Occupy the Microphone on hiatus

As some of you may have figured out by now, our radio show is currently on extended hiatus.

This has been a depressing development, but necessary.






The Occupy the Microphone crew is currently regrouping and trying to figure out what to do next. We are thinking about a group-oriented show (modeled on some of our very successful shows with Traci Fant) ... or maybe just concentrate on delivering a regular podcast? Over the past two and a half years, our show has been broadcast at three different time-slots on three different local radio stations. We need to step back and figure out what we want to do and the most economical way to get it done.

It's great to broadcast the news that no one else here in South Carolina will cover. We pride ourselves on having done that, but we also know that talk-radio tends to be a right-wing medium. We knew that our nationally-oriented shows were downloaded most often on the internet (as podcasts), and were far more popular than our local broadcasts. By contrast, our regionally-oriented shows got us a lot of local attention but didn't get the internet downloads that the big national-stories did. After awhile, we didn't know if we were (basically) a national or local show? Should we lead with one or the other type of story first? We dithered, argued, worried ... and unlike rich Republicans, we don't have marketing analysts and suchlike, to definitively tell us what to do. (sigh)

If we go back on local radio, it is likely we will need a flurry of advertising to keep us afloat this time.

Our hiatus is also due to a variety of other factors, in addition to our ongoing collective dithering over radio-show goals. These factors include my untimely and unnerving car accident, as well as the loss of a major advertiser ... but most important: Our producer, Gregg Jocoy, is dealing with his mother-in-law's extended illness. She is near death and is dying at home, not in a hospital. Gregg's family has the help of professional caregivers and hospice care, but caring for a terminally-ill person is still an enormous, overwhelming task. (Our last show talked about how most people die in hospitals now and not at home, and asked: Has this been good or bad for our culture as a whole?) Such work is emotionally draining as well as physically trying. Our best wishes are with Gregg and his family.

Meetings are scheduled, things are being cussed and discussed (as my grandmother used to say), and I will surely keep you updated.

Stay tuned, sports fans.

BJUnity on Occupy the Microphone

Yesterday's Occupy the Microphone radio show was especially awesome, as we interviewed Jeffrey Hoffman of BJUnity, the 'unofficial' organization for LGBT folks at Bob Jones University, past and present; including students, alumni, faculty and staff.

It was a great show, and you must go listen immediately.

Below: 1) Jeffrey talks about the cultish environment of Bob Jones University; 2) me interviewing Jeffrey; 3) Daisy, Jeffrey and fabulous co-host Double A, the rock and roll diehard.

Broadcasting every weekday from WOLI studios, McAlister Square, LIVE AT FIVE. (You can livestream us daily at 5pm HERE. Friday's show can be found here, here and here.)

Mistake of the year, and other talk radio revelations

Daisy listens in earnest to one of our radio callers at WOLI studios in McAlister Square, home of the redoubtable Occupy the Microphone.

Yes, pardon the cheesy Xmas mom-shirt. I was trying to deck the halls and all like that. It used to be my daughter's shirt when she was young, and her grandmother has a Christmas video of her playing the clarinet while wearing it. Christmas nostalgia! (((sheds predictable mama tears over her baby being all grown up now)))

I therefore find it impossible to get rid of, and I usually end up wearing it at least once every yule season.

~*~

I hate to admit when the Consigliere is right, but yes, he is.

Gregg thought we'd get lots better at the radio thing, by doing the show every day, and we have. Practice makes perfect, and it really has made a huge difference to do the show daily for drive-time radio (LIVE AT FIVE!). The main thing: I am no longer afraid. I am often at a loss for words (what? me?) but that's the great thing about having two co-hosts: they bail me out with regularity, and I do the same for them.

We now have time to cover all the news that isn't fit to print (and subsequently gets ignored, especially around here), and we are committed to doing it from a lefty political perspective. Although Double-A is our resident Democrat, we don't hold it against him. We are determined to make a Green Party member of him, yet!

Ours is the only left-leaning talk radio show for hundreds of miles.

I am SO PROUD of all the guests we have had on the show over this past year, both in person and as callers. Some of our guests include: Reverend Pat Jobe (who wrote a really good novel that you all should read!); journalist Alexa O'Brien (who covered the Chelsea Manning trial); Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping; Sheila Jackson of MoveOn, an official health care navigator; Jasmine Lowrance of Inspirational Wisdom; Mary Olsen of Nuclear Information and Resource Service; SC State Senator Karl Allen; Greenville City Council candidate Teresa Slack; Reverend Jack Logan of Put Down the Guns Now, Young People; the amazing Cynthia McKinney (Green Party presidential candidate, 2008); Lucia McBath (mother of Florida-SYG victim Jordan Davis); Amy Parham (mother of suspended autistic student Rhett Parham); Ralph Poynter, husband of political prisoner Lynne Stewart; Jill Stein (Green Party presidential candidate, 2012); Dr Margaret Flowers; the legendary Sylvain Sylvain (((fangirl scream))); the legendary John Sinclair (((more fangirl screams))); Amelia Pena, discussing domestic violence and outreach programs in SC (our state was recently ranked #1 for number of women killed by men per capita); Jess Bayne, one of the organizers of the local March Against Monsanto; our governor's famous ex-boyfriend and popular conservative blogger, Will Folks; local internet-pop star Brandon Hilton ... and countless others I have missed and I'm sure I will probably have to edit in later.

