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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell
@raymikell.bsky.social
180 followers 250 following 570 posts
Assistant Professor, Political Science, Jackson State University, MS. Interested most in urban politics and policy, state and local govt. Longtime photo person. Pop culture enthusiast of sorts.
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 2d
This is a great piece. Reading it sure beats more doomscrolling.
mattzollerseitz.bsky.social
Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 2d
"The original cut of Annie Hall ran nearly two-and-a-half hours, and according to its editor Ralph Rosenblum was a shapeless mass of bits. "And so we began cutting in the direction of that relationship,” he wrote. Result: 4 Oscars. www.vulture.com/article/the-...
The Unfading Beauty of Diane Keaton
For over five decades, cinema bent itself around her profoundly original image. It had no choice.
www.vulture.com
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 3d
Aw. I paid tribute to her once by dressing up as her “Annie Hall “ character for Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans (if she’d gone out in Carnival colors). A double drag thing.
markharris.bsky.social
Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 3d
Terribly sad news about one of the greats. Diane Keaton has died at 79.
people.com/diane-keaton...
Diane Keaton, Famed for Roles in 'Father of the Bride,' 'First Wives Club' and More, Dies at 79 (Exclusive)
Diane Keaton has died at age 79. Keaton was best known for roles in movies like 'Annie Hall,' 'The First Wives Club,' 'Something's Gotta Give' and 'The Godfather.'
people.com
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 4d
The prize has a checkered history. But this announcement is righteous.
reuters.com
Reuters @reuters.com · 4d
'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 5d
The Nazis appropriated that symbol, which you can still find throughout East Asia. Here’s an interesting piece on Asian-American and Native Americans trying to change attitudes and reclaim the symbol. (Nazi one was angled, distinctive, easy enough to spot.) apnews.com/article/reli...
Asian faiths try to save swastika symbol corrupted by Hitler
In much of the world, the swastika is often equated to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany – a symbol of hate that evokes the trauma of the Holocaust and the horrors of Nazi rule.
apnews.com
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 5d
A third entry in a series of mine about using open-ended scenario or vignette-based questions to get around AI issues in PoliSci assessment. In this one, I managed to stump students and chatbots, all because the textbook version of US national govt isn’t in effect right now.
Scenario-Based Learning and Assessment (Part 3 of a Series)
This guest post is by Dr. Ray Mikell, an assistant professor of political science at Jackson State University, a historically black institution and urban research university in Jackson, Mississippi…
activelearningps.com
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 6d
Speaking of Mobile, Joachim Street there is pronounced “Joe-Ack-‘Em” Street. Nearby fellow onetime French colonial city New Orleans has multiple streets with counter-intuitive pronunciation (The “ade” in Esplanade” Ave. is pronounced like “aid.”) But Joachim takes the cake.
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 6d
So I wouldn’t get too bummed by news about EVERYTHING this morning while spending a few hours at a spa-like infusion center for MS therapy, I read Robert Caro’s masterful account of the day of Kennedy’s assassination. As one does. (Also ate a ton of kettle corn and chocolate almonds.)
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 6d
He’s from Shreveport. Bayou schmayou.
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 7d
It's not a new topic! (Published: 1996). www.oupress.com/978080612887...
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Reposted by Ray Mikell
artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social
ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 8d
The Triumph of Death (flipped), by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1562
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 9d
And I bought this book at Powell's, which still seems wild in hindsight. 2016. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing...
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 9d
I mean, last time I was there (2016, entirely too long ago), I took part in a kazoo-playing tribute to the then-recently departed David Bowie.
dansinker.com
dan sinker @dansinker.com · 9d
Portland never stops being Portland.
competentposter.bsky.social
competentposter @competentposter.bsky.social · 10d
wizard frog is insane
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 9d
'twas also of giant influence in music of the era and on to the present, but also notable for its (continued) pioneering use of synthesizers. pitchfork.com/features/ove...
Stevie Wonder and His Dream Machines
The pop icon’s technological breakthroughs have reverberated across music for the last 50 years.
pitchfork.com
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 9d
It’s a great album. But this bears all the hallmarks of “someone who has never listened to albums from Stevie Wonder’s golden era.” Insane take.
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 9d
I don’t care about either team in this morning’s NFL game from London. But I was agog at the retro soul halftime show from Raye, a British singer who I’d never heard of. Add this to every game. youtu.be/uTUZ8LBd41M?...
Raye's FULL Halftime Show at the NFL London Game
YouTube video by NFL
youtu.be
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 10d
The Alamo has fallen. (Slightly delayed reaction.)
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 10d
Happy story from home. I used to take a road bike out regularly. Stopped, for many reasons (the recession a big one), a decade before my mobility issues of the last year. At the time, I didn’t see much diversity in southern cycling circles. To see it now is fantastic.
mississippitoday.org
Mississippi Today @mississippitoday.org · 10d
Soul City Cycling: Born out of  a dream, inspired by little known Black bicycling champion

