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News Briefs 15-10-2014
Posted by Grail-seeker at 11:19, 15 Oct 2014Hey America, it's all very well to get into the spirit of things, but it's still not Hallowe'en yet.
- Why H.P. Lovecraft matters more than ever.
- Satanic panic: how British agents stoked supernatural fears in Irish Troubles.
- Did ancient Siberian princess use cannabis to cope with breast cancer?
- Ecstasy and acid in your medicine cabinet? Doctors explore psychedelics.
- Could gas explosions explain Bermuda Triangle mystery?
- The man who tricked chemtrails conspiracy theorists.
- Hitler was 'a regular user of crystal meth', American Military Intelligence dossier reveals.
- US Army drafts blueprint for World War III.
- Pentagon warns of immediate national security threats from climate change.
- 10 rituals of pain.
- The anti-poaching drones of the future might look something like this.
- Extraordinary claims require study: the scientific value of anecdote.
- What happens when Cirque du Soleil plays with drones.
- Celebrity psychic Sally Morgan fires husband for threatening sceptic.
- This article's a 'Crabzilla' killer!
Quote of the Day:
Where there is no imagination there is no horror.
Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr.
News Briefs 14-10-2014
Posted by Greg at 12:48, 14 Oct 2014Just a little pin-prick...
- Famed Antikythera wreck yields more treasures.
- Vampire grave found by Bulgarian Indiana Jones.
- Ancient Amazonians: Imaginary man-hating virgins invented to be killed by Greek heroes? Wrong.
- Remains of Alexander the Great's father confirmed found.
- Metal detecting enthusiast unearths Viking treasure hoard in Scotland.
- Apocalypse Soon: Meet the scientists preparing for the end times. Terrible job security in that field.
- Scientists report major advance toward nuclear fusion.
- Life and the Universe debate: Are we alone in the cosmos?
- "The scientists studying life after death are not total frauds". Nice f**kin' headline (honk honk)!
- Do ghosts exist? Four theories on our fascination with apparitions.
- Eben Alexander has a GPS for heaven.
- Is life an illusion?
- It's okay to be an irrational atheist.
- Prominent anti-vaccine campaigner branded a manipulative liar by London court.
- Humans do not stand at the top of a ladder of creation, superior to all other species.
- Emirates chief reveals suspicions over true fate of missing flight MH370.
- The artist of the unbreakable code: Composer Edward Elgar still has cryptographers playing his tune.
- Recruiting young gamers to become killer drone pilots.
- Well I don't see what could go wrong with this situation: asset seizures fuel police spending.
- Giant squid attacks Greenpeace submarine.
- It started off as an isolated threat, but the terror is now spreading across international borders. No, not ebola dummies….evil clowns!
- Image of the Day: Robot orbiting a comet in the depths of space takes a selfie.
Quote of the Day:
They said, 'What's in the box?'
I said, 'a large gold medal,' as one does.
So they opened it up and they said, 'What's it made out of?'
I said, 'gold.'
And they're like, 'Uhhhh. Who gave this to you?'
'The King of Sweden.'
'Why did he give this to you?'
'Because I helped discover the expansion rate of the universe was accelerating.'
Astrophysicist Brian Schmidt, describing going through airport security with his Nobel Prize
Weekly Roundup 12-10-2014
Posted by Greg at 07:37, 12 Oct 2014A summary of all the stories and news briefs posted on The Daily Grail over the past week. Feel free to share anything interesting!
- Ball Lightning vs UFOs
- News Briefs 06-10-2014 (Monday)
- That TV Show You Liked Is Coming Back Into Style: A New Series of David Lynch's Twin Peaks Announced!
- News Briefs 07-10-2014 (Tuesday)
- AWAREness Beyond Death?
- Is This New Scientific Evidence the 'First Hint' of Life After Death?
- News Briefs 09-10-2014 (Thursday)
- Jason Silva on 'Hacking Our Flow State'
- News Briefs 10-10-2014 (Friday)
Have a good weekend!
News Briefs 10-10-2014
Posted by G.C at 07:10, 10 Oct 2014"Education is our only political safety. Outside of this ark all is deluge."
- Solar systems unlike our own.
