Category: WRITING

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Air Force cuts / What big donors want / Mom’s secret bank balance / Supporting snail mail / Aroused by armpits

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Air Force plans to cut 10,000 airmen
By Samantha Stainburn | GlobalPost | Feb. 3
“The Air Force also expects to save $8.7 billion over five years by retiring 123 fighters, 133 transport planes and 30 aircraft used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.”

2. Big donors and what they want
By Stephen Braun, Jack Gillum and Richard Lardner | Associated Press | Feb. 3
“The Associated Press reviewed financial reports, regulatory filings, court records, public statements and more to identify favors that the biggest donors so far in the presidential campaign might want in return for their contributions worth $100,000 or more.”

3. Domnica Cemortan, ‘I Am In Love With Captain Francesco Schettino’
By Sara C. Nelson | The Huffington Post UK | Feb. 3
“The 25-year-old initially denied any romantic involvement with the married captain, but last night reportedly admitted her feelings after divers found her lingerie in his cabin.”

4. Only in Austin: a legal argument about whether it’s the state capital
By Mike Ward | Austin American-Statesman | Feb. 2
“Could Austin not be the capital of Texas? That’s the assertion that Railroad Commission Chairwoman Elizabeth Ames Jones makes in a newly filed request for Attorney General Greg Abbott to resolve a nagging issue in her campaign for the Texas Senate.”

5. Parents’ finances: When the family secret is Mom’s bank balance
By Rosemary McClure | The Los Angeles Times | Feb. 3
“Conversations we loathe: Telling a spouse that it’s over. Explaining sex to our kids. Asking our elderly parents about their finances. How do you broach that last subject without sounding greedy? It’s an important conversation to initiate, experts say.”

6. In Afghan War, Officer Becomes a Whistle-Blower
By Scott Shane | The New York Times | Feb. 5
“Since enlisting in the Army in 1985, he said, he had repeatedly seen top commanders falsely dress up a dismal situation. But this time, he would not let it rest.”

7. Will America’s Solar Civil War Destroy The Industry?
By Carl Franzen | Talking Points Memo | Feb. 6
“Behind the headlines of a looming solar trade war between the U.S. and China is a messy fight between two major sectors of the American solar industry — manufacturers against ‘downstream’ companies.”

8. Notable Authors Give Snail Mail a Boost
By John Williams | ArtsBeat :: The New York Times | Feb. 3
“For $5 a month, readers of the Web site The Rumpus can receive a new letter every week or so from writers including Dave Eggers, Jonathan Ames, Aimee Bender and The Rumpus’s editor in chief Stephen Elliott, who came up with the idea.”

9. It’s the pits
By Tracy Clark-Flory | Salon | Feb. 2
“A middle-aged man says he ‘can be sexually aroused’ by women’s shaved underarms. Our experts sniff at his kink”

10. Funeral of Winston Churchill
Witness :: BBC News | Jan. 24
“With the death of Sir Winston Churchill Britain went into mourning for its great wartime leader.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Castro’s new memoir / New York-sized iceberg / Tweeting truckers / CIA holds back Cuba history / Seductive Super Bowl ads

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Fidel Castro presents 2-volume memoir
By Anne-Marie Garcia | Associated Press | Feb. 4
“Fidel Castro spent six hours presenting a two-volume memoir to an audience at a Havana convention center, state media said Saturday. It was a rare appearance for the retired and increasingly reclusive former Cuban leader.”

2. Petraeus, with plenty of practice, sticks to message
By Greg Miller | Checkpoint :: The Washington Post | Feb. 3
“In his first extended public appearance as CIA director, David H. Petraeus this week did more than display his well-known discipline for staying on message. He did his best to bring other government voices back on message as well.”

3. Antarctica’s 19-Mile Ice Crack Will Produce New York-Sized Iceberg
By Carl Franzen | Talking Points Memo | Feb. 3
“[T]he great ice crack measures 19 miles long, 260 feet wide and 195 feet deep and the resulting iceberg will nearly 350 square miles, NASA reported.”

