Henry Schaefer, a chemist affiliated with the infamous Discovery Institute, will be coming to the UA on March 25, to give his equally infamous speech on Intelligent Design,  ‘Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God.” He has been known to veer off within the confines of this “scientific” presentation to explain why Christianity is the only true religion.

http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/12476.htm

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The Discovery Institute likes to make the claim that he is a five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize, despite the fact that such nominations are kept secret for about fifty years. I guess he’s either a lot older than he looks, or the DI is inflating his reputation to make their case seem a little stronger.

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Lioneld Jordan website

I remember on my three pathetic attempts at public office, slogging through rain and heat, knocking on countless doors, passing out my flyers. Websites were something undreamt of in those Olden Days – and they weren’t all that long ago, either.

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Lioneld Jordan, who is running for mayor of Fayetteville, has a pretty nice website. As Earnest Hemingway might have written, it is a clean, well-lighted place. Kudos to those who have put it together.

I write about local issues,  so I’m not endorsing anybody, but the site does feature a profile I wrote about Jordan a couple of years ago. I like to think it gives a good picture of the mayoral hopeful.

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http://lioneldjordan.com/

http://lioneldjordan.com/lr_free_press

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Junk Food News

There is a category of fiction that Harlan Ellison once referred to as “elegant trash,” a classification more worthy of respect than the appellation might imply. Including such works as The Shadow, the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Doc Savage and comic books, Ellison claimed that these works – which pretentious folk might turn their nose up at – taught him as a child about courage and truth and moral ethics. To that list he also added the adventures of “Doctor Who,” that renegade Time Lord who has long been a cult figure around the world.

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With the news that the Sci Fi Channel is set to carry the new season of “Doctor Who” in April,  why not seek out a few of the novels put out by BBC books. Forget the cheap special effects of the old series; these books build on the strengths of the old show – plot and sharp, witty dialogue – and create a complex universe where good struggles against evil. They’re a lot of fun.

A spin-off series, “The Sarah Jane Adventures,” will also run on Sci Fi this spring, and, of course, the incredible “Torchwood” – another Who spin-ff – is in the midst of its second season on BBC America.

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Benefit for Brenda Moossy

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A lot of folk have become aware of the creative energy of local poet Brenda Moossy over the years. She has long been a fixture at Ozark Poets and Writers Collective gatherings, and performed at many benefits, and videos of her poetry often run on Community Access Televison, including a compilation of her work,  “The Poetry of Brenda Moossy.”  To read about her, there is an excellent article at:

http://nwanews.com/nwat/Living/62986/

Now Brenda has lung cancer. Friends of Brenda will putting on a benefit (Saturday -2pm) for Brenda at Nature’s Water, located at  275 E. Huntsville Rd, in Fayetteville. The phone number is 479-521-7786. It’s probably not too late to donate something for the silent auction.

IN addition to the silent auction, there will be a poetry readings, music and a cash bar, to help raise money to help  with Brenda’s medical expenses. A number of folk will be performing poetry both by Brenda, and written especially about her.

If you can’t attend, but would like to send a donation, you can drop something in the mail to:

OPWC (Ozark Poets and Writers Collective)
P.O. Box 3717
Fayetteville, AR 72702-3217     

I have a small list of people in my pantheon of Fayetteville Heroes, and Brenda has long been on that list.

rsdrake@nwark.com

 

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