Michelle Obama vs. Bernie Sanders at the Grammy Awards

It's time for one more Grammy Awards nominees post before the ceremony, so here are the final categories from the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording
Big Tree – Meryl Streep
Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder – William Shatner
The Creative Act: A Way of Being – Rick Rubin
It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism – Bernie Sanders
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times – Michelle Obama

Barack Obama, who repeated as Outstanding Narrator at the Emmy Awards, isn't the only member of the family nominated at a major awards show. His wife Michelle is nominated for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording at the Grammy Awards for The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times. That should look familiar, since The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, Oprah's televised interview of Michelle Obama, earned a nomination for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special, but lost to Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, as Gold Derby and I predicted. She's competing against Bernie Sanders, Meryl Streep, Rick Rubin, and William Shatner. That's certainly an all-star field!

This is not the first Grammy nomination for either Obama or Sanders, as The Hill reported.

Obama previously won a Grammy Award in the spoken word category for her 2020 bestseller “Becoming.” A year earlier, she made a surprise appearance at the 2019 Grammys to tout the power of music, saying that it “helps us share ourselves.”

It’s not the first time that Sanders has been nominated for a top music prize either. The lawmaker earned a spoken word category nomination in 2018 with actor Mark Ruffalo for “Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In,” but the pair lost to Carrie Fisher for the audio book of her memoir “The Princess Diarist.”

I'd say the former First Lady has the advantage over Senator Sanders here, but that doesn't mean she'll win. This is a strong field and any one of them could walk off the stage with the gramophone statuette Sunday night. This ihcludes Rick Rubin, who is a music producer. Most of my readers may not know who he is, but the Recording Academy members do. Remember, electorates matter!

Follow over the jump for Best Music Film.

'The Way I See It' wins Best Score at the 2020 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards

I ended 'MLK/FBI,' 'St. Louis Superman,' and 'Mr. SOUL!' all winners at the 2020 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards by telling my readers "I should have more about the Critics' Choice Documentary winners tomorrow, probably about Best Score winner 'The Way I See It.' Stay tuned." I begin today's post with THE WAY I SEE IT - Official Trailer.

From the Academy Award-winning producer of FREE SOLO and based on the #1 NY Times Best-Seller by Pete Souza, Chief White House Photographer for Barack Obama, @The Way I See It is in theaters September 18th.

Based on the New York Times #1 bestseller comes The Way I See It, an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in American History, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through the eyes of renowned photographer Pete Souza. As Official White House Photographer, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful person on Earth. The movie reveals how Souza transforms from a respected photojournalist to a searing commentator on the issues we face as a country and a people.

People often say "I wish I were a fly on the wall" when something happened behind closed doors. Pete Souza was that fly on the wall during both the Reagan and Obama administrations, so he knew and he has a valuable perspective that I'm glad this documentary shared.

Now for the award. Watch BEST SCORE - Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders, The Way I See It for the acceptance speech.

Winner of the 5th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Score: Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders, THE WAY I SEE IT.

Congratulations to Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders for winning Best Score and to Pete Souza for being honored with Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary. Also, congratulations to director Dawn Porter and her producers, including Evan Hayes, the producer of "Free Solo," and Laura Dern, on earning one of the nominations for Best Political Documentary. I expect they will see more nominations, particularly at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards, as this was shown in MSNBC last month and is streaming on Peacock in addition to being shown in theaters. Good luck, you deserve it!

Since this award was for the music, let's listen to Leadership Qualities.

The soundtrack to @Focus Features THE WAY I SEE IT features two new songs by @Aloe Blacc and score by Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders & Brandon Roberts.

And now, a bonus track, The Future by Aloe Blacc.


Click here for the full playlist.

Once again, congratulations!