4. Palestina Amore
Al Jazeera World | October 2011
“Some Italians have made it their mission to mobilise support on behalf of the Palestinian cause.”

5. Shake, Rattle and Roll
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | October 2011
“Can human actions cause earthquakes?”

6. Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff
Witness :: BBC News | January 25
“Horst Woit was just 10 years old when he and his mother boarded a ship in the hope of escaping Russian forces towards the end of World War II.”

7. The latest Twitter revolution
By Irin Carmon | Salon | Feb. 2
“Long-haul truckers gather in Mississippi to learn social media skills, burnish their image — and fight regulations”

8. CIA: Release of its History of the Bay of Pigs Debacle Would ‘Confuse the Public.’
By Nate Jones | Unredacted | Feb. 3
“Even if parts of the document truly are predecisional, only they can be withheld, the facts leading up to that decision — and histories are (hopefully) based primarily on facts — must be released.”

9. Super Bowl ads: The art of seduction
Company Town :: The Los Angeles Times | Feb. 3
“The art, and the challenge, is to weave a company’s brand and message into the story line of a commercial without making it feel forced or heavy-handed.”

10. Revisiting the power of Nazi propaganda
By Ellen Shapiro | Salon | Feb. 2
“A new Holocaust Museum exhibit provides unique insight into one of the world’s most devastating ad campaigns”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Screaming babies / Clinton: The consensus candidate / Gay-friendly wisdom / GOP love for Puerto Ricans / ‘Downton Abbey’ addicts

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Why screaming babies are so hard to ignore
By Nick Collins | The Telegraph | Jan. 21
“Few situations are more infuriating than taking your seat on an aeroplane or train, closing your eyes, and hearing a baby at the other end of the cabin open its lungs with the gusto of an Italian tenor. ”

2. Bill Clinton: Someone We Can All Agree On
By Charles P. Pierce and Mark Warren | Esquire | February 2012
“Even his staunchest enemies now regard his presidency as the good old days. He has become the rare consensus figure in a country that has lost all sense of consensus. So we talked to him about where it went, and how we might get it back.”

3. How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work
By Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher | The New York Times | Jan. 21
“Though Americans are among the most educated workers in the world, the nation has stopped training enough people in the mid-level skills that factories need, executives say.”

4. How I became a ‘Downton Abbey’ addict
By Lizz Winstead | The Guardian | Jan. 22
“Yes, I know it’s just a glossy drama about the idle rich and their servants, but these idle rich are so classy compared with ours”

5. Houston’s Mayor stresses Economic Benefits of Marriage Equality
By Emily Deprang | The Texas Observer | Jan. 22
“In other words: being gay-friendly brings home the bacon.”

6. Are Puerto Ricans the Key to a Republican Victory?
By Justin Velez-Hagan | Politic365 | Jan. 23.
“Puerto Ricans already account for the second largest group of Hispanics in the U.S. (they make up 10% of all Hispanics), but are growing at an increasingly rapid pace, especially in Florida. More importantly, so is their voting power.”

7. Exploring Stories With Deep Dive
By David Erwin | Beta620 :: The New York Times | January 2012
“Deep Dive … allows users to discover something then focus their attention deeper based on that piece of content.”

8. This much I know: Elmore Leonard
By John O’Connell | The Observer | December 2010
“The author, 85, on Dizzy Gillespie, not being frightened, and being a good guy”

9. As the Worm Turns
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | August 2011
“Do earthworms have any sense of place or direction? When they are dug up in the garden and put back down someplace else, do they just return to work, or do they try to get back to their former location?”

