I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

October 05, 2016 - 12:10 p.m.

Back on the Radio

I didn't write yesterday and I have only 50 minutes to write this and get dressed. Can I do it? Yes, I just have to ignore Facebook till I'm done. The problem is I do have to get a link from Firefox which means leaving the seclusion of Word and entering Cyberspace. Wish me luck.

Yesterday was my first day as guest-DJ with Brian Norton on WFDU since February. That is way too long. My life has been disrupted a few times since then. The show is called, It's All About the Music but this is me writing so there will also be commuting and food.

The studio is on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck NJ. That's not the easiest place to by public transportation. My byzantine route was BX 29 bus to the to the to the Times Square Shuttle; walk a block to the Port Authority, and then take the NJ Transit 155 bus to the campus where Brian picks me up. NJ Transit screwed up twice. When I asked the guy that sold me the ticket what gate the bus leaves from he said, "210." I go up two levels to get there get to the gate and the guy there says that it's the wrong gate. I need 74 which is three levels down and in the other wing of the building. I race down there and made the next bus. The wrong directions cost me one bus. Then the driver did not stop at my stop when I pressed the stop request button. The next one isn't that far past but I had to walk back to find Brian.

I did not have time to get dinner but Brian thoughtfully brought me the perfect Rosh Hashanah dinner, a Baconator Jr. It was delicious. I told him that he's sending me to hell but as I'm already in New Jersey that's an improvement.

I usually prepare my shows well in advance but as I had things to do and a bad meds day I didn't finish putting this one together till right before I had to leave. I take the programming seriously. I play all the new music I got since the last time I was at the station along with a few choice others that fit what I've been doing. Then I have to sequence it so it flows and work out where the breaks go. This was a pledge drive so I also pitched. Nobody called. Next time I'm there during a drive I expect you to pledge. There was a first, Brian let me do the weather. I started with "I'm the Hippie Dippy Weatherman with the Hippie Dippy weather, man." Thank you George Carlin.

I didn't bring any CDs I did it all as files on my computer that I sent to Brian via Dropbox. I heavily recommend Dropbox for all your file transfer needs. I'm trying to get a sponsor for Wise Madness.

It felt like Brian and I had particularly good chemistry last night. Our shtick is acting just like we do when we are not on the radio, acting like 12-year-old boys trading barbs. People seem to like it.

We also played music. Here's what we played.

Barnaby Bright~Just the Same
Honor Finnegan~I Should Stop Having Sex with You
Sharon Goldman~Lilith
Cricket Tell the Weather~If I Had My Way
Paul Sachs~The Killer Inside
Vincent Cross~Garments of Shame
The Hello Strangers~What You Don't Know
House of Hamill~Wide Awake
House of Hamill~Memory
Lisa Gutkin~Manhattan was a Tangle
Heather Aubrey Lloyd~Good Heart
Lena Johnson & Brittany Haas~Girl Down the Road
M Shanghai~Bedlam
Derek Warfield & the Young Wolftones~The Foggy Dew
Michael Daves~June Apple (electric)
Michael Daves~June Apple (acoustic)
Shawna Caspi~The Devil's Rolling Pin
Dan Bern~Trump
Rebecca Loebe~Forever Young
Jordan Tice & Horse County~Poor Me
Malcolm Holcombe~Another Black Hole
Kate Copeland~Unpuzzle Me
Durham County Poets~Someday
Dar Williams~Iowa
Anaïs /Greg Brown~Why Do We Build a Wall
The Sea the Sea ~Set Us Free
Linda Ronstadt~You're No Good

The last four songs were from the shows I saw in eight days from Saturday to Saturday. I wrote about them all here. That was such an incredible run of shows I thought it worthy of celebrating on the air. I said that Linda Ronstadt thought of Brian whenever she performed the last song. I got to talk about Carter and the great job he did on the Linda Ronstadt tribute. If you're my friend you can get shout-outs on the radio.

I almost forgot the most important thing, Brian brought a dozen Dunkin Donuts to the station. There was but one remaining when we left. No, I did not eat them all; only three of them. Don't look at me like that. Talking on the radio takes a lot of energy.

If you missed the show you can still listen for the next two weeks here: It's All About the Music for October 4th. You should listen; it will make Brian happy.

Getting home was easier than getting me or getting back to Brooklyn. I didn't think when I went to the station. Getting there from the Bronx is very different than from Brooklyn. On the way home Brian drove me to Fort Lee which is way closer than Secaucus where he used to drive me. Then I took the bus across the George Washington Bridge. From there it was the to the BX12 to the BX29. Yes, I even made the last bus. I just missed the second to last bus. I was home in less than two hours. That was exciting. I'm going to have to do this more often. The next time will probably be after NERFA. Now I have to run.



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Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



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Horvendile October 05, 2016
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