Subscribe to the Daydream Lab [RSS]
Surgeon General's Warning
—A lovely bit of urban culture in the Providence Westin, courtesy of the skybridge between the hotel and Providence Place Mall.
“About 25 percent of the families that we’re seeing at our family shelter are a direct result of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. It doesn’t surprise me at all if people are finding an empty property and trying to make a little home for themselves.”
Anne Nolan, Spokesperson for Crossroads Rhode Island, 5 March 2008
2 + 2 = ? (27 February 2008)
22 percent of Rhode Island 11th graders “showed proficiency in mathematics in a statewide test.”
Providence by Night
—Taken from South Water Street.
You Are Already A Winner (6 February 2008)
Yeah, so um, just send me $45,000 through Paypal to cover the, like, taxes and fees, and I’ll ship your prize right out to you. [snicker]
“Thousands were stuck downtown in places like the Outlet Department Store. On the fourth day, I was sent to spend the night at the Mathewson Street Methodist Church. Scores of stranded folks had become refugees there, and formed an unlikely community. I met an older Jewish couple — their last name was Fleisig — who had been sleeping each night on pews. He said it was much better than the World War II foxholes he remembered.”
Mark Patinkin, 5 February 2008,on the Blizzard of ’78 in Rhode Island
Freedom to Marry Week (5 February 2008)
Marriage Equality RI announces the impending kick-off of Freedom to Marry Week, February 10 – 16.
MERI will be holding a press conference on February 13 and “introducing our 2008 legislation and issuing a community call to action.” I wonder if Governor Carcieri will be attending.
Police Explorers (4 February 2008)
“‘I like the program because it helps me to prepare for what might come up in the future,’ he says. ‘I’ve learned a lot of discipline and respect toward police officers.’” “He” is Dylan Lozada, a young man who disturbs left-wing commie me:
Dylan, 15, says he has always been attracted to what he calls “Army life”—the precision, the discipline, the orderliness. And he shows that in his appearance—from his shaved head to his manner of answering questions and commands with crisp “yes, sirs” or “no, ma’ams.”
Dylan fits right in in the Police Explorers program, which gives young people “a taste of what it is like to be a police officer through drills, discipline and standard procedures.”
Jackpot for uncommitted Democrats (2 February 2008)
“Uncommitted” will appear first on the R.I. Democratic primary ballot, followed by two lying, pro-war Democrats and John Edwards, in an order determined by a borrowed lottery machine.
Your next nicotine patch (2 February 2008)
A Rhode Island company is developing transdermal patches with built-in computer circuitry to manage doses.
This place blows. (31 January 2008)
Forbes ranks the ten most miserable cities in the United States. Surprisingly, Providence is all the way down at #10.
Superman building sold (29 January 2008)
Rhode Island’s tallest building, the Bank of America tower in downtown Providence, has been sold for $33 million.
No word on whether the new owners have filed for demolition permits yet.
They say any publicity is good publicity... (23 January 2008)
PR workers for Motel 6 and Craigslist.org will certainly thank The Providence Journal for prominently featuring their clients in this article about a prostitution sting in Seekonk, MA (also picked up by The Warren Times Gazette and who knows who else).
Certainly, Craigslist’s business is unlikely to be harmed by revelations that one can buy sex on their website.
State of the State (23 January 2008)
Summary:
We’re all fucked. I’m fucked. You’re fucked. The whole state is fucked. It’s the biggest cock-up ever. We’re all completely fucked.
Perfect Timing (13 January 2008)
Governor Carcieri’s office announced a Call for Artists on January 10, 2008. The submission deadline is November 5, 2007.
This is the man dedicated to improving the efficiency of state government by laying off about 1000 workers.
Goddamn Immigrants (13 January 2008)
“Turnover high among school superintendents in Rhode Island,” reports the Providence Journal.
Of the six superintendents who came on board this school year, [two] are first-timers, but are at least familiar with Rhode Island’s idiosyncrasies. The other four have held the position in other states and are adjusting to Rhode Island, an experience one new superintendent compares to “moving to another country.”
Great. They probably don’t even speak the language propahly.
Elizabeth Roberts may get a real job (11 January 2008)
The Rhode Island House is considering a constitutional amendment which would restore some of the powers of the state’s Lieutenant Governor.