A little blog browsing

Jim Fallows (not the US writer) has a nice guest post on bluegrass on normblog. He writes that his "first exposure to the music was a British 'Bluegrass' compilation of Monroe, Doc Watson (hmm), Merle Travis (?) and Hank Snow(?!?!). All great music, sure, but some of it somewhat stretching even the most broadly defined limits of the genre." That compilation was surely stretching things, but some might wonder if Fallows is too restrictive in reading Allison Krause and Nickel Creek out of the bluegrass world.

Jerry Trimmell posts an old Bob Curtright column about Wichita and finds some great pictures to illustrate Curtright's points.

David Aaronovitch has a new blog. while Paul Anderson has a blog devoted to his-progress book on Orwell in the Tribune.

Chuck at Monumental Mistakes informs us of an unique calendar

Kansas Anarchists Exposed! Calender Signing Party

Jan. 21@ 8pm, Free Solidarity Center 1119 Mass Lawrence

“We'’re celebrating the release of the 2006 kansas anarchists exposed calendar is hott off the presses and in our hands! Spread the word thathis full-sized wall calendar with beautiful black and white photographs of nude and semi-nudkansas anarchiststs is available now for only $8 a piece (or $6 each for an order of 10 or more). We'’re having a party with food, party favors, and of course, those who have posed in the calender to sign yours.”

To order, http://lawrencesolidarity.net/calendar

Chris Mooney has Intersection a new blog on science and politics. It's part of Science Blogs. this seems to be the new trend. Single author blogs are out. Multiple authors blogs and blog centers are in.

Chip Berlet on the lessons of Harry Potter and Justice Sunday.

what I learned when my wife and I attended the Harry Potter film.

• Certain actions are evil, but evil is not based on heredity or nationality.

• • Real heroes sometimes set aside their personal quest to help others in danger.
  

• We should welcome people from different cultures and nations into our midst.

• • Friendship includes taking risks to support our friends and standing up for them in a crisis.
  

The alternative lessons presented by some of the Christian Right.

• The moral struggle is not between ideas that support goodness and ideas that spawn evil, but between "secular supremacists" and Godly Christians.
• God is against gay men and lesbians signifying their commitment of love through marriage.
• • God is against abortion.
  
• God wants us to put judge Samuel Alito on the Supreme court.
  

We also learn that liberals and non-Christians threaten America and that we should pray that "not secularism or unbelief or a hostile supreme court [should] prevail against" God's word.