Should Tipping Be Necessary?

Tipping at restaurants is a practice that involves rewarding a server for their excellent service. Here in the U.S., it's a social convention you get crucified for not following. So, at the risk of being judged, I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm not a huge fan of the gratuity system. Now, when I say that, I am in no way claiming that waiters shouldn't be paid for their services. I'm critical of the current system, which is to say that waiters should not have to rely on public charity to earn a living. 

Axe Commercial is Beyond Ridiculous

This is a recent commercial for Axe body products that has been on TV lately. Go ahead and watch it if you haven't already. Done? If you didn't find anything wrong with that, consider yourself a simpleton.

Axe commercials have always been known for being a bit sexist, but this commercial is just a step beyond ridiculous. For me, it's not even that it's blatantly misogynistic. What really drives me over the edge is just how idiotic and misinformed this commercial is.

The views we have right here, right now are going to be true forever. Right guys?!

"Girls are getting hotter"? Seriously? How about, society's perception of women has changed over the years? People used to value a different type of woman back then. Just look around for pictures of models from around a century ago. Or perhaps some Ancient Greek statues of women. What we consider "hot" now has only been the status quo for a few decades. Beautiful women from the past would be considered "fat" in modern society. 

But to the people at Axe, none of this obvious information even exists. Honestly, I find it hard to believe that the people who make these commercials are even human adults. I wouldn't be surprised if they were teenagers, or monkeys. 

What Causes School Shootings?

School shootings are a topic of much fascination in the U.S. They invoke such an impetuous media circus of 'why's' and 'what's' that there's often little time to even mourn for the victims. Perhaps it's the immense shock that comes from the idea of our youth shooting up their peers indiscriminately, but it is a fair question nonetheless. What causes school shootings?

Gun Advocates are Delusional

The U.S. is still shaken by the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, which took place on December 14, 2012. It involved a lone gunman who shot and killed 20 elementary-aged children and 6 staff members at a Connecticut elementary school. The impact of this incident was enormous, which is why the nation is still shocked and confused. The main thing that this tragedy stirred up was the inevitable gun-control debate. Quite frankly, I find it amazing that we're still having this debate as a nation. We've faced nothing but senseless innocent death day after day, yet we still feel inclined to give people the right to own guns. It's ridiculous.

But you know what left me absolutely speechless?

Aging Japan and the Herbivore Male

Japan has been at the forefront of technological advancement and wacky creativity for decades. Their feats are made doubly impressive by the fact that they transformed themselves from a war-torn nation into what is now the third largest economy in the world. What all their modern flair hides, however, is the pervasive aging crisis that's slated to lower Japan's population by 38 million. They're aging faster than any country in history, and it's reported that by the year 2050, four out of ten Japanese people will be 65 or over.

Dog Meat is Not Korean Traditional Food

If you don't know by now, I'm Korean. If there is any negative stereotype Koreans are known for, it is that they eat dog meat. Now, is this some sort of elaborate lie? Of course not; it's absolutely true. I remember walking through a street market when I was a kid, and there were slaughtered dogs ready to be sold. What you have to understand though, is that dog meat is NOT a common food. Just because it exists, doesn't mean people consume it regularly. Saying "all Koreans eat dogs" is like saying "all Americans are Latino gang members". Nowadays, it's just as unpopular in Korea as it is in any country in the world, mostly due to the younger generation being used to keeping dogs as pets.

Why Text is a Crappy Form of Communication

Our generation has grown up with and become completely accustomed to this rise of digital communication. We praise its availability everyday, citing common advantages such as "it's faster for me to text than to call them" and "I don't really feel like talking to this person, I'll just IM them". These things are what make digital communication so convenient, and sure, it's easy. You can send people mass e-mails or texts to let them know about that meeting tomorrow night, and it will all be done in just a few seconds.

Unfortunately, there are obvious disadvantages, and these disadvantages stem from its misuse. People these days have become accustomed to using it in place of face-to-face contact.Teenagers are texting constantly, and most of the time spent on the computer involves an instant messaging program open in the background. What people don't realize is that these faceless forms of communication lack the ability to convey emotion, and do nothing to further relationships and more often than not cause problems due to misunderstandings.