an interesting animated version of the ramayana, here.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
An interesting news item.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, February 9, 2009
Senator Feinstein Introduces Bill to Preserve Historic Accounts of Civil Rights Movement
Washington, D.C. – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced legislation to create a Civil Rights Oral History Project, a joint effort between the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress to collect oral histories of those involved in the Civil Rights Movement and preserve them for future generations.
“Our society today would not be possible without the extraordinary people who dedicated themselves to the Civil Rights Movement,” Senator Feinstein said. “Whether on a bus in Montgomery, at a lunch counter in Greensboro, in a high school in Little Rock, or on a bridge in Selma, these courageous individuals risked their lives to bring real and necessary change to our country. This bill will help ensure that we never forget their stories.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn); Thad Cochran (R-Miss.); Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.); and Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) have introduced a companion bill in the House.
"Over the past few years, we have lost some of our nation's great civil rights leaders, such as Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King. Every day that passes we lose more and more of the pioneers who fought for the freedom and equality that we all enjoy today," said Rep. McCarthy. "While we know so much about the lives of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Congressman John Lewis, and Thurgood Marshall, it is important that we learn about the everyday people of all races who took a stand during a pivotal time in our nation's history. There were so many people who were crucial to the Civil Rights movement, but have not had as much recorded about their experiences for the public record."
The bill would direct the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to record – in audio and video -- firsthand stories from the Civil Rights Movement.
The Civil Rights Oral History Project is similar to the Veterans History Project, which was started by the Library of Congress in 2000 to collect and preserve the remembrances of American war veterans and the civilian workers who supported them.
+ See the original post on Feinstein's website, here +
Monday, February 9, 2009
Senator Feinstein Introduces Bill to Preserve Historic Accounts of Civil Rights Movement
Washington, D.C. – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced legislation to create a Civil Rights Oral History Project, a joint effort between the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress to collect oral histories of those involved in the Civil Rights Movement and preserve them for future generations.
“Our society today would not be possible without the extraordinary people who dedicated themselves to the Civil Rights Movement,” Senator Feinstein said. “Whether on a bus in Montgomery, at a lunch counter in Greensboro, in a high school in Little Rock, or on a bridge in Selma, these courageous individuals risked their lives to bring real and necessary change to our country. This bill will help ensure that we never forget their stories.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn); Thad Cochran (R-Miss.); Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.); and Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) have introduced a companion bill in the House.
"Over the past few years, we have lost some of our nation's great civil rights leaders, such as Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King. Every day that passes we lose more and more of the pioneers who fought for the freedom and equality that we all enjoy today," said Rep. McCarthy. "While we know so much about the lives of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Congressman John Lewis, and Thurgood Marshall, it is important that we learn about the everyday people of all races who took a stand during a pivotal time in our nation's history. There were so many people who were crucial to the Civil Rights movement, but have not had as much recorded about their experiences for the public record."
The bill would direct the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to record – in audio and video -- firsthand stories from the Civil Rights Movement.
The Civil Rights Oral History Project is similar to the Veterans History Project, which was started by the Library of Congress in 2000 to collect and preserve the remembrances of American war veterans and the civilian workers who supported them.
+ See the original post on Feinstein's website, here +
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Favorite Podcast of the Week, Episode 1
Well, yes, the podcasting is going very well. I've discovered quite a number of podcasters that I can rely on, including several who regularly feature historical stories-- American Radio Works, Radio Diaries, Nextbook, The Moth. Though I confess that I have other interests as well! and thus I also like listening to, for instance, Slate's Culture Gabfest, which keeps me up to date on things I can't believe I don't have time to read about anymore in the Arts & Leisure section of the paper.
Anyhow, I had this idea. One week, after listening to two really wonderful podcasts about two completely separate events from 1968, I started thinking that I'd like to curate listening experiences here; that is, to collect, in one place, a set podcasts that either have obvious connections, or not-so-obvious connections, and then annotate them and provide art, and primary documents, and other resources in one spot. And I might still do that, at some point. But I've been wrecked and time-consumed on account of this book I'm writing (its at the publisher's by the way, thanks G-d). So no time for all that. Still, I wanted at least do something, so here's the low-impact first episode version of this idea.
"Mexico 1968." If you click here, you can find both the podcast, and a set of resources that Radio Diaries has compiled about the Mexican student movement of 1968, and the tragic events that, literally and figuratively, killed it. The event is something of a historical mystery, even despite the fact that many people who were there are still alive-- the official reports claimed 4 students were shot dead during the Massacre of Tlatelolco. But others claim that in fact hundreds died. The audio piece is a really well-done oral history-based documentary, one that reminded me, at least, that no matter how much I've read about the 1960s, I still don't know half of the story. Indeed, in the U.S. we tend to think of the protest movements of the '60s as being centered in the U.S. Hardly the case, Europe exploded, Latin America, Africa. The whole world was on fire. And we have to keep trying to find ways to tell those stories, and to combat the left-leaning sort of American exceptionalism.
Here's a nice supportive set of documents: Kate Doyle, of the National Security Archive, has collected recently declassified U.S. documents related to the U.S. government's intelligence about the student movement and the Mexican government's attempts to quell it. They can be found here.
Anyhow, I had this idea. One week, after listening to two really wonderful podcasts about two completely separate events from 1968, I started thinking that I'd like to curate listening experiences here; that is, to collect, in one place, a set podcasts that either have obvious connections, or not-so-obvious connections, and then annotate them and provide art, and primary documents, and other resources in one spot. And I might still do that, at some point. But I've been wrecked and time-consumed on account of this book I'm writing (its at the publisher's by the way, thanks G-d). So no time for all that. Still, I wanted at least do something, so here's the low-impact first episode version of this idea.
"Mexico 1968." If you click here, you can find both the podcast, and a set of resources that Radio Diaries has compiled about the Mexican student movement of 1968, and the tragic events that, literally and figuratively, killed it. The event is something of a historical mystery, even despite the fact that many people who were there are still alive-- the official reports claimed 4 students were shot dead during the Massacre of Tlatelolco. But others claim that in fact hundreds died. The audio piece is a really well-done oral history-based documentary, one that reminded me, at least, that no matter how much I've read about the 1960s, I still don't know half of the story. Indeed, in the U.S. we tend to think of the protest movements of the '60s as being centered in the U.S. Hardly the case, Europe exploded, Latin America, Africa. The whole world was on fire. And we have to keep trying to find ways to tell those stories, and to combat the left-leaning sort of American exceptionalism.
Here's a nice supportive set of documents: Kate Doyle, of the National Security Archive, has collected recently declassified U.S. documents related to the U.S. government's intelligence about the student movement and the Mexican government's attempts to quell it. They can be found here.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
israel/palestine
a short video response to the impossible-to-respond-to horror being loosed on Gaza by Israel right now. entitled "Proportionate Response #2." made by my friend Ariel Federow.
commuting
after one semester of commuting back and forth between the mid-hudson valley and brooklyn, i have exactly two important things to say:
1)podcasts rock
and
2)i still don't know how long soymilk and eggs can stay in a refrigerator before they go bad. but i intend to figure it out, finally, this semester. And how does one STRATEGIZE their refrigerator/food situation when splitting time between two refrigerators?
knowing these two things seem to be crucial to making a commuting academic's life more workable.
my top 4 favorite podcasts, so far/at the moment:
1. Radio Diaries. The other night, I listened to the Radio Diaries piece about the recent efforts to reconstruct what actually happened during the student protests in Mexico City in 1968. I recommend it HIGHLY. its an extremely good piece of oral history, and also has important implications for those of us interested in the political uses and import of both new media and archives.
2. KQED, The Writer's Block Podcast. Features writers reading excerpts from their work. Mostly fiction and playwriting, as far as i can tell. Much of it, stuff i've never heard of before.
