The signs of the institutional terminal illness of the American university are increasingly plentiful.
The stories out of Missouri and Yale and a half-dozen other places in recent months might be easily dismissed as the grumblings of an entitled generation—and they are that—but something far more insidious is entangled with this “movement.”
We got two instructive glimpses of it this week, courtesy of a pair of illuminating commentaries. First, Duke graduate student Bennett Carpenter delivered an oblivious self-parody entitled “Free speech, Black lives, and white fragility” in the Duke Chronicle.
A move, the first full year of a new job, and increasingly demanding writing responsibilities further compromised my ability to generate content for this website on a regular basis. However, I did managed to write 25 pieces.
It’s as fascinating as it is frustrating to watch the media spin a story to suit its preferred narrative.
I’ll explain in a minute, but Trump’s popularity is a fascinating phenomenon that begs analysis in search of explanation. To be sure, there are some who genuinely like Trump. And I absolutely understand his visceral appeal and charisma. Every other candidate, to some degree, projects a personality that ranges from “reserved” to “programmed-by-a-focus-group.”
As I’ve said before, 
I don’t hunt and — at the risk of losing my “Real American” bona fides — I also don’t own a firearm. In fact, I have never pulled the trigger on anything more powerful than a pellet gun. I can’t drive a stick, either, but that’s a different article.
Thirty years ago today, the biggest musical acts in the world performed as part of a single, massive event, unprecedented in scope. Everyone from Madonna to the Beach Boys to the Pretenders to Paul McCartney helped put on the biggest concert in the history of the planet, before or since.
The Axis of Ego 
Untitled Online Dating Article
While I’m plenty boring, I lack the requisite narcissism to drone on about my uneventful life on a regular basis.
My one indulgence for 2016 is to discuss the observations I’ve amassed from over two years of immersing myself in the mildly distasteful world of online dating.
Lower your expectations. I don’t have any crazy stories. One, I’m a goody-goody (and boring—see above). Two, I’m very selective. Three, I’m actually pretty good on dates, especially first dates. I don’t get nervous, and I
don’t act weirdhide my weirdness well.All of that means that I’ve never had any dates that ended in acts of insanity or criminality by either party. They’ve almost all been C+/B- experiences. No complaints, but neither great enough nor bad enough to pass the tales down to future generations. I don’t have an unkind word to say about any of the women I’ve dated.
As such, my observations are general, not personal. I will say that a lot has changed in the last two-plus years. As a naive and (VERY) reluctant newcomer to the world of online dating, I had a lot to learn. Hell, back in 2013, I actually thought referencing an affinity for the Oxford comma in a profile summary was mildly clever. Then I saw 500 other people do it, and it became less so.
Here’s a rundown . . .
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