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Tanja Hollander takes Facebook to the PMA

Friend quest
If you've been buzzing about "Are You Really My Friend?" the new installation of Facebook-inspired portraits by local photographer and Bakery Photo Collective founder Tanja Alexia Hollander, you're not alone.
By NICHOLAS SCHROEDER | February 08, 2012

Meme forecast for 2012

What pianos will the cats of the future play for us?
When evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the word "meme" in 1976 — meaning "a piece of thought copied from person to person" — he probably didn't realize that, in time, the word would come to be synonymous with cat macros, various advice animals, and Rebecca Black.
By EUGENIA WILLIAMSON | December 30, 2011

Facebook party pics

Failure
Memories. Mostly drunk ones.
By KARL STEVENS | December 21, 2011

Stop SOPA

Old-media corporate giants seek censorship through a web-based blacklist. Plus, #occupy brutality, and D.C. deadlock.
The dinosaurs of the entertainment world ( i.e. , Hollywood movie studios and national music companies) have joined with the Business Software Alliance (which represents tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft, and Intel) to sponsor an insidious piece of legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
By EDITORIAL | November 22, 2011

RIP .:therapy

Dance Dept.
For years, a pair of giant angels hung over the dance floor at .:therapy, an afterhours electronic dance music (EDM) club in Olneyville.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 16, 2011

The Big Hurt: Smash Mouth chicken out

Scrambling
In the end, some eggs were eaten and a bunch of money was raised to help sick kids, which is great. But did Steve Harwell truly meet the egg challenge? No!
By DAVID THORPE | October 19, 2011

Drawing a line

Bipartisan agreement
Remain calm. You've probably heard that a special commission has failed to reach bipartisan agreement on a plan to redraw the boundary between Maine's two congressional districts in order to make their populations as close to equal as possible. Don't panic.
By AL DIAMON | September 07, 2011

My Facebook vacation

Hoopleville
The grin behind the grimace.
By DAVID KISH | August 10, 2011

Sexy Period's panty raid

Department of Defense
Stepping into Sexy Period's one-room office, I leave the imposing bricks of One Davol Square behind and enter a world of whimsy.
By NICOLE FRIEDMAN | August 12, 2011

A friend in need

Community comes together to support Aliza Shapiro
For the last 15 years, Aliza Shapiro has been the heart and brains of Truth Serum Productions, the rabble-rousing outfit behind the irreverent TraniWreck cabaret.
By THOMAS PAGE MCBEE | August 05, 2011

By | January 01, 0001

Eli Pariser is interviewed by Ethan Zuckerman about his new book

Eli Pariser talks about The Filter Bubble

News feeding
When he was executive director of the progressive advocacy organization Move On, Eli Pariser had the chance to meet lots of fellow liberals. But he had fewer conservative friends, and he worried he was missing out on their perspectives on political and social issues.
By ETHAN ZUCKERMAN | May 26, 2011

Look at This Fucking Hipster Wedding

Marching down the aisle with mustache parties, woodland creatures, and letterpress — lots and lots of letterpress.
If you liked it, then you shoulda put a bird on it.
By EUGENIA WILLIAMSON | May 25, 2011

Letting our imaginations run wild

Patent pending
There was a priceless article in last week's Portland Press Herald about the "Platter Ensemble," a new "invention" — a slotted plate that fits over a deep-dish platter in order to catch the juices that sometimes squirt out of a freshly cracked lobster.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | May 18, 2011

By | January 01, 0001

The Big Hurt: Pancakes! Lent! Golf!

This month's inessential press releases
March has been a true delight in the music-PR department — I haven't seen this many dumbshit stunts since Jackass 3D . Let's roll up our sleeves and thrust our hands elbow deep into a steaming pile of press releases:
By DAVID THORPE | March 24, 2011

2011 Valentines

Big Fat Whale
Please take this Magic: The Gathering card as a token of my affection.
By BRIAN MCFADDEN | February 10, 2011

VHS is the new vinyl

I thought video was a dead medium — until I discovered the analog underworld of VHS snobs
I was a VHS addict. In the '80s and '90s, I practically lived at the video store, renting every movie I could get my hands on. As my obsession with movies grew, renting was not enough; they needed to be mine. I amassed a few hundred videocassettes, and I was proud to own each one of them.
By MICHAEL NEEL | January 26, 2011

Phantom Gourmet kisses ass, defends Upper Crust

Bitter aftertaste
The day after Christmas, those who follow the Phantom Gourmet's Facebook feed were treated to a provocative status update.
By EUGENIA WILLIAMSON | January 06, 2011

By | January 01, 0001

Why I am leaving Facebook

New beginnings
By the time you read this, I'll already be gone.
By DAN MACLEOD | December 29, 2010

The year in tech

Private eyes are watching you
This year saw some tech wins (public information), some losses (privacy), and many more questions for the future of an increasingly wired world. (Example: Is anything secret anymore?) And there was the appearance of yet another grassroots David, and, as if a warning to future Davids, the epic collapse of a bloated Goliath.
By JEFF INGLIS AND NICHOLAS SCHROEDER | December 22, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

The high-stakes overhaul of a newspaper website

As the ProJo turns
The Providence Journal 's website, once considered forward-looking, feels a little backward at the moment.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | November 17, 2010

Copyright gone copywrong: Cooks Source update

Too Many Cooks Dept.
It was the ill-informed e-mail heard 'round the world: "But honestly Monica, the Web is considered 'public domain' and you should be happy we just didn't 'lift' your whole article and put someone else's name on it!"
By STEVE MILLER | November 17, 2010