24 Hours of Afrobeat right now baby

What a brilliant idea Georg! It's a one man party going on over here at WXDU. It's got me celebratin' enough to do some things I almost never do, like actually talk a little bit and I even turned on the webcam so you can see me in all my and-the-long-haired-hippies-and-the-afro-blacks-they-all-get-together- across-the-tracks-and-they-party! glory.

Coffin for Head of State on now. I love how Fela's vocals finally come in 11 minutes into the song. Thanks so much to Lisa who handcrafted 15 hours of material from her collection and delivered them in the rain tonight. I never knew how many versions of "Musicawi Silt" there were! At least three of them will be played tonight.

For all you 33@45 enthusiasts, I'm thinking "Sorrow, Tears and Blood" around 3am.

Free Food and Groovadelic Radio Updates

By last night, the Tostitos had been completely consumed and only two of the 11 cans of Diet Mountain Dew remained. I saw the queso dip in the trash. It had been opened but apparently had been deemed unworthy.

I've been walking to and from the station for these shifts. A very pleasant walk in this mild December weather. It shows me just how out of shape I am. The first time I made that brisk half mile walk last week I was starting to get winded by the end. But after just a few days my stamina is improving. It's the most exercise I've gotten all year, and I'm even starting to actively enjoy it.

The transition to a swing shift schedule is pretty much complete, just in time for me to try to get back on the rest of the world's time. I love the night time, but I don't particularly care for being in a surly pre-coffee state at 2pm every day. I'll probably take some extra shifts in January, but doing it every day is starting to take its toll.

One thing I am proud of is playing all different stuff despite all this air time. I've been methodically reviewing the stacks and pulling out all the stuff I used to play and had forgotten about. Still have most of the jazz, country, world and electronica stacks to peruse, so it's not like I'm lacking for material.

Don't forget, starting at midnight tonight we'll have 24 hours of Afrobeat at WXDU. (see links to the right to listen or follow along) Thanks to the most glorious Georg for putting this together.

A Food Story

So I have this bag of hospitality suite leftovers from my trip to Baltimore. Stuff I'll never eat or don't want to have in the house. I like most food. The little I don't like falls into two broad categories: stinky chips and stinky cheese. Haven't figured out which one diet soda falls into yet.

Anyway, I decide to bring it into the station in a grocery bag labelled "FREE" on all sides, so, like, everybody would know it's OK to take. Just the sealed prepackaged stuff, so nobody would worry that it was laced with drugs or something.

That was six days ago and a lot of it is still there. The bag of stinky chips was the only item missing after 24 hours. The following day, the microwavable cheesy dip was gone and the bag of plain Tositos was opened but still there. I've been making a dent into the Tostitos a little each night since. The bag has been wide open for four days and only now are the chips picking up the slightest hint of staleness.

The ranch style dip still remains unwanted and unloved. Most but not all of the diet Mountain Dew was claimed since last night. The box of Celestial Seasonings Honey Chamomile tea just seems to be in the way.

The End of Monday Night Football As We Know It

Had a great time watching the last Monday Night Football contest on ABC. Oh I know it will be back next year on ESPN, and unlike other shows it's not like football gets canceled, but I was totally ready to buy the "end of an era" hype that I knew the ABC crew would deliver. My expectations were wonderfully exceeded.

I loved how Al Michaels, knowing he couldn't get fired anymore, just let it all hang out. He openly mocked the Jets offense all night, and later led John Madden on an extended rant about the corporate renaming of stadiums. The phrase "Candlestick Park" is strictly verboten in the anouncing booth, and Michaels seemed to take a perverse glee out of saying it over and over. Madden got into the spirit but noted that one of their sacred examples, Wrigley Field, also was named for their corporate masters. That's what I love about Madden - he seems like a complete goofball most of the time but then comes out with a crystal clear moment of erudition like that.

In all the retospectives it was also cool that they didn't whitewash over parts of their history like OJ Simpson, Joe Namath and Dennis Miller. They showed unabashed pride in the Terrell Owens signature and the Joe Horn cell phone call, two of the most flagrant and crass examples of excessive celebration ever.

After 35 years of MNF some things never change. The Jets still lost. It was great seeing a highlight of Homer Jones from the first game. Jones is one of my all time favorites and the inventor of modern excessive celebration. Homer Jones is what football is all about. I'm sure Al Michaels and John Madden would agree.

