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March 30, 2006
MTV Killed the Magazine Journalist
MTV and Rolling Stone are working together to create a reality series that will focus on amateur journalists competing for a one-year staff position at the magazine. Anyone interested in applying for the position must include a short videotape, along with their writing samples. While Hunter S. Thompson might have given the best confessionals, I doubt he would have been cute enough for the hot tub scenes.
Posted by Mandy Smithberger at 04:04 PM | Comments (7897)
March 23, 2006
America's Next Top Murder
Have you seen this house? You have if you're a reality television fan; specifically, if you're a fan of America's Next Top Model. This house is the home of the contestants in the current season of a reality show competition for a modeling contract, but it's also the infamous Sowden house.
January 15th, 1947, the body of 22 year-old Elizabeth Short was discovered, horrifically mutilated, lying in the grass of an empty lot. One of the suspects was George Hodel, owner of the Sowden house pictured above, an eccentric doctor who was known for throwing wild hollywood parties. He was accused by his daughter of "abuses" at these parties, and accused by his son (an ex-cop) of the Black Dahlia murder on top of others, though it wasn't the only time anyone was accused or confessed; it wasn't even the only time someone accused their parent of the murder. For more info on the crime, visit The Black Dahlia Website, but be warned that the photos and descriptions of the crime are unbelievably gruesome. Steve Hodel's book, with its accusations about his dad's role, has a website at Black Dahlia Avenger.
The body was discovered in the empty lot at 39th and Norton, where the woman who discovered the body at first mistook it for a discarded store mannequin, partly because of how the body had been cut in half and the two pieces were lying seperately. The lot has since been developed into houses similar to the one I mistakenly posted in the spot for the Sowden House:
Obviously a different house, which is why you should always double check your posts before finalizing them.
re-written by the author, because learning about a complex, 50 year-old mystery and then trying to put it up on the draft in one night just doesn't work.
Posted by Elizabeth Tangora at 11:45 PM | Comments (10)
March 18, 2006
Two Parades in One Weekend
Chicago cops at the last protest. This one will probably be similar, but a lot more people will have hang-overs.
It's good to be home. Chicago dyed the river green (and everyone made their jokes about "who can tell") and had a St.Patty's day parade, and now we're having a war protest. To mark the three years of the Iraq war, Chicago activists are gathering, for a rally and a march.
The first big anti-war march in Chicago was a strange animal; there were so many police on the street that they litterally lined the march route. At one point, protesters stopped traffic by going off the route and crossing the highway. There were a few arrests, but it blew over pretty quietly, considering how everyone expected some kind of showdown between police and protesters. This one should be pretty much the same, except nobody actually expects there to be any trouble.
Posted by Elizabeth Tangora at 06:29 PM | Comments (6)
March 13, 2006
This Might Make Julia Child Cry
It turns out that a woman has no place in the kitchen after all. As the linked article points out, the Department of Labor considers Chef to be a non-tradional occupation for women and the restaurant industry seems to agree (and want to keep it that way).
Posted by Mandy Smithberger at 08:58 AM | Comments (328)
March 09, 2006
Less oil consumption for more air pollution-- a fair trade?
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new rule to raise the emissions standards for ethanol plants, allowing them to release more pollutants into the air. Ethanol plants (like the one above) can currently release up to 100 tons of pollutants into the air each year; the proposal would raise the threshold to 250.
In his State of the Union address, President Bush emphasized the need to increase U.S. production of alternative fuel sources. Supporters of the new rule say it would do just that, helping the U.S. to reduce dependence on foreign oil. But it comes at a price: more than double the amount of hazardous pollutants in the air.
Silly me, I thought one of the reasons to reduce dependence on foreign oil and investigate alternative fuel sources was to decrease pollution. Apparently I thought wrong.
Posted by Frances Kingsbury at 05:44 PM | Comments (10)
March 01, 2006
Thanks, Sports Illustrated
For at least one year, I won't have to argue with myself over whether I respect the choices of the women who model or whether they're a bunch of skank hoes-- I can go straight to being offended that Sports Illustrated seems to think "women of color" means two brunette girls.
Posted by Elizabeth Tangora at 10:07 PM | Comments (396)