Climate Change is the newest flood in a long history of floods. — This morning I cooked myself some eggs. They were “cage-free,” but, what the hell does that even mean? I finished off the carton and threw it away among a pile of other trash I’ve accumulated since only yesterday. I get 2 packages from Amazon. Some “final touches” to my apartment…

Jamie Spears sold his daughter’s light. — I grew up in a town of 2,000 people, near the town where Brittany Spears was born. My stepfather was her father’s friend in high school. Jamie Spears was a working man. He was a God-fearing man. When he and his young wife discovered their daughter was talented, something invaded…

Why Nelson Mandela was happy to serve time. — Nelson Mandela served time in prison for a crime he did commit. When asked, he’d do it all again. The laws he broke were real, he broke them consciously, and he was willing to do the time. But the morals of the law were wrong — and he’d gladly serve…

Keep ringing your bell — When you were born, you were a combination of your mom’s genes and your dad’s genes. As you grew, it became clear to them that you were also something else. Something beyond both parents. A child’s unique personality appears early and never goes away. Anyone who’s a parent knows what…

How to harness the real call to adventure — In one of the many forgotten places in the middle of America, one particularly forgotten guy is driving for Uber. Thomas, let’s call him. His little town is quickly dying in the endless desert of Arizona. Only 2,000 people remain. Of those, 90% are drug dealers, and the other 10%…

We just don’t know it. — In tribal cultures, there were rare adolescents who exhibited strange behavior. They didn’t talk — or they talked entirely too much. They didn’t like to follow rules. They were obsessed with color, words, or nature. These kids were deemed to be “future shamen.” They were selected by the tribal elders…

We can't keep worshiping comfort — When I was a boy, I felt that fighting pretend monsters with (sometimes) pretend weapons had some beauty in and of itself. Like, I didn't believe that I would go to heaven, as modern people think of it. I just felt that pretending to battle to protect the innocent pointed…

Everything you can escape grows in value — A few months ago, I got into a new “full-time” position as a writer. It had all the perks — 401k, health plan, even unlimited paid time off. I was happy, but my first thought (weirdly enough) was, “OK, what’s my escape plan?” Good things happening are good, obviously. But…

The cost of being superhuman — I went to the new Apple store in downtown Los Angeles: Apple Tower Theater. It’s an old theater converted into an Apple store — and I’m not kidding when I say it’s the most beautiful retail location I’ve ever seen, by far. They don’t even allow you to see (or…