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I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Kelly Crossley Show. Education systems throughout New England are going through some substantial shake ups from Rhode Island to Massachusetts how schools are threatened with being closed. Teachers are being fired right and left. And faculty and staff are being held accountable in new ways. Demolition is one thing rebuilding is another. With these extreme makeover is underway what will the end result be and how long will it take to get there. We'll look at a radical west coast movement that could have lessons for education reform here at home. Later in the hour we check in with our movie mavens for a post Oscar analysis. We top off the hour with a look at two enterprises that are keeping old traditions alive in the 21st century. Up next saving our schools celebrating our cinema and sustaining small businesses. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Craig Wyndham. President Obama is challenging

Republican lawmakers who he says are seeking to scuttle efforts to overhaul the nation's health care system. GOP leaders in Congress have called on the president to start from scratch on the issue but Mr. Obama says that's not an option. I got all my public colleagues out there saying well no no no we want to focus on things like cost. You have 10 years. I. Want to. All right the president speaking at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania the first of an expected series of such events aimed at building public pressure on Congress to complete passage of health care overhaul of his solution. Vice President Biden is in Israel today to advance an upcoming round of peace talks with the Palestinians. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports from Jerusalem that Israel authorized the building of new apartments in the West Bank today a move that's drawing sharp criticism from the Palestinians. The defense ministry announced that one hundred twelve new housing units will be constructed in the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Beit ta'en lete under heavy U.S. pressure Israel has been

observing a temporary and partial freeze on settlement construction. The ministry of defense says this is the biggest exception granted since the moratorium went into effect. The permits were given because of what it termed safety and infrastructure issues. The announcement could prove embarrassing for the vice president. The U.S. is trying to broker indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians. One of the main points of contention has been settlement construction. Palestinians want all construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem halted. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro NPR News Jerusalem. A new decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a key provision of the bankruptcy code. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports that measure bars lawyers from advising their clients to take on additional debt in anticipation of filing for bankruptcy. A small Minnesota law firm and two of its clients challenge the bankruptcy provision contending that it violated the free speech of lawyers who may wish to advise their clients that it's best for them to take on more debt for example in order to refinance their loans at a lower interest rate. But today the Supreme Court ruled unanimously

that when read narrowly the law only bars lawyers from advising clients to load up on debt knowing that once bankruptcy is declared those debts will be voided. Such advice the court said is the sort of abuse of the bankruptcy system that Congress is justified in prohibiting. Nina Totenberg NPR News Washington. The high court is agreeing to hear an appeal in a case involving anti-gay protesters who staged demonstrations at some military funerals. That issue was whether the protestors message is protected by the First Amendment. Stocks have inched higher at midday pairing earlier gains Absa lower energy prices and an unexpected fall in home sales offset some optimism that was stirred earlier today by the announcement of some mergers and acquisitions. The Dow is down 13 points the Nasdaq that was up five. This is NPR News from Washington. The top U.S. NATO commander in Afghanistan says preparations are underway for a push to retake the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. General Stanley McChrystal spoke to reporters traveling with visiting

Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The plans for the fight around Kandahar follow early signs of success from a big infusion of American and foreign forces in the region. The Education Department is launching dozens of investigations into possible civil rights violations at schools and colleges across the nation. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports details of the effort will be unveiled later today. There will be a total of 38 investigations in over 30 states. Of the 63 hundred complains the Education Department gets every year. The most common violations include sexual violence as early as middle school. The disproportionate suspension and disciplining of black children the poor treatment of non-English speaking students and denial of special services including access to college preparatory courses and advanced placement programs. The list of school systems under investigation won't be made public until the Education Department's lawyers reach out to state and local school officials to get their cooperation which may not happen right away. Education Secretary Arnie Duncan is making the announcement in Selma Alabama where he's joining civil rights leaders to commemorate the forty fifth anniversary of one of the bloodiest clashes

between protesters and state police. Claudio Sanchez NPR News. Turkey's government now says 51 people in five villages are dead after a strong earthquake struck before dawn today the quake had a magnitude of six and hit a sparsely populated area. The temblor knocked down stone and mud brick houses along with barns and minarets panicked survivors fled into the streets. Some climbed out of windows. I'm Craig Wyndham NPR News in Washington. Support for NPR comes from MetLife Foundation proudly supporting NPR's coverage of aging on the web at MetLife dot org. Good afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. Today we're rolling out the red carpet with a look at last night's Oscars. We're also rolling out our regular Monday feature local made good. But first we're looking at education reform

with the latest shake up in Central Falls Rhode Island and Boston superintendent of schools cracking down. We're turning to Steve Barr for his thoughts on what it takes to overhaul a school effectively. Steve Barr is the founder of Green Dot public schools based in California. Green Dot has earned a reputation for making radical changes in large public schools. Steve Barr welcome. That afternoon I want to let our listeners know that green dot consists of 19 small charter high schools in Los Angeles. Several of which were formerly part of an infamous school known as Locke High School. And you all took that over. Not so long ago. And before we begin the conversation I wonder if you tell our listeners what green dot means why is the name of your organization Green Dot. Well green dot represents a positive change that hopefully if I can build a few charter schools and show some changing create demand that all schools are green not just environmentally but in a positive way. Political tipping point is what it really

