Published inThe Taoist Online·PinnedMember-onlyWhy We Never Truly Die Anymorea life within the cloud — When my dog chewed up the 4MB memory card for my Nintendo GameCube, I thought it was the end of the world. But fortunately, the save files that it held lived to see another day. In fact, they’re still living now — dusty and defeated in the bottom of a…Technology7 min readTechnology7 min read
Published inThe Pub·PinnedMember-onlyLost in an Ever-Creeping FutureAn anthropological inflection point — If we let our phones fall to the ground, would we see the forest for the trees? Would we understand this intricate web that we’re each a part of? Would we see where it is that we’ve drifted? How far we’ve come? One of the strangest features of time is…Technology9 min readTechnology9 min read
Published inThought Thinkers·PinnedMember-onlyIs the Future a thing of the Past?Corona, the cosmos and these strange digital days — An interesting feature of the present is that we’re all-time travelers now. I can’t believe we’ve spent over two entire years like this. None of us can. I’m hardly the first to point it out, but the “Tiger King” phase of Corona feels as though it was a decade ago…Awareness8 min readAwareness8 min read
Published inThought Thinkers·PinnedMember-onlyAbout Me — Ben UlanseyBriefly, Anyway — I’ve been procrastinating on doing one of these for long enough, so here goes. My name is Ben and I’m a 26-year-old writer living in Philadelphia. I love to write. Some of the authors that have had the greatest impression on me are Tom Robbins, Khaled Hosseini, Sam Esmail, Vince…About Me3 min readAbout Me3 min read
Published inThe Pub·PinnedMember-onlyArtificial Intelligence, Pornography and a Brave New WorldAn eerie new development in the world of artificial intelligence — Artificial intelligence has been on the rise for years. Within the last few months alone, some of the developments within this area of technology have become difficult to ignore. …AI6 min readAI6 min read
Published inCounter Arts·4 hours agoMember-onlyHow “Harry Potter” Became the Gold Standard of Film Series AdaptationsThe magic of conscientious recreation — It’s hard not to be a little biased when the first Harry Potter film came out not long after your fifth birthday, but there’s a magic to these films that extends well beyond the wizardry. I can think of no film that’s done more justice to the fantastical world of…Harry Potter5 min readHarry Potter5 min read
Published inThought Thinkers·1 day agoMember-onlyThat Time We Locked Ourselves Out of a ConvertibleA memoir, a comedic tragedy — When we arrived in Los Angeles, it was a gray and smoggy afternoon. My mom was suffering the effects of jet lag, I was glued to my first ever iPhone, and my dad was his bright and cheery self. …Memoir5 min readMemoir5 min read
Published inFull Frame·1 day agoMember-onlyFrom Titanic Tragedy to Timeless TreasureLynnewood Hall’s vibrant past and hopeful future — Lynnewood Hall goes by a few names. “The Widener Estate,” “The Last American Versailles,” “The Titanic Mansion,” and “Widener’s Folly” are only a few of the ones that it’s managed to accrue in its century long tenure in the forested suburbs of Pennsylvania. For most of my life, my friends…Photography5 min readPhotography5 min read
Published inMIDFORM·2 days agoMember-onlyWas Anyone Else Taught to Avoid Linking Verbs?A strange time in English education — To look back on it now almost seems like a fever dream, but there was a time when “be,” “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” and “appear” were each a part of a list of “banned words.” …Linking Verbs2 min readLinking Verbs2 min read
Published inAll About M·4 days agoMember-onlyMedium’s Engagement Crisis and Why AI Listicles Outrank World LeadersThe silent exodus of authentic voices — On Medium, algorithms reward a listicle more than a message from a world leader. Authentic voices are drowning in a sea of cliché happiness advice and AI-generated noise. In the digital age, the quality and authenticity of content is more important than ever before. Yet, in determining what succeeds on…Medium9 min readMedium9 min read