As I write these words, there is precisely one copy — described as “gently used” — of The Hard Road to Renewal, Stuart Hall’s only solo-authored book, available on Amazon. I’ve noticed this mostly because my copy of Hard Road is among the books that the US Postal Service swallowed back in May, and it’s […]
Fun with math: BP edition [Rerun Sunday]
Sometimes the toss-away lines in news stories are the scariest ones. The item linked above includes the following, otherwise unremarked-upon sentence in its concluding paragraph: The company has set aside $32bn (£20.5bn) to cover its liabilities arising from the disaster, which US lawyers say has affected tens of thousands of people in the Gulf, particularly […]
60 ’65 45s [Rerun Sunday]
A fella only turns 45 once (time travel and reincarnation notwithstanding). And, being the pop music geek that I am, I decided to honor the occasion by making a couple of suitably themed mix CDs to give away as door prizes (first 45 celebrants only!) at today’s birthday bashes. And, just to make folks who […]
Videos of the week
From “Professor Stuart Hall Week” (24-28 Nov 2014) at Goldsmiths, University of London. Closing Remarks Professor Catherine Hall, University College London from Goldsmiths, University of London on Vimeo. Stuart Hall Interview: Angela Davis from Goldsmiths, University of London on Vimeo. Stuart Hall Interview: Professor Lawrence Grossberg, University of North Carolina from Goldsmiths, University of London […]
None of us are free
I made this mix CD almost a decade ago. The two most recent tracks on it (the first and the last, as it turns out) are from 2002. None of the others are more recent than 1989. The oldest track turned 75 earlier this year. These days, however, the whole mix feels far, far too […]
Last month’s links
I’ve skipped this ritual for a few weeks. So, to make up for it, here’s a small flood of some of the best things I’ve read about Ferguson over the past few weeks (with some side dish on Bill Cosby sprinkled in here and there). Ta-Nehisi Coates Kiese Laymon Tressie McMillan Cottom Nick Mirzoeff Jennifer […]
Who dat? [Rerun Sunday]
One of the most amazing little serendipitous moments of . . . well . . . who knows how long? And way too sweet not to mention here. Was out with a couple of friends, celebrating a birthday (not mine). The Super Bowl was not an official part of anyone’s agenda though, as it turns […]
Miss-iss-ouri goddamn
[photo by Jilly Ballistic] It’s hard to know what else to say about the miscarriage of justice that happened when the grand jury in Ferguson decided that Darren Wilson didn’t need to be indicted for killing Mike Brown. I wish I could say I was surprised. But I’m not. Like a lot of people — […]
No one knows . . . [Rerun Sunday]
My friend Elena likes to tell a story about grading student papers while some Jacques Cousteau special was playing on the TV as background noise. While she was gawking at what her charges had managed to do to logic, reason, and the English language, Cousteau was commenting on one of the eternal mysteries of the […]
Videos of the week
This week, three great tastes that taste great together.