3. Radio Without Borders, from WKUT in Austin. Is introducing me to new music. Some of it i absolutely do not like. The Iguanas have such potential, but i JUST don't like them. Then some of it i'm like, ok, nice-- Of Montreal fits into that category. And some of it, deeply important-- such as The Blind Boys of Alabama, doing their version of "Free at Last." WOAH.
4. IndieFeed's Hiphop broadcast. Also introducing me to music i've never heard of. Mostly pretty great, and i'm definitely not going to get any music this good on local radio in the mid-hudson valley. its hard enough to get decent public radio up there; don't even try to get smart hip hop-- or, actually, ANY hip hop. (that reminds me: wtf is up with WAMC radio? why is it so bad? and WHY DID THE PEOPLE LET ALAN CHARTOCK put the kabash on democracy now!? we need democracy now! up there so so so badly.)
4 podcasts i'm super excited to start listening to in the coming weeks:
1. The Yale University Press podcast. interviews with authors. Could suck hard, or could become indispensible. i'll keep you posted.
2. The Moth podcast. Stories; inspired by the no-reading-from-paper-allowed, ongoing, local NYC Moth storytelling events.
3. PRI's World Books podcast. Putting a few little ideas from outside of the U.S. into my brain.
As for the refrigeration situation, i'm not offering ideas yet. i'm SOLICITING ideas. i'll let you know if i hear anything brilliant.
1)podcasts rock
and
2)i still don't know how long soymilk and eggs can stay in a refrigerator before they go bad. but i intend to figure it out, finally, this semester. And how does one STRATEGIZE their refrigerator/food situation when splitting time between two refrigerators?
knowing these two things seem to be crucial to making a commuting academic's life more workable.
my top 4 favorite podcasts, so far/at the moment:
1. Radio Diaries. The other night, I listened to the Radio Diaries piece about the recent efforts to reconstruct what actually happened during the student protests in Mexico City in 1968. I recommend it HIGHLY. its an extremely good piece of oral history, and also has important implications for those of us interested in the political uses and import of both new media and archives.
2. KQED, The Writer's Block Podcast. Features writers reading excerpts from their work. Mostly fiction and playwriting, as far as i can tell. Much of it, stuff i've never heard of before.
3. Radio Without Borders, from WKUT in Austin. Is introducing me to new music. Some of it i absolutely do not like. The Iguanas have such potential, but i JUST don't like them. Then some of it i'm like, ok, nice-- Of Montreal fits into that category. And some of it, deeply important-- such as The Blind Boys of Alabama, doing their version of "Free at Last." WOAH.
4. IndieFeed's Hiphop broadcast. Also introducing me to music i've never heard of. Mostly pretty great, and i'm definitely not going to get any music this good on local radio in the mid-hudson valley. its hard enough to get decent public radio up there; don't even try to get smart hip hop-- or, actually, ANY hip hop. (that reminds me: wtf is up with WAMC radio? why is it so bad? and WHY DID THE PEOPLE LET ALAN CHARTOCK put the kabash on democracy now!? we need democracy now! up there so so so badly.)
4 podcasts i'm super excited to start listening to in the coming weeks:
1. The Yale University Press podcast. interviews with authors. Could suck hard, or could become indispensible. i'll keep you posted.
2. The Moth podcast. Stories; inspired by the no-reading-from-paper-allowed, ongoing, local NYC Moth storytelling events.
3. PRI's World Books podcast. Putting a few little ideas from outside of the U.S. into my brain.
As for the refrigeration situation, i'm not offering ideas yet. i'm SOLICITING ideas. i'll let you know if i hear anything brilliant.
Monday, December 15, 2008
how to be a dissident
its an animated instructable! easy to adapt for use-- in the classroom, for instance.
(hat tip: the Nathan and His Open Ideals blog)
(hat tip: the Nathan and His Open Ideals blog)
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