I used to love having garage sales. It was fun to let stuff go and meet who was taking it while making a little money at the same time. I think all of that changed when we moved to a small Oregon town with a depressed economy. Here, and probably in many other parts of…
Author: CD
CD Damitio is a Honolulu based storyteller and #Web3 pioneer. Editor of Vagobond Magazine and author of books that focus on the places where technology, travel, political, and the religious/philosophical meet. http://vagobond.cent.co | http://vagobond.com @vagobond
Ramadan Mubarak & Ramadan Kareem & Random Musings
The world is filled with kind, peaceful, struggling-with-life-just-like-everyone Muslim people. From the bottom of my heart, I wish them Ramadan Mubarak and Ramadan Kareem. The month of Ramadan is much better understood in my country, the United States of America, than it has ever been before but still – the mistrust, misunderstanding, fear, and hatred…
Social Insecurity and the Unpleasant American Dream
I’m certain that I’m not alone. I have no retirement plan. There is no windfall waiting for me. No inheritance or IRA sits patiently waiting for my time of need. I have enough debt to keep me awake at night from time to time. No social safety net protects me or my family from a…
A Shameful Society
What kind of world do we live in when a slime ball like Bill O’Reilly not only doesn’t get fired for sexual harassment but also gets a huge payoff when the company he works for (FOX) realizes that people are upset that he got away with sexually harassing multiple women – who were also paid…
The Capitalist Conundrum
Capitalism is relatively new and still evolving on the human timeline – going back no further than the Medici of Florence and then modernizing in the Netherlands of the 18th century before reaching full early bloom in London and then in the 19th and 20th centuries in New York – the mantra of capitalism has…
The Joy of an Ebay Auction
I’m watching an auction right now….it’s something I want, but don’t need yet, but will need eventually, so I’ve been watching a few auctions. Most of them have gone for way too much – this one though – the price is right – at the moment, but there are 27 minutes left, so that can…
How Technology Wastes Time – Real World Example of An Hour Destroyed
I woke up an hour and a half ago ready to write a review of a book I just finished reading. I came downstairs, made a pot of coffee, and turned on my computer. It came on just a bit slower than usual, but finally, there was my writing screen. I clicked on it and…
The Looming Financial Crisis – Navient Student Loans
Here is what the base of the next big financial crisis will be…it will be students like me who borrowed $30k and then graduated at the start of the great recession – and then were encouraged to use forbearance on their student loans while they struggled to find their feet under them, start families, and…
Satan Deserves An Oscar for his role in Beauty and the Beast
2017 is a strange world for this kid who was raised in the hippie christian 1970s and bizarro mega church 1980s. I never thought I would see a movie where Satan played the male romantic lead without having to even change his appearance. But there it is, Satan, Baphomet, the horned beast with goat hooves…
The Regulated Society
I remember having a conversation with a ‘gun nut’ friend who insisted that she should be able to carry and shoot her gun anywhere she likes. I disagreed. I found it astounding that she couldn’t see that 1) her gun created a power inequality between her and anyone without a gun and 2) that unless…