508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Chris Robarge of the Citizens Advisory Council (and ACLU) talks about Worcester Boards and Commissions. Also: sharpening a Ka Bar Fighting Knife
with a Spyderco Sharpmaker and a Chef’s Choice 130.

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Also: FYC closing, Occupy/Tea Party protest against the NDAA.

(Amazon affiliate links in this post help fund the 508 Giant Knife Fund.)

I was in downtown Worcester at the federal courthouse this afternoon for the first of four (!) hours of an NDAA protest organized by Occupy Worcester.

Interest in this event skyrocketed a couple days ago when the local Tea Party encouraged members to take part.

Things began with Occupy Worcester mic checking the Bill of Rights:

The big Tea Party contingent hadn’t arrived by the time I left; most of the 30-40 people were familiar from past OW events.

Womag: Eliminating boredom at the FYC

508 is a show about Worcester. This week, School Committee Vice-Chair Tracy Novick gives Mike an intro to the School Committee.

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508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Mike and Brendan talk about newspapers, SOPA, and Pulse’s “ones to watch” list.

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You can watch 508 Fridays at 7pm on WCCA TV13.

I’m sure there’s a technical term for how the viewer separates the artwork from the background. I love taking creche photos in part because the background is so often completely inappropriate, and occasionally accidentally appropriate. Here, NO TRESPASSING and BEWARE OF THE DOG are a “No room at the inn” for our time.

Christmas morning, I vowed to my little brother that any time I see a celebrity in a setting where greeting that celebrity is at all appropriate, I will greet that celebrity. (Stories like “I could have talked with Stephen Hawking this one time” or “I could have talked with Ted Turner this one time” are nothing but frustrating.) And who was at Christmas mass but Michael “Catholic Anarchy” Iafrate. I’m still not sure how two anarchist-sympathizing Catholic bloggers emerged from the same generation in a single West Virginian parish, much less how they did this without meeting before. Well, I greeted him, and now we have met.

At this parish, they’re adjusting to the changes in the mass with elegant pew cards from the hilariously-named AndWithYourSpirit.com. (“And with your spirit” being the phrase nobody remembers to say.)

My most memorable mass this Advent was one Saturday at dusk at St. Andrew’s in Worcester, when there was a local power outage. Below, the lector reads with the aid of a pen light. As you would expect, much was made of “waiting for light in darkness.”

2011 overall was an amazing year in my spiritual life, but Advent was a time of stress and distraction. One last thing I should have blogged earlier was Christmas caroling with the Catholic Worker community. This year, 25 of us visited nursing homes, Christmas parties, and unsuspecting neighbors.

Mike: Bruce, did you see that joke on the whiteboard? “What did one angel say to the other angel?” “HALO THERE!”

Bruce: Ha ha ha!

Justin (ten seconds later): Bruce, did you see that joke on the whiteboard?

Bruce: Yeah. It went over my head.

508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Mike and Brendan recap the week’s news and finish up their 2011 season on a series of depressing notes.

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While we’re thinking about dead trees, Acoustic Java now has an original copy of William Lloyd Garrison’s abolitionist newspaper The Liberator on display.

Jordan Berg Powers, via e-mail:

Small nonprofit Worcester community paper is looking for journalists, editors, photographers and cartoonists to start in early 2012.

Next meeting:

December 18th at 7:30pm
Community Realty
131 Highland St.

Worcester, MA

Why launch a paper?

Newsprint still remains the most effective means for communicating to the full breadth of Worcester’s many communities and to underserved constituencies. And certainly on-line content will also be part of this initiative.

Worcester deserves a multilingual paper that adequately reflects the city’s incredible diversity, real issues and vast potential. Worcester deserves a paper that uplifts, inspires and empowers us to be critical of where we are going.

The time is now to come together to speak for and to our community. The community paper has $3,000 for 3 months to get this bi-weekly paper off the ground.

This Bi-weekly paper will foster an advocacy journalism pioneered by Ida B. Wells, Upton Sinclair, Nellie Bly and Fredrick Douglas.

Statement of Purpose:

The Worcester Progressive (working name) is a nonprofit newspaper created to give voice to the majority of Worcesterites who are disaffected by the current power structure and its leaders. Its purpose is to bring light to the Wormtown that Worcsterites actually see and advocate for the people long forgotten by the city’s leaders.

This Bi-Weekly multilingual paper will be a voice to move this community forward. The Worcester Progressive will focus on substantial journalism that takes on decision-makers, empowers our community to be critical and inspires readers with the amazing work already being done.

Worcester is a great American city. But it needs YOU, the Worcesterites to take this city back, to be a partner in creating bold visions for its future, and to work together to make it happen.

We hope that The Worcester Progressive can be a place to start this much needed reform. Hope and vision, matched with strong advocacy and an unending love for our city can make Worcester a model for Massachusetts and the country as a whole. We just have to start believing that we the people can make it happen.

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Brendan Melican, Luna, and Hannah Converse.

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You can watch 508 Fridays at 7pm on WCCA TV13.

[0:43] Quick mention of the Arlington Street Fire.

[1:30] Dog.

[4:05] Little Occupy Worcester update.

[5:37] Marty Lamb hasn’t called us back.

[6:00] Murder in front of City Hall.

[7:30] Womag Hometown Heroes 2011.

[11:30] Problems with our 2011 election coverage. What the Guardian is planning for 2012 coverage.

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Brendan Melican.

Audio: mp3 download link, other formats, feed

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You can watch 508 Fridays at 7pm on WCCA TV13.

[1:04] We summarize the SMOC/PIP thing and offer a few comments.

[12:40] Some talk about Occupy Worcester. Next occupation plan: pontoon city on Lake Quinsig.

[18:48] Beard coverage in Womag and Happiness Pony, upcoming charity beard competition.