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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HISTORY / Bob Feldman : A People’s History of Egypt, Part 11, Section 1, 1945-1946

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Egyptian students demonstrate on February 21, 2012, to mark anniversary of 1946 student and worker uprising. Photo by Mai Shaheen / Ahram Online.

A people’s history:
The movement to democratize Egypt

Part 11: 1945-1946 Period/Section 1 — Worker and student struggles lead to general strike.

By Bob Feldman | The Rag Blog | October 17, 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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Alan Waldman : ‘Dalziel and Pascoe’ is a Dramatic Yet Funny Yorkshire Cop Series

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

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

For 59 episodes, its humorously mismatched lead characters stopped a wide range of dastardly doings.

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | October 8, 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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Tom Hayden : Becoming Two Countries in 2014

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Becoming two countries. Image from Shutterstock / sojourners.

The war for America:
Becoming two countries in 2014

Joined by a right-wing Roberts Supreme Court and funded by the likes of the Koch brothers, the Right is consolidating its power on a scale not seen since the Jim Crow era of the Dixiecrats.

By Tom Hayden | The Rag Blog | October 3, 2013

The logic of voter turnout data all but guarantees right-wing Republican congressional victories in 2014 and a sealing of the divide of America into two countries for the foreseeable future.
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INTERVIEW / Jonah Raskin : Oral Historian Margaret Randall on Che and the Cuban Revolution

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Margaret Randall, Berkeley, California, March 23, 2011. Photo © Scott Braley.

Interview with Margaret Randall:
Feminist, poet, and oral historian of Che,
Fidel, and the Cuban revolution

“Che, even on his early motorcycle adventure through Latin America, was deeply affected by human misery and beginning to figure out what he felt could be done to alleviate it.”

By Jonah Raskin | The Rag Blog | October 3, 2013

Margaret Randall, 77, lives today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her roots run as deep as they do in Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua where she has also lived for extended periods of time.
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RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Bruce Melton on Global Warming and Climate Change Denial

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Environmental activist Bruce Melton at the studios of KOOP radio in Austin, Texas, September 20, 2013. Photo by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.

Rag Radio podcast:
Environmental researcher and
climate change activist Bruce Melton

Austin environmentalist and Rag Blog contributor talks about global warming, climate change denial, and Austin’s ‘Dry Lake Blues.’

By Rag Radio | The Rag Blog | October 2, 2013

Environmental researcher and climate change activist Bruce Melton was our guest on Rag Radio, Friday, September 20, 2013.
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Harvey Wasserman : The Demand for a Global Takeover at Fukushima

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s reactor building number 4 seen in aerial view on July 5, 2012. Photo by Kyodo / Reuters.

The demand for a global takeover
at Fukushima has hit critical mass

Since the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, the six-reactor Daichi site has plunged into lethal chaos.

By Harvey Wasserman | The Rag Blog | October 2, 2013

More than 48,000 global citizens have now signed a petition at NukeFree.org asking the United Nations and the world community to take charge of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. Another 35,000 have signed at RootsAction. An independent advisory group of scientists and engineers is also in formation.
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Kate Braun : The First Dark Moon of Autumn

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Moonless autumn night on Whidbey Island in Washington. Photo from rprtphoto.

Moon Musings:
Dark Moon
(October 4, 5, or 6, 2013)

By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | October 2, 2013

“North, South, East, West,
help me to do my best”

A Dark Moon may be honored on each day on either side of the New Moon as well as on the day of the New Moon.
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Michael James : Free Speech at Sproul Plaza, Berkeley, Fall of 1964

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Gathering during Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley, December 1964. At left, with mustache, is Jack Weinberg; center, in tie, is Michael Lerner; second from right, in glasses, is Marvin Garson. Photos by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.

Pictures from the Long Haul:
Free speech, Sproul Plaza with Jesus,
and the Roseville Auction, Fall of ’64

I am one of 773 arrested at Sproul Hall and hauled off to Santa Rita County Jail. One of many who goes limp, I am arrested with the added charge of
resisting arrest, and dragged down the stairs. It will not be the only time I’ll get that charge.

By Michael James | The Rag Blog | October 1, 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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