The Weekly Town Crier (04/24/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/24/20).

Read “Henry Grimes, Bassist of Avant-Garde Pedigree and a Storied Return, Dies of COVID-19 at 84” at WBGO.

Read “Tex Earnhardt, colorful founder of car dealership empire, dies at 89” at AZ Central.

Read the opinion piece “Mohler's turn to Trump is the crowning flip-flop of his career” at Religion News Service.

Read “Grieving Is Leading I’d done everything I could think of to keep the church running. But I’d forgotten to mourn” at Christianity Today.

Read the opinion piece: “Evangelicals Have Abandoned the Character Test. The Competence Test is Next” by David French at The Dispatch.

Read “Good News? Are T4G/TGC Leaders Starting To Change Their Gospel? Is T4G shifting on the gospel? Looks like it” at Jesus Creed.

Read “Now Is the Time to Think About Nuclear Weapons Pope Francis condemns deterrence and the New START Treaty is set to expire. Where should Protestants stand?” at Christianity Today.

Read “Episode Eight (Daniel Smith of Danielson, Adam Again, Dylan’s Foul Murder, Salute to Prine and Withers)” at True Tunes.

Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

• Read “Member of church that bused in members to defy social distancing order dies of COVID-19” at LGBTQ Nation.

• Read “Trump claims it's his call on when to 'reopen' the country. He's wrong. Only the states can give shutdown orders, and only the states can lift them, legal scholars say. Many governors agree” at NBC News.

• Read the opinion piece: “COVID-19 is accelerating the Republican Party’s descent into authoritarianism” at Salon.

• Read the opinion piece “Coronavirus didn't bring the economy down — 40 years of greed and corporate malfeasance did” at Business Insider.

• Read “The Betsy DeVos connection to the protests against Covid-19 precautions in Michigan” at Eclectablog.

• Read “Kentucky sees highest spike in coronavirus cases after lockdown protests” at New York Post.

• Read the opinion piece: “These People Aren’t Freedom Fighters—They’re Virus-Spreading Sociopaths The “liberate America” protesters claim they just want to make their own choices about their health and safety, but they really want to force others to risk their lives” at The Nation.

• Read "Bon Jovi Cancel Entire 2020 Tour with Bryan Adams Due to Coronavirus Pandemic "This will enable ticketholders to get refunds to help pay their bills or buy groceries" at Consequence of Sound.

• Read “Here in Sweden we're playing the long game, and listening to science not fear” at The Telegraph.

• Read/Watch “NBC News/WSJ Poll: Nearly 60% of Americans support keeping stay-at-home restrictions” at MSNBC.

• Read “How Musicians Are Fighting Coronavirus by Turning Merch Into Masks” at Pitchfork.

• Read “After Fauci urged caution in reopening the economy, Fox News turned to Dr. Phil for a second opinion” at Washington Post.

• See “Video shows nurse facing down Colorado protester against stay-at-home order” at NBC News.

• Read “Oregon town plans to deliver masks, door-to-door, to every resident in midst of coronavirus outbreak” at Oregon Live.

• Read “Gov. Brian Kemp sets Georgia on aggressive course to reopen, putting his state at center of deepening national debate” at Washington Post.

• Read “Trump suggests 'injection' of disinfectant to beat coronavirus and 'clean' the lungs” at NBC News.

• Read “In New York’s largest hospital system, 88 percent of coronavirus patients on ventilators didn’t make it” at Washington Post.

• Read “Trump reverses course, says it's 'too soon' for Georgia Gov. Kemp to reopen state” at NBC News.

• Read the opinion piece “We Are Living in a Failed State The coronavirus didn’t break America. It revealed what was already broken” at The Atlantic.

• Read “DOJ Would Support Legal Action If Governors' Restrictions Go 'Too Far,' Barr Says” at NPR.

• Read “Parks and Recreation’ Cast Reuniting for One-Off COVID-19 Charity Episode” at Rolling Stone.

