I love getting the podcast of Harry Shearer’s Le Show from KCRW. This week, the 9/4 show, has an unusual show focused on New Orleans. Harry has a lot of connections to the city and to the culture. The iTunes setup makes subscribing and listening easy.
Author: Paul (Page 112 of 147)
Whilst sitting at Weaver Street Market this morning, I noticed — couldn’t help but notice really — a young woman with a wireless laptop which had a small video conferencing camera attached. She was talking to her computer loudly as anyone who is indiscreet on a cell phone might talk in public or maybe louder. I think that she thought that language was providing some sort of privacy for her. She was speaking Chinese. Suddenly she stood up and holding the computer, she spun slowly around describing the scene revealed behind her. After that area around her table, including my table, had been aired, she turned the camera away from herself and began to walk into the store chatting away as she walked. I could see her passing the various vegetables and fruit inside pausing at various bins. Then I lost sight. But soon she was back at the table talking away. I don’t know which video conferencing program she was using. I didn’t ask. I do know that she was on the Carrboro Town Wireless Network and that she seemed very happy to be sharing her experiences with someone somewhere else who also spoke Chinese.
In so many ways this was the perfect Carrboro moment. Local, international, public, private, relaxed and intense.
Today is the Feast Day of Paul Jones. The Paul Jones who is being celebrated is a Saint in the American Episcopal Church. Jones was an outspoken pacifist who as missionary Bishop to Utah from 1914 – 1918 opposed the US entry into the First World War. Jones continued to be a peace advocate until his death on September 4, 1941.
The Prayers and Lessons for the Feast of Paul Jones and some memories from his family and friends.
Jones was one of the founders of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship. The EPF offers a history pamphlet for 20 cents about Jones and his work.
This morning’s Herald-Sun’s Durham section center article is on the Durham Reads Together program. The lovely photo that spans the fold is of my School of Information and Library Science collegue David Carr (the photo is lovely; David is as we know handsome). David and the program get a great write up as deserved.
Sally reminds me that about Phil Levine’s wonderful Labor Day poem, What Work Is. Max Leach recorded Levine reading the poem a while back and we put it online soon after as part of the Internet Poetry Archive.
About half a dozen people have sent me notes about or links to The Interdictor, a blog that is now called the Survival of New Orleans blog includes picture feeds (astounding fire pics) and lots and lots of comments and many on the ground observations.
I am not a big sports fan and even less a fan of football. That said the News and Observer’s web cartoon of NCSU’s head football coach Chuck Amato influenced by Napoleon Dynamite (not Elvis Costello but the recent movie) is very funny. Especially funny to me as I remember Chuck Amato as a student football player who lived in my dorm and indeed stuck his chest out a lot. Often it seemed like his body was defying gravity and I am certain that he could not see his toes when he walked.
Criag’s List is being used in an unusual but helpful and innovative and sad way. The Lost and Found area in the New Orleans Craig’s List is now dedicated to finding friends and family.
The article on Ruby Sinreich was republished today in the Chapel Hill News with several improvements. First it’s headline is now Public Allies names Sinreich ‘change-maker’. The paper version has a color picture; the NandO one was in black and white, but both web pics are color. There seem to be fewer editorial changes except that this one has a more amusing close.
OrangePolitics.org’s Ruby Sinreich is subject of a feature in the News and Observer today entitled ‘Technogeek’ nudges nonprofits onto Web. Ruby gets props (and the story) for her Change Maker Award. Ruby gets three pairs of Polo jeans and gets to name a charity that will receive the $250 gift that is part of the award.
Ruby has some things to say about the NandO article (as you might expect).
MisterSugar writes to let us know that Chapel Hill Blogger Meet Ups will begin soon.
First meeting: September 8
When: second and fourth Thursdays at 7 p.m.
Where: 3 CUPS coffee bar in the West End Courtyard off West Franklin Street
Now at Tim Tyson’s talk that is a closeout to the Campus Reads a Book program. Tim introduced by director of the Stone African-American Culture Center. “Mercy” says Tim. Tim talks about the number of Methodist and Free Will Baptist preachers in his family. He introduces his parents and also Eddie McCoy who we all know from the book. Much said about Eddie as a local historian and notes that Eddie’s tapes and transcripts are in the Southern Historical Collection. September 8 5 – 7 Tim, his father, Eddie and Jacqueline Dowd Hall will be speaking at the Wilson Library.
