Social Science

Dr. Kevin Keough interviews Dr. C. Scott Littleton about his study and research into and first hand experiences with UFO's.

A native Californian, C. Scott Littleton received his B.A., M.A.,and Ph.D from UCLA, and has taught anthropology at Occidental College in Los Angeles for many years. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at UCLA in1957. In 1991 he received The Graham L. Sterling Memorial Award, given annually to a distinguished member of the Occidental College faculty. He’s also received grants from the John Randolph and Dora HaynesFoundation (1963), the American Council of Learned Societies (1972, 1978), the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (1983), and The American Philosophical Society (1983). In 1960-61, he was a Haynes Foundation-Town Hall Fellow.

He is considered an expert in comparative mythology and folklore, as well as in traditional Japanese culture, having lived and taught in Tokyo on several occasions. Littleton is the author of 8-9 scholarly books, including The New Comparative Mythology (3rd Edition, University of California Press, 1982), From Scythia to Camelot: A Radical Reinterpretation of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table,and the Holy Grail (paperback edition, Garland Publishing Inc., 2000), and Understanding Shinto (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), and numerous articles in professional journals.

He has also researched the mythological dimensions of the UFO phenomenon, and his article "Divine Rebels, Alien Dissidents: Does the Mythology Surrounding Lucifer, Prometheus, and the Ancient Mesoamerican Deity Quétzalcoatl Reflect a Pro-Human Faction in the 'Alien Raj'?" has appeared in UFO Magazine. He has authored one science fiction novel. His latest book, 2500 Strand: Growing Up In Hermosa Beach, California, during World War II  is scheduled for release within the next few weeks.  Visit Dr. Littleton’s website.

Visit Dr. Keough's website and blog.

Part one of a two part interview-  Conversation will be concluded in part two

Dr. Kevin Keough, clinical psychologist and host of North Star Guardians and Warrior Traditions, interviews Kyoshi Gary Moro of Yachigusa-Ryu Aiki-Bugei Dojo in San Francisco, CA.

Gary Moro started his martial arts training with Hiroshi Yachigusa in 1975. His studies began with the art of Aikijutsu, based on the system developed by Yachigusa Sensei's family which had been influenced by Jukishin-Ryu, Shinkage-Ryu and various other Japanese sword and spear arts.

 

In traditional Japanese Ryu there are no belts to represent promotions, and Hiroshi Yachigusa did not believe in awarding certificates to denote achievement. Though not his custom, in 1989 he granted Gary Moro to the rank of Kyoshi (instructor).

During his martial arts career, Kyoshi Moro has also studied various other martial arts, including Karate, Judo, Kenpo, Arnis, and two forms of Kung Fu. Though he has over 30 years of training in the martial arts, he still considers himself a student of them. Always interested in learning new information, Gary Moro continues to attend numerous martial arts seminars each year, exposing himself to different arts, philosophies, and martial technique.

Some of the instructors he has trained with formally are: Neil Laughin (Judo), Joseph Wong (Long Fist Kung Fu), Michael Daivs (Serrada Eskrima), Ralph Castro (Kenpo), Joseph Halbuna (Kajukenbo), Kenneth Leung (Kung Fu) Tobias Johnston (Karate/Kobudo), Joseph McCullan (Western Boxing) and Kyong Lee (Kuk Soo Won). 

Visit Kyoshi Moro's website and blog.

Dr. Kevin Keough, clinical psychologist and host of North Star Guardians and Warrior Traditions  interviews Mr. Marc "Animal" MacYoung about martial arts, self defense, and warrior training.

Marc MacYoung has been called a Renaissance man in the study and management of violence. He has more then 35 years of training in 8 different martial arts systems including wing chun and Tai Chi. Perhaps, more importantly he has 47 years of experience in training in city jungles. Mr. MacYoung is the author of 15 books and 7 DVD's covering a broad range of topics in self-defense. He provides training to military personnel, police officers, bodyguards, and the general public.  His website, No Nonsense Self Defense is the largest and most visited web site on self-defense in the world.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Jason Sokol, author of  There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945-1975 published by Vintage.

Jason Sokol grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball. He attended Oberlin College, and double-majored in History and Philosophy. Jason graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1999 with Highest Honors in History. From 1997 to 2000, he worked variously for the Springfield Union-News, the New Haven Advocate, and The Nation. Jasons writings on American history, politics, and race have appeared in those publications, among several others.

 He received his doctorate in American History from the University of California, Berkeley, under the supervision of Leon Litwack. His dissertation would become the basis for There Goes My Everything. Jason moved to Brooklyn, New York in 2005 and served as a Non-Resident Fellow at Harvard? W.E.B. Du Bois Institute. In that capacity, he worked on assorted television projects dealing with African-American History.

Jason is now a Visiting Assistant Professor of History and Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University. He lives in Ithaca, New York, with the playwright Nina Louise Morrison.

Jason was recently named one of America's "Top Young Historians" by the History News Network.  Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Riche' Richardson, author of Black Masculinity And the U.S. South: From Uncle Tom to Gangsta published by the University of Georgia Press.

Professor Richardson is a Southerner who was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. She joined the English Department faculty at UC Davis in the fall of 1998.

