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Monthly Archive for April, 2012

When I was coming up we only called it “gentrification” and even then it was code. What it stood for was first described in economic terms: growing property values, higher rents, rising food costs, and increases in local tax revenues. Then in terms of safety: drops in crime rates, arrests, and even reports of suspicious [...]

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There were things people forgot to tell me. The retired minister would openly critique my breasts as I brought him food. No girls wanted to serve him. (Only girls worked there.) A local realtor was fascinated by his shoe, which he often thought was his pet, and more fascinated by counting by tens very quickly. [...]

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Despite what some may tell you, a hipster invasion is generally a wonderful thing. When the hipsters arrive, property values skyrocket, charcuteries and cheese shops pop up and a tattoo-parlor scene develops. The bars in the neighborhood start selling an incredible selection of boutique local beers and have burlesque shows on weekends. Cupcake stores become [...]

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It happens everywhere: at convenience stores, the cinema, or in the queue outside of pubs. Sometimes, the exclamation is innocent, flung from the lips of the offender before she has a chance to cover her mouth, “You don’t look a day over fourteen!” More often than not, though, it comes in the form of a [...]

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They tell me it is shape that broken hearts and octopus traps have in common. They tell me that until 2005, when this syndrome was given a name, it did not exist. They describe my pain in the language of scientific process’ with scientific words to boot. Tako-tsubo is the Japanese word for octopus traps. [...]

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