PinnedMember-onlyLensa & The Ethical Challenges of AIWe need to change how we talk about AI-assisted creative technology because the old paradigms no longer apply. So in the past several weeks, I’ve seen an explosion of content on my social media feeds from people posting artistic renderings of themselves using the photo app Lensa. …AI8 min readAI8 min read
PinnedMember-onlyThis Is What Happens When We Invest Too Much Meaning into SportsOn Chauncey Billups, Becky Hammon, Neil Olshey, Damian Lillard, and the Media Circus Surrounding the Blazers’ Next Coach Author’s Note: Because this touches on a lot of cultural issues and flashpoints, this piece is long. And because I occasionally write about sports for non-sports-fans, this article will contain a lot…NBA24 min readNBA24 min read
Published in The Riff·PinnedMember-onlyPlease, For the Love of God, Stop Turning Live Musicians into Retail AccessoriesSo as of this writing, the pandemic is receding… vaccinations are happening, and cities are opening back up. And if your city is anything like mine, it has a story that it’s still trying to reckon with. …Live Music4 min readLive Music4 min read
Aug 5, 2022Member-onlyPrisoners of Hope, Return to BaseSchoolyard memories of tag echo in the words of an Old Testament prophet speaking a word of encouragement. They’re the words I needed to read today. Did any of you all ever play tag as kids? The thing I remember most about playing tag when I was kid was the…Hope6 min readHope6 min read
May 19, 2022Member-onlyDon’t Just Be Sad or Angry About the Buffalo Shooting, Take Strategic ActionThis is not just about guns. It’s about resisting the natural urge to accept institutionalized antiblackness and racialized violence as normal. The longer we succumb to passivity, the more normal it will become. And the best opportunity to take action? It might surprise you. As time marches forward, there’s a…Buffalo9 min readBuffalo9 min read
May 1, 2022Member-onlyCelebrities Should Be More Like Oprah (In This One Particular Way, That Is)I just read something very impressive by Oprah Winfrey. And I guarantee you, whatever you thought of when you read the that first sentence… it’s not that. She was doing an interview in the LA Times about her new documentary “The Color of Care.” The interviewer asked her how she…Oprah Winfrey3 min readOprah Winfrey3 min read
Jan 21, 2022Member-onlyThis R&B Song Shows Just How Disposable Music Has BecomeAnitta’s not-quite-cover is good, not great. And that’s a problem. Story time! My wife Holly and I were out visiting a Sephora store recently, and like I tend to do when I visit stores in malls or shopping centers, I was trying to listen closely to the music playing overhead…Music Production8 min readMusic Production8 min read
Dec 22, 2021Member-onlyI Was Wrong About Being Right About The MatrixToday, there’s a new Matrix movie out. And I am pumped. Because The Matrix is my favorite film of all time. To say I loved it when it came out, would be a massive understatement. For starters, I often referred to it as, simply, “the film.” As in, one of…Matrix10 min readMatrix10 min read
Published in An Injustice!·Jul 17, 2021Member-onlyCritical Race Theory Has Issues, But it’s Not the BoogeymanDon’t believe the lies designed to scare you into falling in line — Author’s Note: This piece was originally conceived as a response to a particular piece by a mutual friend named Kathleen Bustamante who penned this critique of CRT entitled “Oppressor Versus Oppressed: What Category Will My Biracial Children Be Assigned?” In it, she decries the dichotomous teaching of the oppressed/oppressor dynamic…Critical Race Theory12 min readCritical Race Theory12 min read
Jul 2, 2021Member-onlyStop Hiding Behind Your TherapistTherapy can be good and helpful, but if you struggle with doing what’s right and good, don’t blame your therapist. — So in doing some research for a recent freelance piece, I came across this gem of a quote: “I’ve spoken to my therapist about that concept. We both agree — no.” This quote was attributed in the LA Times to Mario Lavandeira, a veteran entertainment blogger. In the Times story…Perez Hilton7 min readPerez Hilton7 min read
