Flake.

Today's big "Fuck You" goes to: flakes. There is literally nothing admirable, endearing, redeeming, or positive about being a flaky piece of shit. It doesn't make you seem high-value. It doesn't make you look mysterious or ultra-important because you lose track of plans or have other things you'd rather do instead of show up for plans, answer a phone call, or respond to a text message. Basically it just makes you look like an irresponsible, unreliable, cowardly, half-assed liar and shithead.

If you don't want to talk to someone, tell them. If you aren't going to show up for plans you made, then communicate that. Don't communicate it by blowing people off avoiding it - own up to your inability to be counted on. Better yet, don't make the plans in the first place if you know you don't want to participate. Ignoring people and then trying to apologize later makes you look like the biggest asshole.

Everyone knows that flaking is a sign that the guilty party is not interested in engaging with whatever party they are blowing off. That is fine. What is NOT fine is avoiding confrontation or alleviating responsibility for your actions by feigning ignorance or absent mindedness. Even worse still is flaking for the reason of trying to keep people in your loop without owning up and telling them you only want them around to use them for whatever selfish one-side reason you don't cut contact with them for.

Flaking is the easiest red flag to spot when a friend isn't really a friend, or when a girl isn't actually interested in you. Flaking is a sign of a cowardice, lack of commitment, lack of responsibility, and disrespect. We've all been there - we've all been ditched, ignored, and flaked on. Don't be that fucking guy.

Do the world and yourself a favor and just stop. All you're doing is pissing people off. Flaking is not conducive to building a good reputation. It's an annoying habit, an awful shit test, and an incredibly poor character trait. You can't expect to keep a job if you never show up, and you can't expect to keep friends if you ignore them.

Hypocrites.

Today's big "Fuck You" goes to: hypocrites. Few things make my blood boil more than someone who doesn't actually stand by something they claim or try to represent. People who don't practice what they preach or even attempt to. We live in a time where everyone and everything is so fake and contrived; it's tough to find anything genuine.

I listen to to a lot of different kinds of music these days, but metal has always been my homefront. The style of music I have always defaulted to has been loud, aggressive, angry, and downright offensive to a lot of people. Over the past 7-10 years, a lot of edgier music has had a theme of anger and hatred towards degeneration and poor moral and social conduct. There has been emphasis on women, as most all metal bands tend to be comprised of men and with this style of music there tends to be a lot of passion in negativity - venting if you will. The depressing and downtrodden ballads of lost and/or unrequited love, being victims of dishonesty and adultery, and loneliness and emotional anguish that were the theme of alternative music in the 90's and early 2000's have shifted to more of a bitter, contemptuous, scathing, judgmental and externally aimed ranting.

Enter relevance: I always find it ridiculous when I see slutty, dishonest, and disloyal women standing behind music from artists that are literally pouring blood, sweat, and tears into songs about how much they hate these types of women. They will denounce dishonest and shamelessly promiscuous girls at the drop of a hat, while practicing the exact lifestyle they claim to resent. Individuals who will support and claim a common and understood positive life choice while doing no such thing in real life practice - that is hypocrisy at its finest.

People who hate "drama" but thrive off of it, people who can't stand selfish attention whores but are constantly bragging, fishing for compliments, and seeking validation from others. Hypocrisy is a shady and shallow defense mechanism people use to make themselves feel good and look respectable and agreeable to their peers while still being able to selfishly and unapologetically live whatever lifestyle they lead regardless of how it affects themselves, those around them, and the rest of the world.

Bottom line is: stop being such a fucking hypocrite. Don't try to be something you're not. If you're a lying slut then stop trying to fool people - or change. If your a socially inept ego maniac then stop putting others down for being the same thing - or grow up. How can you possibly expect anyone to take you seriously if your actions don't reflect what comes out of your mouth? Talk is cheap and excuses are like assholes. Show some backbone and some self respect.

Unplug.

Today's big "Fuck You" goes to: the way people use social media. I recently decided to stop using a personal Facebook.com account, and I'll tell you why. Social networking offers a very powerful tool for communication, collaboration, planning, broad social outreach, etc. That being said, here in America, social networking/media websites are the quintessential hub for all things shallow, sensationalist, self-absorbed, trite, and distracting. Social media is essentially the social "fast food" of the Information Age.

The combination of smart phones and websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and their ilk have basically rendered middle-class America a socially inept population of egocentric digital zombies, absorbing the world vicariously through a 4" screen (or regurgitating it back unto itself through the same medium). You go to social events and all you see is people staring at their phones, constantly taking pictures and videos, tweeting and posting status updates about what they are doing so that the world can all know, as if it matters. It does matter - to the author. People who are so "plugged in" feel this innate urge to catalog their lives right down to the most insignificant actions and thoughts and broadcast to the world to show themselves off, or at the other end of the spectrum, feign a social life that they don't actually have.

The long and short of it is that social networks make people socially lazy. People are never 100% "alone" or "bored" because they always have their Internet social-security blanket to fall back on. They are effectively distracted. I don't want to be that guy anymore. I don't want to be one of the ones checking my phone every couple of minutes when I'm out with people. I'm tired of wading through endless useless, shallow, mindless content to see anything worth reading, listening to, or watching.

Some make the argument "you don't have to go on and read/post things; just don't use it!" That's not the only reason for getting rid of an account. Another blind-sight of these extra-personal social networks is how much of an information security nightmare they are. You're putting so much information about yourself out there into the world open for anyone and everyone to access. Who you are, where you go, where you live, your personal contact information, who you hang out with and when, etc. Malicious parties use your account or mutual friends accounts to stalk you, slander you, and stir up unnecessary drama. Would-be employers and colleagues are able to seek out information about your personal life that you do not want solicited.

Over the past few months I've had the misfortune of spending some personal time with a few people out an about who could not leave social media alone. Snapshat, Instagram, checking in on Facebook, messaging back and forth with people, taking pictures of everything and posting them on the web, etc. Fuck me sideways. Live your life and socialize. You have real living breathing people all around you. Real experiences happening right in front of your eyes and you're only half there.

These websites have become breeding grounds for keyboard jockeys, viral hoax news, shameless self-validation, mob mentality, and a host of other socially poisonous modern cultural tropes. Fuck Facebook. Live your life in real life.