3 point sermon to be delivered. MLK was a Southerner. The Black Power Movement was born in the South like King. King and Black Power Movement had much in common. The South is the major arena on which the problems and successes of our country are played out.
Tim’s talk is on MLK (Sally will have more on her blog later I’m sure. She’s writing now.).Tim talks about food. MLK’s fav food was fried pig’s ear sandwiches. Tim is big on food.
[taking time to listen here]
King as a realist not a genial black santa claus as we have made him. Eloquent description of King and is radicalism. Tim now speaks of King’s first speech at age 27. Embrasses the non-violent and Christian part of the movement.
Quotes King’s Chapel Hill speech. (Sally says that she’s read all that could be found on that speech and that she can’t recall that quote tho).
Now about the Black Power Movement. Black independent and Black separatism. Black Power are a revival of a tradition of resistance. James Meredith’s march and shooting changed the chat “Freedom now” to “Black Power” also the scene of Stokley Carmichael and MLK’s debate about the nature of power and how Irish, Italians and Jews had become white and how that might apply to blacks. They did not agree. No one was shouting “Irish Power” in order to get accepted in Boston.
Along Freedom Road: Hyde County, North Carolina and the Fate of Black Schools in the South by David S. Cecelski gets mentioned. As does Governor Aycock’s overthrow of the elected govenment of North Carolina.
Fusion movement turn of the century success of democratic vision. The Wilmington riots are mentioned. More readings on that movement here.
Standing ovation for Tim.
Active question time. Is violence necessary? How did he come to tell that story and how long did it take him (since he was 11)? What about the reappropriation of the word nigger is asked by a young black woman senior from Oxford. Tim talks about reappropriation of Tar Heel, Linthead, Redneck, etc. Now about the Wilmington takeover. Aycock and the next six governors were all involved. The beginning of the Jim Crow South. In response to a recently released soldier’s concern that he had never heard of the Wilmington riots. How can a white man do African-Amercian studies asks a young white man in African-American Studies. Tim talks about talking on Robert Williams to the Republic of New Africa. Funny but tough talk.
What do we do about working on racism? Friendship is fine but what about public policy asks Tim. How to keep the public sphere open?
Mary Williams will be playing and singing songs that are referenced in the book including a take the roof off the church version of “Blood Done Sign My Name”
At one of the many discussions at UNC of Tim Tyson’s Blood Done Sign My Name. This is not a discussion of undergrads, but one of graduate students and faculty. Since this is not exactly a private discussion but it is not exactly a public discussion either, I’ll be broad in my remarks.
Coordinator Dr. David Carr notes that he and several other folks here have come from leading freshmen discussions today. He tells of wanting to talk alot but that he once got a chinese fortune cookie fortune that said “Today is a good time to shut up” He then acknowledged that he has yet to learn to do that. Now he tells us that the freshmen were born in 1987 parented by parents born in 1962 (if their parents were 25 when they had these freshmen). David contextualized the period by describing the Kent State killings and the Augusta and Jackson State killings — all in the same month as the killing of Henry Marrow. May 1970.
Folks mention other books: “A Lesson Before Dying” and “Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” and Tyson’s “Radio Free Dixie” Personal reflections are brought up along the way. A bit about small town concepts and how the particularlity is more touching to some than the broad national pagents. “Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society” is being read by one man. Another person talks about the portrait of the South. Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” Bebe Moore Campbell’s “Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine” High school students are very aware of class notes Carr. I mention Frank Johnson and Sally’s class. I only know a little or do I know a lot?
What is this book about? asks David. One says: Information Access. (Glad he came to the ILS ;->). Special mention of Tim’s having left the paper that had the pages torn out. Tim left it that way so that people would know that it had been damaged. Mid-westerner claims she had no clue of the culture. She was shocked at first by Silent Sam, but then thought that avoiding history is not a good thing. Back to information. Why did it take so long after Brown v Board before segregation ended? How far have we really come? “Wolf Whistle” and James Baldwin’s interview with Martin Luther King are mentioned. David was on faculty at Rutgers with the former president of NC A and T. A little talk of Viet Nam. Viet Nam included black and white soldiers and that effect in noted. In Camp Lejune, racial tension was extremely strong.
