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Boycott Macy’s in NYC

By David Shankbone
File:Fireworks over the East Village of New York City.JPG

Out of all the anti-New York City things to do, Macy’s quietly announced last week that it had moved the 4th of July fireworks show off the East River to host it on the Hudson.  Supposedly this is in honor of Henry Hudson, but really it’s a slap in the face to New York City.  [...]

Al Franken certified winner of Minnesota Senate seat

By David Shankbone
541px-al_franken_makes_a_point_by_david_shankbone

Democrat Al Franken has been certified the winner of the Minnesota U.S. Senate seat by the state supreme court, as expected.  Now is the question whether Norm Coleman will continue to hurt his state by continuing this pointless effort to keep his constituents from having two elected representatives.  From Politico:
The question now is whether the [...]

Jim McGreevey’s new mission with Exodus Transitional Community

By David Shankbone
Jim McGreevey and friend at the Church of Living Hope in East Harlem by David Shankbone

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who riveted the nation when he came out as a gay American in 2004, is now the symbol of fallen Governors.  When Eliot Spitzer stepped down from the New York governorship in the midst of his own sex scandal, Spitzer and his wife were even charged with copying the [...]


Celebrity death rumors go insane after Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett

By David Shankbone
Michael Jackson death celebrity impersonator Thriller by David Shankbone

Yesterday I walked over to one of my favorite mini-restaurants, Snack Dragon, to buy a couple of carne asada tacos.  The topic of Michael Jackson’s and Farrah Fawcett’s deaths were already on the lips of the two ladies eating rice and beans.  We all started talking about it.  Suddenly, one of the women said, “And [...]

Rush Limbaugh and Zicam: when profit is more important than public safety

By David Shankbone
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One of Rush Limbaugh’s big sponsors is was Zicam, and was he ever hopping mad that a product he has relentlessly endorsed might damage his followers’ sense of smell.  That is, he was hopping mad at the FDA, claiming that pulling this product was an effort by Democrats to hurt him!  Stephen Colbert riffed on [...]

Citizen journalism: New York Times vs. Wikinews

By David Shankbone
Fort Greene New York City Building Collapse

The recent collapse of a residential building in Fort Greene, a neighborhood in New York City, was a stark example of the New York Times heavily employing the use of citizen journalism on its blogs.
It’s difficult for me to consider citizen journalism without thinking of the failure of Wikinews to become anything that has long-term [...]

Bebe Buell: five questions

By David Shankbone
Bebe Buell 2009 Tribeca Film Festival CBGB Burning Down the House by David Shankbone

On Wednesday the 24th, Rebecca and I have been invited to see a piece of rock history: Bebe Buell at the Hiro Ballroom.
Some people focus on the giant-sized names I have shot for the Creative Commons, but the people that linger in my mind are the hundreds of others who are not household names but [...]

Gay Porn’s Neocon Kingpin furthers his way into mainstream America

By David Shankbone
File:Michael Lucas portrait shot.jpg

If you thought Michael Lucas would land in New York City and stop his conquest of America there, you thought wrong.
The Soviet-born man the New Republic called “Gay Porn’s Neocon Kingpin” will appear in an upcoming episode of ABC’s Ugly Betty.
Will wonders never cease. I first met Lucas after he wrote Wikipedia about issues [...]

Walter Cronkite is dying [citation needed]

By David Shankbone
Walter Cronkite said to be deathly ill

The wrangling over the Wikipedia biography of Walter Cronkite and what is apparently his failing health has begun.  Wikipedia editors often get this kind of news early, as people rush to update Wikipedia articles the moment they learn something.
Gail Shister at Mediabistro blog TVNewser is responsible for the rumor, quoting unidentified sources inside CBS.  The [...]

Portuguese safe-sex ad draws ire of American feminists

By David Shankbone
Portuguese safe sex ad violence against women

Here’s a wrong-headed moment moment: the MTV advertisement you see above is a Portuguese safe-sex ad aimed at women.  It makes the unsubtle comparison that having unsafe sex is like pointing a gun at your vagina.  Powerful!
Today’s media-weary people, adolescents especially, are harder to reach with messages as advertisements saturate our visual world more and [...]

Quote of the day: Obama’s Consumer Protection Agency

By David Shankbone
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Confused about Obama’s new regulatory proposals for the financial industry that virtually destroyed the global economy?  One is a Consumer Protection Agency.  John Ydstie, National Public Radio’s economics correspondent, does an excellent job of explaining it all.

This new agency would look at [things like interest-only balloon payment mortgages] and, I guess sort of modeled [...]

The heartless suicide of Lucy Gordon

By David Shankbone
Lucy Gordon English Actress Suicide David Shankbone

When I was thirteen, I found a boy my age in the woods who shot himself in the head.  It’s in a little “about me” narrative I wrote a few years ago found on this blog.  It used to say his full name, and eventually both his girlfriend at the time of his death and [...]

Racist Obama photo emailed from Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus Chair’s office

By David Shankbone
Racist Obama photo sent by Republican Sherri Goforth of Tennessee

I wonder how Sherri Goforth of Tennessee feels as the picture of modern “Old South” racism?
What you are looking at in this post is a photo the executive assistant to Tennessee Republican state Senator Diane Black sent out from her government office with the subject “Historical Keepsake Photo”.  It shows portraits of the 44 presidents [...]

David Letterman apologizes to Sarah Palin, but it won’t end the culture wars

By David Shankbone
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Last night David Letterman issued an apology to Sarah Palin about his “knocked up” joke that referenced her 18-year-old daughter, Bristol.  Here’s the video:

Palin accepted Letterman’s apology:
Of course it’s accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who “joke” about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve. Letterman [...]

It’s hard to impress teenage girls at a BBQ, Dwayne Johnson

By David Shankbone
Dwayne The Rock Johnson 2009 Tribeca by David Shankbone

Yesterday at a barbecue I spoke to two intelligent young ladies, one a 13-year-old and the other 14.  One of the adults at the gathering told the two girls that I photograph celebrities.  They asked me who I have shot, and I said, “Over 500 people.”
Like who? they wanted to know.  I told them to [...]