Monday, February 07, 2005

I'm scheduled to be on WUNC radio's The State of Things program tomorrow at noon, 91.5 FM (streamed here), talking NC politics and probably a little Duke-Carolina basketball, too. 7:52:56 PM    comment []

Bored by those lame Super Bowl ads? Bummed by the disproportionate clout of a relatively few protesters to the FCC? Some people couldn't be happier. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council rails against "Hollywood elites" and urges his readers to contact the President about appointing an FCC chairman "who will make indecency enforcement a priority." 7:48:42 PM    comment []

Things I meant to link to long ago...Greensboro's own Laurelyn Dossett, the talented singer and songwriter for Polecat Creek, talks about the strange journey of her song "Leaving Eden," from personal story to anthem for displaced workers (near the end of this State of Things broadcast file). 6:52:51 PM    comment []

What a day, the kind of weather that gives "unseasonable" a good name. Luna and I walked to that pizza place that replaced Thiggy's, saw some old friends and made some new ones. Which reminds me, during those few frigid days of January I saw this weather report for Greensboro: "Unseasonably cold." Is there such a thing as "unseasonably cold" in wintertime? Unusually cold, yes. Unreasonably cold, perhaps. But unseasonably cold, in the coldest season? Hmm. 2:56:38 PM    comment []

N&R: "After 43 issues, the Greater Greensboro Observer is no more." "Ogi Overman, editor of the free weekly tabloid, said the paper lost funding from a key investor about a week and a half ago..."We’re gonna fold this puppy," Overman said. "We are dead in the water. We have printed our last issue." I actually enjoyed the special feature on Irving Park in the final issue. Not as funny as the Scott Yost version, but interesting history nonetheless. 2:51:15 PM    comment []

John Robinson: "Did anyone learn who won the Super Bowl from their morning newspaper?" 2:41:10 PM    comment []

Hoggard makes an important point: "Gay couples can get married in North Carolina right now." I've noticed the same thing myself, "the bass-ackwardness of the debate over gay marriage." Hogg, that old hetero, calls himself a "happily unioned man." I guess Lisa and I would be "married" under any scenario, as our union was in fact blessed by clergy. The "happily" just takes care of itself. 2:33:55 PM    comment []

Marine sniper sets a kill-distance mark, but climate and altitude make it unlikely that the record set in Afghanistan will be broken in Iraq. 2:25:38 PM    comment []

Dreads in the land of Ras Tafari: "It was a curious scene. Meskel Square, the spot where giant portraits of Marx and Lenin looked down on Ethiopians during the country's Communist days, was decorated with likenesses of Marley. Among the revelers were beggars, prevailing on all the idealists to give them something to eat." Marc Lacey of the Times goes to Addis Ababa to cover a big 60th birthday party for Bob Marley, held in the capital of the man about whom he once sang, "mighty god is a living man," back when they both were living men. 8:45:35 AM    comment []

SouthNow, a blog about politics and the South, is updating again after a long hiatus. Well, they were in January, at least. A UNC j-school prof pointed somewhat defensively to this blog when I asked why the j-school didn't focus more on blogs...I can't say I'm convinced they really are invested, Paul Jones and Deb Aikat aside... 8:30:36 AM    comment []

A group of Greensboro bloggers has been working to set up blogs for VFW and NAACP chapters. 8:16:56 AM    comment []

Copyright law and poverty prevention would seem to be unrelated issues -- but TeleRead says they come together in the person of John Edwards, now ensconced at UNC: "Aren't good schools and libraries the ultimate poverty-fighters?" He points to Saturday's blog conference as an opportunity to focus the conversation... 8:12:31 AM    comment []

Josh Marshall on Cheney's latest statements on Social Security: "Following any reasonable calculation the entire debate should end right there -- though I concede that rational calculation ain't what it used to be." 8:00:13 AM    comment []