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"A Review of Jian Ping's Mulberry Child:
A Memoir of China"
If you’ve been following this year’s Olympics, you may have heard the stories of Lang Ping – the US Women’s Volleyball Coach, or Liang Chow, a US Gymnastic’s Coach. Both are former Chinese Athletes and both came to America to pursue their careers and dreams. Jian Ping also came to America to pursue her dreams and is now the US National Director of China’s largest brewery, Tsingtao Beer. She’s back in China to support the Olympics and Commentator Constance Alexander reviews her book “Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China.”
Read the commentary here.
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Constance Alexander is Faculty Scholar/Arts & Humanities at Murray State University’s Teacher Quality Institute.
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"Watching the Road Rush By"
It’s back-to-school weekend here at Murray State University and as students and professors gear up for classes to begin, and History Professor Duane Bolin gets ready to take his son to college and takes notice of the road of life rushing by.
Read the commentary here.
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Dr. James Duane Bolin is a professor in the Department of History at Murray State University.
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"Patricia Barber: The Art of Jazz Eloquence"
When jazz singer and pianist, Patricia Barber, released her first album, Split, in 1989, she quickly earned a reputation in the Chicago jazz scene as iconoclastic, deliberately intellectual, and remarkably talented. Nearly twenty years and ten discs later, critics and fans say her latest album; “The Cole Porter Mix” has proven her consistency. Commentator Dr. Brian Clardy says Barber is a master in the art of jazz eloquence.
Read the commentary here.
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Dr.
Clardy is an Assistant Professor of History at Murray State.
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"Double Negative by David Carkeet"
Imagine a mystery novel set in a day-care and centered around a bunch of linguists That’s the premise of David Carkeet’s novel, Double Negative. Michael Cohen peaks through the pages of this academic comedy in his latest Uncommon Mystery.
Read the commentary here.
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Michael
Cohen is Professor Emeritus at Murray State University. His
book Murder Most Fair: The Appeal of Mystery
Fiction was published by Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
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"The Pruitt Sisters"
When thinking of your childhood, you may be able to recall a few blurry memories or grainy images tucked away in a dusty corner in the back of your brain… But, for commentator Roy Davis, these images come in crystal clear. In this installment in his “memory series,” he takes us back to the early 1940s, when he was a young boy growing up with his neighbors, The Pruitt Sisters… whom he describes as the real-life personification of those little old ladies stereotyped in cartoons.
Read the commentary here.
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Roy
Davis is an artist/craftsman based in Murray, KY. You can see
his custom built wooden coffins and crematory urns at his web
site www.vintagecoffins.com |
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Renae Duncan
Dr. Renae Duncan is the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Murray State University.
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"Feral Cat Day"
Be good to our feline friends today. It's National Feral Cat Day. For over 15 years, The Alley Cat Allies have been dedicated to advocating non-lethal and ethical feline population control. Doctor Renae Duncan explains the process of "Trap-Neuter-Return" and how you can get involved.
Read the commentary here.
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"Is Our Money Friendly to Blind People?"
We can identify the American dollar by its famous green coloring, but how identifiable is it for the blind? Dr. Joe Fuhrmann talks about some changes he would like to see.
Read the commentary here.
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Dr. Joseph Fuhrmann is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Murray State University. He specializes in Russian History and is the owner
of "Christopher's Coins" doing business at the Hear of Hazel Antique Mall in Hazel, Kentucky.
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James La Valle
Dr. James La Valle is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Murray State University.
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"The Language of MSU's Non-Discrimination Policy"
On March 1st, 2008, Murray State’s Board of Regents voted to add the words “Sexual Orientation” to their Non-Discrimination Policy. For some, this amendment has been a long awaited blessing, but it had not come without criticism from community members.
Read the commentary here.
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"Media bias and the coronation of a rock star"
Barack Obama has been getting all kinds of media attention this week with the Democratic National Convention underway. But commentator Richard Nelson says this year Obama may be getting more attention than he deserves and wonders if the media has an unfair bias against McCain and other Republican leaders.
Read the commentary here.
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Richard Nelson is a policy analyst for The Family Foundation, a nonprofit public policy organization. He currently resides in Trigg County with his family.
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"Creepy Peeps Online"
All day long people around the world are tweeting their friends, digging their faves, flickering their photos and hot-listing websites they find “delicious.” Commentator Patience Renzulli blogs about her dogs on her website and decided to venture into the vast, virtual world of social networking. She made some new friends, but probably not the kind she’ll be inviting to dinner!
Read the commentary here.
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Patience Renzulli and her husband Bill live in Paducah and you can visit their website at DogWalkers.net for cool stuff for dogs and their people. You can view her blog by clicking here. |
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Helen Roulston
Helen
Roulston is an Associate Professor of English and Philosphy
and Chair of Film Studies at Murray State University.
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"Citizen Kane to Wuthering Heights"
Bernard Herrmann is perhaps one of the most influential film composers of the mid-twentieth century. If you've seen films like Jason and the Argonauts, Taxi Driver, or anything by Hitchcock, you've heard his music... Despite his career in film, Herrmann had a love for opera. Early in his career, while working with the Mercury Theatre, he wrote an opera adaptation for Wuthering Heights Helen Roulston reads from her presentation entitled, From Citizen Kane to Wuthering Heights: Bernard Herrmann's Creation of Gothic-Inspired Operas given at the biannual conference of the International Gothic Association was in the Aix-en Provence of France.
Read the commentary here.
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Kenneth Thomas
Kenneth
Thomas of Murray is a psychologist who treats court-referred
participants in domestic violence.
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"To Change the World"
In the wake of the Virginia Tech Massacre, students and community members across the nation have joined together in hopes to prevent violence in their neighborhoods. But Psychologist Kenneth Thomas says why that might not be enough and offers his expertise on what he thinks needs to happen.
Read the commentary here.
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Martin Booth Tracy
Martin
Booth Tracy of Murray is retired and a part-time consultant
on community - based social service programs in central
and Eastern Europe with the International Labor Organization. |
"Craig
Morris - From Farm Boy to Towering Intellect"
From inventor Nathan B. Stubblefield to anecdotist and Navy Chaplain Howell Maurice Forgy, Calloway County has been home for many historic intellectuals. Commentator Martin Booth Tracy talks about how one Murray native by the name of Edward Craig Morris stayed true to his Kentucky roots while curating for the American Museum of Natural History in New York and excavating the Andean Mountains of Peru.
Read the commentary here.
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John Utgaard
John Utgaard is an Assistant Professor of Art at Murray State University.
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"On Richard Nelson's Gay Rights Editorials"
"Fair and balanced" are two ideals NPR strives for, and the same goes for WKMS. Richard Nelson's commentaries targeting homosexuality have prompted some emails from our listeners. John Utgaard says Nelson's commentaries are nothing more than verbose bigotry.
Read the commentary here.
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"The Holiday You Missed"
Senator Hilary Clinton said America’s highest glass ceiling has 18 million cracks in it after receiving that many votes in the Democratic Primary. Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, aims to shatter it once and for all. Commentator Robert Valentine says the glass ceiling would be a lot higher today if it wasn’t for a group of women named “The Suffragettes”, who banded together for women’s rights in the 1920s.
Read the commentary here.
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Robert
Valentine is a professional Speaker, Storyteller, and Senior
Lecturer at Murray State University in the Department of Journalism
and Mass Communications. Visit his website: RobertValentine.com.
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"My Bluetooth"
The technology market is constantly being flooded with new products. Young people seem to adapt quickly, but commentator Scott Vander Ploeg is having trouble keeping up.
Read the commentary here.
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Scott Vander Ploeg is a scholar and writer who contemplates our culture from Madisonville, Kentucky.
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