Seven Killings

The Book List

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James, 2014

 A novel of Jamaican crime and politics in 1970's Kingston. Won lots of literary awards.

Bumbaclot!

Fake News Workshop

In the Spring of 2017 I considered doing a series of workshops for the public library system. I did some research and produced this outline of the program. I pitched it to the library system director whom I known for many years and had worked together with on public information and technology workshops at the time I worked for the public library in the early 90's. 

In the end I decided not to do the workshops. I had not been retired very long and the more I looked into doing this program I realized I was setting myself up for a lot of headaches that I just didn't want. Around the country there were incidents of confrontations between supporters of the president and librarians doing fake news workshops. I was also planning to do this program as a volunteer. It would be better for the paid staff to do those workshops and I went back to enjoying my retirement.

Fake News Workshop

What is fake news? Alternative facts?

History of fake news

• National Enquirer and supermarket tabloids
• Topical newsletters
• Printing and copying machines - distribution
• The beginnings of the Internet
• Who can publish on the Internet – anyone and anything
• Websites and blogs – Opinions vs Facts
• The power of advertising on the Internet
• Click-bait – what are advertisers paying for?         

Academic information literacy

• Citing sources
• Peer reviewed

Journalism

• Fact checking
• Sources
• Opinions

 

Information Literacy is critical for navigating the Internet. It is defined as the ability to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” 1 - American Library Association, Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report (Chicago: American Library Association, 1989)

www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.

 

Fake News – Sources that intentionally fabricate information, disseminate deceptive content, or grossly distort actual news reports.

Satire – Sources that use humor, irony, exaggeration, ridicule, and false information to comment on current events.  

Bias – Sources that come from a particular point of view and may rely on propaganda, taking information out of context, and opinions distorted as facts. 

Rumor Mill – Sources that specialize in rumors, gossip, innuendo, and unverified claims.

State News – Propaganda sources in repressive states operating under government sanction.

Junk Science – Sources that promote pseudoscience, metaphysics, naturalistic fallacies, and other scientifically dubious claims.

Clickbait – A strategically placed hyperlink designed to drive traffic to sources that provide generally credible content, but use exaggerated, misleading, or questionable headlines, social media descriptions, and/or images.

An increasing number of American adults are getting their news from social media rather than traditional newspapers or TV news programs. Pew Research study says 62% of adult Americans get their news from social media.

Jeffrey Gottfried and Elisa Shearer, “News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016,” Pew Research Center, May 26, 2016, accessed Dec. 9, 2016, www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016.

 

 

Facebook and the creation of filter bubbles

 

Wikipedia and verifiability

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability

 

 

However Do You Want Me - Songs 1989

Songs 1989

1. Soul II Soul - Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) (Club Classics, Volume One)
2. Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation (Rhythm Nation 1814)
3. Lenny Kravitz - Freedom Train (Let Love Rule)
4. Prince - Batdance (Batman: Music From The Motion Picture)
5. Fine Young Cannibals - I'm Not Satisfied (The Raw And The Cooked)
6. New Order - Fine Time (Technique)
7. The Stone Roses - Fools Gold (The Stone Roses)
8. The B-52's - Love Shack (Cosmic Thing)
9. The Vaselines - Sex Sux (Amen) (Enter The Vaselines)
10. Fetchin' Bones - Love Crushing (Monster)
11. Beat Happening - Ponytail (Black Candy)
12. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Blues From A Gun (Automatic)
13. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground (Mother's Milk)
14. Dinosaur Jr - Just Like Heaven (Just Like Heaven EP)
15. UB40 - Here I Am (Come And Take Me)
16. Marshall Crenshall - Valerie (Good Evening)
17. The Smithereens - Yesterday Girl (11)
18. Lou Reed - Romeo Had Juliette (New York)

Coming Apart

Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960 - 2010 by Charles Murray, 2012

I read this book in March to June 2017. It took me awhile to get through it.

This book started out thoughtful and fascinating to read with a wealth of data, charts and analysis that focused on white people and the growing class divide. However, the conservative leaning libertarian author’s conclusions were contrived, myopic, and by the end his biased interpretation of the data devolves into a right wing political screed. IMHO, the author of this political document took 400 words to describe the economic, social and political problems of our nation where I would have used just one word… reaganomics. This is also the guy who wrote that controversial book The Bell Curve back in 1994.

You Should Have Been There - Songs 1989

Songs 1989

1. Marshall Crenshaw - You Should've Been There (Good Evening)
2. The Smithereens - A Girl Like You (11)
3. BoDeans - When The Love Is Good (Home)
4. Bonnie Raitt - Thing Called Love (Nick Of Time)
5. Elvis Costello - Veronica (Spike)
6. Squeeze - If It's Love (Frank)
7. The Sneetches - In A Perfect Place (Soimetimes That's All We Have)
8. Blue Rodeo - Love And Understanding (Diamond Mine)
9. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game (Heart Shaped World)
10. Neil Young - Ways Of Love (Freedom)
11. Nanci Griffith - I Don't Want To Talk About Love (Storms)
12. Roy Orbison - You Got It (Mystery Girl)
13. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down (Full Moon Fever)
14. Indigo Girls - Closer To Fine (Indigo Girls)
15. Mary Chapin Carpenter - Never Had It So Good (State Of The Heart)
16. Fire Town - Turn To Me (The Good Life)
17. Tears For Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love (The Seeds Of Love)
18. Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule (Let Love Rule)

Seymour St Poor Tax

Apparently homeowners in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia where I grew up in paid an annual poor tax. My great grandparents Thomas and Bridget Keegan paid $1.50 per year in 1911 and it jumped to $2.18 in 1918 for their home on Seymour Street. I bought the house from my great aunt’s estate in 1973 when I moved back to the neighborhood after getting out of the Navy. These papers were in a metal box full of paid bills that I apparently have been moving around with me for the past 40 years without ever looking at it until the other day. Every bill receipt from 1909 to the early seventies were rolled up and saved in the box. Lots of interesting stuff including receipts of household project purchases from Kane & Brown hardware store. I would later spend a lot of time shopping for stuff at Kane & Brown. 

There were also some poor tax bills from my great grandparents previous home on Queen Lane before they moved to Seymour St in 1909. They raised a family there on Seymour Street. Later my grandmother and my infant mother moved into that house after my grandfather died from pneumonia in 1930. So my mother was raised there by her mother and two maiden aunts. We grew up around the corner on Greene Street and spent a lot of time in that house with our great aunts. It was weird in the 70's when I came back and made it into a college student party house.

I paid about $8,000 for the house and lived there until mid 1979 when I moved out of town after attending Temple U. A friend stayed there a few more years but things got bad with a crack house next door that eventually got torn down. The church across the street bought the house along with a few more on the street and nicely renovated them in the 90's. I live in an old 1907 Victorian home in Buffalo NY and recently retired from working at a Jesuit college in the neighborhood. I like old houses.

As I Wait For Sleep To Drag Me Under - Songs 1991

Songs 1991. A set of Americana, indie rock and power pop from albums in my collection released in that year.

1. Billy Bragg - You Woke Up My Neighborhood (Don't Try This At Home)
2. R.E.M. - Half A World Away (Out Of Time)
3. Richard Thompson - I Misunderstood (Rumor & Sigh)
4. Crowded House - Fall At Your Feet (Woodface)
5. U2 - One (Achtung Baby)
6. Matthew Sweet - Thought I Knew You (Girlfriend)
7. Marshall Crenshall - Stop Doing That (Life's Too Short)
8. Teenage Fanclub - What You Do To Me (Bandwagonesque)
9. The Smithereens - Now And Then (Blow Up)
10. BoDeans - True Devotion (Black And White) 
11. Sarah McLachlan - The Path Of Thorns (Solace)
12. Chris Whitley - Poison Girl (Living With The Law)
13. Dave Alvin - Why Did She Stay With Him (Blue Blvd.)
14. Elvis Costello - So Like Candy (Mighty Like A Rose)
15. John Wesley Harding - I Can Tell (When You're Telling Lies) (The Name Above The Title)
16. Sam Phillips - Cruel Intentions (Cruel Intentions)
17. Adam Schmitt - Can't Get You On My Mind (World So Bright)
18. Material Issue - Valerie Loves Me (International Pop Overthrow)
19. Blur - There's No Other Way (Leisure)
20. Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over  'Til It's Over (Mama Said)

