Yes, it was a very rough day. I finally returned to a project that I’ve been neglecting because it represents so much negativity. Murder, lies, being played for a fool, mental illness, evil, injustice… But enough about my marriage. No, I was never married. I did ask one woman to marry me, and she said,…
The REAL paid trolls
June 2, 2015
Adrian Chen has written a stunning piece on Russian social media trolls. Titled “The Agency,” the article is a virtuoso example of investigative journalism. Chen can rest on his laurels forever, as far as I’m concerned. “The Agency” is the gold standard of how to expose wrongdoing. It’s a very long article, but here’s an…
Too dizzy for a post tonight
May 24, 2015
Meniere’s disease is incurable, and it causes rotational vertigo attacks. It feels like the world is spinning while a heavy weight is pressing down on you. I haven’t had an all-day attack for years, but today I’m too dizzy to write. Rotational vertigo attacks are triggered by stress. Against my will, I’m beginning to remember…
What if YOU were the murder victim?
May 15, 2015
Today Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, 2013. People on Twitter told me that they oppose the death penalty because it’s immoral. Opposition to the death penalty is perfectly legitimate for a variety of reasons, but if you think capital punishment is immoral, then…
Withdraw, but don’t be upset
April 22, 2015
Over the past several weeks, I’ve received many messages from people who are closing their Twitter and Facebook accounts due to the unending hate they face. I think that’s a reasonable reaction. What bothers me is that they think that they’re weak for opting out. I want to tell everyone who’s considering self-banishment from social…
I’ll take “bigotry” over authoritarianism
April 3, 2015
The US is wrestling with divisive social issues. As happens in representative democratic republics, the voters will decide where we go from here. If you support or oppose something, you have the duty to elect politicians who can convince enough of his or her colleagues to get on board. Since being informed is hard, many…
An interview with my proofreader
April 1, 2015
The proofreader of Ghosts and Ballyhoo: Memoirs of a Failed LA Music Journalist is named Tom Pickel. He generously did the job for free. A professional would’ve charged me $2000 at least. Tom is a great proofreader; today he informed me that he’s also a very odd fellow, which is truly excellent. I’m a huge…
Romance, rescue, and revenge
January 9, 2015
As far back as I can remember, I’ve been deeply affected by tales of romance, rescue, and revenge. It’s not a mystery why: We yearn for that which eludes us. I experienced true romance just once. It was only three years, and it ended more than two decades ago, but it still visits me in…
A carnival of degeneracy
December 16, 2014
Very bizarre day. Out of nowhere a carnival of degeneracy hit me on Twitter as about fifty Jew-haters began an attack that was eerily superficial and infantile. Maybe this works on other people, but it doesn’t upset me in the least. They all said exactly the same things. 1. I’m insane. 2. I’m stupid for…
Explaining mental illness to stupid old Jew-haters
December 14, 2014
A couple of days ago, a Ron Paul toady named Martin went after me on Twitter for having the temerity to disagree with him. He was incapable of answering any questions I asked, and at the end of his hours-long spewage, he blocked me so that I couldn’t respond to him. Well, today he unblocked…