- New Antikythera wreck dive reveals new details.
- Lunar H2O.
- Graham Hancock discuses latest news from Gunung Padang.
- Dark matter lightens up.
- Whales adapt to communicate with dolphins.
- The oldest known cave paintings just got older.
- X-37B gets a new home.
- The four cities.
- Let there be light.
- Unlocking the secrets of LSD.
- Are 3D transplants the next step?
- Searching ancient human soil for answers.
- Looking for Eve... or WALL-E.
- Life in 2025.
- Drought exposes submerged town.
- As above, so below.
- When consciousness starts… or ends.
- Secret Sun places the Cocteau Twins under the microscope.
- The next nautilus.
- This week's evidence of the looming robot uprising… Hatsune Miku.
Quote of the Day:
"If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness and ask for truth, and he will find both."
H. Mann
News Briefs 09-10-2014
Posted by Greg at 23:00, 09 Oct 2014Better late than never!
- NASA eyes deep sleep option for crew of Mars mission.
- Ancient aliens and astronomical alignments.
- Does this new scientific paper offer the 'first hint' of life after death?
- Related: an excerpt from my book Stop Worrying! There Probably is an Afterlife, in which I discuss the AWARE project and the now-famous veridical OBE in detail.
- Seeing the light: are we immortal in some way?
- UK 'psychic' Sally Morgan threatens legal action - and more - against sceptic. More here.
- New Ghostbusters film in the works…with an all-female cast.
- Surrender to the void - a metaphysical Q&A with Sam Harris, International Man of Reason.
- The placebo effect doesn't just apply to pills.
- The extraordinary beginnings of human consciousness.
- Indonesian cave painting discovery transforms ideas about how humans first developed the ability to produce art.
- The hydraulic telegraph of Aeneas - long-distance communication of antiquity.
- Also: the steam-powered pigeon of Archytas, the flying machine of antiquity.
- What's this? Oh nothing, just an ancient Egyptian snake coffin.
- Stunning depictions of ancient comets that scared the hell out of humans.
- UK Met Office opens solar storm centre. (Why? See Robert Schoch's article "Death Star" for some scary thoughts…)
- Ebola is in America - and finally, within range of Big Pharma.
- Mercedes is making a self-driving semi to change the future of shipping.
- Beyond the machine: metaphors of the body (featuring Rupert Sheldrake).
- Are we over-thinking the dangers of artificial intelligence?
- Two British newspapers embarrass themselves over marijuana.
- Why people believe things that you don't believe.
- Image of the Day: this mushroom looks like a zombie's hand emerging from the ground.
Quote of the Day:
Everyone has a belief system, B.S., the trick is to learn not to take anyone's B.S. too seriously, especially your own.
Robert Anton Wilson
News Briefs 07-10-2014
Posted by Greg at 13:45, 07 Oct 2014Do students of Zen sing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hand"?
- First hint of 'life after death' in biggest ever scientific study. Abstract of the paper is here.
- Self-promotion alert - I covered pretty much all of that 'breaking news story' above in my 2013 book, Stop Worrying! There Probably is an Afterlife.
- The incredible picture that proves there is life on other planets. Grains of salt available on request.
- Devil worship on a man-eating mountain.
- Ball lightning vs UFOs - the differing ways in which scientists have treated each phenomenon.
- Man tempts fate by traveling around the Bermuda Triangle…in a floating hamster ball.
- Another 'Blood Moon' lunar eclipse returns to the sky on Wednesday.
- That TV show you liked is coming back into style: new series of the legendary David Lynch TV show Twin Peaks will air on Showtime in 2016…with Lynch to direct every episode.
- Why are scientists always the bad guys in movies? I'd do a statistical analysis to illustrate the confirmation bias in that article, but I don't want to seem like the bad guy...
- The navy is building robotic weaponized boats that use swarming strategies. Damn, now the Navy are making scientists out to be the bad guys as well!
- Charging your iPad or iPhone beside your bed could make you put on weight, say Spanish scientists.
- First teleportation of multiple quantum properties of a single photon.
- New particle is both matter and antimatter.
- 3D printed heart saves baby's life.
- Man complains of itchy ear; doctor pulls 3-inch-long cricket from his ear. I christen thee Babelcricket.
