December 2008
Did 2008 TOTALLY SUCK for you, too?
I’m making a 2008 piñata which will be shaped like a nutsack, so that I can PUNCH 2008 IN THE BALLS.
Since so many of you share my sentiments, I thought you all might like to participate, at least in spirit. So here’s my proposal:
In the comments below, write a short message to 2008, or write something that frustrated you, or any negative thoughts that you want to let go of in...
“So I think in many ways, you know, we want to have all kinds of different...”
– Caroline Kenedy, who said “you know” 142 times in a recent interview.
Ouch.
Scientists plan to ignite tiny man-made star →
“In the spring, a team will begin attempts to ignite a tiny man-made star inside a laboratory and trigger a thermonuclear reaction.
Its goal is to generate temperatures of more than 100 million degrees Celsius and pressures billions of times higher than those found anywhere else on earth, from a speck of fuel little bigger than a pinhead.”
Okay, does this scare anyone other...
With No Immediate Cause, by Ntozake Shange
every 3 minutes a woman is beaten every five minutes a woman is raped/every ten minutes a lil girl is molested yet i rode the subway today i sat next to an old man who may have beaten his old wife 3 minutes ago or 3 days/30 years ago he might have sodomized his daughter but i sat there cuz the young men on the train might beat some young women later in the day or tomorrow i might not...
The Not Rape Epidemic →
“And yet, a part of me wondered if I should have spoken up. If I had told someone, anyone, could I have prevented this from happening? I regarded the girl’s picture once again. It is pretty rare to see the expression “beaten to a bloody pulp” illustrated in real life. I should have said something, I thought to myself, I should have tried.”
(via snowblind: alohanico: miss-r)
I want to...
Philly: Remeber that giant piñata? →
About two months ago, Carnival Cruise Lines built the world’s biggest piñata in an empty parking lot in Philly. Then, they lured thousands of hopeful piñata fans to the spot with promises that they were going to bust it…. except they decided it was too dangerous at the last minute, and left the crowds waiting for hours. A few days later, it was still sitting in the lot in one piece,...
The War in West Philadelphia →
Written by Dr. John P. Pryor, a trauma surgeon in Philadelphia who was killed on Christmas Day in Iraq. He was 42.
“The wounds and nationalities of the patients are different, but the feelings of helplessness, despair and loss are the same. In Iraq, soldiers die for freedom, for honor, for their country and for their buddies. Here in Philadelphia, they die without honor, without purpose,...
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to...”
– Anne Frank (via skysignal)
A fun way to raise your rent, from the history... →
“Although house-rent parties once flourished in the black neighborhoods of Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., and other cities, they have become most closely associated with Harlem. During the 1920s and 1930s (and even into the 1940s), such parties formed the backbone of Harlem nightlife, and became for many working people...
As dolls go I am broken, And you could just let that get us off the hook But from under the umbrella of the unspoken I see you giving me that look Baby, you’re right as rain about the benefits, But you might be wrong about the costs And it feeds my heart that you came looking for me, But I’m thinkin I need to stay lost.
Ani DiFranco, “rain check”
I realized last night...
“I once fell in love with a young lady because of her love for tea. It’s true....”
– I Tell Stories (via livesophia) (via stupidinboston)
Saturday Looks Good to Me, “When You Got to...
“Tell me a story or tell me a secret,
It don’t have to be nothing new
Just hold...”
– Saturday Looks Good To Me, “When You Got to New York”
Just signed the lease on my new place!
I’m really excited to move back to West Philly, land of trees and parks and cafés outdoor markets and public spaces and social activism. The new place is great, the neighbors know each others’ names, there is a food co-op and a bus stop and a Thai BYO half a block away, and it’s only a 14 block walk to school and the hospital.
I’ll probably be posting lots of home design...
To follow on Twitter: themediaisdying →
Get updates about newspaper layoffs and closings and media outlet consolidations, sent right to your phone or desktop!
America's CIA has found a novel way to gain... →
“Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people,” the Post quoted one agent as saying.
“Whether it’s building a school or handing out Viagra.”
That is my new motto, yo.
Philadelphia man shot because family talked during... →
Man… I sure am gonna miss South Philly!
“Intermammary sulcus or intermammary cleft are the terms adopted by the...”
– From the Wiki entry on “cleavage.” Which, I’ll admit, I just had to check to make sure I was spelling the word correctly. And hey, whaddya know… it’s hilarious. ALSO I think I will start referring to the cleave as the “intermammary sulcus.” WHO IS WITH...
Antidepressants may damage more sex lives than... →
psychotherapy:
Sexual symptoms have long been known side effects of the popular Prozac class of antidepressants, but a growing body of research suggests that they are far more common than previously thought, perhaps affecting half or more of patients.
And a handful of recent medical and psychological journal articles document a small number of cases in which sexual problems remain even after a...
“The baby, made in Italy, was obtained from a U.S. importer.”
– Philly Inquirer, announcing that a new baby Jesus is on display at Independence Hall after someone stole the old one a few weeks ago. 20 bucks says it will be stolen again before Christmas Day.
“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used...”
– Arundhati Roy (via outlaws: robot-heart: ruhi: kari-shma) I will never forget what it was like to read The God of Small Things in Kerela.
“Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language,...”
– Elise Boulding (via kari-shma) I wish I would have learned more from my dad about being frugal. I’d be a lot better off today. Also, I’ll be posting a story in the next day or two about the Christmas where I truely experienced “the happiness of not having things.”
“Often times I have hated in self-defense; if I were stronger I would not have...”
– Kahlil Gibran (via kari-shma)
One Art, Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn’t hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster: places, and names, and where it was you meant to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I...