Neighbors are a fact of life for most of us, I suspect. I think that one of the major defining separations between many city dwellers and many small town residents is the interactions that people have with their neighbors. Here, I know my neighbors. I know their names, I know their children, and I know …
Monthly Archives: September 2007
Chilly Apricots
Britain is attempting a novel solution to problem neighbors: therapy. Is the American short story endangered? A well crafted opinion piece by a well known author suggests that yes, it is. Welcome to the police state; a woman has died in TSA custody. Zero Tolerance is the name of the game in America, but is …
The Apple and the Tree
One of the reasons I like being back home is that I get to hang out with my father. Today we made some lunch and wandered around his neck of the woods; there’s a deeded coastal access trail very close to his house where you can go out onto the headlands or down onto a …
Torrid Skunks
Congress has just approved more money for the war in Iraq. What was that about the Democrats only agreeing to vote for enough funds to pull troops out? When domestic violence goes bad, it goes very, very bad. The Jackson Free Press profiles two women who were not well served by local law enforcement, illustrating …
Fantasy Land
I was talking to a young friend who is in the process of applying to colleges the other day, and since he’s applying to a number of schools, I recommended that he get fee waivers, since his family isn’t exactly rolling in money. It became readily apparent to me that he didn’t know what a …
Steaming Jasmine
Violet Blue talks about biased anti-kink reporting in the SF Weekly. The privatization of war is the topic of an op-ed by Paul Krugman. (Hey, New York Times, thanks for removing the pay gate so that I can read Paul Krugman! Good work.) A new immigration test promotes “assimilation and patriotism.” Er…because those are two …
The Pie Protocol
One of my myriad baby making acquaintances and I were talking the other day about what she is going to feed her child (after she’s done breastfeeding, of course). She was saying that she wanted to set up “rules” about what would be eaten around the house, and I was arguing against this idea. I …
Sinuous Oranges
Raw milk in North Carolina will now be dyed grey, presumably in an attempt to terrify consumers into not buying it. I’m surprised they haven’t required a scary surgeon general’s warning yet. Democrats are also plagiarists, apparently, as the Clinton campaign has copied the proposed health plan of the Edwards campaign. Classy, guys. Verizon reverses …
Better Than Television
I just attended a real humdinger of a Planning Commission meeting, and, let me tell you, I’m going to start going to these things all the time if they’re going to be this interesting. I had a personal and academic interest in the second item on the agenda, as it has generated a fair amount …
Sweaty Globes
The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to the lethal injection. Speaking of criminal justice, the Innocence Project is campaigning to test some biological evidence which may absolve an executed man after the fact. The candidates for President seem to be having difficulty when it comes to coming up with actual campaigns. Could this be …