• Blogs Wot I Read - Funnies - Radio

    All I need to say regarding James Brown

    Wondermark by David Malki – 261: In which James Brown is … well, you know I listened to an NPR retrospective on James Brown the other day. I didn't know his songs were always in the same key. I hadn't realized how repetitive they were until I listened to several full length songs during the course of the show. And now I know that he's an artist best heard sampled on other people's tracks, because the funk should never be boring. There. I said it. Via Joey, whose new site redesign is lookin' sharp, but why is the accordion player headless?

  • Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics - Radio

    NPR: Tom DeFranco Debunks Myth of Friendship

    NPR : Notes on the Real Gerald Ford Just now on MSNBC's coverage of President Ford's funeral, an old Washington pol was trotting out the "Nixon and Ford had a deeper friendship than previously thought" meme. According to DeFranco on NPR this morning, it's utter bunk. Nixon used to say to anyone in hearing that Ford was stupid, while Ford was much, much smarter than anyone gave him credit for. Apparenlty, he's the only President who was able to conduct his own budget briefing, a complicated affair usually left to experts. Bet Bush leaves it to people with higher math skills.…

  • Radio - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Its beginning to look a lot like public radio at WBEZ

    Its beginning to look a lot like public radio at WBEZ | Chicago Tribune So WBEZ had music in its sights for much of the year, but in the end, it couldn't pull the trigger. The Chicago public radio station (FM 91.5) has posted its new, news-and-talk schedule, and the surprise is that so much music survives, although very little of it is jazz. It was the threatened death of WBEZ's voluminous jazz programming that caused so much (well-mannered) furor when the plans were announced earlier this year. Not from me, I was totally ecstatic when I heard WBEZ was…

  • Hot Off The Presses - Radio

    Why Is This Man Smiling?

    NPR : Rumsfeld Makes Farewell Visit to Troops in Iraq     This photo from NPR, via Getty Images, tells an untold story. Donald Rumsfeld, grinning widely, gets a last photo op with "the troops" that he was so instrumental in placing in harm's way. The female Marine at lower right seems to be smiling politely. Maybe she's thinking "My mom/husband/kids will see me" and is happy at the prospect. The other Marines in the photo all look stonily and grimly at some other focal point. The one guy standing on the right looks directly  into the camera. I can't…

  • Episcopal - Hot Off The Presses - Politics, Schmolitics - Radio - Uncategorical Weirdness

    Jim Wallis Replies To Bush Radio Address

    The Swamp – Chicago Tribune – Blogs. This is the text of the Democratic Party's radio address (audio link here): "I’m Jim Wallis, author of God’s Politics. I was surprised and grateful when Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called to say his party wanted to set a new tone and invite, for the first time, a non-partisan religious leader to deliver their weekly radio address and speak about the values that could unite Americans at this critical time. "So, I want to be clear that I am not speaking for the Democratic Party, but as a person of faith who…

  • Radio

    Not Too Sure About This

    AAR has gone to a “paid premium” service. You can listen for free in real time, but if you want to time-shift or download a podcast, you pay. Hmm. See Air America Radio Premium for more info, but I won’t be subscribing. I’ve been a listener since Day 1, I was a charter member on the website when they started that feature. I’ll listen, for free. I’ll check for free podcasts elsewhere. I’ll happily watch the Sundance Channel’s 1-hour broadcasts when and if they start up again. But pay for access? Probably not.

  • Radio

    Al Franken’s Back!

    Al Franken has returned from his USO tour over the massive Chrismakkuh megaholiday, and resumed live shows on AAR this morning. He and the crew have relocated to Minneapolis (which, if it’s true he’s running for the Senate, makes sense). Listen on the Web at blogs | The Al Franken Show | Air America Radio

  • Radio

    Senator Al?

    Comedian Al Franken gets serious about politics – Yahoo! News Yes, it could happen, because Al Franken is a Paul Wellstone Minnesota Democrat – meaning he’s a progressive Upper Midwest kind of political pragmatist. Hey, it could be weirder, this is Minnesota we’re talking about here. So: go Al!P.S. we really miss Katherine Lanpher, but fortunately the Sundance Channel is rerunning some “best of second season” episodes and she’s still there, laughing richly and keeping Al on track.UPDATE 11/18/06: It appears there will be no Senator Franken just yet, darn it, but even without him, the turnover of House and…