- Did the mythical Saraswati river of the ancient Vedas really exist?
- Image of the Day: Red Pill Junkie meets the red pill kingpin, our good friend Graham Hancock.
Quote of the Day:
Through the darkness of future's past, the magician longs to see. One chants out between two worlds... "Fire... walk with me."
Twin Peaks
News Briefs 06-10-2014
Posted by Kat at 16:58, 06 Oct 2014Why-the-world-stays-screwed-up edition.
- Isolation and hallucinations: Why the mental health of astronauts is one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to successful space missions.
- The US is holding on to nuclear weapons to defend the Earth against rogue asteroids.
- Huge feature on the Moon may be an enormous volcanic vent system.
- Exploring the monstrous creatures at the edges of the dark matter map: What if the most popular hypothesis is wrong? Plenty of fringier theories exist.
- Green snot is taking over the world's rivers.
- How we really feel about drugs.
- Healing trip: How psychedelic drugs could help treat depression.
- Memory loss associated with Alzheimer's reversed using systems approach.
- What will it take for computers to be conscious?
- Late addition: The Most Ambitious Environmental Lawsuit Ever: A quixotic historian tries to hold oil and gas companies responsible for Louisiana's disappearing coast.
- Managing a Nightmare: How the CIA watched over the destruction of Gary Webb.
- Kill the Messenger: Since the Contra-crack-cocaine scandal surfaced in 1985, major U.S. news outlets have disparaged it, most notably when the big newspapers destroyed journalist Gary Webb for reviving it in 1996. But a NYTimes review of a movie about Webb finally admits the reality.
- Monsanto spends millions to fight GMO labeling efforts in a few US states.
- Inside the Koch brothers' toxic empire.
- iPhone? It's a spyphone: Apple devices can record your every movement.
- Leaked documents reveal chemical industry arm-twisting in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal, which is poised to derail European regulations on chemicals, endocrine disrupters and GMOs.
- A confidential report and a fired bank examiner's hidden recorder penetrate the cloistered world of the Fed — and its history of deference to banks.
- New Intel Doc: Do not be 'led astray' by 'commonly understood definitions'.
- For the first time, filmmakers in the forests of Borneo's Mount Kinabalu have documented the so-repulsive-it's-captivating behavior of a large, red, worm-guzzling predator, which remains unclassified by science.
- Fairies and Elves - a history (sort of). Leave your wings at the door.
Thanks to Kapryan.
Quote of the Day:
NSA plays a lot of word games.
The DIA document shows that for the NSA, 'collection' of your e-mails doesn't mean what you think it means. It means something totally different. They want to be able to say they're not 'collecting' your data, so they claim that even though they copied all your e-mails, put them in a server for five years, and searched them at will, that's not 'collection' because your e-mail didn't go into a report.
The NSA plays the same games with all of the words they use — they say you are not a 'target,' even though they collect, store and search all your data. They say your data is collected only 'incidentally,' even though the NSA intentionally designs its programs to collect everything you do online. They say your data is not collected 'under this program,' which almost certainly means it is collected under some other program. The NSA says things, using some very tortured and legalistic definitions, which are technically true but designed to mislead Americans about how it collects and uses our data. The NSA's collection and use of Americans' data would never stand up to any kind of public scrutiny or judicial review. The only way these programs survive is because they are shielded from review and oversight and challenge in the courts.
John Tye, a former State Department official, in 'New documents show how Reagan-era executive order unbounded NSA'.
Weekly Roundup 05-10-2014
Posted by Greg at 01:03, 05 Oct 2014A summary of all the stories and news briefs posted on The Daily Grail over the past week. Feel free to share anything interesting!
- Did Marco Polo 'Discover' America in the 13th Century?
- News Briefs 29-09-2014 (Monday)
- The 'Nazca Lines' of Asia - Archaeologists Discover Massive Geoglyphs in Kazakhstan
- News Briefs 30-09-2014 (Tuesday)
- Free Sample Articles from Darklore Volume 8
- News Briefs 02-10-2014 (Thursday)
- Urban Tunnellers - What Lies Beneath Our Streets?
- News Briefs 03-10-2014 (Friday)
Have a good weekend!
