Congratulations
Senator Franken!
Al Franken has finally been certified as the second U.S. Senator
from the state of Minnesota, and becomes the first comedian (in
his words, "a satirist") to serve in the Senate. Former
Air America Radio host and Saturday Night Live writer and actor,
Al Franken is a passionate, articulate, and thoughtful man, and
a personal friend of the late Senator Paul Wellstone, whose untimely
death was a tragedy and a loss to not only Minnesotans, but to the
whole country. To get a feel for the real Al Franken, check out
this video of his acceptance speech courtesy of The Uptake, shot
by Noah Kunin.
AUDIO:
Interview with singer/songwriter Leslie Mendelson.
Click on the arrow to listen to the complete show (19:00)
Are
you ready for some really great tunes? Then listen to this episode of
Liberal Arts with Mark Sutton as I am joined by the fabulous
singer/songwriter from New York, Leslie Mendelson.
Leslie's
first CD on the Rykodisc label comes out on June 30, and is filled with
some absolutely beautiful songs. Leslie has been featured as "An
Artist to Watch" by I Heart Radio, and when you listen to this
interview, you will know why.
For
you New Yorkers, she will be having a special CD Release party at The
Backroom, Tuesday June 30 at 7:30pm. The CD can be purchased in stores
or on Amazon.com, and for those who prefer downloads, find Leslie Mendelson
in the iTunes music store and purchase it there. To learn more about
Leslie Mendelson and to keep up on tour dates, visit her myspace page:
myspace.com/lesliemendelson,
or become her friend on Facebook!
Leslie
performs at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York with James Maddock (left)
and Steve McEwan (right).
Maddock also performed in the band Wood and plays lead guitar on Swan
Feathers, and Steve McEwan,
who cowrote a number of the songs on the album, has also written hits
for Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw,
and Keith Urban, among others.
Special
thanks to Pamela Peeters and everyone at The Sustainable Planet Film
Festival. It was a truly enlightening day, and there were many amazing
people on hand, including, specifically, but not exclusively, our Listener
Rewards winner Sharon L. from New York! Congrats, Sharon!
I've got some photos from the event posted on my Flickr page, and you
can follow me on Twitter as well. My Twitter name is liberalradio
Stayed tuned for more Listener Rewards giveaways in the future!
LIBERAL
ARTS with Host Mark Sutton
AUDIO:
Interview with Pamela Peeters and clips from the Sustainable
Planet Film Festival. Click on the arrow to listen to the complete
show (19:20)
Pamela
Peeters (below) will host the 4th Annual Sustainable Planet Film Festival
on June 20, 2009 at Bohemian Hall at 321 East 73rd in New York. Featuring
films about sustainable living, the festival also includes noteworthy
speakers, organic food and drinks, and is followed by a gala. For tickets
and more info: sustainable-planet.net
The
Meatrix
Pamela Peeters at The Bohemian National Hall. The Bohemian National
Hall, built in 1895, is a beautiful recently renovated space with state
of the art screening room, and is also home to the Dvorak Room for the
famed composer, and the Czech Consulate.
2008
Sustainable Planet Film Festival highlights
It's
June 2009, and the Minnesota Supreme Court is hearing the Franken v.
Coleman case. While Franken has been declared the winner of the election,
and won in court again, disgraced former Senator Norm Coleman is pushing
this as far as he can, with the help of George W. Bush's lawyer from
2000, Ben Ginsberg (see scary photo below). I have done some work with
TheUptake.org
in Minnesota, a great grassroots media site, in covering the case.
Al Franken in front of his house in Minneapolis is ruled the winner
in Minnesota; Republican Norm Coleman will be appealing to the Minnesota
Supreme Court. When will the insanity end?
Ben Ginsberg, who helped George W. Bush win the 2000 election by appealing
to the US Supreme Court, may try to do the same thing with Norm Coleman
this year. So far, they've made it to the Minnesota State Supreme Court.
On
Monday April 6, a film I worked on, "Pizza: The Movie"
had it's national TV premiere on the Documentary
Channel. This film by Michael Dorian is sure to become a cult classic
- it features the best competitive pizza dough tossers in the world.
I did sound mixing and contributed some music for the film. (Make sure
to have pizza on hand while watching - you WILL want to eat pizza during
this film.) Here is the whole thing, thanks to the power of YouTube,
and the Documentary Channel.
Drew
Curtis is the creator of the popular web site, Fark.com.
Started as a simple way for Drew to share a few stories with friends,
Fark.com now boasts millions of visitors a day and even has garnered
Drew a "Lifetime Acheivement Award." I interviewed Drew in
San Francisco during Fark's 10th Anniversary Bash.
Pictured below:
Drew Curtis, beer drinker.
My interview with
Drew Curtis of Fark.com at the 10th Anniversary Bash in San Francisco.
At the James Bond party in downtown Minneapolis. (photo: Twin Cities
Metro Magazine)
Some of us were amused. Others, not so much. (photo: Twin Cities
Metro Magazine)
My
brother and I were portrayed comically in this cartoon by Kenny
Be in the Denver Westword.
EXCLUSIVE
PICS of Huffington Post Party and other Inauguration events by Ward
Sutton:
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg finds his seat at the Inauguration.
Jan.
21, 2009 - It was a fun but cold few days in DC. The Party for Change
for which I served as MC was a blast. I really enjoyed meeting Barack
Obama Senior Campaign Advisor and Transition Team member Mark Alexander,
as well as Obama Music Arts and Entertainment song contest winner
Lady D, and party organizer Jenn Shaw. The show this week features
people from all over the country who came to town for several days
of festivies. From campaign volunteers to entrepreneurs, spirits were
high all around, and DC had a party atmosphere despite the frigid
temperatures.
In
this episode: Vidho Lorville, Brandon Pellerin, Ahda Hahn, Jinny Jeong,
Andrea Wilson, Barack Obama, Mitchell Rose, Francine Brandt, and Yvette
Harper.
AUDIO:
Click on the arrow to listen to the complete show
(10:00)
Party
for Change photos and more from Inauguration week in DC!
Barack Obama Senior Campaign Advisor and Transition Team member
Mark Alexander, keynote speaker at the Party for Change, hosted by
Mark Sutton.
It was
all smiles as Jinny Jeong, artist Vihdo
Lorville , and Brandon Pellerin made the trip from New York to
D.C., and I had the chance to interview them on Interstate 95. Vidho
and Brandon were both displaced after Hurricane Katrina, relocated
to NYC, and worked on the Obama campaign. Now, they want action.
Obama delivers Inaugural Address.
Song
contest winner and vocalist Lady D, West Virginia's First Lady of
Soul.
Hard-hitting
fur-on-fur journalism on Inauguration Day.
