Bruce Springsteen on Donald Trump: He 'Has No Interest in Uniting the Country, Really' | Billboard

Bruce Springsteen has never shied away from expressing his political views onstage and in his music, and the rocker's most recent interview is no exception -- especially when the conversation turned to Donald Trump.

For Esquire's December cover story, Springsteen invited the magazine backstage at the Walter Kerr Theater, where he's in the midst of his Springsteen on Broadway run. The show is a combination of memoir and song, in that the star reads from his own writings about his childhood, his family, his career and his love, and stripped-down musical interludes separate these throws to Springsteen's memories. Several times, he turns to the Vietnam War, 9/11 and other events that have shaped modern American history and identity, and he took the opportunity to explain his perspective on what's currently going on in the United States and what Trump and the "dark angels" who support him represent…

…“[He] has no interest in uniting the country, really, and actually has an interest in doing the opposite and dividing us, which he does on an almost daily basis." he continued. "So that’s simply a crime against humanity, as far as I’m concerned. It’s an awful, awful message to send out into the world if you’re in that job and in that position. It’s just an ugly, awful message. You are intentionally trying to disenfranchise a large portion of Americans... And then there’s just the rise of -- whether it’s the alt-right or the folks who were marching in Charlottesville with their tiki torches and all of that coming to the fore again, you know? Which our president was more than happy to play into and to play to. So these are folks who are invested in denying the idea of a united America and an America for all. It’s a critical moment. This has come so far to the surface, and it’s so toxic... It’s a scary moment for any conscientious American, I think.”

more: Bruce Springsteen on Donald Trump: He 'Has No Interest in Uniting the Country, Really' | Billboard

12-year-old whose awesome speech floored 1992 Rio Summit returns to Rio 20 as a mom | Grist

Twenty years ago, at the original Rio Earth Summit, Severn Suzuki, a 12-year-old from Canada, became “the girl who silenced the world for six minutes” by giving a sobering, kick-ass speech to the assembled delegates. You’re going to want to watch it:

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12-year-old whose awesome speech floored 1992 Rio Summit returns to Rio 20 as a mom | Grist

Forget Trees, The New Lorax Speaks For The SUVs

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cynical and hypocritical mockery insults Dr. Suess's true Lorax

by Beth BuczynskiFebruary 28, 2012

UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

When I heard that there would be a movie adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, my inner 10 year-old clapped and squealed.

One would be hard pressed to find a Dr. Seuss’ tale that I didn’t love as a child, from Go, Dog, Go all the way to the Butter Battle Book. But it was the Lorax, with his crystal clear message of environmental stewardship, that spoke to my heart, and forever changed the way I viewed the world and its natural resources.

But then my several-decades-older self started to see commercials for Universal Pictures’ Lorax movie, and my glee quickly turned to disgust.

It seems that as soon as Hollywood got a hold of the Lorax, he suddenly changed his worldview. Rather than recreate the fantastic-yet-somber tale of the Lorax’ fight to save the Truffula trees, Hollywood has made a mockery of his message. The movie’s trailer shows a dumbed-down cartoon, complete with slapstick comedy and a sappy love story, and none of the book’s original emphasis on caring for the planet.

And then, just when I couldn’t be any more disappointed, I saw this:



Yes, my friends, that’s an actual commercial in which the Lorax endorses the new Mazda CX-5 SUV as the only car with the “Truffula Seal of Approval.” And it gets worse. Other corporations have joined in the blasphemy, kidnapping the Lorax and using him to promote everything from diapers to pancakes.

Is nothing sacred? Is Hollywood no longer content to pollute our minds with the pandering plot lines we see everyday at the box office? Must they now destroy our favorite books and authors retroactively as well?

It is both cynical and hypocritical to use a beloved children’s story with a prescient environmental message to sell children and their parents more crap that they (and the planet) don’t need. The real Lorax would tell us all to stop our wanton consumption of the Earth’s resources before it’s too late. He would beg us to think of our children’s grandchildren, and the type of world our actions will force them to inherit. And most of all, he would never insult the wisdom and innocence of a child by sugar coating his plea with dumb songs, or confusing it with an SUV commercial.

“Who cares?” you might ask. “It’s just a movie.” A quick read of the original book provides the best and only answer to that question.

“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not."

