Now here, this.

FOLLOWING THE HEARD was going to be a book; a book about the calculated manipulation of words, the intended consequences, and the malignant souls behind it all. But every time I get close to publishing, they escalate, and I end up chasing; editing and re-writing. It feels like I'm writing a damn blog. So, for now, it's a damn blog.

Intended Consequences

"...our language is under siege. For decades, it’s been used, abused, and repurposed to manipulate — and we’re too distracted and complacent to see it."

O'Malley

Oct 16 min read

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MORE WORDS ABOUT WORDS

Intended Consequences

"...our language is under siege. For decades, it’s been used, abused, and repurposed to manipulate — and we’re too distracted and complacent to see it."

Oct 16 min read

Strangers, Snowflakes, and Candyasses

“You’re a keen observer of stuff.” It was 19 ninety-something when that odd sentiment fell from the face hole of a dear friend. It was a lovely observation of his own, I thought — until I thought about it. I’m good at observing? That’s where it ends? I just watch, shrug, blink myself outta the moment, and move on to the next distraction? Thanks…man. Yeah, calling out my deliberate and obvious social detachment was some good-natured ballbustery, but from a longtime bro , i

Sep 306 min read

The Crossover Kid

I’ve always sort of lived here, in the middle space; never really latching on to trends or pop culture. The younger me was into playing baseball and hockey, listening to my brother’s favorite music, and cooking. And girls. Still am. I enjoy solitary things. Three or four hours in the kitchen is a catharsis. Cross-country flights in Business Class (expensing it) are where a lot of the notes for this self-serving bloggity blog were scribbled. I just love being alone. Maybe th

Sep 293 min read

Hyphen Nation

I always have been and always will be Irish-American. My friends growing up on Long Island were all hyphenated-something or other; all second- or third-generation Americans of European or Asian descent but we were never, nor have we become since, “European-American” or “Asian-American” or any other hyphenated version of ourselves. I was “Irish”. Around the corner, the kids were “Chinese”. The kids a few doors down were “Italian”. Across the street, left to right; Italian, Iri

Sep 287 min read

Working Women 1986

College in the mid-80s was a trip. Hot on the heels of Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda giving us the comedy classic (?) 9 to 5, enrollments had become more and more diverse. Cool. Especially for a guy who'd last had female classmates in eighth grade. It was in the 1986 pre-requisite class "General Business" that we were slapped upside the cranium with a concept that, in its name, signaled major repercussions for society in general — even if the pitchmen and women we

Sep 278 min read

Blissfully Unprepared

The year was 1988 AD. Middle of May. Dawn of the real world. No, not the OG dumbass "reality show" that has given us decades of copycat, dumber-ass reality shows. No. May of '88 is when college wrapped up and fear set in. See, I was always terrified of becoming one of those lifeless, soulless Long Island Rail Road commuters that lived all around us. Angry men — and some women — slogging to and from thankless, pointless jobs; wool-suited, briefcase-carrying cogs in some bank’

Sep 263 min read

ABOUT ME

About

Hi. I'm O'Malley. This here is my blog. It's part memoir (as far as I remember), part observation, and part unsolicited opinion. Sort of an ongoing stream of foolishness. A day-to-day dump of what I'm thinking and where I'm coming from. On that subject, I'm Bronx-born and Long Island-raised. I'm a fairly likable early-onset curmudgeon, a common sense enthusiast, and a gifted cynic. I'm a pretty decent husband and a damn good dad. My family is everything. Nice people. I love to cook. I love hockey. And gin. Also, I write.

Contact

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