THE AUDACITY OF VIOLINS

Blending Bach with Biggie, "Black Violin" challenges every tired old touchstone.

REBELS, ART-ISHThe AtticMarch 24, 2023Black Violin, Music, Violin music, Kev Marcus, Wil B Comments

GENTLE ON THE RIVER

“Gentle on My Mind” made him famous but John Hartford’s heart was always on the Mississippi.

FOLKIESBruce WatsonMarch 13, 2023John Hartford, Gentle on My Mind, Bluegrass music, Newgrass music, Nashville, Nashville sound Comment

CRUISIN' WITH DAVID FOSTER WALLACE

On the verge of Infinite Jest, DFW took a cruise. His witty, acerbic, heartfelt account bore all the brilliance of his novels.

WITS, BOOK-ISHThe AtticMarch 10, 2023David Foster Wallace, DFW, Infinite Jest, Post-modern literature, Post-modern lit, A Supposedly Fun Thing, Harper's Comments

MEET THE FIRST ANTI-RACISTS

When America used “science” to back white supremacy, Franz Boas and his students battled the B.S.

BATTLING THE B.S., TEACHERS, teachersThe AtticMarch 9, 2023Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, Gods of the Upper Air, Ruth Benedict, white supremacy, Edward Sapir, anthropology, Nazi eugenics, eugenics Comment

DOWN THOSE SESAME STREETS

Children’s TV was a wasteland. Then Joan Ganz Cooney took us all to “Sesame Street.”

CREATIVES, TEACHERS, teachers, TEACHERS & HEALERSThe AtticMarch 3, 2023Sesame Street, PBS, Children's Television Workshop, Educational TV, Joan Ganz Cooney, Big Bird, The Muppets Comments

THE TYCOONS VS. THE NEWSBOYS

Hearst and Pulitzer refused to play fair, so the Newsies walked off the job. And won America’s hearts. (As seen in “The Newsies.”)

REBELS, ATTIC AT THE MOVIESBruce WatsonMarch 1, 2023Newsies, The Newsies, Newsboys strike of 1899, Child Labor, American child labor, American labor Comment

THE PINPOINT PRECISION OF LIGHT

Photography was losing its focus when Ansel Adams and friends founded Group f/64. And blew us all away.

ART-ISHBruce WatsonFebruary 23, 2023Group f/64, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Photography, The Depression, The West Comment

WHAT ARE PEOPLE FOR?

Long before AI and Chat GPT, Wendell Berry asked a question we should all ponder.

BOOK-ISHThe AtticFebruary 16, 2023Wendell Berry, Environmental Movement, What are People for, Chat GPT, AI, artificial intelligence Comments

THE WISDOM OF MR. NATURAL

Laid back and lampooning the Sixties and himself, R. Crumb’s creation keeps on truckin’.

WITSThe AtticFebruary 9, 2023R. Crumb, Mr. Natural, underground comics, underground comix, Zap Comix, Sixties, Sixties Counter-culture, Haight-Ashbury Comments

THE ATTIC READS: THE EXPLORERS

BOOK-ISHThe AtticFebruary 5, 2023The Explorers, Amanda Bellows, American exploration Comment

SWEET HONEY'S ENDURING ROCK

From the trenches of Civil Rights to the concert stage, Bernice Johnson Reagon has sung the praises of black culture.

TEACHERS, FOLKIESThe AtticFebruary 4, 2023Bernice Johnson Reagon, SNCC, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Civil Rights Movement, Freedom Songs, Sweet Honey in the Rock Comments

CHILDHOOD BEYOND THE BLUE

Before his “girls on rocks” became a cliche, Mayfield Parrish charmed America’s children.

WONDERS, Wonders, ART-ISHBruce WatsonJanuary 26, 2023Mayfield Parrish, Children's Illustration, N.C. Wyegth, N.C. Wyeth, Parrish blue Comments

HERE COME THE SUN QUEEN

M.I.T. engineers scoffed but Maria Telkes knew that when you need heat and energy, the sun works wonders.

DREAMERSThe AtticJanuary 19, 2023Maria Telkes, The Sun Queen, Dover Solar House, Solar energy, M.I.T., Solar electricity, Solar panels, Passive solar, Women in engineering, Women in STEM Comments

THAR SHE DOESN'T BLOW -- YET

Ahoy, mates, all hands on deck for the Moby Dick Marathon! Bring sleeping bag and chowdah!

American Places, BOOK-ISHBruce WatsonJanuary 12, 2023Moby Dick, Herman Melville, Moby Dick Marathon, New Bedford, New Bedford Massachusetts Comments

THE LITTLE GIZMO THAT BRINGS YOU THE WORLD

Small, cheap, ubiquitous, the transistor — invented 75 years ago — birthed the Modern World.

WONDERSThe AtticJanuary 5, 2023Transistors, Bell Labs, Transistor radios, technology Comments

THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES

1950 World Cup — America’s amateurs take on the British “Kings of Football.” Do you believe in miracles?

HEROESThe AtticDecember 9, 2022The Game of their Lives, World Cup, Soccer, Football Comments

KINDER, COOLER, SMARTER

NOW ENTERING OUR TENTH YEAR!

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