10. The Lindbergh kidnapping
Witness :: BBC News | February 2011
“When the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh disappeared it was assumed he had been kidnapped.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Huntsman’s moment / Childish norms / The Literary King / Digital archives / Self-deception

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Huntsman: ‘Sane Republican’ ready for his moment
By Steve People and Holly Ramer | Associated Press | Jan. 7
“After sitting out the Iowa caucuses and investing all his hopes in this state, [Jon] Huntsman has struggled to find a voice that resonates with voters. The former Utah governor is proud to announce that he’s no longer ‘the margin-of-error candidate’ — in New Hampshire, at least. But he’ll need to do far better than that for his campaign to continue after Tuesday’s primary.”

2. Beyond Pink vs. Blue
By Dana Goldstein | The Nation | December 2011
“Parents of young children often marvel that, despite their own egalitarian intentions, their kids are the ones who police traditional gender norms.”

3. You Can’t Always Get What You Want: On Stephen King
By Charles Taylor | The Nation | December 2011
“Thirty-seven years after the publication of his first novel, Carrie, King still seems not just underrated but uncomprehended.”

4. The gift of tongues
The Economist | December 2011
“What makes some people learn language after language?”

5. Fire in the Library
By Matt Schwartz and Eva Talmadge | Technology Review | January/February 2012
“Once, we stored our photos and other mementos in shoeboxes in the attic; now we keep them online. That puts our stuff at the mercy of companies that could decide to throw it away—unless Jason Scott and the Archive Team can get there first.”

6. The secret life of J Edgar Hoover
By Anthony Summers | The Observer | December 2011
“For half a century, the FBI director waged war on homosexuals, black people and communists. Now, a controversial film by Clint Eastwood [opening in England] is set to reveal some of the explosive truth about him. Here, his biographer Anthony Summers tells all.”

7. How to Mobilise a Million
Activate :: Al Jazeera | November 2011
“Thousands of young Sudanese are demanding an end to the violent rule of Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan.”

8. What Are the Limits to Human Self-Deception?
By Stanton Peele | Psychology Today | November 2011
“People have no limits to their ability to reconstruct reality self-servingly”

9. Control Yourself!
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | March 2011
“Is there evidence that Kegel exercises really strengthen bladder control?”

10. The Delicious Mr. Ed
By Brian Palmer | Explainer :: Slate | October 2011
“Why don’t Americans eat horse meat?”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. PLAYER’S ANTHEM Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil’ Cease, Lil’ Kim & Notorious B.I.G.
2. REBIRTH OF SLICK Digable Planets
3. THIS D.J. Warren G
4. STILL DRE Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre
5. HANDS UP Lloyd Banks
6. SPELL CHECK Lil’ Kim
7. SHADOWBOXIN’ GZA
8. PASSIN’ ME BY Pharcyde
9. TIPSY J-Kwon
10. ROCK THE PARTY Benzino

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Vets cope with injuries / Bachmann’s implosion / Daily health care deals / The narcissist / Don’t mention George W. Bush

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Acting Out War’s Inner Wounds
By James Dao | The New York Times | Jan. 1
“The roadside bomb that separated Sgt. Matthew Pennington from his left leg in 2006 also shattered his right leg and scorched his lungs. Those injuries he understood. But then came the ones he did not, the ones inside his head.”

2. Topic: Why did Michele Bachmann implode?
By David Mark | The Arena :: Politico | December 2011
Weigh in on her political rollercoaster ride.

3. Uninsured turn to daily deal sites for health care
By Joseph Pisani | Associated Press | Jan. 1
“Merchants like the deals because it gives them exposure and a pop in business. Customers use them to try something new, to save money on something they already use, or both.”

4. The Dreamers
Activate :: Al Jazeera | October 2011
“Viridiana Martinez only found out that she is considered ‘illegal’ upon graduating from high school and discovering that she could not work or apply to colleges. … But now Viridiana is fighting back — openly declaring her ‘illegal’ status. …”

5. Behind the Facade: The ‘False Self’ of the Narcissist
By Randi Kreger | Psychology Today | November 2011
“Narcissists can’t differentiate between their mask and their true self”

6. For the Depressed, Mothers Matter More
Big Think | December 2011
“Depressed people react more strongly to photos of their mother than healthy individuals, according to new research.”