“Henry Marrow thought he was going out for a soda” not to change anything. A young black woman talks about “Color Purple” and how racism infected and infects the black community as well. How racial heirarchy infects us all even blacks.
“Founding Brothers” is mentioned by one faculty member and how the founders couldn’t deal with it and left it for us to determine.
David envies Tim as a writer. How Tim uses the work “kenneled” in the phrase how he realized when he refused to drink from a certain water fountain that “racism was kenneled within him.”
Discussion of complexity. Return to the water fountain. And other stories told.
Ending? or Going on after an hour. What would we talk about if we had another hour to meet?
Sex and race (not gender but sex) brought up. The combination that killed Emmett Till and Henry Marrow. How to personally recognize racism within oneself.
David talks about the “Color of Water” which will be read by the Durham community. David is arranging and training the reading group folks there. He’s looking for volunteers to help out.
Carrboro on September will have a community book forum which will begin with “Blood Done Sign My Name.” Tim asks for sweet potato pie to be brought.
On September later, Richard Florida’s “Creative Class.” and in November “Rescuing Patty Hearst”
TJ has just finished converting Roger McGuinn’s Folk Den to a new WordPress format and has improved the podcast rss to be even more happy in iTunes. [note this link uses the feed: tag]
Check it out.
Possibly the best hurricane tracking and mapping is done using the Google Maps interface. This one is at FLHurricane.com.
This is a great example of innovation made possible through openness. More about opening for innovation is laid out by Eric Von Hippel in his Democratizing Innovation.
While wikipedia isn’t using Google Maps, it’s one of the best places for breaking news on the hurricane.
During the Green Day concert the other night, Billie Joe pulled a band out of the mosh pit. He started by asking for a drummer and interviewing people from the stage: how many years have you played drums? how old are you? can you keep this simple rhythm? The lucky but somewhat timid drummer was then raised on stage and begin tapping with the help and instruction of Tre Cool.
Next was the bass player. A 16 year old guy was pulled up and set up with help from Mike. The father of the new bass sensation is looking for photos. If you have one, get in touch with David Menconi at the News and Observer .
Next after a longer set of teasing interviews, a young woman was pulled up to play lead. There was a lot of shuffling around and she was sent off to the side of the stage. A replacement was pulled up. This guy was unlike the rest. Blonde dyed spiky hair, dark glasses, black Ramones t-shirt, dark jeans, perfectly confident on stage, quickly strapped up into the guitar, immediately playing some blazing licks. And soon as was egging on the bass player and drummer as he posed and walked the stage and took a mike and begin to add harmony and back up vocals.
At the end of the song, Billie Joe brought the young woman back to center stage and gave her the guitar that had been used to play lead. The Ramones wearing guy grabbed the mike and shouted something like “I don’t need your guitar; I’m in Good Charlotte!” But from what I can find, Good Charlotte was in the UK or just back.
Does anyone know of this mystery guitar and have any idea what he said? Is he a regular part of the show, hitting the stage as a ringer each time?

What if Steam Boat Willie had been a a taxpayer-funded film starring Captian America during the Vietnam War in 1971 asks Internetworker Alex Wilson in his movie, “All’s Fair in Love and Police Actions.” [i haven’t watched this yet so this is a note to do so. Alex warns that it might be offensive]
And are moved over to 440 West Franklin St for installation. Performance increase is in the offing. Not immediately of course, but we’re on track. Sayan took pictures of the move.
A current net.meme is the 1977 music video of Tommy Seebach playing Apache. Yes it’s bad. Very bad. Scantily dressed Euro chicks dance as Indians around the fringed Seebach for far too long.
But this was not the end for Seebach. In 1979 when he won the Danish Melodi Grand Prix with Disco Tango and represented Denmark (his home which in part explains the unconvincing Indians and fringe) in the Eurovision Song Contest. Tommy was to represent Denmark in 1980 and 81. Tommy was one of only two bands to have won the the Danish Melodi Grand Prix three times.
He died of a heart attack brought on by alcoholism at age 53. Even though dead, he entered the Grand Prix in an entry that caused some scandal in 2004. A “Kopiband” called the “Tommy Seebach Show” tours Europe as well.

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