The Weekly Town Crier (01/03/20)
All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (01/03/20).
Browse all the Weekly Town Crier posts so far.
Listen to all 52 episodes of The Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow.
Listen to a mix of artists who have performed Habañero Collective house shows.
Browse the Musical Worldview posts.
Stream/download an introductory mix of Sacred Steel music.
Browse all my favorite music of 2019.
Listen to Volume 01 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 02 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 03 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Listen to Volume 04 of my 2019 Year-End Playlist
Read/Hear “The Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions Read by Bob Dylan” at Open Culture.
Read “Lee Mendelson, ‘Peanuts’ Producer and ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ Co-Writer, Dead at 86” at Rolling Stone.
Read “R.I.P. Don Imus, veteran radio broadcaster dies at 79” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “Broadway Legend Jerry Herman Is Dead At 88” at NPR.
Read “Cult Rockabilly Star Sleepy LaBeef Dead at 84” at Pitchfork.
Read “R.I.P. Jack Sheldon, Schoolhouse Rock! singer and jazz musician dead at 88” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “When a Dragon Tried to Eat Jesus: The Nativity Story We Don’t Talk About” at Mockingbird.
Read “There’s No Shame When A Miracle Doesn’t Come” at Christianity Today. “God didn’t #WakeUpOlive, but the gospel teaches Christ’s solidarity with suffering.”
Read “Trump campaign selects Apostolic Miami megachurch for evangelicals campaign roll-out” at Yahoo News.
Read “The Evangelical War Over Impeachment Has Been A Long Time Coming” at Talking Points Memo.
Read “11 Nigerian Christians Executed in ISIS Christmas Video” at Christianity Today.
Read “Conservative Protestant Men Are Still Resisting Porn Sociological data suggests that churchgoing men engage pornography at a vastly lower rate than others” at Christianity Today.
Read “Greece's first and only crematorium opens despite pushback from the church” at PRI.
Read “Why Christianity Has Thrived in the U.S.” at Time. “Between 1870 and 1960, Christianity declined across Europe. But not in the U.S.” Hint: “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.”
Read “Christianity Today’s Editorial May Be Watershed Moment For 2020” at Sojourners.
Read “I and Thou: A Bigfoot Encounter It’s possible, even likely, that somehow all of us, even those among us who pay close attention, have missed something” at Guernica Magazine.
Read “Churches Are Saving Ethiopia’s Last Remaining Native Trees” at Christianity Today.
Read “Good Guys’ Carrying Guns & a Savior Who Carried a Cross” at Red Letter Christians.
Read “Has family become an idol? The Bible gives no sense that the family is an end in itself” at Christian Century.
Read “The Strangeness of Grief” at New Yorker. “We are never finished with grief. It is part of the fabric of living. Love makes memories and life precious; the grief that comes to us is proportionate to that love and is inescapable.”
Read “Mexican police chief arrested in connection to Mormon family massacre” at 12 News.
Read “Ex-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn fled Japan ‘hiding in double bass case on private jet’ while awaiting trial for corruption” at The Sun.
In headlines that feel like we shouldn’t have to deal with in 2020: Read “West Virginia Governor Approves Firing All Cadets Who Posed In Nazi-Like Salute Photo” at NPR.
Read “Buttigieg Getting Dragged For Saying Constitution Signers Didn't Know Slavery Was Bad” at The Root.
Read “Illinois governor clears thousands of marijuana convictions” at PBS News Hour.
Read "'The Slaves Dread New Year's Day the Worst': The Grim History of January 1” at Time Magazine.
Read “Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu seeks immunity from corruption charges” at PBS News Hour.
Read “U.S. launched Baghdad airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani” at AZ Central.
Read “Trump Vs. Toilets (And Showers, Dishwashers And Light Bulbs)” at NPR.
Read “People Can't Even Agree On When The Decade Ends” at NPR.
Read “Why Am I Unhappy? Because All American Men Are Getting Sadder” at Fatherly.
Read “Boomers, Take It from Woody or Iron Man: It’s Time to Pass the Torch This summer’s blockbusters showcase the importance of transferring wisdom between generations” at Christianity Today.