These folks are in addition to our regular guests, Black Talk Radio Network powerhouse Scotty Reid (our fabulous online producer), local activist Traci Fant, the terribly-centrist 'voice of reason' Eric Wood, wonderful Liz Anderson-Smith (of York County Greens) and Malcolm X Center for Self Determination's Efia Nwangaza.

Thank you to everybody who has taken the time to talk to us and our listeners! WE LOVE YOOOOOOU!!! (blows kisses)

~*~

On or around World AIDS Day, one of our guests was Tracey Leigh Jackson of Piedmont Care, which provides local resources, prevention and treatment for HIV. (HI TRACEY!) After the show, we chatted a bit and suddenly, everybody in the studio was peppering her with sex-questions, LOL. She promised to send our engineer, Jonathan, a box of fancy (did she say they were EDIBLE?) condoms. She also mentioned lube, and I asked her if she had ever heard of Liquid Silk. She had, and promised to include samples of Liquid Silk (or something very similar in quality) in our promised box of goodies.

Sometime during the next show, or possibly a few days later, I reminded Jonathan... my mistake, of course, was in saying this during one of our commercial breaks. No, I wasn't paying attention. I have a hard time remembering how long some of the breaks are (and since our commercial breaks are of unequal length, I never remember!) ... so there I am... saying hey, some of that stuff in the box is supposed to be for ME. He said, what? I answered, Liquid Silk!

"Its supposed to be for me, so don't forget to give me the samples."

"Liquid Silk?" Jonathan wrinkles his brow. The commercial was turned up a bit louder than usual. "The lube!!!!" I shouted, and yes, we were suddenly on the air, and I was not paying attention.

I was shouting over the commercial that was playing in the studio, or thought I was:

"DON'T FORGET TO GIVE ME THE LUBE! I AM SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING THE LUBE!!!"

Yes, I am afraid that DID go out over the airwaves.

The later version was edited, so luckily, it hasn't been saved for posterity.

God knows what our listeners thought of that ... or maybe we picked up a few more?

~*~

Stay tuned, as we learn on the job! And please join us during the next year. We are LIVESTREAMING HERE every weekday, LIVE AT FIVE, and we welcome callers of all political persuasions, which serves to keep things interesting.

Studio: 864-751-0115 or toll free 864-751-0116
Listen Only: 1-559-726-1300 Participant Code: 810246#

ONWARD AND UPWARD!

Daisy's Duck Dynasty rant (from Thursday's show)

Gregg and Scotty, my amazing producers, made it into a YouTube clip! :) (The whole show is at the radio blog.)

Tuesday links with Crazy Horse

At left: Mac Arnold and Plate Full O Blues at Fall for Greenville... he totally burned the place down! AWESOMENESS! I got more photos on my Flickr page, so be sure to check out my photos of Mac and his famous gas-can guitar.

INCENDIARY BLOOZ!

~*~




:: My favorite reading of the week is Thomas Frank's TED TALKS ARE LYING TO YOU, which is just so right-on. An excerpt:

Those who urge us to “think different,” in other words, almost never do so themselves. Year after year, new installments in this unchanging genre are produced and consumed. Creativity, they all tell us, is too important to be left to the creative. Our prosperity depends on it. And by dint of careful study and the hardest science — by, say, sliding a jazz pianist’s head into an MRI machine — we can crack the code of creativity and unleash its moneymaking power.

That was the ultimate lesson. That’s where the music, the theology, the physics and the ethereal water lilies were meant to direct us. Our correspondent could think of no books that tried to work the equation the other way around — holding up the invention of air conditioning or Velcro as a model for a jazz trumpeter trying to work out his solo.

And why was this worth noticing? Well, for one thing, because we’re talking about the literature of creativity, for Pete’s sake. If there is a non-fiction genre from which you have a right to expect clever prose and uncanny insight, it should be this one. So why is it so utterly consumed by formula and repetition?

Read it all! The next time you hear the word "creativity" spoken from a calm NPR-sounding voice (and my radio consigliere, Gregg Jocoy, can do a bang-up NPR-announcer impersonation!) --you should keep this essay in mind.

In fact, I may never watch a TED talk again! (Jimi Hendrix reference: "You'll never hear surf music again")

~*~

:: A nasty Georgia Tech frat-boy email has recently gone viral, since it's title--"Luring Your Rapebait"--was guaranteed to get attention. It's offensive, and appears to be one of those GAME things (more about which in due course) that plague the internet like winter head-colds.

