December 2010
I'm the guy who wrote the letter to the Chapel Hill Weekly in September suggesting that people supporting a Costco in Orange County should consider moving to Cary. Those who chose to respond rightly condemned me for the arrogant tone of my writing, but if I read the terms of Orange Politics correctly, we should strive to deal in ideas, not personal attacks. I care a lot about this place, so sometimes my rhetoric gets away from me. I apologize for my tone, but not my ideas. One may argue that it is obnoxious to be anti-growth since I was once a new person here myself some forty years ago. (And I know something of struggling here as a state employee. I lived in a house with three room mates for some sixteen years before I was able to buy a home in Carrboro.)
More than 300 Justice United delegates from active congregations, associations, and neighborhoods operating in Orange County will gather to advance and celebrate public agreements with elected and private leaders.
Agenda also includes the kick off of our new county-wide listening campaign that will involve hundreds of Orange County residents with the goal of generating a new Justice United agenda for 2011.
Date:
Thursday, December 9, 2010 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Location:
Binkley Baptist Church, 1712 Willow St, Chapel Hill
The Anarcho-Folk-Pop Duo will be at Internationalist Books and Community Center in the evening to perform songs from their album "You Can't Stop Trying".
Give them a listen at http://worldhistory.bandcamp.com/!
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World History began in the winter of 2006, as a collection of songs
written and recorded aboard several boats in Seattle, Washington. The
project has since evolved into a laughing, stomping, yelping
collaboration between Neil Campau and Jamie Menzel. They most often
write songs about historical characters and events that are rarely
talked about in compulsory school textbooks, and their lyrics provide
hints of their anarchist anti-politics. Campau provides the majority of
the vocals, alternately strumming his rusty autoharp and breaking guitar
strings, while Menzel lends her soft vocals and intricate flute
melodies, and from time to time, breaks something in a percussive
fervor. Whether performing a raucous, triumphant historical retelling or
a foot-stomping sing-along, World History continues to captivate
audiences from living room to back porch.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/World-History/191432716069
http://www.myspace.com/worldworldhistoryhistory
http://www.twitter.com/itsoktobealive
http://www.last.fm/music/World+History
http://www.reverbnation.com/worldhistory
Date:
Monday, December 13, 2010 - 1:00pm
Location:
Internationalist Books and Community Center, 405 W Franklin St Chapel Hill
All power to the imagination? Over the past forty years to invoke the
imagination as a basis for radical politics has become a cliché: a
rhetorical utilization of ideas already in circulation. But what exactly
is radical imagination? Come join Stevphen Shukaitis for a discussion
of his book Imaginal Machines: Autonomy & Self-Organization in the
Revolutions of Everyday Life (Autonomedia, 2009), which explores the
potentials and limits of collective imagination in social movement
organizing.
“Imaginal Machines explores with humor and wit the condition of art
and politics in contemporary capitalism. It reviews the potentials and
limits of liberatory art (from surrealism to Tom Waits) while charting
the always-resurgent creations of the collective imagination. Shukaitis
exhibits a remarkable theoretical breadth, bringing together the work
of Castoriadis, the Situationists, and autonomous Marxism to define a
new task for militant research: constructing imaginal machines that
escape capitalism. Imaginal Machines is truly a book that makes a path
by walking.” – Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the Witch: Women
the Body and Primitive Accumulation
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Date:
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Join Internationalist Books and the Internationalist Prison Books Collective for December's Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night, Wednesday December 15!
Come and write a birthday card to political prisoners whose birthdays
fall in the month of December. They're sure to need some love during
the Holiday season!
This month we will be writing:
Ed Poindexter - an ex-Black Panther targeted by FBI's COINTELPRO,
Tsutomu Shirosaki - a Japanese national accused of being a part of the Japanese Red Army,
Zolo Ahona Azania - a former Black Panther convicted of a bank robbery,
Fred Burton - an innocent man convicted in a sham trial for killing a cop, and
Jerome White-Bey - an anarchist prison activist who has helped to fight slave labor in prisons by organizing the Missouri Prison Labor Union.
For more information, check out www.internationalistbooks.org, or www.prisonbooks.info
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Date:
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Location:
Internationalist Bookstore and Community Center, 405 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill
Join Internationalist Books and Community Center and Croatan Earth First! for our monthly Earth First! movie screening. This month's selection is "River of Waste"
“This documentary exposes a huge health and environmental scandal in
the nation’s modern industrial system of meat and poultry production.
Scientists have even called the practices of these companies as mini
Chernobyls. In U.S. and around the world, the meat and poultry industry
is dominated by a large number of toxins and by dumping large amounts
of sewage into the environment. The film shows the vast impact these
companies make on the environment and public health and focuses on the
individual lives that have been damaged and destroyed because of these
farms.”
– Entertainment Weekly
More information and a trailer at Croatan Earth First!: http://croatanearthfirst.wordpress.com/ .
For more information about Internationalist Books and Community Center, visit www.internationalistbooks.org.
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Date:
Thursday, December 16, 2010 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Location:
Internationalist Bookstore and Community Center, 405 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill
Warm Your Soul with the best local Music Around!!
Bring your Lunch and Enjoy FREE Live Musical Performances provided by Carrboro Recreation and Parks Every Thursday January 13 through February 24
12pm-1pm in Carrboro Century Center Hall
The Hey Brothers
They are a 5 piece bluegrass band with tight trio harmonies and some fine picking. Guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and a big ole Kaye bass. Five friends who play and sing the old, the new, the borrowed. They call themselves The Hey Brothers, “Makers of Fine Bluegrass”. www.theheybrothers.comDate:
Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 7:00am to 8:00am
The Mighty Gospel Inspirations- A cappella Gospel
The Mighty Gospel Inspirations are focused on singing traditional “Quartet style” a cappella gospel rarely heard today. It is reminiscent of what was performed in the 1940’s and 1950’s. This is an intricate singing style that requires tightly-knit harmony and results in a sound very much like a single voice accompanying a lead singer. Many long hours of rehearsal are required to make it successful and The Mighty Gospel Inspirations have dedicated themselves to this task.
Date:
Thursday, January 27, 2011 - 7:00am to Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - 8:00pm
Location:
Carrboro Century Center 100 North Greensboro Street Carrboro, 27510
Warm Your Soul with the best local Music Around!!Bring your Lunch and Enjoy FREE Live Musical PerformancesProvided by Carrboro Recreation and Parks Every Thursday January 13 through February 24
12pm-1pm in Carrboro Century Center Hall
Puritan Rodeo- Americana / Roots MusicBorrowing heavily from country’s string band tradition, Puritan Rodeo walks with a honky tonk swagger, a bluegrass rollick and a songwriter’s sincerity. Puritan Rodeo plays to the grand traditions of authenticity, simplicity and honesty. The songs are world-weary, but balance the rough-and-tumble life with an unwavering sense of hope and redemption. www.puritanrodeo.comDate:
Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 7:00am to 8:00am
Location:
Carrboro Century Center 100 North Greensboro Street Carrboro, 27510
Warm Your Soul with the best local Music Around!! Bring your Lunch and Enjoy FREE Live Musical Performances Provided by Carrboro Recreation and Parks Every Thursday January 13 through February 24
12pm-1pm in Carrboro Century Center Hall
The Mighty Gospel Inspirations- A cappella Gospel
The Mighty Gospel Inspirations are focused on singing traditional “Quartet style” a cappella gospel rarely heard today. It is reminiscent of what was performed in the 1940’s and 1950’s. This is an intricate singing style that requires tightly-knit harmony and results in a sound very much like a single voice accompanying a lead singer. Many long hours of rehearsal are required to make it successful and The Mighty Gospel Inspirations have dedicated themselves to this task.
Date:
Thursday, January 27, 2011 - 7:00am to 8:00am
Location:
Carrboro Century Center 100 North Greensboro Street Carrboro, 27510
Announcing Orange Grapevine, a new general discussion forum for residents of Orange County and interested persons in the adjoining counties, Alamance, Chatham and Eastern Durham
ORANGE GRAPEVINE ("the grapevine")
Announcing Orange Grapevine, a new general discussion forum for
residents of Orange County and interested persons in adjoining counties.
This mailing list, hosted by ibiblio and mirrored by a blog, group and
website provided by Google will offer people living in or near Orange
County a collection of resources they can use to discuss and exchange
resources on a wide variety of topics of interest to them. A short list
of those topics might include the following:
General:
-
local news
announcements
local politics: campaigns, candidates and elected politicians, political
parties
local government: local issues, Q&A, RFI, suggestions and
recommendations, news
announce, promote and recommend local businesses, yours or others
classifieds (sell, buy, donate, barter)
I'm posting here because Elizabeth Edwards lived in Chapel Hill. Her funeral will be this Saturday at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh from 12:15 - 1 PM. The News and Observer report that the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas will be outside protesting against gay and lesbians. Is there any sort of local grassroots presence that aims to show up and create a respectful ring around the church? The link is below.
I'm a little late in posting about this, but I wanted to make sure that everyone saw Fiona Morgan's excellent report published by the New America Foundation about the Triangle's media (released in September).
Fiona used to be a staff writer for The Independent Weekly, and frequently covered new and emerging media as well as the on-going demise of the old media dinosaurs, so she had a head start when she set out to explore and evaluate the state of our information ecosystem. I recommend reading the entire report - it's 45 pages, not including references (download the PDF) but here's her summarized conclusion:
While the Triangle has weathered the economic downturn better than much of the country, cutbacks at the region's major newspaper have led to shrinking coverage of suburban and small-town communities just as the population of those communities continues to grow. As a result, the number of boots on the ground providing accountability coverage of the dozens of local government bodies, regional planning issues and impact of state government politics on local communities has diminished.
