Web links related to the Back of the Book program of August 18, 2003

Back of the Book is preempted on September 1, 2003. Be sure to tune in for our next program on September 14/15, when we'll have our 17th anniversary program!

It's Sunday evening 9/14/2003 18:41:59 and this Web page is done. Well, it's been one hell of a fortnight. I got to the below topics and some of the mail we have backed up once again. We got preempted for our September 1, program, but the next program is out 17th anniversary.

Here is the latest on the saga of Pacifica. The big meeting of the interim Pacifica National Board (iPNB) is now supposed to take place in June in New York City, September 19-21, 2003, at The Synod House of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 110th Street), New York, NY 10025. Unfortunately at the time of this page being posted the official page doesn't give us the times of these meetings.

The struggle to have bylaws for the Pacifica Foundation, which owns WBAI, has been going on for more than a year and a half now. There are those who are determined to delay the adoption of bylaws. More about that here.

WBAI now has a program schedule up on its Web site. The site has gotten many of the individual program pages together to provide links and such, so check it out. Here's a schedule made by a listener who has Web links for various programs and producers.

Our colleagues from Off the Hook now have both a RealAudio streaming web cast operating, and a new MP3 stream both of which were working at about 9:28 PM last night. The MP3 feed is now the preferred feed.

The Pacifica Foundation, which owns WBAI, has revamped its Web site and now has something called the Pacifica Lounge where you can post messages about Pacifica, WBAI and other Pacifica radio stations. This may be a good thing, and of course there are other, long term fora in which to participate.

WBAI also has a forum on its Web site now. You have to register to post messages, but anyone may read the messages.

Pickles of the North is not with us tonight. She's up at the North pole battling that oppressor Santa Claus!

It never ceases to amaze me how some people think they can repress other people's First amendment rights. Now, the Fox News Channel is trying to prevent Al Franken from using the phrase “fair and balanced” on the cover of his new book! Of course the Fox News Channel is making its money off the rights we all have under the First Amendment, but they want to be able to stop everyone else in the world from using the phrase “fair and balanced!”

They didn't invent that phrase! They say they trademarked it in 1995, and so they don't want him using it. I say they're a bunch of right wing creeps and bad Americans, those who are Americans. I hope Franken crushes those scumbags at Fox News Channel like rotten grapes.

UPDATE: Federal judge Denny Chin of United States District Court threw out Fox News Channel's anti First Amendment lawsuit saying, “Parody is a form of artistic expression protected by the First Amendment.” He also said that the Fox News Channel's trademark was unrealistic because the words are so commonly used. It is reported that there was rather more laughter in this court hearing than is usual in a federal court proceeding, with Judge Chin ending things with the comment, “Of course, it is ironic that a media company that should be fighting for the First Amendment is trying to undermine it.”

Well, now I've been through the Blackout of 1965, the Blackout of 1977, and the Blackout of 2003. Hey, at least they're getting more time between them.

At this time fingers are pointing in every direction and I have to wonder if we'll ever know why this happened.

Of course I'm going to talk about where I was when the lights went out.

I'm going to talk a little bit more tonight about dark matter and dark energy. And speaking of the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe Effect, here's some more on that phenomenon.

Of course I'm going to talk about Mars and its upcoming closest approach this coming fortnight, at 6:00 AM on Wednesday August 27th. So I recommend you try to see it on the evening of August 26th.

So we got to some mail on the program. Here's the E-mail. We start with something from Fernando, which we'd skipped in July. Jeez, Fernando is really against Pickles of the North. But then we know that he has a misogyny streak. And, no, we don't have a sales manager at WBAI.

Subject: Broadcast Locations
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 21:39:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fernando
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R. Paul,

I am a regular listener and I have written to you before. Do you ever listen to Bob Grant? It has come to my attention that some broadcasters and radio personalities do not indeed broadcast from their radio stations. I sometimes listen to Joey Reynolds who has an over-night talk show on another radio station. (I won't mention which station this is so as not to give your competition free advertising, but don't worry, R, because it's an AM station.) Reynolds said that he ALWAYS broadcasted directly from the radio station even though he knew that some radio personalities did not! Some will, instead, broadcast from remotes in their homes.

Do you like Bob Grant? He is a New York institution of radio! I have been a long-time Bob grant fan. I love him, but I believe he is broadcasting from his own home in New Jersey. There are many times when he has many technical difficulties that make me believe he is on a remote. Joey Reynolds outted Ken and Daria Dolenz, who host a talk show on financial matters, as broadcasting from their home in Connecticut. Why do they do this, R? Are you really at 120 Wall Street or is WBAI allowing you to broadcast from your house? Why do these broadcasters not come clean that they are really home instead of in a studio in the city? Have you ever considered having your show simulcasted on cable TV? Don Imus does this and on occasion, Sean Hannity does as well. If you did this, I would look at you. I would also come and see you if you did a remote broadcast from a bookstore or from a restaurant. Bob Grant, on occasion, will do a special broadcast from the famous Reo Diner in Woodbridge, New Jersey. I ate there. I would definitely come to see you.

