Spare Change News

Category: Arts & Culture

  • The Once and Future King: Catching Up With Our Behemoth of Modern Horror

    Stories by Patty Tomsky Spare Change News The first Kindle single from Stephen King was about a Kindle with a time-travel feature and it was boss. The second Kindle single was about a car with a Lovecraftian monster inside that kept eating people with its tentacles. It was, my friends, also pretty boss. The current…

  • Photo Essay: Homeless in Heaven and Hell

    Photos and words by Chris Swan. Homeless in Heaven and HellAlmost invisible, we people the city Living in the shadows we shine out, Moving, breathing heart of life. We may be forgotten, ignored, But we stand in your midst, Questions to be answered, Lives to be affirmed. Spare Change News decided to search out the…

  • Editorial: A work in progress

    No one can argue with the good intentions behind HomeBASE, the centerpiece of the Patrick administration’s “housing first” approach to homelessness. The idea is to move the homeless out of emergency shelters — and costly state-subsidized hotel and motel rooms, which are used in the frequent event that shelters are full — and into permanent…

  • Letter: It's Time To Strengthen Gun Laws

    To the Editor: The time is long overdue for gun control, as is practiced in England and other progressive peace loving countries. To quote Cheryl Wheeler in her song responding to the Jonesboro Schoolyard Shooting incident: …”but I know one thing. If it were up to me, I’d take away the guns.” In 1920, Britain…

  • Letter: The Vision for a Homeless Bill of Rights

    To the Editor: This is to make a correction on Adam Sennott’s article entitled “Rhode Island Homeless Bill of Rights: Is Massachusetts Next?” that was published on June 29, 2012. The article states, “Along with Senator Tassoni, the bill was put together by John Joyce and Megan Smith, Co-Directors of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy…

  • After Aurora, Questions That Need to be Answered

    James Shearer Spare Change News Late last week, an unassuming gentleman walked calmly into a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. With the exception of his outlandish clothing, nothing seemed out of place. It seemed to the folks who were there that he was just part of the show, which happened to be a special midnight…

  • Book Club for the Homeless: 'Things Worth Discussing'

    Caroline McHeffey Spare Change News Since last September, I’ve been in touch with the Oasis Coalition, an organization that helps to empower and give a voice to the homeless and poor of Boston. My volunteer work there started through my school, Suffolk University, and I was quickly serving at their Monday night dinners on a…

  • The Rise of Women’s Boxing: From Local Gym to Olympic Arena

    Noelle Swan Spare Change News No sooner had the bell rung than Jamie Jacobsen’s fist connected with my nose. Instantly, my eyes welled up with water and a cold chill set in all over my body. By the second round, my nose had swelled up beyond utility, leaving me struggling to learn how to breathe…

  • The Spiritual Life: An Alternative Way of Healing Mind, Body, Spirit Part II

    Jacques Fleury Spare Change News Read Part I You are your only master, who else? Subdue yourself, and discover your master. The Buddha So far, I have discussed how I came to Reiki, my initial skepticism nagging curiosity about the practice, the disputed founder Dr. Mikao Usui and his Reiki principles of “do not worry,…

  • The Poetry of Molly Lynn Watt

    Bio: Molly Lynn Watt is the author of Shadow People, On the Wings of Song, (manuscript) set in Civil Rights Movement, Consider This, commissioned for “Across the Ages” dance concert May 2011 which deals with incest, and Civil Rights Update, paired with Dr. King’s Dream speech, required in Dallas Schools. She co-created and performs with…