Category: crazy

New York is dangerous.

Coyotes on the Columbia campus. Seriously.

Just arrived in the inbox (emphasis mine):

To: SIPA Student Groups

While on patrol this morning Post 15 PSO Patterson noticed three animals in front of Lewisohn Hall. Sgt. Galan responded and spotted one animal and identified it as a coyote. Sgt. Gillis contacted 911 and NYPD responded. NYPD spotted one of the animals and confirmed it was a coyote. The one coyote that was seen by NYPD and Sgt. Galan went behind the CEPSR build and it is believed exited the campus. An additional sighting by facilities was called in to base at approximately 1000 hours this morning. The undersigned responded and was unable to confirm the sighting. Patrol units were advised if they see any possible coyotes while on patrol to notify the base and maintain a visual but not to approach the animal.

For Your Information,
Sgt. Oakley

I would like to take this moment to point out that, while being raised in Kansas, I never once spotted a coyote.

traitor.

I’ve been using Blogger for six years. It’s seen me through angsty college musings, a public to-do list, the beginnings of a cooking blog, an ill-fated attempt at blogging in Russian, and an even iller-fated attempt at Rebekah auf Deutsch. Oh, and this here web log.

When I started blogging, WordPress.com didn’t exist, and everyone I knew who wasn’t using Xanga (cringe) or LiveJournal (ditto) was on Blogger. But as I’ve continued, more and more of my friends have defected, falling head over heels for WP’s plugins and beautiful themes and shiny dashboards and seamless post tagging (Blogger was sadly late to the post categorization party) and integrated commenting (remember the days of Haloscan?).

To which my response has always been: bah humbug.

You see, I’m a bit of a Scrooge: I like Blogger. Specifically, I like the control it gives me over my template and the fact that I have this control absolutely free of charge.

But in the meantime I’ve grown up and moved to the Big City and somehow become editor and technical director of one of the best graduate school blogs on international affairs in the country. And we use WordPress.

And I like it.

A lot.

WordCampNYC – Nov 14-15Which is why I’m spending November 13 and 14 at WordCamp NYC, surrounded by WordPress lovers and their shiny, shiny dashboards.

If things go well (for the shiny dashboard people), I may even swaddle my precious Jackfruity baby in WordPress clothes.

Care to join me?

Wedding rush sparked by free malaria nets

The Onion is good, but it definitely doesn’t have a monopoly on satirical journalism. Yesterday Uganda’s Weekly Observer published this breaking headline:

Uganda: Millions More to Wed As Govt Doles Out Mosquito Nets

“When we asked the couples why they have chosen this particular time to enter holy matrimony, they all had the same answer: that government was going to give them free wedding gowns!” said a source at Peter’s Church of Uganda in Kampala. The source added that when they investigated further, they realized that the couples were referring to the government’s recent announcement to distribute over 17 million free mosquito nets to combat malaria, which is the leading killer disease in the country. According to health officials, malaria kills 320 people daily.

Asked whether converting mosquito nets into wedding gowns would not undermine government efforts to reduce malaria deaths, one church official said that “the soul is more important than the body.”

Well played, Weekly Observer. Well played.

the legend of didi’s world

Long-time readers of this blog may remember my ill-fated trip to the creepy wonderland known as Didi’s World. Now, from the Atherstones in Uganda, the true story of Kampala’s most famous amusement park:

The legend of Didi’s World begins over ten years ago, when these same rides and structures resided in Italy. Evidently, someone was killed on one ride, so the generous Italians donated all the equipment to Africa.

In other words: IT’S HAUNTED. I’d like to point out that I totally called this one.


Didi’s World decor

jackfruit of the week (02.23.09): superheroes!


Louisiana jackfruit, from the Hong Kong Food Market in Gretna, LA. Courtesy of Sonia Smith.

I’m taking a little break from the media-tech-Africa jumble that’s normally Jackfruit of the Week to point you all to a hilarious/amazing/inspiring project one of my housemates is working on.

This is Chaim:

Chaim’s a filmmaker:

Chaim’s also a superhero:

Together, he’s a superhero filmmaker. Or a filmmaking superhero (you can decide):

(Here’s the part where I went, “No, really?” and Chaim went, “Yes, really.” I’ll give you a minute.)

Chaim isn’t a Halloween superhero or a comic book superhero or a big fancy convention superhero. He’s a real life superhero who spends hours and hours feeding hungry New Yorkers, cleaning up trash and building homes. He’s part of a whole group of real superheroes that the New York Times profiled in 2007, including an ex-sex worker who uses martial arts to protect her former co-workers and a man who fixes leaky faucets for free. All of them — and there are hundreds throughout the world — are visible icons of community service and activism, and Chaim’s documenting their story at Superheroes Anonymous:

Here’s the part where I cheat a little and bring it back to Africa. Each month, Superheroes Anonymous chooses a cause to support. February’s is Starvation Salvation, an effort to raise money for PASSOP, a South African non-profit that, among other things, smuggles food into Zimbabwe to feed people who need it. If you don’t feel like breaking out your cape and spending a day helping your own community, think about helping PASSOP out.