Harry Targ : STEM and the Tyranny of the Meme

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
The STEM ‘crisis’ and the ‘fear of falling behind’ meme.

The tyranny of the meme:
Commies, the arms race, and now STEM

The threats of the United States falling behind some fictional adversaries is a similar ‘meme’ to those that have been articulated by economic, political, and military elites at least since the end of World War II.

By Harry Targ | The Rag Blog | November 19, 2013

A spokesperson for Purdue University testified before a Congressional research and technology subcommittee on November 13 warning that the United States is “losing a cadre of innovators that will never come back.” The university spokesperson was echoing warnings that have been coming from his university and major research universities all around the country.
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BOOKS / Ron Jacobs : Marc Myers Tells Us ‘Why Jazz Happened’

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

 

‘Jazz, man, that’s where I’m at’:
Chronicling the history of America’s music

Myers provides the reader with a deep, rich, and broad perspective on the confluence of jazz and U.S. history in the decades following World War Two.

By Ron Jacobs / The Rag Blog / November 18, 2013

[Why Jazz Happened by Marc Myers (2012: University of California Press); Hardcover; 266 pp; $30.51.]

After a very brief introduction, Walt Myers begins his history of jazz music with the bebop era. Charlie Parker’s saxophone floats in the background as he sets the background for a unique look at the economic, cultural, and even political circumstances of the last 70 or so years of jazz in the United States.
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Alice Embree : Anne Lewis’ New Website Brings Austin Movement History to Life

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Filmmaker Anne Lewis’ new website is called Austin Beloved Community.

‘Austin Beloved Community’:
Anne Lewis’ new website
brings movement history to life

‘This was designed as cooperative and experimental. It’s really a community organizing art project.’

By Alice Embree | The Rag Blog | November 19, 2013

Austin Beloved Community is a gift. Movement history comes alive in a digital collage of collective memory — audio, film, photos and maps, and a rich diversity of local recollection.
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INTERVIEW / Jonah Raskin : Novelist Beverly Gologorsky Was Shaped by Sixties, Feminism, and The Bronx

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Novelist Beverly Gologorsky. Photo by Marion Ettlinger.

An Interview with Beverly Gologorsky:
Novelist and long-time activist’s
new book shouts its presence

“Working people are as ubiquitous as Blue Jays. When they fly they’re beautiful.”

By Jonah Raskin / The Rag Blog / November 16, 2013

No one wants to be saddled with labels from the past, certainly not that ubiquitous species known as the creative writer. But even writers — or perhaps especially writers — have emotional attachments to moments and to spaces from the past. That’s true for Beverly Gologorsky, the author of the 1999 novel, The Things We Do to Make it Home — and a new novel, Stop Here (Seven Stories; $16.95), the title of which practically shouts its presence.
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HISTORY / Bob Feldman : A People’s History of Egypt, Part 11, Section 2, 1945-1946

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Henri Curiel was the leading figure in the Egyptian communist movement in the 1940s.

A people’s history:
The movement to democratize Egypt

Part 11: 1945-1946 period/Section 2 — Egyptian communist groups grow and face government retaliation.

By Bob Feldman | The Rag Blog | November 15, 2013

[With all the dramatic activity in Egypt, Bob Feldman’s Rag Blog “people’s history” series, “The Movement to Democratize Egypt,” could not be more timely. Also see Feldman’s “Hidden History of Texas” series on The Rag Blog.]
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David McReynolds : We Are All Wounded Veterans

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
March to alternative Armistice ceremony in Regents Park in London, November 11, 1938.

Until the guns fall silent:
We are all wounded veterans

In the bad wars — which are the only wars we have fought for some time now — there is the terrible knowledge that the enemy was never really the enemy.

By David McReynolds | The Rag Blog | November 12, 2013

There was something infinitely sad and even repellent about the recent celebration of Veterans Day. This was once Armistice Day, the observation of the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day in November 1918, when the guns fell silent and the great war ended. The war to end all wars.
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RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : October Interviews with Poppy Northcutt, Maneesha James, Seth Holmes, and Thomas Zigal

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Frances “Poppy” Northcutt with Rag Radio’s Thorne Dreyer in the studios of KPFT-FM in Houston, Friday, October 25, 2013. Photo by Guy Schwartz / The Rag Blog.

