3 Ways the Media Reports BS as Fact

July 29th, 2010 with View Comments

I don’t watch the news much.  Why? Because most of it is crap.  Half the time they don’t know what they’re talking about.  And since news is more and more about market share, reporting has turned into info-tainment.  Hence, a guy like Glenn Beck can get higher ratings than news programs and people think Jon [...]

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Video: Baloney Detection Kit

May 18th, 2010 with View Comments

Here’s a great video from Michael Shermer and Richard Dawkins on how to spot baloney. Watch and enjoy and be sure to load up on other fun poop-detecting articles: http://dontstepinthepoop.com/category/poop-detection

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Why Most “Critique” Sites Suck

March 30th, 2010 with View Comments

I just got back from the TESOL convention in Boston.  Nice trip.  Even better, I got to see some “Don’t step in the Poop” fans while I was there.  It’s nice to see your readers in person for a change. In case you don’t know, TESOL is the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other [...]

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How to Spot a BS Self-help Guru

March 10th, 2010 with View Comments

I think self-help is fueled by a person’s desire for guidance and comfort.  Unfortunately, these desires make self-help a breeding ground for charlatans and people who exploit these desires for their own personal gain. This is a shame.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell who is really there to help you and who is there to [...]

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Self-help Books I Wouldn’t Wish on my Worst Enemies

March 5th, 2010 with View Comments

A self-help or personal development book should be as advertised: a way to actually help yourself or develop in some area. But some books present ideas that can actually cause you to regress instead of progress.  Or they are so insulting to one’s intelligence that they take you for a fool.  In one post, I [...]

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How Inspirational Stories Lie

February 10th, 2010 with View Comments

So, now that I’ve established that inspirational stories can be used for evil, let me tell you an  inspirational story. This is a true story because it happend to me. Eight years ago I stopped smoking.  My wife at the time had just gotten pregnant and I was determined to be healthy not only for [...]

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How Inspirational Stories are Used for Evil

February 9th, 2010 with View Comments

One of my older readers gave me flack for pointing out that BS self-help books rely a lot on inspiroof, which as all my loyal readers know, is proof by inspirational story.  The reader wonders what my problem is with inspirational  stories. Well, I’ll tell you my problem: inspirational stories don’t mean jack! Look, some [...]

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So You Believe in “The Secret”?

February 4th, 2010 with View Comments

A friend of mine told me last week that she wants to try “The Secret”.   She was then treated to my very strong opinions on “The Secret” and some of the “people” featured in that “program.”  In fact, over to my left is a recent photo of James Ray who was arrested for the [...]

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Review of Tony Robbins’ Awaken the Giant Within

February 2nd, 2010 with View Comments

Disclosure: Everyone says that that Tony Robbins is an amazing speaker.  But I have NEVER heard Tony Robbins speak.  My only “contact” with Tony Robbins was watching him in “Shallow Hal.”  So, my review covers this book “Awaken the Giant Within” ONLY and does not take not account the man himself, the other products he [...]

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The Virtue of Being a Whistleblower

January 24th, 2010 with View Comments

This is not an internet marketing blog.  But I’ve been intrigued by a couple of posts circulating the internet regarding internet marketing gurus.  And I think all of us can learn from it because it goes to the heart of who we are. Recently Michel Fortin wrote a post called “On not playing the blame game.”  In [...]

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