Saturday, October 3, 2009

The pain of a BlackBerry-induced sprain is soothed by new bylines

When I was in high school, I used to sprain my ankle quite often. Usually in an embarrassing way. For instance, one time I sprained it playing the very politically-incorrectly-named game, 'Smear the Queer.' A favorite game in my neighborhood, one person ran around with a football while everyone else tried to tackle that person. Unlike the game of football, you could not throw the ball to someone else.

For some reason, the Hill family owned a pair of crutches, so I would hobble around on those for a few days, and it would heal. I also invested in a serious ankle brace for the recovery periods -- it has velcro, shoe laces, and lots of straps.

I had to dig it out this week, because I have sprained my ankle again for the first time in 10 years or so. And in a very embarrassing way. I was walking to work on Wednesday reading through my e-mail on my BlackBerry, and I stepped off the curb and turned my ankle. It's now all swollen and painful, though the embarrassment over the way I sprained it is almost worse than the sprain itself: I was engrossed in an article about Sarah Palin's speaker fees.

Ah well. The week improved with two pieces I've written being published by new outlets for me: The Washington Post and Time Out New York. Here are the leads:

"Educational? You Be the Judge." in the Washington Post, written with David Lat

Meet Supreme Court Justice Irene Waters. With her pursed lips and dark hair pulled back in a bun, she bears a passing resemblance to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In her jurisprudence, however, Waters may be more like Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who cast the swing vote in many key cases before retiring in 2006. Waters is more animated than either of those two justices, and even more so than Justice Antonin Scalia.


"Virtual Matrimony" in Time Out New York

For those willing to trade the organ for iTunes and the walk down the aisle for a click of the mouse, there are several ceremonial websites (as they’re not legally binding) that allow you to tie the knot online. Your first reaction might be, “I don’t,” but as more and more couples meet through Match, Craigslist and JDate, sealing the deal with a Web-emony may not be such a leap.