Danny, who is no feminist, politely takes it on in his ever-graceful fashion. His post is titled Open Letter to a Frat Brother on the view of masculinity:

I can understand that sex is a desirable thing but I worry that you, just like many others, place too much priority on having sex with women as being a necessary part of masculinity.

Have you considered what affects this pressure can have on guys, namely guys who are in a position where they need to gain the approval of others? Don't you think that pressure can lead to them doing things that range from immoral to illegal in order to gain favor and approval?

Yes, you can say that "They choose to do that stuff." That would be true. But why do you exert such pressure in the first place? Why expect those pledges to be on such a vigilant lookout for sex partners? Why not just let nature take care itself and just throw a party and if people want to get together they get together on their own rather because they might get tossed out of the party and shamed for not looking for women?

Why, indeed?

Maybe because "looking for women" is the very DEFINITION of manhood, for these sorts of guys. The idea of NOT looking for women?!? Well, what ELSE would they do?

These men are conditioned from an early age, that this is "what men do." They don't know how to have a good time and just BE. The female equivalent are the Sex and The City gals who spend most of their evenings fussing over their appearance, and won't dance or get rowdy because they might sweat or mess up their hair.

Quite possibly, they deserve each other. I just wish they wouldn't clutter up the parties and fun spaces for everyone else.

~*~

:: If you need something to explain the government shutdown to you, have a look on my Tumblr, where I quoted from a great article on No More Mister Nice Blog, titled The Punishers Want To Run The Country or We Are All Tipped Waitstaff Now.

Check it out, it's a gem. It explains so much. (And if you are now/ever were a restaurant server, required reading.)

~*~

:: There has been LOTS of arguing in cyberspace over the "Pick Up Artist" (PUA) movement, men who claim to know all the evo-psych rules of just exactly what makes those stubborn, mysterious sexy ladies put out. It's called GAME, and they endlessly talk about it on their many forums and blogs (warning: those link are gross, but fairly typical). Like most evo-psych fans, they make everything that happens fit into their concept of GAME, which is damned annoying. (It's exactly the same way very religious people will inevitably see everything that happens as being an answer to a prayer.) This is why you can't argue with them using facts; they will simply claim that your facts prove --GAME is CORRECT!--right after they tweak them a few times, or twenty.

It gets old, so I stopped bothering some time ago... or even reading. If I see a male blogger refer to GAME, I reach for my mouse, clickety-click, gone, GONE WITH THE WIND.

But Echidne recently found an intrinsic contradiction in the statement of Roosh, one of the BIGGEST of the BIG GAME THEORISTS. Roosh went to Denmark (he writes books about how to apply GAME in every country; getting-laid travel guides for men), where apparently, he says GAME doesn't work:

Roosh calls [his book about Denmark] the “most angry book” he’s ever written. “This book is a warning of how bad things can get for a single man looking for beautiful, feminine, sexy women.”

What’s blocking the pussy flow in Denmark? The country’s excellent social welfare services. Really.

...

Danish women “won’t defer to your masculinity,” he writes. “They can fuck you, but no more. What they do have are pussies and opinions you don’t really care about hearing. That’s it.” Advocates of Nordic social democracy should be thrilled to discover a perk of gender-equalizing work-family reconciliation policies: they combat skeeviness.

Roosh comes to the conclusion that women who aren’t as dependent on men for financial support are not susceptible to the narcissistic salesmanship that constitutes phase one: “attraction.” That’s why Roosh fails to advance to the second level—”trust”—without being creepy. Thus “seduction” is almost always out of the question.

Wow, during this awful government shutdown, we see STILL ANOTHER great reason for the welfare state! Then again, haven't anti-feminist conservatives like George Gilder always argued that welfare services for women and children would inexorably lead to women becoming far more picky about who they, um, spend their time with?

The reality of WELFARE means women won't experience the material desperation men have always depended on, to make their case.

Echidne is all over it:

But that refutes his evo-psycho theories about what women want! If women were hard-wired to go for the dominant growling alpha monkey, then women would do that even in Denmark. That they do not suggests that dating rules and what appeals to people is also culture-dependent and affected by economic realities.

Whatever happened to Neil Young's "Welfare Mothers make better lovers?"

I guess the official PUA verdict is in: No they don't.

~*~

Speaking of which, I used to wonder if that was a sexist song or not. During the time *I* was a welfare mother, I remember feeling like persona non grata, not like I was considered a better lover or any kind of bargain. In fact, it seemed to me that this one fact about me would easily scare people away in droves, potential lovers and friends alike. (Maybe they were afraid I would ask them for money?)

I used to listen to the song ruefully and wonder JUST WHO he was talking about, hoping that maybe I was getting some good press in the bargain. But I was pretty sure I wasn't... hard to believe that love is free, now.

But whatever else, it sure does ROCK.

Welfare Mothers - Neil Young and Crazy Horse

John the Baptist at the Nowhere Bar

The hits just keep on comin, here in DeMint country! At left: anti-immigrant demonstrator in downtown Greenville on Saturday. Photo by my talented radio show consigliere, Gregg Jocoy. (More photos here.)