means. OK I think I want listeners to really I want to underscore this point is that you've taken over schools that are very much like the Central Falls school which has become the center of a national debate out of Rhode Island. And there is you know all of those teachers were fired 93 teachers were fired and that was it. First they were offered one plan and then when that they couldn't come to a. Agreement with the union the teachers union they went back and said OK we're going to fire everybody and start over again. And since then there's been some talk that they may go back to try to have a conversation. But the bottom line is this. These are schools in the poorest neighborhoods with the least amount of resources. These are exactly the kind of schools that you have dealt with. How have you been able to make a change what is the way that you approach these kinds of schools. Well first of all you have to frame it in a proper context. And I think it will get us out of the tribal warfare. The law Carrie Locke High School opened 40 years

before we took it over after the Watts riots approximately 60000 people have attended that school give or take a few thousand here or there. And if you get all those folks together and I you know listen my beloved Dodger Stadium out here you had everybody here for the 10 o'clock in that stadium you got on the P.A. system you said now please exit the stadium if you didn't graduate high school. Well 40000 people would have to leave that stadium. And if you got on the P.A. system and you said please exit the stadium if you didn't get accepted a four year university. And why is that important because you make a million dollars more over a lifetime or you may have them in requirements to become a teacher maybe someday to come back to that school. All but eight thousand people would be out at stadiums you had 8000 people 160. And if you ask those folks to leave if you didn't graduate from a four university all but 21:00 22:00 people who have to leave that state and now you have an empty stadium with 20 100 people. You know and I mean you know rappers flying around just a windy stadium and if you ask those folks how many of you came back to the Watts area after you got your degree to start a school be a teacher or start a

business. Be politically active buy a home. Well none of them. So what charter school or what gang intervention program or government program or what active the clergy can reverse that. Well nothing can see effects that school. And the problem in Los Angeles there's about 20 high schools. The problem in this country there's thousands of them. I'm sure there are some right there in New England. Absolutely. And that and that infrastructural issue has got to be changed now you can't change that by noodling around the edges and you know I think we have to separate out teachers and the teachers union our schools are all unionized and we did it proactively and it's a belief system I hold high. And in fact the 20th Green Dot school outside of Los Angeles is in the South Bronx in a partnership with the American Federation of Teachers So there can be some middle ground but there's got to be a bold vision sold and both sides have to concede but they also got to get something now. Do you agree with the firing I mean would you have done that if Central Falls are you've just said that you and I have to say that a lot of people are blaming the teachers they're saying well gee if you

guys had done a better job than that in the school system wouldn't be forced to start over again. Essentially it's your fault and teachers rightly so many of them have resented it and said What are you talking about not all of us are bad enough to be fired. That's correct you know in fact the last story was I wasn't the superintendent I didn't have any authority over Locke High school the teachers contacted us they were so fed up with the lack of support not only from the school district itself but their own teachers union. They just I met with them one night about for six hours about 70 teachers and there were young teachers there were old teachers there were members of the teachers union there. And I brought some teachers I used to teach at Locke to talk about our system. And after about six hours of there was there was there was tears and shouting and laughter and it was just an emotional rollercoaster I just I just sat and listened mostly. But one teacher got up and said you know the only time a kid I want summer school district comes out here is when a kid gets shot. And then without missing a beat an older

teacher wearing a red Union T-shirt said yeah and only time our union comes out here is when green dots mention. And at that point you just saw such frustration in the tape teachers actually we enacted No Child Left Behind I gave them a charter to convert the school since it had been failing for years. Not unlike It sounds like what happened in Providence and I was very straight with them. We were all going to have to reapply for their jobs. I'm not scapegoating you I'm not blaming you the system really stinks but not all of you are going to be asked back. We'll ask you back if you all believe in one thing you have to believe that all kids can learn and go to college if you don't believe that. I appreciate your point of view but it's not going to happen here and 40 out of the hundred and thirty teachers applied and got their jobs back. A lot of them that signed that petition out of total frustration transferred to another school. Some I don't know what happened to him but you know we rebuilt that school and immediately you can't change any school. If you have a portion or half of the faculty not believing in the totality of the mission.

Now you've been in talks with Education Secretary Arnie Duncan who has said there are four ways that they're going to approach looking at getting schools back on track one is school closure which we've seen at Central Falls one is a takeover by a charter school management organization. Another is called transformation where you require a longer day of the teachers which is something they tried to have a discussion with the teachers at Central Falls originally that didn't work and the lastest turnaround which you fire the entire you know teaching staff and you know no more than 50 percent can be rehired whenever the school opens. And so all of these things seem rather harsh to people who haven't heard this before. But this these many of these steps are what you are implying employing with green dot. Yeah I mean you're you're asking everybody to recommit I think I've read something about the Boston superintending you're recommitting you're retooling a plant because there I feel the side of the teachers that they are in some sense

