November 2007

508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Brendan Melican talks about privatization and municipal employees; Mike Benedetti flips through the InCity Times and complains about the Green-Rainbow Party; Dante Comparetto talks about Worcester Local First (here’s a WCCA interview with two of the businessmen organizing it); and Nick Reville talks about Miro.

You can download the mp3, subscribe to the feed, or see other formats.

Standard Podcast [ 25:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Three important reports appeared this fortnight:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: Fourth Assessment Report ‘Climate Change 2007’: Summary for Policymakers
• UNAIDS: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS: 2007 AIDS epidemic update
• United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Report 2007/2008: Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world

At the dawn of the First World War, New Zealand surveyed its draft-age men and asked if they would be willing to fight. One out of six said they would not. When it came down to a choice between joining the army and going to prison, many changed their minds, but many others spent the war in detention. Of those imprisoned, fourteen were deported to Europe, three of them brothers: John, Archibald, and Sandy Baxter.
Read the rest of this entry »

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panelists are Bruce “Snow Ghost” Russell and Jeff “Wormtown Taxi” Barnard.

We talk about the upcoming ballot recount and the price of gas vs. inflation. Also, even though this week Pie and Coffee posted an interview with a Cirignano juror, and the 2008 National Catholic Worker Gathering webpage, the additional traffic was drowned out from the traffic generated by a mention in Teresa Neilsen Hayden’s linkblog. What does this portend for the future of Worcester journalism?

You can download the mp3, subscribe to the feed, or see other formats.

Standard Podcast [ 19:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pictured: The St. John’s high school football team stops by the St. John’s parish Thanksgiving free meal (held at Fiddler’s Green–long story) to say hi to Father John Madden. Later in the day, they beat St Peter-Marian 17-6.

This Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is Buy Nothing Day! If you oppose the commercialization of Christmas, for religious or secular reasons, make a statement by not shopping.

One of the best Buy Nothing Day projects ever was Mark Dixon’s 49 hours in Wal-Mart. See also Thoughts on “My 49 Hours at Wal-Mart” and 49 hours at Wal-Mart vs. 39 hours in an abandoned building.

2008 Catholic Worker National Gathering will be in Worcester!
July 9 – 12, 2008, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. See the webpage for more details.
Read the rest of this entry »

I recently spoke with a juror in the Larry Cirignano case. The juror chose to be anonymous.

I edited the juror’s answers only lightly, but I removed some of my more aimless questions, and some of our conversational exchanges that aren’t really relevant.

If other jurors would like to come forward with their stories, please e-mail us at pieandcoffee@gmail.com.

Some would say that the details of deliberations can’t be revealed without hurting the whole process. But I learned a lot from this conversation, and I hope it will make me a better juror if I’m ever called to serve.
Read the rest of this entry »

This is a recording of a homily by Father Bernie Gilgun, from his weekly Mass at the Mustard Seed in Worcester, Massachusetts. Begins with some thoughts on the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and concludes with an explanation of why the Mustard Seed exists.

I think this is the best homily we’ve posted so far.

You can download the mp3 (4.8MB) or see other formats. You can also subscribe (RSS) to the podcast.

Reading for November 9, 2007.

Standard Podcast [ 15:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

My grandmother’s grandmother was said to be a Kavalan. Recently, a dictionary of the Kavalan language appeared (ISBN 978-986-00-6993-8). On pages 52 and 53, there are some proverbs (narrated by Ulaw Pan, reinterpreted by Abas, and recorded by Paul Li):

kua, aimu qa-rimk =ka haw!
sikawma=pa=iku timaimu.
qnaRu zin-na sikawman-ku timaimu: assi =ka trapus haw.
snaquni zin-na 'lak si, mai =ita q<um>nut.
nia-niana zin-na -ta nani na 'lak si, mai =ita paq-sukaw tu anem.
snaquni zin-na =ita na 'lak si, qa-nngi-an -ta anem -ta haw.
m-ati =ita sni-sni, mai =ita s<m>ap-sapang haw.
mangay =imu snaquni haw.
paqa-qa-nngi =ita m-atiw ta 'lak-an haw.

Alright, you do keep quiet, please!
I shall talk to you.
Because I shall talk to you[:] do not forget about the old teachings.
No matter what other people do to us, let’s not get angry.
No matter what other people say to us, do not feel sad.
No matter how other people behave to us, we should be nice to them in our heart.
Wherever we go, we should not be mischievous but behave ourselves.
You should watch out [for] what might happen.
We should be careful when we go to other people’s place.

The Kavalan people were evangelized by Saint George Leslie Mackay.

508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Mike and Brendan Melican discuss: a local STD researcher arrested for soliciting a prostitute in Main South has gotten a huge amount of press (latest); Mike makes like LaGuardia and reads from the InCity Times; Rushton asks for a recount in the City Council election; Brendan thinks next year will be a bad time to be mayor; Miro 1.0 is out; the Snow Ghost Community Show, hosted by frequent 508 panelist Bruce Russell, won some awards this week.

You can download the mp3, subscribe to the feed, or see other formats.

Standard Podcast [ 12:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download