Hugh's Views

As a nation, the US has gotten so fat that the fattest states on a 1991 map of obesity map would, by comparison, be the skinniest states when stacked up against a 2007–2009 map featuring similar data. [Chow]

The brilliant blog The Oatmeal  shows, graphically, 10 reasons to avoid talking on the phone. I gotta tell you, I hate talking on the phone, and their 10 reasons are pretty much mine as well. If you really need to get in touch with me, I would much prefer an email or a text.

Yes, we all know Pat Robertson said that Haiti had made a pact with the Devil, and that was the cause of their economic woes. Fellow worker for justice Larry James in Dallas suggests that maybe the people who made the deal with the Devil that harmed Haiti are a bit closer to home.

A family in Texas has to pretend to be Christian in order for their children to not be excluded from play dates. Well, Texas Christians, that will win them over for sure. Like Jesus said, you shall know us by whom we ostracize… (via Kottke)

Esquire has an incredible feature on Roger Ebert. If you don’t know, he lost his voice several years ago due to a surgery gone bad. But now, he has found a new life with the written word. His twitter account is a work of art.

In this short interview promoting his newest book, Linchpin (which I am currently reading), business author and professional pot stirrer Seth Godin rightfully compares proselytizing to spam.

My friend Karen and I are doing a series of question and answer over at her blog. Her first question was probably the one I get most often. In essence, it was: How should I respond to panhandlers?  The short answer is, lovingly and personally. Go read my whole answer over there.

Here is a huge graphic visualization of most of the arguments, for and against same sex marriage. The arguments were arrived at via various facebook polls, which is interesting, as these are the arguments real people have – not scientists or sociologists – and it is real people that vote.

Some folks ask what my day-to-day life looks like. I always tell them there is no typical day. However, here is what I was working on Christmas Eve.

I hear it all the time from working class people who are recently homeless – “I am not your typical homeless person,” they say.  Actually, they probably are. I wrote a short piece playing out a scenario I see all the time. It is why I believe  becoming homeless is a process. I also see nine ways the church could have prevented it – see if you can find the five easy ones.