I forgot all about the right-wing demonstration on Saturday (I'm glad Gregg didn't), but ended up downtown in the early evening anyway, to grab a bite to eat after the Randall Bramblett show (see below). By that time (as I said on our show yesterday), only one brave sign-carrying protester remained. Since she was yelling and gesticulating at the traffic all by her lonesome, I thought she was there individually--all by herself--which always makes one look somewhat unbalanced. (I never do it; although I WILL pass out leaflets by myself.) She was yelling about "the hostile invasion" (i.e. immigration) when I passed her and shook my head in an exaggerated, theatrical fashion, "What a loony tune!" was the body-language message I hoped I was sending.

And you know, I won't lie to you: I was momentarily pleased I got a chance to do this to the right-wingers for a change; they are usually the ones doing it to US. In these parts, Occupiers were regarded as either 1) dangerous deluded wackos, or, 2) an interesting sideshow. At least in the case of #2, there was the opportunity to strike up some conversations, maybe win over some hearts and minds.

It was just as I was nostalgically remembering our belated Season of OCCUPY, that the intrepid sign-carrying lady started RUNNING AFTER ME, loudly demanding to know if I was in favor of amnesty for illegals???!!?.

Oh boy.

I realize the proper and nuanced answer is, "What about amnesty for their employers? Why are THEY never arrested?"--but I did not want to hang around and argue with this person, I wanted to eat at the Mellow Mushroom.

At this point, we were right in front of the Carolina Ale House, which has the popular advertising/commercial slogan, "Ale Yeah!"... this catchy phrase is even engraved into the planters out in front of the restaurant. Consequently, all I could think of was, ALE NO!

ALE NO, I do not want to talk to this person.

So I answered quickly, "I think it's a great idea!" I blurted out.

She was ready with a reply, "Do you want the United States to become like a European country?!"

I turned and said very distinctly and loudly, ABSOLUTELY!

That shut her up. Stunned her too. "Umm," she fell back and stopped following me at that point, undoubtedly deciding I was some insane leftist in favor of universal health care. "That's... interesting..." and she then went over and accosted some other poor soul who was trying to decide where to eat.

Jesus H Christ, where do these people come from?! The good news (see linked video) is that they were mostly older white people, the demographic you would expect. No teenagers or twenty-somethings out there.

As I've said here before, the young folks want to date and marry the newcomers, not send them back.

~*~

At left: Randall Bramblett at Bohemian Cafe on Saturday. GREAT SHOW! I also bought his new CD, The Bright Spots.






TMI update: my evil ganglion cyst seems to have shrunk to a pinpoint, which I attribute to my feverish consumption of both kombucha and turmeric. It could also be that the steroid shot of a couple of months ago (directly into my finger! aiyeee!) took some additional time to do the job. In any event, in the last couple of weeks, it has become smaller than it's ever been (over the last few years) and stopped swelling up, hurting or (most importantly) bursting open with nasty goo. Perhaps that was all the nasty goo it had? Whatever the reason, when I went in to get it removed, the doctor took a look and said there was no reason for an invasive procedure (and subsequent risk of infection) at this juncture. He said he saw no reason to "dig around in there for it" (Good God Almighty!), for which I thanked heaven profusely.

I was ecstatic, especially when I saw the size of the needle he was getting ready to use on me. Holy shit.

I doubt my fingernail will ever look okay, but that is a small price to pay for a dormant ganglion cyst. Let's hope it stays dormant, and pass the kombucha.

Serving suggestion: It's really great over ice in the summertime! In addition to Synergy, my favorite, let me also recommend Reed's Culture Club brand, especially the Lemon Ginger Raspberry... also dynamite over ice!

~*~

Hope your week is going well. Me and Double A are going to attempt the radio show today BY OURSELVES, without our trusted and capable consigliere... which as you know, is no way for a consigliere to behave, but there it is. Family obligations have intervened, and we must GO FORTH AND DO IT... and I know I don't have to tell you, I am a nervous wreck. Luckily, I can chatter on like nobody's business, so hopefully, nobody will be able to tell that I am freaked out.

Jonathan, our wonderful and insightful engineer, will probably have to bail us out... but that's what engineers are FOR!

~*~

Check out the cool song. I just loved it. Athens folks, of course, know that the Nowhere Bar is in Athens, Georgia.

I can totally imagine John the Baptist sitting there; so it's where we get today's blog post title.

John the Baptist - Randall Bramblett



Hope your week is going well, too. And don't let your consigliere, whoever it is, out of your sight for a minute!

CHAOS REIGNS without a consigliere to maintain order... just ask anybody.

Name that car!

Another old car, for you antique-car fans who sometimes drop by (((waves at car-photo lurkers))) ... and I profusely apologize that I don't know what kind of Ford this is. Falling down on the job. (ashamed)

My late father, proud UAW-member and GM-assembly-line worker, would chuckle at that and say Fords are not worth remembering, so don't sweat it. (However, he WOULD know the make and model just the same, which makes me jealous.)

