The Weekly Town Crier (10/18/19)
All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (10/18/19 Edition).
Browse all the Weekly Town Crier posts so far.
Listen to all 52 episodes of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow.
Listen to a mix of artists who have performed Habañero Collective house shows.
Browse the Musical Worldview posts.
Read as Christianity Today considers “4 Unexpected, Counterintuitive Truths About Uncool Churches.”
Browse “7 Reasons Tom Schreiner (Tentatively) Holds to Amillennialism” at The Gospel Coalition.
Read Christianity Today’s report: “Christians Killed on Syria’s Front Lines While Trump defends US withdrawal, advocates fear “Turkey will complete the work that ISIS tried to do, in eradicating Christians from this region.”
Read as Ralph Reed claims “Christians ‘have a moral obligation to enthusiastically back’ Trump in 2020” at Market Watch.
Read Christianity Today’s report: “National Association of Evangelicals’ New President Hopes to Bring Together a Movement in Crisis.”
Read: “The Early Church Thrived Amid Secularism and Shows How We Can, Too The pre-Christendom church managed to avoid both isolationism and accommodationism. Their model gives us a map for post-Christendom challenges” at Christianity Today.
Consider “3 Christian Responses To A Celebrity Conversion” with Jared Wilson at Lifeway Voices.
Read “SBC President: We Failed to Heed Victims’ Voices: Hundreds of Southern Baptists recently convened to talk about sex abuse in their denomination. Here’s where the conversation went” at Christianity Today.
Read “A letter from Paul to Christians in the US Let me cut to the chase, brothers and sisters. Is this what you think living in Christ looks like?” at Christian Century.
Read Christianity Today’s piece: “Algeria Forces Christians Out of the Country’s Largest Churches.”
Read as CNN wonders: “Why Christian music's biggest stars refuse to change their tune for the Trump era.”
Wonder with Mike Frost “Sing Freedom! Why isn’t Christian music more revolutionary?”
Read as Christianity Today considers “Why We Still Need Christian Colleges As the liberal arts struggle, we should rally around Christian campuses that still embrace them.”
Read “The Owners of Hobby Lobby Are Returning Biblical Antiquities That Were Allegedly Stolen by an Oxford Professor This is the second time that the family and its Museum of the Bible have bought illicit antiquities” at Art.net.
Read “Number of Americans with no religious affiliation growing” at Christianity Today and read my piece: “The Religious "Nones" Learned It From Somewhere.”
Read GQ’s piece “Why Rich Guys Get Richer Off of Debt—While the Rest of Us Can Get Crushed by It”
Read as Glamour considers: “It’s Time to Stop Treating Parenting as a Mom’s Burden and a Dad’s Adorable Hobby.”
Read The Guardian’s piece: “Why this ‘genius’ scholar is mapping out the world’s largest jail system Kelly Lytle Hernández, who received the MacArthur ‘genius’ grant, views prison abolition through the eyes of rebels.”
Read AV Club’s piece: “It’s been 10 years, but the Balloon Boy saga is only getting weirder.”
Read Time’s report: “Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge becomes first person to run a marathon in under two hours.”
Read Live Science’s report: “Angry People Think They’re Smarter Than They Are: Grouchy people are inclined to overestimate their smartness.”
Read Business Insider’s report: “The US needs 307,000 more teachers than it currently has — but few are taking the job due to low pay” and then go sport this bumper sticker.
Read CNN’s piece: “Desperate to fill teacher shortages, US schools are hiring teachers from overseas.”
Read/hear Nashville Public Radio’s report: “New Study Finds Gifted Programs Favor Wealth Over Ability.”
Read Okay Player’s report: “Queen Latifah To Be Honored With Award From Harvard University.”
Read “Why Intentionally Building Empathy Is More Important Now Than Ever” at KQED.
Read HuffPost’s piece: “The ‘Glass Floor’ Is Keeping America’s Richest Idiots At The Top Elites are finding more ways to ensure that their children never run out of chances to fail.”
Read Today’s report: “DeAngelo Williams sponsors 500 mammograms to honor mom who died of breast cancer.”