Later that day: I almost forgot one of the best parts. A segment showing the first ads that appeared on MNF included one for Marlboros. After noting that this happened just three weeks before the ban on cigarette ads on TV, Michaels went on another I-can't-get-fired riff, essentially making up a pun-filled commericial for Marlboros on the spot.

I'm suddenly looking forward to seeing where Michaels ends up next year.

Radio Everywhere

Here's my wide ranging radio schedule for the rest of the year, my usual nearly wordless music show at WXDU if not otherwise noted:

12/23 3-5am EST (that's later tonight)
12/25 3-5am (I'm thinking Art Rock Christmas)
12/26 2-5am (my usual show)
12/27 1-5am
12/28 3-5am

a very special Thursday:
12/29 12-4am, the first four of 24 hours of Afrobeat at WXDU

12/29 3-6pm, my very first talk radio hosting gig, filling in for Matt Mittan at 570 WWNC in Asheville

12/30 3-5am
1/2 2-5am

My deal is, let's see how I survive these next couple weeks before I sign up for anything in January, but odds are I'll be doing plenty more while the students are away. All these shows can be heard online now, the WXDU shows at the link to the right or in the title.

Have a Happy and a Merry!

At least that's what my sweetie likes to say this time of year. It's the perfect benediction, certain to please everyone who might be pleased by it and to offend anyone who might be offended. This whole "war on Christmas" canard bugs me silly. What the heck is the problem with someone wishing you happiness for the next couple weeks anyway? Yes, I am a Christian who will tell you "Merry Christmas!" precisely because I am grooving on the birth of our Lord. But it seems like everybody has holidays of some sort right about now. Hey, more fun for everybody! So all those people who seem to confuse George W Bush with Jesus Christ (I can understand it, y'know they really do favor each other something awful) can just STFU and let everybody sip their eggnog with their multicultural neighbors in peace. Please.

The annual batch of Mom's springerles have come and gone, a direct connection with the divine as usual. Mom, I liked the use of anise powder instead of the seeds this time, but seeds are nice too. Anything anise is nice. The chocolate chip cookies and date nut bread from my glorious mother in law are being parceled out a little more slowly. My folks also sent the Gift of Bacon this year. I wish the Gift of Bacon for all this holiday season! Oh joy!

Just one complaint. Where is Miracle on 34th Street??? It's supposed to be on several times every day this month but I haven't seen it anywhere. Well, at least we got to see the South Park Critter Cristmas episode tonight, so the season isn't a total loss.

Newspaper Still Ditched

Back in August I wrote about stopping delivery of the daily newspaper. I've read the newspaper just about every day since I was two, so it was a monumental decision.

Four months later, I find I don't miss it at all. Well, maybe a little bit. We started buying the Sunday paper again for the TV section, the coupons and the crossword puzzle. About the only time it ever crosses my mind is that I kinda wonder what the Pattersons (everybody's favorite comic strip Canadians from For Better or Worse) have been up to. Now that the year in review articles are being published, I find that there is only one major news event I have missed from my various regular internet sources - I never heard who won the Nobel Prizes until now.

Poor newspapers.

The Nasher Museum

One of the things Pam and I have done in the last couple months is visit the brand spanking new Nasher Museum at Duke. It is a very nice place to have just up the street. It struck me as a little sparse and disjointed, but it is new. The building itself is quite beautiful, not quite the architectural marvel as the Mutual Bank building downtown, but very pleasant with all the light and airiness and openness. By disjointed, I mean it reminds me kinda like a strange little western musuem outside of Tucson I visited a few years back where some rich Yankee traveller was so taken with anything Indian that he just collected it all and displayed it together without any idea of tribe or what went with what. Except here it's a mix of modern and ancient art. Fortunately I only need one spectacular piece to make my museum going expereince worthwhile. They had a medieval painting depicting the harrowing of Hell that was jam packed with all manner of oddball imagery. It made me a little proud of myself that I figured most of it out after 20 minutes or so.

Thanks to a grant from the Durham Herald-Sun, the Nasher Museum is free to Durham residents. That is very nice of them!

On the Radio for Christmas

Yeah I know it's been too long. Since it's Christmas Break I'm covering a whole lot of radio shows overnights, including right now until 5am EST. I'll be on again tomorrow night 3-5am. A schedule may appear here later. Might give me some time to catch up on my blogging. But don't hold your breath, haha.