Akting Out

There's a whole bunch of bad stuff out there, on the internet. Some will say that it should be taken down (censorship) while others will argue to let them stand (freedom of speech). Most of us trapped in the crossfire forget how much power we truly have. We don't have to watch. We don't have to tune in. We don't have to allow it into our minds, our lives, and our headspace. The greatest weapon the viewer/reader wields over the content creator is choice. People will always put out bad stuff. But you don't have to listen.

I've had this phone for about a month now. It has yet to explode, so there's that. I used an LGV20 for the past couple of years. It's a great phone and even better music player. The LGV20 had the best sound quality of any phone I've ever heard, but I've been a loyal Samsung user since the first Galaxy. The Smithsonian offered to buy mine, but I'll never part with it. Remember the slide-up screen and physical keyboard made us feel like spies? Good times. My LG was good to me, but I was eager to return to my Samsung roots with the phablet that would serve as my virtual assistant. So right from the unboxing, let's dive right in. Okay, first of all, I like the curved screen, but I've heard horror stories about a hard sneeze turning it into a Thanos victim. The Armadillotek case should fix that! Now it doesn't feel like I'll break it in a moment of anger, and I really like the stand. It would use it to watch Netflix on

I won't be doing NaNoWriMo this year. I've done it every year since 2010. I love it. The mad rush, the reckless abandon of throwing rhyme and reason to the wind and just telling the damn story. But this year, buried beneath a stack of stories and 2019's ambitious publishing schedule, I can't make the time. But I've done NaNoWriMo enough to know what it's about. NaNoWriMo will help you discover if this life is for you. It will help you develop processes that will see you through to completion. It will, more than likely, launch your publishing career if you have the stomach for it.  I've done Nanowrimo broke, homeless, flush, with a full-time time job, and with kids. I confess; I've even sacrificed day jobs in November for the pursuit of NaNoWriMo (protip: don't do that. It's a good way to end up broke). My point is twofold; NaNoWriMo is great for figuring out if this life is for you, and no matter your circumstances if you are reall

Turns out the most difficult conversation I would ever have to have with my son would not be about sex, but the color of his skin. My son came into my room two days ago. He didn't say anything. He just bent down and gave me a hug. His heart was beating so fast and hard that I could feel it in my chest. I asked him if everything was okay, he nodded. Pressing a bit, I asked if someone he knew had died. He's a teenager. They rarely give up the right answer on the first ask. Blessedly, he shook his head. When he finally did pull away, he showed me his phone. This is what I saw. This was a rage I know all too well. A little context. I've had custody of my son for the past five years. He came from two very broken homes and was almost feral when he came to live with us. He didn't know how to act and quickly became unwelcome in certain homes. This was four years ago. He's a very different person now, one who gets A's and B's (most days) in school

Hi. I'm Avery. I've made some grave mistakes lately that I'd like to atone for. I am no fan of the current administration and I don't see that changing anytime soon. But in my zeal to speak out against it, I've allowed my anger to get the better of me. I've gone after people to ridicule them. I've put things on the net I can't take back. I could hardly be called a unifier. To make matters worse, I've boasted that I don't want to be. Let those who continue to be complicit be scorned and ridiculed as they deserve! We'll drag them into the better future whether they like it not. Yeah, not the best persona, I admit. We are the United States of America and we share the planet with a few billion other people. Nothing is going to change that. So whether any of us like it or not, we're going to have to learn to co-exist. As someone who has made himself part of the problem, I'd like to apologize for my actions. I'm sorr

I learned an important lesson about racism yesterday. For context: I'm one of maybe two or three black people who work here. So yesterday, when a friend of mine showed me an apple pie facsimile made entirely of ritz saltines and tartar (?!) my first, natural reaction was "Wouldn't that be a Cracker Pie?" Several seconds of stone silence gave way to uproarious laughter as I considered packing my desk and saving HR the trouble. They were really laughing, though, even as I was trying to backpedal my way out of it. Finally, the guy who showed me the recipe (?!) in the first place said "Dude, no, it's good. Don't even worry about it." I have to admit; I felt kind of stupid after that. This morning, it hit me. I know it may not seem like it because the loud, ignorant people have the microphone, but if you look closely at world events, it can be argued that racism, one of the stupidest and ugliest concepts to curse the human race may be dyin