He would then add that Ford stands for "Found On Road Dead."

I did dutifully read the name of the car when I first spotted it on Laurens Rd (and you can SEE the name next to "500"--but so hard to read, even when you click to enlarge) ... and I told myself that of course, I would remember it when it came time to blog it. Weeks later, having forgotten totally about the cool car, I also forgot the name of it. (embarrassed)

I have done some random sleuthing, to no avail. Although it would certainly help if I knew the year too! I have NO idea what it is, but if you do, speak up! I love CHERRY RED and I love this vehicle, although it was not in the best condition, I still enjoyed the ancient steering wheel, radio, and general AMERICAN GRAFFITIesque interior.

~*~

We have been doing a bunch of radio shows about the NSA and Edward Snowden, in case anyone thought I had been noticeably delinquent on the subject. I assure you, I have been doing my share of fulminating, and probably your share too. Other recent radio shows:

[] The trial of our radio consigliere Gregg Jocoy, for carrying a sign that was officially TOO BIG (really). Yes, he was found guilty in a jury trial and had to pay $55.

[] An interview with Richard McIntyre, the US Trade Representative for the Green Shadow Cabinet, discussing the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

[] An interview with the redoubtable Rev. Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping. Great inspiration for activism and street theatre, you can find the Church HERE.

YALL TUNE IN, we are on every day, LIVE AT FIVE ... you can listen to us on the radio-livestream HERE. (Podcasts are HERE.) Yesterday, I had to do without my usual opening music and I sailed through it like a pro. Only a few months ago, I would have had a nervous breakdown. (There IS something to be said for 'practice makes perfect' and getting fairly good at it... that 10,000 hour rule and alla that.) As we get better, we cut down on DEAD AIR lapses (we all think its pretty damn funny that my blog was named this YEARS before I started in radio); have almost stopped interrupting each other... and have nearly eliminated the dreaded brain-fart, during which *whatever* you were thinking (and had planned to say) just EVAPORATES into the ether... as you stare at the radio mike in front of you: DUH!

We are also getting fairly good at rescuing each other when this happens.

~*~

In a couple of weeks, I am having finger surgery, which I realize sounds mildly ridiculous. But really.

I figure something incredibly blog-worthy will happen around that time, and I will want to type and find it impossible. So, I am making up for it now and apologizing for not using my fingers for GOOD whilst I have the chance.

I briefly mentioned HERE (another car post!) that I had this thing on my finger, which turns out to be a mucous cyst ganglion. As time goes on, it gets angrier and angrier, and has started rupturing with regularity. GROSS STUFF (which looks remarkably like vaseline) pops out, which at least makes the nasty swelling go down. For awhile. And then it starts all over again. (sigh)

At the current rate, its been popping open (spewing its gross vaselinesque material) every week or so. Although I have had this thing for years now, it is only currently causing problems beyond the general warping of my fingernail. Since it stays 'open' (sorry for the TMI, yall), it is an active infection risk... and this could quickly morph into a JOINT infection, not just a lil ole fingernail/cuticle infection. Apparently, it has something to do with having osteoarthritis. (sigh again)

Ah, aging, the fun just never ends. From Web MD:

Mucous cyst ganglions usually occur when osteoarthritis symptoms develop, at middle age or older. This type of ganglion is more common in women than men.

Mucous cyst ganglions are found at the joint nearest the fingernail (distal interphalangeal [DIP] joint). The ganglion is firm and does not easily move under the skin. These ganglions may be painful and may break open, increasing the risk of infection. The fingernail may grow irregularly or be misshapen because the ganglion is near the growth cells for the fingernail.

Because of the risk of infection, a mucous cyst ganglion should not be broken open on purpose. Occasionally a ganglion opens on its own. Home treatment may be all that is needed.

Treatment measures include removing the ganglion fluid with a needle (aspiration) to temporarily shrink the cyst, injecting the cyst with hydrocortisone to reduce inflammation and possibly lower the chance that it will return, or removing the ganglion with surgery. The ganglion may return after treatment. Bone spurs (small, bony growths that form along a joint) are often present in the joint next to a mucous cyst, and removing the bone spurs makes it less likely that the cyst will return.

I've had the cortisone shot into my finger already (certainly not pleasant, but not nearly as bad as the thing itself, if you can believe it) which did shrink it for awhile, but it regrouped and planned its next massive assault with a real vengeance.

I'd even suggest it got MAD that it got a shot and decided it would show me whose boss. And so it has.

I am soon getting the joint and bone spurs scraped, as well as the cyst removed. I'm sure it sounds like lots more fun that it is!

I will keep you posted. (For those of you who have missed my periodic gross TMI posts, you should be in for a real treat, whenever it heals enough for me to type!)

