Passover in Prison

A plea deal for a 10-year-old crime got Piper Kerman a year in a women’s prison in Danbury, Conn. Her new book, “Orange is the New Black,” comes out April 6.

Read an excerpt about celebrating Passover and Easter in prison here, at Jewcy.

And read this New York Times essay by her husband, Larry Smith.

Is “Confederate Southern American” a race?

Kirk David Lyons, of the Southern Legal Resource Center, seems to think so. He and his organization are suggesting that people who embrace the Confederate battle flag and feel persecuted that they’re not allowed to display it proudly, carve out a new category for themselves on the 2010 Census. Particularly, he wants “Confederate Southern American” as a write-in vote on Question 9 on the Census.

And no, it’s not a sly Colbert Report send-up.

And here again we revisit the notion that though it takes all kinds, sometimes it’s painful that it takes all kinds. Speaking as someone who falls into Lyons’ would-be demographic, I shall not be including this on my Census form — should mine ever arrive. I am Southern (southwest Missouri). I am not Confederate. And neither is Lyons, bless his heart. That any one would think this should be a protected group just slays me. Here’s a bit more on Lyons and his organization, from a 2009 North Carolina newspaper article.

And thanks, Sis. Sharon, for the link.

Happy Passover!

Come sundown, that is. And thanks, Tablet, for the video.

The bus to nowhere

A Dusseldorf, Germany, senior center solved a problem of patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia who become disoriented, and try to leave via public transportation.

The center created a pretend bus stop, where patients wait — well — patiently until a member of the medical staff walk thems back to the facility. During the time they wait, they often snap back to reality and return without incident. It’s a “bus stop to nowhere,” says a center employee, but it’s a gentle way to keep people from running away and hurting themselves.

Listen to Radiolab‘s take on it. Be prepared to cry.

I’m not sure…

…but I think this pisses me off.

Lose Weight Like a Guy. I mean, that in and of itself is a tinge annoying, but the things the writer suggests — make time for yourself, etc. — aren’t terribly gagalicious.

So why do I balk at the suggestion that I lose weight like a guy? Maybe it’s because for the umpteenth time, the male model is held out as the ideal? Or is this an inappropriately-knee-jerk reaction on my part? Because I do sometimes have those. Usually, I take a little bicarbonate and the feeling passes, but….help me here.

But thanks, bro. Jay, for the link.

It’s what we do

Sis. Cynical sent this, an essay from a nurse who works at a U.S. military hospital.

If you haven’t read The Sandbox, it’s a milblog (military blog) launched in ’06 by Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau. The best writing coming out of our wars is coming from the people who are fighting them.

What if everyone who asked for the government to get out of their lives…

…actually had that happen?

They’ve have no Social Security (“social” being the start of “socialism,” after all).

They’d have no Medicare or Medicaid (“medi” being the start of “medicine,” and if you are poor/old/sick, you probably should just sack up and take yours).

They’ve had no jobless benefits – as so many already do, as pointed out here by the New York Times.

And thanks, Bro. Jay, for the link.

Junk in your trunk = Good

This is good news for those of us shaped like Weebles (we wobble but we don’t fall down).

(And I just had an inspiration! I’ve offered to sing at a friend’s wedding in August because I may his only friend who knows all the words to the song, “Convoy.” I can sing this, too, and cement my reputation as a Fun Person!)

Write your own cutline!

Since the woman and the snake was such a success…

And extra points if your cutline includes the words “Mario” and “fannypack.”

If a child knew what went into a chicken nugget

Would that child eat it?

Would you?