Advice from the Trenches: Harassment
Dear C; I was floored when I opened my browser and saw headlines that NBC “Today Show” host Matt Lauer had been fired. I’ve been listening to the news and it’s unbelievable – Kevin Spacey, Al Franken,...
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Six Months After Hurricane Maria: Puerto Rico At the Intersection of Racial...
Elizabeth Yeampierre’s words about climate change could aptly be applied to systemic racism. “I think it is all overwhelming,” she said, at a talk titled From Puerto Rico to Rhode Island: Raising...
View ArticleOpen and Closed
Opened Askew: No, they probably won’t be serving squirrel, but they will be taking over the former Fatt Squirrel space under the ArtProv Gallery and across from the Art Bar. Run by local music scene...
View ArticleAdvice from the Trenches: Adult Enabler
Dear C; Sarah answered my ad when I was looking for a roommate. She was very open about her life; she told me she’d made some bad decisions when her marriage ended, had to declare bankruptcy on credit...
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Alt-Health: Artificial Sweeteners
To drink … or not to drink? Generally, when that question is asked, alcohol is the beverage under scrutiny. But today, we are turning our attention to another end of the industry: diet soda. This...
View ArticleAdvice from the Trenches: Better Than a Boyfriend
Dear C; OK, I’ll just come out with it: I prefer my sex toys to sex with guys. I feel like I have somehow crossed a line and I can only respond to my vibrator, and the guy is just someone who can...
View ArticleGetting Car Insurance in Li’l Rhody
If you drive in Li’l Rhody, you gotta have car insurance. In a state that ranks toward the bottom of every best-worst driver list, it’s an imperative, and state law. How much it costs depends on your...
View ArticleTalking Shat
Last week I had the privilege of having a phone conversation with the legendary William Shatner. He will be in town on Saturday, May 12 to be part of a special screening of the iconic Star Trek feature...
View ArticleQuestioning Our Laws: ‘We,’ as in The People, and Common Sense
My daughter was asked by her fourth-grade teacher to write about the importance of rules. She cleverly opened with, “A teacher calls for her students to come in from the playground, no one answers...
View ArticleLunar Notes: Let’s Look at Lincoln
Urged by Sanders supporters angry at Senator Sheldon Whitehouse for supporting Hillary Clinton at the convention, Lincoln Chafee has decided to give it a go by challenging Whitehouse in the Democratic...
View ArticleAlt-Health: Size Matters
Penis enlargement has been an obsession with men since they first noticed they had penises. Considering the booming business in breast enhancement, it seems only fair that men should have alternatives...
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Bankruptcy: Is This Going to Hurt?
This year, more than 730,000 businesses or individuals are expected to use bankruptcy to wipe out or reduce their debt, according to the US Trustees Program. But despite trends and numbers — and no...
View Article“Really Occifer, I’m Fine:” What to Do, and Not Do, If You’re Stopped for...
This is an article I have mixed feelings about writing. I in no way want to promote drunk driving. To the contrary, I believe that in the era of Uber and Lyft, there’s no excuse to get behind the wheel...
View ArticleGet Copyright Clarity by Understanding Fair Use
Creative people from all walks of life use videos, images, music, newspapers, websites and social media — and these copyrighted materials are an important part of our cultural heritage. Teachers and...
View ArticleThe Ballpark at Slater Mill
In as big a sign of spring as the crocuses, baseball is back in Rhode Island and the Pawtucket Red Sox are underway for the 2018 season. The PawSox have served as a minor league baseball team for the...
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More Parking, Wider Roads, Bigger Houses and Yards? How Outdated Laws Get in...
When a representative from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) asked the audience how we’d gotten ourselves to the clean transportation listening session, most people raised their...
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Advice from the Trenches: Dealing with Relapse
Dear C; When his wife divorced him, my brother, Tom, was devastated. She moved to another state and he moved into a rented room. Then he had a run of bad lack that seemed due to severe depression. and...
View ArticleAlt-Health: Antidepressants
The use of antidepressants (ADs) in this country rose more than 400% between 1990 and 2008, then increased by another 65% between 1999 and 2014. Why? Many argue that today’s skyrocketing numbers are...
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A Tale of Two Ticks: Near Death in a Far Land
Two ticks, one in Rhode Island, the other in Central India, injected and infected me with the most vicious of microbial beasts. “What’s the probability of that?” you might ask. How could two ticks,...
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Advice from the Trenches: Tick!!
Dear C; I almost didn’t notice the small black dot under the top rim of Caitlin’s ear until she rubbed at it and said, “My ear feels funny!” I bent down to look and nearly shrieked – it was one of...
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