This cat is such a trip. After each meal, she makes these ridiculous noises that seem to be a deranged person speaking through the gates of hell. In this clip, she makes a couple of those noises, but she's mainly preoccupied with getting every bit of crumb she can after her meal. The videos have to be taken secretly because she won't display this behavior in the company of humans. It's all very National Geographic (sort of). Cagney Smith is old -- 18 years old. I keep trying to prepare my colleague/Cagney's owner Tara Murtha for Cagney's death, which is weird given the fact that Tara and I only met about four months ago. It's a little freakish, but I worry about her. What's she going to do? Oh dear. Anyway, enjoy Cagney now.

Posted by liz at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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One of the fave features here is Funny or Offensive? But sometimes there's simply no question. Just a couple hours ago, someone calling his/herself Crazydelphia posted two videos of a heavyset African-American woman just released from a psych ward in the city. It looks like a cell phone video in which she's seen wandering and yelling.

At first, I thought the YouTuber was commenting on the sorry state of the mental healthcare system. But then I noticed Crazydelphia had filed the clips under "comedy."

What's wrong with people?

Posted by liz at 01:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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I am completely disgusted by the tone of a Philadelphia Inquirer piece today. The headline? "No short-term fix to rid Phila. park of homeless." How about this for a headline: "No short-term fix to find homeless people housing" or "No long-term affordable housing available in city." Let's examine further:

A predawn amorous romp. A bath. A morning shave.

Acceptable behavior for your home. But for a public space like Rittenhouse Square?

The above scenes played out early yesterday among homeless people there, and while residents interviewed expressed dismay, city officials suggested there were no short-term fixes.

Neither the police nor the mayor's office offered any solutions yesterday to end what appears to be a growing problem with homeless people at the square, a jewel of Center City.

First of all, what constitutes "acceptable behavior" is entirely subjective. If the homeless were washing up in a (currently nonexistent) park at 48th and Kingsessing, you can bet your ass the Inky wouldn't think it was unacceptable, nor would they suggest as much in a front-page lede.

But the Inky is all over this beat -- yesterday they ran another crap headline: Homeless remain a problem in elegant Phila. park

I grew up on "elegant" Rittenhouse Square. I came home from the hospital and went straight into the Dorchester, where my parents put me in a dresser drawer until the crib was delivered (hence my claustrophobia, I think). I had countless friends who lived on the Square. It was our hangout. And I can tell you this: This so-called "growing problem" has always been around. And every few months or years, the extremely wealthy people who live on the Square get up in arms about it and want something done.

My parents now live at the Rittenhouse Plaza, and I have never once heard them say they wished the homeless would disappear. They see them as people who are in a bad place in their lives, whether due to addiction, mental illness, alienation from family, socioeconomic disadvantage, foreclosures, etc. And what do people need to do to preserve their dignity? Brush their fucking teeth, that's what. Because if they don't, and they require emergency health care, the rich people will complain about paying for that, too.

What's sad about the way the article is contextualized -- in terms of headline, photo, and lede -- is that the rest of the content in the article is quite sound. For example:

Dainette Mintz, head of the city's Office of Supportive Housing, said the city is focused more on creating permanent housing for homeless people than on criminalizing sleeping in parks.

This is a progressive attitude on the part of the Nutter adminstration, also described in the piece:

"Mayor Nutter spelled out a homeless plan that called for providing 700 units of permanent housing for homeless individuals and families."

That's the kind of action that's needed. But the article also quotes Barbara Craig, who lives "near the Square," saying, in response to a man bathing in the fountain: "As a resident, you don't like to see it. It's kind of gross."

You know what's gross? That a grown man has to clean his body in public, in front of disapproving eyes of people like Craig. Can you imagine how humiliating that could be for someone?

And what's with this generic use of the term "homeless"? How do we know what this man's circumstances are? There are a lot of assumptions being made in this article, but the way they're framed -- especially with the photo -- are simplistic and offensive.

This isn't the first time the Inky's headlines and ledes have contrasted with the content of the pieces. Who's writing the headlines there?

Fortunately, the editorial board has some dignity (not like the romping homeless!), and they ran this piece today as well. And the Inquirer has done good coverage of this issue in the past. Context, people. Headlines. Photos. It all matters.

There's a related poll, too:

What's your reaction when you see homeless people in public places?

-Sympathy

-Empathy

-Revulsion

-How can I help?

-Why doesn't the city do something?

-It's a free country, let them be

-Outrage

I'd like to use the same poll with this question: What's your reaction when you see dehumanizing headlines and sensationalistic framing devices? Sigh.

No short-term fix to rid Phila. park of homeless

Providing housing for Phila. homeless is slow going

[Image via PhillyIMC.org]

Posted by liz at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Report: Love Letters From U.S. Troops Increasingly Gruesome

WASHINGTON—According to a Pentagon report leaked to the press Monday, love letters written by U.S. troops have nearly tripled in their use of disturbing language, graphic imagery, and horrific themes since the start of the war.

The report, which studied 600 romantic notes sent over a period of two years, found a significant increase in terrifying descriptions of violence and gore, while references to beautiful flowers, singing bluebirds, and the infinite, undulating sea were seen to decrease by 93 percent.