Read: “In ‘Dolly Parton’s America’ Podcast, Jad Abumrad Finds the Substance Behind the Sparkle” at No Depression.
Read Eco Watch’s report: “California Becomes First State to Ban Single-Use Hotel Toiletries.”
Read Rochester First’s report: “New Sam Adams beer is illegal in 15 states.”
Read NPR’s report: “3 Win Nobel Prize In Economics For Work In Reducing Poverty.”
Read “Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Rethinking How We Celebrate American History” at Smithsonian.
White Males, who make up 31% of the U.S. population, “Dominate Federal Court Nominations Again Under Trump Administration.” (via: Sojourners)
Read/Watch: “Woman killed in own home when Fort Worth officer shoots her, police and witness say” at the Star Telegram.
Watch NBCDFW’s report: “Fort Worth Officer Charged With Murder After Shooting That Killed Atatiana Jefferson.”
Watch CBSDFW’S report: “Former Fort Worth Police Officer Aaron Dean Charged With Murder For Shooting Atatiana Jefferson.”
Read Slate’s piece: “Donald Trump and Bill Barr Are Setting a Religious War Trap An attempt to deflect attention from the impeachment inquiry by goading the base.”
Read Mockingbird’s piece: “Preaching Politically in Turbulent Times: German theologian Rudolph Bultmann is often accused of "quietism" in the face of Nazi Germany, but in reality, his resistance to fight political fire with political fire begs strong questions about the church & state relationship.”
Erasing the lines between Church and State, the U.S. State Department’s official website touts “Pompeo “Being A Christian Leader.” Read more at News and Guts.
Read New York Times’ piece: “How ‘White Guilt’ in the Age of Trump Shapes the Democratic Primary The changing racial attitudes of white liberals are changing how 2020 candidates try to win votes.”
Read “Obama endorses Canada's Justin Trudeau for another term in spite of blackface scandal” at Salon.
Read PBS’ report: “MeToo leader launches hashtag to mobilize voters.”
Read Los Angeles Times’ report: “Jane Fonda is arrested in D.C. during climate change protest — exactly as she’d planned.”
Read Slate’s piece: “Beto O’Rourke Is Turning Into a Human Straw Man for Conservatives.”
Watch at MSNBC: “U.S. Attorney General William Barr, in a speech at Notre Dame Law School on Friday, apparently blamed drug abuse, violence, and mental illness on ‘secularists’ and society’s lack of Christian values.”
Read/Listen to WBUR’s piece: “California Bans Private Prisons And Immigrant Detention Centers.”
Read Time’s report: “California Democrats Spent $800,000 in Sexual Misconduct Legal Fees Involving Former Chairman.’
Read Politico’s piece: “Facebook Is Threatening Our Elections—Again A new policy gives politicians free rein to spread misinformation and inflame racial tensions.”
Read CNET’s report: Elizabeth “Warren runs a false Facebook ad to protest false Facebook ads Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren isn't happy about Facebook's policy that exempts politicians' posts from fact-checking.”
Read Politico’s report: “Inside Mark Zuckerberg's private meetings with conservative pundits.”
Read KTAR’s report “Anchor Shepard Smith leaves Fox News in surprise announcement.”
Browse “the best and worst states for taxes” at CNBC. Yay Arizona?
Read/hear NPR’s piece: “Exclusive: Turf War Blocked CFPB From Helping Fix Student Loan Forgiveness Program.”
Read USA Today’s opinion piece: “Message to evangelicals: Impeachment is about Donald Trump. It's not an attack on you.”
Watch MSNBC’s piece: “Bipartisan desire to impeach Trump rising.”
Read: “Trump Has Spent 278 Years Of Presidential Salary On Taxpayer Funded Golf Trips” at Politicususa.
Watch “G-7 will be held at Trump resort in Miami, Mulvaney says” at PBS News Hour: “The announcement comes at the same time the president has accused Joe Biden’s family of profiting from public office because of Hunter Biden’s business activities in Ukraine when his father was vice president.”
Read NPR’s report: “Prince's Estate Condemns Trump's Use Of 'Purple Rain' At Campaign Rally.”
