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Max Sirak

Max Sirak

Max is neutral-good and lives tucked away in the Colorado Rockies - where the sky is big and the stars are bright. Originally from Canton, Ohio, he got his liberal arts degree from Indiana University in 2003. He’s a writer and co-hosts the podcast, Ignorant and Uninformed (which you should totally check out…unless you’re easily offended). Max spent his 20’s bartending, waiting tables, and filling his passport from cover to cover. And, on Wednesday nights, he and his friends save the world with the help of their trusty 20-sided dice. Email: rmsirak [at] gmail.com

February’s Feeture

Posted on Monday, Feb 18, 2019 1:05AMMonday, February 18, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak Step-by-step, breath-by-breath, thought-by-thought, our feet carry us toward our future. (How Things Find Us, Kevin Dann) All of our contact with the world starts with our feet… (Yoga Ranger Studio, Aprille Walker) They are our vehicle. They move us in any direction we choose. They are the first impression we make. They…

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It’s The Future

Posted on Monday, Jan 21, 2019 1:02AMMonday, January 21, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak “Once in while you get shown the light / In the strangest of places if you look at it right.” The Grateful Dead sing that. It’s a line from Scarlet Begonias that goes through my mind in moments of pleasant surprise. And, as this essay is all about an instance of encountering…

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An Ode To Joy

Posted on Monday, Dec 24, 2018 1:10AMMonday, December 24, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak As we approach the end of the year, it’s that time again. Not to flip the page to the next month, but to buy a new calendar. (Who am I kidding? It’s probably only me and your grandmother who still uses paper wall calendars…) And also to reflect.  I learned a lot…

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In-Gendered Empathy

Posted on Monday, Nov 26, 2018 1:10AMMonday, November 26, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak Recently I embarked on an unexpected and enlightening adventure. I went to Las Vegas with four of my oldest friends to see some music. The band, Phish, was playing for a four night run at the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena and we decided to meet up and attend. It also happened to…

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Love and Grapes

Posted on Monday, Oct 29, 2018 1:10AMMonday, October 29, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak Last fall, after a day spent hiking around the neighborhood, I ended up back on my porch with my buddy, Chef Mike. We were drinking beers and chatting about life. We covered a lot of ground. Both in our walks and our talks that day. Mike was getting ready to move. He’d…

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Hitting The Reset Button

Posted on Monday, Oct 1, 2018 12:10AMMonday, October 1, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak One of the things I love about sports is they’re a low-stakes environment in which to practice high-stakes skills. For most people, most of the time, the results of a sporting match don’t affect the long-term quality of their lives. This is what I mean by “low-stakes.” In the grand scheme and…

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It’s Gonna Be A Good Day

Posted on Monday, Sep 3, 2018 12:10AMMonday, September 3, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak This month, in the midst of my grief and loss, I decided to self-medicate. No, not like that. I didn’t go on some sort of drug-fueled bender.  Nor did I delve the depths of the bottle. Instead, I took some of my own medicine. What I mean is, throughout my life, whenever…

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Endings Ain’t Easy

Posted on Monday, Aug 6, 2018 12:10AMMonday, August 6, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak I’m pretty crappy at taking my own advice. Back in November of 2016 I wrote a column titled “What To Do With Our Expectations.” In it I wrote about the importance of not judging events by their outcomes and I outlined a strategy for doing so. But it turns out, surprising no…

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Parenting Tips From a Bachelor

Posted on Monday, Jul 9, 2018 12:05AMMonday, July 9, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak It turns out you learn a lot when you write a book. This may seem counterintuitive. Perhaps you think, “Well, that’s dumb. If you write a book about something you should already be an expert on it.” That’s a fair way to feel and thing to say. However, my situation is slightly…

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Goethe Was A Reincarnated Chinese Monk

Posted on Monday, Jun 11, 2018 12:10AMMonday, June 11, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak Long before it ever even occurred to me to be a writer, I accidentally adopted the quirks and habits of one… If one sits in my dining room, they can see it. There is literal writing on my wall. What once stood empty, with its deep red paint, is now plastered with…

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How You Play Games and What That Says About You

Posted on Monday, May 14, 2018 12:15AMMonday, May 14, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak For the better part of a year I’ve been working with a behavioral and family play therapist. No. Not like that. I’ve been helping her write her book. Because, it turns out, for writers undaunted by long term projects, ghostwriting is a fairly lucrative freelance option. At least, as far as keeping…

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The Best Show You’re Probably Not Watching

Posted on Monday, Apr 16, 2018 12:10AMThursday, March 14, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak (Audio version for your earballs!) TV gets a bum rap. Like any tool or technology – it's neutral. Television is neither good nor bad, healthy nor un-. We, the users of such tools and technologies are the lucky pronouncers of such designations and definitions, based upon their use. Binge-watching, albeit easy, certainly…

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Conversational Contraception

Posted on Monday, Mar 19, 2018 1:20AMThursday, March 14, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak (Look…er…Listen! It's a free audio version for all you on-the-go…) Conversations are like sex. There's a safe and unsafe way to go about them. Today I'm going to share with you a way to protect yourself against unwanted communicational repercussions. But, before we get there, I'd like to take a moment to…

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Driftin’ And Dreamin’

Posted on Monday, Feb 19, 2018 12:10AMThursday, March 14, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak John Perry Barlow (JPB for short) died earlier this month. And, in honor of his passing, but more in remembrance of his life, I want to dedicate my little sliver of cyberspace, a realm he was passionate about, to highlight three pieces of his writing and thought. First, a political document; second,…

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Sports, Fandom, And Happiness

Posted on Monday, Jan 22, 2018 12:10AMThursday, March 14, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak "If you wish to be happy, Eragon, think not of what is to come nor of that which you have no control over but rather of the now and of that which you are able to change." (Christopher Paolini, Brisingr) "I believe that humans are primarily driven to seek greater happiness, but…

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What Alignment Are You?

Posted on Monday, Dec 25, 2017 12:10AMThursday, March 14, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak (Rather listen? Go right on ahead…) Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Praise, Pelor! Last year for my December column, I borrowed a Steve Martin bit from SNL about wishes and riffed on it. (Here) This year, in the spirit of giving, I'm going to offer up a useful…

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Symmetry and Parallels

Posted on Monday, Nov 27, 2017 12:20AMThursday, March 14, 2019 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak (Click here or scroll down for audio version.) "As above, so below" is possibly the best known Hermetic aphorism. The phrase itself comes from The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus. An actual tablet that was translated into Latin during the 12th Century and quickly became a favorite of medieval alchemists, and then…

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Puppy Kisses

Posted on Monday, Oct 2, 2017 12:10AMSunday, December 30, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak (Audio version available. Click here or scroll down) Last month I told y'all about my five favorite things. "Timing" made my list. Specifically, how much I love it when events seem to fall in spacetime together by chance. For example, this past Friday, I was explaining to a friend the column I…

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What Are Your Five Favorite Things?

Posted on Monday, Sep 4, 2017 12:20AMSunday, December 30, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak (Scroll down for the audio version.) What are your five favorite things? No. Seriously. I'm asking. Can you – lovely reader you are, patron of this fine site, gracing us with your most precious of resources (attention and time), answer my question? What are your five favorite things? No one's here to…

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20 Things You Can Do To Strengthen Democracy

Posted on Monday, Jul 10, 2017 12:10AMSunday, December 30, 2018 by Max Sirak

by Max Sirak July 4th makes me think about freedom. I'm not alone in this. Most people in the US get together with their friends and families, get drunk, eat meat, and watch or set off fireworks. This is what we're supposed to do to honor the United States as a sovereign nation and ourselves…

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