Hi, everyone. Just wanted to quickly apologize for this morning's site outage. Now, obviously, we're back up and running and good as new after some hard work from our tech team.

Thanks for your patience. We know these outages can be annoying, and we are really working to make them… Read full post »

I just wanted to make sure everyone sees that your gorgeous flower pictures are now a slideshow on Salon! We were bowled over by the wonderful photos so many OSers posted, from all over the world. And while we couldn't use all of the images we loved (generally for technical/sizing reasons),… Read full post »

Even before "Treme's" series premiere last night, the show's creator David Simon was forced to address critics who would complain that the program inaccurately depicts details of New Orleans life, post-Katrina. In a letter to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Simon writes:

That we will be held to cert… Read full post »

After months of cold, spring is finally in full bloom. And nowhere is that more evident than on Open Salon. In the past few days, we've enjoyed beautiful photo posts of tulips and flowering trees from Sparking and AtHomePilgrim (respectively). Those gorgeous shots have inspired us to put out an Open… Read full post »

This is a big weekend. It's Easter and baseball's opening day and the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. But I have a feeling the tech junkies out there are marking something entirely different on their calendars. That's right: This Saturday, April 3... the long-awaited Apple iPa… Read full post »

What is it Tolstoy said, again? "Every happy family holiday is alike, but every unhappy family holiday is unhappy in its own way?" Something like that.

This year, we want to test that hypothesis. Tell us your most cherished tales of Easter woe, from the egg hunt that went rotten… Read full post »

With St. Patrick's Day coming up on Wednesday, we've got a lot of seasonal stuff on our minds: Green beer, corned beef and cabbage, mysterious Catholic icons, parades that ban gays (and sometimes women)...

But, mixed feelings aside, we can't help wanting to celebrate the holiday in our own way. … Read full post »

We all have something that terrifies us — anxieties, neuroses, rational or irrational fears. They may be major or minor; they may affect our lives on a daily basis or only show up to haunt us once in a while. And often, there comes a time when we have to confront… Read full post »

Last week's Salon Kitchen Challenge invited contestants to serve up their most comforting bean stew. Read Mamie Chen's winning entry, a home-cooked fusion of Chinese Peking duck and French cassoulet, at Salon and check out Francis Lam's rundown of other great posts.

Now, this week's challenge:… Read full post »

Good news: Our tech team has greatly improved Open's blog feed import system. As Thomas wrote, in the past few months we've been struggling to accommodate the influx of new users, and imported posts faced long delays (or, sometimes, simply didn't show up).

Now, cross-posted entries… Read full post »

Is "Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow a feminist pioneer or a tough guy in drag? That's the question Martha P. Nochimson poses on Film Salon. Sure, she may well become the first female filmmaker to take home a best director Oscar, but would her win really be a victory for women… Read full post »

Last week's Salon Kitchen Challenge called on cooks to create an icy treat in honor of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Read M.L. Cook's winning entry, a love letter to flavored snow, the "ur-ice cream," at Salon and check out Francis Lam's roundup of other great posts.… Read full post »

This morning, at 10 a.m. CST, a small plane crashed into an Austin, Texas office building that houses the IRS. At Salon, we're keeping readers up to date by live blogging the details of the crash as they unfold. Here at Open, we're looking for writers who are in Austin and… Read full post »

Sure, we've already done one Valentine's Day Open Call this week. But the holiday only comes once a year, and we want to balance the sour side of love with something a bit sweeter. Now, we're interested in your funniest V-Day tale, from a romantic date gone wrong to the awkward… Read full post »

Ah, Valentine's Day: A time to shower your beloved with gifts and affection... or devour a heart-shaped box of chocolate alone in front of the TV... or curse Hallmark for commercializing romance...

Here at Open Salon, we won't tell you how to spend your February 14. But we do know… Read full post »