Read Time’s report: “A Man Wearing a Colin Kaepernick Jersey Was Thrown Out of Trump's Minneapolis Rally. Here's What He Says Happened.'“
Read PBS’ report: “Trump rule may mean 1 million kids lose automatic free lunch.”
Read Reuters’ report: “Trump lawyer Giuliani was paid $500,000 to consult on indicted associate's firm.”
Read “A Definitive Guide to Turkey, the Kurds, and the Conflict in Northern Syria” at Preemptive Love.
Read “Read Trump’s full letter to Turkey’s Erdogan: ‘Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!’ at PBS.
Read the Atlantic’s Op-Ed: “Why Turkey Treated Trump’s Letter as Trash There may be no more vivid illustration of how American leadership has declined in the world.””
Read Rolling Stone’s report: “Gruesome Video of Fake Trump Killing Media in Mass Shooting Played at One of His Resorts A doctored video depicts the president murdering his enemies, including CNN, Sen. John McCain and activist group Black Lives Matter.”
Read Esquire’s opinion piece: “The Sick Video Played at a Pro-Trump Conference Is a Glimpse of the Dark Energy in American Politics.”
Read: “Great Writers on the Power of Music” at Brain Pickings.
Read NME’s “opinion” “Live albums are pointless – so why do bands insist on releasing them still?”
Read CBC’s piece: “Thurston Moore on the influences behind his latest release, Spirit Counsel.”
Read/hear NPR’s piece: “Kim Gordon Returns With New Collaborators On 'No Home Record'.
Read as NPR wonders “Why Is American Classical Music So White?: Cultural historian Joseph Horowitz views the racial history of classical music as a series of missed opportunities.”
Watch “Happy 100th birthday, theremin!” at PRI.
Read Live For Live Music’s report: “Teton Gravity Research Announces New Grateful Dead-Themed Action Sports Film.”
Read JamBase’s report: “Chris & Rich Robinson Reportedly Eyeing Black Crowes Reunion In 2020.”
Hear a new song/watch a new video from pianist Rachel Grimes.
Read “The Spirit of D.C. Punk in the Words of Women Musicians” at Smithsonian Folk Life.
Read Passion Of The Weiss’ piece: “Music as Counterargument: BBE collects untraceable Japanese jazz.”
Read Pitchfork’s report: “Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein Was an Answer on Jeopardy!”
Read “In Conversation with Bill Nace and Bill MacKay The two Bills talk music, robots, and a fear of air travel” at TalkHouse.
Listen to “Lee “Scratch” Perry and Brian Eno Share New Song “Here Come the Warm Dreads” at Pitchfork.
Browse “The 40 Best New Bands Of 2019” at Stereogum.
Consider “Art Blakey's Legacy: A Rallying Cry And A Gathering Place” at NPR.
Read Pitchfork’s brief history of “Chillwave.”
Read: “Jimmy Eat World's Survival Guide: Frontman Jim Adkins On The Band's History You've Never Heard” at Billboard.
Read NME’s report: “Guitar sales soar following The Cure’s Glastonbury headline set.”
Read “Sudden Death Of A Young K-Pop Star Spurs Talk Of Action On Mental Health, Bullying” at NPR.
Read “Alan Sparhawk (Low) Interviews Mark Kozelek About His Collaboration with Petra Haden” at TalkHouse.
Read Jambands.com’s report: “Neil Young Shares Trailer for ‘Mountaintop’ Documentary, Announces Worldwide Screenings.”
Read “Thom Yorke, Brian Eno, David Byrne, More Address Climate “Hypocrisy” Musicians sign open letter arguing, despite industry’s “huge carbon footprint,” they must stand up for “systemic change” at Pitchfork.
Watch “Andy Cohen Tests Jimmy Fallon’s Grateful Dead Knowledge” at Youtube.
Read the New York Times’ piece: “WNYC Is Dropping ‘New Sounds’ After 37 Years. Musicians Are Mourning. The eclectic radio program that has influenced New York’s music scene since 1982 is going off the air.”
Read: “Oysterhead Tease Reunion with Cryptic Social Media Posts” at Relix.