in a defensive mode feeling scapegoated. But if you are resistant to change if you keep pushing back you say now we're doing a little bit better now let's try this thing. This bait and switch effort you know ultimately you have to pull back and say Who do we actually work for who who is who we answer to and we answer to the families and the kids you know and so this is a question goes back and forth. And if you look at that the failure rate and you know we shouldn't get defensive. Just tell the people there Los Angeles isn't like this is a Los Angeles problem or a Boston problem or Rhode Island. It's a national problem and we have to be bold and we have to be radical in our approach that doesn't mean everybody's fired and you're out for good. But you've got to shake up that system and you've got to retool that plant and you've got to be very committed to what you're doing which is getting every kid up to reading level and getting them at prep school. Education is that it only works when going to college but works in our new workforce. Now one of the things that you've said over and over again is that what you're talking about as you've just explained is a

national problem is a systemic change not just you know let's bring up one school and that's great and we've done something let's put in a charter school here and that's great we've done something. You're talking about systemic change. The other thing that I want to put out for our listeners is that luck school is a high school and most times when charter schools come into a community and say we can do better they don't take everybody in the community they take some students in the community and they're more than likely are not taking a high school not trying to remake a high school situation. They're doing schools lower down age groups. So I mean you're doing the toughest of the tough. And it seems to be working but I don't understand why people then are not running to you really to apply these techniques across the country because as you say we need a systemic change. Well they are running to us the the problem and people are tiptoeing into it. They should be running full speed in actually following the lead of our secretary and our president. But it's going to take some time to build that kind of capacity. And you're right so

the idea was if you can take a law school and transform it. Why can't we transform a system and so I live in upper middle class neighborhood outside of downtown called Silver Lake and my neighbors and I have a four and a half year old and a 2 year old so I'm looking right down the pipeline of public schools. We all want our kids to go to public schools not charter schools you know and definitely not private schools. But how do we get there and before people would say before we took over law Steve can you can build a charter school in Silver Lake. Well you know real estate costs alone you know you can forget that. But when we transform Lucknow my neighbors look at it differently go Josh can you do can we do the same thing with our middle and high schools here. And it gives people hope. So the real story about Locke High School is that this is not a market share issue. This is this is not the teachers are the problem because we immediately get back into our tribes every time we talk about this thing you know I'm part of the church. The charter school tribe and then there's the union sure Ivan is the academic tribe. There's the businesses I can run it because I run a business tried. You know when actuality we have to

look at it from a visual standpoint. I just think all public schools should not exceed 500 all public schools should have a singular mission of college readiness all public schools should the dollars should miss the radical thing should go to school sites and they should hire providers to help them into staffing decisions should be made at the school site and parents need to give hours of service to that school. But ultimately answer the parents now that's I think a progressive vision and in that vision there should be more money for teachers more saying what goes on in front of them which is a thing that Ayers teaches more than money and also a small enough school where they get to apply their trade. That then peel back so if you take a high school like luck we have seven of those schools on that campus that look and that's campus now looks more like a university and less like a prison. And yes it's you know as a football team I was a poly psi major at University California we didn't have our own football team in the fall of Parma but we had a school there. And so that's the that's the vision and you know let's get out of these tribes and build public confidence back in the product.

Well in fact you've gotten out of your tribe by all accounts you were a mediocre student so the question is why is this important to you. Well it's important because I've been involved in politics for years and I am the class in 1077 of public schools in California. That was the last year where we were number one in the country. People moved to California because the public schools. I mean you know the you know the Packard engineers used to send their kids to my high school in Cupertino. I jumped the class my mom was a waitress and I was a foster kid for a couple years because of those schools. And in my adult life they've gone from the best the worst I owe it to this state to fix the schools. Thank you so much Steve Barr founder of Green Dot public schools for us for joining us with your vision of a new kind of school system. Coming up a review of last night's Oscars. I'm Kelly Crossley and you're listening to the Calla Crossley Show. We'll be back after this break. Stay with us. And. With the.

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I'm Cally Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. Joining us to talk about last night's Oscars are movie mavens Peter Davis and Karen Daly. Peter Davis is a novelist and a filmmaker. He won an Oscar for his Vietnam era documentary hearts and minds. He's also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences daily is a film critic and host of the gerund Daily Show on 15 50 W in t in Peter Davis and Karen Daly welcome. Thank you nice to be here. I want to let our listeners know that I have some goodies that Peter Davis brought me back from his academy dinner last night. And Karen Daly brought in a fake Oscar effect right. Well let's get right to it. I want to play this music for our listeners just to give them a clue of what didn't happen last night. Council has these remotely controlled bodies called avatars. They've grown from human DNA. Mixed with DNA of the native.

