GOOD WILL ROGERS

“There’s no secret to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.”

Humor, WITSThe AtticSeptember 10, 2020Will Rogers, American humor, Wit, 1920s Comments

OCTAVIA BUTLER -- SCI FI, SLAVERY, AND SEEDS OF THE FUTURE

Reading science fiction, Octavia Butler saw no one like herself. So she vowed to “write myself in.”

ROBINSON JEFFERS AND "THE ANSWER"

Turning his back to the continent, Robinson Jeffers offered an answer for our own troubled times.

BOOK-ISHThe AtticAugust 27, 2020Robinson Jeffers, Big Sur, California coast, American poetry, Poetry Comments

THE MOHAWKS AND 'HIGH STEEL'

Builders offered jobs on the ground, but the Mohawks soared. Soon these “Fearless Wonders” were building the American skyline.

HAMILTON'S OTHER HALF

Broadway’s biggest hit celebrates the Founding Father, but without Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, there would have been no “Hamilton.”

JOE AND ELIZA -- AN A.I. LOVE STORY

He was a computer whiz. She was his creation, programmed to debunk AI. So why did people keep “talking” to ELIZA?

THE NUN WHO WENT POP

When Pop Art flared in the 1960s, Sister Mary Corita saw the light. Her brilliant colors soon preached love, peace, and hope.

JAMES TURRELL AND THE LIGHT DELICIOUS

Light dazzled the ancients but it took James Turrell to use everyday radiance as a paint brush.

ART-ISHThe AtticJuly 4, 2020James Turrell, Light, Roden Crater, Light art Comment

THE DECLARATION -- FARMER STYLE

Income equality? Unions? Co-ops? Busting up corporations? The radical left? Nah, just American farmers.

REBELS, DEMOCRACYThe AtticJune 26, 2020Populism, Declaration of Independence, American Farms, AgricultureComment

SCIENCE FARCES ON

A Wasabi Alarm? Astrology Charts for Bacteria? Scheduled Earthquakes? The Ig-Nobels are science for wise guys.

JUNETEENTH!

Slavery continued in Texas for months after the war. Then came the word — on Juneteenth.

History, REBELS, DEMOCRACYThe AtticJune 11, 2020Juneteenth!, Juneteenth, Slavery Comments

GARY SNYDER -- THE POET WHO OUTGREW THE BEATS

After reading with Ginsberg, teaching Zen to Kerouac, Gary Snyder followed his own path to become “the poet laureate of deep ecology.”

BOOK-ISHThe AtticJune 4, 2020Gary Snyder, Beats, The Beats, Beat poetry, Eco-poetry, Turtle Island Comments

THE WIT OF JFK

Presidents are rarely known for their humor, at least not their intentional humor. JFK was.

Humor, WITSThe AtticMay 29, 2020JFK, JFK wit, JFK humor, Presidential humor Comments

THE BICYCLE THAT FLEW THE CHANNEL

Human-powered flight was just a dream until the Gossamer Albatross pedaled into the sky.

SISTER ROSETTA, GODMOTHER OF ROCK

Before Elvis, before Chuck Berry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe preached the gospel of rock n’ roll. Never heard of her? Hear her now.

ART-ISHThe AtticMay 21, 2020Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American blues, Blues, Rock music Comment

CRADLE OF MOUNTAIN CULTURE -- APPALSHOP

Mocked, belittled, stereotyped, the folks of Appalachia had never told their own story until the birth of Appalshop.

FOLKIESThe AtticMay 14, 2020Appalshop, Appalachia, Kentucky, Folklore, Bluegrass Comment

KINDER, COOLER, SMARTER

NOW ENTERING OUR TENTH YEAR!

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