March 11th, 2021 I don’t believe in “Cancel Culture.” I’m not saying there aren’t people out there who want things removed or ended because of their subjective views. I’m saying I don’t believe in the phrase “Cancel Culture.” It’s made up. Used by a group of people to further seed divide in a world that,Continue reading “Culture Club”
Author Archives: dennisvogen
Found in Space
March 9th, 2021 More and more lately, I find myself in space. I’ve been feeling the everyday plaque of stress and anxiety building up faster and more frequently; I know it’s due to a complex constellation of reasons. Not that understanding it helps. To find myself out, I have to place myself outside. Way outside.Continue reading “Found in Space”
Two Become One
March 5th, 2021 What if you’re not really a person? What if you’re actually just two concepts? Two ideas with frequently oppositional magnetic poles. Imagine two circles. I label one “Your Ideal Self,” and the other “Your Actual Self.” Now imagine that from birth to death, all you do is push and pull these twoContinue reading “Two Become One”
Apples to WAP
March 4th, 2021 A teacher is explaining to her young student how to properly compare things in order to increase understanding. “What is WAP?” she asks the child. “WAP is an explicit hip-hop song whose target demographic is a mature, adult audience who appreciates both the genre and the subject matter,” the young man repilies.Continue reading “Apples to WAP”
new lights
March 4th, 2021 People like to say they appreciate good weather. In my experience, most people only remember to appreciate it when it threatens to change. Late-fall patio guests braving near-freezing temperatures. Grown men wearing short shorts in February. Anything to get just one more day in. When I was driving towards home on theContinue reading “new lights”
Po-Tay-Toh, Po-Tah-Toh
March 2nd, 2021 *Sigh* The best thing we can do is learn something, right? Generally, on the internet, the people I hear complain about something the loudest are the exact same people who say everyone else complains too much and are too easily offended. The Potato Head Scandal is the closest to actual satire ofContinue reading “Po-Tay-Toh, Po-Tah-Toh”
You Never Forget Your First (Unless You Actually Sort-Of Do)
March 1st, 2021 I read a lot of interviews with creative types. I can’t help but compare everything I do to everything everyone else does (and I don’t recommend it, especially when the stuff you make is as weird as mine). My brain is always blown when people can recall the exact issue of theContinue reading “You Never Forget Your First (Unless You Actually Sort-Of Do)”
Multiversal Recalibration
February 26th, 2021 We have this thing where we think we’re the center until we can see the whole. A few months after my mom died, I got three plastic tubs full of stuff from the time I was born until the late 2000’s. She kept a lot of me and for that I’ll beContinue reading “Multiversal Recalibration”
Permission to Breathe
February 23rd, 2021 Despite everything, there is something magical about that first inhale of near-spring air after a seemingly infinite span of bitter cold. I’m not a person who believes that suffering makes a human better. I think that I will always struggle to varying degrees from the pain that I’ve been through and theContinue reading “Permission to Breathe”
Boldly, With Love
February 20th, 2021 There is something about a direct kind of love that is irreplaceable. Last winter, I bought this long-sleeve shirt. One of the first times I wore it was at a convention in Hastings, the very last one my mom came to. She looked at my shirt and told me how beautiful sheContinue reading “Boldly, With Love”
The Den 