Her scholarly essays have appeared in journals such as American Literature, The Mississippi Quarterly, and the Forum for Modern Language Studies. She is the co-editor, with Jon Smith, of the new book series, The New Southern Studies, at the University of Georgia Press.

Professor Richardson regularly gives lectures and serves on panels at national conferences. Professor Richardson recently completed a two-year term on the Executive Council for the Society for the Study of Southern Literature, and also serves on that organization's Publication Committee. Most recently, she was elected to the Southern Literature Discussion Group in the Modern Language Association (2006-09).

In addition to being a scholar, she is an artist who makes mixed-media appliqué art quilts. Her body of art work will be featured in an upcoming exhibition in Montgomery, Alabama, which will be accompanied by a catalog and site online.  Visit her webpage.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Ms. Tanya Biank, author of Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage published by St. Martin's.

Tanya Biank is a Fulbright scholar and graduate of Penn State University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and was a member of the University Scholar’s program.

Tanya comes from a family of combat veterans and active-duty service members. During her father’s thirty-year career in the Army, she grew up on military posts throughout the world and considers the Army home. As an Army brat and Army wife,Tanya understands, appreciates and respects military families. She is frequently interviewed about military family life issues and speaks regularly to both military and civilian groups about the military.

  As a journalist specializing in the military, Tanya writes about the military lifestyle and has traveled around the world with troops. She has appeared on several national television and radio shows discussing military issues. Her coverage of the 2002 Fort Bragg Army wife murders led to Congressional inquiries and changes in Army programs and policy,

Her book, Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage (St. Martin’s Griffin, May 2007) is the basis for the Lifetime Television series drama, ARMY WIVES starring Emmy winner Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue) and Catherine Bell (JAGappears Sunday nights at 10 PM on Lifetime and is produced by Touchstone Television and the producers of Grey’s Anatomy, The Mark Gordon Company. Tanya serves as a show consultant.  

Tanya’s book “Army Wives� was originally published in hardcover as Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives (St. Martin’s Press, Feb. 2006).Tanya is a columnist for Military.com and LifetimeTV.com. She is a regular contributor to several military-related publications including Military Spouse Magazine, Military Officer Magazine, CinCHouse.com and the Better Business Bureau’s Military Line.

She currently lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband Michael, who is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army assigned to the Pentagon. The couple has an infant son. Visit her website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Ms. Barbara Bizantz Raymond, author of The Baby Thief: The Untold Story of Georgia Tann, the Baby Seller Who Corrupted Adoption published by Carroll & Graf.

Barbara Bisantz Raymond is an adjunct professor, adoptive mother, and writer. She has received two awards for feature writing from Women in Communications, and was an author of a child care section that won the National Magazine Award for Public Service. She contributed to The Handbook of Magazine Article Writing, and has written for The New York Times, USA Today, Working Mother, Parents, Writer's Digest, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, McCall's, and Ladies' Home Journal. She lives in New York City.Visit her website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Dr. Keith Sawyer author of Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration published by Basic Books.

R. Keith Sawyer is one of the country's leading experts on the science of creativity. He studies creativity, everyday conversation, children's play and everyday social life. He is particularly interested in group dynamics and collaboration. He is the author of numerous books including Pretend Play as Improvisation (1997), Creating Conversations (2001) and Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation (2006). His topics of research include business innovation, organizational dynamics in work teams, children's play and preschool, artistic and scientific creativity and language and conversation research.  Visit his website.

Deborah Harper, President of Psychjourney, interviews Professor Ann Fessler, author of The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade published by Penguin.

Ann Fessler is a Professor of Photography at the Rhode Island School of Design and a specialist in video-installation art. She won a prestigious Radcliffe Fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, at Harvard University, to complete her extensive research for this book. The original video-installation project out of which this book grew traveled to museums around the country. She is also the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts; the LEF Foundation, Boston; the Rhode Island Foundation; the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities; Art Matters, New York; and the Maryland State Arts Council. Her award-winning short videos have been screened widely at festivals and in gallery installations. Visit her website.

Dr. Kevin Keough, interviews Ms. Cora Daniels, M.A., author of Ghettonation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and Home of the Shameless published by Doubleday.

Cora Daniels is an author and award-winning journalist. Her work has appeared in Fortune, the New York Times, Essence, O: The Oprah Magazine, USA Today, Heart & Soul, FSB: Fortune Small Business, and Savoy. She has been a staff writer at Fortune and an editor at Working Mother magazine and is currently a contributing writer for Essence. A sought after expert on diversity and business issues she has served as a commentator on ABC News, CNN, CNBC, BET, NPR, and the Charlie Rose Show. In 2002 she spearheaded Fortune's first ever search for the 50 most powerful Black executives in America. In 2005 her much acclaimed Fortune cover story The Bravest Generation, about the original Black corporate pioneers, created national attention for this overlooked part of civil rights history.

As an author Cora has been called "dynamic", and "perceptive" and "a powerful voice from the younger generation." Her first book, Black Power Inc., was dubbed "thought provoking" by the Washington Post and a "must read" by Black Issues Book Review. Her much anticipated second book, Ghettonation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and Home of the Shameless (Doubleday) will be released March of 2007.

Cora is a native New Yorker and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of Yale University with a BA in history and has a masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University.   Visit her website .