Here’s a way to turn a negative into a positive. Not standing during the National Anthem is essentially a negative thing, a protest easily misinterpreted as rejecting all sorts of things people hold sacred. Instead, how about expressing a message symbolically? One way would be to hold both hands over your heart, a sign of hope Read More …
If people won’t go to confession, take confession to them. Just another random thought I had the other day. Philly’s Wing Bowl is a spectacle of slobbering slobs gnawing chicken knuckles while the cleavagely enhanced parade and manage the paper plates. Perhaps, some might say, just the sort of thing where at least a gent Read More …
What goes around comes around. Maybe that’s the problem here in Philly. The negativity of fans cosmically gets punished by never having that ultimate prize: A title in a major sport. (Philadelphia gone more seasons without an NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL title than any other city. Cleveland’s gone more years, for example, but doesn’t Read More …
They say taking care of pets, especially dogs, makes people nicer. Meanwhile, every year all sorts of unadopted strays are put to death for lack of homes. What if some wise and generous benefactor paid so poor children could save some pets’ lives and have a friend to care for? Could it cut urban violence? Lessen Read More …
Why is all self-congratulations egotistical? In this age of You-Tube and Web 2.0, we’re all (well, bloggers anyway) being typecast as self-centered thumb-sucking babies. But is it just vanity? (All is vanity!) I don’t think. Sometimes you just feel good, celebrating your gifts, enjoying seeing your imagination come to life, hoping others benefit somehow. It’s Read More …
Here’s a win-win for charities and advertisers. It’s a site where companies get good publicity in exchange for matching contributions to charities. Plus it’s a way for philanthropic, benevolent souls to get more bang for their buck. Basically, works like this: Charities and companies with existing matching-contribution programs sign up, agreeing to link to the Read More …
Think about it.
When I was little, I was scared of the dark. Had to leave that night light on. Wonder if night lights could be redesigned to project a lit image on a wall or ceiling. Thoughts: Some powerful hero to scare monster away. Some harmless monster like Cookie Monster, to acclimate the kid to the whole idea. Or maybe project images Read More …
Two sides have long histories of hatred? Let the aggressions out in some kind of sporting event. Slug it out in a boxing match. Play rough-and-tumble rugby. Fencing. Wrestling. Paintball. Prime minister vs. prime minister in a fierce game of foosball. Not saying this is a cure for war, but it could defuse some of the unreasonable Read More …
Rush-hour gridlock is as much fun as doing taxes. Especially peeving are those drivers who slide into the intersection before there’s room on the other side. “Don’t block the box,” say signs. But drivers do it anyway. Then the cars don’t move because of block-boxers at the next intersection, so everybody’s jammed. Here’s my solution: Sensors Read More …
We’re so bombarded with ads, news, messages, airplane and traffic noise, rudeness, and tempting sights and smells, here’s a prediction: Someday we’ll have personal high-tech force fields that selectively screen out undesired sensory experiences. No, not some combo earplug-blindfold-noseplug deal. But a kind of programmable Sensory Sentry or Filter Field — a Globe of Obliviosity? — that lets you have peace and Read More …
Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling Blink provocatively asks, how is it the mind sometimes understands in a flash highly complex situations that seem to defy rigorous analysis. No question that’s true. But so is the opposite: Sometimes, our minds lie to us, just can’t believe conclusions science tells us to be true. Flip five heads in a row, the odds Read More …
National or international event: It’s like getting a wrong number on purpose. You sign up with your phone company that you’re willing to place and accept a random call. You call on the event day (best to have it during some miserable month, like February) and get connected to someone somewhere who sees your picture while Read More …
Posted this idea on the Millions of Hundred-Dollar Ideas website, because its madcap maven, Drew Anderson, was nervy/nutty/nice enough to invite some folks to do a little ghostbloggging while he was on a trip.
Full title idea: Getting in Touch With Your Inner Hippie in an Increasingly Corporate PC World. No, this isn’t a guide to mind-enhancing drugs. It’d be about peace and love and joy, bypassing the all-too-familiar avenues of ambition and fear. If someone writes this, I’ll buy a copy. I could use the advice.