Before sunrise early Saturday morning in September, bicyclists from across the tri-county area, including Major Taylor Cycling Club members from Memphis, Tennessee, arrive at The Bike Crossing in Ridgeland. …
Soul City Cycling: Born out of  a dream, inspired by little known Black bicycling champion
Before sunrise early Saturday morning in September, bicyclists from across the tri-county area, including Major Taylor Cycling Club members from Memphis, Tennessee, arrive at The Bike Crossing in Ridgeland.  Arree Williams, Soul City Cycling president, is leading the group of 30 or so riders dressed in colorful, skin-clinging cycling uniforms. Williams shares safety reminders with the group as they double check gear and store away hydration sources and snacks.
mississippitoday.org
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 11d
My evening: Writing about a teaching-and-learning in PoliSci, and editing that writing, while keeping recent “Austin City Limits” eps on loop. Not bad.
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 11d
Yeah, was thinking, based on the history of Illinois political machines (not confined to Chicago under Daley), giving the office full control would be seen as idiotic in-state. But this is a unique situation.
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 11d
He likely doesn't have direct command over them, but indirect influence via commission appointments. But he could explain that.
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 11d
I had a former student write to me yesterday, asking if he were "too much," had been told that. Anxious me responded with, I'm more than sure that many see me as a little "extra." But like Sammy Davis Jr., I gotta be "meeeeee," can't get in anyone's head. (Thought I should repeat to myself, often.)
Sammy Davis Jr - "I Gotta Be Me" (with lyrics)
YouTube video by 717007
www.youtube.com
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 12d
Of course it's disorganized!
joycewhitevance.bsky.social
Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 12d
As if irony isn’t already dead, the Hatch Act violation on the DOJ website, which blames Democrats for the shutdown, appears on the page advising DOJ employees they are subject to the Hatch Act. joycevance.substack.com/p/a-note-abo...
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Reposted by Ray Mikell
ndhapple.bsky.social
City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · 12d
Today's the second day that NPR and PBS and the hundreds of local stations that comprise both networks are operating without any government support after they were defunded. Consider giving them a bit of support =>
npr.org
NPR @npr.org · 13d
Today marks the first day in public media’s history without federal funding. And we’re not going anywhere.

Listeners like you keep our mission alive. Protect one of the last places where America comes together to hear itself.

Stand with us today. Donate at this link: n.pr/46wamAj
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raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 12d
Until two weeks ago, I was getting Paramount+ for free via Walmart+, which I get via AmEx. But now I'm getting Peacock for free from WM instead. I got Paramount+ and the Hulu/Disney/ESPN combo for free for months, accidentally, due to corporate failure to keep decent records.
raymikell.bsky.social
Ray Mikell @raymikell.bsky.social · 12d
Paramount+ will still be a money-losing venture, Bari Weiss or not, and network TV's audience will continue to erode, likely in rapid fashion in coming years. Doesn't everyone know this?