b.rox

I don’t often do this, but here are some words written by someone else. I guess I should add a few words of my own. I read Ecotopia in the late 80s. Written by Ernest Callenbach, it’s an imaginative novel that speculates on what would happen if the west coast of the United States seceded [...]

March 14, 2012: International Day of Action to Defend Blasphemers and Apostates. I suppose I am both an apostate and a blasphemer, at least by by some definitions. I’m fortunate to live in a country where religious freedom, though constantly contested, is guaranteed by the constitution. But things are very different in some other nations. [...]

I’ll take this article with a grain of salt, but I did find the parenthetical explanation of the racial politics of capitalization helpful. Readers frequently write to ask why I capitalize “Black” but not “white”. Often the question comes with racial resentment attached: there is a feeling that the use of the capital letter reveals [...]

This just in from Cherri Foytlin, who will be on the Social Media, Social Justice panel at Rising Tide 6 (register now): “thanks to all who attended – please read and share the link” The day before yesterday, on August 4, 2011, one year after the President of our United States stood on national television [...]

I’m going out on a limb and predict Obama wins in 2012. You may scoff but remember I have an unblemished record of success in this arena.

25 years ago today I was singing this song and graduating from high school in Sweden.

After the Beyond Jena forum in January of 2009, I had the idea for putting together a one-day conference on the intersection of social media and social justice. Alas, though I blew some hot air around the office, I never actually did it. A combination of distractions and personal lethargy (on my part) got in [...]

News from around the world certainly has been interesting of late. Unfortunately it shows no sign of letting up. I call that unfortunate because “interesting” usually means “bad” so far as news is concerned. Even when bad news doesn’t affect me directly, it’s troubling and problematic for me in two different ways. Of course it [...]

Even though I’ve been feeling much better after my initial bout with bronchitis, I’ve continued to have minor relapses. I exert myself and then feel funny in the lungs and fatigued. So I made an appointment to see my doctor Tuesday morning. And it was such a strange doctor visit. I was informed that my [...]

Yesterday evening, I made my presentation, “The Role of Blogs in the Rebuilding of New Orleans,” to a special interest group of the AERA. I related five prominent stories that have emerged in, around, through or about the local blogosphere since the flooding of the city in 2005. Even though the presentation is over, I’m [...]

In a few days, I’ll be making a presentation to a special interest group of the AERA titled “The Role of Blogs in the Rebuilding of New Orleans.” My plan is to relate certain prominent stories that have emerged in, around, through or about the local blogosphere since the flooding of the city in 2005. [...]

It really comes as no surprise to read the following in today’s paper: The Rev. Grant Storms, the Christian fundamentalist known for his bullhorn protests of the Southern Decadence festival in the French Quarter, was arrested on a charge of masturbating at a Metairie park Friday afternoon. Storms, 53, of 2304 Green Acres Road in [...]

In April, I’ll be making a presentation to a special interest group of the AERA titled “The Role of Blogs in the Rebuilding of New Orleans.” My plan is to tell five separate stories that have emerged in, around, through or about the local blogosphere since the flooding of the city in 2005. I thought [...]

I was just coming home from the first real parade of the carnival season, fired up and aglow with the love, and I get online and I check my e-mail and I find myself on Facebook, looking at a kindly invitation to enjoy the next night’s diversions, looking at the profile of a friend, and [...]

This sign is on a house on Canal Street. I’m not sure but I strongly suspect this may have been placed by a guy calling himself shaman_nation who popped up on the Mid-City discussion group and started posting the most inane conspiracy drivel I’ve ever read. He’d post some links and then add: But, I’m [...]

This caught my eye on the the front page of today’s Times-Picayune: “It always amazed me that you had these two universities that were right next to each other but they didn’t talk to each other,” Bruno said. “Why do we have two libraries? Why do we have two cafeterias?” For a brief moment I [...]

In April, I’ll be making a presentation to a special interest group of the AERA titled “The Role of Blogs in the Rebuilding of New Orleans.” My plan is to tell five separate stories that have emerged in, around, through or about the local blogosphere since the flooding of the city in 2005. I thought [...]

I just got an e-mail from Steve Scalise with the subject line “Carrying out the will of the American people.” In this message he says: On Thursday, we started what should become a new tradition by reading the Constitution aloud on the Floor of the House of Representatives. This marks the first time in the [...]

Two headlines from today’s news caught my eye. Each is bad enough on its own, but taken together they are exponentially more infuriating. BP to Challenge Government Estimates of Oil Spilled “During the disaster, BP did whatever it could to avoid revealing the true flow rate of the spill,” Mr. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, said [...]

Since it’s Veterans Day, I thought I’d point to something written by a veteran. Here’s an article by Bradford J. Kelley, which appeared in the morning paper. “Election glossed over wars — and warriors” He begins by noting the lack of attention paid to our current military engagements in the recent election cycle, but notes [...]