Skyler Saunders
Bio
I’ve been writing since I was five-years-old. I didn’t have an audience until I was nine. If you enjoy my work feel free to like but also never hesitate to share. Thank you for your patronage. Take care.
S.S.
Stories (2105/0)
Why Are You Ranking: Best Ways to Avoid the Tax Man (or Woman) Listed from Gimme Some Money to Get Up, Stand Up
As of this writing, taxes, or payments for governmental services, are strictly enforced at the local, state, and federal levels. Taxes constitute for the majority of the goods and services used or purchased in this semi-free market system. To not pay them is tantamount to theft. The irony is that taxes, in this context, are theft. When an employee works 40 hours a week for eight hours a day, they expect to get every cent of the money that they worked smart for in that time frame. Instead, they see that their smart earned dollars have been siphoned into a Social Security fund that will never be the amount that is taken in the first place. It goes into the pockets of some bureaucrats, lazy folks who wish never to hold a position of employment, or to a whole host of alphabet soup organizations (DEA, OSHA, EPA, the IRS) that mean nothing and stand for nothing. This gulf between whether to pay taxes or not is one which requires the most amount of scrutiny. To not pay your taxes, you go to jail. To pay your taxes, you are an upstanding citizen who holds a grudge quietly knowing that what you are doing is harming yourself. Come time on or around April 15, you discover that you’ve been paying into system that is corrupt in its very nature. Governments are only good for protecting individual rights. That’s it. So, in order to satisfy the need for police officers, warriors, and judges, all that a constitutional republic needs is for these three agencies to fulfill that one task of safeguarding rights. So, get your tablet calculators and digital tax preparation sheets for Why Are You Ranking: Best Ways to Avoid the Tax Man (or Woman) Listed from Gimme Some Money to Get Up, Stand Up.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in The Swamp
Why Are You Ranking: The Best Ways Capitalism Aligns with the Morality of Life Listed From Death Sentence to Dying with Dignity
With the deaths of celebrities, politicians, authors, and other figures of note, the main reason why we see such outpourings of grief and emotion is because of the wonders of capitalism. It is because of the only moral social system that such figures are emboldened to live beautiful, bountiful lives. For the most part, people of renown live well past their seventies. A few exceptions due to overdoses, suicides, and other calamities remain. But the vast majority of the people who make impressions on the world the most experience longer, healthier lives. The most prosperous amongst us have the means to seek the care of the best doctors in the world to heal them of their ailments. Due to the capital that is pumped into life preserving medicines, treatments, and operations, great amounts of the people that make news headlines when they expire could’ve thanked the semi-free market system for carrying them all those years. Cancer can strike at any age. From childhood to senior citizen, the disease is still just as deadly as it was when it was first discovered as early as 1600 B.C.E. In an era where diagnoses can be made in advance and where people don’t have to suffer as much as past generations, illnesses can be discovered, treated, and possibly cured or at least go into remission. So many celebrity deaths are marred with murder, car and plane crashes, and other faces of death that younger people experience. As far as the more advanced in age, they have experienced longer lives due to whatever remnants of the Enlightenment persist to this day. So get your Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal books for Why Are You Ranking: The Best Ways Capitalism Aligns with the Morality of Life Listed From Wealth Can Buy Health to Dying with Dignity.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in The Swamp
Why Are You Ranking: Best Reasons to Appreciate Big Business Listed From Lowly Laborer to Top Executive
People complain about the working conditions of employers like Walmart and Amazon. As if the work that they fulfill is drudgery where they are trudging through puddles of mud or carrying heavy sacks on their back over football field lengths. Complainers about the working areas of these corporations lament the fact that they have to clock in on Monday, get over the hump on Wednesday, and celebrate Friday as a means of degrading their labor but elevating the result of that work, their direct deposit. They’ll say that the staff are like Draconian rulers “coercing” them into performing task after task. But what is the truth? Are employees strapped to machines and whipped into producing more? Are they throttled and unable to break free of a signed contract that they made with a given corporation? The problem that persists is that most folks don’t realize that multi-billion dollar companies and small businesses alike have one firm rule in the United States: free will. A worker has every right to quit, retire, resign, or just walk away from a position. The same is true for people who like working at hugely successful companies and have the right to enjoy their labor, continue to work at a position, and advance up the ranks of a given industry. And every company has the right to downsize and “let go” workers to satisfy the bottom line. Those workers may grumble, complain, or far worse