All Down The Line - Songs 1972

More Songs 1972

1. The Rolling Stones - All Down The Line (Exile On Main Street)
2. Mott The Hoople - Sucker (All The Young Dudes)
3. T. Rex - Telegram Sam (The Slider)
4. David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars)
5. Jefferson Airplane - Eat Starch Mom (Long John Silver)
6. Dave Edmunds - I Hear You Knocking (Rockpile)
7. Little Feat - Tripe Face Boogie (Sailin' Shoes)
8. Elton John - Honky Cat (Honky Chateau)
9. Rod Stewart - Lost Paraguayos (Never A Dull Moment)
10. Hot Tuna - 99 Year Blues (Burgers)
11. Paul Simon - Me And Julio Down By The School Yard (Paul Simon)
12. Dr. John - Huey Smith Medley: High Blood (Dr. John's Gumbo)
13. The Doobie Brothers - Jesus Is Just Alright With Me (Toulouse Street)
14. Randy Newman - He Gives Us All His Love (Sail Away)
15. The Moody Blues - Lost In A Lost World (Seventh Sojourn)
16. Strawbs - Benedictus (Grave New World)
17. Chicago - Dialogue (Part I & II) (Chicago V)
18. Santana - Just In Time To See The Sun (Caravanserai)
19. Leo Kottke - Bean Time (Greenhouse)
20. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbrlken (Will The Circle Be Unbroken)

The Blasters

Vinyl Spins: Back on the third floor and listening to The Blasters. Another great live band. First time I saw them was in 1981 at Stage One while touring this new album and Phil does look like that when he sings.

Jump up about 35 years later and Becky and I saw them on stage as the Alvin Brothers... Dave and Phil at The Sportsmen's Tavern touring their new album Lost Time. It was a great show hanging out with lots of friends.

6/5/17

Some People I Know - Songs 1982

Songs 1982. Still rocking the new wave.

1. China Crises - Some People I Know To Lead Fantastic Lives (Difficult Shapes And Passive Rhythms Some People Think Etc)
2. The Associates - White Car In Germany (Sulk)
3. Gang Of Four - We Live As We Dream, Alone (Songs Of The Free)
4. The Jam - Running On The Spot (The Gift)
5. The Fall - The Classical (Hex Enduction Hour)
6. Game Theory - The Girls Are Ready To Go (Blaze Of Glory)
7. The Cure - The Hanging Garden (Pornography)
8. Killing Joke - Chop Chop (Revelations)
9. Midnight Oil - Power And The Passion (10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1)
10. Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust (Ziggy Stardust single)
11. The Bongos - Mambo Sun (Drums Along The Hudson)
12. The Go-Go's - Cool Jerk (Vacation)
13. Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy (Last Of The Mohicans)
14. Dave Edmunds - From Small Things, Big Things Come (D.E. 7th)
15. The Stray Cats - Rock This Town (Built For Speed)
16. The Fleshtones - American Beat (Blast Off)
17. X - The Hungry Wolf (Under The Big Black Sun)
18. David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (Cat People)
19. Ultravox - Hymn (Quartet)

Tell Me When It's Over - Songs 1982

Another set from my Songs 1982 series.

1. The Dream Syndicate - Tell Me When It's Over (The Days Of Wine And Roses)
2. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Slowdive (A Kiss In The Dreamhouse)
3. Gun Club - Run Through The Jungle (Miami)
4. Robyn Hitchcock - 52 Station (Groovy Decay)
5. Elvis Costello - Beyond Belief (Imperial Bedroom)
6. Lou Reed - Underneath The Bottle (The Blue Mask)
7. Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City (Nebraska)
8. Warren Zevon - Ain't That Pretty At All (The Envoy)
9. Shoes - Mayday (Boomerang)
10. Ric Ocasek - I Can't Wait (Beautitude)
11. The Psychedelic Furs - President Gas (Forever Now)
12. Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out The Lights (Shoot Out The Nights)
13. T Bone Burnett - I Wish You Could Have Seen Her Dance (Trap Door)
14. Tom Verlaine - Words From The Front (Words From The Front)
15. XTC - Ball And Chain (English Settlement)
16. Cocteau Twins - Blood Bitch (Garlands)
17. Blondie - Island Of Lost Souls (The Hunter)
18. Wall Of Voodoo - Lost Weekend (Call Of The West)