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David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

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David McElroy

Why do we ‘need’ the newest thing? Is that where people get their joy?

By David McElroy · December 15, 2011

It’s a modern consumer gadget phenomenon. A company such as Apple will announce an updated version of last year’s product, and people rush out to buy the new model — while their perfectly functioning old product is still just fine. Why?

I’ve thought about this before, but it’s on my mind today because of a discussion related to Wednesday’s story about iPads in schools. A commenter brought up the question of why people today seem to feel the need for the latest of everything. Why is it that a 10-year-old car is unacceptable to some people, even if it still runs perfectly and has no other problems? Why is furniture that’s perfectly functional tossed out for something new? And why was that iPhone 4 from last year replaced in October with an iPhone 4S?

I suppose you can explain a lot of this by calling it an appeal to fashion — in consumer societies that are fabulously wealthy by any standard the world has known before. By historical standards, we have excess wealth in our pockets, excess time on our hands and excess choices to spend them on. I haven’t studied consumer psychology on this, but I have a theory about what causes people to replace things so quickly. Let me run it by you and you tell me what you think.

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Please read this: If you love books and smart women, you might cry, too

By David McElroy · December 14, 2011

When I was younger, I had a number of quick ways to spot women who were potential romantic matches for me. Of all the things on my list, though, perhaps none was more obvious than a love of reading.

Women who are obsessed with books — especially what I consider good books — have always made me weak at the knees. They tend to be smart, insightful and deep, especially if they’re reading books of substance instead of simply infantile pulp all the time. There’s something about a woman like this that attracts me like few things can. Yes, a beautiful face is a alluring, but a beautiful face without a beautiful mind is ultimately a bore. I’ve found no quicker guide to finding a beautiful mind that watching whether she reads.

I ran across this essay about dating a woman who reads earlier today, and I beg you to read it if you have any understanding of what I’ve meant so far. For me, it was very emotional. One particular woman’s name seemed to be written all over the page for me. You will probably see someone else from your own life. Maybe it will make you cry, too.

And when you’re finished with that, listen to this song. It’s advice for the man who needs to “learn important things.”

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Our reactions to others’ suicides say something about how we view life

By David McElroy · December 14, 2011

A friend of mine died unexpectedly last year, but it wasn’t an accident or bad health. Following a painful business failure, my friend took his own life.

Because this wasn’t a friend who was in my life every single day, I’ve gone on with my life and his memory doesn’t come up frequently anymore. Two things have happened in the last couple of days to make me think of him.

First, I happened to mention his death to someone a couple of nights ago, someone who I’d introduced him to several years ago. She hadn’t had any more contact with him since that one time, but it was still upsetting to her to hear that he had killed himself.

Second, I was going through the address book on my computer Tuesday morning when I came upon his name and old contact information. It was like an odd digital ghost in black and white as I stared at his name. I thought I should delete the card, but I didn’t.

So what do these reactions suggest about our attitudes toward death and suicide? I’m not entirely sure, but I have an idea. When the names or circumstances of people who have died come up, we tend to think that our feelings are about them — remembering who they are and what they meant to us. I’m not so sure that’s usually the case. I suspect our reactions have more to do with the way we feel about our own lives.

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Donald Trump has figured out who to blame for the Donald Trump has figured out who to blame for the the D.C. Reflecting Pool turning green. The dastardly deed was carried out by a specially trained squad of Antifa cats trained by the Far Left. It’s not his fault. Arrest all the cats! #satire #parody
This was the sunset that faced me as I left Walmar This was the sunset that faced me as I left Walmart near my house just a few minutes ago. It was a beautiful light show for just a few minutes.
Here’s proof that reality and satire are indisting Here’s proof that reality and satire are indistinguishable these days.
This was the sunset I saw from the parking lot out This was the sunset I saw from the parking lot outside of the Walmart near my house just after the sun went down Friday evening.
This little parody was inspired by my trip to buy This little parody was inspired by my trip to buy gas a little while ago. Even at a no-name brand, the price was $4.09. If I remember correctly, it was $2.29 a gallon at the same station on the day the war started. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of winning. 🤣
For the best and most sophisticated in lawn care, For the best and most sophisticated in lawn care, check out the sponsor of one of my upcoming YouTube video episodes. 🙃 #parody #threestooges
Have you felt as though you’re living through Grou Have you felt as though you’re living through Groundhog Day lately? Me, too. Here’s a quick-and-dirty political satire I made this evening for fun and stress relief.
About three minutes before sunrise, vibrant color About three minutes before sunrise, vibrant color is poking through the skies to the east of my back yard.
The lights and color might have been more spectacu The lights and color might have been more spectacular a couple of minutes before this, but this was the best view I had of the Monday afternoon sunset from a bridge over I-20 in Moody, Ala.
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Critter Instagram

