A meditation for Earth Day from Carl Sagan.
Entries from April 22nd, 2007
Pale Blue Dot
April 22nd, 2007 · Comments Off on Pale Blue Dot · Climate Change, Culture, Poetry, Science, Video
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You’re a Good Man, Peter Parker
April 22nd, 2007 · 4 Comments · Comics, Culture, Film, News, Theater
The new Spider-Man movie opens in the U.S. on May 4th, but in the meantime, Peter Parker is already preparing to take on the scariest super-villains of all: Broadway critics. I know this sounds like a late April Fool’s gag, but it’s a for-real story from the New York Daily News. Marvel Comics is developing […]
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Totally Different Head: Devo on Square Pegs!
April 21st, 2007 · 3 Comments · Comedy, Culture, Music, New Wave, TV, Video
It’s been a tough week in the news, to put it mildly, so I feel like breaking out something special to brighten up the weekend. Like, how about the New Waviest episode of one of the New Waviest TV shows ever — the infamous Devo episode of Square Pegs! DJ Kristine of Planet Earth Chicago […]
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In Chicago: Calvino, Poker, Handbags and More
April 20th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Chicago, Culture, Fringe, Music, Neo-Futurists, Performance, The Partly Dave Show, Theater
The trees are budding in Chicago this week, and the darling buds of the fringe performance scene are in full crazy spring bloom as well. There’s so much going on that if I’m not careful, I might use up all my item bullets, and then I wouldn’t have any for next week! Well, anyway, here […]
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Theater: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
April 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Culture, Foreign Policy, News, Peace, Performance, Theater
Indian-American playwright Rajiv Joseph has a new play opening off Broadway this week. It’s called Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and it tells the story of the “shock and awe” campaign in Baghdad as seen through the eyes of a “ratty old Bengal tiger caged in the bombed-out Baghdad zoo.” Joseph told DNA he […]
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News Roundup: Back Alley Edition
April 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Business, Chicago, Culture, Guns, Health, Internet, Labor, LGBT, Music, Nature, News, Pet Food, Politics, Science, Supreme Court
Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling on abortion makes no exception for women whose health is in danger. This DKos diary, “5 out of 9 SCOTUS justices say my mom should be dead,” describes in vivid personal terms how a late-term abortion saved the life of the writer’s mother, and how this new ruling means that a […]
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Help Save Women & Children First Bookstore
April 19th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Activism, Books, Business, Chicago, Culture, Feminism, LGBT, Media, News
Women & Children First bookstore here in Andersonville is in danger of closing, possibly before the end of the summer, according to recent stories in the Chicago Tribune and the Windy City Times. One factor hurting sales at W&CF is competition, of course. Borders Books & Music, for instance, has four locations—all within four miles […]
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Illinois Legislators Mock Transgendered People
April 19th, 2007 · 2 Comments · Human Rights, LGBT, News, Politics
This is appalling. I’m ashamed of my state right now. Several Illinois lawmakers mocked sex changes and the idea of debating the subject Tuesday before rejecting a measure that would have made it easier to get a new birth certificate after switching genders. One representative compared sex changes to voodoo and joked that he had […]
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Pet Food Recall Update — Natural Balance Info
April 17th, 2007 · 3 Comments · Business, Cats, Factory Farming, Food, Health, Journal, Kiwi, Mr. Blue, News, Pet Food
I’m getting a lot of Google traffic today from people who are searching for information about the recall of Natural Balance’s pet food, specifically the venison varieties. So, if you’re one of those folks, here’s a link to the Natural Balance site and here’s what it currently says: NOTICE: We are receiving consumer complaints regarding […]
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Tolkien’s Children of Hurin: Break a Leg, Professor
April 17th, 2007 · 5 Comments · Books, Culture, Fantasy, Journal, Lit, Mythology, News, Peoria
It appears that Christopher Tolkien has one more book to produce out of his father’s magic hat, although this one will almost certainly be the last. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien goes on sale today, three decades after his death: Tolkien’s son and literary executor Christopher, now in his eighties, constructed “The Children […]
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Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man”
April 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Remembering Kurt Vonnegut: “A Rather Daft and Kind Old Man” · Blogroll, Blogs, Books, Culture, History, Lit, News, Peace, Uncategorized
Gregory Rodriguez has a piece in the LA Times today in which he remembers working as an editorial assistant for Kurt Vonnegut’s publisher, and getting to know Vonnegut as he worked on revising Hocus Pocus for publication. Their first meeting, as Rodriguez recounts it, has Vonnegut displaying a vulnerability that is at once charming and […]
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News Roundup: Indirect Role-Playing Edition
April 16th, 2007 · 1 Comment · Adobe, Business, Comics, Culture, Food, Hate Crimes, Health, LGBT, Media, Music, New Wave, News, Politics, Software
Gonzales is now helpfully explaining that he only had an “indirect” role in the firing of the U.S. attorneys. Yes, just like I had an indirect role in what happened to the passersby who got hit by those water balloons I dropped yesterday. I mean, all I did was let go! It was the water […]
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“Has Anyone in This Family Ever Even Seen a Chicken?”
April 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on “Has Anyone in This Family Ever Even Seen a Chicken?” · Comedy, Culture, TV, Video
Because Ocelopotamus has been on a little bit of an Arrested Development kick lately … and because we know you need something to chase those Monday blues away — we bring you the Chicken Dance compilation. Chickens don’t clap. Believe it. And just to really bless the beginning of your week, we follow that […]
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In Chicago: More on the May 2nd Special Edition of The Partly Dave Show
April 13th, 2007 · 6 Comments · Chicago, Comedy, Culture, Fringe, Journal, Music, Neo-Futurists, News, Performance, Poetry, The Partly Dave Show, Theater
Continuing the brand-new tradition of breaking news about The Partly Dave Show here on Ocelopotamus first, I can now confirm the full lineup for our upcoming show, and fill you in on why we’re doing it and what’s so goll-dang special about it. Here’s the deal: the shadowy white-coated figures at The Partly Dave Show’s […]
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