Almost every six minutes, a woman reports being raped in the United States, according to the most recent figures from the FBI. That added up to more than 90,000 women who were raped in 2006 -- a number that experts consider a gross undercount.
We'll never know for certain how many women were raped in 1984, but one of them was Plain Dealer reporter Joanna Connors, who was then our theater critic. She was attacked on a deserted stage at Eldred Theater, on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.
Today, Joanna will tell you a story she kept quiet about for more than 20 years: her chance encounter with a dangerous felon on parole; the nightmare of the trial; her subsequent years of coping and denial; and, finally, her search to find the man who raped her so she could try, at last, to move on from an incident that changed and scarred her life.
Her story is powerful, and hard to read. The language is raw, the acts described are brutal. Her struggle -- over the rape itself and the complex racial issues it raised -- is intense. Some of you might find even this sanitized version violates your expectation of acceptable content for The Plain Dealer. Some of you might be upset or angry. Some of you might not want to read this story.
We risk offending some readers in the hope that Joanna's story will help other sexual-assault victims grapple with their own trauma and misdirected self-blame, and find ways to heal. For everyone else, we hope reading this story will shed light on the reality of the lasting impact of rape, break the silence, lift the stigma and promote greater understanding throughout our community... (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
The New York Toy Fair happened recently, and it was THE place to be to see all the hottest new lead-drenched confections for the kiddies...one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen, a toy which combines the most unholy aspects of My Little Pony and Bratz. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Struts, the fashion model whorses...
For some reason this image has been swimming around in my head for a few years now, and finally - after chipping away at it bit by bit over the last couple months - I've brought it to life as a large, absurdly detailed print. It's kind of about the strange, uncomfortable feeling of reuniting with old friends only to find that the magic just isn't there anymore - and in turn, about the melancholy "nothing will ever be as good as it used to be" type of nostalgia, of which I am increasingly fond. And of course, a tribute to the late, great, wood-paneled, shag-carpeted 1970's rec room. (Rob Sheridan)
Have you seen a truly awful piece of Photoshop work? Clumsy manipulation, senseless comping, lazy cloning and thoughtless retouching are our bread and butter. And yes, deep down, we love Photoshop.
Phunis meant to be a playground where people can be creative. It can also be used as an educational tool to learn about physics concepts such as restitution and friction.
Famed Japanese auteur Takashi Miike, best known for cult classics Audition, Ichi the Killer and Children of Lost Souls, redefines the spaghetti Western with...a tale written in blood. Two clans...battle for a legendary treasure hidden deep in a desolate mountain town. One day a lone gunman, burdened with deep emotional scars but blessed with incredible shooting skills, drifts into town. The two clans try to woo the gunman to their side, but he has ulterior motives. Dirty tricks, betrayal, desire and love collide as the situation erupts into a final, explosive showdown.(official film site)