News Briefs 03-10-2014
Posted by G.C at 08:02, 03 Oct 2014"Any life, however long and complicated it may be, actually consists of a single moment."
- Uncovering more of Gunung Padang.
- When skeptics doubt.
- Particle meet anti-particle.
- Plumbing the depths for Antikythera answers.
- Re-thinking the double-slit experiment.
- Atari asteroids gets real.
- The unseen undersea world.
- 'Tis the season for meteor strikes.
- The music of the LHC.
- Evolution at work.
- Fishing by satellite.
- There's life underground.
- The illusion of wetness.
- The art of Star Wars.
- This week's evidence of the looming robot uprising… Sea 'bots.
Quote of the Day:
"The universe (which others call the Library) is composed of an indefinite and perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries, with vast air shafts between, surrounded by very low railings."
Jorge Luis Borges
News Briefs 02-10-2014
Posted by Grail-seeker at 12:28, 02 Oct 2014Holding the 'Fort':
- Archaeologist thinks he's found 'Dracula's dungeon'.
- The Kogi of Colombia's new film Aluna.
- Loss of smell predicts death.
- Eminent scientists publish a Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science.
- US reroutes flights to avoid walrus stampede on Alaska beach.
- Using brain implants to boost free will.
- Man in the moon mystery solved.
- The return of the black-eyed child.
- Google Earth reveals geoglyphs in Kazakhstan.
- Laser-guided Sea-Monkeys suggest role of zooplankton in ocean currents.
- Dolphins sense magnetic fields.
- Supersmart animals are coming.
- Original ley-hunter Alfred Watkins' memorial stone erected.
- IBT challenges Uri Geller to bend an iPhone with his mind.
Quote of the Day:
If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you.
Billy Wilder


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Jailhouse Chic
Jailhouse Chic…because how else would you describe a striped jumpsuit? Alternate titles: Jailhouse Rock – cliché. Courthouse Rock – more accurate since we took these photos outside the Boston Municipal Court building, but it just doesn't have the same ring. … Continue reading →
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Miranda Kerr Gallery
Miranda Kerr
Miranda Kerr enjoyed some rest and relaxation while wearing a teeny, blue bikini. Sharing an Instagram pic on Oct. 15, 2013, the supermodel wrote: "Soaking it all in."
' More Sad Details Revealed About Robin Williams' Final Resting Place'(Fox News)
' WOW: 'Dating Naked' Is In Big Trouble'(Fox News)
' Katie Holmes Talks More About Tom Cruise'(Celeb Dirty Laundry)
' Are Taylor Swift and John Mayer Back Together?'(Celeb Dirty Laundry)
' What Is Really Going On With Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey?'(Hollywood Hiccups)


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Jonathan Walton
Jonathan Walton is Intervarsity's New York City Urban Project Director. Jonathan has worked to call students and volunteers to put their faith into concrete, sustainable action for the last 7 years, first as a member of World Vision's Speaker's Bureau and now as Director of InterVarsity's NYCUP. He is also the author of three books of poetry and short stories. The latest, "Legal: The First 21-Years" is available at all booksellers.
Walton is available to speak on a variety of topics, not limited to but including:
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the arts and faith, "hard questions about God", justice and poverty, creative activism and strategic development.
Presently, he lives with his wife Priscilla in Jackson Heights and looks forward to making Queens as much like Brodnax, Virginia as possible.
Walton is also available to teach poetry workshops and guest lecture at every level (references available upon request).
After much prayer and consideration, Walton has made a 20-year commitment to His service to God and those who have yet to know Him.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
In September 2008 we took this photo. It was the very first Feed 500 at Manhattan Bible Church! Sarah Ngu, a freshman at Columbia was in the audience. Her story epitomizes what we hope for every Feed 500 attendee. You can meet her and other great NYCUP Alumni at Feed 500 on September 20th! Click [...]
Read More
So, after Feed 500, you're going to be hungry. So, why not grab Chipotle! We are taking over 2 Chipotles on September 20th and you're invited to come, eat and support our work to fight exploitation of the people and exploitation of the planet. Catch us at the following locations: 55 East 8TH [...]