commit acts of violence or take their own lives. These are vicious cases and only in extreme situations do these acts occur. For the most part, people love and find enjoyment in going to work. Those who do not relish work find themselves in self-pity and in a position to bring down the spirits of those around them. But that is different with others. Their productiveness is evident with every action that they take during the course of their day (or night). While some will scoff at the fact that the people behind massive corporations reap gargantuan fiscal benefits, they drop the idea that the individuals at these companies have earned their money and should not be ridiculed for their virtues. So get your price guns and balance sheets for Why Are You Ranking: Best Reasons to Appreciate Big Business Listed From Lowly Laborer to Top Executive.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Journal
Why Are You Ranking: The Best Ways to Tell that America Is Still the Greatest and Most Moral Country in Human History, Listed from Most Perfect to Perfect
What makes New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's statement that “America was never that great” false is not because he said it. As an emotionalist, he fails to realize the beauty and promise and perfection that is America. For him to say that America was never that great is to say that any of his so-called accomplishments must not have been so great, either. It’s because deep down in his corroded soul, he truly believes it. He has no sense of historical figures or the founding documents that, in fact, make this country so great. Furthermore, the notion shouldn’t be that America is great. It should be stated that it was the first and only moral nation based on its founding principles of life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. This is an original and earth-shattering pronouncement. No other country before the United States of America had ever declared that there are inalienable rights that each individual is recognized, acknowledged, and protected at birth or through citizenship. Though there may have been contradictions and other missteps within the writing of the documents, the idea is that America is a “perfect union” and that it can only get more perfect. But because the fact that the United States was and is currently a mixed economy, it is difficult to ascertain fully the nature of the government of America. What Governor Cuomo occupies is a gun. And that gun of government should be in place to protect citizens from outside barbarians, crooks at home, and to resolve conflicts amongst parties in a rational manner. While the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the architects of the United States Constitution would never witness the abundance of minds committed to technology, law, finance, and industry spring up all over this land, they knew selfishly that they would be creating a better world for themselves and their families. This extends to the present day. With rampant regulations, coercion and controls that hamper businesses and the lives of individual Americans, it is a wonder that any enterprises still see founding, an industry of books, film, music, and television is thriving and places like Silicon Valley burn with an intensity of creativity. So, start making those MAMA hats (Make America Moral Again) and get ready for Why Are You Ranking: the Best Ways to Tell that America is Still the Greatest and Most Moral Country In Human History.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in The Swamp
Why Are You Ranking: Most Telling Signs that Nicki Minaj’s Career Is Done, Listed from Stop the Beef to Live That Pop Life
Over the course of more than a decade, Onika Tanya “Nicki Minaj” Maraj has dominated charts, garnered awards, and drew ire from hip hop legends. But in that time, her star has been dimming slowly. Yes, the “Chun-Li” rapper has fallen incrementally. While album sales are still strong, they are not as formidable as her Rap world collaborators and competition alike. As she arrived into the game with a style reminiscent of R&B legend Mildred Virginia “Millie” Jackson, she has painted a self-portrait of an artist in flux. She seems to change herself more than a chameleon. Her saving grace has always been her predilection for being one of the most flamboyant, over-the-top, show women in the game. With four albums and dozens of songs to her credit, Minaj can say that she has had a successful career both critically and commercially. Her outlandish costumes, hair, and cosmetics have been toned down as of this writing. But the hunger and drive seems to have been diminished as well. As one of the best-selling artists of all time, it is clear that Minaj is no slouch. She works and works and continues to perform and endear to her audience. But all of that labor is for naught. Most rappers are fortunate to get one or two albums in and a few songs on the charts and be happy with the financial windfall based on their endeavors. They usually have a window of about two to five years to churn out music like a maiden converting cream into butter. For Minaj, she has had her time in the sunshine. Now, new women of Hip Hop ought to take center stage. So, get your Roman Zolanski RIP memes for Why Are You Ranking: Most Telling Signs that Nicki Minaj’s Career is Done Listed from Stop the Beef to Live that Pop Life.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Beat
Why Are You Ranking: The Highest Points in the State of Delaware Listed from Not Quite to Just Right