'The Cave' vs. 'American Factory' — Oscar nominees and other documentaries at the Emmy Awards

Happy Sunday, which means it's time for the Sunday entertainment feature. As I plan on doing through October, the subject will be the Emmy Awards. Today, I'm writing this year's version of 'RBG' vs. 'Free Solo' and other Oscar nominees at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, examining the documentary films and specials nominated at the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Five documentaries I've blogged about before earned nominations, including Critics' Choice and Golden Coffee Cup winner "Apollo 11" with five, Oscar nominee "The Cave" with four, Oscar winner "American Factory" with three, and Critics' Choice nominee "One Child Nation" and BAFTA nominee "The Great Hack," both with one each.

I would have loved for all five to be the nominees in the first category, but only two of them made the cut.

Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking

The Cave (National Geographic Channel)
Chasing the Moon (American Experience) (PBS)
Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements (HBO)
One Child Nation (PBS)

If I handicapped this category purely on the number of nominations, I'd pick "The Cave" with its four nominations while all the others only have one. In addition, it's the only Oscar nominee in the category. However, electorates matter and the Emmy electorate is not the Oscar electorate. "Icarus" won the Academy Award but did not win any of its categories at the Emmys two years ago and Oscar winner "American Factory" did not even earn a nomination in this category. As for the film that could upset "The Cave," I'd pick "One Child Nation," which was the most nominated documentary at the Critics' Choice Awards, even though it didn't win a single category. After all, I did write "I think it will have better luck at the Emmy Awards next year." This is its one chance to prove me right.

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special

The Apollo (HBO)
Beastie Boys Story (Apple TV+)
Becoming (Netflix)
The Great Hack (Netflix)
Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time (EPIX)

The most nominated entry is "Beastie Boys Story" with five nominations, followed by "Becoming" with four, "Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time" with three, and "The Apollo" and "The Great Hack" with one each. While the explicitly political documentaries are "Becoming" about Michelle Obama and "The Great Hack" about Cambridge Analytica, I think one of the three music documentaries will win. Hollywood loves a good show about entertainment and, while none of these are about movies and television, music comes close. That's why I suspect "Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time" might be favored over "Beastie Boys Story." Laurel Canyon is in the Hollywood hills, while the Beastie Boys are from New York.

Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix)
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (A&E)
Ugly Delicious (Netflix)
Vice (Showtime)
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+)

This is the category "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" dominated for six years and his absence is palpable. As I wrote last year, "Anthony Bourdain was a great writer right up until the end. I will miss him." So does this category. With his show over, there are no multiple nominees here, so I can't use that criterion to handicap the competition. Instead, I will resort to previous wins and nominations. According to that method, "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" is the clear favorite, as it has won before and has been nominated every year since. The next best bet would be "Vice," which tied "Parts Unknown" six years ago and has been a multiple, if not consecutive, nominee since. The dark horse would be "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," which was nominated last year. I'm still going with "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath," as it's a story about Hollywood, which Hollywood loves.

Outstanding Narrator

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution (History)
David Attenborough on Seven Worlds, One Planet (Episode: "Antarctica") (BBC America)
Angela Bassett on The Imagineering Story (Episode: "The Happiest Place on Earth") (Disney+)
Chiwetel Ejiofor on The Elephant Queen (Apple TV+)
Lupita Nyong'o on Serengeti (Episode: "Destiny") (Discovery Channel)

What a list of all-star talent! Lupita Nyong'o is an Oscar winner, Angela Bassett is an Oscar nominee and Golden Globes winner, Chiwetel Ejiofor is an Oscar nominee, and David Attenborough is two-time returning winner. On that basis, I'd say Sir David is the nominal favorite, although he's up against stiff competition. The nominee I'd look out for is Nyong'o because "Serengeti" is the only series with two nominations.

That reminds me that I'm used to seeing a lot of nature documentaries nominated at the Emmys, but that's not the case this year. I suspect that's because "Tiger King" sucked up all the oxygen that would normally go to shows about wild animals.

Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming

American Factory - Aubrey Keith, Erick Stoll (Netflix)
Apollo 11 - Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins (CNN)
Becoming - Nadia Hallgren (Netflix)
The Cave - Muhammed Khair Al Shami, Ammar Sulaiman, Mohammad Eyad (National Geographic)
Sea of Shadows - Richard Ladkani (National Geographic)
Serengeti - Richard Jones, Michael W. Richards, Warren Samuels, Matthew Goodman (Episode: "Rebirth") (Discovery Channel)

This is one of two categories that have three of the top documentaries, four if one counts "Becoming," competing against each other, so the competition is stiff. On the basis of number of nominations, I'd pick "Apollo 11," but it's up against "The Cave" and "American Factory," which are shot by professionals, while Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, while legendary astronauts and American heroes, are essentially amateur cameramen. The Emmy electorate might prefer the professionals, which give nature documentaries "Sea of Shadows" and "Serengeti" a chance.

Outstanding Main Title Design

Abstract: The Art of Design (Netflix)
Carnival Row (Prime Video)
Godfather of Harlem (Epix)
The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
The Politician (Netflix)
Watchmen (HBO)
Westworld (HBO)

"Abstract: The Art of Design" is the one documentary nominated in this category. I'll have more to say about its chances when I see the rest of the nominees — before I wrote this I'd only seen "Carnival Row," "Watchmen," and "Westworld" — but I'll embed its video below.

Follow over the jump for the nominees I covered in 'Tiger King' vs. 'McMillion$' — big cats and true crime at the Emmy Awards for World Lion Day.

'Tiger King' vs. 'McMillion$' — big cats and true crime at the Emmy Awards for World Lion Day

Happy World Lion Day and a belated World Tiger Day to my readers! I am celebrating both international days for big cats by fulfulling the promise I made at the end of Mike Pence at Voteview and On The Issues for National Veep Day.

Tomorrow, I plan on continuing my coverage of the Emmy Awards with nominations of shows about animals and nature for World Lion Day. The irony is that the number one show nominated in this category is "Tiger King." Oh, well, I missed World Tiger Day on July 29th again, so tomorrow I'll make up for it. Stay tuned.

With that, I am sharing the Emmy nominations for "Tiger King" today along with the series' major competitors from the 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Wikipedia.

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
American Masters (PBS)
Hillary (Hulu)
The Last Dance (ESPN)
McMillion$ (HBO)
Tiger King (Netflix)

"Tiger King" may be the last show listed alphabetically, but it's the first in terms of nominations with six. Moving up the list is the next most nominated series, "McMillion$" with five nominations. Continuing to the head of the alphabet, "The Last Dance" has three nominations, while "Hillary" and "American Masters" each have one.

In addition to the true crime angle shared by "Tiger King" and "McMillion$," the two shows also explore politics and government in their own ways. Joe Exotic ran for the Libertarian nomination for Governor of Oklahoma in 2018. He came in last, proving that some candidates are too weird even for the Libertarians. The stars of "McMillion$" are the FBI agents who cracked the case and the FBI, like all law enforcement, are part of the government. Finally, "Hillary" is about the life and career of Hillary Clinton, First Lady, U.S. Senator, and Democratic nominee for President, so it's definitely about politics and government. Meanwhile, "The Last Dance" is about sports, namely Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, and "American Masters" focuses on artists of various kinds. It's a consistent nominee, but hasn't won since 2014.

While I think "Tiger King" is the nominal favorite, both because of its lead in nominations as well as its level of cultural impact, it's not the one my wife and I have been watching, as I already mentioned in 'The Daily Show' and others review movies and series to watch while staying at home during a pandemic.

By the way, the true-crime series "Tiger King" seems to be finding its audience because of people staying home during the pandemic. I've seen tweet after tweet praising it for its entertainment value. So far, I've resisted, as I tweeted "I think my wife would have a problem with the animal cruelty. Instead, we're watching McMillion$ on HBO for our true-crime fix."

Just the same, the trailer for Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness tempts me to view the first episode.

