We’ve heard a lot lately about how America is finally learning who’s really essential now that we’re deep in a real crisis. I even chipped in. But are we treating our essential workers with the care and respect we should be? I have a good friend who works in an emergency department in a mid-sized Midwestern city hospital as well
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In 2016 Bernie Sanders declared himself a Democratic Socialist, and in doing so assured he’d never be president. The issue, then as now, was the “S-word.” Why would you label yourself a Socialist if you want to run for office in America? Especially – and this part is key – if you aren’t one? There are two terms to understand
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NOTE: I penned this a few months ago but never posted it. I’m now in deep enough to see some of the warts, and COVID certainly does northing to make you feel secure. But I was right. And that feels really good. _____ Finally, I’m off the merry-go-round. “Surely you’re not happy now you no longer play the game…” A
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At 8pm we step outside. On the balcony, the porch, the stoop, the sidewalk. Or maybe we just hang our heads out the window. And we howl. The nightly howl started in Denver, apparently, although it has its roots in California. The person who first explained it to me said it was to honor healthcare workers who are risking their
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I announced a couple weeks ago that we’ll be closing Scholars & Rogues on the 16th. That decision is a heavy one, given how much it meant to those of us on the staff. But at the same time it represents fresh opportunity. I first launched the Lullaby Pit on April 1, 1994. Best I can tell, this makes me
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Stuff you know, stuff you don’t know yet. Stuff you love and stuff you’re going to love. And stuff you won’t love, so hit the skip button. It’s over 24 hours and growing. So hit play and stay the fuck at home.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining moment of our generation. The last global crisis of this magnitude was World War II, and with any luck we won’t see anything this dire again for decades. That’s probably wishful thinking, for a variety of reasons (climate, for instance), but we can hope. We’re living in History – with a capital H.As in,
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It’s inevitable that we all want to get back to normal. But when we do, it won’t be “back.” It’s going to be a very different normal. But… We keep hearing this phrase: “the new normal.” I suspect the people who use it the most are the ones who really get it the least. Their “new normal” wisdom seems to
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For a long time there I stopped calling myself a photographer, opting instead for some iteration of “digital photoartist.” The issue was that my work was so heavily reliant on processing that even thought it may have started as a photo, it really wasn’t one by the end. Pixels were added, subtracted, multiplied, divided, contorted and riven by various and
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I’ve posted one or two of these, but here’s the whole series in one spot.
Read moreOthers have eulogized Adam far better than I can, but I wanted to share a couple of words and some of my favorite songs by a truly generational songwriter. Somehow Fountains of Wayne only had one hit, and that alone tells you all you need to know about radio. He had this epic sense for a melody. His lyrics were
Read moreThis is sublime. This is technology at its best. Thanks to Frank Venturo for passing it along.
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Social Democracy is not Socialism, but a mixed economic approach that balances the strengths of capitalism with a deep commitment to social justice. I’ve been flying the flag of the Weimar Republic’s Iron Front a lot lately. If you don’t know who they were, here’s a brief intro: The Iron Front was a German paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic
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One of the first things my parents did when I was born was saddle me with the wrong name: Norris Gilmer Smith, Jr.
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The Biden Can’t Beat Trump meme is powerful these days, and it’s an opinion held by some people I have a lot of respect for. But. Look, I hate Biden for all the reasons every sensible progressive does. But it’s like we’ve all forgotten what actually happened in 2016. Trump didn’t romp because he hate this irresistible tidal wave of
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