~*~

One of my ALL TIME favorite trees is currently blooming! It is called Calliandra surinamensis and is also known as Surinamese Stickpea, Pink Tassel-Flower and Pink Powderpuff. I used to call them "bottle brush trees" because the bloom looks just like an old-style bottle-brush. My daughter finally looked it up at the library (long before there was the internet) and found the name for me. (Thus, I also associate it with her childhood.)

These beautiful trees are all over the upstate, and I took the photos below while hiking the Swamp Rabbit Trail. (you can click to enlarge)



So purty!


~*~

I now have a very lax and anemic TUMBLR of my own. I mostly did it to keep up with the various SJW-wars that have broken out online, and to lend my name to the truth-tellers who are sick of dopey, politically-correct excesses (as well as the attempted wholesale silencing of opinion). After dealing with THIS LATEST DEBACLE (see comments for gory details) -- I wanted to vent with others of a like mind, and decided to START A TUMBLR, God help me, even after declaring the place a total sewer. NOTE: I still think it is, but then, I used to contribute to DIGG and other sewers, so I am not above mucking about in the sewer... I mean, I'M BLOGGING, right? (I have declared Reddit a bridge too far, and although I've looked at it from time to time, try not to make a habit of it.)

The gangpiling, which I used to put up with as the price of admission to Blogdonia, has lately reached the level of patent insanity. In fact, TUMBLR would seem to be ONE LONG EXERCISE in gangpiling and dumping verbal abuse on people you simply disagree with... and usually the disagreements are not very serious or profound. Nonetheless, the stakes are raised immediately by issuing countless fatwas and edicts declaring that various bloggers are evil/genocidal/fascist and what-all. Thus, when something truly IS evil/genocidal/fascist and what-all (i.e. the prison-torture of Bradley Manning, the calls for the prosecution of Edward Snowden for being a saint, the shooting of Trayvon Martin by a vigilante-wannabe, etc etc) the 'social justice warriors' (not) are already bored by their own overwrought-language-feuds and therefore... DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

In fact, they don't even seem to have any opinions about these incidents, they are too busy honing their victim status and obsessing about themselves and their 'otherkin'. Real activism (even just writing about it), local political issues that need addressing and in general, real life, does not enter into their little just-so stories.

For this reason, I often find myself wondering if they are real or just decided to take on certain 'oppressed identities' to have something to whine about.

I would like to collectively paddle all of their spoiled asses and send them to Time-Out. I can't, so I have climbed onto the Tumblr soapbox to join the choruses making fun of them instead.

I mean, what else can you do?

~*~

In happy news, our beautiful FALLS PARK here in Greenville, was just voted one of the top 10 parks in the country (includes the big cities, peeps! WOO HOO!) by TripAdvisor, whatever that is.

We already knew that. :)

March Against Monsanto

Yesterday was a day of Global Resistance against corporate behemoth Monsanto. Here in Greenville, we had one of the largest political demonstrations in recent memory, with participants from all over upstate South Carolina and beyond. Nobody likes a bully! There were protests in 52 countries and 436 cities.

Photos of our local action below (as always, you can click all photos to enlarge). Feel free to copy and share!

It was a gorgeous and lovely spring day, and marching through Falls Park, surrounded by natural beauty, was the perfect backdrop. THIS is what we are trying to save.

March Against Monsanto page is HERE.

Note: The last two photos are of my fabulous radio co-hosts, Double A and Gorgeous Gregg. Make sure to check us out on Occupy the Microphone. Friend us on Facebook and follow me on Twitter! :)

~*~

Radio Update

We are moving our show, Occupy the Microphone, to WOLI, sister station of WOLT. After six weeks of shows at WOLT, yesterday was our last show there, although we may continue to use their studio for broadcast (not sure yet). After 14+ months on WFIS and 6 weeks at WOLT, I am finally feeling a wee bit like a pro!

Below, Jack Logan of Put the Guns Down, Young People talks about his organization with my co-host, Gregg. (as always, you can click to enlarge the photos)



Yesterday's show rocked, and we kept the pace going throughout. Our special guests were Jack Logan, Eric Wood of Another Voice with Jason and Eric and the legendary Sylvain Sylvain (of the New York Dolls) -- the latter interview was particularly exciting for me and Double A, the rock and roll diehard.

Below, co-host Double A (the magnificent) and Eric Wood.



We will be going DAILY after we move to WOLI on March 1st. We hope all of you will join us! ADVENTURE! PASSION! PROVOCATION! MOVIN ON UP! (screams for emphasis)

We'll be doing drive-time radio hour (Gregg's dream, finally come true) at 5-6pm, so tune in.

Below, my new Facebook photo. Can you tell it was three minutes before airtime?!? (EEEEEEEEP!)



~*~

The Second Annual Occupy Film Series continues tonight, totally and absolutely free, at the Hughes Library in Downtown Greenville, South Carolina. Tonight we will be showing Food, Inc.-- a film very close to my heart. Yall come!

And more importantly, watch the movie and learn to hate Monsanto with the rest of us lefties.

