Artificial Intelligence Will Melt Your Face Off

The impending AI revolution will be the the most fantastic and monumental and mind-meltingly absurd leap we will have experienced in our lifetimes. I don’t think any of us can truly comprehend the scale and speed at which it will occur. But Moore’s law (basically, the exponential evolution of computing power) is going to throw the changes (and keep throwing them) at our faces so hard and fast it’ll feel like a heavyweight boxing match in the eleventh round. We’ll be staggering around, barely able to keep up, confused and trying to […]

The Dream I Dreamed Last Night

I’m laying in a field. Movements are graceful. Actions are direct. The light is soft, natural. Feels like a Terrence Malick movie. Gentle breezes move in waves over the tips of the grasses. I am laying next to a man. That man is former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. His shirt is unbuttoned halfway down his chest. He unzips my pants and, against my wishes, starts to give me a handjob. I don ‘t hate it, but I didn’t ask for it either. My hands move like they are held […]

Donald Trump and Mental Illness

I’ve spent my entire life around mental illness and personality disorders. Just about everyone in my family has dealt with depression. One relative has diagnosed bipolar disorder. My mother would likely never see any sort of mental health specialist, but I’d be greatly surprised if she didn’t have bipolar and histrionic personality disorder. In my own brain, I’ve got some PTSD, lots of anxiety (mostly social and generalized), have had bouts of serious depression, and moderate-severe OCD. I’ve been working with counselors and therapists off and on for the past […]

Church

The primary motivation for me to go to church was candy. Children’s church had a contest that involved memorizing a bible verse and then the first kid that was called on that got it correct word for word would get the chance to stick his or her hand in the candy jar and pull out as big of a handful as possible. It was kinda like the candy crane, though. Get too cocky, and you could lose most of your haul. Only one child per week could win, but I […]

Digital Ghosts.

I’m taking a break from work and my phone rings. I look down at the caller ID. It says Grandpa. I hesitate for a moment because a) his birthday was last week, and b) he never calls me. Oh also, he’s been dead for two years. What the fuck, I think. I stare at the phone for a moment longer and then answer. Me: Uhhh…hello? Mom: Are you busy? I need website help. Me: What the…why are you…how are you calling from Grandpa’s phone? Mom: What? Me: My caller ID […]

Heroes.

The real world is a complicated place, starkly different than the world I grew up with, a world of black and white. If something was bad, I was taught, it was from the devil. If it was good, it was from God. “How do I know if something is bad or good?” I would ask. And then I would be told it was simple – all my answers were in the bible. Of course, that also required me to believe that the harmful thoughts that ran through my mind from […]