9:25am: I just arrived at work, so I'm still trying to figure out the details. I'll update with more pictures and information as the day goes on.

10:13am:  The word “occupy” has a special connotation for deans and administrators at Harvard. On April 9, 1969, more than… Read full post »

Ah, Occupy Wall Street. The protests make feel like the kid who stares longingly out his window as the neighborhood kids play in the streets, knowing that he’ll not be able to finish his piano lesson in time to join them.  As the Occupy Wall Street protests have been unfolding over… Read full post »

Probably not. I haven't been anywhere in the neighborhood of Open Salon in months.  Years, really. And I'm sure by now the neighborhood has changed.  New people have moved into some of my favorite cover spots. The Squirrels and Wonderhorses have been replaced by... well... I don't know.&nbs… Read full post »

My worst Valentine's Day ever? Well, I guess that would be the one where I went out with the fast driving, smooth talking Dick York, the date that ended with me being so horribly disfigured that I'd never be able to get another date again. Well here, it's a hard story… Read full post »

Ahh, a film devoted to a problem that no longer exists! "Marie Miller" and "Jeff" are faced with social trauma because they've let their relationship "drift into" what others perceive as "going steady." But is that really what THEY want? "This question is not answered for them,… Read full post »

After heartlessly prodding my mouth with a sharp metal spike for about 45 minutes yesterday, the dental hygienist told me my gums were bleeding because I don't floss enough. Really? Floss?

If the threat of spike torture won't scare kids into flossing, I don't know what will.

Oh, wait, maybe… Read full post »

This shocking 1940 film--perhaps most famous for the scene of the severed canine head kept alive by means of artificial circulation--records the successful Soviet experiments in the resuscitation of life to dead animals. Is this science, or is this a hoax? You decide.

 … Read full post »

There was a policeman named Dan
Who was frisking a girl in his van.
When base radioed him in
He replied with a grin:
"I'm coming as fast as I can!"

( Seriously, though, is there such a thing as a limmerick that isn't dirty?)

 

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Looking for some light and enjoyable reading this past summer, I found myself skipping the more conventional beach reads and turning to a beloved collection of books from my youth.   I was the first grandchild on my mother’s side of the family, and so many of the hand-me-downs I recei… Read full post »

What with the economy showing faint signs of life while job growth remains stagnant, I thought it might be nice to share a little advice on how to hold onto a job.  "But Shaggy," you may be asking, "what the heck do you know about keeping a job?  Do you think… Read full post »

I was thinking about Olivia Munn recently. Not just because she posed in Playboy and Maxim--although my thoughts did linger there for the briefest of moments, I will admit--but because of the hoo-ha surrounding her ascension to the realm of Daily Show correspondent and what this means about women in… Read full post »

After much deliberation, procrastination, and outright avoidance, I decided at the 11^th hour to attend my ten-year high school reunion.  I sent my money in at the last possible moment and promptly stopped thinking about it.  I didn’t start thinking about it again until I pulled into t… Read full post »

Hello Judy (or Thomas or Kerry or whomever monitors the open.editor email account),

As I'm sure you're probably (unfortunately) aware, there has been a bit of a plagiarism scandal on Open Salon these past couple of days.  Scanner posted a piece that was largely cut-and-pasted from Wikipedia,… Read full post »

Dear Healthcare haters, tea party protesters, and up-dusting members of the Open Salon community (ahem): YOUR MANNERS ARE SHOWING.
 
Yes, as I hear about protesters outside of the Capitol Building chanting "nigger" at civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis, spitting on Congressional B/…

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 If you haven't had the good fortune of running across Pam Epstein's little corner of the Interweb, I highly recommend popping your nose in and peaking around.  She has amassed an impressive collection of personal ads culled from mid-nineteenth century newspapers, and her ruminations on the… Read full post »

 

A week ago I put forth a proposition:  pick a writer on Open Salon and interview him/her.  Talk about writing,  life, sex, religion, money, politics: whatever tickles your fancy.  Below are the results, organized alphabetically by interviewee.  

 

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&nbs… Read full post »

Shaggylocks:
Hey guys, thanks for coming. I, uh, guess now is as good a time as any to come clean: I've gathered us all together under false pretenses. Sheldon, I know you came expecting a Bea Arthur career retrospective, and Steve, I know you came expecting an intervention for Shel's Bea Arthur… Read full post »

On March 14^th, 2009, Dorinda Fox put out an open call that rocked Open Salon to its core: the Open Salon Interviews.  At the time there was one particular blogger who was garnering quite a bit of negative attention within the OS community, and the call for interviews was an attempt… Read full post »

The embroidery on your green polo shirt may proclaim otherwise, but you, sir, are no sandwich artist.

Trust me; I know a thing or two about sandwich artistry.  When I was in middle school, I embarked upon what would become a six-year quest to create the Perfect Tuna Sandwich. … Read full post »

Kids these days, with their sexting and their Axe body spray and their Lady Gaga, amirite?  I've long known that there's what the kids are into these days and there's what I am into these days and ne'er the twain shall meet, but this recruitment video, produced by the Yale admissions… Read full post »

Three of the Greatest Film Not Available on DVD (Now available on DVD)

Let’s not kid ourselves: injustices abound in our modern, imperfect democracy.  Some, like the corporate financial influence in our electoral system, are big.  Others, like my brother Greg always getting to ride s… Read full post »

 

I'm currently enrolled in an intensive three week course worth four credits, which has (surprisingly!) gobbled all of my free time. Eek!  So until I can get back into the OS saddle, feel free to enjoy this little gem of a film.  It was produced by a company called… Read full post »

If you clicked on this post thinking I might be writing something to add to the canon of wit and interest that is Open Salon, then I'm sorry to inform you that you'll be quite disappointed.  Really, this is going to be kind of boring for you.  What I need is… Read full post »

Alright, up off yer lazy asses, you godless liberals! Our War on Christmas has been an unmitigated disaster this year, and don’t even try denying it. Our secular progressive agenda is in tatters, and we’ve only got three more days left! We need to shape up, and fast!… Read full post »

We bought tickets in advance.  We joked about it all week.  But then, Sunday afternoon, we realized that buying tickets meant we actually had to go.  And that's how I found myself seeing New Moon with a theaterful of tween, teens, Twi-moms, and the like. 

 

Just so t… Read full post »