Author Archives: milesaway44105

“Mom and Dad’s Record Collection”

I heard Rashida Jones on NPR last week as a guest offering her reflections for their series “Mom and Dad’s Record Collection.” You might imagine her to have an interesting memory to share given that she’s the daughter of famed music producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton. Instead of offering a predictable story aboutContinue reading ““Mom and Dad’s Record Collection””

Back-to-School: An Urgency to Know

In the aftermath of Seung-Hui Cho’s shooting spree that claimed the lives of  32 people and physically injured at least 17 others at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an interesting series of reflections on the matter. They asked scholars, artists, and college presidents to imagine the commencement addressContinue reading “Back-to-School: An Urgency to Know”

Models Monday: Beauty and Everyday Life

Earlier this summer, I read Maurice Berger’s article in The New York Times about the discovery of a series of Gordon Parks photographs believed to have been lost. The photographs chronicled the daily life of an extended family in Mobile, Alabama in 1956. According to Berger, the found photographs expand upon themes established in thatContinue reading “Models Monday: Beauty and Everyday Life”

Back-To-School Series

Summer has ended for children in the U.S. South. The school bells chimed nearly a week ago and have called them back inside; so with another season comes another series. Thus, I have planned a series of posts marking the occasion. I look forward to sharing my Back-to-School Series featuring an interview with a high school mathContinue reading “Back-To-School Series”

Models Monday: An End to the Games

I have truly enjoyed the 2012 London Olympic Games (despite NBC’s best efforts to drain whatever enthusiasm I could sustain with their tape delays and sentimental, predictable narratives ostensibly of human interest but completely annoying to sports enthusiasts eager to actually see the competition whose results we had already glimpsed–but I digress). The athletes, particularlyContinue reading “Models Monday: An End to the Games”

Worthwhile Viewing: The Barber of Birmingham

The 2012 Academy Award nominated film for documentary short, The Barber of Birmingham, can be viewed on-line at PBS until September 9, 2012. I watched it today. I first learned of the film when I heard Michel Martin interviewing co-director Robyn Fryday on “Tell Me More” last week. The POV website for the film offersContinue reading “Worthwhile Viewing: The Barber of Birmingham”

Models Monday: Fear and Dread

Just in my casual reading this weekend, I came across two articles dealing with the subject of anxiety, Madeline Levine’s “Raising Successful Children” and Shaun Groves’s “Parenting A Child with Anxiety.” They were both attractive articles to me because I have spent a good bit of my life worrying. In fact, when I was aContinue reading “Models Monday: Fear and Dread”

Intergenerational Elegance

American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes has offered poignant commentary on Gabby Douglas’s performance at the 2012 Olympic Games. Dawes’s pride and clear support for her younger colleague is refreshing in light of the pointless (social) media contests between athletes from different eras who cannot test their (e-)theories through today’s games. While IContinue reading “Intergenerational Elegance”