Via Peggy Misch:
How Should the Bill of Rights Affect You?: Wed, Dec 15, 12 Noon: Proclamations read on civil and human rights from Chapel Hill and Carrboro Mayors and Chair of Orange County Commissioners on Bill of Rights Day. Join in reading one of ten amendments to the US Constitution. Speakers focusing on current concerns of infringement of rights -- FBI raids on US citizens and detentions of immigrants. Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee, 942-2535. Steps of Courthouse, Peace and Justice Plaza, corner of East Franklin and Henderson Sts.
Date:
Wednesday, December 15, 2010 - 7:00am
Every year when the piles of leaves appear along the side of the streets my family has to suffer through my complaints about the absurdity of this practice. I thought I'd post this blog entry to share the joy.
Generally speaking, if your yard is big enough to need raking, it's big enough for a pile for the leaves to sit and compost. My yard is approximately 0.2 acres and every year I rake the leaves into piles underneath the trees and bushes where they sit and compost. After a day or two or after the first good rain the leaves stop blowing around and I can forget them while they protect the tree roots from cold weather and decompose into new soil.
This board often discusses possible reductions in town expenses. Though it is a small line item, seems like someone should pick up the pen and line this one out. Am I missing something? Why should we not just stop the seemly silly process of sending out trucks and personnel to pick up leaves?
Its been a really intersting six months or so for economic development in Orange County. Change is definatly afoot. But what will rise from the ashes? I don't think anyone really knows for sure. But that isn't going to stop me from guessing.
From the N&O today:
"The roll call Friday was 277-148 by which the House passed a bill to avoid a
Jan. 1 spike in income taxes, renew jobless benefits and cut Social
Security taxes.
A "yes" vote is a vote to pass the measure."
Representative David Price voted 'yes'. Republican Senator Burr voted 'yes.' And of course President Obama will sign it.
Thank you Senator Hagan! on Wednesday in the Senate vote, she voted 'no.'
A summary of the bill from DemocracyNow yesterday:
WCHL is reporting that
Orange County Economic Development director Brad Broadwell has resigned. This is on the heels of the Town of Carrboro Economic Development Director James Harris announcing his retirement. Is this a opportunity or a disaster for local economic development? Is this a coincidence or a shake up by local government to prepare for change?
Join us for our weekly movie screening at 7pm! This week's movie is the animal rights film "The Witness"
From the site (www.witnessfilm.org/):
"How does a construction contractor from a tough Brooklyn neighborhood become an impassioned animal advocate?
In the award-winning documentary THE WITNESS, Eddie Lama explains how
he feared and avoided animals for most of his life, until the love of a
kitten opened his heart, inspiring him to rescue abandoned animals and
bring his message of compassion to the streets of New York. With humor
and sincerity, Eddie tells the story of his remarkable change in
consciousness."
For a trailer visit www.witnessfilm.org/.
Location:
Internationalist Books and Community Center 405 W Franklin St Chapel Hill, NC
Join us for our weekly movie screening at 7pm! This week's movie is the animal rights film "The Witness"
From the site (www.witnessfilm.org/):
"How does a construction contractor from a tough Brooklyn neighborhood become an impassioned animal advocate?
In the award-winning documentary THE WITNESS, Eddie Lama explains how
he feared and avoided animals for most of his life, until the love of a
kitten opened his heart, inspiring him to rescue abandoned animals and
bring his message of compassion to the streets of New York. With humor
and sincerity, Eddie tells the story of his remarkable change in
consciousness."
For a trailer visit www.witnessfilm.org/.
Location:
Internationalist Books and Community Center 405 W Franklin St Chapel Hill, NC
A letter writing night where we send birthday cards to political
prisoners. It's an easy way to let these people know they aren't
forgotten. These men and women fought for many of the freedoms we take for
granted today.
Date:
Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 7:00pm
Location:
Internationalist Books 405 W Franklin St. Chapel Hill NC 27516 internationalistbooks.org
"Through interviews and guerilla footage of graffiti writers in action
on 5 continents, BOMB IT tells the story of graffiti from its origins in
prehistoric cave paintings thru its notorious explosion in New York
City during the 70′s and 80′s, then follows the flames as they paint the
globe. Featuring old school legends and current favorites such as Taki
183, Cornbread, Stay High 149, T-Kid, Cope 2, Zephyr, Revs, Os Gemeos,
KET, Chino, Shepard Fairey, Revok, and Mear One. This cutting edge
documentary tracks down today’s most innovative and pervasive street
artists as they battle for control over the urban visual landscape.
You’ll never look at public space the same way again."
Date:
Monday, December 13, 2010 - 11:33am
Location:
Internationalist Books 405 W Franklin St Chapel Hill, NC 27516 internationalistbooks.org
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