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* "The history of sundown towns:"

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* "The larger context of Michael Brown shooting:"

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* The KKK is raising money to reward the officer that murdered Mike Brown.

* "Excavation of ancient well yields insight into Etruscan, Roman and medieval times:" http://phys.org/news/2014-08-excavation-ancient-yields-insight-etruscan.html

* "Islan Nettles-One Year Later:" http://www.transgriot.blogspot.com/2014/08/islan-nettles-one-year-later.html

* On Bas Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet: I was an adult and a teacher when this came out and my lover and I went the opening weekend. At the end he asked what I thought. I still remember turning to him and saying, "Shakespeare would have loved it." I stand by that. It captures the tone and energy of the play. It grabs the audience by the throat with the opener, the way it was meant to do. Theater was out of doors with no microphone and a lot of the Groundlings were drunk and often arguing. The opening lines needed to get everyone's attention and snatch it away from conversations, and orange girls, and the incipient brawl down in front and focus it on the stage. So much of the acting in this is brilliant, and it really is extremely accurate as far as dialog and tone. In Shakespeare's time a lot of the costumes were hand me down clothes from patrons, I. E: Contemporary (or slightly out of date) fashion. Putting it in contemporary dress makes it more like the original experience.

I loved watching the teenagers excited ahead of us, discussing the movie excitedly. I knew it would be a hit. I was glad. I was overjoyed to see so many students eager to watch it again and again. I was happy my kids were excited about a Shakespeare movie. It had people reading and discussing the plays on their own time and thinking about them.

I think it's better to see the plays as they are instead of putting them on a high art pedestal. They are often deeply flawed (Racism, Sexism, plot holes, etc.) but also frequently beautiful, funny, dirty, and profound by turns. Some of them are a lot better than others. It's okay to find Titus Andronicus a clunky mess. It's okay to notice what idiots many of the characters in Romeo and Juliet are (not Mercutio, I love Mercutio, but that Friar? Romeo?). It's okay to find some of the histories dull, and some of the comedies so light that there is noting much there. It's okay to get a little bored with Lear. Watching the plays is a lot more fun and interesting if you take the dirty jokes along with the poetry and let yourself feel what you feel instead of what you are pressured to feel.

* "Every Pet Guinea Pig Needs A Pair Of Leather Steampunk Wings:" http://io9.com/every-pet-guinea-pig-needs-a-pair-of-leather-steampunk-1620976016

* "Sunday Sweets Goes Back To School:" http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2014/8/17/sunday-sweets-goes-back-to-school.html

* Want to help people in Ferguson? Here is a list of ways: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/94804596185/i-feel-so-useless-sitting-here-what-can-i-do-to-help

* Ebay Auctions:

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* Fund raiser to help us keep our place: http://djinni.livejournal.com/507872.html

* Djinni and Greenwickpress are getting married. Here is their gift registry in case folks want to get them something: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/19HV6IL24HX58/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v

* The Clutch: