Readers know I take in my share of review material for the Modern Pea Pod. It’s a cushy gig, I won’t lie. “Cushy,” though, only in the sense of unsolicited free stuff arriving frequently. That’s changed, though, with the arrival of the Sumo Omni beanbag.
Oh, yeah.
What’s initially striking about this piece of furniture is its magnitude. Actually, its sheer volume remains striking even secondarily. Upon walking down the stairs to my apartment and seeing the four-and-a-half foot tall box waiting for me, I …

When living in the United States, it’s sometimes hard to remember that we citizens are often given only one side of the story. For example, if you’re a young, suburban, white Michigander, you’ve probably heard that Detroit is overrun by thieving African Americans who will do anything to get your car stereo. Or, for a more general example, our nation’s media seems for the most part to be slanted towards the idea that every Middle Eastern nation (with the exception of Israel) is …

Group Hug & PostSecret
Internet Confession Projects
Perhaps there’s a level of voyeurism involved. Sure, every now and then it’s nice to get a glance inside other people’s heads and know what they’re thinking (without them knowing you know.) Mostly, however, I think the beauty of Grouphug.us is rooted in the same principle that has kept housewives glued to soap operas since the heyday of radio (and what, incidentally, brings me back to Degrassi Jr. High week after week)–it’s nice to know that other people are more fucked up than you are. …