Amber Sparks
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Well said, Eugene Robinson.
April 13, 2010
It amounts to much more than “diddly” that so many Americans try hard to avoid coming to terms with the reality of slavery. It wasn’t just “a bad thing.” Littering is a bad thing. Slavery was this nation’s Original Sin, and yet many people will not look at it except through a gauze of Spanish moss.
Read the whole thing here. And seriously, do read it. It’s worth the few minutes of your time it will take.
New Blog Alert: Dave Weigel’s Right Now
April 8, 2010
If you’re interested in the Tea Party people, the conservative movement, or the Republican party, you have to check out Dave Weigel’s new blog at the Washington Post. Excellent coverage, from the (kind-of) moderate to the wingnuttiest.
From Dave about his goals for the blog:
…there’s no shortage of news about the right. There is, I think, a shortage of coverage that puts the movement in context. This is where “Right Now” comes in. I’ve spent most of my reporting career covering the conservative movement, from the we-had-it-coming midterms of 2006 through the “Ron Paul Revolution” of 2008 through Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-Mass.) upset victory this year. If you stayed close to conservative activists and strategists throughout that period, you knew that something like the Tea Party movement — some massive rejection of George W. Bush’s legacy, some force that drove the GOP further to the right — was inevitable. You weren’t surprised to hear people once again bashing the Federal Reserve rhetoric or talking about how the 10th Amendment could give states some defense against liberal policies.
The goal of this blog will be to explain what the right is doing, thinking, and planning as it hurtles toward the possible salvation of the 2010 midterm elections. That’s going to mean a lot of on-the-scene reporting, interviews with the people driving this movement, and close reading of the arguments making headway among the people trying to bring the Obama era to the quickest possible end.
He’s already got some great, timely posts up. Get over there and check ‘em out.
Sarah Palin’s New (Slightly Sinister) Reality Show
March 29, 2010
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve probably heard that Sarah Palin has just scored a multi-million dollar deal for a reality show about Alaska on TLC.
Maud Newton suspects a sinister motive underlies the entire thing. And she thinks she knows exactly where Sister Sarah is coming from:
“Planet Earth,” like many of Palin’s favorite phrases, has one innocuous set of associations for the population at large, and also an inflammatory shadow resonance for her base. While most of us naturally think of the popular documentary series, the touchstone for holy-rollers is Hal Lindsey’s The Late, Great Planet Earth, an incendiary fundamentalist text published in 1970 that forecast the imminent dawn of the End Times.
Read the whole thing here. It’s fascinating. And slightly terrifying.
Also, I’m rather irked at TLC lately, what with their fourteen zillion shows about giant families with too many kids, half of them taking up way more than their allotted space and taxpayer money for weirdo religious reasons, and no doubt voting conservative despite the fact that they use so many public services. Add Sarah Palin’s showcase to that and I’m this close to swearing off of What Not to Wear, the only decent show left on there. Hear that, TLC?
A Bunch of Stuff
March 15, 2010
I’m crazy swamped at work so I’m gonna be a lazy ass today and do one big post. Forgive. Also, this picture is of a hoarder’s living room, not mine. I have become totally obsessed with these hoarding shows lately. This hoarding madness seems like the exact opposite of any madness I could ever manifest. It amazes me. (Is there something wrong with me? The only TV I watch seems to be the kind that documents truly wretched, crazy, twisted, wrong-track lives. Unless it’s MSNBC after work–but good god, with Eric Massa and Rielle Hunter on 24/7, even that’s turned into wrong-track lives central. Hmm.)
I bought Matt Bell’s Wolf Parts. Did you? No? Why the hell not? Buy it here before the 21st.
This sounds absolutely fascinating. I think it’s a sin that Pearl Buck is as forgotten as she is. I think I want to read this biography.
Holy christ. The new JMWW Special Flash Issue is out and it is packed, my children, packed with zesty tangy crunchy goodness. David Erlewine is apparently not only a talented writer, but he can edit like a badass. I mean seriously: Charles Lennox, Gary Moshimer, Seth Fried, Ethel Rohan, Kyle Minor, Michael Czyzniejewski, Kevin Wilson, Molly Gaudry, Erin Fitzgerald, Meg Pokrass, Roxane Gay, Robert Swartwood, Scott Garson, and way way way more immensely talented peeps. I can’t wait to sit down and read this whole thing tonight.
Speaking of sizzling publications, the new Collagist is out today and it looks fantastic, as always. Here’s what’s inside (metaphorically speaking):
In our March 2010 issue, you’ll find new fiction by Amanda Goldblatt, Kathryn Scanlan, Michael Stewart, and Andrew R. Touhy, as well as novel excerpts from Elise Blackwell’s An Unfinished Score and Maile Chapman’s Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto. This month’s poetry is provided by Dilruba Ahmed, Hossannah Asuncion, Tommy Blount, and Joan McMillan, and our non-fiction contributor Danielle Vogel covers even more poetry with her essay “The Ductile Body: A Bridge to Exit to Enter,” about the work of the poets and writers Melissa Buzzeo and Renee Gladman.
In book reviews, we’ve got coverage of Eden Springs by Laura Kasischke, Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever by Justin Taylor, and Best European Fiction, edited by Aleksander Hemon. We’ve also got a review of the now nearly ten-year-old novel The Way the Family Got Away by Michael Kimball, which reviewer John Madera hopes will help restart a conversation about this fine book.
Also, this is a real downer. Who wants to think about what happens to your digital remains when you die? Except maybe you better, especially if you’re a writer. Interesting piece in Wired. H/t Maud Newton.
Finally, I am interviewed by Jesse Bradley over at PANK. We talked women’s bodies, health care, and Congressional cage matches, among other things. Check it out.
Kim Jong-il, “On the Spot”
March 12, 2010
Regular readers may know that I have a bit of an obsession with the surreal world of Kim Jong-il. So when a friend set me this (thanks, Steffany!) I almost died of happiness. And then of laughter. Check out this amazing collection of photos of Kim Jong-il collected by the Boston Globe:
Kim Jong-il, continuing a practice begun by his father, Kim Il-sung, makes these visits to factories and facilities throughout the country, purportedly to offer his personal guidance. Followed by army officers, security personnel and plant managers – most carrying pencils and notepads to record the guidance of “Dear Leader” – he examines, listens, gives a talk, poses, then moves on, entourage in tow.
Ready? Pics here.
C-SPAN Health Care Summit Coverage Throwdown
February 26, 2010 — 3 Comments
I’m sick today. Terrible sinus infection. Luckily, I have health care. Unluckily, 45,000 Americans don’t and this is what the debate around the issue is starting to sound like. Enjoy and happy weekend!
(h/t DougJ at Balloon Juice)
It’s Getting Medieval Up in Here
February 23, 2010
Reason number 351 for never moving to Utah: I am woman of childbearing age. And, via Balloon Juice, Utah has just passed a bill more or less criminalizing miscarriages.
Neat, huh? 