Among the eccentrics and cult personalities in the stranger-than-fiction world of big cat owners, few stand out more than Joe Exotic, a mulleted, gun-toting polygamist and country western singer who presides over an Oklahoma roadside zoo. Charismatic but misguided, Joe and an unbelievable cast of characters including drug kingpins, conmen, and cult leaders all share a passion for big cats, and the status and attention their dangerous menageries garner. But things take a dark turn when Carole Baskin, an animal activist and owner of a big cat sanctuary, threatens to put them out of business, stoking a rivalry that eventually leads to Joe’s arrest for a murder-for-hire plot, and reveals a twisted tale where the only thing more dangerous than a big cat is its owner.

That looks like as spectacular a train wreck as I thought it would be. No wonder people can't look away and Redditors have made memes like this one.


This is why I think "Tiger King" has the best chance of winning.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the nominations for "Tiger King" and "McMillion$."

'Harriet' and 'Parasite' headline diversity among Oscar nominees for MLK Day 2020

Time to be a good environmentalist and recycle my salutation to my readers from celebrating diversity in awards shows nominees and winners for MLK Day.

A happy and contemplative Martin Luther King Day to my readers!  To celebrate, I'm continuing the tradition I began with 'Glory' from 'Selma' for MLK Day and continued with Hollywood's diversity issues for MLK Day and 'Hidden Figures' tops the box office for MLK Day plus diversity among Golden Globes winners, examining diversity and representation in entertainment....

After last year's 'Green Book,' 'If Beale Street Could Talk,' and more celebration of diversity in awards show winners for MLK Day 2019 to say nothing of the wins for diversity among documentaries, superhero movies, and mainstream dramas and comedies, this year's crop of Oscar nominees looks disappointing in comparison for diversity and representation.  Still, it isn't a complete bust for actors and directors of color, as Cynthia Erivo has two nominations for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role and Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song), both for "Harriet," and Bong Joon Ho is nominated for Best Director for "Parasite," which has five more nominations, Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Achievement in Film Editing, Best Achievement in Production Design, and Best International Feature Film.  Other than Best International Feature Film, all of those awards go to individuals; Best International Feature Film goes to the country, in this case South Korea.  Unfortunately, I think Renne Zellwinger will win Best Actress, either Elton John and Bernie Taupin or Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez will win Best Original Song, and "Parasite" will win only Best International Feature Film.  Oh, well, at least the Lopezes winning for "Frozen II" would still be a victory for diversity in individual winners, even if they already have an Oscar for the original "Frozen."

That written, if the Acting Branch of the Motion Picture Academy has its way, "Parasite" would have a good shot at winning Best Picture, as it won the equivalent at last night's SAG Awards, Best Cast.  Watch Bong Joon Ho & the 'Parasite' Cast Make History at the SAG Awards from Variety.

Neon’s “Parasite” won best motion picture cast at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, becoming the first foreign language film to pick up the top prize. Director Bong Joon Ho and the cast answer questions backstage after their historic win.

Note that the first question was about diversity and another was about opening the U.S. to Asian films and actors.  Also, this victory sets up a different contest than the one I was anticipating in '1917' among movie and TV winners about politics and government from Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards.  I was expecting a fight between "1917" and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”  Now "Parasite" is among the front-runners as well.  Maybe Hollywood won't vote for "a good film or show about itself."  That would be as welcome a surprise as "Moonlight" beating "La La Land."

Farther down the nomination list, the documentary and short subject nominees are a treasure trove of diversity.  Follow over the jump for their stories.

'13th' leads non-fiction programs with four Emmy Awards

Yesterday, I wrote "I'll have more about the other winners of non-fiction programs later this week."  I decided today would be that day, especially as it would mean I'd write about "13th" on the 13th.  I couldn't let that apt coincidence pass.

"13th" won more awards than any other nonfiction program with statues given out for four categories.  Variety lists them and quotes Ava DuVernay's acceptance speech.

“13th” won for documentary special as well as writing, motion design and original music and lyrics for “The Letter to the Free” by Common, Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins. The Netflix documentary, which also collected a Peabody Award and an Oscar nomination this year, led the winners field with four trophies.

I was rooting for or predicted most of these wins.

