Context: This essay was written for, and performed in, the November 19, 2011 edition of The Paper Machete, a weekly showcase for Chicago journalists, comedians, and other writers, hosted by Christopher Piatt. I’m just getting around to posting it now because, well, my own universe is fairly chaotic and other deadlines prevailed. You are encouraged […]
Entries Tagged as 'Essays'
The Unbearable Lightness of the Kilogram, Universes Next Door, and the Occupy Movement
November 29th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Books, Chicago, Culture, Essays, Fringe, Journalism, News, Performance, Politics, Science, The Economy, Stupid, TV, Writing
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Not Zero: The Fukushima Litotes
April 1st, 2011 · 2 Comments · Blogs, Chicago, Climate Change, Culture, Energy, Environment, Essays, Fringe, Journalism, Language, Media, News, Nuclear Power, Performance, Politics, Science, Writing
A little context: The following piece was written to be performed in the March 26, 2011 edition of The Paper Machete, a weekly showcase for Chicago journalists, comedians, and other writers, hosted by Christopher Piatt. The Paper Machete has posted the audio of the performance as a podcast. You can listen to it here: The […]
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LinkingIn at CreativePro
January 18th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Blogs, Business, Culture, Essays, Internet, Journal, Social Media/Social Networking, Tech
I have an article published on CreativePro.com this morning, called “The Fine Art of Linking In.” (It’s the featured article for Friday, January 18, 2008.) That was one of the projects that’s been keeping me busy the last few weeks. As the title suggests, it’s basically tips for using LinkedIn effectively — how to spiff […]
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Roundup: Monkey in the Bathroom Edition
November 6th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Activism, Apple, Blogs, Comics, Culture, Essays, Food, Heroes, History, Human Rights, Journalism, Labor, LGBT, Macintosh, Music, Nature, New Wave, News, Politics, Religion, Roundup, Science Fiction, Spirituality, Tech, Terrorism, Torture, TV, Vegetarian & Vegan
I can’t scrape together enough time at the moment to do OcPot’s usual painstakingly well-rounded roundup — I’m seeing The Waterboys at the Park West tonight, woo-hoo! — but I wanted to get some of these links up before they fossilized. So here’s a charmingly slapdash, quick-and-dirty roundup. In ripped fishnet and high heels. The […]
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Observations on the Recent and Continuing Unpleasantness
September 20th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Cats, Culture, Essays, Journal, Kiwi, Mr. Blue
Disturbing changes are taking place in the world, and we do not know what they signify. We are afraid that something terrible is going on, some fundamental destructive process that is entirely outside of our experience. You can read this in our wide-eyed stares, our defensive crouches, our tendency to go into hiding for longer […]
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“Lord Have Mercy, I Think It’s the Cops”: Larry Craig and Madame George
September 4th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Activism, Culture, Essays, History, Human Rights, Journalism, LGBT, Music, News, Politics, Theater
Forgive me for posting twice in a row about Larry Craig. After the past week, surely it’s time for him to begin shrinking in the collective rear-view mirror of our culture. But I can’t help it. On Sunday, someone who goes by the nom de net Blueness posted an absolutely beautiful diary on Daily Kos, […]
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Good Morning, Day 14
July 31st, 2007 · Comments Off on Good Morning, Day 14 · Activism, Culture, Essays, HCC-DDT, Health, Healthcare Crisis, Human Rights, Media, News, Politics, The Economy, Stupid
So I’ve been slammed with work for the last week or so, and I haven’t had a chance to update this count in a full seven days. During that time, about 350 more Americans have died because they couldn’t afford health care. That brings the total count to approximately 700 people who have died just […]
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Roundup: Picketing Flamingo Edition
July 23rd, 2007 · Comments Off on Roundup: Picketing Flamingo Edition · Apple, Blogs, Chicago, Climate Change, Comics, Culture, Design, Essays, Foreign Policy, Health, HIV/AIDS, Illinois, LGBT, Music, Nature, New Wave, News, Politics, Roundup, Science, Tech, Travel
“Iraq hasn’t even begun”: Writing in the LA Times, Timothy Garton Ash, a professor of European studies at Oxford University, examines the long-term consequences of the debacle in Iraq, and concludes, “Looking back over a quarter of a century of chronicling current affairs, I cannot recall a more comprehensive and avoidable man-made disaster.” Digby on […]
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Quote of the Week
June 24th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, Essays, Foreign Policy, History, News, Peace, Politics, Terrorism
From an essay entitled “The Middle of Nowhere,” by Edward N. Luttwak, which appears in the July 2007 issue of Harper’s, reprinted there from the May issue of Prospect: Hardliners keep suggesting that with a bit of well-aimed violence (“the Arabs only understand force”) compliance will be obtained. Yet what happens every time is an […]
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