Author Archives: oddmanout215

American exceptionalism, in a nutshell

Posted on April 27, 2013 by oddmanout215

Spokespersons for the U.S. military often refer to anti-American combatants as “bad guys,” as if opposition to U.S. foreign policy is the same as immorality. As if killing on behalf of the U.S. government makes you exempt from bad-guy status. … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq war, life in the big city, mainstream media, Obama, terrorism | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

NY Times to Denmark: Work harder, for less

Posted on April 24, 2013 by oddmanout215

From a weirdly negative front-page story about Denmark in the Sunday New York Times. In 2012, a little over 2.6 million people between the ages of 15 and 64 were working in Denmark, 47 percent of the total population and … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Recession, humor, mainstream media, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ding dong! Maggie’s dirty deeds live on

Posted on April 13, 2013 by oddmanout215

From a 2004 column in Daily Mail on what happened to the working class in Britain after Margaret Thatcher’s successful crusade to kill the miners’ union: … What the [coal miners’] strike represented to us was a set of values … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, history, humor, mainstream media, pop music, The New Depression, unemployment, world-wide economy | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

When life feels like ‘Groundhog Day’

Posted on April 7, 2013 by oddmanout215

I was biking through a school-free drug zone, on my way to a temp job, cultivating bad habits. Not overtly bad habits — Marlboros and meth, and so on — but rather those drab little habits meant to ensure the … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, humor, Iraq war, life in the big city, mainstream media, movies, Philadelphia, pop music | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Easter story, updated

Posted on March 31, 2013 by oddmanout215

And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? — Mark 16:3 My friend Jesus the taqueria owner was whacked on Friday by demented jerks with nail guns. It wasn’t pretty. … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, history, humor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

‘The Next Day’ a surprise gift to Bowie fans

Posted on March 31, 2013 by oddmanout215

David Bowie’s low visibility in recent years led to rumors he might be dying, or simply too bored to record again. At some point, he got over his ennui, if that’s what it was, and began working on The Next … Continue reading →

Posted in arts, humor, mainstream media, pop music, unemployment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cruising mean streets in the popemobile

Posted on March 23, 2013 by oddmanout215

The mainstream media love big, easy stories — natural disasters, inaugurations, papal elections. The election by the College of Cardinals of Jorge Bergoglio was a softball lobbed right over the plate, and the media knocked it out of the park. … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, mainstream media, movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Are perfect storms the wave of the future?

Posted on March 17, 2013 by oddmanout215

The Day After Tomorrow (2004) has a cheesy script, but the spectacle of New York City immersed except for the upper floors of its tallest buildings is worth the DVD rental fee and doesn’t seem silly in our post-Hurricane Sandy … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, environmentalism, humor, life in the big city | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Shoeshine boys debate job creation

Posted on March 17, 2013 by oddmanout215

[The job creators] have no intention of creating jobs now or in the future. They don’t have to create jobs and there’s nobody out there to make them do it. They simply will reduce the number of jobs they have … Continue reading →

Posted in economic collapse, Great Compression, life in the big city, mainstream media, Philadelphia, The New Depression, unemployment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Being white in Philly Mag

Posted on March 10, 2013 by oddmanout215

[Update: I walked into a South Philly CVS and saw that headline again, screaming at me in bold white caps, and I thought oh no, race war, end of the world!] It’s hard to read Philadelphia Magazine‘s March cover piece, … Continue reading →

Posted in history, life in the big city, mainstream media, Philadelphia | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment