JAZZ, JAIL AND BILLIE HOLIDAY

http://portside.org/2015-01-22/hunting-billie-holiday-how-lady-day-found-herself-middle-federal-bureau-narcotics-early

JAZZ

http://www.jazzonthetube.com/videos/keith-jarrett/i-fall-in-love-too-easily-.html

Kristin Bedford, photography news | January 2015

UPCOMING TALK Photographing Faith January 25, 2015 A presentation of recent work that explores photographing the mystery of faith, as well as the visual narrative around race and religion. All Saints Pasadena Pasadena, CA   ON EXHIBITION Home Bound January 17-February 28, 2015 Group exhibition on the meaning of home and the ghosts of memory that inhabit it, featuring work from The Perfect Picture. Art Intersections Gilbert, Arizona IN THE ARCHIVE Kristin Bedford Photographs Collection Guide Two portfolios of color photography and related ephemera have been acquired by the Archive of Documentary Arts, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.  The Collection Guide is now available online. Duke University Durham, NC IN THE PRESS Philadelphia, City of Father Divine Review of The Perfect Picture series by Jonathan Blaustein. NY Times Lens December 29, 2014   After two years of photographing and studying in the South, I have returned to Los Angeles to live and make new work. For inquiries about purchasing photographic prints, upcoming events, or just to drop me a line, please contact me atkb@kristinbedford.com. I look forward to being in touch. -Kristin

GRACE ALI

Grace Ali has done it again.
Just connect to her latest issue - of note magazine.

http://www.ofnotemagazine.org/

This is the "Imprisoned Issue."


So much to read and reflect on here.
A good reason for prison reform to be placed at the top of our National Agenda.

A personal thanks to Grace and Dwayne Betts.
Glad Betts and I could contribute to this issue.

FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY MIND

Yahoo!  3 copies of  THE WORDS AND WISDOM OF CHARLES JOHNSON arrived in the mail yesterday. So wonderful to see the E-Channel in print. This book is an excellent text for anyone teaching creative writing. It's also a great guide into Buddhism. Johnson explores many topics and issues in this book. I can't think of anything like it. Hotels should stock this baby. This is the 1 book you can carry when making long or short trips. 672 pages waiting for the Hungry Mind.

KIRSTEN PORTER AT WORK

Kirsten Porter and I completed our work at the Gelman Library (The George Washington University).

We went through 2 boxes of my archives selecting early poems for Porter's book. She's ahead of schedule in editing The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller. Many of my early poems written during the 1970s were dedicated to friends and people who influenced my thinking. We found a poem for Janet Gaillard the talented Howard artist who was killed and left a hole in many of our hearts.

A short poem for C.L.R. James dedicated to Paul Buhle. Oh, and so many poems for June Jordan including "Grand Army Plaza" which she would respond back to.  See her  own "Grand Army Plaza" in her book PASSION. In my Collected Poems there will be a number of Bo Willie poems - a tribute to the writer Ahmos Zu-Bolton. All and more out in Spring 2016.

KIRSTEN PORTER photo by Ethelbert

KING

Scroll down to program about King (See Segment 2)

http://www.steinershow.org/category/podcasts/

US

There were many things in Obama's State of the Union Address that marks a major change coming from the White House. When did one expect an American president to speak openly about Cuba, Gay Rights or climate change?  It's amazing how Obama gets little or no credit for trying to change the American narrative.

Breaking from Newsmax.com Police Using Radar to See Inside Homes Surveillance technologies developed to assist U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq are now being used by federal and local law enforcement, and the resulting tools — highly advanced radar motion detectors — provide authorities with the near capability of seeing inside homes, raising new concerns about government intrusion. Read More and See the Video Here

Quote of the Day

Divorce is both ordinary and extreme. For many people it represents their most intense experience of unreality, yet it occurs at the most intimately humdrum level of life. Moreover, divorce is a kind of anti-story: It is the spectacle of narrative breaking down, both personally and publicly. Narrative works by agreement, and the whole point about divorce is that it represents the end of agreement. In divorce the story of life is deemed unfit to continue because the participants cannot agree on a common truth. The truth has to be broken in two; there now have to be two truths, two stories, two versions. The  end of marriage is in a sense the end of universality and the beginning of point of view. Onlookers are often forced to take sides for the reason that it is impossible to believe in two stories at once.

  - Rachel Cusk,

An excerpt from her review of LEAVING BEFORE THE RAINS COME by Alexander Fuller
The New York Times Book Review, January 18, 2015

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The Joy of No Sex | January 20, 2015

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The Buddha taught that sexual activity is part and parcel of craving ( kama-tanha, the craving for sensuality), described in the second noble truth as the cause of suffering, a source of clinging and attachment ( upadana, or attachment to sensual pleasure), a hindrance to meditation and a fetter or obstruction to liberation. More obstructive than the object of desire itself is the mental activity we generate around it—the constant thinking and planning and anticipation about how we get the goods. When sex is involved, kama-tanha is a given. When sex is not involved, it can be easier to see how kama-tanha takes over.

- Mary Talbot, "The Joy of No Sex" 

Monday morning at 10:00 we celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a two-hour special examining the complexity and brilliance of this great man. First we take a look at what happened This Day in History and then ... ... our panel of guests talks about recognizing Dr. King as one of the most important philosophical and spiritual figures in American history. With: E. Ethelbert Miller, poet and literary activist, board member of the Institute for Policy Studies, Director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University, and former Chair of the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C.; Dr. Gilda Daniels, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law; and Dr. Stacey A. Peterson,Associate Professor and Chair, Communication Arts, School of Arts and Sciences, Notre Dame of Maryland University.     In the second hour, at 11:00, our panel reflects upon Dr. King's economic policies and politics and the Poor People's Campaign, among other issues. With: Adar Ayira,Project Manager of the More in the Middle Campaign for Associated Black Charities and facilitator and analyst at Baltimore Racial Justice Action, a program of Fusion Partnerships; Robert Birt, author of The Liberatory Thought of Martin Luther King Jr.: Critical Essays on the Philosopher King, and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bowie State University; and Jeff Singer, Founder and former Executive Director of Health Care for the Homeless.   Email or post on the  The Marc Steiner Show Facebook page  with your questions and comments!   Listen from 10am - noon on WEAA 88.9-FM or online at weaa.org.  All shows are available as podcasts at www.steinershow.org and on iTunes.  Join the conversation by calling 410-319-8888, tweeting @marcsteiner, and emailingtalk@steinershow.org. For questions & show ideas call: (443) 475-0554.

GET YOUR HEAD INTO YOUR HAT

Hey - is that Ethelbert wearing a Rally hat?

Yep!  It's time for the 2 Year warning. Time to protect Obama rules from being reversed.
Just ask Dez Bryant about Congress or the Instant replay.

I know some black folks have problems with Obama and the things he hasn't been doing while in the White House. But hey - some black folks had problems with Lincoln too. Go figure.
Either you're on the plantation or a few steps removed. If you can still see cotton then you still need to run. So what's the state of our union?  I'm not going to divorce Barack. He has two more years to move our nation down the field for a few points. I count 15 yards for roughing the president after throwing a pass to Cuba.

You gotta love he said. The world is full of children of sorrow and I
am always sad.

    - Diane Di Prima

E MILLER GROUP PHOTO BY JOHN PARKS

Natalie Hopkinson, E. Ethelbert Miller, Kate Damon, Michon Boston, Grace Ali and Sheldon Scott

Holly Jones

@Holly Jones has completed work on her novel. She has plans to expand her operations to Chicago.
We spoke yesterday and I was very happy for her. She even confessed near the end of our conversation that she had a hat and new look. Last year I took a picture with my hat on her head -even her mother liked it.  Below is Holly looking like a Literary Star - can't wait for her career to see the lights.

Welcome to the first edition of the weekly Inequality.org newsletter! This newsletter will serve as a weekly digest of our work at Inequality.org, which we have just redesigned and expanded. New features include a fresh lineup of contributors, the latest data on inequality, and a new “Action” tabwhere our visitors can take actions to reduce inequality and promote a fair economy for all. Our latest work includes an in-depth interview with Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, authors of the path-breaking The Spirit Level, Sheila Kennedy’s reflections on Mario Cuomo’s death, and new blogs from our in-house inequality experts on the House Democrats’ unexpected new push for CEO pay reform, the recent meeting of the American Economic Association, the top 5 inequality moments of 2014, and more. At Inequality.org, our mission remains to serve as the premiere portal for people like you seeking information and analysis on inequality and, ultimately, to help end inequality in the United States and abroad. When you have a moment, please visit the new site, explore the action items and new content, and help us spread the word! All the best, Marjorie E. Wood Managing Editor of Inequality.org Please follow us on Twitter @inequalityorg and Facebook

Latest Inequality Data & Statistics Top 1% Share of Total Pre-Tax Income Data from tax returns show that the top 1 percent of households in the United States received 8.9 percent of all pre-tax income in 1976. In 2012, the top 1 percent share had more than doubled to 22.46 percent. Read more on Income Inequality

New Research and Commentary Taking ‘The Spirit Level’ to a New Level Inequality.org Staff British epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett have changed how the world thinks about inequality — and they have plenty more insights to share. Cuomo’s Vision: The Path Not Taken Sheila Kennedy The late Mario Cuomo's political vision is a reminder of the path America didn't take.

Blogging Our Grand Divide House Dems Push CEO Pay Reform Sarah Anderson Right out of the blocks, House Democrats are pushing a tax reform in the 114th Congress that responds to public concerns over the persistently wide gaps between CEO and worker pay. Nit-Picking Piketty Chuck Collins Conservative economists tried to embarrass Thomas Piketty at the 2015 American Economic Association convention, but ended up embarrassing only themselves. Top 5 Inequality Moments of 2014 Marjorie E. Wood Looking back on 2014, it's easy to see inequality remains a top issue for Americans. Here's a roundup of the top 5 inequality moments of 2014.

Support Inequality.org! To protect our independence, we never run ads on Inequality.org. Our work is sustained by supporters like you. We’re a small organization with a modest staff, so your dollars go a long way. Donate today!

Breaking from Newsmax.com Oscars Ripped for Lack of Diversity Oscar nominations featured no actors of color nor female directors this year, causing an outcry from those who say such a glaring lack of diversity is unacceptable. "This is the first time since 2011 and only the second time since 1998 that none of the nominees for lead actor, lead actress, supporting actor or supporting actress is a minority," wrote The Los Angeles Times on Thursday. Read More Here

I had a good conversation yesterday with Ezekiel J. Walker. He sent me a copy of his new book THE MADEA FACTORY several weeks ago An interesting examination of popular culture. We talked not just about Tyler Perry but also those Wayans. We need more Walker books just to discuss what we consume on a daily basis. Remember when Elijah was telling us we were what we eat and we hid the pork for bean pies?  What's the difference between Perry and pork? Stay healthy my friend.

IS THERE A DRONE IN YOUR FUTURE?

Clark Kent has no need for Superman anymore.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/business/media/10-companies-join-effort-to-test-drones-for-newsgathering.html?_r=0