Consider “The Legacy of Subhumans” at YabYum West.
Watch as Spafford “Plays All-Improv Sets In Bloomington” at JamBase.
Read PopMatters’ piece: “Wilco Builds 'Ode to Joy' on Durable Structures Worthy of Focus.”
Read NPR’s review of the new album ‘Two Hands’ by Big Thief: “'Two Hands' Captures Big Thief's Force And Intimacy.”
Read Treble’s “Album of the Week: “Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – ‘Ghosteen’.”
Read: “Nick Cave says he’s “repelled” by ‘woke’ culture’s “self-righteous belief” and “lack of humility” at NME: “I tend to become uncomfortable around all ideologies that brand themselves as ‘the truth’ or ‘the way’."
Read Brooklyn Vegan’s piece: “albums Pitchfork liked less over time, according to their decade list.”
Hear “Bob Dylan Perform ‘Lenny Bruce’ for First Time in 11 Years Former Pearl Jam drummer Matt Chamberlain joins Dylan’s touring band along with guitarist Bob Britt” at Rolling Stone.
Read “How One Of Music's Biggest Stars Almost Disappeared, And How Her Legacy Was Saved: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a forebear of rock and roll, was nearly erased from history” at NPR.
Read Jambands.com’s report: “Lost Dr. John Album, ‘Big Band Voodoo,’ Set for Release.”
Read as Brooklyn Vegan wonders if “Hole’s mid-’90s lineup finally reuniting?”
Hear “Sufjan Stevens Shares Hushed Piano Instrumental 'IV'“ at NPR.
Read Consequence of Sound’s report: “Cassette tape production delayed due to global material shortage Cassette sales in the US went up 23% in 2018.”
Read Consequence of Sound’s report: “Eddie Van Halen undergoing throat cancer treatment in Germany: Report.”
Read Vinyl Factory’s report: “HMV opens flagship store in Birmingham, with 25,000 records.”
Watch “The Trailer For The David Bazan Documentary Strange Negotiations” at Stereogum.
Read Rolling Stone’s Q&A with Kim Gordon “on the Upside of Airbnb and Being Cool, Not Cold The former Sonic Youth bassist talks new album “No Home Record” and not being the godmother of grunge.”
Read “Beck Announces New Album 'Hyperspace,' Shares Two Singles” at NPR.
Read NME’s report: “Manic Street Preachers tease release of ‘The Holy Bible’ live film.”
Read “Pharrell Williams talks about realizing that "Blurred Lines" was "rapey" at AV Club.
Read Pitchfork’s report: “Notorious B.I.G., Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails Nominated for Rock Hall of Fame 2020 Soundgarden, T. Rex, Kraftwerk, Motörhead, Dave Matthews Band, and more are on the institution’s long list of nominees.”
Read “Devendra Banhart :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview.”
Consider “The Language I Learned From Cassettes” at NPR.
Read as Magnet declares Wet Tuna’s new album Water Weird, “Essential New Music.”
R.I.P. Robert Forster.
R.I.P. Harold Bloom, “A Rare Best-Selling Literary Critic.”
R.I.P. Elijah Cummings.
See “OuijaZilla: The World’s Largest Ouija Board” at Cult of Weird.
Read Rolling Stone’s piece: “Bryan Cranston on ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’ The actor reflects on the legacy of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, his friendship with Aaron Paul, and whether he’d ever revisit his most famous character one more time.”
Read Paste’s picks for “The 30 Best Documentaries of the 2010s.”
Read CNet’s report: “Kevin Feige takes over as Marvel Chief Creative Officer -- now what?”
Read AV Club’s report: “Studio Ghibli movies are coming to HBO Max.”
Read as Rolling Stone considers “‘Fight Club’ at 20: The Twisted Joys of David Fincher’s Toxic-Masculinity Sucker Punch.”
Read “Netflix announces an animated TV version of celebrated comic series Bone” at AV Club.
Watch a 1983 interview with Kurt Vonnegut. In this interview: “iconoclastic writer of science fiction and satire—discusses his family history, how he got his start as an author, his obsession with the betrayal of humankind by science, and his vision of technology gone mad.”
