Politics, baby.
The U.S. 2016 presidential election might still be a year away, but it has basically been happening since the day after the 2012 race. For some, running for office has become a viable career choice, not merely a means to…
This is my 200th published post on 80couches.com! When I started this blog five years ago prior to my move to Korea, I had no idea where my random brain-droppings would take me, or where I would take myself. Since…
Recently, through my various wanderings about YouTube, I came across a most excellent Finnish TV program, The Norden. The show explores various aspects of Nordic societies (prisons, police, religion, gender, work, and family values) through the eyes of a foreigner. The episode…
Author’s Note: When I first started writing this piece, I wanted to talk about my experience of touring the Stasi Secret Prison (Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen), and how as Americans, we must be vigilant against committing similar human rights violations (such as…
In reading the classic social science book, “The Guns of August,” I can’t help but think how relevant this book still is to today’s society. The book–often considered the definitive World War I narrative–spends the first third just discussing the…
On Wednesday, twelve French citizens lost their lives at the hands Muslim extremists. It was clearly an act of terror, intended to stop future satire or criticism of Muslims or the Islamic faith. These are the facts, but as a society,…
I love poker. It’s a game that reveals the inner-workings of the human mind better than any, and the small battles that take place on the felt translate directly into the real world. Legendary poker psychologist Mike Caro says the…
This piece is a continuation of my thoughts on Working to Live. If you’ve not read the previous posts, it’s basically the philosophy that life is too short to spend it unnecessarily grinding away at work instead of doing something–anything–that…
For a country that prides itself on fire and ice, there is certainly a great deal more of the latter at any given moment, than the former. Sure, there are upwards of 130 volcanoes in Iceland, and a great deal…
Over two-hundred years ago, the phrase “No taxation without representation” became the battle cry for an increasingly numerous and increasingly unsatisfied group of British citizens living on the North American continent. Although the reasons for the incipient revolution was far…
Most mornings, there are many thoughts bouncing happily along my neurons as I prepare for the busy day ahead. Usually one of those thoughts isn’t, “Oh shit, did I just accidentally molest that woman?” The incident in question happened last…
Why do we believe weird things? Moreover, how do we persuade others (or ourselves) to move off of a long-held belief when new evidence comes to light? These are questions that are never far below the stream of my consciousness,…