• Read/watch “Trump suggests 'injection' of disinfectant to beat coronavirus and 'clean' the lungs” at NBC News.

Read “Virginia governor makes Election Day a holiday and expands early voting” at CNN.

Read “Trump says he will sign executive order temporarily suspending immigration into US” at The Hill.

Read “Mail-in voting doesn't benefit either party or invite more fraud, study says” at UPI.

Read “The Erosion of Deep Literacy” at National Affairs.

Read “Joe Pera Talks with You David Bazan (Pedro The Lion) on the Talkhouse Podcast” at Talkhouse.

Read “The Cure’s ‘Seventeen Seconds’ is a cold, eerie post-punk masterpiece” at Treble Zine

See “Kermit The Frog & Jim James Duet On ‘Rainbow Connection’At Newport Folk” at Jambase.

Read “Betting it all on 311” at AV Club.

Read Pitchfork’s first 10.0 rating in a decade: “Fiona Apple Fetch the Bolt Cutters.”

Read “Blanks And Postage: How To Build A Diving Bell, or Tape-Hunting Tips For Quarantined Gormandizers” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Back To Sun City :: Sir Richard Bishop, Clandestine Quartet, Sun City Girls The Sun City Girls saga came to a sad end with the death of drummer Charles Gocher in 2007. But the band’s bizarre, inspiring spirit lives on in the recent work of SCG co-founders Rick and Alan Bishop (as well as a recommended live show just unleashed from the vaults)” at Aquarium Drunkard, and watch Sun City Girl’s Cloaven Theater right here.

Read “Alison Pill on the ‘Devs’ Finale and What’s Next for Katie” at Variety.

Read “Spike Jonze’s New Beastie Boys Movie Is No Fun” at Pitchfork.

Read “ Ozone hole three times the size of Greenland opens over the North Pole” at Live Science.

Read “How Arizona native Courtney Marie Andrews' new music video honors her Bisbee music mentors” at AZ Central.

Read “With the Live Music Industry at a Standstill, Indie Venue Owners Are Banding Together” at Phoenix New Times.

The Weekly Town Crier (03/13/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (03/13/20).

Read “Jazz Pianist McCoy Tyner 1938 – 2020” at Jam Base.

Read “Rosalind P. Walter, the first 'Rosie the Riveter', dies at 95” at Upworthy.

Read “Rolls-Royce promotes exclusive Mass with pope — for $155,000” at Religion News Service.

• Read “Rolls-Royce offer for private Pope Francis meeting ‘does not exist anymore’” at Catholic News Agency.

Read “All Non-Consensual Sex Will Be Considered Rape Under Spain’s New Law The "only yes means yes" law aims to ban all sexual violence in the country” at Global Citizen.

Read “‘This is absolutely abhorrent’: Nazi flag at Sanders rally sparks outcry, concerns about safety” at Washington Post.

Read “Gender study finds 90% of people are biased against women” at BBC News.

Read/Watch “Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison” at Yahoo.

Read “Chelsea Manning Is Freed” at Common Dreams.

Read “Child homelessness highest in more than decade, feds say” at New York Post.

Read/Listen to “When Xenophobia Spreads Like A Virus” at NPR.

• Read/watch “Costco Will Stop Offering Free Samples & Our Shopping Trips Will Not Be the Same” at Yahoo.

• Read “Televangelist Jim Bakker Ordered to Stop Selling Fake Coronavirus Cure” at Consequence of Sound.

• Read “Italy suspends mortgage payments during coronavirus shutdown” at The HIll.

• Read “Austin’s South by Southwest Festival Canceled Due to Coronavirus” at The Wall Street Journal.

• Read “Coachella Moved to October 2020 Due to Coronavirus” at Consequence of Sound.

• Read “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Postponed” at Spin.

• Browse “Coronavirus: Cancellations and Postponements” at Relix.

• Read “Trump's mismanagement helped fuel coronavirus crisis” at Politico.

