First on the list of interests, Friend of Talking with Tim (FOTwT) Curt Holman sparks an interesting discussion when he details the bonding time he and his daughter enjoyed recently watching a majority of the DC animated series, Justice League (and its later Justice League Unlimited incarnation). Curt is a great critic and arts journalist, but for me, his best stuff is when he writes about his lovely family.

Every Wednesday, the New York Times book blog, Paper Cuts, has a feature called Living with Music. I relish these entries on two levels, first it’s a chance to be exposed to music I may not have considered otherwise. Secondly it affords me a glimpse into the mind of a writer I previously lacked. This past Wednesday the writer offering a view of his musical mind was John Rechy.

This Monday, the United States observes the birth of the late great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. I have always feared that for many folks this relatively new holiday has become another Monday off from work and little else. I always try to observe the holiday in some manner (no matter how small) and this year, I was able to briefly reflect on the civil rights struggle, thanks to a link from the Librarians Internet Index. It is a KODAK online exhibition, Powerful Days in Black and White, which the site explains as: “Shocking photos brought the civil-rights struggle to all America. Relive it now through the eyes of photojournalist Charles Moore.” I was born in 1968, so to comprehend that in 1960 there were road signs made by the Ku Klux Klan welcoming people to the area amazes and upsets me. If you want to read about Moore, KODAK provides a great overview.

Speaking of health, best wishes for a speedy recovery to back-ailing friend KC Carlson (and someone should be smart and hire that guy to write for them…)

Finally, I’ve been looking forward to the opening of the Gallery 1988 exhibition, Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee. Since I won’t be getting out to that part of the country any time soon, I’m glad to see they have a blog of the exhibit with details of most artists (but durn if I can find the Eric Tan piece that Blog @’s Kevin Melrose pointed out a few weeks ago).

With any luck in the near term, however, new interviews will appear here every Monday. On Wednesday, I will opine on pop culture trends that catch my attention (or whatever else might be rolling around in my brain). Finally on Friday, I will provide links to interviews I’ve enjoyed at other websites.

First off is an interview by my former boss at Pop Thought, Alex Ness, checking in with another old friend, scholar Amy H. Sturgis. Sturgis is one of those people that always has six projects going on at once. In this interview, she talks about her upcoming biography of Tecumseh, which Greenwood Press will release in late May 2008.

I’m an old school fan of ESPN’s Sportscenter, so when Dan Patrick left the network to start a new radio show, I was sad to see him go. His new radio show, which launched in October 2007, was rough around the edges at first, particularly given that he had no one to banter with about issues. More recently, however, his producer has stepped into the role of sidekick and the banter has begun to flow again. But if you don’t have time to listen to an entire podcast or listen to a live feed (from 9 to 12 PM EST), the site has a nice archive of interviews. I would provide a direct link, but the wonderful world of Flash prevents that. Be sure to catch the December 28, 2007 interview with Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.

Finally, after some website problems far beyond his control (dating back to December 23), Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter came back online this week. Spurgeon recently conducted an amazing streak of interviews–too many to provide links, honestly. So I recommend that you start with AdHouse Books‘ Chris Pitzer and weave your way around the website from there.