December 2010

Move to Cary?

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.)  

Justice United Fall Assembly

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

World History: Anarcho/Folk-Pop Duo! Live Show!

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

Imaginal Machines: Book reading and discussion with author Stevphen Shukaitis

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

December Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night

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

"A River of Waste" - Documentary

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

Carrboro Lunchbox Concert Series

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.com

Date: 

Thursday, January 13, 2011 - 7:00am to 8:00am

Location: 

Carrboro Century Center

Carrboro Lunchbox Concert Series

 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

Carrboro Lunchbox Concert Series

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.com

Date: 

Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 7:00am to 8:00am

Location: 

Carrboro Century Center 100 North Greensboro Street Carrboro, 27510

Carrboro Lunchbox Concert Series

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


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)

Westboro Baptist Church

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.


Fiona Morgan reports on the state of local media

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.

Elizabeth Edwards kept it real

Ruby & Elizabeth Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards passed away this week and is being warmly remembered from all corners. Many people talk about her great heart and the strength of her resilience, and it's true that she was an incredible model for anyone dealing with personal pain.

But I remember her best for being whip smart and unbelievably charming. I met her once (when the not-very-good photo at left was taken), and she was even more brilliant and impressive in person. Her death is a huge loss for Chapel Hill, for North Carolina, and for the whole country that has been a beneficiary of her health care activism in recent years.

For those who haven't been reading OP forever, here's the first of several comments she posted here in 2005 after the Edwards' moved to Orange County. And below is the text of a 2006 OP post called "Elizabeth Edwards, keeping it real."

Bill of Rights Day

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

Location: 

Peace and Justice Plaza

Compost your Leaves, Save Money, Improve the Soil

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?

A Vision for Sustainable Businesses in Orange County

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.

Price & Obama Don't Allow Bush Tax Cuts to Expire, Hagan Stands With Us

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:

Orange County Economic Development Director Resigns

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?

Movie Night: Award Winning Documentary 'The Witness'

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

Movie Night: Award Winning Documentary 'The Witness'

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

Political Prisoners' Birthdays in January- Letter Writing Night

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

Movie Night: Street Art film "Bomb It"

"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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