Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Cranksgiving Bike Race Tackles Hunger in Boston
By Aimee Ortiz BOSTON, Mass.—On 22 November, Boston held its first annual Cranksgiving: a bicycle race that also combined a scavenger hunt and a food drive into one event. A hundred and sixty cyclists gathered at Copley Square for registration and the start of the race. Everyone was given a Cranksgiving manifest to follow. Pasta,…
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The Adventures of Casey and Seth, Part Two
Now maybe you’re wondering where I’m going with this story and what things are about. It is much later now, later than we all think. Casey joined the service and went to Vietnam. I stayed here and grew my hair long. Casey fought for his life and his sanity in a world that made all…
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Demon
I watched along with the rest of the nation two weeks ago as the Ferguson, Missouri, District Attorney announced the decision of the grand jury regarding whether to charge the police officer who gunned down an unarmed black teenager in August. I can honestly say that it turned out the way I expected. Anyone who…
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Thanksgiving in a Boston Shelter
BOSTON, Mass.—This year for Thanksgiving, Valorie was homeless because she lost her live-in personal care attendant job. Valorie had been doing such work for thirty years and loves it. For the last two and a half years, she has not only been helping the individual that fired her, but was also a SPARE CHANGE NEWS vendor.…
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Spare Change News Files Brief in Supreme Court Case to Defend Worcester’s Homeless
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Homeless Empowerment Project/Spare Change News was contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to join in their admirable effort to have an ordinance passed by the city of Worcester declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. The Board of Trustees unanimously agreed to support the ACLU’s request. The…
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Long Island Not Forgotten During Thanksgiving Holiday
BOSTON, Mass.—Around and after Thanksgiving, Boston citizens and city officials struggle to agree on a solution in the aftermath of the October 8 closing of the Long Island bridge, which displaced over 700 people from homeless shelters and detox/recovery programs. On Tuesday, November 25, religious leaders from Boston held an interfaith service in the Boston…
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Boston Residents Gather to Fight the City’s 2024 Olympic Bid
JAMAICA PLAIN, Mass.—On Nov. 24, the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain hosted a public meeting to organize against Boston’s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. A group of about 40 local residents, both for and against the 2024 bid, were in attendance. Boston is one of the four finalists competing for selection by the…
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Black Lives Matter: Boston Turns Out for Michael Brown
By Aimee Ortiz It was around 9 p.m. in Boston on November 24 when the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney announced that a grand jury had not indicted Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown. Less than 24 hours later, protesters and Mike Brown supporters decided to, in their words, indict…
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The Adventures of Casey and Seth, Part One
Papaver somniferum defies agricultural advances. Poppy cultivation remains a time-consuming gamble, opium extraction a tedious, manual exercise. To produce enough opium for just one viss (about 1.65 kg) requires the scoring and scraping of three thousand seedpods for their alkaloid-rich opium ‘tears.’”—from “Chasing the Dragon” by Charles Cox. Way back when, we were friends from…
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Ban This, Ban That
As I write this column, it’s a very frigid, cold day and the night will be even colder. Naturally, I can’t help but think of those who have nowhere to go, and as I think of them I wonder why people are trying to run away or even hide the homeless. I say that because…
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