Music + Culture
3:08 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

A True Masterpiece: Lost In The Trees

If you feel like being surrounded by mystery, enchantment, and beauty then Lost In The Trees’ new album, A Church That Fits Our Needs is a stellar fit.  The album has a special feeling.  Like that moment when you’re shoe shopping and you find a pair that fits your foot in a perfect way.  That might be a strange comparison, but my heart rushes when I listen to this album.  The movement of every song on this album is impeccable, leaving you with a feeling of hope and wonder.  With the lush-like vocals, lyrics, and sounds of cellos, violin, viola, tuba, piano, guitar bass, and percuss

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Election 2012
2:55 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Incumbents Face Off In Illinois After Redistricting

Redistricting is forcing a handful of congressional incumbents of the same party to run against each other in primaries. On March 6, Rep. Marcy Kaptur defeated fellow liberal Democrat Rep. Dennis Kucinich in Ohio.

And next Tuesday, two conservative Republicans square off in Illinois.

The scene is the newly drawn 16th Congressional District, which covers mostly rural territory in the northern part of the state, curving around the suburbs and exurbs of Chicago, from the Wisconsin border north of Rockford to the Indiana border east of Kankakee.

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The Two-Way
2:54 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

'Invisible Children' Co-Founder Arrested In San Diego

Over the past couple of weeks, Invisible Children has been in the news quite a bit. First because a video produced by the organization acheived viral success and shone a spotlight on the Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.

Then, because the video caused controversy when some said it glossed over a complex issue.

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Economy
1:51 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

The Market's Finally Looking Up: Will It Last?

Credit Richard Drew / AP
Trader Peter Tuchman reacts on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 13. That same day, the Dow Jones industrial average had its highest close since 2007.

Originally published on Fri March 16, 2012 8:03 pm

The stock market hit some major milestones this week: The Standard & Poor's 500 index reached its highest level in more than three years, the Dow Jones industrial average settled in above 13,000 — up about 24 percent since early October — and the Nasdaq rose to its highest level in 11 years. Still, the Federal Reserve has been warning not to get too excited about where the economy is headed next.

David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors, says there are a bunch of reason for stocks to be rising.

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The Two-Way
1:33 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Egyptians Rally In Cairo To Protest Acquittal Over 'Virginity Tests'

Credit Amr Nabil / AP
An Egyptian woman shouts anti-military Supreme Council slogans during a demonstration in front of Cairo's high court on Friday.

Hundreds of Egyptians rallied in Cairo today to protest the recent acquittal of a military doctor charged with forcing "virginity tests" on female activists.

The AP reports:

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Three Books...
1:05 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Pioneers Of The Sky: 3 Books That Take Flight

Credit AFP/Getty Images

Originally published on Sat March 17, 2012 3:44 am

Today, flying is like riding a bus. But it wasn't always that way. Vaulted from the sands of Kitty Hawk and freed from military exigencies by the end of World War I, aviation soared into the 1920s and '30s on a direct course to tomorrow. Here are three flyers who not only helped open the skies, but also brought literary gems back from the cutting edge of progress, from a time when flying was the most exciting thing in the world.

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It's All Politics
12:55 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Obama Spreads (Tele)Phony Story About Long-Dead President

Credit AP
President Rutherford B. Hayes actually was a big fan of the telephone, despite President Obama's assertion otherwise.

Poor Rutherford B. Hayes. It wasn't bad enough that the 19th president, a Republican, was called "His Fraudulency" by Democrats during his one term in office (1877-1881) because of the unusual circumstances of how he "won."

Now, the current occupant of the White House, President Obama, was spreading a most assuredly inaccurate story, according to experts, about Hayes' reaction to an early telephone.

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The Salt
12:02 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Drunk On Biology For St. Patrick's Day

Credit Adam Cole / NPR

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Louis Pasteur joined The Clancy Brothers? Or if The Chieftains were more nerdy and less talented? Well, wonder no longer!

I wrote this song about the science of beer last year and the folks at The Salt asked me to dust it off in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

In a vaguely Irish style, the song salutes that hero of beer production, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and explains the biochemistry of inebriation.

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Theater
12:00 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

'Edith Can Shoot' Centers On Precocious Young Girl

Edith is "too old to be talking to a stuffed frog and too young to be carrying a gun."

That's how Rey Pamatmat describes the main character — who carries both items — in his play Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them.

Pamatmat's play premiered at the prestigious Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky last year. Since then, it's been playing at regional theaters around the country.

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