Read “The world's 500 wealthiest people gained $1.2 trillion this year, boosting their collective net worth 25% to $5.9 trillion” at Bloomberg.
Read “How to Talk to Someone Whose Opinions You Can’t Stand It’s a family gathering, not a debate you need to win” at Forge.
Read “US mass killings hit a record high in 2019: 'This seems to be the age of mass shootings'“ at AZ Central.
Read “It's OK to not be OK. So go ahead and cry in public, if that's what you need to do. Life is full of breaking points after thousands of personal apocalypses. You have to learn to forgive yourself for yours” at NBC News.
Read “With Births Down, the U.S. Sees the Slowest Population Growth Rate in a Century” at Time.
Read “The Death of Truth: “Both Sides” Don’t Deserve Our Consideration” at Theology Corner.
Read “OxyContin Billionaire Granted Patent for Opioid Addiction Treatment” at Fortune.
Read/watch “Greyhound offers free bus ticket home to runaway kids” at Fox 4 News.
Read “Italy passes law to send unsold food to charities instead of dumpsters” at Global Citizen.
Read “Stop Believing in Free Shipping How retailers hide the costs of delivery—and why we’re such suckers for their ploys” at The Atlantic.
Read “No Test Left Behind How Pearson Made a Killing on the US Testing Craze” at Talking Points Memo.
Read “Virginia School District To Give Students One Day Off Per Year For 'Civic Engagement'“ at NPR. “Starting next month, students in Virginia's Fairfax County — one of the largest school district in the country — can take one day off per school year to engage in political activism.”
Read “Don’t assume that every student had a fun or warm holiday break” at PBS News Hour.
Read “Public support for Trump conviction at all-time high, poll finds” at Yahoo.
Read “Fed study finds Trump tariffs backfired” at Market Watch.
Read “The Louder the Monkey, the Smaller Its Balls, Study Finds Howler monkeys can be well-endowed in the voice box or the family jewels, but not both” at Vice. Yes, I put in the “politics” section.
Read “A Gangster in the White House” at The Atlantic. “The President tweeted the name of the presumed Whistle-Blower in the Ukraine scandal–demonstrating that he is unrepentant and determined to break the law again.”
Read “Germans think Trump is more dangerous than Kim Jong Un and Putin” at DW.
Read “Anger and Anguish From The Navy SEALs Who Turned In Edward Gallagher" at New York Times.
Read “Eddie Gallagher ‘Is Freaking Evil’ Says Fellow Navy SEAL in R
Read “Eddie Gallagher ‘Is Freaking Evil’ Says Fellow Navy SEAL in Rolling Stone.
Read “Treasury will again borrow $1 trillion to pay for tax cuts, spending” at Axios.
Read “Spotify Becomes Latest Tech Company To Hit Pause On Political Ads” at NPR.
Read “Civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis diagnosed with Stage IV cancer” at 12 News.
Read “NC voter ID law written with ‘discriminatory intent,’ says judge who just struck it down” at News Observer. “Federal judge just struck down NC’s voter ID law: “North Carolina has a sordid history of racial discrimination & voter suppression stretching back to the time of slavery, through the era of Jim Crow, and, crucially, continuing up to the present day.”
Read “Farmers Got Billions From Taxpayers In 2019, And Hardly Anyone Objected” a NPR. AKA: Welcome to ‘Murica’s Socialism.
Read “After 2 Years, Trump Tax Cuts Have Failed To Deliver On GOP's Promises” at NPR.
Read Washington Post’s opinion piece: “Wake up, Republicans. Your party stands for all the wrong things now.”
Read “Intended to induce awe': codpiece thrusts itself back into fashion Designers’ embrace of 16th-century accessory forms part of revival of Tudor power dressing” at The Guardian.
Read “Judge orders Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook case” at PBS News Hour.
2019 Year-End Round-Ups continue to roll in.
Browse “NPR Music's 25 Best Albums Of 2019.”
Browse Magnet’s Top 25 Albums of 2019.