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Thanks to Fred Tessier and CSI globalVCard for packing and donating 100 hygiene kits for Feed 500. Make sure to bring your backpacks filled with food, some friends and a heart ready to serve on September 20th to Feed 500. Click here for more information and to RSVP!
Read More
Sabbath is a commandment not a suggestion; but most of us treat rest as a side dish to our lives instead of an essential, integrated part of it. So instead of sleeping we choose coffee, red bull, Adderall, Molly or whatever upper will keep us up through whatever thing we "have to do". Three [...]
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I heard about Michael Brown on Facebook. I went to CNN.com and began to read. Then I went to Twitter to get the latest and I went from vacation to anger in LTE speed on my iPhone. My mind immediately went to Eric Garner, Trayvon, Amadou and my own experiences as a black male in [...]
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…"It's impossible to change the world without having been transformed by the love of God," Jonathan says. "You can change it. You can make the oppressed the oppressor, but you won't actually bring peace. I am unashamed to say that people who don't follow Jesus are not going to transform the world. They will change [...]
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For the past 6 years, NYCUP Summers were filled with Hope Fairs, prayer meetings and deep conversations about race, gender, stereotypes, and JESUS. There were also random dance parties, movie nights, and LOTS of photos. So, since NYCUP Summer is not happening this year, what are students up to? Well, 2 Spring Break alumni, [...]
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When I was 16 years old I wrote "My Release". It was my first attempt after watching Saul Williams in "SLAM" to write a slam poem of my own. A slam poem, much like the hip-hop culture that I embraced at the time, was all about the "battle" and proving yourself to be better than [...]
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On Mon, 2012-11-26 at 01:28 +0100, brummer- wrote:
We only lose freedom, if we try to enforce freedom.
People are free to put up for the night in front of an Apple Store, this
doesn't touch your or my freedom.
IMO it's strange, if I install a Linux and the applications menu does
provide browser links, to a huge mail order company and similar, without
a warning, resp. clarification.
Somebody did code software, nearly nobody of us is interested in and
doesn't open the source code and we get a discussion.
A major distro does include advertisings to the applications menu
without an explanation or even a note and I have seen no words about
this. This is something that should be discussed.
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LINUX® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the USA and other countries.
Linuxaudio.org logo copyright Thorsten Wilms © 2006.
Hosting provided by the Virginia Tech Department of Music and DISIS.


text:
Michael Beasley
Barea Says He'll Be Back For Wolves Vs. Pacers
Minnesota Timberwolves point guard J.J. Barea says he'll be back on the court against Indiana. Barea said before the Timberwolves played the Pacers on Wednesday that his sprained left ankle is "good to go."
Timberwolves Update
Well that was fun! The Timberwolves walked into Houston Monday night and stormed to a 120-108 victory riding a red-hot 3rd quarter. A franchise record 42 points in the quarter and a sizzling Michael Beasley […]
Adelman Wins Return To Houston
Michael Beasley scored 34 points, Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Rockets 120-108 on Monday night in Rick Adelman's return to Houston.
Beasley Will Not Travel To L.A. With Timberwolves
Michael Beasley will not make the Minnesota Timberwolves road trip to Los Angeles and Utah this weekend because of a sprained right foot that has already kept him out of seven straight games.
Beasley, Barea Won't Travel With Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without forward Michael Beasley and guard J.J. Barea this weekend when they travel to New Orleans and Atlanta.
Beasley To Miss 3 Games With Foot Injury
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley will miss at least the next three games with a sprained right foot.
3 Timberwolves Featured On 2012 All-Star Ballot
Fans will have the chance to vote for Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and Ricky Rubio to make the Western Conference All-Star team. The NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 26.
Beasley's Free Throws Lift Wolves Over Bucks 85-84
The Timberwolves refused to panic down the stretch and came away with a victory.
Beasley Hosts Charity Game In Minnesota
Michael Beasley rounded up some of his friends for a charity basketball game at a Minnesota high school on Friday night, hoping to bring a few smiles to the faces of some fans disillusioned by the NBA lockout.
Michael Beasley Will Have None Of It
T-Wolves Forward Michael Beasley has been playing in New York with other NBA players. The crowds are close and chatty. Someone said something Beasley didn't like. Read the article.
