“October 28 was activation day for my cochlear implant.”
My friend David has been writing about his experience having his cochlear implant activated on his blog, Things I Didn’t Hear. It’s fascinating, and has not been easy for him.
(My other friend David has been considering getting a cochlear implant for a while as well. Strange coincidence.)
Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede
This is the epitome of what is wrong with America today.
In honor of the day, I present you with the best Thanksgiving blog post ever, as declared by Kat.
I will fulfill my Turkey Day obligation and state that I am most thankful for Missy who has made me happier than I had ever imagined I could be, for our health (current colds notwithstanding), the roof over our heads (current suburban location notwithstanding), and the decent job with the awesome boss that pays me well enough to have been able to afford to pay down my credit card debt by $15,000 in fiscal ’09. And for Barack Obama.
Let the people say “Amen!”
I’m a black woman who never thought I’d see a powerful, beautiful female with a body like mine in the White House. Then I saw Michelle Obama — and her booty!
Try as Michelle might to cover it with those Mamie Eisenhower skirts and sheath dresses meant to reassure mainstream voters, the butt would not be denied.
It’s mostly silly, but there is a message in there (somewhere) about body image and society’s definition of beauty.
L.A. waist wit’ a Oakland booty!
(via The I in We)
What Happens To Your Body If You Drink A Coke Right Now?
Here’s a hint: It’s not good. But!
*FYI: The Coke itself is not the enemy, here. It’s the dynamic combo of massive sugar doses combined with caffeine and phosphoric acid. Things which are found in almost all soda.
(via The I in We)
After meeting with Twin Cities Daily Planet editor Mary Turck, I’m pleased to announce that cinna.mn and fresh.mn are two of TCDP’s newest media partners.
One of the things I like the most about TCDP is that they aggregate most of the Twin Cities community and ethnic media in one place. The web presence of these organizations varies wildly and it’s hard to follow them all, especially when you’re a high volume consumer of the internet such as myself. The mechanism by which they do this is their media partnership program.
So what the heck is a media partner?
Media partnership, at it’s most basic, is an agreement to allow TCDP to republish your site’s content. In exchange, you are free to re-publish any of TCDP’s original reporting (i.e., not items they republish from other sites) on your own site. In addition, you’re added to their long list of media partners which I hear people occasionally browse. Every article of yours that TCDP republishes includes your byline, your photo or avatar, a short blurb about your site, and a linkback and contact info.
What this means for cinna.mn and fresh.mn is that if TCDP’s editors see anything they like and want to republish, it may go out in the daily email newsletter and it’ll appear in the “blogs” section of the website. My first article at TCDP was published on Friday, Nov 21:
Media partners fall into a few different buckets, like the aforementioned “Community and Ethnic Media” bucket. cinna.mn and fresh.mn are in the “Contributing Blogs” bucket. There’s also “Neighborhood Associations” and “Arts Media and Blogs.” Some sites are regularly syndicated for their Community Newswire.
Aside from all that, TCDP seems to be pretty open to suggestions regarding the structure of media partnerships and ways to use and distribute content.
If you’re interested in media partnership for your Twin Cities-related site, email [email protected]
Why buy a house? Behold, one of the biggest myths of the American Dream
I’ve heard it for years; renting is often better than buying. That when you sit down and crunch the numbers and factor in all the taxes and dues and interest rates, maintenance fees and termites and cracked foundations and busted appliances and the cost of that new sewage line, well, owning is far more of a hassle and a burden and a lifetime o’ stress than most people ever imagine.
And why don’t we imagine it? Why is owning a home still considered such a prize, such a cornerstone of what it means to be a victorious American? Simple: because that’s what we’re taught.
I know all the reasons for buying a house (long term investment, huge tax incentive, etc.) The reasons against make a lot of sense, too. Unless you’re certain that you not only love your city but also love your neighborhood, I think it’s worth paying the “premium” for the flexibility renting affords you. And if you want a place that’s more “home-y” that will let you paint the walls, find a duplex to rent.
That said, we’re probably not giving up homeownership to go back to renting for as long as we still live in the Twin Cities. (Although, technically, I personally am renting.)
The white knot is the new symbol for marriage equality. It takes two traditional symbols of marriage—white and tying the knot—and combines them in a simple way to show support for the right of gays and lesbians to marry. All loving couples deserve the same legal rights, benefits, and respect that civil marriage bestows.
That’s cool and all. I get where they’re coming from. But who decided this? A bunch of white guys in West Hollywood? Because there are lots of marriage traditions out there and this seems like an awfully white-culture-centric choice of symbol.
I’d still wear one, though.
“Did Tiger Woods Pave the Way for Obama? Are you Kidding?”
It’s always dangerous, but never boring, when a newspaper sports columnist uncorks a political thesis. Enter Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. Bianchi thinks that there are some unsung heroes who deserve credit for helping put a black man in the White House – and they are athletes. “If you’re searching for tangible reasons why it became possible for Barack Obama to make his historic run at the presidency … look no further than the golf course, basketball court or football field.”
Dave Zirin goes on to talk about how ridiculous that is.