See “The Public Library: A Photographic Love Letter to Humanity’s Greatest Sanctuary of Knowledge, Freedom, and Democracy” at Brain Pickings.
Read Vox’ piece: “A champion of the unplugged, earth-conscious life, Wendell Berry is still ahead of us The writer and farmer’s impassioned arguments on farming, technology, and the urban-rural divide have taken on a new urgency.”
See “Artist Uses 100,000 Banned Books To Build A Full-Size Parthenon At Historic Nazi Book Burning Site” at Bookish Buzz.
Read “Booker T. Jones, Soul’s Ultimate Sideman, Takes the Lead at Last In a new memoir, “Time Is Tight: My Life, Note by Note,” the Stax studio wizard and acclaimed producer tells his own story and finds his voice” at New York Times.
Read Rolling Stone’s report: “Stephen King’s House to Become Museum and Writers’ Retreat.”
See “Da Vinci's Forgotten Design for the Longest Bridge in the World Proves What a Genius He Was. It would have been held together by compression only” at Live Science.
Read/Listen to “How Psychedelic Substances Can Help Treat Anxiety, Depression And Other Mental Illnesses” at WBUR.
Read/Listen to “A Drug Was Made For Just One Child, Raising Hopes About Future Of Tailored Medicine” at WBUR.
See “Photos Reveal Emotional Look Inside the Abandoned Fukushima Exclusion Zone” at My Modern Net.
Read Mysterious Universe’s piece: “Twenty New Moons Have Been Discovered Orbiting Saturn, Breaking Jupiter’s Record.”
Read: “How to Disappear: The Art of Listening to Silence in a Noisy World: “Silence is the presence of time undisturbed. Lessons in the art of listening to silence in a noisy world from acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton, who has spent 35 years recording Earth's quietest nooks of nature’ at Brain Pickings.
Read/Hear NPR’s report: “How Magic Mushrooms Can Help Smokers Kick The Habit.”
Read/Watch “Can ultrasound be used to fight Alzheimer’s?” at PBS.
Read “Most Things You Worry About Will Never Actually Happen Persistent worrying is pointless. Here’s how to stop doing it” at Elemental.Medium.
See “The Stunning Astronomical Beadwork of Native Artist Margaret Nazon” at Brain Pickings.
Read Art.net’s piece: “How Curators Are Addressing Gauguin’s Dark Side in a New Show at the National Gallery in London Art museums are grappling with how to display great works by artists who abused their models.”
Read about “The Little-Known Visual Art of E.E. Cummings” at Brain Pickings.
Read Art.net’s report: “Paul McCartney Has Donated a Remarkable Trove of Pictures Taken by His Late Wife to the Glasgow Museums—See Them Here.”
See a “Recycled Skateboard Eames Lounge Chair” at Uncrate.
See “Dice containing bloody teeth and other oddities” at Boing Boing.
Read “The Japanese Bakeries Still Selling Fortune Cookies Although widely considered Chinese American, the well-known treat was invented in Japan” at Atlas Obscura.
See “Dead man pranks funeral-goers by screaming from coffin in pre-recorded message as he’s lowered into the ground” at NY Daily News.
Read “How to Do Nothing with Nobody All Alone by Yourself: A Timely Vintage Field Guide to Self-Reliant Play and Joyful Solitude” at Brain Pickings.
Read Phoenix New Times’ piece: “The Smell of Hickman's Chicken Poop Is Killing This Rural Arizona Community.”
Read KTAR’s report: “Curt Schilling decides against running for Congress in Arizona.”
Read AZ Central’s report: “Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee is coming to Arizona. Here's what we know.”
Read KVOA’s report: “Arizona has the most deaths due to mosquito-spread disease.”
Read Phoenix New Times’ report: “Zombi Apothecary and Conjure Co. Isn't the Same Old Bell, Book, and Candle Store: The unusual store has its grand opening this weekend.”
Read KJZZ’s report: “Harkins Theatres Popcorn Hits Arizona Grocery Store Shelves.”
Read KJZZ’s report: “Arizona's Superintendent Aims To Repeal Ineffective English Immersion Law.”