Loving Rush, with all my heart and brain
NPR – Dec. 20
Ratty jean jackets ? and pocket protectors. Chess fanatics and potheads. Greasers and nerds. How have seemingly two seemingly separate communities, with the entire empire of coolness standing between them, taken the same band to their hearts? That’s the paradox of Rush, which just won admission — finally — to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How does the same band speak to auto mechanics and MIT grads? And why did it take so long for the Rock Hall to notice? I’m a big Rush fan. (There, I said it!) For ages, admitting that in public was like striking up a conversation with an attractive woman in a bar about, say, Dungeons and Dragons. It just wasn’t done. A 2008 article in Rolling Stone compared Rush fans to Trekkies. … Paul Horwitz teaches constitutional law at the University of Alabama. He is the author, most recently, of First Amendment Institutions (Harvard University Press).
Dance group performs annual holiday show
Tuscaloosa News – Dec. 21
The community is invited to experience the true magic of Christmas this weekend during “Christmas Holidaze in T-Town.” MJ’s Academy of Dance will present its third annual holiday show Friday and Saturday at The University of Alabama’s Moody Music Building. Complete with singing, dancing and a little bit of acting, the event will feature 300 performers, ages 2 to 21.