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We are approaching the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  This past week, the Berlinale Film Festival opened in Germany.  This attempt at normalcy in Europe is sort of like having a garden party happening while acknowledging that the house is on fire. 
President Volodymir Zelensky of Ukraine was invited to give the opening remarks. He challenged his audience, asking them, "what side is (Western) culture on?"  

This challenge brings a lot of questions.  

Is Western Culture an entity that exists in a form that can bring about change?  Zelensky doesn't necessarily think so, but he believes it can serve as the means to inspire people to change.    What is culture really?  In the West, it can be argued that culture is not something that exists in a vacuum, it is a business decision, marketing assisted means of making money.    From Rhianna at the Superbowl to Banksy, doesn't such artists, hooked into the culture machine serve to influence people to purchase things?

Does the artist exist as an agent of change?   Martin presents two individuals from previous European conflicts, who acted on an individual's decision to forego their art in order to serve as an agent of change.  One, the artist Mata Hari, was eventually scapegoated by the French as a German spy and executed.  The other, James Stewart, risked his life and career to serve in the US Army Air Force in World War 2.   In the larger sense, both artists didn't culturally make a dent.  But band enough artists together and perhaps change can come about. 

But culture in the world as a single entity doesn't exist, further complicating things.  Russia's culture and China's culture exists at the whim of their leaders.   Culture exists in other countries, too.   Does India's culture have the responsibility to tell their leaders that they are dealing in "Blood Oil" from Russia?  Or as a culture, do they feel that this is OK? 

Can cultures influence other cultures?  And can individuals change cultures?  Or is Zelensky right in implying that up to now, Western Culture has been trying to have it both ways with the War in Ukraine?  

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Robert Smith raised four sons, worked in IT to support his family and after they were grown adults, made a decision.  It was during the pandemic when Robert decided to make a difference in his community by become an early childhood development teacher.   Smith, an African American man, became an outlier in a field that is predominantly women, understaffed and underpaid.  Yet, research has proven that early childhood education, such as preschool, is fundamental to the formation of successful adults, especially in the urban setting.  The New York Times Article, Why Are Our Most Important Teachers Paid the Least? states:
 According to a recent briefing from the Economic Policy Institute, a majority of preschool teachers are low-income women of color with no more than a high-school
diploma. Only 15 percent of them receive employer-sponsored health insurance, and depending on which state they are in, nearly half belong to families that rely on public assistance.  “Teaching preschoolers is every bit as complicated and important as teaching any of the K-12 grades, if not more so,” says Marcy Whitebook, a director of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment atthe University of California, Berkeley. “But we still treat preschool teachers like babysitters. We want them to ameliorate poverty even as they live in it themselves.”

Why is it that society avoids investing in one of the major solutions for what ails society?   If early education is key to lowering crime, teen pregnancy, increasing college education and subsequently lifting whole families out of poverty, do we still treat the educators as babysitters?

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A lot to discuss on the Roundup with Martin and Sandeep.  Chinese Balloons-War in Ukraine-Chicago politics and the killing of Tyree Nichols and what that means for urban policing.  

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What do you think of when you hear the word labyrinth?   Perhaps the confusing lair where the minotaur dwelled?  That was actually a maze, which was constructed to keep the minotaur confused and confined.  Actually, a labyrinth is something that is meant to set one free.   According to the Labyrinth Society:
A labyrinth is a meandering path, often unicursal, with a singular path leading to a center. Labyrinths are an ancient archetype dating back 4,000 years or more, used symbolically, as a walking meditation, choreographed dance, or site of rituals and ceremony, among other things. Labyrinths are tools for personal, psychological and spiritual transformation, also thought to enhance right-brain activity. Labyrinths evoke metaphor, sacred geometry, spiritual pilgrimage, religious practice, mindfulness, environmental art, and community building.
Dan Raven is a master Labyrinth builder (when he is not in other roles of masseuse, or the "Grandpa of the Pottawatomie Park Dog Friendly Play Zone) and has pursued the complexities and varieties of labyrinths across the United States and in Europe.  Dan has built many labyrinths around the Chicago area over 30  years and shares with us the interesting circumstances that construction and meeting people who build and use them present  Take a walk with us as we  Explore the Labyrinth on STRUNG OUT.