Browse “Stinkweeds’ Top 25 of 2019: The “Shop Favorites”.
Browse Barack Obama’s Favorite Music of 2019 at Twitter.
Browse the full list of my favorite 2019 music.
Read “From Digable Planets to Knife Knights: The Many Faces of Ishmael Butler” at Pitchfork.
Read “Kim Gordon on five of her favorite breakup songs Read More: Kim Gordon on five of her favorite breakup songs” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “A Conversation With Brian Eno About Ambient Music The unceasingly curious composer on chance, minimalism, and the politics of form” at Pitchfork.
Read “Watch the Berlin era Nick Cave documentary “Stranger in a Strange land” at Post-Punk.
Read Esquire’s profile of Mdou Moctar: “The Hendrix of the Sahara.” Listen to “Tarha” by Mdou Moctar on Episode 43 of the Global Elite Music Radio Podcast Supershow. Listen to "‘Wiwasharnine’ by Mdou Moctar from the album Ilana (The Creator) in Volume 01 of my 2019 year-end music wrap-up.
Read “40 Years of Goth: Essential Albums from the Genre’s Beginnings” at Post-Punk.
Read “Nick Cave on PJ Harvey breaking up with him: “I was so surprised I almost dropped my syringe.” Read More: Nick Cave on PJ Harvey breaking up with him: “I was so surprised I almost dropped my syringe” at Brooklyn Vegan.
Read “An Essential Guide to Nick Cave” at Exclaim.
Read “Bo Diddley’s Essential Tips for Surviving Life & the Music Business” at Open Culture.
Read “Death Row Records is now owned by toy company Hasbro The maker of Monopoly and Transformers acquired the label's catalog in its purchase of Entertainment One” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “Rare Rolling Stones Outtakes Appear on YouTube in Copyright-Extending Release” at Variety.
Read “Watch Dead & Company Get Interviewed By Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on New Year’s Eve” at Relix.
Read “He has spoken: Jon Favreau confirms season 2 of The Mandalorian” at AV Club.
Read “Daniel Day-Lewis Called Adam Sandler to Congratulate Him on His Uncut Gems Performance” at Esquire.
Read “How Space Ghost Coast to Coast Changed Cartoon Network Forever A perfect nerd storm of late-'90s sarcasm, twisted nostalgia, and surrealist delights” at Consequence of Sound.
Read “Kurt Vonnegut on 8 'shapes' of stories” Big Think.
Read “Toddlers engage more with print books than tablets” at ABC News.
Read “Dolly Parton's Charity Just Donated Its 100 Millionth Book to Kids” at Global Citizen.
Read “100+ Museums Turn Their Collections Into Free Downloadable Coloring Books” at My Modern.
Browse “Rolling Stone’s Favorite Photos of 2019.”
Read “For almost every common medical service, patients and insurance companies in the U.S. pay higher prices compared to the rest of the world, an international survey found” at New York Times.
Read “When Wasps Are Given Colored Paper, They Build Rainbow Nests” at Bored Panda.
Read “Humanity Has Killed 83% of All Wild Mammals and Half of All Plants” at Global Citizen.
Read “Psychedelic Drugs: Researchers experimenting with active agent in magic mushrooms to treat addiction, depression and anxiety” at CBS News.
Read “6 Bricks Under: Vienna Cemetery Introduces Funeral LEGO Sets” at Cult of Weird.
See “Tortoises eating berries” at 41 Strange on Twitter.
Read “How Chinese Artisans Turn Dead Cicadas Into ‘Hairy Monkeys’ These traditional handicrafts require exoskeletons, magnolia buds, and a steady hand” at Atlas Obscura.
Read “Ruins of Aleister Crowley’s Cursed House on Loch Ness for Sale” at Cult of Weird.
Read “According To FBI Statistics, These Are The 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Arizona For 2020” at Only In Your State.
Read “U-Haul to stop hiring smokers and nicotine users in Arizona, 20 other states” at AZ Central.
Read “Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Phoenix is closing. Here's what we know” at AZ Central.