Category Archives: Challenging the Status Quo

Offered two jobs in two hours…what unemployment?

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The morning of November 9th, I assisted visitors with conference room AV. They wore suits and the relaxed confidence of experienced businessmen. I wore blue jeans and my customer service smile. I made them laugh first and projected their content second. I don’t just connect cables and press the right buttons, I explain what I’m doing and why. I provide clear instructions, offer alternatives, pros and cons. I advertise how easy it is to reach me with questions.

“Want to come work in Iowa?” one asked. “We have an IT guy, but we kind of want to choke him.”

Obviously that’s at least half-kidding, but I made a good impression. They remember me as helpful and courteous. If I applied, I’d be ahead of other candidates.

The second offer was more serious. Continue reading →

What kind of “play” is more work than work?

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I had to write a short sample for admission into ecopywriters.com. It turned out so well, I thought I’d share it here.

My hobbies include time-travel, dragon-slaying, zombie target practice, and military command. As a child, such opportunities were afforded by books. But books, for all their greatness, have one major flaw: They are static, unchanging. I can add my own interpretation, but not my own ending. I can make the meaning personal, but I can’t determine the hero’s strategy.

This is why I turn to another art form, yet in its infancy:

They’re called ‘video games’. But I prefer to think of them as interactive books. Continue reading →

CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO: Nudity Revisted: The Conclusion

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I received a comment on Facebook in response to this article which merits revisiting the content.

Accepting your arguement, what’s the incentive to change the status quo?  If nudity were to suddenly become acceptable and widespread, it would no longer be exciting and would no longer give us the thrill.  That wouldn’t be nearly as much fun for most Americans who want to be seen as good and want (very much) the BE bad.   Also, the beer companies would have to make commercials that made sense or featured nothing but football and racecars–where would all of the large chested skinny chicks find work?

In truth, I wrapped up the article too quickly and didn’t finish with a strong conclusion. Forgive me; it was a long day and I’d felt the article ran too long already. This is one of the pitfalls of working for yourself: You don’t catch everything.

The commenter above is exactly right. Here’s the counter-intuitive conclusion to my nudity article:

  • If you’re a happily lecherous male who enjoys oggling the female form, there is no incentive for altering the Status Quo. As was pointed out, we enjoy the women at the beach and on television; why would we want to stop? We don’t.
  • If you’re a concerned mother of a small boy who wants to not see him corrupted into the the above male, you have every incentive for altering the Status Quo. It is your over-protectiveness (and the government’s) of all things nude which convinces him of the magic of a Playboy when he finally acquires one. And don’t worry — he will. You can make it so his experience goes one of two ways:
    • So what? I’ve seen it all before.
    • Ooh, la la! These chicks are HOT! Come to daddy!

The decision is yours.