When I got home a few minutes ago, Alex wanted som When I got home a few minutes ago, Alex wanted some attention. He was purring loudly when I took this.
I’m happy to report that we’ve made it through ano I’m happy to report that we’ve made it through another day without squirrel attacks here at the house — all thanks to Sam’s vigilance.
I just got home and found Alex already starting to I just got home and found Alex already starting to campaign for dinner.
Sam takes his Neighborhood Watch duties far more s Sam takes his Neighborhood Watch duties far more seriously than most cats do, but the fact that the house hasn’t yet been attacked for squirrels is proof that his advanced methods work.
Right around sunset, Sam was in an office window w Right around sunset, Sam was in an office window when Oliver wanted to be there. So Oliver jumped into the window and crowded his little brother as though he was trying to intimidate him. But Sam stood his ground and Oliver eventually gave up and jumped back down — and Sam kept his spot.
Someone was at the house for about an hour to do s Someone was at the house for about an hour to do some work and now that he’s gone, the cats want some reassurance that their space isn’t being invaded.
This photo that I just shot of Sam is one of my fa This photo that I just shot of Sam is one of my favorites of him. I came home at midnight and he was in a front office window watching the dark neighborhood. He’s lit by a light hanging at the top of the window. It’s amazing to me how much different he looks — and how much more confident he acts — than when he got here almost two years ago.
All three cats are in the bedroom with me while I All three cats are in the bedroom with me while I get ready to go out. Alex is in my chair and he seems to think he heard something, but he can’t figure out what his radar might be tracking. When a cat is alert in this way, I think their ears seem like little radar dishes focused on potential prey.
Sam has the window just below the mantle occupied, Sam has the window just below the mantle occupied, so Oliver is perched on the end of the mantle to watch out of the same window Saturday afternoon.
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It turns out that the radical far left has been training “Antifa cats” to sabotage anything important to Donald Trump. Everything he did was perfect. Honest. It was all the cats’ fault. Arrest all the cats! This is the latest of my ridiculous satirical shorts. Please go watch it. Then “like” it and subscribe. Please. I’m begging you. (Too much?) Although a couple of the previous videos have had views in the hundreds, most have still been seen by fewer than 20 people. So I seem to be having trouble letting people know that page exists.

Here’s the latest of my ridiculous parody shorts. It crossed my mind Tuesday to wonder what a slick and fast-talking car dealer might do right now to try to turn the high price of gasoline to his advantage. So I conceived of a fat and lovable character who tried to sell cars that don’t use any fuel — and then I started wondering if it would be funnier if all the characters were felines. Designing the King Cashpaw character took about four hours, but the rest took only another four hours, so this was a relatively quick piece that virtually wrote itself. I know it’s almost impossible for these parody videos to find a larger audience, but at least they amuse me — and there are 19 of them on my YouTube page now. The first few were very limited, but they’re getting more complex.

The Republican Party is dead. It still exists in name, of course, but it’s nothing but a shell. All that’s left are idiots and stooges and con men of the MAGA party. When Donald Trump is gone — which won’t be long — those populist idiots and pragmatic fools will have no one to follow. Democrats will thrive. They will take more power than ever and they will push the federal government further to the radical far left than ever. When that happens, don’t just blame Trump if you’re a conservative. Blame every person who has claimed to be a conservative and has given up on principles, character and everything else that Republicans once claimed to stand for. As someone who worked as a GOP political consultant for many years, this is disgusting and disturbing to me. Those who have enabled Trump to have almost unchecked power are going to be shocked when they see what they will unleash in the long run. It’s been plain all along what this narcissistic con man is. It’s your fault that you chose to pretend not to see what he really is.

We are ruled by the dumbest and most incompetent people among us — and we have a system which allows stupid and irresponsible people to force the costs of their idiocy onto smarter and wiser people. Can we get away with that? Yes, for quite some time. But we eventually reach a point at which the dumbest of the dumb — who are habitual liars and mentally ill fools — lead us to the disasters and destruction that some of us have seen coming for years. We are approaching that point. And yet most of the idiots around us still wave their rhetorical banners of support for the evil people who are leading us to ruin — and all of them point their fingers at someone else, never noticing that their own enthusiastic support of evil is to blame. When things finally fall apart, blame yourself for your blindness to the evil, not whoever happens to be in power when it happens.

I’ve been making some changes to the site lately and there are more changes coming in the days ahead, so don’t be surprised if you some small differences. This is not a wholesale redesign, but rather the addition of some features. Since they’re smarter than I am, I’ve put Oliver and Alex in charge of the technical work, which you can see in this action photo from the control room of our media complex. I recently added a series of landing pages for readers who randomly discover the site from an Internet search. I’ve also changed the YouTube link at the top of the page to go to the new YouTube channel for video essays that reflect things I’ve already published here. (Here’s a little bit about both of the YouTube channels I’m working on.) In addition, I’m trying to move away from using Instagram, so I’m experimenting with photo plug-ins that will eventually allow me to host the pictures — cats, dogs, sunsets, whatever — that I often take. So don’t be surprised to see more changes. Thanks for your patience. Let’s hope Alex and Oliver know what they’re doing.

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