Archive for the 'personal well-being' Category

“I Got it From Agnes”: the Theme Song for Earned Sick Time

Posted by Brendan on June 14th, 2011 filed in Philadelphia, health, personal well-being, politics, youtube

Here in Philadelphia, there’s an ongoing campaign to ensure that all workers get earned sick time: that is, paid days off sick.
To someone like me, who’s had paid sick days for years, it’s a no-brainer. If you’re sick, or your kid is sick, you get a paid day off. But in Philly, 41% of [...]

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Product Review: Suavecito Pomade, Lucky Tiger Bay Rum, Club Man

Posted by Brendan on May 13th, 2011 filed in personal well-being, product review

As most of y’all know, I like to put pomade in my hair: I’ve written before about my love for Murray’s Superior and its competitors.
In the linked article, I singled out the bizarre color and offensive odor of Murray’s water-based competitor Layrite, while at the same time highlighting its incredible hold.
Last month at Viva Las [...]

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Extorting Sick People

Posted by Brendan on February 14th, 2011 filed in health, health care, personal well-being, pure evil

This piece, via Susie really hit home for me.
Over the weekend, we Tarts learned the shocking news that one of our most loyal backbloggers and friends, Melissa Mia Hall, aka MMH, had died suddenly and somewhat mysteriously.
[...]
And then we learned the truth which turned out to be far worse, far more humbling, than our conjecture. [...]

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PSA: Income-Based Repayment

Posted by Brendan on December 1st, 2010 filed in personal well-being, poverty, public service announcement, sheer unadulterated joy

If you’re like me, and I hope for your sake you’re not, your student loan payment is dreadful. i have been unable to afford mine for years, but every time I put it in forebearance, the interest accrues and accrues, and the new payment reflects that, usually by an additional $100. It’s a vicious cycle, [...]

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Deep Thought

Posted by Brendan on October 21st, 2010 filed in biography, life, meta, personal well-being, punk rock, youtube

At my friend’s bookstore this afternoon, a guy overheard me mention my birthday.
“Congrats,” he said. “My son just turned 14. Do you remember what it was like to be 14?”
“Actually, I do,” I replied. “in fact, I’m as angry now as I was then, if not angrier. And i’m angry about the same things.”

It’s [...]

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6:20 Wake-Up Call

Posted by Brendan on October 13th, 2010 filed in BAH, Philadelphia, general complaining, life, mentally ill, personal well-being

AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGHHHHH OHGODOHGODOHGOD GET OUTTA MY HEAD, GET OUTTA MY HEAD.
“Oh Jesus-fucking-Christ,” I said, bolting upright in bed. It was 6:20 this morning, and the neighbor’s grandson was pitching one of his legendary psychotic fits. The banging on the wall suggested he was trying to dislodge whatever was in his skull through sheer force [...]

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That’s a LOT of Venereal Disease

Posted by Brendan on July 22nd, 2010 filed in Philadelphia, health, personal well-being, public service announcement

Living in the city, you learn so much about stuff you’d rather not know about, but need to.
For example, my zip code has some of the highest rates of syphilis, and THE highest rate of chlamydia in the whole city (warning, pdf). 55 cases of syphilis. 1,434 cases of chlamydia. between the two, southwest Philadelphia [...]

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Desperately Needed Happy Post

Posted by Brendan on June 4th, 2010 filed in Philadelphia, agriculture, environment, food, food security, gardening, life, personal well-being

I’m going to give us a tiny little break from the Apocalypse in the Gulf, because by the time I post the next series of photos of oil-coated animals, I’m concerned that without something uplifting my readers are going to tear their eyeballs out.
It’s spring in Philadelphia, and my walk to work gets more pleasant [...]

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Meditation

Posted by Brendan on May 5th, 2010 filed in life, meta, personal well-being

Ordinarily, I’m not one for meditation. While I persoanlly subscribe to Taoist philosophy, I’m way too fidgety to sit still for any length of time, and while I don’t have ADD, it’s difficult for me to concentrate on abstract concepts for very long. What’s the sound of one hand clapping? How the fuck should i [...]

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Ch-ch-changes

Posted by Brendan on April 12th, 2010 filed in Philadelphia, meta, personal well-being, youtube

It was a big weekend, and I got a lot of work done around the house, played a bunch of music, and drank a bunch of beer.
There’s a lot of stuff going on right now, enough so that I’m posting Bowie videos, and I’m not in the talkative mood today.

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