There Are No Good Ways to End an Empire. But There Are Even Worse Ones. — By tomorrow, probably, the beheadings will begin. Journalists, translators, aides, security forces. Women have already been “rounded up” and told they’re going to be forcibly “married” to Taliban members. Covid vaccines aren’t allowed to be distributed anymore. That’s what Afghanistan looks like now, in the wake of America’s sudden withdrawal…

In 1883, a strange manuscript was dismissed as a forgery. Now scholars say it was real. — The world of Bible scholarship is abuzz with a remarkable announcement. Has a 137-year-old mystery been solved? There’s been a nagging problem of an apparently ancient scroll that surfaced in 1883. In a scene full of religious anxiety, it was declared a ‘forgery’ — and lost. The scroll was presented by a man named Moses Shapira, a noted dealer of antiquities in Jerusalem.

Advice on how to live an extraordinary life — How are you living your life? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Are you making wise choices? How you live your life is about your mindset. You are in control of your life. Don’t wait for what life gives you. Don’t hope for the best. …

A song from the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus has the right wing up in arms — What did conservatives see when watching the video? A gay guy from San Francisco looking like a deranged Joker promising to rape boys. A liberal viewer, if watching “Message From the Gay Community,” likely saw something else: a satire song about tolerance? Well-intentioned, amusing, enlightening. I’m catching up on the online firestorm over the music video put out in early July by San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. …

The eleven attitudes and behaviors that repel non-believers — Imagine for a moment that everything you knew about Christ was taken from the Gospels and that you were able to muster a reasonable level of trust in the historicity of these documents. You might conclude that Jesus was overwhelmingly merciful, kind, compassionate, and gracious. You might notice that Jesus…

A short rant for the writing community. — I am a bit tired of writing self-help pieces. In fact, I think the world is tired of them too. A self-help piece is a bitch. It tells you what to do. It makes you experience FOMO for not doing it. It puts all the responsibility on you. …

How Britain Chose to Self-Destruct and Make Itself a Global Laughingstock — If you’re not quite following the bizarre, incredible, self-self-inflicted catastrophe that’s Brexit…well, I wouldn’t blame you. It’s not only labyrinthine…it’s a maze of shameless stupidity, head-spinning folly, and despair-inducing backwardness so deep that they literally seem impossible. Let me tell you the story, in seven mistakes, that will probably go…

Among the things I never thought I’d actually have to say, let alone prove, while responding to reader comments — The most widely shared piece I’ve published here on Medium was one I wrote in November 2018, titled “Donald Trump Is The Dunning-Kruger Effect Personified.” To date it has 3.8K “claps” — mere circus peanuts compared to some of the other top “Culture” writers on Medium who are pretty amazing…

It’s a pet peeve of mine that Stoicism is constantly referred to as a “practical philosophy”. The implied message in this label, sometimes more explicitly expressed by its contemporary adherents, is that it’s opposed to the supposedly inconsequential and nonsense parlour games of other kinds of philosophy. Stoicism has seen…

A simple three-step method that anyone can use to build the life they want, have fun and make a giant impact on the world. — “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” ~ noted dent-maker Steve Jobs This question of life purpose frustrates a lot of people. Coaches call it the hardest goal to coach for. Purpose…

Hanlon’s razor: never ascribe to malice what can be explained by stupidity. — A fisherman is enjoying himself on a river at dusk. He sees another boat coming toward him. He feels glad that someone else is enjoying the calm summer evening. The man realizes that the boat is coming right toward him, faster and faster. He begins to get upset. “Hey, watch…

How the Wheel of Fortune points you toward success — One of the most beguiling cards in the Tarot deck is the Wheel of Fortune. It shows animals, sometimes of a mythical nature, sometimes of a recognizable one, rising and falling on a rotating wheel. It is an archetypal image in the Western mind. The Wheel of Fortune captures an…

Based on me reading a lot of them — What you do will always matter more than how you feel. This little tip lies beneath all the advice out there. Nobody really knows what’s going on inside your head. It could be full of venom. …

Why the Rest of the World Doesn’t Know Whether to Be Baffled, Horrified, or Dumbstruck by America Right Now — Today, Donald Trump said that having one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks was a “badge of honor.” What kind of idiot would think that having the highest death toll in a world pandemic would be a point of pride? Quick, someone give this moron a medal! The American Idiot…

The smarter you become, the less you speak. — The world doesn’t need more loud guys full of too many words, with buff arms, in tight shirts, and huge egos to match. The world needs quiet people. Why? Quiet people make you think. Thinking brings clarity. Thinking can lead to change. I’ve always been intrigued by Keanu. He is…

I spent hundreds of hours with Donald Trump to ghost-write ‘The Art of the Deal.’ I now see a deeper meaning behind his behavior. — “Imagine — if you can — not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members. Imagine no struggles with shame, not a single one in your…

I’ll admit it. These words have been helping me lately. — I’ve never really gotten much out of the inspirational quotes you can find all over Pinterest or Instagram. To me, these quotes are like candy — they might give you a quick boost, but they’re mostly empty calories. Reminders to live, laugh, and love won’t do much to actually change…

The World is Still 10% Rich + White, and 90% Poor + Not White. Can a Civilization Like That Survive? — What do you see when you look at the world? Here’s what I see. The world is about 10% white. That 10% is rich. And it’s about 90% not white. And that 90% is poor. We don’t just live in racist countries. We live in a racist world. A racist…

Which one are you? — The One Who’s Too Close to the Camera Mr. Muffin genuinely believes you can only hear him if he puts his entire face into the camera when he speaks. The One Who Doesn’t Understand Lighting No matter what time of day or night your meeting is, you can be certain that Cookie is going to be lit in a way that is appropriate for…