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While we've been busy with our lives, little did we know that a shadowy group of people, living among us, have been busy carving up North America and other parts of the world into Medieval Kingdoms and Baronies.  Welcome to the amazing world of the Society for Creative Anachronism, an organization that boasts thousands of members and endeavors to celebrate and accurately represent what life would have been like from the 600's to the 1600's.   Martin sits down with Arik Mendelevitz, whose college thesis was on swordplay during the Italian Rennaissance.  A deep interest in the Middle Ages and Renaissance brought Arik into SCA, which has large re-enactments around the world and even locally in Illinois, er the Middle Kingdom.  Arik has been a member of SCA for over 15 years and lifts the curtain for those of us who are curious about these organization.  This ain't your average Ren-Fair. 

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People living in the Midwest have an opportunity to see and hear Dorothy Scott perform in her adopted state of Wisconsin, up in beautiful and art-filled Door County.
It is really no coincidence that Dorothy would make her home here.  Like the spectacular scenery, the art shops, restaurants with goats grazing on grass roofs, open air concerts under stars and a variety of interesting people who either vacation here or also call it home, Dorothy's eclectic style of performance fits right in.   She is a veteran of the New York Music scene with Jeff Buckley, Susan McKeown, Sloan Wainright to name a few.  But it is here, where art and raw nature intertwine that Scott has hit her stride.  One would think that a star of her caliber would be stand-offish, but Dorothy Scott, for all her ebullience and showcraft is off-stage the kind of person you'd wish you had as that "cool" Aunt.  The one who knew a thing or two about life and was going to give you the right advice without preaching.  She approaches her craft with humility honed from years of experience in the harsh business world of music.  She has outlasted (and outlived) many contemporaries who could not bend when the hard wind would blow.    Dorothy's website link is here.

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Sandeep and Marty talk a little about resolutions versus setting goals before getting down to the business of predicting what is going to happen to the world in 2023.  

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Martin sits down again with famous painter Walter Palmer Burrows and together they start to delve into some of the more nagging questions that surround the quest of being an artist. 

a) How do I know I have a calling?
b) How do I get into being an artist?
c) Am I an artist if I work professionally in some other job?
d) What is vision?  
e) Is being important the same as success?

Walter Palmer Burrows work and resources can be found at his online gallery:
Walter Burrows Art Galleries – Original Works by Walter P. Burrows

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Martin is down and out with Covid.  But like Santa on his sleigh, that doesn't stop him from sending all the listeners a fun holiday gift of his Christmas songs that have aired on the Mr. Marty Show.   Aine McCormack guests along with Martin and talks about her time in the Evanston (Illinois) Christmas Choir, what she wants for Christmas and Minty her Christmas Elf.   

The Christmas album will be released next year in its entirety.   But in the meantime, enjoy what we have.  

THANK YOU TO OUR LISTENERS, who have brought us to over 3, 000 downloads.  And thank you to the YouTube subscribers and viewers at the Martin McCormack channel.  "I lost my tooth" has  now over 195,000 views!  

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Welcome to a new series of STRUNG OUT, called The Philosophy of Art.  Martin interviews Chicago artist Walter Palmer Burrows about his background and inspiration to create art.  The son of Dr. Samuel Jacobs Burrows, MD FACS and Margaret Palmer Burrows, a poet, writer, and illustrator. Dr. Sam was born on December 3, 1895, in Ottowa, IL, and died Nov. 7, 1971. He was the owner and chief surgeon of Burrows Hospital, 669 Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL. He was a Chicago doctor for more than 50 years. Margaret Palmer Burrows, born December 28, 1905, was the woman of the month in the Chicago Tribune. She worked for William Randolph Hearst in 1925 as society columnist in the Call Bulletin, one of Hearst’s newspapers in San Francisco. She was a member of the Arts Club of Chicago for many years. She died in September 1979. Dr. Sam and “Peggy” had eight children, all born at the Burrows hospital, four boys and four girls. All delivered by their father, Dr. Sam.

 Walter is a Chicago artist and owner of Burrows Art Galleries has been an active member of the Chicago Art Community since 1977. Walter’s mother, Margaret, was a well-known Chicago artist in the ’50s and ’60s. His grandmother, Mary White Palmer, great grandmother and his sister, Wendy Burrows Carlton, were or are artists.” It’s in my blood,” says Walter. He found influence in not only his family but also Julie Thecia.

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We are always grateful to have you listening to STRUNG OUT.    Here are some important links:

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