• Read “Arizona Governor Declares State of Emergency on Coronavirus, With Nine Cases So Far” at Phoenix New Times.

• Read “Tom Hanks Tests Positive for Coronavirus While Working on Elvis Presley Movie” at Pitchfork.

Read “Mandatory vasectomy at 50 or after 3 kids? Alabama bill proposes it” at 12 News.

Read “Virginia General Assembly passes bill capping monthly costs of insulin to $50” at 12 News.

Read “Trump administration quietly cuts funding to the nation’s poorest schools” at Yahoo News.

Read “GOP-appointed judge orders unredacted copy of Mueller report as he questions Barr’s “credibility” A federal judge calls out Barr for making “distorted” and “misleading” statements about Robert Mueller’s findings” at Salon.

Read “Michael Bloomberg Drops Out Of Primary After Reportedly Spending More Than $500 Million” at Forbes.

Read/Listen to “What Democratic Socialism Means In The U.S.” at WBUR.

Read “The Body Politic Electric: Walt Whitman on Women’s Centrality to Democracy” at Brain Pickings.

Read “Federal Court Sides With House In Fight Over Mueller Grand Jury Materials” at NPR.

Read “Wu-Tang Clan Are for the Infants: New Wu-Tang Lullaby Album Coming in April It's the 100th album by Rockabye Baby” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Woman-Owned Record Shop Sonidos! Wants To Build An Inclusive Corner In The Region’s Vinyl Scene” at DCist.

Read “Remembering Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous 10 Years Later A look at the unlikely triumphs of the Virginia singer/songwriter's eerily beautiful music” at Spin.

Read “When We Celebrate John Coltrane, We Celebrate McCoy Tyner, Too” at Rolling Stone.

Read “After 25 Years, Jimmy Eat World Isn’t Just Surviving” at Christ and Pop Culture.

Read “On hobbies, habits, and creative work Musician Stephen Malkmus on the value of chill music in crazy times, the pleasures of falling into old man mode, and understanding the ways your creative process evolves over time” at The Creative Independent.

Read “My father said I should be looking after the cows': the first female Tuareg guitarist” at The Guardian.

Read “Tony Iommi Says Michael Bolton Once Auditioned for Black Sabbath Bolton has consistently dismissed the story as a rumour” at Exclaim.

Read “Stephen Malkmus on His New Folk Album, Pavement Reunion, Bernie Sanders, And More” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Wilco and Sleater-Kinney Announce Tour The rock giants will play shows together this summer” at Pitchfork.

Read “How does Nationals closer Sean Doolittle stay calm in big moments? The Grateful Dead” at NBC Sports.

Watch “Dawes Covers Grateful Dead Live at Relix” at Youtube.

Read “The Kids in the Hall Revived by Amazon for New Season Lorne Michaels will return as executive producer for an eight-episode run” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “The Substance Summit: A Previously Unseen Fax From Hunter S. Thompson To Keith Richards” at Ranker.

Read “Mister Rogers Thought Farts Were Hilarious — And Often ‘Ripped One’ To Amuse His Wife” at All That’s Interesting.

Read “How a Potato Is Fueling the Fight to Protect a National Monument Indigenous farmers in Utah are championing an ancient spud” at Atlas Obscura.

Read “The Origins of GORP” at REI.

Read “This Brave Man Protests Annoying Everyday Things With Funny Signs” at Sad and Useless.

Read “In Palestine, Protecting One of the World’s Oldest Olive Trees Is a 24/7 Job Salah Abu Ali often sleeps beneath his ancient charge” at Atlas Obscura.

The Weekly Town Crier (02/07/20)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (02/07/20).

Read “Gang of Four’s Andy Gill Dead at 64” at Pitchfork.

Read “Ivan Král, Patti Smith Group Member, Dead at 71” at Pitchfork.

Read “Kirk Douglas, Hollywood Icon and Spartacus Star, Dies at 103” at People.

