Video: Willie Nelson’s new song “Immigrant Eyes” (with lyrics)
It turns out that Oscar Alberto Martínez and his 23-month-old daughter Angie Valeria were just two of dozens who’ve died in the Rio Grande this year. In this spirit, here’s Willie Nelson’s new song celebrating immigrants.
Bill Traylor: Sidewalk Genius
Born into slavery, Traylor spent the majority of his life after emancipation as a sharecropper. It was only after 1939, following his move to Montgomery, Alabama that Traylor began to draw. At the age of 85, he took up a pencil and a scrap of cardboard to document his recollections and observations. From 1939 to 1942, while working on the sidewalks of Montgomery, Traylor produced nearly 1,500 pieces of art.
Anne Lamott: Notes on Hope
I thought such awful thoughts that I cannot even say them out loud because they would make Jesus want to drink gin straight out of the cat dish.
Michael Simms: Six poems tracing an arc of forgiveness with real world examples
. My brother who is dying of cancer My brother who is dying of cancer Tells me the time has come To forgive our father because It’s not about … Continue reading
Banksy: Don’t Forget To Eat Your Lunch And Make Some Trouble
“We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime, we should all go shopping to console ourselves.” — Banksy
Audio: Hieronymous Bosch Butt Music
. A 600 year old butt song from Hell. Oklahoma Christian University student Amelia Hamrick has transcribed a piece of music hidden in Hieronymus Bosch’s 16th century painting The Garden … Continue reading
Lawrence W. Britt: 14 Characteristics of Fascism
Historian Lawrence Britt studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile) and found they had 14 elements in common. He calls these … Continue reading
Michael Simms: Hammer
On East Carson Street, skinny white boys Slump in front of tattoo parlors Scratching their arms. Girls In short skirts take long pulls On cigs, stand in groups Smiling at … Continue reading
Video: Lawrence Ferlinghetti reads “Pity the Nation” (text included)
. Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (born 1919) is an American poet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. Author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, … Continue reading
Video: Operatico Politico vs Trump (Rossini Edition)
. Opera singers Rebecca Nelsen and Eric Stoklossa of Operatico Politico brilliantly summarize the Trump administration with a little help from Rossini. .
George Lakoff: Trump Tweets, Press Leaps.
. George Lakoff: Now that we understand how Trump uses Twitter to divert and distract, many of you have asked how we can respond. This handy chart by Greg Gibilisco … Continue reading
Michael Simms: Two Thefts
When I was in college, I committed larceny twice. Forty years later, I still feel pleased by the first theft and ashamed of the second. I was living with a … Continue reading
Michael Simms: Going Deaf
Now is the time for drowsy tanagers. -– E.S. . First I lost the tick of snowflakes hitting glass. Then the sound of the cat’s tongue running over her fur. … Continue reading
Ursula K. Le Guin: On Power, Oppression and Freedom
My country came together in one revolution and was nearly broken by another. The first revolution was a protest against galling, stupid, but relatively mild social and economic exploitation. It … Continue reading