7. Keeping Greens Green
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | November 2011
“When greengrocers drench vegetables with water every few minutes, does it keep them fresh or hasten spoilage?”

8. Carter’s advice to Obama: Don’t alienate voters
By Greg Bluestein | Associated Press | Jan. 3
“Carter said: ‘If your main goal is to get re-elected, avoid a controversial subject as much as you can in the first term.’ ”

9. George W. Bush barely mentioned in GOP campaign
By Beth Fouhy | Associated Press | Jan. 3
“While the candidates routinely lionize Ronald Reagan and blame President Barack Obama for the nation’s economic woes, none has been eager to embrace the Bush legacy of gaping budget deficits, two wars and record low approval ratings — or blame him for the country’s troubles either.”

10. Civil War women: Laura Towne
Civil War Women Blog | November 2011
“Begun in 1862, the Port Royal Experiment, the first large-scale government effort to help the newly freed slaves. Northern women like Laura Towne and Charlotte Forten volunteered, and made it their mission to educate the freedmen and prepare them for economic independence.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Cold War myths / Classics’ future / Talking to yourself / Boozy writing / Gossipy grandma

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. In 2012 race, both sides seek middle-class voters
By Erica Werner | Associated Press | Dec. 24
“Fighting to win over unhappy American voters, President Barack Obama and his Republican challengers are seizing on one of the most potent issues this election season: the struggling middle class and the widening gap between rich and poor.”

2. The Forgotten Cold War: 20 Years Later, Myths About U.S. Victory Persist
By Leslie H. Gelb | The Daily Beast | Dec. 23
“This month is the 20th anniversary of its end, but few remember how it dominated our lives. What does stick in people’s heads, writes Leslie H. Gelb, is wrong — that Reagan won the war with big military spending and toughness.”

3. Do the Classics Have a Future?
By Mary Beard | The New York Review of Books | January 2012
“[H]ow do we make the ancient world make sense to us? How do we translate it?”

4. For Joplin, a Love Letter in Ruins
By A.G. Sulzberger | The New York Times | Dec. 25
“The reason this house has so far survived the wrecking ball can be found scribbled on its walls, on its floorboards, in its closets and along virtually every other remaining surface. They are personal messages, thousands of them, handwritten by the volunteers who flooded the community to help sift through and cart out the debris.”

5. Thinking Out Loud
By C. Claiborne Ray | Q&A :: The New York Times | September 2009
“Why do ‘normal’ people talk to themselves?”

6. Barcode Scanning Apps
By J.D. Biersdorfer | Gadgetwise :: The New York Times | Nov. 16
“Once scanned, most apps present a list of places and prices the scanned item can be found, which makes comparison-shopping even easier on the go.”

7. The Dreamers
By Amie Williams | Activate :: Al Jazeera | September 2011
“Roughly two million young people in the US are unaware that they are classified as illegal immigrants.”

8. Does Alcohol Improve Your Writing?
By Brian Palmer | Explainer :: Slate | Dec. 16
“Putting Hitch’s theory to the test.”

9. I can’t get along with my grandma, who loves to gossip, criticize
Troubleshooter :: The Yomiuri Shimbun | Dec. 16
“When we all sit down for dinner, she loves to gossip and speak ill of people, talking about how much money they have or their level of education.”

10. Isherwood in Berlin
Witness :: BBC News | March 18
“The English author Christopher Isherwood lived in Berlin throughout the 1930s. His vision of the city has been linked with the German capital ever since.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Gingrich and Clinton / Christmas stress / Marine recalls coming home / Teaching James Franco / SAD songs

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Gingrich, Clinton had stormy partnership
By Laurie Kellman | Associated Press | Dec. 22
“To hear Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich tell it, he and Democratic President Bill Clinton were political partners in the 1990s, lowering unemployment, balancing the federal budget and keeping the nation’s economy in robust health.”