Read “For Those Who Feel Betrayed By Christianity” at Sojourners. "Since the election of President Donald Trump, many Christians are asking: How could so many Christ-followers agree with actions that are so decisively un-Christlike?"

Read “Christians are Supposed to Care About People” at John Pavlovitz. “I never once see a Jesus brandishing a “Don’t Tread On Me” bravado in the face of dire need. I don’t see him lecturing the poor and the afflicted to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” I can’t find him inviting war or celebrating bloodshed or reveling in loss of life for any reason.”

Read “Evangelicalism Is Dead. We Need A New Label For Our Faith” at Sojourners.

Read “State of the Church” at Barna.

Read “Faith formation in my world religions classroom Each year a Hindu priest asks my students to “worship our own, but respect all.” They find the second part easier” at Christian Century.

Read “Christian Nonprofits Reeling from Trump Cuts to Foreign Aid Work in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador was starting to bring change, agencies say” at Christianity Today.

Read “Richard Rohr Reorders the Universe” at New Yorker.”The seventy-six-year-old Franciscan friar Richard Rohr believes that Christianity isn’t the only path to salvation.”

Read “Capitalism Is Incompatible With Christianity” at Sojourners.

Read “Pope Francis Turned a Roman Palace Into a Homeless Shelter” at Global Citizen.

Read “U.S. Showing ‘Many’ Genocide Warning Signs Under Trump, Expert Says: ‘I Am Very, Very Worried” at Newsweek.

Read “Greensboro Sit-In: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know” at Heavy.

Read “Before the Bus, Rosa Parks Was a Sexual Assault Investigator Why has history left out this piece of Rosa Parks' story?” at History.com.

Read “US judge in Tucson overturns convictions of 4 border-aid volunteers” at AZ Central.

Read “Investors Buy Old Hotel and Convert It into 139 Mini-Apartments for the Homeless” at Black Business.

Read “Finland's Women-Led Government Has Equalized Family Leave: 7 Months For Each Parent” at NPR.

Read “Watch: News Anchor Shows Americans Real Size of Wealth Gap—Using American Pie” at Common Dreams.

Read “How Chaos at Chain Pharmacies Is Putting Patients at Risk” at New York Times.

Read “E.B. White’s Beautiful Letter to a Man Who Had Lost Faith in Humanity What sailors teach us about hope and the resilience of the human spirit” at Brain Pickings. "As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate."

Read “Steve Wozniak: When Apple got ‘big money’ Steve Jobs’ personality ‘changed’” at CNBC.

Read “Report: Where Parents Have More Choice, Schools Appear To Become More Segregated” at WBUR.

Read “J.Lo and A-Rod Just Donated a Year’s Worth of Meals to a Tennessee School” at Global Citizen.

Read “Excess Teacher Responsibilities are Stealing Bonding Time with Students” at Bored Teachers.

Read “It's official: Trump's tax cuts were an economic bust” at Business Insider.

Read “Trump administration ‘rolling back women’s rights by 50 years’ by changing definitions of domestic violence and sexual assault” at The Independent.

Read “Senate rejects witnesses in Trump trial, ensuring acquittal” at PBS News Hour.

• Read “Which Republicans Had the Worst Excuses for Ending the Impeachment Trial With No Witnesses?” at Slate.

• Read “Voting to acquit this noxious criminal is the point of no return for the Republican Party” at Salon.

• Read “Sen. Kyrsten Sinema votes to convict President Trump on impeachment charges” at AZ Central.

• Read “Mitt Romney: ‘Dishonesty Is Donald Trump’s Hallmark.”How Mitt Romney Decided Trump Is Guilty” at Sojourners.

  • Read “How Mitt Romney Decided Trump Is Guilty” at The Atlantic.

Read “Trump extends travel ban to 6 countries — but is OK with selling arms to those same places” at NBC News.

Read “Trump's sexual assault allegations: The full list of women who have accused the President” at The Independent.