Whether you inhabit the state or have just driven through it, you may find that Delaware is one of the flattest states in the Union. With only two significant points of interest regarding heights above sea level, the First State can boast nothing about mountain ranges or peaks. Determined to be amongst the flattest geographic sites in the United States, Delaware would rank third in lowest points if Washington D.C. saw statehood. That part of the country’s lowest point is in Fort Reno and is 429 ft above sea level. So, once again, like Rhode Island being the smallest state in America, Delaware comes up short in regard to taking the first place in geographic terms. But that doesn’t stop people from arguing over what point in Delaware is the highest. Most people would believe that it is Iron Hill. While this certainly is the largest hill in the state, the Delaware Geological Survey has announced that it is indeed not the highest point in the Small Wonder state. The battle over what point is actually the highest is determined through the powers of mathematics and scientific study. The geologists who have discovered the facts represent the explorers of a frontier that has been unchanged for eons. Still, the myths and legends persist. There is a great misconception as to the exact place where the earth rises above sea level the most in Delaware. People will argue day and night about what they feel is the correct answer. Only one answer exists. So, get your U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States for Why Are You Ranking: The Highest Points in the State of Delaware Listed from Not Quite to Just Right.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Wander
Why Are You Ranking: Best Technical Playstation Games Listed from Ready to Play to Hell of a Ride
With the advent of augmented reality, mobile smart devices, and other techie wonders of the world, it is amazing to look back at the path which has lead us to this point. Now, this listicle is not about the single button Atari controllers or even Pong, but the more recent past—almost twenty years ago as of this writing. On the original Playstation gaming console, there existed whimsical video games such as Crash Bandicoot (1996) and Spyro the Dragon (1998). But then there remained the technical games. These products engaged the mind in a different way than the fantastical adventures of a marsupial and a mythic creature. Such fare delved into the technical aspects of espionage and infiltration and the other a way to understand the basics and advanced world of automobile racing. For all of the games that Sony Entertainment produced, the two most enthralling and suspenseful games permit the user to enter into a realm of challenging opponents on the asphalt in souped-up engineering wonders or use an arsenal of equipment to enter into spaces guarded by armed soldiers. Each video game stands as a testament to the imaginative thrust behind Sony Playstation developers at the height of the original console’s popularity. By making the games relatively simple to navigate, the folks behind Playstation knew that they had winners on their hands. So, go grab your DualShock controllers (with the wire intact) and those Playstation Memory Cards for Why Are You Ranking: Best Technical Playstation Games Listed from Ready to Play to Hell of a Ride.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Gamers
Why Are You Ranking: Closest Resemblance Between the Artistry of Rappers and Directors Listed from Somewhat Similar to Striking
Rappers paint pictures with poems. The best ones are able to craft whole worlds and color them with witty metaphors and similes. Film directors use the visual medium to illustrate entire plotlines. Both sets of artists rely on form and technique to execute in their given field of work. Some Hip Hop artists resemble directors in their oeuvre. The best among them draw parallels between their spoken word and the images on the screen. Like painters and singers before their time, rappers and directors use their respective art to show a story. Yes, that’s show because with street poets and spoken word artists and film auteurs, especially, the idea is to convey a theme. There exist parallels between Rap artists and movie directors. Sometimes the physical appearance is just a bonus to what each of the figures offer in their works. But for the most part, it’s the content. The driving force behind the words and images of a great director is to put the audience into a worldview that challenges their beliefs, delivers hope, or demonstrates heroism. In all of the cases listed below, both camps have proven over time that their mission, goal, and point is to make a lot of great art. And the striking likeness between directors goes a step further. Their separate spheres allow cross over appeal in both Rap audiences and the film world. So, get your keyboards and microphones and cameras and lights for Why Are You Ranking: Closest Resemblance Between the Artistry of Rappers and Directors Listed from Somewhat Similar to Striking.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Geeks
Why Are You Ranking: Worst Examples of Spike Lee’s Double Dolly Shot Listed from Goofy to Awkward
