Spare Change News

Category: TV & Movies

  • "F" Poverty

    The Rich and the Rest of Us, by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West (Smiley Books). These two bright minds, with articulate diction of intellect and the loud volume of intense passion, place the political “F-word” at the center of the socio-political discourse – and that disconcerting word is poverty. For many, it remains an icky…

  • Racism: A Personal Meditation

    Racism has been a constant companion all of my life. I, first, met him in the first grade in Richmond, Kentucky. During this tender time, I had developed a crush—or whatever 6 and 7 year olds call it—on a girl in my class who happened white. Somehow, my teacher, who was white as well, caught…

  • Marley: A Movie Review

    Movie directed by Kevin McDonald It is the rarest of figures whose life’s work was so passionately particular that, by honoring his own credo, he, in turn, spoke to the pulse of the world. This is not hyperbole. Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) ends this enthralling documentary, as the credits roll, with…

  • Searching for Sugar Man: A Movie Review

    Movie directed by Malik Bendjelloul It’s been a long time since I’ve walked out of a movie feeling as invigorated and uplifted as I did after seeing “Searching for Sugar Man.” Unfortunately, I can’t fully tell you why without running the risk of ruining the experience for you. I knew next to nothing about this…

  • An Underdog’s Approach

    James Shearer Spare Change News The other day a student who was doing a project on Spare Change asked me why I do what I do? Meaning helping the homeless, and why I’m so dedicated to it? And what led me to sticking with Spare Change? Even though I was vocal about how it wouldn’t…

  • First Person: A Paper With A Future

    First Person: A Paper With A Future

    Like any good Greater Bostonian, I always dutifully bought each new issue of Spare Change News when it came out every other Friday. Jesse, my Spare Change vendor who sells the paper in Court Square, not too far from the State House in Boston, was a very nice guy. He was big on the mission…

  • 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…

  • The Spiritual Life: An Alternative Way of Healing Mind, Body, Spirit (Part III)

    Jacques Fleury Spare Change News Read Part I Read Part II The right road disappears beneath our feet. – Alice Walker So far, I have discussed how I came to Reiki, my initial skepticism and nagging curiosity about the practice, and the disputed founder Dr. Mikao Usui’s Reiki principles of “do not worry, do not…

  • Editorial: Get Smart On Crime

    “Tough on crime” talk might sounds good to legislators who like surefire-sounding answers that sell well to a crime-weary public. Three strikes and you’re out. Lock ‘em up and throw away the key. Build more jails. But even some of the nation’s more conservative states are learning that being “smart on crime” means more than…

  • 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…