Pretty disappointing. I guess we all knew the Bulldog would be the Last Coffeeshop Standing, if it came down to it. Still, I think the shops have fallen on hard times before, and will persevere through these difficult times for Kiff-Tourismus.

German commentators like to saddle up the hobby horse and criticize the sad state of affairs regarding race in the USA. To an extent, they're right to do so, because it is a sad state of affairs. But I'd also like to see them take a look at themselves, to go after the casual racism that is so alive and well in northern Europe, whether it's ( Read more... )

Lovely short piece by Anne Yoshiko Reed.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/7888/_muslim_gospel__revealing_the__christian_truth__excites_the_da_vinci_code_set/

for every flicker on this map blood was spilled. Many would contest details, which misses the point; but to dwell on a couple, it's pretty remarkable to watch my little Denmark rule the roost up there in Scandinavia for a couple of centuries, Norway be occupied most of the time, Germany get birthed at the very end (it is such a new country), Serbia ( Read more... )

this is too funny

http://www.neatorama.com/2013/02/22/Medieval-Manuscript-Peed-on-by-a-Cat/

http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/03/languages-internet?fsrc=rss

the old story of the discovery of the texts (discredited by some, particularly Denzey Lewis in a forthcoming monograph, both for its accuracy and its orientalism - Quispel congratulating Muhammad Ali is cringeworthy) and their significance (discredited by no one), featuring some of the superstars the field in the 70s: Gilles Quispel (spearheaded ( Read more... )

For once, a holiday-season article on blackface that's not about zwart Piet and de Pietenpak.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2012/11/blackface_israeli_soldier_obama_style_is_blackface_offensive_in_israel.html

Apparently, this is what Japanese blackface looks like:


( Read more... )

I heard of this act a few years ago but never bothered to hear the music or see a video...until now. fairly repulsive stuff, I guess best understood as trash art; not exactly "so bad it's good," but "so bad it's unforgettable."
This video is sort of like what I would imagine a Trina-Christina Aguilera collaboration directed by mid-career John Waters ( Read more... )

Versnel on Bonnet on Versnel...final paragraphs are a lolz, if you care about this sort of thing.

http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2012/2012-10-19.html