“Bummertown”

Henry’s (11 E 8th St, Lawrence, KS) presents Bummertown, a new collection of works on paper curated by University of Kansas printmaking major Alicia Kelly.

Artists include: Andrew Jilka, Kristi Arnold, Clint Ricketts, Andy Burkitt, Sam Owen, Alex Dworkin, George Demoura, Vanessa Hays, Thayer Bray, Mari LaCure, Matt Kuhlman, Erin Bratzler, Corey Sievers, Jason Barr, Seth Ramsey, Dana Peters.

The opening reception is Saturday March 7th, 6-9pm and the show will hang through the end of the month.

posted by: Brent Carter

Chomp Womp Family Night

Just because Chomp Womp named their monthly music extravaganza Family Night does not mean you should bring your kids. Undoubtedly the little ones cannot handle the lo-fi punk/noise/pop the artists of Chomp Womp create. Besides, Family Night is being held at the Eight Street Taproom in Lawrence, KS and there is no way a child could get past those doormen…unless maybe three kids team up and can find a long trench coat, a fedora, and a fake mustache. Otherwise known as the oldest trick in the book.

This month’s lineup includes:

BRAMBLE THRASH
GOLD CHAIN GANG
NO MASTER
ROOFTOP VIGILANTES
CHANTS
SPELL MASTER
JAPANESE GAME SHOW
WATERFOWL HABITAT (DJ SET)

The show is Monday, March 2nd at 10 pm with a mere $2 cover charge.

posted by: Harold Johns III

Read: How We Decide

Just because you make mistakes does not mean you learn from them, and just because you’re smart doesn’t mean you’re wise. That’s why Jonah Lehrer sings the praises of metacognition (thinking about the way you think). Challenging the long held philosophy that humans should perpetually strive to be rational creatures, Lehrer states a case, with the help of psychological experiments and fMRI machines, that neuroscience has discovered the importance of our emotional and rational minds acting in concert. Some of the information in Lehrer’s book can be found amongst various TED talks and on WNYC’s brilliant Radiolab. The facts in this book are rich and the writing digestible. You don’t have to be a neuroscientist to read ‘How We Decide’ and some of the information may even seem intuitive, but the studies Lehrer has comprised reveal the interesting desires and patterns of our neural pathways. Lehrer’s over-arching objective is to make the populous aware of the cognitive process within oneself, which he sets out to prove will in turn lead to understanding. This cognitive awareness can be used to shed a light on everything from credit card debt and overwhelming shopping decisions to standardized tests and life threatening situations. Lehrer has received considerable praise for ‘How We Decide’ and was even featured in an interview on the Colbert Report.

posted by: Scott Starrett

Great Depression Cooking with Clara

In this economy all of us could use some help cooking on a budget.

Enter Clara, a 91 year old grandma and the prefect tutor. She grew up in the Great Depression helping her mother prepare inexpensive yet delicious meals during one of the most difficult times in American History. Over the years while sharing her experiences from the depression, Clara re-created those meals for her grandchildren who were deeply affected by both elements.

To help impart her wisdom, stories, and recipes Clara teamed with filmmaker Christopher Cannucciari to create her own online cooking show through YouTube aptly titled “Great Depression Cooking With Clara.” In this episode Clara cooks up a tasty meal she calls “pasta with peas.”

See all of Clara’s episodes here

posted by: Harold Johns III

Working Images

Since the 1960′s the United States has steadily increased its imports from developing nations like China and India because, to put it simply, those nations can do it for cheap. Meanwhile manufacturing sectors in the United States have virtually vanished and the ones that have survived (i.e. the auto industry) are in need of assistance.

A secondary consequence of this trade imbalance is that American consumers are disconnected from those who actually manufacture at least a component of nearly every product they buy. Which is to say, Americans have little conception of how these products come to be and are unaware of the affects the work has upon the labor force of those nations who produce them.

Alan Taylor in his on-going, photo-based column for Boston.com “The Big Picture: News Stories in Photographs” recently collected 45 stunning images pulled from the news wire capturing humans at work. And since most of the photos were taken in either China or India they provide an excellent opportunity to glance into the lives of those who make so much of what we can take for granted.

See all the images here

posted by: Harold Johns III