Assholes: A Theory by Aaron James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Philosopher Aaron James discusses the phenomenon of the asshole—a person with an entrenched sense of entitlement and feeling of superiority—and gives us, the more cooperative members of society, some hints at identifying and dealing with those who routinely inconvenience us while rarely giving us a second thought.
Has American culture with its emphasis on individualism produced an upsurge in assholes? James would argue that it certainly hasn’t helped. The “dampening effects” of family, religion, and a societal emphasis on working toward the collective good seem to be waning. The “Cable News Asshole” fans the flames of discord to create smokescreens of division (where none may actually exist) so that other assholes may flourish. A most telling example comes from the “Delusional Asshole Banker” who after taking billions of dollars in bail-out money due to his reckless behavior asks what his bonus will be. He then argues that the government bailed him out because he is “smart” and worthy of special treatment. Assholes in political office reinforce this dysfunctional mindset through legislation which rewards future asshole behaviors.
James cautions that no amount of discourse will change an asshole’s narcissistic outlook, so convinced he is of his moral superiority. At best, cooperative people can publicly state their objections concerning the asshole’s boorish behaviors to encourage their fellow sufferers that they aren’t alone in feeling incensed/slighted and hope for the best. Assholes: A Theory is the definitive survival guide for life in the twenty-first century.
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Two silly authors mug at the camera on New Year's Eve
Happy 2010 everyone out there in blogland! I admit to being slow getting around to making my list of things I want to accomplish this year. And I have the same ol’ excuses as last year—no time, day job, stress, too much on my plate, etc. If I can suspend reality for a moment and pretend that everything in my “real world” is going smoothly, I can focus my thought processes on the important stuff—that is, creating romantic fiction and sharing it with my readers.
So without further ado…
1. I resolve to have at least one book release this year.
2. I resolve to write at least one new story, screenplay, novel or novella this year.
3. I resolve to keep up better with my online blogs, forum, newsletters, My Space pages, Facebook and Yahoogroups. (If I can ever figure out Twitter, I will try to keep up with that one as well!)
In order to meet these goals, I promise to:
1. Become better organized, particularly with my time.
2. Give in less to anxiety and frustration.
3. Focus more on the joy of writing rather than on the stress of not being able to make ends meet.
I’ve got at least two books coming out this year—so that’s one third of my resolutions met already!
Scrambled Eggs will be a Mojocastle Press release written under my "Cynthianna" pen name. Scrambled Eggs knocks the classic “secret baby” storyline on its head. Sharlene has fallen for the father of her unborn child--and she doesn’t even know it’s him!
Sharlene always wanted a baby, but her husband only wants a child to secure his position in his wealthy uncle’s will. A mix-up at the fertility clinic reveals his hypocrisy, prompting a pregnant Sharlene to strike out on her own.
Single Sharlene “runs into” struggling part-time college student Zack and falls for him. Will Zack love a child that isn’t his? And will Zack find the courage to tell Sharlene that he’s a former sperm donor and possibly the real father of her child before she goes into labor?
My second release in 2010, Seven for Seduction (written under my Celine Chatillon pen name), will be a Liquid Silver Books release in the coming months. It’s the story of Jodi and her co-workers in an all female office. One day, her boss hires Brent, a “token male”. Now it’s a free-for-all with every gal trying to get the guy first.
Jodi decides she’s not up for such shenanigans and refuses to play the game. But somehow it’s Jodi refusing to play that turns Brent on the most…
Moral of the story? Sometimes when you don’t try so hard you do win!
Here’s to all of our “winning resolutions” this year. Let me know what a few of your resolutions are, and I’ll toss your name into the hat for a free copy of Seven for Seduction or Scrambled Eggs when they come out. You’ve got nothing to lose playing this game. ;-)
I’m not sure what to write about for this blog so I guess I will simply tell you why I haven’t been doing much creative writing lately.
I’ve moved—myself and all my junk (and there’s plenty of it) about two miles southeast of my previous location. No, this really wasn’t my idea, but my lawyer seem to think it’s best I move out of the house since my soon-to-be-ex-spouse seems so attached to it that he’s pretty much trashed the place. By moving out and moving on with my life, it gives him one less thing to be nasty about come the final decree. But moving like this—with only a few weeks notice and all by myself essentially up until the day of the move—definitely was nothing I had foreseen several months ago.
The day that I moved the “big items”, i.e., the furniture, was sort of festive. I had several good friends come with their pick up trucks to come and pick up the big pieces and take them over to my new apartment… which happens to be on the second floor.
Uh-oh.
Yeah, it was a sweltering, hot sweaty day in late July. (Luckily, I moved before the real heat wave began—the high probably was only near 90 that day instead of the 106 degrees Fahrenheit they forecasted for today.) So, the added stress and heat of “moving up” certainly added to the stress I was already feeling. But, bless their hearts, they got everything up the twisty-turny staircase and into my new flat. I had been holding my breath that the dining table with the big pedestal base would make it up those steps and through the narrow front door, and, believe it or not, it did. It looks great in the kitchen area, too.
The only real furniture mishap was my computer desk—the cabinet that housed my printer and junk sort of went “whoosh” and toppled over into pieces like a house of cards falling over upon its removal from my previous abode. It hadn’t been put together very well obviously the first time, so it couldn’t take the front step without collapsing. Sigh! It sits in pieces around the living area of my new place. I’m looking for a handyman—or handywoman—to help me glue it back together. I think the screws are all stripped and some of the lovely particleboard panels have cracked, so it needs major surgery.
Other wonderful post-moving hassles have included the exploding washer drain hose from hell (I’m currently waiting for a return phone call from Home Depot—sigh!) and learning to cope with living two and half stories up with a very narrow balcony to put my outdoor plants on… I finally got wise and decided to put my “rubber tree” (I have no idea what to call this plant my dad gave me about twelve years ago) down in the side patio area of the apartment building. The only problem it now has is that the wind tends to topple it over and I don’t see it’s fallen unless I peek out from behind my blinds (drawn to prevent the killer sun from further baking my apartment). Such is life in apartment city, as I call my new neighborhood.
I’ve had to deal with a lot of other issues, too, like looking for full-time work with health benefits (no luck there yet) and dealing with my daughters who don’t seem to want to talk to me anymore. So, this isn’t an excuse for not writing—it’s more of an explanation why my heart isn’t into as much at this point in history.
The high point of all this moving hell is my friends and family members who have been very supportive of me. I love them all.
Well, let’s end this blog on a high note and ask a discussion question you can comment upon and share your life wisdom with me. The discussion question: Tell me about a time when you were faced with a “move” in life that may have happened unexpectedly… How did you cope with your rapidly changing existence? What support groups or persons helped you out the most and why?
Thanking you in advance... Celine
