Each week, members of the WFPL news team spotlight interesting stories we've read and enjoyed, for your weekend reading pleasure:
Gabe Bullard:When I heard about the Kickstarter project for a new music magazine called Uncool, I was curious. But I was inspired to give after I read this early sample of the staff's writing on Mumford and Sons and the invention of a genre called Festivalcore. I don't understand the appeal of Mumford and Sons, but belabored hatefests are irritating, too. This piece -- Raise My Hands -- gives a nice perspective and sets aside the author's own dislike of Mr. Mumford's group. Read Raise My Hands.Rick Howlett:College basketball coach Rick Majerus passed away Dec. 1. He was 64. He's being fondly remembered for his big personality as much as his coaching accomplishments, which included taking the University of Utah to the NCAA championship game against Kentucky in 1998. Like all of us, he had his quirks. This warts-and-all profile, The Life and Times of Rick Majerus, was written by Sports Illustrated's S.L. Price in 2008, when Majerus was the head coach at St. Louis University. Read The Life and Times of Rick Majerus.Erin Keane: Because I’m knee-deep in holiday-themed productions, I decided to shake things up and read an article about … holiday-themed productions. American Theatre takes a closer look at how theater companies are casting a wider net to find crowd-pleasing Christmas plays that can complement – or in some cases, compete with -- A Christmas Carol. Read The Holiday Hustle.Joseph Lord: I have two small daughters, which means my house is mostly just a shelter for a mountain of Disney princess toys. That's fine -- they'll grow out of it, people say. (Right?) If they do, perhaps film can offer some new role models. In today's New York Times Magazine, A.O. Scott -- an excellent film critic -- notes that 2012 saw the rise of strong, adventurous female characters ranging from The Hunger Games to Beasts of the Southern Wild and asks: "Have things really changed that much?" Read Hollywood's Year of Heroine Worship.Erica Peterson: This is a great article by Tyler Kuykendall in the State Journal (W.V.), and one that’s certainly applicable to coal mining communities in Eastern Kentucky as well. Kuykendall looks at family dynamics as layoffs spread throughout the coalfields, and the effect the changing economic circumstances could have on families who have typically survived on one income. Read Married to Coal.
