Via Catherine Price at Salon comes the story of Olga Murray, who devised a simple, practical philanthropic solution that has virtually eradicated a tradition of starving Nepalese farming families selling their daughters into indentured servitude. 1n 1989 Murray was horrified… Read More ›
social change
A better future
My daughter found this on one of her fanfic communities, and mentioned it to me the other day. I’m rather excited by the notion that ideas like this are circulating amongst teens in what might appear to outsiders to be… Read More ›
LOLpology
I may regret this. I am venting at a bullying hierarchy, not the body of believers. I don’t find religious beliefs persuasive, but see no need to insult believers in general. The Vatican hierarchy is another matter entirely – I… Read More ›
The Papal apology for clerical abuse in Australia
Kim has some excellent analysis of where it fails to hit the mark over at LP. Two major problems: the setting of the apology (a mass for seminarians and clergy/religious orders only) reflects an inward focus on dealing with abuse… Read More ›
Highlights from the Hierarchy for WYD
Shorter Cardinal Pell: If you agree to a candlelight dinner then you’re just asking for it, aren’t you? How could sex later be rape? [link] Shorter Cardinal Pell: It’s totally OK to tell a clerical abuse complainant that they’re the… Read More ›
Scary hands
I just watched a bunch of kids at a school holidays kids’ club playing a tipping/tagging game – the one where originally there’s only a single “it”, but as they tag others to become “it” they all have to hold… Read More ›
The whatever-happened-to dept: actor division
Fred Thompson is not the only former Law and Order cast member to attempt a run for President of the USA in ’08. Michael Moriarty, who once had the part of prosecutor Ben Stone in the series (1990-94) is also… Read More ›
Ricky Writes Letters: Advocacy is Inaccessible for Some People With Disabilities
[Shirt reads: “I don’t mind the able-bodied, so long as they act disabled in public.” Shirt is from NoPity] Today’s Guest Hoyden is Ricky Buchanan of Not Done Living. Ricky’s Livejournal is here. She also runs ATMac, an information site… Read More ›
Tuesday Serendipity
Lacking inspiration while scheduling posts to be published this week while I’m on hols, I did a search on videos for “Tuesday”. I’d forgotten all about new wave band ‘Til Tuesday and Voices Carry, with that electrifying lyric “he wants… Read More ›
SF Sunday: cult SF films
This topic seems timely given the discovery of a full-length version of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis that had been disregarded for years in the archives of a museum in Buenos Aires. Image Source: Emory Libraries Metropolis is a classic utopia revealed… Read More ›
Hoyden About Town 