Friday Odds & Sods Hates to See the Evening Sun Go Down

An unexpected cold spell favors indoor pursuits this weekend, I believe.  Not that your humble scribe is ill-disposed to such undertakings, but still by the end of April it was to be hoped that the weather would have taken a permanent turn for the pleasant.  Still, lacking a weather-controlling satellite or other piece of super-villain paraphernalia, it is best to follow the English custom in matters of poor weather: Boil some tea, lower the blinds, turn up the lights, and open a book.  How lucky we are then, Dear Reader, that through the miracle of modern technology I can, if not improve the weather, at least provide you with some reading material through this week's Odds & Sods.

• Continuing from last weeks look at the intersection of entertainment and politics, two stories of people at the nexus of such commingling: Steven Seagal as Putin's BFF and Cornel West in the age of Obama.  
• It is always a nice surprise to discover some unknown realm of beauty that had previously escaped one's knowledge, such as in this description of the art of the Chinese novel.  
• With the 100th anniversary of the Great War, a story of a poet who symbolized both the euphoric nationalism and underground dissent of the era
• Finally, I had the pleasure last night of attending a concert by the great Dom Flemons, whose music I highly recommend if you need a soundtrack to your weekend.  

Friday Odds & Sods is a 12 O'clock Fellow (In a 9 O'clock Town)

Hello once again, loyal readers.  It seems from all available visual and tactile evidence that spring has well and truly arrived.   And with the coming of longer days and pleasanter weather, people once again are going about with smiles on their faces and songs in their hearts.  Even your humble narrator, usually one to more indoor pursuits, has found himself heading to the park for pastoral frolics.  Of course, while spring fever may be in the air, this has not prevented me from assembling your weekly blog round-up.  As steady as the ticking of a grandfather clock, here comes this week's odds and sods.

• With the Presidential campaign season hard upon us, I though it would be interesting to take a look at two stories about the manufacturing of reality, or as a laymen might put it, lying.  In the first case, how Russia is attempting to win the media war in Ukraine, and in the second, how pundits are attempting to win the war on democracy.
• Another historical anniversary occurred this week in a year already teeming whit them, the martyrdom of Abraham Lincoln.  In commemoration, an article about the man who shot John Wilkes Booth that reminds us how weird history actually is.  
• An interesting account of the mixing of Mohawk and Catholic traditions on the Canada-New York border. 
• Finally, an interview with an NYC bluesman. 

Friday Odds & Sods is Up All Night

I have always loved the nighttime, I think.  Or rather, to put it more accurately, I have loved staying up late.  There are some people, of course, loveable though misguided, who think staying up late means getting hammered with company on Red Bull and Vodka at the club before rolling back to their respective apartments to terminate their union.  This is all well and good, so far as it goes, but lateness, as with most good things in life, requires a conscious separation from the everyday.  Between the ruling duality of hustle and bustle in the daytime and unconscious oblivion at night, one who has chosen to stay up late in solitude has chosen to take a third option, and at three in the morning can take at least some comfort in his sleeplessness in looking out awake at a drowsing world.  But let us leave these insomniac musings and carry on to the Odds & Sods.

• Some further files on the way we live now, Economics Division: A pawn shop struggles on the in the rust belt, a town makes it's living as a death row tourist trap, and the creative economy turns into the drudgery of being a valet to the elite.
• Writing, as someone must have said, is in general a mug's game.  The hours are terrible, and the pay is worse.  Therefore, my hat is always off to those who make it work and do it well.  Into that select group I include one of my personal writing heroes, Joseph Mitchell.
• Finally, for some night music, A Little Night Music:

Friday Odds & Sods is Free and Clear

Like many people of limited faith and uncertain convictions, I am fascinated by stories of belief and believers.  It was thus with great interest that I watched the documentary Going Clear last Sunday, and it's depiction of the history of Scientology.  Aside from proving the continuing validity of Mr. P. T. Barnum's marketing strategy, what was particularly striking to me was just how much devotion could be created so quickly through tin cans and paperbacks.  As an outsider looking in, perhaps the essence of faith will always be a mystery to me, but in the spirit of exploration, I present this week some stories of new manifestations of faith.

• While it may be true that the letter killeth, some degree of text seems necessary if a faith is to stick together.  In that spirit, the collected Operating Thetan levels of Scientology and a read-through with commentary on Dianetics.
• As Terence once said, there really is nothing new under the sun.  As proof, the story of messiah of the 1930s, Father Divine.
• Finally, if you feel the need to really get away from it all and regain some of your faith in humanity, might I suggest a vacation to the most isolated spot on Earth.