"Not only are U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq less likely to compare their lover's cheeks to a blushing red rose," the report read in part, "but most are now three times more likely to equate that same burning desire to the 'smoldering flesh of a dead Iraqi insurgent,' and almost 10 times more likely to compare sudden bursts of passion to a 'crowded marketplace explosion.'"

According to detailed analysis of the letters, the longer a U.S. soldier had been stationed in Iraq the more macabre the overall tone of his correspondence became. Troops who had been fighting for less than a year lapsed into frightening allegory only 15 percent of the time, while those who had been serving between two and three years described their affection for loved ones back home as more vibrant and alive than any of the children in the village of Basra.

Troops stationed in Iraq for four years or longer composed their letters entirely in blood.

Continue reading "From the Onion: Funny or Offensive?" »

Posted by liz at 02:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Sorry this clip of the Chapin Sisters is dark. But the song is darkly funny.

Posted by liz at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Eric Smith, who runs Geekadelphia, which we're spotlighting in PW on Wednesday, is the human companion of Mittens. This is Mittens starring in "Twist and Shout."

Posted by liz at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Have you ever noticed that the word "grope" rarely appears unless it's in a newspaper? In this case, Mass. state Sen. J. James Marzilli Jr. has been accused in four separate incidents--and wouldn't you know, his lawyer now says the senator has bipolar disorder. But his lawyer will face some stiff arguments if he plans to use it as a legal defense, according to the Boston Globe:

Wendy Murphy, a lawyer representing an Arlington woman who told authorities she was groped by Marzilli in a separate case, said any medical condition is no excuse for the alleged criminal actions.

"A lot of people have bipolar disorder, and they don't hurt others," said Murphy. "And they certainly don't assault women in a sexual way, especially in such a prolific sexual way in the course of several years. If he thinks that's somehow justification for his behavior, he's wrong."

You tell 'em, Wendy.

Marzilli has bipolar disorder, lawyer says

Mass. state senator indicted for sexual harassment

Posted by liz at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Sometimes I look back on my manic periods--the parties and drugs and crazy sex (er, yeah)--and I romanticize it. I think my life then was kind of like this:

But in reality, it was probably more like this:

Sad.

Posted by liz at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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There's a continuing debate on this subject on my YouTube page, in response to the video I made. I think, given the comments here regarding Steve Chapman's editorial (and the comments on his page), the subject is very live. Thought these YouTube comments might interest y'all:

CousinoMacul:
It is far too easy to kill with a firearm (yourself or somebody else)! I also believe suicide is (mostly) preventable. Besides making it harder to commit the act, society needs to get better at identifying those at risk and reaching out to them (admittedly much harder than the former).

cat12muffin
Im gonna have to agree with the firearm thing. When I was at my lowest all I could think of was getting a gun and if I had one just like you I really dont think I would be here. Its hard to prevent suicide especially when the people around a person dont know how to reach them. It took several therapists to get to the one I have now that really somehow reached me. I guess better education on mental health with the general public and also even more mental health reform. Thanks for the video.

Latinlabel:
Interesting beliefs. I don't think you should feel "lucky" you failed at suicide, rather you should be grateful. Additionally, God has a purpose for your life and wanted you to know that you are not in control, but He is.

Agent99:
"Impulsive" is not the right term. One can hotly desire death for weeks and months on end, and messing with civil liberties would at best provide a few extra hours. And, if someone is so ill they cannot stop the pain, or know that it will come back again, just as bad or worse, in cycles for the rest of their lives, it really ought to be up to each. Especially when one is an adult, it is our right to decide. I'm very glad you're still with us, but I think you're on the wrong track here.

missdoobs:
I agree with Agent99. If you know the pain won't stop, if its cyclic, what else is a person to do (when all else has failed.) The thought of spending 80 years in mysery only to say 'at least i didn't kill myself' makes me feel more depressed than anything. I do agree with the gun thing though. A spur of the moment ending is not right, but if its something thats been thought about often i believe its more of an informed choice. A kind of psychological euthanasia.

missdoobs:
Latinlabel, I hate this saying 'God has a purpose for your life and wanted you to know that you are not in control, but He is. ' That makes someone feel worse. What could be a totally depressed persons 'purpose'? To make others aware? If thats the case than god is an ass. I don't understand how every single person on the planet can have some 'divine' purpose, and if its true, i'd sure as hell like to know what mine is.

Posted by liz at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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I really appreciate Therese Borchard's response to Newsweek's interview with the author of the new self-help book Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression. Like Therese (pictured here), I take meds to manage my illness and that works for me. And like Therese, I also believe that people should do what they need to in order to feel better. But I am deeply skeptical of any book or article or therapist who suggests there are a set of steps you can take to solve the problem once and for all.

So many people tell me to try holistic methods. That doesn't work for everyone, and it didn't work for me or for Therese, who blogs for Beliefnet.com. She writes:

I also have my own empirical evidence or data from the days I weaned off almost all of my drugs in an effort to try to combat my depression with yoga, meditation, Chinese herbs, acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, deep breathing techniques, and fish oil.

How did I do?

I needed a caretaker. In fact, Eric took the equivalent of three months off of work. Because I couldn't drive, work, or take care of the kids. I was completely disabled by my depression and anxiety.

I hear you, T.

Don't Get Stuck on "Unstuck": Depression Is Real, and Drugs Help Me

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