Composer Julius Eastman’s (1940 – 1990) music explores his identities as a gay man and Black American. Stay On It was composed in 1973 and combines minimalism with pop music. This new performance, which features musicains and dancers collaborating remotely, is dedicated to essential workers of color in the United States. I found out about this performance through one of the many organizations involved in its production: The Dream Unfinished. The…
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Valley Advocate Sessions
The Valley Advocate Sessions is presented by the Valley Advocate, Signature Sounds, and Northampton Open Media and regularly features short concerts by local musicians both seasoned and new. A recent…The Valley Advocate Sessions is presented by the Valley Advocate, Signature Sounds, and Northampton Open Media and regularly features short concerts by local musicians both seasoned and new. A recent contributor was Henning Ohlenbusch, who has been featured in our staff picks before and was one of Forbes Library’s 2018 Musicians in Residence….
Spelling Bee
Like most librarians, I love words and games that involve language. This new one from the New York Times challenges you to come up with as many words as you can using…s many words as you can using just the 7 letters they provide. You can play it in fits and starts and it’ll track your progress throughout the day, making it very user-friendly during this strange, interruption-filled and routine-free time we’re currently living in. And lest you become too impressed with yourself, Spelling Bee has a rating system, from “Beginner” to “Genius”, to put you in your place….
Invisibilia
Bernie Krause was a successful musician as a young man, playing with rock stars like Jim Morrison and George Harrison in the 1960s and ’70s. But then one day, Bernie…ing it all over the earth. If this description of a recent episode intrigues you, you will want to check out a podcast called Invisibilia. Produced by National Public Radio, Invisibilia explores the underlying forces that influence our behavior, ideas, and assumptions. Topics are wide-ranging and are told in an engaging and narrative fashion. One recent episode discussed a city councilor candidate who insists he is black, while his opponent accuse…
Ian’s Shoelace Site
Sometimes its nice to dive into a seemingly trivial subject and learn what there is to learn. Shoelaces for example. We tie and untie them everyday, but what do we…doubt, the sections on shoelace tying and shoe lacing. You can learn sixty-two different ways to lace shoes and the comparative advantages and disadvantages of each. And you can learn twenty different ways to tie your laces. Fieggen’s instructions are clear and the amount of detailed information he includes for each method is impressive. This is definitely the site to go to if you have a question about shoe laces, but it also highly recommended f…
No Such Thing as a Fish
Way back in 2003 Stephen Fry began hosting the delightful comedy trivia quiz show QI. The most visible stars of that show were the host, Stephen Fry, and the many witty panelists who joined him each week. But the hidden stars of the show were the researches who provided Stephen with a seemingly endless supply of “quite interesting” things to talk about. Those researchers quickly became know as the QI Elves, and since 2014 four of them, James Hark…
Stuff You Should Know
It can be a challenge to find a podcast that is very educational and informative, and at the same time is really funny. It can also be a challenge to…Thousands of episodes are available on this weekly podcast that started in 2008. Check out this sampling of topics from 2017: How Dictators Work Are Artificial Sweeteners Really Bad for You? How Pacifism Works (and could it?) The Black Panther Party Pain Scales – Yeeow! Why Isn’t the US on the Metric System? How Foreign Accent Syndrome Works Is A Head Transplant a Real Thing? Most of the podcasts are an hour, but Chuck and Josh offer short segmen…
Gastropod
Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley host a delightful podcast that explores food through the lens of science and history. They explore the origins of foods (who really did invent the French Fry?), the biology of foods (what causes the differences between different sourdoughs?), the psychology of food (how do menus affect what we order?), the ecology of food (how can our food choices affect invasive species or the climate?). They explore unusual foo…
99% Invisible
99% Invisible is a podcast that explores the effects of design on our lives and society in ways we generally don’t notice. The episodes delve into aspects of everyday life,…ld. Its about “all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about”. The show’s name is inspired by a quote by Buckminster Fuller: “Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.”…
LibriVox
LibriVox is a free source of public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world. Most of the books are in English, but other languages are available as well with many titles in French and German and a not insignificant number of recordings in Ancient Greek. Titles for children and adults are available. I recommend starting with the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, both of which are available in va…
Questionable Content
Questionable Content is a long running, slice-of-life, web comic focusing on a large cast of humans and robots living in a small college town which resembles Northampton to an extent that cannot be ignored. (Scenes are occasionally set at the Smif College library, and a number of characters have been Smif College students or employees. And there are a lot of scenes set in coffee shops and bars.) The comic includes sci-fi elements, as evidenced by…
Levar Burton Reads
Levar Burton’s podcast has a tagline that embraces superlatives: “The Best Short Fiction, Handpicked by the Best Voice in Podcasting”. That may be taking things a bit far, but I…le sort—you don’t need to be a fan of these genres to appreciate these well-told tales. And the authors are diverse, including both classic well-established writers and new writers of all races and genders. Levar always takes a brief moment to tell you about why he selected the story and what it means to him, and I invariably find I appreciate what he has to say. So, whether you are looking for new authors and ideas, some great bed time stories, a…
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