Beasley Cited For Marijuana Possession In Minnetonka
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley was cited for marijuana possession in Minnetonka, according to police.
Pierce, Celtics Outlast Timberwolves
Paul Pierce had 23 points and seven rebounds, and the Boston Celtics nearly gave away another huge lead in an 85-82 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.
Wolves' Beasley Misses Practice With Stiff Neck
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley sat out practice on Saturday because of a stiff neck.
Love, Beasley Lead Timberwolves In Rout Of Jazz
Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves are finally starting to show a few signs of putting something together as another long, miserable season winds down.
4 Things: Michael Beasley
Michael Beasley of the Timberwolves has become well-known in the NBA, but there are still a few things many of us in Minnesota don't really know about him.


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"You should have a passion for whatever interests you and try to make it your life's work — not dabble!" –John Waters on his new book, "Role Models."
Last Saturday, I met film director, John Waters, for about the tenth time since I've lived in Baltimore. He was signing his new book, "Role Models" at the local independent bookstore, Atomic Books (disclaimer, I am friends with owners Rachel Whang and Benn Ray both of whom have my profuse adoration and respect). He was a little more wrinkled than the last time I'd seen him so close up, but the twinkle in his eye was still there.
"Hi, how have you been?" He said with the sweetly sinister grin.
I tried to make a joke or two as he signed the two books I'd purchased—one for me and one for a friend who couldn't make the signing. He misspelled my name, but then again, I didn't tell him that I spell it with a "K" and not a "C." And I didn't have the heart to correct him. I was just happy to see him. For as long as I've known of his work, John Waters has been one of my role models.
We may seem like very different people, but I suspect that in our hearts, we kind of match.
Maybe it's because the first film I'd ever seen of his was "Hairspray." Set in 1950s Baltimore, the lead actress was not just a bubbly fat girl (the way I've often been described), but she was smart, funny and got the very cute guy in the end. All my life, I'd never seen a movie that made girls like me such winners. Even with its few gross-out moments, the core of the film was so cheerful and heartfelt; it made me feel like I was finally somebody. As a fat girl, you're often the biggest person in the room, but also the most invisible. Tracy Turnblad (as portrayed by Ricki Lake) was the kind of girl who threw her weight around for change instead of allowing it to insulate her from the cruelty of life.
Growing up in Utah, I wasn't the fattest girl in my class. That distinction belonged to another girl I'll call "Tess." Tess was built a little bit like a bowling ball with legs. She was so round and large with pale skin and freckles, she was hard to dismiss. Yet everyone did. Except for me. I felt like I was right behind her. Each year as I passed through puberty, I grew larger. Even though I tried many diets and exercise plans, nothing seemed to want to work. I learned of a thyroid problem in my 20s that has come and gone since then. Today, I'm bigger than poor Tess ever was.
I moved to the east coast shortly after graduating from high school. I moved for many reasons. One was to escape the crazy Jehovah's Witness religion my parents had joined when I was 10. As they got deeper and deeper into their faith, I started to learn just how limited my options would be after becoming an adult. Had I stayed in their faith, I would have been expected to become a full-time evangelist, also known as a "Pioneer." A pioneer commits most of her time (men can be pioneers, but most happen to be women thanks to the fact that only men can be ministers) to going door-to-door marketing herself for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. I could also get married and have babies with another Jehovah's Witness, but given that most JW men were pretty picky about whom they married, being a fat girl sort of lowered my chances of finding "Brother Right."
The second reason I left Utah was simply to enjoy doing what I loved best: writing. Where I'd had dreams of moving to New York City and living in a shoebox-sized apartment with one cat and a typewriter, I settled for a live-in nanny gig in New Jersey. It gave me a larger place to live, a regular paycheck and lots of writing time when my charges were in school.
The last reason I escaped Utah was for the chance to finally be myself. Aside from being raised as a JW in a state run by Mormons, I didn't feel like I ever fit in anywhere there. At least a few times a month, I remember being called "weird." When you're a kid, words like that sting. As I got older, however, it made me realize that being different had its advantages. I had the coolest friends who were probably the most creative bunch in the school. Being weird was our normal.