Having some vehicle issues, so I may be late or absent. Therefore hoping some intrepid folks take my place and make some noise. Get that Q-and-A started, peoples. Somebody has to do it!

Blogular updates

Great graphic comes courtesy YELLOWDOG GRANNY.



Blogger has unexpectedly monkeyed with the process of posting photos. Again. As stuffy Evelyn Waugh (disgusted with Vatican II and Mass in English) famously remarked: The same again, please. Those of you who have had your favorite soap or frozen burrito or bra discontinued, never to be found again, can totally relate... as can middle-aged bloggers who finally mastered something, only to find it CHANGED AGAIN, and NOT for the better.

So, now I must copy and paste my old photo-format and insert the new URL of the photo in its place, to get it to look the way I want. Growf.

The same again, please!

Which reminds me. Ratzinger, I mean, Pope Benedict XVI, is abdicating at the end of the month, which we discussed on the radio show. On Gregg's Friday podcast, he went into more detail. (Specifically: What type of crimes is the Pope allegedly seeking immunity from? Is it for protecting pedophile priests or Vatican bank-laundering dirty money?) I am personally hoping for an African or South American pope this go-round, although I am unsure if that would have any appreciable effect on doctrine. Still, we see that an Eastern Bloc pope had the undeniable effect of helping to take down the Soviets; Vatican funds were funneled directly to the Solidarity union in Poland. Might an African pope get some of that Vatican cash for a similar fight against tyranny? Certainly, the possibilities are endless.

And speaking of religion: I have started reading an intense, smart fella named Dan Fincke, who is my kind of atheist. His blog is named "Camels with Hammers"... apparently, Dan has not read my smug young critic of last summer, who confidently assured me that Nietzsche is totally YESTERDAY, man. Direct quote: "You do know that he was discredited ages ago, right? Only alienated teens take him seriously any more."--just like the Beatles, one assumes. Is that a bummer or what?

You are hopelessly OUT OF IT, Mr Fincke! (But a very entertaining writer.) If I EVER get around to fixing the broken blogroll (something else Blogger supposedly "made better" and instead, made horribly worse)--I will be including you posthaste. Please accept this friendly mention in the meantime!

~*~

I forgot to re-post THIS on February 17th: my account of the lynching of Willie Earle, which took place here in upstate South Carolina, 66 years ago. I DID remember the date (rather late in the day) and posted a link on Twitter and at the South Carolina Progressive Network page on Facebook.

Please pass it on... its my own small contribution to Black History Month.

Green Party Livestream show during President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address

The Green Party will be live-blogging the State of the Union address tonight. Included will be my esteemed radio co-host, GORGEOUS GREGG!
Speaking of which, here is the podcast of today's OCCUPY THE MICROPHONE show, on WOLT FM. Our special guest was the amazing Art Goodtimes.



PRESS RELEASE:

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States will hold a special online GP-TV broadcast during President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 12.

The show, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and 6 p.m. Pacific Time, will be aired on the Green Party's Livestream Channel (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus).

Viewers will be able to participate in a simultaneous chat about the address on the Livestream page and can also call in with comments and questions after the end of President Obama's speech. Craig Seeman and Starlene Rankin will produce and host the show.

Jill Stein, the Green Party's 2012 nominee for President (http://www.jillstein.org), will be a guest on the show via Skype after the President's speech.

Greens and friends will discuss the State of the Union, expectations for the second term of the Obama Administration, and the Green Party's own plans for the coming year. Issues like climate change, which President Obama discussed in his inaugural speech, will get special attention: is the President serious about curbing global warming, or will he approve the Keystone XL pipeline and continue to promote fossil fuel production?

See also:

Facebook page for the Livestream show: http://www.facebook.com/events/250333045092419

"Green Party urges national protest against the proposed Keystone XL and Trailbreaker pipelines"
Green Party press release, January 31, 2013
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=583

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Radio show poster

How do I look? I love it! (you can click to enlarge)

Check us out, if you haven't yet.

On the radio

Today was our second OCCUPY THE MICROPHONE show in our new radio digs. (At left: my talented radio co-hosts, Double A and Gorgeous Gregg.)







Last week was our first show at WOLT-FM (103.3 FM on your radio dial in Greenville, SC), so I deliberately did not link it, because it was a bit frenzied and I was not at my best. In fact, I was a nervous wreck. We are now broadcasting to a much larger audience; you can hear us in most of the upstate.

Unfortunately, I missed my cue today and started out with "Now?" (sigh) I carried on though, and overall it was a pretty good show. We interviewed Christopher Williams, author of The Killer Job and friend of the old Daisy Deadhead Show on WFIS-AM. We hope you will give us a listen.

