My Memories of Jack Schaar
I’m spending some time tonight remembering Jack Schaar, one of my favorite professors, who died of cancer on Christmas. He taught Political Philosophy at UC Santa Cruz and Deep Springs, and was one of the remnants of the Berkeley era at Santa Cruz and beyond. My last class would end up being his last class, a twenty-one student seminar titled “Politics through American Literature.” We read Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Joan Didion, Leslie Marmon Silko, Thomas Pynchon, William Faulkner, and more. And with each of Jack’s lectures, the books took an important place in my heart. The fist day of class he asked for “attention, honesty and humility” from our class. He asked us strip the academese from our writing and speech and praised substantive dialogue over the cliches we were so accustomed to thinking in. For the most part, we followed his instructions and were wiser for them.
After each lecture I would walk away buzzing, my head spinning with the simple yet grounding and profound ideas on America and american patriotism. I routinely called him a cynic in class, but he wasn’t—I now believe he was only deeply disappointed in his and our generations, for not making more of what we had. He was a contrarian in all walks of thinking, and taught me the lesson of thoughtful patriotism in a department soaked in what he called a “cult of marxism.” Shortly before graduating I told Jack I hoped to work as a journalist. His response—two “wonderfuls” in his slow, labored speech—felt like an honor from a man who rarely praised anything, and I’m thankful for those and other kind words to this day.
Jack will be sorely missed. He told us that there were very few deep thinkers left in this country, and he is certainly right. We are left without one important one now.
M83: “Midnight City”
Thanks, Sean.
My interview with Iraq Veteran Jason Mizula, who was arrested early Tuesday morning at occupyboston. I caught up with him as he was released from Boston Municipal Courthouse. He was headed straight back to Dewey Square.
He’s somewhere in this video.
My first question ever to MA Guv Deval Patrick. I go hard when it comes to education.
My interview with Cornel West from today’s #occupyboston rally. It was on the fly, while he was leading a march to the Boston offices of Goldman Sachs. 
The beauty of radio.
From the Sentinel:
SANTA CRUZ - Authorities were called to the 700 block of 41st Avenue Saturday afternoon for reports of an intoxicated woman abusing a duck.
According to a Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a call that a woman was drunk and was refusing to leave a business just after 4 p.m. The caller also said the woman was throwing a duck to the ground and apparently also trying to strangle it with some sort of leash.
When officers arrived at the scene, deputies found an intoxicated woman throwing the duck around. It was not immediately known whether the duck was wild or domesticated, or if it was the woman’s pet.
The woman, whose name has not yet been released, was taken to County Jail on charges of public intoxication while deputies tried to catch the duck.
Deputies said Saturday that the animal appeared to be uninjured, but they planned to take it to the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter for evaluation.
Wicked surf for late September.
