THiS WEEK: The media myth of "super pot"; John
D'Agata on the art of the American essay; an unusual protest
in Manipur, India; music & politics with Antibalas; how
to make money with electric cars; Will Farrell, as George
W. Bush, films a campaign commercial and gets chased by a horse; a new
lawsuit charges that power companies' pollution makes them a "public
nuisance"; Edwige Danticat on torture, secrecy,
and the American immigrant experience; a reassessment of the legend of
Che Guevara; and why it's good to be white, female,
and attractive when getting abducted.
|
- The "Potent
Pot" Myth
Repeated claims that newer types of marijuana are far more dangerous
than pot of the past create more harm than good.
Bruce Mirken, Mitch
Earleywine | Alternet
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/19416/
- AUDIO
| The Next American Essay
This remarkable anthology presents a picture of what the American essay
is, and what, with any luck, it may become. John D'Agata, a virtuoso
of the essay, knows more than anyone else about it. Inserted throughout
the anthology, his own funny, meandering essay-in-pieces manages to
create the autobiography of an art form. With a guest reading by contributor
David Foster Wallace.
KCRW
http://kcrw.com/cgi-bin/ram_wrap.cgi?/bw/bw030508John_DAgata_editor
- The Body
Remembers
The rape and murder of a female separatist in Manipur, India has sparked
fierce protests - including this remarkable case, in which twelve women
stripped naked in front of an army station as an expression of "pure
fury" at the military's history of human rights violations and molestation
of women. An editorial on the use of the female body for organized public
expression.
The Telegraph | Calcutta
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040717/asp/opinion/story_3504611.asp
- AUDIO/VIDEO
| Morning Becomes Eclectic: Antibalas
Afro-beat influenced orchestra, Antibalas, bring their dancing melodies
and, ahem, progressive politics to this superb college/community radio
station morning show.
REALAUDIO:
http://kcrw.com/cgi-bin/ram_wrap.cgi?/mb/mb040729Antibalas
WATCH VIDEO OF THE
SHOW:
http://kcrw.com/smil/mb040729Antibalas.ram
- Electric
Cars That Pay
A new 'vehicle-to-grid' system could enable electric car owners to sell
their excess electricity back to a utility company.
Mark Clayton | Christian
Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0729/p17s02-stct.html
- VIDEO
| White House West: Bush on the Ranch
Will Ferrell, as George Bush, behind the scenes during the filming of
a campaign commercial. Watch 'George' as he handles farm equipment,
mends a fence, and demonstrates his familiarity with horses.
IFILM [click on 56K
or 256K link]
http://www.ifilm.com/viralvideo
- Public
Nuisance No. 1
A lawsuit by eight states against the country's largest power companies
charges that their pollution makes them a "public nuisance."
Some legal scholars think it's crazy, but it just may put the fear of
global warming into shareholders.
Amanda Griscom |
Grist Magazine
http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck073004.asp
- AUDIO
| The Dew Breaker: Interview With Edwidge Danticat
What happens when a Haitian "dew breaker" (torturer) moves to America
and conceals his identity? In this collection of interrelated stories,
Edwidge Danticat explores the twin legacies of torture and secrecythe
past constantly usurping the present, the nightmare of oppression superimposing
itself on the American immigrant experience.
Michael Silverblatt
| Bookworm
[Listen]
http://kcrw.com/cgi-bin/ram_wrap.cgi?/bw/bw040506Edwidge_Danticat
Read an excerpt from
the book:
http://www.kcrw.com/dialabook/Dew_Breaker.htm
- Just
a Pretty Face?
For 40 years he has been a sex symbol, heroic victim and the ultimate
poster boy of revolutionary chic. But behind the myth of Che Guevara
lie darker truths. On the eve of a new film, it is time to reassess
the Sixties' most enduring icon.
Sean O'Hagan | The
Guardian
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1258340,00.html
- Damsels
in Distress
When a missing person becomes a continuing news story, she is usually
an attractive, middle- to upper-class white girl or young woman -- a
Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, JonBenet Ramsey or Elizabeth Smart. More
than 800,000 missing persons cases are on file with the FBI; most are
children who return within hours of having wandered off. Almost 29,000,
however, are adults and juveniles "missing under circumstances indicating
that the disappearance was not voluntary; i.e., abduction or kidnapping,"
according to the FBI. Despite those numbers, the media seldom focus
on males or victims of color. Why? Roy Peter Clark of the Poynter Institute
for Media Studies believes these stories fit an outmoded view of what
constitutes a "good" murder versus a bad one. Says Clark, "It's all
about sex."
Alex Johnson | MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5325808
- Two New
Heroes for the Stoner Generation
The idea that kids across America will be quoting two Asian American
guys, slapping Harold and Kumar stickers on their drug paraphernalia
and watching this movie over and over makes me feel like "we"
have really arrived.
Neelanjana Banerjee
| Alternet
http://www.alternet.org/movies/19422/
-
Media Picks compiled and edited by Brian
Awehali and Erin Weigand
|
