefner, two parts Joseph Schumpeter, one part Hunter S. Thompson, one part James Dean, one part Keynes, one part Henry David Thoreau, and two parts Riccardo De Nuzzo.  He is the most exciting man in the world who recognizes the excitement of and lives within the world of everyday banality.  He will grow old, but remain timeless.  Never forgets to play.  Often is nothing more than a whisper, but leaves a lasting impression on every person who spends time with him.  Only you can decide for yourself who is Flash-Ryan Danger Fox.  He already knows who he is…       

Ferguson as a Catalyst for Constructive Change

            The St. Louis county Grand Jury’s decision not to indict Officer Wilson in the incident involving the altercation with Michael Brown which lead to Brown’s death has caused a great deal of animosity and protest throughout the United States.  As protests are playing out, interviews are being conducted with experts across all mediums of media, and every person within reach of a computer is weighing in with their thoughts.  It has become abundantly clear that the case involving Officer Wilson and Michael Brown has come to embody more than just what transpired during those fateful less than 2 minutes of their encounter.  For many, this case has become a referendum on desired ethical change to municipal police departments across the United States as well as the United States criminal justice system.  Officer Wilson and the county prosecutor have become a representation that embodies all perceived injustices of how police forces fail to uniformly apply the law to minority groups and the perceived biases present in the criminal justice system against minority citizens.  The grand jury’s conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to indict Officer Wilson is seen as a referendum on the much larger issue of systemic problems within many municipal police forces.  Since the incident in Ferguson has touched a deeper problem in the United States, it is logical for us to focus on solving this deeper problem.  Even if the evidence had been sufficient for the Grand Jury to indict Officer Wilson, his indictment would not have solved the larger problems with municipal police departments across the United States.  The national attention and debate given to Ferguson should be used as a catalyst for the constructive, effective reform.  For the previously mentioned purposes of finding constructive reform, I will seek to offer three ways of correcting problems between municipal police forces and the communities they serve. 

On Creating a Pareto Optimal Resolution to the Washington Redskins Name Dispute

On Creating a Pareto Optimal Resolution to the Washington Redskins Name Dispute

            The debate or controversy, depending on the view one takes, surrounding the NFL franchise Washington Redskins[1] has become one of the rare sports controversies that has permeated into overall society.  Individuals who have never watched a single NFL game have an opinion on whether the Washington Redskins should change their name.  Whether the Washington Redskins should keep their name has become a societal debate.  In this essay I will argue that it is in the best interests of the NFL and the Washington Redskins to change the official name of the Washington DC NFL franchise to a less controversial name.  The NFL must play an integral role in facilitating this transition and for compensating the Washington Redskins organization for a loss of brand equity a name change will entail.  I will argue that there exists a pareto optimal scenario for the Washington Redskins organization and supporters of changing the name. 

             

Random Comedy Thoughts 2

Random Comedy Thoughts 2

-I saw a sign in a sporting goods store that said, ‘when women run, women win.’  That’s only partially true, men win too.

-I will not date someone who when asked the question, ‘What would you wish for?’ responds, ‘A million dollars!’  Why only a million dollars?  You’ve never heard of a billionaire?  Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Oprah?  A hypothetical genie in a bottle scenario is hardly a time to be humble.

-One direction is proof that humans don’t learn from their mistakes.

-The arbiters of our morality are the autocorrect functions on our phones.  My phone text messaging autocorrect will not recognize the word masturbation.  My phone is either looking out for me or judging me. 

Teach Twice – Social Enterprise

Teach Twice – Social Enterprise

A Compelling Non-Profit

Teach Twice - http://www.teachtwice.org/

Teach Twice is a non-profit social enterprise that takes folk tales from developing countries, turns those folk tales into children’s books, sells those children’s books in developed countries, and uses the proceeds from the sale of those children’s books to invest in educational development in the same developing countries the folk tales came from.  Teach Twice is unique in the sense that it has a self-sustaining business model that is not dependent on donations, giving Teach Twice unrivaled financial flexibility and independence.  Teach Twice is centered on an original innovative idea.

