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‘Civil Disobedience’ is not anathema to U.S. history
Millions of Americans will rally on Saturday in the latest “No Kings” protests. As notes in a previous post there are more than 30 demonstrations slated throughout Kentucky on March 28. With that in mind, it’s worth noting that PBS is promoting a Ken Burns documentary on Henry David Thoreau, the 19th century “teacher, scientist,…
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The Bluegrass Blues Podcast: Episode 22
WAR! What is it good for? Kentucky legislators and candidates react to Iran bombing. Republican budget actions hurt the Bluegrass State (as usual). The women of Black History Month. Our neighborhood is featured in an HBO documentary and fine dining in NuLu. Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie says he will push for congressional vote on Iran…
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Citizen Bezos
Since one of the richest men in the world recently decided to gut the Washington Post, firing a third of its journalists not long after it instituted buyouts that had already slashed jobs, it’s time to compare the current newspaper owner to the greatest newspaper mogul in cinema history. Here’s a clip from “Citizen Kane”:…
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The Bluegrass Blues Podcast: Episode 21
Black History Month and the history of American oppression; Kentucky Republicans continue to act against constituents’ interests; municipal legislators fall short (again); dealing with ICE; another failure in journalism, and honorably mentioning local sports. Our discussion includes: The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after King, has died at 84…
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And the curtain comes down
Some bad news on the entertainment front. Baxter Avenue Theaters in Louisville is closing at the end of the year, according to the CJ. Baxter Avenue Theatres is coming to a close after a long life in Louisville’s Highlands neighborhood. The theater’s last day open will be Dec. 31, according to a Dec. 22 statement…
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Time for an awards ceremony
We’ve had some good news on the family front. My niece is a documentary film producer who worked on the 2022 Academy Award winning documentary “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, an event that rivaled Woodstock but was completely ignored by the mainstream media.…
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MAGA GOP starves Kentucky’s equivalent of District 12
Paul Krugman makes this interesting point in his Substack column “The Hunger Games Begin.” Consider, for example, Owsley County in Kentucky. The county is 96 percent white, and last year it cast 88 percent of its votes for Trump. Also, 37 percent of residents are on SNAP. So, by refusing to maintain food aid, Republicans are hurting many…
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Our kids are dumber. Is it that hard to see why?
Some troubling news on the education front, from the Kentucky Lantern: Just days after federal data revealed average reading, math and science scores dropped among certain grades since before the coronavirus pandemic, a U.S. Senate panel on Thursday picked apart the root causes and methods for students’ academic improvement. The hearing in the Senate Committee…
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The Bluegrass Blues Podcast: Episode 8
We discuss Amy’s trip to Chautauqua, the betrayal of our sanctuary city, how comedians are challenging authoritarians and things we’ve been watching for entertainment. On Amy’s birthday, we want to share this photo with you. These two hard-working gentlemen are replacing a roof in Old Louisville with a 100 degree heat index and almost 100%…
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Film critique: Mr. DeMille! The Ville is ready for its closeup!
All right: Cameras! Action! (From the CJ): The $70 million redevelopment project set to transform the long vacant Louisville Gardens building downtown into the Louisville Studios at the Gardens, a state-of-the-art sound stage for entertainment production, is one of many signs that Louisville plans to play a starring role in the state’s growing movie and television industry.…
