August 5th, 2019 My dad and I were discussing what’s going on in this country yesterday when he asked me a pointed question that made me flinch. “You keep talking about love. Why isn’t anybody listening?” I don’t know. I spend all this time thinking and writing and hoping and I don’t know why peopleContinue reading “Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About”
Author Archives: dennisvogen
Danish
August 3rd, 2019 Let’s say you make a really good blueberry Danish. And you want to share your Danish with the world. So you decide to write down the recipe. But then you quickly realize that nobody actually makes this Danish like you do. But how could you make all these pastries and share themContinue reading “Danish”
Know Your Potential
July 29th, 2019 I think a lot of people undervalue their potential to change people’s lives, especially at their jobs. I’ll make this one short & sweet. I got my last table tonight less than an hour before close. If you’ve ever worked a job with posted hours, you know that this is less thanContinue reading “Know Your Potential”
Mom
July 26th, 2019 When I was seven years old, I had a Batman Returns-themed birthday party. Despite the fact that it says everything about who I ended up being as an adult (a dark, superhero-obsessed loser with a fairly self-aware sense of humor), that’s not why I love this recently unearthed photo. I love itContinue reading “Mom”
The Worst Book > Your Best Idea
July 25th, 2019 The worst book on a shelf is, believe it or not, still better than your best idea. This is true because the finished book has the virtue of being complete and existing in a sharable form. “That does not mean a terrible book is better than this amazing movie idea I’ve hadContinue reading “The Worst Book > Your Best Idea”
Sculpture/Garden
July 23rd, 2019 When asked how he created his sculptural masterpiece David, Michelangelo said — and I’m paraphrasing, because I wasn’t there — that essentially David was always inside that block of marble, and he just had to chip away the parts that weren’t him. What he actually said was this: “Every block of stoneContinue reading “Sculpture/Garden”
Our Racist President
July 19th, 2019 I just read that if you’re not calling out the president on his abhorrent, racist behavior right now, then you are complicit. I agree. So I am absolutely calling him out, right now, and the supporters he still has left. When they questioned him about the chants of “send her back” atContinue reading “Our Racist President”
Driving Glasses
July 18th, 2019 These are my driving glasses. They are as much of The Dennis Vogen Story as any other part of me. When I was a young punk, I found these metal monsters in a broken basket at a thrift store. It started as a joke, but I fell in love; these random spectaclesContinue reading “Driving Glasses”
One More Day
July 9th, 2019 My only goal is to put one more good day between me and the person I used to be. This may sound brutal and typically too honest from me, but sometimes I really understand why Bradley Cooper killed himself at the end of A Star Is Born. To wake up every dayContinue reading “One More Day”
The New Normal
June 28th, 2019 What is normal? I think a better question is: what is normalized, and what should or shouldn’t be? Without even realizing it, a lot of us normalize behaviors in how we interact with people and how we present ourselves online. I was talking to a friend yesterday, and it made me thinkContinue reading “The New Normal”
The Den 