Stuff YOU Should Know
Grammy Recap
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) is an organization made up more than 20,000 music-industry professionals. Each year, it presents awards for excellence in the recording industry. The 57th annual Grammys (named for the gramophone, which is the first device to play records), were held in Los Angeles earlier this month. You may already know by now that the big winner of the night was British singer Sam Smith, who won Best Record, Song, and New Artist. One of the biggest surprises of the night was Beck’s “Morning Phase” win over Beyonce’s self titled release for album of the year.
You may be less familiar with who won the lesser-known awards. There were once 109 total Grammys awarded (the number was reduced to 78 in 2012). Most of them are handed out in a private ceremony held prior to the live telecast for the major awards. Some of the winners include Chick Corea for Best Improvised Jazz Solo, Joan Rivers for Best Spoken Word Album, and composer John Williams for Best Instrumental Composition (for the film The Book Thief). There are also awards for Crafts (packaging and notes) and Production (engineering and mixing).
What Do You Think? Did you watch the Grammys? If so, what were some of your favorite performances? Did any of your favorite artists win any awards? Which ones?
Muslim Students Murdered in NC
On February 10, a man named Craig Stephen Hicks shot and killed his neighbors in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, all or Palestinian descent, were college students. While the motivation for shooting was an alleged ongoing dispute over parking in their condominium lot, the shooter had a history of conflict with the victims as well as other neighbors. Hicks turned himself into the police, and was later indicted by a grand jury of murder.
More than 5,000 attended the funeral of the three victims, in support of the family. Many more took to social media to protest what they believed was a biased under-reporting of the mainstream media. This has opened up a wider criticism of how a narrow and unflattering portrayal of Muslims in film and television has lead to an unsympathetic response by Americans.
What Do You Think? Take a look at some Opinion articles regarding this incident. What evidence can you collect on both sides to determine if the Western media is guilty of being “Islamaphobic?”
To Kill a Mockingbird, the Sequel?
Have the read and/or studied the 1961 classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird? If so, you might know that it was the only book author Harper Lee ever published. Fans have been eager for any kind of follow up ever since. So when word leaked that there was a “lost” manuscript featuring the same characters from Mockingbird, the world clamored to know more. It turns out that the news may not be a reason for the 88 year-old Lee to celebrate. The manuscript, titled Go Set a Watchman, was allegedly written before Mockingbird. The story follows an adult Jean Louis Finch (Scout), as she returns to Maycomb, Alabama to visit her elderly attorney father, Atticus.
Tonja Carter, Lee’s lawyer, found the manuscript among the author’s things. Lee confirmed that it she had written it first. When her editor suggested that she focus on the flashback scenes, she went back and re-wrote the book that would eventually become To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee’s health (she reportedly suffered a stroke in 2007 and is nearly blind and deaf, living in a nursing facility) and the death of her attorney sister who fiercely guarded Lee’s privacy are causing many to question Lee’s intention in releasing the book.
What Do You Think? To Kill a Mockingbird earns nearly $3 million a year. Because Lee has no spouse, children or surviving immediate family members, who should be responsible for the decisions made on her behalf?
Social Justice or Shame Campaign?
We live in a new era of communication. In a mere instant, people can have access to one another all over the globe. This can be good news for many, as in a platform for uncensored information in the case of Arab Spring. It can also be bad news for some, as in the case of a few individuals who found lost jobs or received threats due to posts they made.
One of the highest profile examples of the latter surrounded a woman named Justine Sacco. She had just 170 Twitter followers when she posted the now-infamous post, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” before getting on a plane. The tweet caught the attention of a writer who retweeted it to his 15,000 followers. By the time Sacco landed, she had become the #1 trending topic. Some call her post a case of “unfortunate sarcasm.” Many others found it very offensive and believe that she should have known better because of her job as a PR professional for a large media conglomerate. Regardless, the attention led to her losing her job. In another instance, a man made a comment to a friend at a conference. The woman behind him overheard, took a picture, and posted it online. The attention that followed led to both being fired from their respective jobs.