Items

In an attempt to slim down “Items,” I’ve added a sidebar of “Worcester News.” (One of these days I’ll rip off Bory Kem and title it “Worcester News For All To Learn.”)

Nunavut: Zack forwards this depressing New York Times report: “7 Years Into Self-Rule, Inuit Are Struggling.”

Darfur vigil: Jay McGinley continues a “22 hour a day” vigil at the White House for Darfur that he’s been keeping since May 14, 2006.

Indymedia: Most of the feeds on our local Indymedia are broken. I live half of my life in RSS, so I made some screen-scraped feeds with a commercial service. Maybe you’ll find them helpful.

• Local newswire: http://feed43.com/2002714333612622.xml
• Incoming articles: http://feed43.com/2815873668846283.xml

The incoming feed contains lots of cross-posted chaff that has nothing to do with Worcester, and is destined to be sorted as “Contributions From Elsewhere.”

Dave Winer suggests describing RSS as “automated web surfing” when addressing a non-technical audience.

Rocco:

So if anyone knows how to land an iBook on a shoestring so I can handle the volume of all this without having to fear what Fulton Sheen would refer to as the “not-so-lovely screen dressed in blue,” teach me how to think.

Nice.

Crouse watch:

The homosexual movement, like Al Qaida, will continue to fill the open slots that are created by loss.

An appropriate lyric: June 2006, “Jay-Z leads Cristal boycott“:

“It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the ‘hip-hop’ culture as ‘unwelcome attention,”‘ Jay-Z said in a statement released Wednesday. “I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including The 40/40 Club nor in my personal life.”

April 2006, Stale Urine, “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum”:

All the players drink my lyrics
Instead of Cristal.
All you idjits are fidgits
But I’m a grand mal.