West Side Block Party Tomorrow
Come on down. block_party8x11final
Vote for Dan
Man-about-town Dan White is one of the five finalists for the job of hosting Fox Providence’s new morning show, “The Rhode Show.” Right now he’s in second place, just behind a guy from New Hampshire. New Hampshire? Come on, we can’t allow a native to get beat by somebody from the Granite State. Also, you …
Wikipedia Entries That Would Make Good Names for Pretentious Bands
Twilight Sentinel The Uncanny Valley Argument from Design Tachyons Stockholm Syndrome Photovoltaics Shadow Minister The Ninth Directorate Garagistes
More From the Desk of the Ombudsman
Believe it or not, the folks here at Daily Dose have asked me to continue in my duties as Ombudsman. Apparently, like all people in abusive relationships, they believe that if they love me enough I’ll eventually stop hitting them. So let’s get started.
News You Can Use*…
(…*To Inspire You To Hide Under Your Bed Until Jan. 21, 2009) This must-read report just in from the New Yorker‘s “This Would Be Funny If It Wasn’t So Fucking Scary” Department: “Preparing the Battlefield: The Bush administration steps up its secret moves against Iran” by the ever-vigilant Seymour Hersh. Hersch writes: Late last year, …
From the Desk of the Ombudsman
John Taraborelli has been appointed ombudsman of the Dose. Yeah, I had to look up that word too… I have been appointed ombudsman because I represent a crucial minority among Daily Dose contributors: heterosexual, non-Ivy league gentiles. Truthfully, I don’t quite understand the task. I’ve been asked to assess the quality of an essentially useless …
Never Thought I’d See the Day…
…that the Tampa Bay Rays are sitting pretty atop the AL East. I’m sure that soon enough the forces of the cosmos will right themselves and cast the Rays back down to the division’s basement where they rightly belong, but for today at least, they reign supreme (by half a game). I have long argued …
The Malcontent: Crazy for Hire
Many young children dream of one day being president, but those of us who reach adulthood without going through some bizarre, cryptically homoerotic Skull and Bones initiation rite know the chances of that happening are slim. There is, however, a way for average folks like us to share in the presidential spotlight without any of the …
Best. Headline. Ever
I can’t believe I missed this in the New York Times yesterday: “Possible Nazi Theme of Grand Prix Boss’s Orgy Draws Calls to Quit” In a sublimely perverse, supremely hilarious article that at first glance seems like something ripped straight from the Onion, the Times reports on Max Mosley, president of a formula one governing body, …
YPR’s Greatest Hits
So apparently I made the cut for Yankee Pot Roast’s Half-Decade retrospective. The weird thing is, they didn’t bother to tell me; I just stumbled upon it while browsing their site. They also apparently never received the writer bio I sent them, judging by the snarky one they created for me. Nonetheless, I’m awesome.
The Malcontent: Rebranding Reality TV
I am alternately horrified and enthralled by the impending downfall of Western Civilization, a process I occasionally like to prod along in some small, but I hope, ultimately meaningful, way. In various print columns I have both decried the commercialization of Christmas, and urged the indiscriminate bombing of one or more Balkan nations by our …
A Shining Moment
Obama’s speech yesterday addressing race and the manufactured Jeremiah Wright controversy was brilliant and moving. Whether you agree with that assessment or see him as a crafty politician giving another pretty speech, it is notable for the fact that he actually dared to speak to the voters about a difficult issue as if they were …
The Malcontent: The Audacity of Hope and the Persistence of Fear
Last night’s dramatic hat trick by Hillary Clinton does not bode well for Obama, or for America at large. Oh sure, if the democratic process is allowed to work its magic without interference from the Clinton political machine, Obama should still secure the nomination. Super Tuesday, the Sequel did not damage Obama’s chance at victory …
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Revolution or Scare Tactics?
On my way to work this morning I noticed many campaign banners hanging on highway overpasses, but none was more striking than the one proudly displayed over 95S in the the North End of Providence. “Vote Black Power–It’s Time,” read the message on what, ironically, appeared to be a white sheet. At first I thought, …
Providence: Not as Miserable as Detroit, but Way More Miserable Than Say, Little Rock
According to Providence Business News, Forbes magazine has ranked our quaint little burg the tenth most miserable city in America. Based on a number of factors, including weather, tax rates, crime and unemployment, they ranked the 150 largest metropolises in the country. Detroit, of course, emerged triumphant, with some truly great cities also cracking the …
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The Malcontent: Peter Keough – Abortions for Everyone
For some time now, a friend and I have noted and discussed the bizarre gender hang-ups and skewed sense of misogyny in Phoenix movie critic Peter Keough’s reviews. This past week, he truly outdid himself in his Oscar predictions roundup, decrying rampant misogyny throughout the list of potential Best Actress nominees, and finding nary a …
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