How Woody Allen Saved New York

Great commentary

Colin Edward Woodward's avatarColin E. Woodward's Official Site

Woody_Allen_Cannes_2015.jpg

I recently finished watching Woody Allen’s most recent film, Irrational Man. The movie illustrates how far Allen has come from his earlier work. Irrational Man, which is a serious and heady, is neither funny nor set in New York. Maybe it’s time for Woody to return to the Big Apple.

Some people say that Rudy Giuliani, by implementing the so-called “Broken Window Theory” of police enforcement, cleaning up Times Square, and staying calm in the wake of the 9-11 catastrophe–saved New York City.

Actually, it was Woody Allen who saved New York. And he rescued the place long before anyone knew who Rudolph Giuliani was.

In the 1970s, movies exploited the darker aspects of New York. Films like Dog DayAfternoon, The French Connection, Taxi Driver, and Death Wish, depicted NYC as a gritty, tense, and violent place, where desperate men could do little…

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San Antonio Celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.

Fantastic presentation

Agnieszka Czeblakow's avatarThe Top Shelf

Today over 200,000 residents of San Antonio and the region are expected to march side by side through the streets of the city’s East Side to commemorate and honor the memory of the civil rights leader, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The 29th annual MLK March will begin at 10 a.m. at the MLK Academy located in the 3500 block of MLK Drive and end at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa (march route and info).

Although various civic and community organizations have been organizing memorial processions and ceremonies on Dr. King’s birthday in the 1970s, it was not until 1986 that the City officially recognized, sanctioned and supported the celebrations.

On April 3, 1986, the San Antonio City Council through City Resolution No. 86-15-19 under the leadership of then-Mayor Henry Cisneros established a volunteer organization “The MLK, Jr. Commission” to organize and oversee the march…

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About: Tejanas of La Raza Unida Project

I’m proud to be a part of this fascinating project.

Sara Inés Calderón's avatarThe Women Of La Raza Unida

Incredible Texas women worked tirelessly in the 1960s and 1970s to make our state a better, more equitable place. We want to celebrate these women, and their unique experiences as political and community activists, as told through their work with La Raza Unida.

It was important that they share their stories in their own words; we eventually hope to include the transcripts in a book. We aim to gain a new understanding of Texas history through the lens of some of its most stellar daughters, who found their way into activism vis-à-vis La Raza Unida.

We hope you enjoy their stories and learn from them — and please share with your friends and family.

  • Laura Varela is a filmmaker based in San Antonio, you can contact her here.
  • Andrew Gonzales is a filmmaker based in Austin, you can contact him here.
  • Fernando Ortiz is an historian based in…

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Amazing! ‘Stillness of Heart’ in 2015.

My ambitions. My dreams. The diary of Kate Stone. Recommended readings. Videos I loved. Amazing stories. Amazing people. So much more. It’s been a long but fascinating year.

Thanks for making Stillness of Heart an astounding success. This end-of-the-year report says it all.

Source: See the #fireworks I created by blogging on #WordPressDotCom. My 2015 annual report.

Introducing our new Manuscript Archivist, Katie Rojas

Kristin Law's avatarThe Top Shelf

Katie RojasHello Top Shelfers! I’m happy to join UTSA Special Collections as the new Manuscript Archivist, and to continue the work of my predecessor, Nikki Lynn Thomas. As Manuscript Archivist, it’s my job to manage and provide access to a wide range of primary source materials related to San Antonio culture and history, including women and women’s groups, Mexican-Americans, and the Texas-Mexico border region. I also have a strong interest in digital archives and digital preservation, so I am especially excited to work with the UTSA Special Collections team in that area.

I earned my BA in Anthropology from The University of Texas at Austin, with a geographic focus on Latin America. I also have a long-standing love of the fine arts, and minored in Art History. I discovered the archives field while I was an undergraduate. I attended a combination job/graduate school fair and became intrigued after speaking with…

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The Secret History of One Hundred Years of Solitude

Source: The Secret History of One Hundred Years of Solitude

The USS Zumwalt heads out to sea for Sea Trails. The Heavy Cruiser and Battleship Era is back

Nicky's avatarNicky's World

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via AP

The largest destroyer ever built for the U.S. Navy headed out to sea for the first time Monday, departing from shipbuilder Bath Iron Works and carefully navigating the winding Kennebec River before reaching the open ocean where the ship will undergo sea trials.

I’ll say this FOR ALL INTENSE PURPOSES, THE US NAVY IS BRINGING BACK THE BATTLESHIP AND HEAVY CRUISERERA

DDG-1000-Zumwalt_USS-Arleigh-Burke-FltI_USS-Arleigh-Burke-Flt-II_USS-Nevada-m7

Consider this, the Zumwalt class Destroyer is the largest surface ship the US navy has. This is way more than a destroyer and this borders on being classed as a Battleship or a Heavy cruiser. With the Railgun coming online soon, this thing would intimidate anything floating today.

In my opinion, this would eclipse anything that is afloat on earth today and even what Russia and China has now, would make them look like small boats.

zumwalt

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Interview: John J. Hennessy – The First Battle of Manassas: “An End to Innocence,” July 18-21, 1861

A great interview

Harry Smeltzer's avatarBull Runnings

!cid_2CF4249F-126F-4782-8A7B-1674CF1815FE@hsd1_va_comcast_netBy now you’ve read enough here to know that John J. Hennessy’s anticipated reworking of his 1989 H. E. Howard Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series book, The First Battle of Manassas: “An End to Innocence,” July 18-21, 1861, is available from Stackpole Books. Mr. Hennessy has graciously answered a few questions to provide a little more information about the book and himself. Please feel free to make observations or ask questions in the comment section. Also pay close attention to Mr. H’s closing paragraph. UPDATE: If you’d like a signed copy of the book for your collection (and who wouldn’t?) drop John a note at jjh127@comcast.net

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BR: I’m pretty sure most Bull Runnings readers are familiar with your work, and many to some extent with you, but for those who aren’t, what’s the thumbnail sketch of John Hennessy up to this point?

JH: My career might…

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100 Days of Blog Posts

A heroic and admirable project.

libbystanford's avatar100 Days Later

Day One: Today one of my teachers gave us a an unwritten assignment, to do one thing for one hundred days. It doesn’t matter what it is, you just have to do it for one hundred days. Something as simple as smiling to someone in the hall is acceptable, as long as you are diligent.

I thought of many things I could do for one hundred days: I could write in my journal, or I could work out (I am very out of shape after all), I even thought of watching an episode of a telenovela everyday for one hundred days, but I felt like I would eventually give up on all of those.

I am not very good at creating habits for myself. I tend to give up when I am not running the risk of hurting someone else. I suppose this is the point of this challenge…

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