Archive for topic “My friends”

You can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train. Howard Zinn: 1922-2010

From the start, my teaching was infused with my own history. I would try to be fair to other points of view, but I wanted more than ‘objectivity’; I wanted students to leave my classes not just better informed, but more prepared to relinquish the safety of silence, more prepared to speak up, to act against injustice wherever they saw it. This, of course, was a recipe for trouble.Howard Zinn
Historian, Activist

I, too, teach this way, in large part because of role models like Howard Zinn. I can only hope to have a modicum of the influence this great man imparted on his students. RIP, Dr. Zinn.

Howard Zinn (1922-2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove

[Ed. 1/29/2010 Added a tribute to Dr. Zinn from Democracy Now!]

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jack Brungardt featured on Japanese television

Dork Pro Films: Jack the Recession Expert

After submitting this short to a Japanese film contest (for films about the recession under one minute), my friend Jack was featured on this Japanese TV show. I don’t speak more than 10 words of japanese, so your guess is as good as mine whether they liked it. The hand-over-mouth-tee-hee, a staple of japanese television, isn’t clearly good or bad. Regardless, it is pretty damn great that Jack is getting some air time overseas. Well done, sir!

If you speak Japanese, please translate and leave it in the comments. Domo arigato!

Tags: , , ,

Nate Martin, now of the Chicago Tribune

Check out my friend Nate’s big debut in the Chicago Tribune, Creative hosts conjure recession-friendly entertainment. No, this is not Nate’s typical work delving into guerilla warfare, house music, international couch surfing and the intersections contained therein, but hey, it is the eighth-largest daily newspaper in the country. Well done, Nate! Keep digging your fangs into the msm and eventually, you might just seep into their bloodstream!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Listen to The Resurrectionists

Here Hope Flows Like Blood From The Nose by The Resurrectionists

Here Hope Flows Like Blood From The Nose by The Resurrectionists

The weather in Kansas has turned towards the coveted chill of late fall. The wind has whipped most leaves out of the trees, creating agnostic whirling dervishes all across the lawns. It makes me want to curl up in a window with a mug of hot tea and watch the dance of the dead leaves…and now I’ve got the perfect soundtrack to do just that.

Over the past few days, I’ve been on a reconnection binge with old friends and that turned up a great find from my friend and ethnic Kansan Alex Kissel. As you know, I am fond of pointing you in the direction of my friends that busy themselves by creating things for the rest of us to enjoy. His band, The Resurrectionists, has a new album entitled Here Hope Flows Like Blood From the Nose. It has been described as being “for those who prefer their Americana with a side order of strangeness,” and while that seems apt, I prefer to simply call it “American Gothic”. At least that’s how it will be labeled in my music collection once my CD arrives.

It has hints of Sixteen Horsepower and Tom Waits, but these guys hoe their own road. Listen to “Jersey Devil” below and imagine your nose filled with the scent of burning leaves and blowing flurries. Then, check out more tracks on their MySpace page. If you are lucky enough to be in the Boston area tomorrow night (Saturday, November 22), they are playing at The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. I highly recommend checking them out, live, loud, or preferably both.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Resurrectionists - Jersey Devil

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Grant Park experience, first hand

My friend Nate had the good fortune of being in Grant Park last Tuesday evening. He scored a ticket and made his way through the throngs to bear witness to history. He is a gifted writer and precisely the kind of person we all want witnessing history as it unfolds. Take a look at his experience.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nathan Rodriguez analyzes VP debate

My friend (and former student) Nathan Rodriguez has a measured and well-written look at the VP debate over at the Talking Points Memo Cafe. Support another Kansan who is out there thinking and writing, won’t you?

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Exclusive: Local bank officer reacts to bailout

I have an anonymous friend who has commented here under the name “Perhaps a sample of one was too small…“. He is a loan officer at a local bank and had this breaking news to report shortly after the House of Representatives passed (and Bush signed) the Bailout today:

I have been face deep in the awfulness of work and didn’t realize the bailout (complete with enough pork to feed the gentiles of this world for a decade) had passed. But things are starting to make sense.

I couldn’t figure out why, but about an hour ago money started flying from the teller drawers and shooting from my disk drive. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth (or be too concerned with the textbook definition of “theft”) I immediately scooped some up, bought 20 Alt-A mortgages, packaged them, sold them for 3 times what they’re worth, and borrowed against my future earnings. Mortimer, we’re back!!!Anonymous
Loan Officer

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Joel Sweeney featured in The Blotter

I’ve pointed out my good friend Joel’s poetry before and he is at it again. This time, Joel has three pieces published in the October issue of the North Carolina regional mag, The Blotter. Check out the entire mag at their site, or you can download a PDF of the October issue. Keep up the good work, Joel!

Tags: , , , , ,

Simran Sethi brings the truth about offshore drilling

My friend Simran has a great post about offshore drilling over at The Huffington Post. She brings hard facts to the whirling dervish that is Sarah Palin’s “reform”, a welcome change from the political dreck and inarticulate acceptance that the mainstream media keeps circulating for public consumption. Head over there and keep the conversation going! Keep up the good work, Sim!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

He was from Wisconsin…err…Illinois

My good friend Joel has one of his poems, “He was from Wisconsin“, published in the current issue of the webzine Zygote In My Coffee. Remember his name, folks. There is a deep well of greatness there.

Tags: , , , ,