A year ago, Kanye West was in the news because he had premiered a high-concept and well-publicized Christmas “opera” at Lincoln Center. I wrote about it then, and today I am bringing this earlier reflection back so that people have another chance to find it. I do this, in part, because of how interestingly this … Continue reading 12 Songs for Christmas: Kanye’s Christmas Opera
race and/or racism
Thoughts from a Culture War Turning Into a Shooting War
I went to my local farmer’s market here in the north woods of Wisconsin, feeling happy for the beautiful day and the chance to be a good local citizen—but the first words I heard were a guy saying “maybe they shouldn’t have shot seven times, but other than that I can't see that he didn’t … Continue reading Thoughts from a Culture War Turning Into a Shooting War
Roll Call for Those Absent
Click and think of all the extra names to add since this came out: (And of course please support the fantastic work of Ambrose Akinmusere.)
I Watched Kanye’s Christmas Pageant So You Don’t Have To
…Or… if you want to watch, or already did—if you are into that sort of thing—it’s not a problem, let's compare notes. This production was interesting in some ways— especially if you care about the politics of religion in US popular music, or are the kind of person who liked the Broadway-meets-hip-hop extravaganza of Hamilton. … Continue reading I Watched Kanye’s Christmas Pageant So You Don’t Have To
Remembering Terrible Jobs
My aunt Carolyn retired from a college teaching career and moved into our family’s historic farmhouse in northern Wisconsin. When the St. Paul Pioneer Press invited readers to describe “the worst jobs they ever had” for a Labor Day feature, she wrote about her childhood work at a local resort with fishing cabins. Her job … Continue reading Remembering Terrible Jobs
Remembering
The Arlie Hochschild book that I have been pondering includes passages about the Areno family, whose formerly lovely and ecologically rich land—which sustained them both with beauty and food—was turned into a poisoned wasteland by industrial pollution. They talk of their role as “rememberers,” or witnesses to how it used to be. Interestingly, they do this … Continue reading Remembering
Normalizing Domestic Terrorism
I guess I’m becoming less and less unique all the time, but I have personal friends who have been touched directly by a mass murder, perpetrated as a hate crime by a right-wing extremist. By "touched directly" I mean they were there being shot at; one of them tackled the shooter. In my case this … Continue reading Normalizing Domestic Terrorism
Empathy Walls: Understanding Oppressed People Who Love Trump
There isn’t much point in sending readers of this little blog to Reading Religion, the American Academy of Religion’s review portal—I wish I could send traffic the other way—but I want to link to a review I recently published there, on Arlie Russell Hochschild’s book, Strangers in Their Own Land. The review boils down my … Continue reading Empathy Walls: Understanding Oppressed People Who Love Trump
Ashamed…in a Land Where Justice is a Game
Paul Manafort just received a 47 month sentence for multiple crimes, a slap on the wrist from a judge who was appointed by Ronald Reagan and gave an impression of bias during Manafort's trial. Likely Manafort will serve time in a white collar prison, and quite possibly his associate and frequent co-conspirator Mr. Trump will … Continue reading Ashamed…in a Land Where Justice is a Game
Dog Park Sex and Why “Refereed Vs. Non-Refereed” Doesn’t Measure Quality
My previous post explained why "refereed” publications—those vetted by expert academic gatekeepers—do not reliably signal scholarly value, nor “non-refereed” publications a lack of quality—despite the deep structural bias in academia toward assuming that they do. The distinction “refereed or not” is an independent variable with approximately random correlation—in networks where I work—with other variable we … Continue reading Dog Park Sex and Why “Refereed Vs. Non-Refereed” Doesn’t Measure Quality
“Resisting,” Talking to Republicans, and Recalling Trump’s Actual Mandate—At the Same Time!
When the Mafia-backed entrepreneur and con man Donald Trump captured a majority of electoral college votes—although, of course, not the majority of actual votes, even before we inquire how the count may have been affected by “abnormal” Russian propaganda, “normal” Fox propaganda (overlapping with Russian parts), tampering with voting machines (unproven to my knowledge but … Continue reading “Resisting,” Talking to Republicans, and Recalling Trump’s Actual Mandate—At the Same Time!
MBE: Mark's blogging experiment 