Rag Radio podcasts:
Thorne Dreyer interviews Poppy Northcutt,
Maneesha James, Seth Holmes, and Tom Zigal

Our October guests address Texas feminist history, issues involved with death and dying, the plight of migrant farmworkers, and the post-Katrina craziness.

By Rag Radio | The Rag Blog | November 11, 2013

Thorne Dreyer’s guests on Rag Radio in October 2013 included pioneering Houston feminist Frances “Poppy” Northcutt, president of both the Houston and Texas chapters of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and a historic figure in the women’s movement; psychotherapist, meditation facilitator, and death and dying counselor Maneesha James; anthropologist Seth Holmes, author of Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies about the plight of migrant farmworkers; and novelist Thomas Zigal, author of Many Rivers to Cross set in post-Katrina New Orleans.
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Michael James : Going Off Campus, 1965

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Sam and Theophilius at sunset in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Photos by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.

Pictures from the Long Haul:
Going off campus:
Idaho, Wyoming, and Connecticut, 1965

I proceeded to quote Tom Paine: “Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils were I to make a whore of my soul.”

By Michael James | The Rag Blog | November 11, 2013

[In this series, Michael James is sharing images from his rich past, accompanied by reflections about — and inspired by — those images. This photo will be included in his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.]
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Alan Waldman: ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ Tops Second Tier of My Favorite Britcoms

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

 
Waldman’s film and TV
treasures you may have missed:

Patricia Routledge stars as a middle class woman who puts on aristocratic airs in this very popular Britcom.

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | November 10, 2013

[In his weekly column, Alan Waldman reviews some of his favorite films and TV series that readers may have missed, including TV dramas, mysteries, and comedies from Canada, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Most are available on DVD and/or Netflix, and some episodes are on YouTube.]
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BOOKS / Nina Herencia : Are We Hearing You Well, Mariann?

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

 

Are we hearing you well, Mariann?
New poetry and drawings from the Wizard

By Nina Herencia | The Rag Blog | November 6, 2013

Mariann Wizard has published two books this month; the second one, Hempseed Food: The REAL Secret Ingredient for Health & Happiness, will be reviewed soon in The Rag Blog. Mariann will launch Hempseed officially on Saturday, November 9, 7-9 p.m., at Austin’s Brave New Books, 1904 Guadalupe, and promises to read a bit from Didn’t You Hear Me the First Time? as well at that event.
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RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Father-Daughter! Newsman Dan Rather & Environmental Activist Robin Rather

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Dan Rather and Robin Rather on Rag Radio, Friday, September 27, 2013, in the studios of KOOP-FM in Austin, Texas. Photos by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.

Rag Radio podcast:
Legendary newsman Dan Rather
and environmental activist Robin Rather

Their first ever father-daughter interview is a funny, far-ranging discussion spiced with lively anecdotes, sharp political insights, and touching family memories.

By Rag Radio | The Rag Blog | October 21, 2013

Legendary newsman Dan Rather and Austin-based environmental activist
Robin Rather join Thorne Dreyer for their first-ever father-daughter
interview. The incisive, far-ranging, and frequently funny session was originally broadcast live on Rag Radio, Friday, September 27, 2013.
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Michael James : Kidnapped to the Highlands, 1964

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Fishing boat on Monterey Bay. Photos by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.

Pictures from the Long Haul:
Kidnapped to the Highlands: 
Gibson Beach and Monterey Bay, 1964

This morning on Monterey Bay is blessedly calm. Joe, smoking a Camel, steers the boat west as the morning sun emerges over the Santa Cruz Mountains.

By Michael James | The Rag Blog | October 17, 2013

[In this series, Michael James is sharing images from his rich past, accompanied by reflections about — and inspired by — those images. This photo will be included in his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.]
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