Kelly Kreth on…WTF!?!!I recently had a life altering interaction with someone who seemingly has no conscience. As a result I became fascinated with what kinds of people “sociopaths” are and how those around them are affected by their behavior. Since it was unsafe to continue to interact with the person in my real life whom I believed to be one, I decided to write to very famous inmates—all safely serving life sentences without hope of parole or who are on Death Row—who have been classified, at least in the press, as being sociopaths.
What better way to learn about their motivations and inner workings than to form a personal relationship with them knowing they will always be safely behind bars? The collected writings, which I call Letters from the Inside, chronicle what they have to say about their crimes, interests, and the prison experience. It gives readers an exclusive look into their thoughts in their own words. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s because it lets people “embrace their inner “Liza with a Z” and let the sequins fall where they may,” according to one of my all-time favorite columnists, Vanity Fair’s James Wolcott. Here’s a sample quote of his priceless column:
Following a successful test launch of its pilot episode last summer, Glee has accelerated into the critical/popular hit debut series of the 2009 television season, a rocking confection that has achieved the wondrous feat of making musical theater look hip, mainstream, and sexily redemptive, empowering theater queens of every age, race, creed, sexual orientation, and landmass shape to embrace their inner “Liza with a Z” and let the sequins fall where they may. Let none dare call them sissy.
Several years ago, I had a column for the New York Press, aptly called, “Outside the Box.” One of the first things I wrote about was how getting a bad haircut could have adverse effects on your dating life. At the time, I had just gotten uneven, too-short bangs that made me look, um, challenged. You can read it: HERE.
Grooming continually plays a big role in dating and in being attractive to others. Something as small as an errant hair can make or break your game. Articles have been written ad nauseum about too much hair below the belt or lack thereof on the head, but even harder to disguise are mishaps right above the eyes. Lately, I’ve been noticing some other hairy issues that could also affect one’s romantic and social life that are thankfully far easier to fix than a too-short do: BAD EYEBROWS. Read the rest of this entry »
Today, I heard from a SECOND friend that his mom refused to have him over for Christmas Eve dinner because he wanted to bring his boyfriend. On grounds that it’s against the Bible. On Christmas. CHRISTMAS!
What is the calculation in a mother’s mind that says, “I’d rather be apart from my child on Christmas than to meet the man he’s sharing his life with?” What could be so powerful that it would neutralize the bond between mother and child? By what balance of scales do you choose an abstraction (”The Bible says homosexuality is wrong”) over flesh and blood (YOUR SON). Especially when he’s in his early 20’s.
It is a testament to the power of fear, hatred and ignorance that it can keep mother from child on the holy days. It’s like religion creates a kind of maternal amnesia–”Son? What son?” A close friend, who is deliriously happy in a committed relationship, wanted to bring his boyfriend home for the family’s traditional Christmas dinner. His boyfriend was not going home to his family so there was no way my friend was going to leave him alone on Christmas Eve.
Enter Mom. Or, rather, Exit Mom. He could come; but only alone. A condition she’d never impose on her other children. My friend stood his ground. He did not want to abandon his boyfriend on Chrismas Eve. So, instead, his mother abandoned him.
Why are parents so willing to pick the church over their child?
Lisa McLeod on the need for doom-and-gloom pessimism if cheerful optimism is to survive.
The sunny-side-uppers claim that a positive attitude is the secret to success. If only all the Eeyores of the world would start thinking more positively, we could cure disease, create world peace, and line our pockets with riches.
Yet the self-proclaimed realists assert that they’re the only ones are willing to face the facts. Leave life to the Pollyannas, and they’ll skip us off the edge of a cliff, clutching a copy of The Secret to their chest, passionately chanting, “I believe I can fly, I believe I can fly.”
But which side is right?
The answer is both. Or neither, depending on whether you prefer your glass half-empty or half-full.
As any cynic will tell you, ill-informed optimism deludes people into ignoring reality. Yet doom and gloom pessimism sucks people into depression and inaction. Neither of these mindsets are helpful in bad situations.
The pessimism versus optimism debate is actually a false choice. It’s an either/or myth, perpetuated by people who are completely exasperated that the clueless optimists/pessimists on the other side won’t see the truth.
This is an amazing photo essay on the lost art of bed jumping and how it can turn you into a kid. I look at my own bed and think, “it’s too nice a bed to jump on it–I’ll break the frame.”
In his “Biology of Technology” blog, my friend Rick Howington notes how one intrepid singer discovered how to clone himself into an entire boy band singing Michael Jackson songs. Pretty amazing:
Guest Blogger Kelly Kreth on the perils of getting too drunk for your own good.
At dinner with a friend this week, I heard the most darkly funny sex-related story. My friend–we’ll call her Ellen–took a work colleague out for drinks to thank him for doing a good job on a project she hired him to do. He was a consultant, strapping, amazingly gorgeous and young. She said what made him even hotter was that he had two beautiful kids and a pretty wife who he seemed so into.
At lunch, the first thing he ordered was a vodka straight. Ellen thought it was odd to kick back that much at noon, but went with it. After pounding a few more back she realized that he was excited to have a day to be a guy where he could throw caution to the wind in the City and drink and relax. No problems with that. It was a Friday after all and he wasn’t expected back in NJ until at least 10pm.
After a liquid lunch, Ellen and the consultant, along with a few other co-workers, met up with a bunch of other friends for happy hour. At happy hour Ellen’s closest and very gay friend, Ed, came by the bar. He and Rory had known each other also for some time because they had also done some projects together. Ed brought Simone (otherwise known as the pre-op tranny, formerly known as Simon.)
Simone was from Thailand and working as a woman in fashion. Ellen said she had met “her” several times before and that she looked enough like a girl because she was small and dainty, but that at the end of the day there was a bit of shadow on her face and because she was pre-op she still had no real tits (padded bra), a bit of an Adam’s Apple and a cock. Read the rest of this entry »
Kelly Kreth on…WTF!?!!I recently had a life altering interaction with someone who seemingly has no conscience. As a result I became fascinated with what kinds of people “sociopaths” are and how those around them are affected by their behavior. Since it was unsafe to continue to interact with the person in my real life whom I believed to be one, I decided to write to very famous inmates—all safely serving life sentences without hope of parole or who are on Death Row—who have been classified, at least in the press, as being sociopaths. 