Sometime after moving to New Jersey, I made a new set of friends. I also got involved in community theater and that is where I met Reynolds, a dreamy older boy who played "Prince Charming" in the musical production of "Cinderella." I landed a bit part in but also served as ballroom dance choreographer (thank you fifth and sixth grade ballroom dance classes!). He was tall, dark and requisitely handsome. I suspect he was also gay, but that didn't matter. He made me feel pretty and funny. He also introduced me to John Waters.
It was at the all-night cinemas of Perth Amboy where we decided to see a movie at 2 a.m. I'd never seen a movie so late in all my life. The last time I'd seen a movie after midnight was when I was eight. My father's friend, who owned a movie theater in Salt Lake City, invited us to the very first showing of "Star Wars" with his family. He was legally allowed to show the film only after midnight on the day of its release, so he invited our family to see it with his and be the first in the city to see it. When Reynolds suggested "Hairspray" and said I'd probably like it, I agreed to go. I emerged from that theater at 4 a.m. feeling like a brand-new person. A few months later, I moved to Baltimore. It seemed the perfect place for a weirdo like me.
A year after coming to Charm City (one of our quirky nicknames for this town), I heard that John Waters was auditioning actors for his next film, "Cry Baby." I figured I had nothing to lose by auditioning. So I dressed up in my best retro garb and found myself in the Station North Arts District along with about 1,500 other hopefuls waiting to audition for this film. I didn't get the part, but I met two boys who would go onto major fame in Hollywood. One got a part in "Cry Baby;" the other I dated briefly before he moved to Los Angeles to begin a career in television and film.
Sometime after my audition, I started learning more about the man behind the movie that had changed my life.
John Waters, Baltimore born and raised, was an original "guerilla" filmmaker. He didn't get permission from the city or anyone to make his films. He and his friends would invade a street in Baltimore, shoot their scene and run. He turned one of his best friends, the incomparable Glenn Milstead, into "Divine," a drag queen who ate dog feces on screen and managed to look glamorous doing it. Every shock-comedy film since his first film, "Mondo Trasho" (released in 1969—the year I was born) owes Waters a debt of gratitude. So do I.
The first lengthy conversation I had with Waters was back in the mid-nineties when he was promoting his book, "Shock Value." My ex-husband and I attended a reception for him at the University of Baltimore where I was so thrilled to meet him, I blurted out "I'm from Utah!" His eyes lit up and he clasped his hands together.
"Tell me about the Mormons," he grinned. I obliged and spent almost half an hour chatting with him about my former hometown until he was dragged away by some handler.
The weird fat girl from Utah who once traded fake newspapers with gossipy stories about people from my church with my best friend, Ruthie, learned just how acceptable it is to be exactly who I am and embrace it, not try to change it. I am grateful for movies like "Hairspray" and even "Mondo Trasho." I learned that to be weird (and even fat) can be beautiful.
"The weird fat girl from Utah who once traded fake newspapers with gossipy stories about people from my church with my best friend, Ruthie, learned just how acceptable it is to be exactly who I am and embrace it, not try to change it." Well said, well done._r
I'm looking forward to reading "Role Models" but they were out of copies at the book store when I went in the other day. Will have to look elsewhere this week.
i think his mind is brilliant and he has 'sees' things for what they really are... and of course his sense of the absurd is fantastic.
Anytime a writer expresses himself/herself as eloquently as this, you communicate the humanity of the different. We're all weirdos at one time or another, but those of us who deal with weight suffer the unique problem of having our weakness be visible 24/7.
Just as "Hairspray" was an inspiration for you, your writing (and hopefully mine, as I'm working on a novel with a fat heroine) will inspire someone else who feels marginalized.
Nice work!
My best friend as a small child was JW. His parents didn't like us associating, but we not only went to the same school, we lived in a run down duplex together, and there was a hole in the wall between our bedrooms. I vividly remember him crying and begging me to become JW, so I could be saved and we could be friends in the afterlife.
He convinced me, so I asked my mother if I could become JW, and she wisely said, "If you still want to when you grow up, you can." Having an intimate view of my friend's life pretty much took care of that.
