Patient centered health care. Freedom of choice. Freedom from government intrusion. These are great soundbites. These soundbites have benefitted Republicans over the last seven years, but the reality is much different. Our health care cannot be explained, described, or fixed in soundbites. A choice between safeguarding health or not, hardly…

Jessica Jones spends a lot of time trying to convince others, especially herself, that she’s strong enough. The audience understands early on that Jones, played by Krysten Ritter, feels confident in her physical strength. Jones relies on this strength to take over when her mental strength falters. …

Exactly one year ago, I received the worst phone call of my life. My mom was dead. Over the past twelve months I have been astonished at the clarity with which I can still hear my twin say those words to me over the phone. A moment later, I’ll replay…

aka The Weirdest Thing That Ever Happened to Me — When you think about teenage girls you probably don’t think of the 2003 cinematic thriller, The Life of David Gale. I was going through a big capital punishment phase in my life and…

A lot of people become vegetarians for altruistic reasons. Some have compelling moral objections or dietary concerns. Me… well, I lied my way into vegetarianism. I went to college at a small liberal arts institution about 30 miles outside Chicago. Each student was assigned an advisor. …

The Tech Bros Guide to Selling Water I work remotely and everyday at around 1:00 p.m. I usually decide I can’t stand the sound of my own thoughts and I venture out of my apartment to one of the various coffee shops in Palo Alto to drown my sorrows in obscenely large caffeinated beverages. I walked to…

Who wants to see a picture of my cat?

Finding a balance between having too much and not enough — davide ragusa To be completely honest with you, I’m afraid of confidence. I am petrified of having either too much of it or too little, so I always err on the side of too little. I call this the state of being “miserably comfortable.” Too much confidence has led me…

Hello Human/Machine, This is a cover letter, which I am obligated to write as part of the application process for your company. No one will read this. My name is Andrea and I’m applying to do some menial tasks at your company. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been…