Category Archives: Culture

Americans, are you serious?

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Chris Zach

Americans cannot be taken seriously. Let’s prove this theory by studying the recent most popular stories list on CBSNews.com. The key words that seem to drive clicks include: adorable cat (x2) Palin+Trump (2012 Presidential campaign mates) terrible teeny-bopper pop music … Continue reading →

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Generically Helpful

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Chris Zach

Hey, Oprah! When did self-help become so generic? “Improve your life. Do better at stuff. Be super duper. Get energetic power and strength for things.” People need specificity. They need explicit directions. They need “10 Surefire Ways to Avoid That … Continue reading →

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Thanks, NPR: The Loudness Wars: Why Music Sounds Worse

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Chris Zach

Thanks to NPR for bringing some mainstream attention to the lack of dynamic range in pop music today. Have you ever heard a pianissimo on the radio? Nope. How can a song build to a rewarding musical climax without crescendo? … Continue reading →

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Study Results: NPR Listeners Still Love Indie

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Chris Zach

The “study” I refer to is All Songs Considered’s annual ballot of listeners’ picks for best music of the year. As usual, there isn’t much diversity on this list in terms of musical styles, but at least it’s not an … Continue reading →

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Read This: Churches involved in torture, murder of thousands of African children denounced as witches — latimes.com

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Chris Zach

I don’t enjoy posting links to articles like this one. I wish the article didn’t exist, that it’s nightmarish tale was a demented horror story born in a sick man’s imagination, not a reflection of true human behavior. But sadly, … Continue reading →

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How Far Can One Get from McDonald’s?

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Chris Zach

If two cars are traveling towards each other, with one car traveling at 60 mph and the other trying to drive as far away from McDonald’s as possible, how far can it drive? The answer is 145 miles. In other … Continue reading →

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