I am going in again. There is no stopping me. I have gotten too close to it. Its pull is far too strong to resist now. I am going back in. I have no choice. The black hole before me is not very inviting, but its powerful attraction is irresistible. I have been in there before, but only once. This is not the sort of black hole that keeps forever what it swallows. This black hole will eventually spit you... Read more
There has been considerable controversy recently about removing Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill. There are a lot of people, Native Americans in particular, that would argue he should have never been honored there in the first place. Jackson, our 7th president, might just be the most polarizing American historical figure. He was extremely controversial in his own time and he still is in ours. If you want to know my opinion about Jackson, I will tell you, he ranks... Read more
The recent passing of rock icon David Bowie brought him back into the the public eye and deservedly so. Perhaps no musician in my lifetime had as much creativity and influence as he. Nobody was better at reinventing himself or keeping his style fresh and mysterious. I was a fan. Bowie wasn’t necessarily my “go to” music but, when I was in the mood, his work could scratch an itch few other artists could reach. I’ve dusted off some old... Read more
Do we have a problem with public education in the United States? I’m quite sure we do. Is it as bad as some would lead us to believe? I am quite sure that it is not. Here is what I believe. I believe that America still turns out some of the best and brightest students, year in and year out, found anywhere in the world. I would stack our best and brightest up against those of anyplace else. If our... Read more
We just came through a big election year. I couldn’t manage, for the life of me, to get excited about it. There wasn’t a candidate on either party’s list of hopefuls that I felt real confident in. So I had a crazy notion. What if I could borrow an idea from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and build my ideal POTUS (President of the United States) from spare parts of those who came before. I like that idea. I am going to roll... Read more
The fifth and final blast from the past is very short and completely different from the others. It was written in Los Angeles in 1991. I will give more context to it at the end. The Shell Hardens By: Shane Phipps (written 3/4/91) It came out again last night; that thing that no one believes in. It came out and grabbed my brother from me as we walked along the sidewalk on our way home from the movies. We,... Read more
Today’s blast from the past was wtitten in 1991 while I was living in Los Angeles. Apparently, LA had an effect upon me because some of the things I wrote out there were kind of weird. This story, entitled Walter Judd’s Vactaion was an attempt at a bit of science fiction. It’s “out there”.. Walter Judd’s Vacation By: Shane Phipps (4/16/91) “Hey, there’s something swimming in my drink!”, announced a startled Walter Judd. At first he thought it was... Read more
Today’s short story blast from the past, entitled Grandpa Stories, was written in 1991 when I was living in Los Angeles. All I can say about this one is that California must have been rubbing off on me. This one is a little different… Grandpa Stories By Shane Phipps (written 1/29/91) “I can’t really begin to tell you how I felt that day,” said Grandpa. With his two beloved grandsons sitting on the rug in front of his oaken rocking chair,... Read more
Installment 2 of this week’s blasts from the past series was written 1984. This piece clearly reflects my growing impatience with the frequent flooding that was happening in my hometown of Alexandria, Indiana during my high school years. I decided to take out my frustrations, at the time, by writing this little fantasy tale for my friends. Let’s get in the Way Back Machine and travel back to yesteryear to see what was on my squishy young brain. Visibly Bored... Read more
Empathy Mining
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7.4 Billion Worlds
Do you sometimes feel like you live on another planet from everyone else? Maybe that is because you DO! Current estimates of the population of planet Earth are over 7.4 billion. I’d argue that means there are more than 7.4 billion unique planet Earths. Not one of us sees the world exactly the same as any other human being. We all have different perspectives and world views. We like to group ourselves with people who share similar views about certain... Read more