Indian Avatar body. So blow me you get me what I need to get you get your. Real. Oh yeah. Well now three only three they were nominated for everything Avatar and he only walked away with three and little ones. Well that's no big surprise. It wasn't. No. I mean think about it I mean there's very few times when the Oscars have really gone for anything it's been a really big hit. Titanic being one of the exact exceptions to that. But this is all about art versus commerce David versus Goliath. And the backstory for Hurt Locker was so compelling and the fact that James Cameron is not all that well liked within the Hollywood community. And he made too much money. It was almost a foregone conclusion a conclusion that something else other than Avatar was OK let's gerunds take on a Peter David when he did which I I more than agree with you here and I'm sorry to say would be nice to if we didn't but when he did when he called

himself king of the world. Yes. So I think that there may be some Schaden Freud among the Academy members not particularly wanting him to win again but they expanded the number of films and best picture so that they could have popular films and his come on. It's one the most of any film ever. But I don't know. I think that's an that's kind of almost a. A misconception of why they did it what they were really doing was looking to drive the ratings. And that's why you saw a lot of different changes in the broadcast last night. Having 10 films what they discovered was simply that any time a hundred million dollar film is in the best picture category it's going to get better ratings and the ratings have been slipping. The best ratings go back to Titanic. And I just got some pollution Arry figures about how the ratings did last night and they're up roughly 20 percent really. Yeah OK. So it was a success and what they were doing. But even if they had had a five picture Avatar would have been one of them. Yeah well I know this is they didn't have to double

the number in order to get avatar in their avatar was going to be in there. I think The Hurt Locker was going to be in there. It was some of the other pictures like an education which I thought was a terrific small movie that got to be in the 10 best so that wouldn't have gotten nominated otherwise and of course yes they were looking for ratings just as Karen said OK I want to play this for our listeners just a little clip of something that one that I was surprised by. Why destroy anything in nature. I take it like myself and the human race. I still wake up to that because we're losing it and just why would you have made it all right. These animals are swimming but dumps like they started giving that meat away to the school system. Japanese people don't even know it. OK that was the culture in the Best Documentary Feature Peter Davis. You tell me Food Inc was gonna when I wish that Food Inc had one or else that a great documentary called Valentino The Last Emperor.

And it wasn't it wasn't even nominated. Now that you know that yeah I didn't even get the nomination. But those two I thought were superior films and the Cove is a film about a wonderful subject a very sympathetic subject let me tell our listeners it's a documentary which describes the annual killing of dolphins in Japan and then there is some mystery or maybe not mystery about the meat beings get sold to tainted with mercury Exactly. Yeah it's a wonderful subject. I felt the film. It was kind of self regarding tendentious not allowing things to happen but telling you about it and punching you in the nose with it all the time but still it was a great subject and handled. I thought with a sledgehammer where there would have been damning with faint praise. We're going to have to handle it with a kind of a gyroscope and find your stability. OK well Was anybody surprised that precious and

specifically Monique won. No but I would do surprisingly it was that precious got a screenplay. Yes I was sad right. That's totally surprising because what that meant was it nosed out up in the air which back in November everyone was saying this is going to win a boatload of Oscars including best picture best actor best screenplay and it came up with nada. Well what do you think the screenplay won. The precious screenplay won I think it really hit a nice cut a nice resonant chord with the Academy. The academy's a little on the older side and this really struck them and I think it hit home to them that they can still honor those kind of films that really have a strong message and have strong characters. No matter you know where it comes from or whatever. This is a good film and deserves something more than just the best supporting actor letter no other theory. OK go ahead Kelly. I think that both precious and The Hurt Locker Oh a good deal of their attention and ultimately their victories to the

fact that they are essentially nonfiction story right down from now. Well you know I come from fiction writing precious certainly is adapted from a novel. But I just end up in the air we're both adapted from novels. Yeah. What up in the air is clearly a fiction. Precious could almost be a documentary and The Hurt Locker I've seen footage from Iraq just like that. OK. Let's I want to give people a chance to if they haven't got to see precious to see why Mo'Nique won. Listen to a little bit. You're a dummy. Don't nobody want you don't nobody need you tomorrow night. Right. Now I have to say I have issues with the film on many other levels but her performance Monique's performance is absolutely Oscar worthy. I was riveted at the end. That scene just took me over. There's another thing about Precious in Monique's performance. She is a stand up comedian. That's right. And when a comedian really transcends what they are known for and does

something extraordinary. The Academy does sit up and take notice about that. I tell you another thing that Peter touched upon something about Hurt Locker and precious. I think that you know we've been hearing a lot about how critics have been marginalized that you know Hollywood doesn't want critics to Dick control the fate of a film. But both of those films really came to the fore because they became the darlings of the critics. They're the ones that pushed it and as a result they brought it out to everyone to really watch and take a look at you would you agree. Yes absolutely. Absolutely and incidentally at the party Academy party in New York last night where they were showing on about a dozen 65 inch screens so that the precious pardon the pun Academy members didn't even have to turn our little head. You live in St.. Wherever you look. The Monique victory and the Katherine Bigelow victory were the two most popular

ones and they got standing ovations from a lot of our members who were there. We're speaking with Peter Davis who is an Oscar winner for his documentary hearts and minds. And Karen Daly who is the host of the gerund Daily Show on 15 50 W in TV and let's hear a little bit. Let's hear what the Hurt Locker was all about. Welcome to Camp Victory Camp Victory This is Camp Liberty. Oh no it's changed at about a week ago. Victory sound that's. What you don't want I come to. My place. If you piss off 873 873 You're a wild man you know that. Oh. Well I mean that was quite a shock for me that Hurt Locker won best picture I expected and hoped that Kathryn Bigelow would take on the Best Director Sting and I have to say it was purely sexist I just want her to be her ex-husband. I never want to feel as if I just wanted to be James Cameron it's horrible.

And so you said Peter at the Academy dinner you were at last night. Peter is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and was at a special dinner with fancy food in New York last night. Everybody was thrilled I was very popular. I mean Katherine Bigelow was incredibly popular the Mo'Nique victory was very popular. Mark Boal who wrote the screenplay for The Hurt Locker that was very popular as it was in Hollywood at the academy because they knew that he had gone to Iraq risked his life found the story. Well he essentially found the military bad for the story yes was embedded you know and he came back with the story so Bigelow paid him a good deal of tribute to and I'll tell you that tribute that touched me the most was when Mo'Nique said. I got to give it to Hattie McDaniel Yes. So most people young people don't even remember who she was but she won an Academy Award for the first quarter and yes the first minute gone. Yeah. 1939.

She played mammy and Gone With The Wind for those who are searching trying to figure what does she play that's what it was. GUERIN there was a lot of pushback you know from some military experts about Hurt Locker and bowls screenplay saying the Pentagon didn't appreciate it they said it was too sensationalist. Well I think that comes from a time when the Pentagon was really kind of controlling what the story was coming out of Iraq and the fact the matter is that. The Hurt Locker is not necessarily a classic Iraq film because an Iraq film has been poisoned at the box office. A lot of people are saying this is kind of a Western. This is a western where instead of having a horse or Indians or any of that you have these guys going out there and defusing these bombs they're still loners they're still riding off into the sunset. So there's a lot that's going on and when you take a look at what Kathryn Bigelow has done in her career she has taken different kind of genres and tweak them and it was a mask and style very lean style and brought them up to current standards. So I do believe that although the Pentagon may be pushing back on it it's because they didn't have control of it.

I want to speak about because you guys there's been some discussion about the fact that a woman could do this kind of film and. Others of us Enlightened Women have pointed out that she not only could get the guns and the shooting and all of that but also do the nuance of the relationships between the men. That's what we believe a woman could bring to the to the film would you agree that the best the best documentary I've seen about the Iraq war and I and I covered the war in Iraq for The Nation magazine but the best documentary I've seen is made by a woman Laura Poitras. It's called My Country My Country. It's you know it's very sensitive and very beautiful and very powerful. So you know men can make those kinds of films too I guess but I would certainly wouldn't say that it takes a woman to do that but I think it is much better for all of us that women now have a chance to make that film. Absolutely I was just thrilled as I said and I haven't even seen the movie but I was thrilled for her and here and audience favorite whether you like the film or

not the blind side Sandra Bullock I mean I thought Meryl Streep was going to walk away because I love Meryl Streep as well but let's take a listen to Sandra in The Blind Side. Michael is here Sleepy one oh you threaten my son. You're. Bringing me. A. Sensible. Fellow. But we have to invite the lighter. Team is your family Michael. You. Protect. Your. Overbet you protect his blind side. You look at him you think of me. So I haven't seen the film but whatever she is and I just love her and I love her in the proposal I had seen that horrible all about Steve but I probably would like that you know you would. Thank you. It's really bad. It was one of the worst films that lets you know this is a case where I think in about five six years we're going to look back at this and say Well that was nice but that was a mistake and that there are much better actors out there. And when I look at what Meryl Streep did in Julie and Julia the scene with her in Jane Lynch playing the two sisters Yeah when they're together it's just

electric. I saw none of that in a blind side. So this is really about this is Miss Congeniality award for 2010. And you know good for her but I just don't think that the Academy really showed the art side of what they were doing. They're looking at a woman who grossed 200 million dollars. So it was more on the commerce side it was more of the personality side like to say a word on behalf of Helen Mirren who gave. Absolutely. A wide ranging performance in terms of promotion. I mean she she was comedic she was tragic. She was passionate she was filled with hate. Revenge. She was in this you know it was a right you know the last station last you played Tolstoy's wife. OK I thought her performance was incredible. Well I think we got a little fatigue. Well you know I think it was he once. Yeah but she was always up there she always seems to be doing well I think there's a little pushback on that a little backing away from Helen Mirren which is why I thought Meryl Streep would win because I thought people were like OK you know she really did it in 60 nominations.

Come on. I figured she'd get it as Steve Martin said last night. How many times she's lost. I know she's so gracious I have to say that I thought Sandra Bullock's speech was very gracious to her and I did to the other nominees and I'll tell you know we could talk talking about acceptance speeches other Christopher evolves his speech was so classy it was and I really wish he and glorious bass and grass won best supporting actor. But the fact is that I see so many of the other Hollywood stars getting up there and thanking everyone from their agent to their pool cleaner. And yet here's Chris was doing it in a really tasteful way and walking away with lots of accolades just for doing that nice speech. Well what about Jeff Bridges. I think he was so excited to be up there he went on and on and on. What the first part was actually. Yeah I mean what he was talking about I never thought anything of that matter. Yeah right that was one of those things there for Crazy Heart he just kept on but you know he holds the stage I think. I don't think people were terribly impatient with him the way they would be let's say with a cinematographer film editor guess or a documentary filmmaker who got up there and went on and on.

I think people kind of like watching Jeff let's remember let's let's go back I mean what was in 1971 with Last Picture Show which is the first time he was nominated. He has an incredibly long career and this is almost a lifetime achievement what was a great performance but it's still a lifetime achievement award. OK I guarantee you that's what I'm going to show for you. That's what I think I'm going to go back to Christopher vaults. I really like the way that he gave an acceptance speech it was tasteful it was classy and the fact that you know Inglorious Basterds didn't walk away with a lot. He really made that film shine out for me. Peter does the fact that Hurt Locker won and not Avatar I mean that we move somewhere as a country. No. OK no I don't think it does mean that I think Avatar is still what people in Hollywood called it a game changer. OK people are going to be trying to make that movie again and again now 3D. I heard last night there are several more 3D Alice in Wonderland in three days. Yeah but in the works you know so no I don't think it is. I would love to see it. However if the

award to Hurt Locker could make it possible for other serious films to get serious green lights. What's your what was your favorite moment when Streisand said at last and announced Kathryn Bigelow. Yeah. I mean everything around Kathryn Bigelow was the best moment for me. I hope that they continue the practice of having actors introduce to friends and coworkers. Yeah. To me is very special and if that never goes away I love that too. Well this has been a very rich discussion as I knew it would be. We've been talking about last night's Oscars with Peter Davis and Baron Daley. Peter Davis is a filmmaker and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Karen Daly is a film critic and host of the gerund Daily Show on 15 50 W in TNA. Thank you both for joining us. My pleasure thank you thank you Kelly. Up next our regular Monday feature local made good. We'll be back after this break. Stay tune to eighty nine point seven. WGBH. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Boston Lyric Opera.

Presenting record Strauss's comedic opera Aria March 12th through the 23rd at City Shubert Theatre. Information available at B L O dot org. And from the members of the WGBH sustainer program whose gifts of five ten or twenty dollars a month make up the most reliable source of income for the programs you love on the new eighty nine point seven. Learn more at WGBH dot org. Why why why. Why. I fear your distress but there is an entire generation that essentially politics and policy as a bunch of old white guys because it won't hear anywhere else. Eighty nine point seven.

Hi I'm Brian O'Donovan. And on Saturday March 20th I'll be hosting the fifth presentation of a St. Patrick's Day Camp at Harvard University an evening filled with incredible music dance and plenty of good cheer. I hope you can join us to contribute one hundred twenty dollars to start your membership and you'll receive two complimentary tickets to the show. More details at double slash. This eighty nine point seven. Boston's NPR station for trusted voices and a local conversation with FRESH AIR and the Emily Rooney show. Eighty nine point seven. I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Kelly Crossley Show. It's time for our regular Monday feature local made good where we celebrate people whose creativity and individuality bring honor to New England. Today we're checking in with two business

owners who are keeping traditions of the past alive in the 21st century. Joining us now is Mark Furhman owner of our murphy knife company in air Massachusetts and that's been around since 1850. Mark welcome. Thank you. I'm so excited about this because I think this goes under the theme everything old is new again. Well I'm certainly with you on that. Now you took over the company two years ago. Well actually it's last year LSU OK. All right. And what did you find when you got there because it had a long long long tradition as we say back to 1900. It certainly did for me it was initially a business opportunity a chance to use my education in engineering and business. And it's a very soon it became something different. Hundred sixty year old company is a bit of a staggering number. The knives that we make now are very similar to the knives they made one hundred sixty years ago. So the tradition is still there.

And not only that people want what you want. The way that they want those knives the way they were made then. Absolutely. I should tell our listeners you make 200 over 200 and 25 different knives and a sensor in spirit. And these are crafted not mass produce. That's correct. We do have a lot of machinery that grinds knives and we have knife runs that could be as much as 10000 pieces in Iran. However every single knife is touched by hand and every single life is crafted by hand. So they're they're hot tempered they're ground they're back they're edged and honed and assembled with human hands right here in Massachusetts. Absolutely air Massachusetts. Now what I like is the fact that you when you took over the company you found all these letters from loyal customers back in the day as we say way back in the day. Yes some of them are pretty old. Give us a little sample of one of them. Let's start with the old ones because they have some new ones that are my favorites now.

This is a letter dated August 11th 1934. Gentleman close fined 25 cents for which please send me one paring knife like in close cut. There was a picture a sketch attached to this letter. I've used nothing else for nearly 15 years. Isn't that a boost for Murphy knives. Mrs. Sandusky Somerset Kentucky that she actually wrote another letter two years later pretty much the same thing asking for many more knives and updating all the timing on it. That must've been a thrill to find that letter. It was it was there were stacks of them in the office actually. Well my favorite I liked this one from you got just last year 2009 from your customer who says My 86 year old father had lost his beloved Barlow pocket knife with a pale yellow bone handle and asked me to find him a new one. He NEVER IN CAPS asked for anything so I was thrilled to be able to do something for him. I was very disappointed when I found out that the Barlow company did not exist anymore. But

after much research online I found your site and ordered what I thought would be the closest knife to what he had lost. He was so thrilled with the knife that he thanked me six times in two days and then thanked me again on the phone. Thank you so much for your service. That is my favorite letter. Oh my goodness that's that. That is just the. Ultimate to have that kind of customer the loyalty satisfaction. Yes it is. Now for those of us who are around in the 34 24 and just look at your knives Now the other thing that I love about your night is that some of the old ones that you've been making for a while or that you continue to make are now being used differently. Yes. And you know I have to talk about after you talk about the one that cuts the ribs because I'm thinking OK. And that's barbecue city. So tell me about it. I did bring this knife with me and it's a it's a knife that has a four inch blade and a four inch handle. It's got a nice maple handle. And this is a mill knife and a mill knife is used in paper

mills. And what would you do with it. And they would cut the rolls of paper as it comes through the factory. The distributor who sells these knives for us actually leaves them on the counter and everybody that walks in grabs one and says this is the best knife for cutting ribs. So if you're a barbecue fan buy a mill knife. Well you know I'm from Memphis Tennessee as I said the capital of barbecue as far as we're concerned so that will be in my little drawer from now on. I got to cut up a lot of ribs in the summertime. I like this other one that you use for cutting cheese you said. Well actually that knife was dates back to the 1850s it was one of the first knives they made. And it's a paperhanger knife and it's used for trimming wallpaper. And I've discovered that it is the best darn cheese knife you can imagine. You know what if the whole theme of our lives these days is reinvention. You're right at the thick of it right. Exactly. How does it make you feel to be sort of

custody and of the legacy of our murphy knives and at the same time being pointing the company forward. It makes me feel wonderful. I just love being part of bringing Massachusetts bringing manufacturing back to Massachusetts. And Murphy has been here for 160 years but manufacturing has been waning in the country and especially Massachusetts. And to be able to continue that tradition is very meaningful. All right well Mark Furhman thank you so much for joining us. Thanks. When we hear Mark Furhman as the owner of Murphy knife company in air Massachusetts. Now joining us is Brett Wickard owner and founder of bull moose a music store with 12 locations throughout Maine and New Hampshire. Bret thank you so much for joining us. No problem. Nice to be on. We're continuing the theme of everything old is new again and you're a guy with 12 locations for your stores but you sell something that's hard to find these days records actual records. Tell us about how that came to be how your company

came to be. Oh sure in 1989 I was. It was the summer after my junior year and I didn't have any other job so I decided Wait why don't I open up a record store and I brag to my friends about it before I actually had a business plan or anything and so I actually ended up finding the original inventory ordered by looking through the Yellow Pages and find a distributor that way. And it started in kind of just kept going from there now. Of course at the time that you started this company you were just thinking I just want a place to make sure I have records. You could have imagined down the road and it's not that far down the road. There be a time when records themselves the actual vinyl would be sort of precious now. Yeah I didn't you know I really I do like to say that I planned ahead and really had this business plan all set up but I was just kind of going by the seat of my pants and kind of adapted as time went on and you know that was both a curse and frankly a blessing by not really having a direct strategy out of the box and let us question

everything as time went on. OK I want to know what kind of records you're selling in 12 locations I know the different stores do different things so what's the variety this that you include in your record collections. We sell everything you know so. So we you know we're if you walked into the store the first thing you would feel is is that you know we sell tons of CDs. You know all the music on all different formats and records and we sell a lot of DVDs and video games now so we go for the whole gamut of stuff. Well you know what in some places CDs are going out to I mean it's hard. You're hard pressed to find a CD store these days as well. It's true there's been a lot of CD stores that have that unfortunately folded over the years because people get music a different way now but you know we've really felt like that there's always a place for inexpensive collectible fun stuff and you know although that our customer base may have changed over the years people still really like collecting things I

mean when you go into somebody's home generally the most visible things you see are often their book collection their movie collection a lot of times their music collection. Who are giving the customer profile I'm particularly interested in those people coming in for their records even bypassing the CDs if you will. I would say yeah yeah the for records I would say that your customer is between the ages of 30 and 60 is the. And it's a wide range and. But it's you know you've kind of got to say them and they're you know the overwhelming majority are people in the 30 to 60 age group but then you've got a select group of young people who really want to kind of make a statement about who they are as somebody kind of stand out from their friends and you can tell that they've gone through the difficulty of getting you know getting an actual turntable and you know let's face it records are a labor of love you know and all of us who have move records when we're in college and things like that know you know.

Or if you have really you know left him in your car when it got hot out you know what a challenge it is but it's kind of cool that you know some younger people say hey I want to you know I want to I want to listen enjoy music a different way. Now are these aren't a lot of people that this sounds like a baby boomer crowd a lot of them. Of course you've said there are some younger. But I wonder if those are the boomer people anyway are looking to replace something they lost like Leave it in the car and melt it. Or now we're thinking gee I really would like to have a record of this again or it doesn't matter at all. I think it's a little bit of everything there yeah I think you're onto it which is you know part of it is replacement part of it is kind of the collectability and the true you know labor of love where where a lot of the records are probably not even to be opened like Prince's Record Store Day is coming up next month. And so when it was Record Store Day you got to explain that. What is the record of a Record Store Day was an idea of somebody who worked at Bullmoose actually and become an international event and. And you know folks in the Boston area like Newbury Comics will celebrate it too. And what happens is