Read “The Downfall of the Republican Party To see men and women who had a positive vision beaten down and broken by Trump is a poignant thing” at The Atlantic.

Read “'It was a total mess': Caucusing is long over, but Iowa still doesn't have a winner” at USA Today.

Read/listen to “'No Longer A Friend': Ukrainians Are Losing Faith In The U.S.” at NPR.

Read “Trump Administration Loosens Obama-Era Restrictions On Land Mine Use” at NPR.

Read “Pelosi rips up Trump’s State of the Union speech” at PBS News Hour.

Read “Attorney General Barr Issues New Rules For Politically Sensitive Investigations” at NPR.

Read “Rush Limbaugh Says He Has Been Diagnosed With Advanced Lung Cancer” at NPR.

• Read “Trump Honors Rush Limbaugh With Presidential Medal Of Freedom” at News and Guts.

Read “Gen X Will Not Go Quietly” at Gen.Medium.

Read “Fully Armed Rally-Goers Enter Kentucky’s Capitol Building With Zero Resistance” at Rolling Stone.

Read: “The Reading Room: Where Politics and Country Music Collide” at No Depression.

Watch “Vampire Weekend Perform at Bernie Sanders Rally” at Pitchfork.

Read “Country music is ‘dead’: Icon Loretta Lynn trashes modern hits” at Lexington Herald Leader.

Watch “The Velvet Underground Played At My High School” at PBS.

Read “Read between the lines with Mike Doughty” and Aarik Danielson at Columbia Daily Tribune.

Read “From White Supremacy To Opioids, Drive-By Truckers Confronts 'The Unraveling' at NPR.

Read “Built To Spill Announce Daniel Johnston Covers Album” at Stereogum.

Read “Remembering Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, & The Big Bopper On ‘The Day The Music Died’ In 1959 (02/03) at Live For Live Music.

Read “Spike Lee To Direct Film Version Of ‘David Byrne’s American Utopia’ Stage Show” at Deadline.

Read “Soundgarden countersue Vicky Cornell over ownership of final Chris Cornell recordings” at Consequence of Sound.

Consider “Television’s Punk Epic “Marquee Moon,” 40 Years Later” at Pitchfork.

Read “ABBA intend to release new music in 2020 The iconic Swedish group's first material in over 30 years” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “In conversation: When Elvis Costello met Tom Waits” at Far Out Magazine.

Read “David Byrne to Appear as Musical Guest on ‘Saturday Night Live’” at Jambands.

Read “Prominent Malian Musician Alleges That TSA Destroyed His Instrument” at NPR. “Delicate and complex, koras can stand more than 4 feet tall. In a statement on Ballaké Sissoko's Facebook, an ethnomusicologist deemed the custom-made style irreplaceable.”

Read “Brian Wilson Opposes Mike Love’s Beach Boys Show at Trophy Hunting Convention Wilson points fans toward a Change.org petition that calls to boycott the Beach Boys until their performance is canceled” at Pitchfork.

Read “Pee-wee Herman's "Dark" Reboot: Paul Reubens Is Ready to Stage a Comeback” at Hollywood Reporter.

Browse “74 Ways Characters Die in Shakespeare’s Plays Shown in a Handy Infographic: From Snakebites to Lack of Sleep” at Open Culture.

See “Super High-Resolution Photo of the Sun Reveals It Looks Like ... Corn” at Mental Floss.

Read “15,372 Scientists Just Signed a Letter Calling Climate Change Impact ‘Catastrophic’” at Global Citizen.

Read “Record-breaking astronaut Christina Koch returns to Earth after 328 days in space” at 12 News.

Read “The Art and Science of Kashmir’s Pink Tea Green tea becomes rosy with the addition of a special ingredient” at Atlas Obscura.

Browse “Haunted by Cybersects A freaky tour of the extant websites of 1990s cults” at Baffler.

Read “Arizona Quietly Sells 16,810 Acres to Freeport-McMoRan for Mining Waste” at Phoenix New Times.