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Forget Trees, The New Lorax Speaks For The SUVs | Care2 Causes

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The Great Handcar Regatta

A SPLENDID CELEBRATION OF ART, SCIENCE AND INGENUITY, FOR THE DELIGHT AND EDIFICATION OF ALL WHO ATTEND.

2011 promo

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“The Regatta shall not be stopped!”

January 24, 2012: Shouts heard ’round the township of Santa Rosa proclaim the good news (probably)...

By cause of The People’s affection for their beloved Regatta and our own desire to forge ahead in valor regardless of poo-pooers and naysayers (and beyond love of sanity), the news is out that The Regatta shall live (likely as not)!

The forthcoming incarnation is (so far) christened Dr. Erasmus P. Kitty’s Kinetic Frenetic Opera of Mechanical Mayhem The concept maintains railcar races and embraces a larger notion of an arts festival (in some capacity or another).



To wit, co-founder Ty Jones as interviewed by Gabe Meline at the BoHo Blog:

“It’ll still be a rail race,” he says, adding that he’s been talking to some of the old Regatta crew, gearing up for another run. “But one of the ideas with the Regatta is that it would expand to incorporate these ancillary events”—he mentions the Wiskeydrunk Cycles gang, the Feed Barn in Rincon Valley. “So how can it spin off into the community, and foster the arts?”

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The Great Handcar Regatta

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Handcar Regatta to Return as Kinetic Frenetic Opera | BohoBlog

Ty Jones walks around Railroad Square, relieved and excited.

Relieved because just last week, he and Handcar Regatta co-founder Spring Maxfield—with lawyers, both—officially dissolved the Handcar Regatta name. "It was like a divorce," Jones explains. "We had different ideas about the way things should work, and they way companies should work. I've got nothing bad to say about her."

Excited because this morning, he's announced Dr. Erasmus P. Kitty’s Kinetic Frenetic Opera of Mechanical Mayhem, a Regatta-esque festival planned for Summer 2012 "featuring music, film, performance, and kinetic railcar mayhem..."

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Odd Bird Music Video at Handcar Regatta | Handcar Regatta



“Plum-cheeked” Ashley Allred of the local band, Odd Bird, entrances in a “music video” filmed at our very own Handcar Regatta, 2011! Enjoy!

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Yip Harburg Tribute | Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz

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His name might not be familiar to many, but his songs are sung by millions around the world. Today, we take a journey through the life and work of Yip Harburg, the Broadway lyricist who wrote such hits as "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and who put the music into The Wizard of Oz. Born into poverty on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Yip always included a strong social and political component to his work, fighting racism and poverty. A lifelong socialist, Yip was blacklisted and hounded throughout much of his life. We speak with Yip’s son, Ernie Harburg, about the music and politics of his father. Then we take an in-depth look at The Wizard of Oz, and hear a medley of Yip Harburg’s Broadway songs and the politics of the times in which they were created. [includes rush transcript]

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A Tribute to Yip Harburg: The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz

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Democracy Now!
A daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 900 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the United States.

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Reel Injun

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Kemosabe? Loincloths, fringed pants, and feather headdresses? Heap big stereotypes. Reel Injun is an entertaining trip through the evolution of North American Native people ("The Indians") as portrayed in famous Hollywood movies, from the silent era to today.

Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond takes a look at the Hollywood Indian, exploring the portrayal of North American Natives through a century of cinema. Traveling through the heartland of America, and into the Canadian North, Diamond looks at how the myth of "the Injun" has influenced the world's understanding — and misunderstanding — of Natives.

Reel Injun traces the evolution of cinema's depiction of Native people from the silent film era to today, with clips from hundreds of classic and recent Hollywood movies, and candid interviews with celebrated Native and non-Native film celebrities, activists, film critics, and historians.

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Reel Injun | Documentary Film | Independent Lens | PBS

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see also > reelinjun's Channel - YouTube

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see also

what next: Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) | IsumaTV

For countless generations, Igloolik elders have kept the legend of Atanarjuat alive to teach young Inuit the danger of setting personal desire above the needs of the group.

what next: Ten Canoes | Gulpilil | Last Wave | Green Ants

A parable of forbidden love from Australia's mythical past, with storytelling by Australian icon David Gulpilil (Walkabout, The Last Wave, Crocodile Dundee and Rabbit-Proof Fence) and starring his son Jamie as the covetous youth Dayindi, Ten Canoes is a ground-breaking glimpse into aboriginal life centuries before European settlement.