You can buy their books online and invest in educational development around the world at:

http://www.teachtwice.org/shop/

Gilligan’s Island, Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Brilliant Interchangeable Nothing

Gilligan’s Island, Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Brilliant Interchangeable Nothing

            Seinfeld is often called the show about nothing.  Depending on how you define nothing, Seinfeld is about nothing or common, everyday interactions which are so routine they feel like nothing of any note.  Perhaps the fact that Seinfeld existed in the realm of everyday routine made it relatable to many people, and the fact that at its absolute core, comedy, is universal.  A viewer didn’t have to live in New York, have been to New York, or even heard of New York in order to understand the humor and the characters.  One could take Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George and put them in virtual any city or setting and the basics of the show could continue without any meaningful change or interruption, which at its core, is what makes Seinfeld timeless and a classic years from now.

          

Taking a Proactive View of Mental Health, Specifically in Regards to Police and Military Forces

Taking a Proactive View of Mental Health, Specifically in Regards to Police and Military Forces

            The terrible incident that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri is tragic from any perspective.  Regardless of the culpability of the police officer and one’s opinion of how the incident unfolded, the loss of a person’s life is regrettable.  The incident in Ferguson has started many conversations about worthy topics of consideration throughout the United States.  A conversation that Americans should have more prominently is that conversation surrounding the mental health, and specifically about taking a proactive view towards mental health.  Taking a proactive view of mental health is especially important when considering the police forces and military of the United States.  The United States needs to generally take a more proactive view of mental health, especially in with our police forces and military. 

           

Viewing Education Policy as a Lifelong Process

Viewing Education Policy as a Lifelong Process

            This essay is meant as a general thought experiment in policy.  Its purpose is not arrive at a concrete and actionable conclusion, but rather to explore a more general notion about a certain policy that informs the way we view that policy.  The policy discussed in this essay is education.  I think we need to take a lifelong view of education instead of our current view that effectively ends with university graduation.  We as a society discuss much about the importance of pre-kindergarten education, increasing funding in our school systems, and providing better, more affordable university education, but we spent virtual no time discussing education once a student has graduated from university, be it undergraduate or graduate school.  To not consider educating people in any way after university, during which people will live the vast majority of their lives, is puzzling for a variety of reasons; … 

Reforming Unemployment Insurance to Better Address Structural Problems

Reforming Unemployment Insurance to Better Address Structural Problems

            The United States needs to a have a philosophical approach to unemployment services with a primary focus on mitigating recidivism rates amount individuals who routinely seek unemployment.  Instead of a system that seeks to merely find suitable employment without consideration beyond the short term, the United States should create a system that seeks to find employment that will be sustainable for the long term with each unemployed individual.  Seeking long term employment solutions for unemployed individuals will address the problem of structural unemployment in the United States.  Given the size and complexity of the United States, policies targeting unemployment are best administered at the state and local levels of government.  

           

Don’t Let Anyone Know You’re Working at Being Funny

Don’t Let Anyone Know You’re Working at Being Funny

            Any answer to the question, what makes someone funny?, can never hope of approaching a glimmer of being comprehensive or objective.  The criteria for humor seems to be quiet esoteric and subjective.  At best we can speak about humor in vague generalities that often are observed to be true, for instance, very attractive people are rarely critically thought of as being funny.  Another generality observed to be true is that people that are seen as trying really hard are not funny. Simply put, one cannot be seen as trying to be funny.  It must been seen as being effortless.  We want our comedy to be natural, to be a natural evolution derived from life, as it is in conversation.  Every person is funny to varying degrees.  Humor is part of daily life.  People living their daily lives are funny.  They may not be telling jokes, but they are funny, whether through incidental awkwardness, comments during conversation, momentary stupidity, etc., people are organically funny.  We like our comedians to be like people in conversations, to be spontaneously funny.  Even though a great deal of work goes into comedians routines on stage, they can’t seem to be trying to too hard.  Comedy is almost like a timeless characteristic that we appreciate aesthetically, like beauty.  We admire natural beauty more than someone who works out a lot and has plastic surgery, we appreciate natural beauty more, like a higher art form.  Which is why we don’t like our comedians to be seen as working hard, they have to appear to organically think of something and say it.