In putting together his Vietnam War series over a 10-year period, filmmaker Ken Burns said he hopes to start a national conversation on the war. That hasn’t happened yet, although we’re only three episodes in (the entire series is online). Critics have applauded the series but, anecdotally, the buzz hasn’t taken hold.
It’s not because people aren’t watching.
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For people like me who grew up hating everything about the Vietnam War, the politicians who gave it to us, the hard hats who insisted ‘America, love it or leave it,’ the opening of Ken Burns long-awaited documentary, The Vietnam War, came out hard. Read more →
I wasn’t prepared to lose my breath, however, when I made a dash to the Post Office through the skyway this afternoon. I had read in one of the papers that there’d be an installation of stories from people who also had chosen to come here from somewhere else.
But I didn’t expect it would be so downright beautiful. Read more →
We’re big fans of PBS NewsHour’s ‘Brief But Spectacular’ series, more so today because it provides a nod to a public radio god. Read more →
After almost being killed by a bull, Jim Carter, of Duluth, lost the use of a leg. He joked to a friend that since he couldn’t ski anymore, he’d become a dancer instead. It turned out to be no joke. Read more →
There’s a good mystery in your local bookstore. Someone is stealing books by beatnik authors. Read more →
Ken Burns’ ‘The War’ series provided a sentimental, if painful, look at World War II. There’s no way his latest epic can. It’s still too raw. America is still coming to grips with the discovery that our leaders are often con men. And sometimes, 50,000 young people die because of it. Read more →
Alamo Drafthouse is hosting a clown-only screening of “It.” Read more →
Here’s a story you’ll never see covered on TV news: TV news is unfair territory for women. A couple of stories in the news this week provide testimonials to the fact.
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There’s a fair chance that more people have seen a 1942 Army documentary in the last 48 hours than saw it in theaters when the government produced and distributed the anti-fascism film. Read more →
It’s impossible to imagine that there’s anyone walking the planet who doesn’t realize what will happen in a nuclear war, and for decades that fact alone has been enough to prevent a holocaust that destroys the blue dot. And yet, here we are, comforted only by the thought that two of them can’t possibly be insane enough to try. Read more →
The ‘magic’ of radio was — and in some places still is — its ability to provide a shared experience. The Rich Petersons catered to an audience that didn’t want to be alone, even when they were alone.
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Nothing can scare despots like music. Wuilly Arteaga, dressed in the colors of Venezuela, stood against the thugs who are stealing democracy in his country armed only with a violin and a bucketload of courage.
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From time to time on NewsCut, we have considered the proposition that one cannot pursue one’s passion and also make a living. Pick one or the other when deciding on a career, kids.
But then we see a story like Keanon Kyles’, who makes his living as an opera singer.
Also as a janitor. Read more →
If you have a friend with whom you can converse by saying nothing, the words will strike a chord. If you don’t, they’ll make you wonder where you went wrong.
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Bob Collins
Cody Nelson