Joy Tomme

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Contributor

BSR Contributor Since July 14, 2007

Joy Tomme is an editor and writer who lives south of Center City. She was formerly an associate editor of the Welcomat (now Philadelphia Weekly), for which she also wrote a religion column. Her jaundiced views of organized religion, she adds, "have not changed even though my son became an Episcopal priest and God help him!" Her virulently anti-Bush blog, Ratbang Diary, can be visited at ratbangdiary.blogspot.com.

By this Author

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Page 1

Even bishops and Biblical scholars have joined the ranks of skeptics.

Can Christianity survive Christianity?

Is supernatural religion a fraud?

What if the only way the Christian church can survive is to admit that the early Christians juiced up the Jesus narrative in order to sell it?

Joy Tomme

Aug 17, 2013 Essays 5 minute read

How come I don't get treated like Maggie the Cat (above)?

Bright lights, big city: Cat's-eye view

It isn't the heat, it's the humanity: A cat's guide to urban survival

Spare me your tales of woe about this heat wave. I've heard it all before. For a fresh perspective, I turned to my cat, Fiona.

Joy Tomme

Jul 19, 2013 Essays 4 minute read

Poster for 'Between the Lines,' 1977: The faces looked familiar.

Memories of "The Welcomat'

We called it ‘the 'Mat'

For a brief moment in the '80s— when writers still used typewriters and people still read newspapers— the old weekly Welcomat wreaked havoc with conventional journalistic norms. For an even briefer moment, I enjoyed a front-row seat.

Joy Tomme

Jul 10, 2012 Essays 6 minute read

Michele Bachmann's migraines

Dear Michele Bachmann: Let's face facts about migraines

Michele Bachmann thinks her migraine headaches won't preclude her from serving effectively as president. As a migraine sufferer from the age of five, let me tell you: When in the throes of a severe migraine, it's not possible to engage in anything except a fervent prayer to die.

Joy Tomme

Jul 23, 2011 Essays 4 minute read

Mumbai, 2008: The bartender had bigger plans, apparently.

The making of a terrorist, 1984

‘I am a man': The making of a terrorist, 1984

Daood the Philly bartender claimed to be a Shiite. He claimed to own an arsenal of guns. He also claimed to have a sure-fire tip on the Super Bowl. Patrons at the Khyber Pass North used to laugh at him. No more.

Joy Tomme

Dec 09, 2009 Essays 4 minute read

Let's talk about Jane Smiley's writing

I used to love Jane Smiley’s writing. Then she started posting on the Internet, revealing herself as yet another example of a writer who desperately needs an editor.

Joy Tomme

Jul 21, 2007 Essays 3 minute read

I feel bad about Nora Ephron

Ephron’s last book relies on schtick, reads like she wrote it over a weekend and reveals her to be, after all, just another foolish, wealthy 65-year-old Manhattanite who wishes she could turn back the clock and look young again.

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. By Nora Ephron. Knopf. 160 pages; $21.95.

Joy Tomme

Jul 14, 2007 Articles 5 minute read