On the occasion of his narrative film, BlacKkKlansman (2018), Spike Lee can celebrate a return to his more accessible types of films. As a terrific documentarian, though, Lee has crafted some moving, profound works of nonfiction, non-narrative films in the past. But when it comes to his feature films, he has a proclivity to use poor camera grammar. In particular, the double dolly shot which depicts a character or characters seemingly floating on air gives no indication of the mood, intentions, or other ideas involved in the scene. The worst part of this camera inclination is that it appears in so many of Lee’s works. It is difficult to engage into the movie when the seemingly hovering (usually protagonist) flashes onto the screen. And there seems to be no sign of Lee stopping this stunt. He continues to implement this technique (if you can call it that) into his oeuvre. With over 30 years of professional experience to his credit, Lee has garnered an honorary Academy Award amongst other accolades. But what are these boards and critics voting for in these instances? Do they not realize that the double dolly shot is annoying, clumsy, and jarring? Does Lee know that the shot is annoying, clumsy, and jarring? Maybe it is because he thinks that since no one else employs the shot as much that it is okay to be the director to stick out from the crowd. It’s too bad that he sticks out like a weed amongst a bed of roses. So get your double cutting instructions and prepare to break the fourth wall with, Why Are You Ranking: Worst Examples of Spike Lee’s Double Dolly Shot Listed from Goofy to Awkward.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Geeks
Why Are You Ranking: The Best Dramatic Portrayals of Crack Addicts Where These Actors Will Never Receive an Oscar® for Their Roles Listed from High to Fiend
Before the opioid crisis of the mid to late 2010s, there existed the crack wars of the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s. To capture properly the scenes of despair, familial fractures, and the human toll that the drug game has wreaked on America, moviemakers and television crews seek to depict the addict. Now, a metaphor for liking something to the extreme or unable to shake from an activity, the crackhead, has become a staple in films and shows regarding the proliferation of narcotics. They are among the most affected persons involved in the manufacture, production, sale, and consumption of illicit drugs, currently. Their usage of the substances makes them prime territory for screenwriters, producers, and directors to show the comic, desperate, and devastating effects of the drug trade. As prohibition of such substances remains in effect in the United States and most regions of the world, the problem persists. And as the crack crisis has dissipated, the focus now is trained on prescription pill overdoses and heroin (again). But for now, get your vials and try to evade being caught with a wire for Why Are You Ranking: The Best Dramatic Portrayals of Crack Addicts Where These Actors Will Never Receive an Oscar® for Their Roles Listed from High to Fiend.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Geeks
Why Are You Ranking: Best Scenes of Dogs in Wes Anderson Films Listed from Bark to Bite
In the world of a Wes Anderson movie, you never quite know what you’re going to get. Sure, you can bet on the distinguished color palette, the classic rock songs, the damaged characters, and at least, in a few of his films, a scene with a dog (or few). In his opus Isle of Dogs (2018), as the name implies, canines take center stage. But you’re not quite certain whether they will be hurt mercilessly or even killed. Mr. Anderson’s alleged track record has been to exhibit the pain and death inflicted on pooches. He interweaves into his narratives the possibility for a dog or dogs to find themselves at a crossroads between life and death. Like a deranged kennel keeper, some would say, Wes Anderson pits his furry characters against other humans and each other, if there are more than one in a scene.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Petlife
Why Are You Ranking: Delaware’s Best One-Level Malls from Strong Showing to First State, First Place
Virginia-based street poet and reformed drug dealer Terrence “Pusha T” Thornton (@PUSHA_T) once quipped to Delaware resident and Twitter social engineer @NerdattheCoolTable that the Delawarean comes “from one level malls and Nascar [and that he] will never matter.” Disagreement remains with the “never matter” barb. No matter what store you grab that new t-shirt or chomp on a pretzel in the food court, you will never find a set of escalators or stairs inside the main portion of the mall in the tiny state of Delaware. Despite revolutionizing the shopping landscape in the tax-free-shopping state, the construction companies have yet to devise a second tier to any of the major malls in Delaware. To counter that construction ideal, developers have built around the malls themselves to attract more consumers to spend their dollars. The malls are a metaphor for the state. While it may not be ascending to a high level of state stature in area, the state still beckons shoppers to visit the stores that surround the main malls. Places to dine, places to peruse through major chain bookstores, and places to purchase apparel and other gadgets have cropped up in the three most significant malls in the First State: The Dover Mall in the capital, The Concord Mall in Wilmington, and the Christiana Mall...in Newark? (Some would argue that the mall is actually in Christiana as the name implies, but the mailing address still remains as a location of Newark.) So get your free samples from the Japanese fast food restaurant worker and visit that kiosk laborer peddling the softest pillow for Why Are You Ranking: Delaware’s Best One-Level Malls from Strong Showing to First State, First Place.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Wander