The sights, sounds, and smells at a flea market are as much a part of the experience as sifting through the discarded possessions of strangers. Part of the appeal is the bizarre voyeurism it involves, gawking at things people once believed they needed but have since found no use for. And as any flea market veteran will attest, the experience is purest when the people you are buying from have just emptied their attic or garage, packed it into a car, and driven to a parking lot somewhere to sell it all. It’s a cleansing ritual — a hit-and-run way to quickly purge things that have outlived their usefulness.

Read full essay over at Annals of Americus

Back in October, Fox News host and habitual shit-stirrer, Sean Hannity took L.A. graffiti artist Saber to task over artwork created as part of Organizing for America’s “Health Care Reform Video Challenge.” In a video titled “Saber Speaks,” the L.A. graffiti writer used the American flag as a visual focal point — painting over it in brief time-lapse footage set to the beat of a hospital heart-rate monitor. (The monitor eventually flatlines, much like the current health care debate.) This, of course, provided Hannity with some much-needed filler for his program. Hannity and conservative cockblocker Michelle Malkin immediately expressed outrage. While Hannity appears to drift off into space (no doubt searching  for patriotic inner strength from the music of Lee Greenwood), Malkin, of course, steals the show…

Read full story over at True/Slant

(via Annals of Americus)

A new series of personal essays about job loss, mental health, and the undying pursuit of art.

When I arrived that morning, the magazine offices were nearly vacant. Nothing but the dull hum of a thousand overhead florescent lights and the distant clicking of a few phantom keyboards registered a sound. A stack of empty boxes had been left on my desk. Looking at them, they seemed to tell the true story of the last 24 hours: We care, we really do. But please take your shit and leave, it’s time for us to move on (Read: ‘Fear & Self-Loathing…’ Part I). I looked at the boxes, then over at the woman from Human Resources who had escorted me from the entrance of the building to my cubicle. “Take all the time you need,” she said. “I’ll check back with you in 10 minutes.”

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[Illustration via diftype.com]