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 • 

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 • 
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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 • 

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 • 
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Feeling melancholy about the Chicago Marathon I didn't run

This time of year makes me feel a little nostalgic. For the better part of two decades, I was training for and running the Chicago Marathon. I’d spend the bulk of summer days running Piles of Miles with an almost religious adherence to a training schedule. It meant getting up at the ButtCrack of Dawn... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
October 16, 2019 at 9:05 am • 

How different is the modern world to the one you grew up in?

This was a question I was A2A on Quora.  For those who are not in the know, A2A means Asked to Answer, as in someone feels you are an expert in this field. Here are some things I can think of just off the cuff: Banking Mail Television Radio Music Telephones Banking:  It wasn’t that long ago that you had... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
August 16, 2019 at 2:23 pm • 

Fixing my Through-The-Wall air conditioner dilemma

It is a very old, <strong>SEARS Coldspot</strong>. How old? When you google the model number you get Maytag refrigerators because <em>Sears </em>stopped making these around the time Nixon resigned.
One of the warts of our 106-year-old house is that it does not have central air conditioning.  Over the years I have explored installing some type of cooling system but it has always been cost-prohibitive.  In the Master Bedroom, we have what is known as a Through-the-Wall air conditioner.  What some crazy or visionary previous owner did was take a... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
July 29, 2019 at 10:24 am • 
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The Humboldt Park Alligator Saga bothers me and I'm not sure why

Earlier this week a friend shared a post on Facebook about an alligator discovered in the lagoon at Humboldt Park.  Uncle Ivars posts frequently about many bizarre and diverse things, usually ahead of the wave of things that go viral.  I shared it with the following: Fucking gentrification. When I lived in Humboldt Park, no self-respecting... Read more »
By Michael Messinger,
July 12, 2019 at 3:25 pm •