2. Brain strain: Christmas shopping when money tight
By Malcom Ritter | Associated Press | Dec. 18
“Plenty of Americans are having to hold back this year as the lure of flashy ads, tempting bargains and family expectations clashes with the realities of the economy. Experts in consumer behavior say that situation can strain the brain.”

3. Coming Home: A Marine Officer Remembers His Tours In Iraq
By Benjamin Busch | The Daily Beast | Dec. 19
“A Marine officer who served two tours of duty shares memories of his time in Iraq and what the return home has meant.”

4. What It’s Like To Be James Franco’s Professor
By R. John Williams | Slate | Dec. 20
“His English professor at Yale reveals that the actor rarely missed a discussion, even when filming in Detroit.”

5. Twenty Songs To Go With Your Seasonal Affective Disorder
By Dave Bry | The Awl | Dec. 22
Leonard Cohen, Bill Withers, Stone Temple Pilots, Bruce Springsteen and more.

6. Q&A: Locking Up a USB Drive
By J.D. Biersdorfer | Gadgetwise :: The New York Times | Nov. 2
“Q: I like to transfer files between machines with a portable USB drive. Is there a way to protect this drive with a password in case I ever lose it?”

7. Learn From A Dog: 15 Life Lessons From Your Pet
The Huffington Post | Dec. 22
“Dogs tend to be happy, active and well rested — things we could all stand to learn.”

8. Why women need fat
By Hannah Tepper | Salon | Dec. 18
“Evolution shows that women’s dieting beliefs aren’t just unrealistic — they’re unnatural. An expert explains.”

9. My overworked wife is becoming increasingly bitter toward me
Troubleshooter :: The Yomiuri Shimbun | Dec. 16
“I’m tired of trying to hold my feelings in and am beginning to wonder if I have to continue living like this. Please give me some advice about how I should deal with my wife.”

10. The death of Kurt Cobain
Witness :: BBC News | April 5
“In April 1994 the lead singer of the grunge rock band Nirvana was found dead in his home in Seattle.”

**************

TUNES

Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. Blue Condition — Lady from the Delta
2. Boogie Bone — Don’t Mean a Thing
3. Alejandro Escovedo — Castanets
4. Robert Earl Keen — Throwin’ Rocks
5. Bobby Blue Bland — Let’s Straighten It Out
6. Philosopher Stone — Sweet Charity
7. Dr. Wu — I Don’t Need No Woman Like You
8. Joe Bonamassa — Walking Blues
9. Lost Immigrants — Genevieve
10. The Insomniacs — 20-20
11. Zack Walther & The Conkites — Georgia Cane

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Great iPhone apps / Smarties’ gadgets / Bachelor pad essentials / Writers’ libraries / Octopus intellect

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Some New Little Treasures for the iPhone
By Bob Tedeschi | The New York Times | Dec. 21
“If you really want to turbocharge your device, combine these with last year’s picks. … Like last year’s list, this one includes many free picks.”

2. The Indispensable Gadgets of the World’s Smartest People
By Larry Greenemeier | Scientific American | Dec. 21
“We ask our board of advisers to choose the technologies that they could not live without.”

3. Nine Essentials for the Perfect Bachelor Pad
By Michael Carl | Carl’s Crush :: Vanity Fair | Dec. 21
“So here are the nine things you need to create the perfect apartment for ‘company’ (I’m trying to avoid saying ‘getting laid,’ O.K.?).”

4. Writers and Their Books: Inside Famous Authors’ Personal Libraries
By Maria Popova | The Atlantic | Dec. 21
“As a hopeless bibliophile, an obsessive lover of bookcases, and a chronic pursuer of voyeuristic peeks inside the minds of creators, I’m utterly spellbound by Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books — a vicarious journey into the personal libraries of thirteen favorite authors. …”

5. Trial of the Will
Vanity Fair | January 2012
“Reviewing familiar principles and maxims in the face of mortal illness, Christopher Hitchens has found one of them increasingly ridiculous: ‘Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.’ Oh, really?”