I love John Waters. He moves around the country quite a bit, but his hometown is and will always be Baltimore. My friends at Atomic Books actually get his fan mail there and he picks it regularly. Also, if you're looking for cool stuff you can't find anywhere else, Atomic is the way to go. They are selling autographed copies of his book which can be purchased online.
I do run into John from time to time. We enjoy many of the same haunts--I often find myself at places and there he'll be holding court with kids who are barely 21 and completely taken with him. He is remarkably droll and has this charming impishness to his manner. He is so easy to worship and adore.
I hope he gets to make a few more movies in his lifetime. I reluctantly introduced my mother to his films before she died. She fell in love with them, especially "Serial Mom."
Right after the signing, he went to a nearby bar where I often find myself doing karaoke. It's in a semi-scary bar, but I know the bartender, the DJ and a lot of the local patrons, so I'm glad most people stay away. The DJ said he wasn't sure if he was joking or not, but John said he was there to audition karaoke singers. I sure hope he pops up one night when I'm there. I'd gladly take any role he'd offer.
Now I wanna go study up on Waters. Been hearin of his work for an awfully long time, jus hadn't gotten to it. Will let ya know when I do. Thnx for this.
Wonderful post. I adore John Waters, and "Hairspray" is one of my favorite films, too, and for many of the same reasons. And how wonderful you got to meet Waters himself! He just seems like he would be the most amazing person to have a conversation with.
Something I heard somewhere, Waters hoped the Broadway musical of "Hairspray" would be a big hit, because then high schools would perform it and finally the fat girl and the drag queen would be the big stars.
Favorite quote from the film: "Would you keep that racket down? I'm trying to iron here!" (Divine)
Here in Shreveport our film scene is hopping. I went to a meeting of independent filmmakers the other night. A nice chunk of time was spent talking about "getting those permits!" And, dang it, for some reason it just made my skin crawl. I'll just stick to my own guerilla/John Water ways. Thank you again for the reminder and groovy read.


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(FOX 29) An informative three-minute news item on Waldorf schools in our region -- featuring the "un-plugged" nature of the pedagogy and the popularity of it with parents in high-tech industries (as reported by the NY Times):
(Waldorf School of the Peninsula) "Preparing for Life" takes viewers inside the Waldorf School of the Peninsula where the focus is on developing the capacities for creativity, resilience, innovative thinking, and social and emotional intelligence over rote learning. Entrepreneurs, Stanford researchers, investment bankers, and parents who run some of the largest hi-tech companies in the world, weigh-in on what children need to navigate the challenges of the 21st Century in order to find success, purpose, and joy in their lives:
(TEDTalks) Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity:
(CNN) Waldorf Education is catching on from coast to coast. Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines this innovative approach to learning:
Why Access to Screens Is Lowering Kids' Social Skills (Time)
Let 'Em Out! The Many Benefits of Outdoor Play In Kindergarten (KQED)
What Happens to Waldorf Students When They Step out into the World? (YouTube/Sacramento Waldorf School)
What is Waldorf? (San Diego Family)
Is Music the Key to Success? (New York Times)
Tilda Swinton Supportive of Private Steiner Schools (The Scotsman)
Reading and Waldorf Education (YouTube/Waldorf School of New Orleans)
Media and Waldorf Education (YouTube/Waldorf School of New Orleans)
Knitting is More Important than Homework (Huffington Post)
How to Raise a Child: Teach Your Children Well (New York Times)
A Silicon Valley School That Doesn't Compute (New York Times)
Waldorf from a Neuroscientific Perspective (The Magic Onions blog)
How to Limit Your Child's Screen Time (Becoming Minimalist blog)
Kindergarten Shop Class (New York Times)


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This application note demonstrates that the SPR Navi 200 is a powerful instrument for monitoring in situ build-up and the optical properties of metal organic framework (MOF) assemblies. The optical characterization, i.e. complex refractive index determination, of the same MOF assembly both in air as well as in ethanol was enabled because of the wide angular range of the SPR Navi 200 instrument. The optical thickness of the MOF assembly as a function of layer number was modeled by utilizing the complete SPR curve output from the SPR Navi 200 instrument. This shows that the instrument is very well suited for any nanoscale materials science research.
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