Good reading
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Good reading Modest proposal: Stop National Anthem at most sporting events
Frank Deford should stir a tsunami of comments with his ESPN commentary that, because sports fans are so desensitized to the National Anthem, that it should no longer be played as matter of routine at sporting events, but saved for special occasions.
... the problem is that when you make the anthem just another part of the scenery, it loses its meaning. When Pee-wee Herman had a show on Broadway a couple of months ago, he began by pretending it was grade school and having the theater rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.Everybody went along, laughing, and I thought: That's pretty much the attitude toward our anthem at sports events now. Maybe it's not a joke, but it's just a rote imposition. It would be better if "The Star-Spangled Banner" were saved for special occasions —— championships.
And sure, if [NASCAR's] Chevrolet No. 39 works as a recruiting commercial [for the Army], let the taxpayers ante up for it, but, hey, Congress, how about we cut the funding for fighter jets flying over stadiums?
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (17)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Good reading Suburban myths debunked
For your reading interest this morning: Willliam Wimsatt, an op-ed writer in the Washington Post debunks five myths about suburban communities.
* All white? Not any more. Minority populations are growing.
* Uncool? Many are becoming "culinary and cultural hot spots."
* Product of the free market? Hah. Government subsidizes suburbs hugely with freeways and other infrastructure; fragmented governments are inefficient and sometimes corrupt, and so on.
* Politically conservative? This is of local interest, naturally. The answer is: Not always. See Northern Virginia. This writer thinks that as suburbs become more densely populated — more like core cities, in other words — they'll become more progressive.
* Environmentally insensitive? The writer sees signs of greening.
All very interesting, hopeful even. But, in the Arkansas context, I offer one word of response: Bryant.
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (18)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Good reading 'Now that's what I'm talking about'
Here (apropos of nothing) is a great story from the New York Times today about college students celebrating their mixed race identity and making the point that the way we pigeonhole people as "black" or "white" or "hispanic" is essentially absurd.
Posted by Leslie Newell Peacock on | Permalink | Comments (13)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Good reading Ole Miss shelving Col. Reb
- OLE MISS MASCOT
This summer, Ole Miss announced a ban on the sale of any items with his image. And in coming weeks, the university is expected to hold a student-run election to pick a new mascot.It is part of a longstanding plan to recast the university’s image, still tarnished by its reputation for racial strife in the 1960s, to signal that it is more tolerant and diverse. Confederate battle flags were discouraged from football games years ago, and “Dixie” is no longer the unofficial fight song.
As we wrote earlier, Highland High has no intention of ditching its symbols.
The image below is from the Highland High home page. It adopted its Rebel finery in the mid-1960s when the Rebel flag became a symbol of Southern resistance at places of confrontation such as Ole Miss. (Not many plantations in that neck of the woods, I don't think.) Time brings changes. Some places.
- HIGHLAND HIGH MASCOT
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (33)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Good reading The unfriendly skies
- Steven Slater's My Space photo
I know it's wrong, but I find myself at least a little sympathetic to Slater. There are some rude passengers up there.
Thoughts?
UPDATE: The story has been animated by the Chinese news animators.
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (29)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Good reading How about a comedian for mayor?
Worth a read in today's New York Times is a feature on the new mayor of Reykjavik, Iceland — Jon Gnarr, a comedian whose goof campaign had an element of seriousness and who was elected along with a slate of other rockers and political outsiders.
The video was done for his Best Party.
I liked this:
With his party having won 6 of the City Council’s 15 seats, Mr. Gnarr needed a coalition partner, but ruled out any party whose members had not seen all five seasons of “The Wire.”
His campaign included polar bears in the zoo (rather than killing the bears who've swum to Iceland on account of melting ice), free towels at swimming pools (there's a sound reason) and a "drug-free parliament by 2020."
Noted: 2010 is a mayoral election year in Little Rock.
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (3)
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