Category Archives: Uncategorized

RIP: Billie Holiday 1915-1959

On this day, July 17, in 1959 Billie Holiday passed away. In tribute, I have provided links to a few sources that would make for interesting consultation. NPR ran an interesting piece on Billie Holiday’s final resting place. bio.TRUE STORY has a nice mini-bio film about Holiday at their site. Between these two sources, twoContinue reading “RIP: Billie Holiday 1915-1959”

Jacob Philadelphia, President Obama, and the Barber

Jacob Philadelphia, the little boy who touches a bowing President Obama’s hair, is such an interesting child. He and his family were interviewed on Lawrence O’Donnell’s The Last Word and he pretty much stuck to his story about Obama’s hair: it felt the same as his own. The new detail regarding his fascination with PresidentContinue reading “Jacob Philadelphia, President Obama, and the Barber”

Recovering Trayvon Martin

Though race gets made in the culture and not in nature, like processed food, the manufactured product has many powerful and potent uses. Though not a natural product born from the earth, Twinkies, Doritos, and Corn Pops can effect real damage on the body as well as on the earth. Over-consumption can clog the body’sContinue reading “Recovering Trayvon Martin”

Chief Lee’s Peculiar Confidence and the Troubling Role of Race in the Story of Trayvon Martin

I have continued following the Trayvon Martin case in the news since my previous writings on it. I continue to find it very upsetting on a number of levels–especially as the reports attempt to present the racial strands of this story as if they are marginal or obstructive. Race though, is quite central to thisContinue reading “Chief Lee’s Peculiar Confidence and the Troubling Role of Race in the Story of Trayvon Martin”

A Critique of “Young Barack Obama in Love”

It has taken me days to read “Young Barack Obama in Love: A Girlfriend’s Secret Diary,” the story that David Maraniss adapts from his biography of Obama entitled, Barack Obama: The Story. It has taken me so long not because of its difficulty or its length but because I have been trying to figure outContinue reading “A Critique of “Young Barack Obama in Love””

Stephanie Eisner, Trayvon Martin, the First Amendment, and Learning

In the wake of Stephanie Eisner’s exit from the University of Texas at Austin’s student newspaper The Daily Texan, some commenters have expressed concern in light of these reports over the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The basic concern involves Eisner’s punishment, as some reports suggest she was fired, for creating a cartoon featuringContinue reading “Stephanie Eisner, Trayvon Martin, the First Amendment, and Learning”

“The Decision” to Protest: Lebron James,Trayvon Martin, and the Eloquence of Peaceful Protest

As an ex-Clevelander (moved away for school) but lifelong fan of my hometown Cleveland teams, I never could have imagined the day when I would openly support and endorse LeBron James again. His ESPN special to announce where he would play basketball, which he titled “The Decision,” was a crushing blow to me, and mostlyContinue reading ““The Decision” to Protest: Lebron James,Trayvon Martin, and the Eloquence of Peaceful Protest”

Frank Taaffe on George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin

I read the article about the brief interview that Frank Taaffe, friend of George Zimmerman and fellow neighborhood watch captain, gave to Anderson Cooper and local press about the shooting of Trayvon Martin before I watched the videos on the page. The article was troubling and the videos just made it worse. Taaffe’s perspective offersContinue reading “Frank Taaffe on George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin”