Sanity Sunday- The Music of Seckou Keita with Catrin Finch

by Nomad

This week's Sanity Sunday takes an ethnic turn and travels to the small West African country of Senegal. Senegal's rich musical heritage is due in part to the diversity and history of its people.One fine example of this rich heritage 39-year old Senegal- born Seckou Keita.

He is one of the leaders of the newest generation of African traditional musicians, fusing the traditional forms and instruments with those of other cultures. The instrument he is playing is called a "kora," a long-necked harp lute of West Africa. He is also a percussionist and singer. Remarkably, he is a self-trained musician and began studying on his own when he was seven years old.

Good News Round-Up - Thanksgiving 2017

by Nomad

What do you think? Is it time for a little good news?
It's been another demoralizing week in politics. There have been some fairly disgusting accusations flying around left and right. President Trump, his family, and all his cronies still haven't been called to account and it had to be patient and it is harder to be hopeful.

However, that is not the complete story. There's good news out there if you look for it.
With that in mind, I have scoured the net in search of optimism and glad tidings and here are four items that I've managed to uncover.

George Kaiser, the Philanthropic Oil Man

The Christian Science Monitor has highlighted the philanthropic efforts of Oklahoma oil tycoon, George Kaiser. Despite being the state's richest man, Kaiser (whose net worth is at
least $11.5 billion) doesn't go in for ostentation like any other billionaire. He is a simple man, reportedly does not own any vacation homes, airplanes or yachts; and travels on commercial flights.

Cutting Edge: What Happened When 3-D Printing Tech Collided with Gun Control

 by Nomad

The Fifth Most Dangerous Person on the Net

Free market anarchist and gun-rights activist, Cody R. Wilson of Austin, Texas, has a dream. He wants to end the gun control debate once and for all.
How? By giving every person who wants one the opportunity to own an unlicensed assault weapon. And he is using cutting-edge unregulated (and unregulatable) technology to make that happen.

As founder and director his non-profit organization. Defense Distributed, Wilson published open-source gun designs (CAD files) which can easily be downloaded and self-manufactured using 3-D printing and assembly tools.

The Complicated Truth about Why So Many Women Go to Prison in Oklahoma

by Nomad

Photographer: Yousef Khanfar

Women Behind Bars

In the Sooner state, if you are a woman-especially if you are not wealthy- your statistical chance of ending up behind bars is far higher than in any state in the union.

In Oklahoma, 151 out of every 100000 women are in prison and that's twice the national average. In fact, according to a 2013 report, the state had the highest incarceration rate for women per capita in the world.

Are Oklahoma women more predisposed to crime for some reason? Are they just more inclined toward lawlessness than ladies in other parts of the country?

Diversion Time: General Knowledge Trivia Quiz

by Nomad

The art of hosting is based on knowing what your guests crave before they do. And based on the recent conversations on the blog, you need a something more than a steady diet of Trumpian politics. mass shootings and sordid scandal.
That's why I have devoted time to trivia contests, even if they are not strictly political.