6. The Gulf War
By Raffi Khatchadourian | The New Yorker | March 14
“Were there any heroes in the BP oil disaster”

7. Deep Intellect
By Sy Montgomery | Orion Magazine | Nov./Dec. 2011
“Inside the mind of an octopus”

8. India, China Show Military Grit
By Nitin Gokhale | The Diplomat | Dec. 22
“The latest defense dialogue between the Chinese and Indian militaries had some constructive ideas for improving military ties. Can they follow through?”

9. Analysis: Republicans risk backlash in 2012
By Tim Reid | Reuters | Dec. 21
“This week’s tense standoff over how to extend payroll tax cuts for 160 million Americans offered an unflattering look at how conservative House Republicans occasionally have overreached in avoiding compromise, lawmakers, strategists and analysts say.”

10. Reagan assassination attempt
Witness :: BBC News | March 30
“On 30 March 1981, there was an attempt to assassinate the US President.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Twain’s lost love / No more experts / Stalled computer / Cheney myth / Bombing of Guernica

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Iraq: What Remains
Christopher de Bellaigue | NYR Blog :: The New York Review of Books | Dec. 21
“[M]any Americans continue to see in Iraq a reflection of their own country’s ideals and contradictions. They will remember Iraq as an American trauma. But it was, above all, an Iraqi trauma.”

2. Mark Twain in Love
By Ron Powers | Smithsonian | May 2010
“A chance encounter on a New Orleans dock in 1858 haunted the writer for the rest of his life ”

3. The Information
By Adam Gopnik | The New Yorker | Feb. 14
“How the Internet gets inside us”

4. Wikipedia and the Death of the Expert
By Maria Bustillos | The Awl | May 17
“If learners are indeed doers and not recipients, from whom are they learning? From one another, it appears; same as it ever was.”

5. My daughter longs to meet real dad despite his snubs
Troubleshooter :: The Yomiuri Shimbun | Dec. 16
“I’m a woman in my 40s who got divorced when my daughter was 5 years old. I remarried a foreigner and we are currently living overseas. My daughter is now in high school and she misses her biological father.”

6. Q&A: Getting a Response From Stalled Software
By J.D. Biersdorfer | Gadgetwise :: The New York Times | Oct. 13
“Q: What causes a long pause with “Not Responding” indicated at the top of a program’s window?”

7. Drunks on a Plane: The Top 10 Hottest Messes at 35,000FT
The Flying Pinto | November 2011
“In honor of holiday travel: a look at the airline industry’s most infamous inebriates.”

8. Five myths about Dick Cheney
By Stephen F. Hayes | Five Myths :: The Washington Post | Sept. 9
“He’s been called Darth Vader, feared or derided as a trigger-happy, torture-loving puppet master who called the shots over the eight years of the George W. Bush White House. … But what about the former vice president is real, exaggerated, or outright myth?”

9. Civil War women: Fanny Kemble
Civil War Women Blog | Aug. 27
“Fanny Kemble was a famous British actress prior to her marriage to slaveholder Pierce Mease Butler, grandson of Founding Father Pierce Butler. Fanny was an independent and highly intelligent woman who had no idea how much her life would be affected by the institution of slavery in America.”

10. The bombing of Guernica
Witness :: BBC News | April 26
“It was one of the worst atrocities of the Spanish Civil War. German bombers, backing Franco’s fascist forces, virtually destroyed the Basque town.”

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Remembering Hitchens / Terrible presents / OWS collapsing / Word of 2011 / Iraq by the numbers

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism. Read past recommendations from this series here.

1. Christopher Hitchens, Consummate Writer, Brilliant Friend
By Ian McEwan | The New York Times | Dec. 16
“His unworldly fluency never deserted him, his commitment was passionate, and he never deserted his trade. He was the consummate writer, the brilliant friend. In Walter Pater’s famous phrase, he burned ‘with this hard gem-like flame.’ Right to the end.”

2. I Gave My Kids a Terrible Present
Jimmy Kimmel Live | Dec. 12
Kids react when they get crap for presents.

3. Polemicist Who Slashed All, Freely, Dies at 62
By William Grimes | The New York Times | Dec. 16
“He was a master of the extended peroration, peppered with literary allusions, and of the bright, off-the-cuff remark.”

4. Merriam-Webster picks ‘pragmatic’ as Word of Year
By Stephanie Reitz | Associated Press | Dec. 15
“Though it wasn’t traced to a specific news event or quote from a famous person, searches for ‘pragmatic’ jumped in the weeks before Congress voted in August to increase the nation’s debt ceiling, and again as its supercommittee tried to craft deficit-cutting measures this fall.”

5. Occupy Wall Street’s center shows some cracks
By Amy Westfeldt | Associated Press | Dec. 14
“Instead of 24-hour base camps, Occupy Wall Street’s center of gravity has devolved into dozens of smaller groups with different agendas and objectives.”

6. Q&A: Fixing to Defrag a Disk
By J.D. Biersdorfer | Gadgetwise :: The New York Times | Sept. 1
“Q: I keep getting errors when I try to run the Disk Defragmenter program in Windows. What can I do?”

7. Iraq: Key figures since the war began
Associated Press | Dec. 18
“U.S. deaths as of Dec. 15, 2011: 4,487, according to the Pentagon.”

8. The Golden Rule
Flying Bachelorette | June 2011
“Many flight attendants are upset about the way passengers behave onboard these days — but what about how flight attendants behave?”

9. Sarah Kay: How many lives can you live?
TED Talks | May 2011
“Spoken-word poet Sarah Kay was stunned to find she couldn’t be a princess, ballerina and astronaut all in one lifetime.”

10. Edward and Mrs Simpson
Witness :: BBC News | April 1
“When Edward VIII fell in love with Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee, he had to choose between his throne and her.”

**************

TUNES

Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. Paul Thorn — Turnip Greens and Long Way from Tupelo
2. Dave Herrero — Bark
3. Tommy Crain and the Cross Town All Stars — Why I Sing the Blues
4. The Geoff Everett Band — Young Love Blues
5. John Mayall — Jacksboro Highway
6. The Shawn Fussell Band — Tulia Texas
7. Bo Cox — Gone
8. Stevie Ray Vaughan — The Sky Is Crying
9. Carolyn Wonderland — Trouble In The City
10. Moosters — Executioner
11. George Thorogood — I Didn’t Know
12. Anna Popovic — Wrong Woman
13. Chris Rea — Houston Angel

Thinking As Leverage

Developing deep and critical thinking.

Behind The Wall

Tabletop Games

Rebecca Aguilar

#CallingAllJournalists Initiative | Reporter | Media Watchdog | Mentor | Latinas in Journalism

Anna Fonte's Paper Planes

Words, images & collages tossed from a window.

Postcards from Barton Springs

Gayle Brennan Spencer - sending random thoughts to and from South Austin

The Flask Half Full

Travel stories and culture, with a twist.

Government Book Talk

Talking about some of the best publications from the Federal Government, past and present.

Fighting Irish Wire

Cadillac Society

Cadillac News, Forums, Rumors, Reviews

Ob360media

Real News That Matters

Talking Pictures Audio Description

Pintar Discover

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bringing joy to family meals

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Bloggen Øl, Mad og Folk

a joyous kitchen

fun, delicious food for everyone

A Perfect Feast

Modern Comfort Food

donnablackwrites

Art is a gift we give ourselves

Fridgelore

low waste living drawn from food lore through the ages

BeckiesKitchen.com

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