How Realistic Should Sci-Fi Be?

One of my Facebook groups always asks — when they aren’t fighting about the original versus the reboot — how something could have occurred In-Universe. The answer is usually because the writers didn’t understand how science works and didn’t devote a lot of time to World Building or consistency. But it does raise a good... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
April 15, 2022 at 12:14 pm • 

The Tale of My Scale

We needed a new scale so I decided to get one of those fancy digital ones that connect via Bluetooth, WiFi, and Gregorian Chants. The scale arrived on or just before Dec 1st and I started weighing myself. I weighed myself 3 times because I just couldn’t believe how fat I am wanted to get... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
January 8, 2022 at 7:23 am • 

Types of People you meet on Facebook Marketplace

Last Summer I spent a lot of time selling things on Facebook marketplace. It was almost a full-time job. You have to snap pictures and put in a decent description. And as a best practice, you also need to include your general location because people just don’t pay attention to where they are searching. I... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
December 4, 2021 at 6:30 am • 
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The opposite of Mansplaining

Those small holes are Wear indicators that identify when a blade needs to be replaced Mansplaining and its cousin, Toxic Masculinity, are real things and I don’t mean to make light of them. I’m not claiming the story I’m about to tell is in any way, shape or form the antithesis of Mansplaining. I just... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
July 7, 2021 at 6:00 am • 

The 100 series finale recap: The Fight is Over

One of my many guilty pleasures has been watching The 100 since it debuted in 2014. The 100 is a post-apocalyptic science fiction drama television series developed by Jason Rothenberg, loosely based on the book series by Kass Morgan. At first it seemed like a typical CW show: good looking young actors portraying teens who... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
October 4, 2020 at 11:55 am • 

Is it time to get rid of the Natural Born Citizen Clause?

Recently on Quora, I asked: “Is it time to get rid of the “Natural Born Citizen Clause” to be president?  it got some heavily emotional responses.  Some were sane but a few were obviously Nationalists who worship the Founding Fathers and believe them inerrant.  While I’m not formally lobbying for one position or another, I do... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
July 29, 2020 at 9:07 am • 
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Do you suffer from Weird Beard?

I have never really been able to grow my facial hair out fully. In my 20s, if I shaved on Monday, I would not get 5 o’clock shadow until about noon on Thursday.  Later in my 30s, the stubble showed up sooner, but it was still like nothing, nothing, nothing, then boom: 5 o’clock shadow that... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
May 1, 2020 at 2:04 pm • 

COVID-19: Does Anybody Really Know What Day It Is?

Like most of the world, we are shuttered in trying to avoid the COVID-19 virus.  I don’t have any unique hot takes or thinky-thoughts that anyone else hasn’t already shared.  I just want to write something for future alien anthropologists that explore our post-apocalyptic planet to consume. Although I started trying to write this weeks ago, we... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
April 6, 2020 at 9:19 am • 

What do you do with Dead Friends on Facebook?

I realize this is a somewhat macabre topic, but I’ve noticed that a few of my friends are in a different realm these days. I haven’t done an exhaustive search but I have at least 5 maybe 10 friends on Facebook that are now deceased. They range from people I was close with, partied with, or... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
January 22, 2020 at 8:59 am • 
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It's time to separate Trick-O-Treat from Halloween

Two years ago,  I wrote about my well documented desire to move Halloween to a potentially better weather day in October.  I’ve argued that it is time to embrace the practicality of celebrating this holiday on a day other than the last day of October because it is almost always too cold in most parts of the country for an... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
October 23, 2019 at 12:33 pm •