Blurring the lines between ad and article

U-T San Diego’s trying to pull one over on you

I was perusing the May 28 issue of U-T San Diego and came upon a peculiar article about a discount being offered by an air-conditioning company. What in tarnation kind of news story is this? I thought. Who the hell cares about pricing of—. And then it hit me. Oh, duh! This must be an advertisement.

{after 1st article on article listing}

Tuesday, May 28,2013
Sordid Tales

Quit your Abercrombie and bitching, lard-asses

Take it from a fat guy: Not everyone is beautiful

By Edwin Decker

Abercrombie & Fitch got hit by a massive PR cyclone earlier this month after an article about the company's policy to exclude overweight, unattractive and/or uncool people resurfaced.

Monday, May 13,2013
Sordid Tales

Sylvia Browne is a wretched charlatan

I’ve long since had it up to here with the ‘psychic’ who said Amanda Berry was dead

By Edwin Decker

For about 15 years, I've been not-so-patiently waiting for the career of celebrity psychic Sylvia Browne to crash and burn, and I suspect that day may be upon us.

Tuesday, April 30,2013
Sordid Tales

Abstinence education is fine; abstinence-only is not

Maybe having no kids makes me the expert

By Edwin Decker

Sure, abstinence should be taught to students, but not -only. Abstinence should be taught side-by-side with the condom option, the pill option, the mutual-masturbation option and the gargle-Listerine-before-giving-head option.

Wednesday, April 17,2013
Sordid Tales

The last bastion of my manhood

Dignity’s final gasps came as she took control of the thing I loved the most

By Edwin Decker

My wife and I recently threw a going-away party for a married couple we know and love. It was while setting up for the party that the last bastion of my manhood flew away.

Monday, April 1,2013
Sordid Tales

The Ten Commandments of figuring out the restaurant bill

How to handle stingy little check-dodging weasels, and other useful tips

By Edwin Decker

You know about these people, right? These chum-sucking, check-ducking, cheap-ass charlatans who'll do whatever it takes to avoid paying their fair share?

Wednesday, March 20,2013
Sordid Tales

Understanding the difference between ‘public’ and ‘private’

My first-ever letter to an editor

By Edwin Decker

After nearly 25 years of receiving hate mail from irate readers, I finally got around to writing an angry letter to an editor myself.

Monday, March 4,2013
Sordid Tales

Why it’s perfectly acceptable to download free music

File sharing is nature’s way of refunding audiophiles for previously purchased crappy albums

By Edwin Decker

Do you want to know why I don't feel sorry for the record companies when they complain about file sharing and other piracy? Because, when you think about it, they still owe consumers a lot of money.

Monday, February 18,2013
Sordid Tales

Nobody needs to ‘need’ an assault rifle

What we ‘need’ is to pursue the things that make us happy

By Edwin Decker

I'd like to state at the outset that I'm not necessarily against gun control. What I am against is a certain argument that many gun-control activists use when referring to assault rifles.

Wednesday, February 6,2013
Sordid Tales

Who the hell cares about Beyoncé lip synching?

I the hell care about Beyoncé lip synching!

By Edwin Decker

I must admit, I’m fascinated by the topic of lip synching. I’ve truly enjoyed watching and listening to all the talking heads bicker about whether Barack Obama knew that Beyoncé was using a backing track at the inauguration.