Landon Girod
Bio
Hi I'm Landon Girod. I've had two books not make the New York Times bestseller list. And most of articles and short stories have yet to win any awards.
Stories (21/0)
Why I Became a Vegetarian
It all started thanks to Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar speech, you know, the one about cows milk. Not that I hadn’t heard these ideas from other sources. But it was his passion and conviction that made me realize something: I didn’t want to eat animals anymore. My decision didn’t officially come about until I had a flashback to when I was a kid, and I connected with an elephant at the zoo. I made eye contact with her, and she started swinging her trunk around. I could’ve sworn she smiled at me that day. I recalled that warm fuzzy memory when I asked myself the inevitable question: Why am I eating creatures that I can connect with on such deep levels? I would never eat my family dog or fry up the goldfish for dinner. So why is it okay to eat a cow or a chicken? In about 10 seconds, I answered this question by deciding to try out vegetarianism. The best way for me to live out this newfound logic was to stop eating any animals at all.
By Landon Girod4 years ago in Feast
Were the Founding Fathers good or bad people?
Growing up, I was given a highly polarized image of the men who founded the United States of America. On one side of the spectrum was a portrait of glorious god-like figures who embodied liberty and held eternally great ideas. The other was evil slave owners who didn’t care about anyone except rich people and money. Are they both true? Is there a grey area somewhere in between these two highly contrasted images? No, of course not. Usually, I can find a grey area in almost any subject, but not this one. Because neither of these images are accurate at all. Not all of the founding fathers had perfect ideas, and not all of them believed in slavery. Both images are either a mythical and excessively cynical one. They’re founded on extreme bias and sensational interpretations of American colonial history. Yes, many of the founding fathers were rich and were being taxed by the British. That doesn’t mean money was the only factor in their rebellion against Britain. Particularly for the founding fathers who actually took the time to build a well-designed government in place of merely ruling as kings. Not to mention the founding fathers who were not a part of the wealthy class. Legends like Samuel Adams, who was such a charismatic figure they named a brewery after him in Boston. Although he did come from a wealthy family, he wasn’t concerned with money but was more of a political idealist.
By Landon Girod4 years ago in The Swamp
How a bad date turned into an important lesson on Van Gogh and creativity
About a year ago, I visited the Houston Museum of fine arts with a girl I'd never met before. It was our first date, and, much more importantly, my first time seeing a Van Gogh painting. She was a nice girl, but it's Van Gogh. Gotta keep my priorities straight. I love art, especially post-impressionism, so this was a dream come true for me. And the night did not disappointment. When I left the exhibit, I was only sure of one thing: The art I saw was special, like really special. Not long after leaving, I went with the girl, and her sisters to this Greek place in Montrose called Niko Nikos. Yeah, I said her sisters. It was a chaperoned date. After they finished eating, the girl and her family left me at the restaurant waiting for my Uber—thinking hard if I liked her enough to go on a second date. I've learned since if you have to ask that question, the answer is a NO. So, unfortunately, the art of the Dutch master temporarily took a 5 in the thinking space of my mind (playing the dating will do that shit to you). Later that week, the girl and I went on one other date (unchaperoned). Since then, I've gone on many more dates with the other person I was with: Vincent Van Gogh.
By Landon Girod4 years ago in Motivation
The Unexpected way Kobe Bryant's death affected my life
As I write my first draft for this post, Tuesday, January 28th, 2020, I attempted to buy Kobe’s autobiography: the Mamba Mentality. I was not able to purchase the book, however, for it was completely sold out. On Amazon. Since Kobe passed away, I’ve been surprised at how much of an impact he had on the world. I had ignorantly thought of Kobe as merely a great basketball player, and as a huge basketball fan, I certainly recognized him as one of the greatest.
By Landon Girod4 years ago in Unbalanced
The psychological lesson we learn from Prince Phillip's mid-life crisis on Netflix's The Crown
(SPOILERS AHEAD) So if you haven't watched the entire 3rd season of the Crown yet, stop reading this right now. I don't know what episode you're on, but I'm not taking any chances with your lively hood, or mine. If you haven't watched it, stop reading now and go read about Trump, dating advice, or whatever you read. I don't want to be "that guy" who spoils shows for people. Thank you, please enjoy the show- I mean blog post.
By Landon Girod4 years ago in The Swamp
The Instagram Love Challenge
The Wedding: Two people in love, coming together. The idea of fairytale-esque true love manifesting itself for everyone to see; The symbol of everlasting happiness. It’s all over our culture, especially in the movies we create. Everyone has watched that romcom (you know the one) where someone asks the bride, “are you happy?” And she replies, tears building in her eyes... “yes.” Or that quintessential scene where some secondary character asks the reluctant lover, “do they make you happy?” But have we ever stopped to ask what these characters mean by the word “happy”?
By Landon Girod5 years ago in Humans
How We Can Use Moral Ethics to Justify Killing Baby Hitler (With a Time Machine of Course)
In this crazy complex world we live in, I think we can all agree on two things as being absolute. Tacos are delicious, and Adolph Hitler was a bad dude. Many have discussed what it would be like if Hitler had been killed before he committed his disgusting crimes on humanity. One such idea is going back in time to kill Hitler as a baby. The idea turned into a question that is a thought-provoking one, getting various answers from different people. Many deciding that killing baby Hitler would be an easy task.
By Landon Girod5 years ago in The Swamp
The Unlikely Story of How I Became a Socialist
You know who I have to thank for me becoming a socialist? It’s the last person I would’ve ever expected to be honest. Joe pot-smoking, conspiracy-believing, MMA-loving Rogan and his famous podcast. Which I religiously watch on YouTube almost every morning.
By Landon Girod5 years ago in The Swamp
