Vegetarian Ethics on the Bathroom Wall

Only in Park Slope. The brick wall in the bathroom at The Tea Lounge on Union Street features the following graffiti debate:

MEAT IS MURDER
(arrows pointing to above statement) a bit dramatic
So animals aren't slaughtered for food?
Yum
Murder tastes good
Dairy is still rape
Yo mama is merder
You can't murder an animal, you can kill it but not murder it, idiot.
Humans are animals
Your mom is an animal
rabbits = people
SPECIESISM

Can I really blog from my cell phone via text? Oh, technology!

Honoring the Dead, 150 Years Later

Last Saturday, mourners gathered on Staten Island to bury the remains of immigrants who had died over a century and a half ago. Their bones were discovered in 2000 during the construction of a courthouse; they had been left in unmarked mass graves in the mid 19th century.

Read my article on IrishCentral.com here (written with Eleanor Miller, fellow journalist and J-school student) and watch a video on the event below.

Snuggie Breakdown

Let's say that you've just gotten off the Q train at 7th Avenue in Park Slope and are about to trudge home after a long, grueling day. You remember, with dismay, that you are out of shampoo and must stop at the nearby Duane Reade.

While skulking through the aisles to locate the TRESemme, you come across an endcap display. It can't be, you say. These products are Not Sold in Stores. But lo and behold, before your very tired eyes, is a stack of Snuggies. Leopard print, zebra striped, and breast cancer awareness pink. And for $14.99, you even get the little booklight they show on the commercial.

You call your sister and ask her if you should shell out 15 bucks for a blanket with sleeves. You're well aware of the ridiculous nature of the Snuggie but feel that you must own one. You deserve it. How else will you stay warm while eating popcorn this winter???

At home, you rip open the package and don the absurd, static-ridden fleece. You settle into a chair. It's kind of nice.

Then you watch this YouTube video:



In the end, you conclude that feeling like a tool is worth the laugh you got, and you are still pretty warm and comfy. Plus, you can type without having to rearrange your blanket.

Brooklyn Farmacy Lobster Fest

Check out my post on the Interactive Journalism Class of 2010 blog, link here.

Let's Hear it for Letterman

Let's put our hands together for David Letterman.

The star of CBS's Late Show confessed to his live audience that he has had sexual relationships with female members of his staff in the past.

(I had a video posted here, until CBS took it off of YouTube - fair use, people! But you can watch it here from The Guardian.)

So why should we applaud him?

Not because he usurped the slimy producer who tried to blackmail him, although that's a good reason.

Not because his explanation was actually pretty funny.

Not even solely because he has taken control of his own scandal and will now be able to steer it where he wants.

We should commend Letterman for relegating the issue to where it belongs: out of the news. The media will cover this event for sure, and investigators will dig into the details, try to get the women to come forward, construct a timeline, get comments from Letterman's wife, harass his family a bit, the whole shebang. But Letterman deflated the issue before it even came out. With any luck, it will die a quick and painless death, and we will all be spared the months of tabloid coverage something like this would get if Letterman tried to sweep it under his big wooden desk.

Sex is only a big deal to the people engaged in it. Let's all get over it. Extortion, on the other hand, is unacceptable. So thanks, Letterman, for directing our attention to the more important issue at hand. Is it a self-serving move? You bet. Will it also, in its own minuscule way, improve our media landscape? Let's hope.

Brooklyn Bound 2 Train, 3:43am