This is what the conversation between my son and I will be like in seventeen years. Or whatever. Honestly, this is close to how I was raised. My folks are both brewers (mom = beer, dad = wine) and from a very early age I learned to appreciate the craft of beer and whatnot. It's part of that farm-life attitude. Rock on.

I read this article flying from Denver back to San Jose, and I felt two conflicting reactions working themselves out in me. The first is pretty close to yours - damnit, we need to get our heads back on straight. The second was...peace. It might have been the free drinks (I accidentally flew business class), but I couldn't help but think about how much I trust in the future that Rosin lays out in the article. Between those two ideas, we'll all, guys and gals, have to pull our weight to make an equitably-shared future for our people.

I used to facilitate a a group dedicated to "high-level discourse" at my alma mater. One of our more interesting conversations revolved around the idea of incrementalism in "causes". The central question: Do yellow LIVESTRONG bracelets help to find a cure/treatment for cancer? An hour of expressive dialogue led us to two conclusions. Either every dollar donated toward purchasing a bracelet was a dollar towards research that wouldn't have necessarily found its way into researchers' arms and a way to spread "awareness" about a topic, OR it was all a lot of self-congratulatory back-patting. Even though Twibbons require no cash contribution, I think that the possibilities for (proper) exploitation are good - When I see a Twibbon, I want/need to know what on earth it means. And that desire can lead to action, sure. Have I ever Twibboned-up my avatar? Nope. Will I? Maybe.