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The Acme Corporation
It’s one of the most anticipated film releases of recent memory. At least for me. And no, I’m not talking about Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic that launched this weekend with a $97 million dollar opening in North American theaters and an unprecedented $217 million dollar worldwide box office – shattering the record for the…
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Foundations of Poodlism – Mirth
Mirth is one of those words that sounds like it ought to be wearing a waistcoat. It has a polite little lilt to it, like it might tip its hat as it passes you on the street. “Good day! I am Mirth. I brought a chuckle and perhaps a mildly undignified snort.” It’s not quite…
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One Thousand Words
It is said that when you have hit what’s called a writer’s block you should simply start writing something. Anything. This is not a topical blog, so there’s not a “thing” I can turn to, like cheese, or philately – it means stamp collecting, but it sounds like a sex act, yes? – or current…
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Toward a new Poodlism
Today, the calendar turns our attention to St. Patrick, who was not himself Irish but is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century. “St. Patrick’s Day” comes around once a year and celebrates Irish culture, heritage, and traditions with wearing green (symbolizing Ireland, the “Emerald Isle”), symbols like shamrocks (which Saint Patrick…
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Poodle Lent
Poodle Lent is my adaptation of the traditional Christian season of Lent, reframed for people who are not religious but still value intentional periods of reflection, discipline, and renewal. While its structure mirrors the roughly 40-day observance practiced in many Christian traditions, especially the Catholic Church, Poodle Lent removes the theological framework and focuses instead…
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Thirteen
This post has thirteen paragraphs; the thirteenth word of every paragraph is 13. I undertook this task partly because today is Friday the 13th, and partly because for all my education (in Philosophy, logic, and rhetoric no less) I am still afraid of the number 13. I have written about this before (here), and triumphantly…
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TaxPoodle’s guide to the sick day call/text
To begin, I think we need to agree on the term. We are describing the act of communicating with your boss, supervisor, manager, whatever-he-or-she-calls-him/herself that you cannot (or will not) perform the agreed upon labor you are employed to accomplish in return for financial remuneration for a period of time, which is usually unspecified but…
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Poodlism
The 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, an influence on Nietzsche and a contemporary of Hegel, was known for his philosophical Pessimism. I should explain. To a student of Philosophy, pessimism does not mean negativity or expecting the worse; rather, it is an outlook that views the world as aimless and our existence as one of…
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There’s a Seinfeld for that
Philosophy, my field of study as an undergraduate, has fallen on hard times of late, and I don’t understand why, given that it is the foundation of every academic discipline; it is the ‘Ph’ in PhD (which stands for “doctor of philosophy”). So your professor with a doctorate in Chemistry actually is a “doctor of…
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On Enduring Pain
I had a rough day yesterday. It was one of those days where all I could do was get from my bed to my recliner, and then just sit. Even feeding Gordon his doggie breakfast was a chore; it took about an hour of sitting still and staring off into space to recover from that.…
Your mileage may vary.