On another matter, Sydney Smith recently commented that it was a shame that Ken Gail no longer has a show on WBAI. Let me tell you something. I know comic books and I used to listen to Gail's show, Nuff Said, which dealt with comic books. It was a very inconsistent show. Too often it was flat out BORING because of Gail's insistence on talking on and on about fringe comic books that maybe two people in the entire World have heard about or could care about. He was too preoccupied with the homosexual comic books. I wanted to hear about Spider-Man, Batman, and Captain Carrot. Gail was practically BEGGING for cancellation and his show got what he deserved. Let Nuff Said's fate be a warning for you, R! Like you, Gail, too, kept handing over large chunks of his airtime to some skirt no one wanted to listen to. It was HIS show, Martin, why would he ut another voice on a show that listeners tune into to hear HIM? Learn from Gail, R. Paul! As for Sydney Smith, his show glamorizes drug use and is very magellanic about promiscuous sexual acts of sex.

I enjoy the radio, R, and I will be looking for you at the Reo Diner soon!

Fondly,
Fernando
Florham Park, NJ


Subject: Response To Broadcast Of June 22
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 22:17:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fernando
To: rpm@glib.com

Dear R. Paul,

Happy Fourth of July, R! I am in New Jersey and I am a regular listener to your show. I have also written previously and I have given your show money. The last time I did so you failed to thank me on the air. Do you remember radio personality Doctor Demento? Where is he? I cannot hear him on my radio. He was popular in the seventies.

I am writing this letter in response to YOUR response to a letter I wrote which you read on the air. First, let me thank you for reading my letter and thank you for you advice even though I still have a lousy credit history because of that damn girl. I wish her the worst in her hopefully short life. As you read my letter, you mentioned that I have insulted you on WBAI's message board. I am very sorry you have taken my posts as insults. They are meant to be criticisms and I stand by them. I enjoy your show and the azure topics you discuss however as I mentioned in my posts, I do believe there is room for improvement. First, I tune in to listen to R.PAUL MARTIN. I am not tuning in to listen to R.PAUL MARTIN and "FRIENDS!" Are you trying to emulate Howard Stern by trying to get your own Robin Quivers? You don't need a sidekick, R. When I hear "other voices" during your airtime, I switch stations and listen to FM instead. I suspect you are "subletting" portions of your airtime because your health problems are preventing you from carrying the full show. If you do need a hand though, R, I suggest you take on Maxwell Shmeed as a co-host or sidekick because I like it when he plays Jean Shepherd tapes. What. Maxwell is also a radio professional and not an amateur. I flatly reject the idea that anybody who can sit behind a microphone is capable of doing a radio show. You need to have training. A guy I know was on the radio but I won't mention the station so as not to ive your competition a free plug. It was a top forty rock n roll station.

I do not care for the reception I have received at the WBAI message boards and as a result I have not posted there as much. I have been banned from many message boards because the other posters are scumbags. I think with the loss of UFO DESK from WBAI, the stations line-up can use more flash and I believe that Doctor Demento would bring in big ratings to the station. He has a cult following who would automatically boost WBAI's listenership. R, please pass this suggestion along to the station's sales manager.

On another topic, R. I recently went to a copier store to make copies of artwork I made myself. This store is a large nationally known chain whose name I won't mention so as to not give them any free advertising. My artwork was on large 11"x18" paper so I asked the woman, who looked to be about forty, fat, and with a bad dye job, to do it for me. She said she couldn't do it unless I showed her a signed release giving her permission to reproduce the artwork. Apparently this is Staples' policy. I told her that I drew it myself and I gave er permission but she still refused because she had no way of knowing that I really drew it. She said I was free to copy the artwork on their machines but she, as an employee of Staples, couldn't do it. This is stupid. I was furious, R. I became upset and my frustration could not be guilded or veiled because I cried. I called her an old madam and then she got mad and called over a male employee so I ran away. Isn't this a jackass policy, R.Paul? Do you agree with this store's policy? It is idiotic because there are so many obvious ways around it and it's not really protecting anyone. Instead, it is inconveniencing their customers. I took the artwork to a smaller copier place run by a family of Indians. They'll do anything for a buck. They don't care.

I appreciated the music you played while reading my letter, Martin. It's like having my own theme song. I just don't get the connection to Clint Eastwood. I suggest you play "We ARE The Champons" to show the world that you and I are champions. I will be listening to MOST of your show, R. Thank you for listening to me.

Fondly,
Fernando
Florham Park, NJ

There are a lot of issues that are considered hazardous to talk about on the air at WBAI. But there is an Internet list called “Free Pacifica!” which you can subscribe to, and these issues are discussed there. If you subscribe to it you will receive, via E-mail, all of the messages which are sent to that list. You will also be able to send messages to the list.

If you want to subscribe to the “Free Pacifica!” list just click on this link and follow the instructions, and you'll be subscribed. Could open your eyes a little bit.

The above list has occasionally produced a high volume of E-mail because of the attention that these issues have drawn. If you would prefer to subscribe to a low volume list that only provides announcements of events related to these issues then subscribe to the FreePac mailing list.

Another list that's sprung up is the “NewPacifica” mailing list. This one is very lively and currently includes over 400 subscribers coast to coast. Being lively, of course, it sometimes also gets a bit nasty. All sorts of things are happening on this list. With that warning in mind, you can look at the NewPacifica list here, and you can join the list from that Web page too, although you'll have to deal with Yahoo! to do so.

There is also the more WBAI specific “Goodlight” Web based message board. This one has a great many people posting anonymously and there's also an ancillary board that's just totally out of hand.

The “Goodlight” Web based message board has expanded to cover all Pacifica stations.

My voice mail number at WBAI is 212-209-2996. Leave a message.

You can also send me E-mail.



WBAI related links

Free Pacifica Web site

WBAI Listeners' Web page

WBAI Management's official Web site


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The contents of this Web page are copyright © 2003, R. Paul Martin.