we we talk to a lot of the record companies into releasing very collectible very rare items on a specific day and they're either really inexpensive or only available on that day or given away. And it's to encourage folks in you know to stop and buy the local record store and thinking about the love of music and you know and think about hey maybe I should replace that record I had but a lot of the stuff the stuff that never been on vinyl before. Like for example give us tell us what's coming up this year. Oh a lot of different stuff. You know like the folks like Tom Waits or Neil Young will often come out with things and then you know you can get everybody from you know David Grey's coming out with something this year I mean a lot of bands could kind of do it in two different phases like some bands will do it because they want to say hey I'm I'm cool you know I want to have a. They love records and they just want to be on record. And some bands will do it because they have a collectible marketplace that will go

crazy for it like last year Bruce Springsteen had something they came out and you know and then what will happen is they're very limited supply but it kind of gets that excitement about it because one of the challenges of the download is I think for the kind of excitement of like having something that other folks don't have you know long you lose that ability. But making you know a really unique piece of vinyl and only making available for a short time to kind of let the fans say hey I went out of my way I got this really cool thing that I don't know anybody else who has this. It's a collectible collectible if you will that exactly you know. I could see then I'd be very excited about it. I'm particularly a jazz fan so I bet you're not getting that much reissue of vinyl and jazz albums because I know that's dying in this country for whatever reason believe it or not there's a decent amount and when it comes out as a jazz fan you would love it they come they bring it out on. I mean you get the grammar wrong but it's like 200 grand final me I mean in totally the wrong number of a really well pressed really high quality vinyl. The challenge is that because they do it

that way and it's in such a short run it tends to be more expensive but it's a much higher quality piecing than what we used to buy. Growing up now I have seen in some of those high end catalogs these equipment now that is coming back like turntables. So I wonder if that's fueling interest in vinyl as well. Oh yeah yeah and you know it's kind of fun about that though is that it builds the kind of aura about music in some ways like my brother for instance has a turntable that is absurd you guys it's a vacuum pump attached to it I'm not joking it needs to go in another room. And it's the air out from underneath the platter of that the record player so it won't vibrate as much and he swears that you know when you listen to music on that it it reaches back to you know your earlier child it sees the things that sound way better. Do you have a turntable. I do but. But I unlike my brother I just have a pretty ordinary turntable and mind if you're walking by it it will skip and and you know according to my brother it weight

down on the groove too much and burns through the record quicker but at you know I'm not at the pace that I can have a separate room for my vacuum pump. Now you have a pretty good idea of what sales where in all of your 12 locations which one store sells more vinyl than others. We have one store that warehouse store and that does well on the new vinyl side on the used vinyl side we have a store in Portsmouth New Hampshire that's the strongest in that area. So it depends on what you know what range you're talking about there but either Portsmouth or our warehouse store in Scarborough and I just have to quickly say we have we have 10 stores but I look forward to having 12. Okay very. I gave you two that was just a bonus Yes. Thank you appreciate that. Now how do people find you is it word of mouth or as in our my previous guests a customer found him online while searching exactly for somebody that could provide the product that she was looking for. Same thing with you.

Yeah and we also spent a lot an external marking so we do a lot of advertising and we also do a lot of Web advertising and we really enjoy that like specifically targeting things like. One thing that's been great about the Internet is it allows all of us to compete on equal footing. Because back in the day you know if Bull Moose is going to try to run an ad on TV and compete with some giant retailer our ads not even to look the same as there is and it's going to be difficult to be able for that space where on the internet I can you know be in the same advertising things big giant big box stores and looked the same and have the same kind of link right next to him. So it's a great equalizer it's a really great opportunity for businesses. Now you have a turntable but you haven't answered the question nor have I asked you Are you a record person. I am I am but it's tough I've got little kids and so or should I say now at their age a younger younger children and you know the time that you can actually sit down and listen to a record and not worry about the you know it up and being a family activity is much reduced.

But I have the records sitting there waiting waiting. What about CDs or does it matter to you. Is it music and then there's a definitely different experience of record. Records I mean I think that you know you being a jazz fan too you know the feeling of like you can sense when the end of side one is coming and you know there's it's much more active experience listing the records and and so that's why for me I definitely listen. You know I'm listening more to CDs and and you know right now than listening to records but as the kids age I have a little more time I'll definitely listen more records because it's just a different a different experience. Well I have to say I believe that everything old is new again and I am glad to know that you are one of the few people still hanging on to the vinyl records for sale. How many others around the country not you outside of you are selling vinyl to your knowledge. For new record I would say that the number is probably 400 site.

My best guess the motley would include you probably get up about things because there are still some you know cool shops that you have you know some you record there hang it out and even the pawn shop that hang on record but nothing cooler than Beau mills right here in Massachusetts. So Bret worker in Maine and New Hampshire bread worker thank you so much for joining us. Thank you to all of our guests. You can keep on top of the Calla Crossley Show by visiting our website WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley. This is the Calla Crossley Show. Today's program was engineered by Alan Mathis and produced by Chelsea Merz. Our production assistant is Anna white knuckle B. We are a production of WGBH radio Boston NPR station for news and culture.