Documentary or Nonfiction Special..."13th" is the clear favorite, given the reputation and quality of the director and the urgency of the movie's topic, but any of these shows could win.
...
Writing for a Nonfiction Program...Without "Planet Earth II" in the mix, I think "13th" is the favorite, even though I'm rooting for "Bill Nye Saves the World," even though I don't think it deserves it.

That's two.  Now for the third from 'Saturday Night Live' tied for most Emmy nominations with 22, 24 counting its web series and interactive program, here's what I had to say about the odds of Common's song winning.

In its final nominated category, "13th" would be the winner of a game of "One of these things is not like the other" in this field.  All the rest are for comedies.  At least as the most serious, it would stand out.  That written, I'd actually have to listen to all of them to give an informed opinion.

I will say that Common wrote "Glory," the Academy Award winning song for "Selma."  That's a point in its favor. In addition, if the Emmy electorate wants to send a message, that might be even more effective, if less popular, than picking a Christmas song from SNL.

I count that as a half.  As for Outstanding Motion Motion Design, the nominees weren't listed and a jury picked the awards, so I didn't have a chance to say anything about its chances.  Still, calling two-and-one-half out of three is pretty good.

Now for a quote from the acceptance speech.

DuVernay was one of several winners who made emotional pleas for those in media to use their power to speak out on urgent issues, from criminal justice and prison reform to climate change.

“When all kinds of people are feeling aggressively demoralized and devalued, people of justice and dignity need to stand up and make our voices heard,” DuVernay said. “Our voices are stronger than those that try to silence us.”

I second this emotion.

Follow over the jump for the other winners in non-fiction television.

Happy Persian New Year and Happy Birthday to Twitter and this blog

Nowruz Mubarak!  Happy Persian New Year to my readers, a happy 11th birthday to Twitter, and a happy sixth birthday to this blog!

I traditionally celebrate Nowruz by explaining the holiday and showing the White House's celebration.  The first one is easy: What is Nowruz How to celebrate Persian New Year.

What is Nowruz? How to celebrate Persian New Year
For nearly 190 million people around the world, Monday is one of the most important days of their calendar.
Nowruz - which means New Day in Farsi - marks the start of Spring.
Its origins are ancient - believed to have been started by Zoroastrians around 3000 years ago - but now it is an important part of modern lives.
But what exactly is Nowruz? BBC Persian's Sahar Zand visited Little Persia in London to explain how her family celebrate the Persian New Year.
Produced by Joe Inwood. BBC

The second one I am likely to discontinue after this year, as the current occupant of the White House is not a fan of multiculturalism and dislikes Iran.  However, I can benefit from conserving my resources last year by showing Nowruz at the White House with Silk Road Dance Company.

Historic White House Celebration of Nowruz with introduction by First Lady Michelle Obama and performances by Silk Road Dance Company of Washington DC, under the direction of Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray.  Founded in 1995, the ensemble has a repertoire of over 200 dances from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East.

I'm going to miss celebrations of Nowruz at The White House.

Follow over the jump for two news reports about what passes for Twitter's birthday.

President Obama celebrates Hanukkah for the last time in the White House

Happy Hanukkah!  For this year's celebration of the first night of the Festival of Lights, I'm going to be a good environmentalist and recycle the concept behind Eight years of President Obama pardoning turkeys with this video of last week's Evening Hanukkah Reception.


Farewell, Mr. President.  I will miss you in the White House.

For more on Hanukkah, please read Vox's article about the history of the holiday.

Melania Trump: Rickrolling and Plagiarism

"Excuse me, I'm going to watch 'Young Za Za Gabor' AKA Melania Trump speak." So read the Facebook status I left last night when I went from one screen to another to watch what I expected to be the highlight of last night's session of the Republican National Convention. I was not disappointed and got more entertainment value than I was expecting. To begin with, Mrs. Trump rickrolled the audience.


I caught that instance of copying at the time, but I didn't catch the next one until after the speech: Comparing Melania Trump and Michelle Obama's speeches.

At least one passage in Melania Trump's speech Monday night at the Republican National Convention plagiarized Michelle Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2008.

I should have been appalled at this. Instead, it amused me even more. Thanks to Melania, I've had my daily dose of irony.

Happy Mother's Day from the White House

Happy Mother's Day!  For this year's celebration, I'm deferring to President and Mrs. Obama.  I begin with yesterday's Weekly Address: Happy Mother’s Day From President Obama.

In this week's address, President Obama recognized all mothers in celebration of this upcoming Mother's Day, including First Lady Michelle Obama.

Follow over the jump for three more videos from last year's celebration at the White House.

Nowruz Mubarak (Happy Persian New Year) and Happy Birthday to the blog

Happy Persian New Year to my readers and a Happy Fifth Birthday to this blog!  I begin this year's celebration with President Obama’s Nowruz Message to the Iranian People.

President Obama sends best wishes to everyone celebrating Nowruz, March 20. 2016.

Like the President, I celebrate the nuclear deal with Iran.  I think it's a good thing, including holding oil prices down.

Follow over the jump for more on the holiday from Vox.

Nowruz Mubarak (Happy Nowruz) and happy birthday to this blog!

Happy New Blog Year!  Today is the fourth anniversary of the first entry on this blog, making it this blog's birthday.  Since it is also Persian New Year, I wish all of my readers a happy Nowruz, just as I did last year and the year before.  I could be an environmentalist and recycle, but since I like videos so much, I instead present Nowruz (Simply Explained!) from FactXTract on Youtube.

How much do you know about Persian New Year called Nowruz? Did you know that there is an equivalent for Santa Claus in Persian culture called Uncle Nowruz? Or did you know that you might have guests at your home at 3 a.m., right after the arrival of Nowruz?

I'm not the only non-Persian celebrating Nowruz in the U.S.  Follow over the jump for two videos of the First Family celebrating the event as well.

Election news from campuses on the campaign trail for October 14

Now that Canadian Thanksgiving is over, it's time to return to the U.S. with the election news from campuses on the campaign trail I included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Nobel Prizes 2014).  I begin with this press release from the University of Illinois at Chicago: First lady makes campaign stop at UIC by Gary Wisby on October 7, 2014.

First lady Michelle Obama made a political campaign stop at UIC Tuesday, receiving a standing ovation from audience members who remained on their feet throughout her 20-minute speech at the UIC Pavilion.

Her appearance was preceded by a lineup of Illinois Democrats, including Gov. Pat Quinn, Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Secretary of State Jesse White, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon and Reps. Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky and Robin Kelly.

Obama urged a robust voter turnout in the Nov. 4 Illinois elections. "Get the vote out. Start today," she said.

The First Lady stopped by Detroit three days later, as WXYZ reported in First Lady Michelle Obama visits Detroit for campaign rally.


I wouldn't be surprised if she said much the same things here as in Chicago.

That's not the only election news from Michigan.  The University of Michigan announced a Date change for the  U-M Board of Regents candidate forum on October 7, 2014.

DATE: 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, 2014

EVENT: The candidates for Regent of the University of Michigan have been invited to participate in a 75-minute forum. Susan Smith, president of the League of Women Voters of Michigan, will moderate the discussion.

The four major-party candidates have confirmed their participation: Mike Behm, Rob Steele, Ronald Weiser and Regent Kathy White.

Candidate questions will be posed by the League and students at the Ford School of Public Policy. The format will allow for questions from the audience; it is not a debate.

If I were really ambitious, I'd drive out to Ann Arbor to cover the event.  Who knows, since I have a new car, I might just do so.

Follow over the jump for news from Colorado and Massachusetts.

Sustainability news from campuses on the campaign trail for the week of the annular eclipse

Just as I noted in Sustainability news from campuses on the campaign trail for Mother's Day Weekend 2012, I'm still running a week behind on this installment of the series. So, without any further ado, here are the sustainbility stories from public universities in Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin that I included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Annular Eclipse edition) on Daily Kos except for the ones I already posted in Sustainability education news from campuses on the campaign trail, plus bonus stories from Kentucky, Indiana, and Nebraska that I saved for this edition.