I'd also like to give a shout-out for the RAISIN KANE benefit for young Kane DeGeorgis at the Handlebar, tomorrow night at 8pm, featuring my very favorite local band, Mac Arnold and Plate Full O' Blues. Other local artists participating include: Benton Blount, Craig Sorrells, Greg Payne (of The Piedmont Boys), Chuck Beattie, Caesar, Taylor Moore, JJ Woolbright, George Grady, Stacy Bruns, Cynthia Brashier, Jim Peterman, Tez Sherard, Scram, Teresa DeGeer, Gene Brashier, Tom Peterson, Greg Hodges, Jeff Holland and possibly even more. Your $10 ticket goes to a very good cause. Kane has Batten disease, which is so rare that in all my years of medical transcription, I cannot recall typing up a single case. (It occurs in an estimated 2 to 4 out of every 100,000 births in the United States.)

We wish Kane and his family all the very best.

If you'd like to advertise with us, contact Gorgeous Gregg at OccupyTheMicrophone@Yahoo.com.

Occupy the Microphone!

As of today, the Daisy Deadhead show (archives here) is no longer on WFIS-AM in Fountain Inn, South Carolina. (Our final show on that radio station was last Saturday.) I am proud to report that our show has now evolved into Occupy the Microphone.

At present, we are an online podcast, but after the first of the year, our plucky broadcast crew will move to WOLT-FM here in Greenville, South Carolina. Onward and Upward! Hopefully, the podcasts AND the radio shows will simultaneously continue.

Double A and Gregg Jocoy have been doing Occupy the Microphone podcasts Monday thru Wednesday at 8:30-9:30pm EST, with Scotty Reid of the indispensable Black Talk Radio Network doing Political Prisoner Radio on Thursdays (also at 8:30pm). Yesterday, I tried my hand at the podcast for the first time at 3pm, and it seemed to go well. I reviewed Damien Echols' fabulous book about being unfairly sentenced to Death Row in Arkansas (as one of the West Memphis Three), titled Life After Death. We talked about prisons and prisoners, the death penalty, the factors of race, class and mental disability in sentencing, and much more. Check it out.

We are getting our act together to take it on the road.

Although I enjoyed having a radio show named after me for well over a year, many folks expected something called "the Daisy Deadhead show" to feature Deadhead-type music instead of political yammering, which is our collective specialty. I figured it was a good idea to change the name. The amazing input (and hard work) of Double A and Gregg make it much more than a show named after ME, and it is important to acknowledge them... as well as the crucial role of the Occupy Wall Street movement in changing the leftist political landscape.

We have much more to say, do, attempt and express... and we very much hope you will join us.

Stay tuned!

Weekend update

My intrepid radio co-hosts, at left, Gorgeous Gregg Jocoy and Double A diehard.







Radio podcast is up--have a listen, yall!





~*~

There are about a half-dozen irrepressible Greenville Occupiers left (although hundreds still access the Facebook page), and we are wondering what we should call our group. Time to segue into Another Phase. Any suggestions?

Old Occupiers? Greenville Badasses? Lefty Upstate? Upstate Lefties? The Greenville Remainders? I dunno.

We are taking suggestions.



~*~

Meanwhile, I am still in Old Timer Blogger mode... and I have not made the important ailurophile transition from Friday Cat Blogging (old timer mode) to current-hipster CATURDAY... and for this reason, keep forgetting to do either one.

Therefore you should please consider this my first official Caturday post, as still another new DEAD AIR tag is born.

Yes, I know it's Sunday, but nobody's perfect.

The black and white kitty is Peace Cat, the Official Cat of DEAD AIR, and in the photo below him, Cyril, my other beloved feline. (HERE is Cyril as a sweet kitten, when I first introduced him to readers.)

And happy Caturday, even if I AM late arriving.

~*~




There is an upside to the unfortunate, dreadful FUBAR situation described yesterday, wherein three out of four SC residents had their Social Security numbers hijacked... I am still waiting to find out if that includes me and Mr Daisy, but we are assuming the worst and taking action nonetheless.

The upside is: this fiasco might be the proverbial nail in the coffin for our Vogue-magazine-modelling, globe-trotting governor Haley, who has habitually been asleep at the switch (or partying abroad) when she should be dealing with crucial issues here at home.

If anything does her in, this might be it. Democrats are certainly wasting no time pointing fingers:

In the days ahead, the unprecedented and costly breach likely will emerge as a political and governing test of the Haley administration.

It’s yet unclear how high the tide of public anger will rise. For the moment, residents are struggling to follow Haley’s urging to call a toll-free number to enroll in credit protection paid for by taxpayers — a system that initially was swamped and rendered ineffective by the sheer wave of callers.

The chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, Dick Harpootlian, has delivered a blunt assessment of the governor.

“If she were the CEO of a company that had a third of its data hacked, especially after all the public warnings of the danger of hackers, she would be fired,” said Harpootlian. “Too bad she has two more years on her contract.”

Off with her head!

Let's hope this beautiful noise continues, and all our suffering will not have been in vain.

~*~

More Haleyatin (as one of my radio-callers has named my attacks on Nikki Haley) for your edification: GOVERNOR BLASTING POLITICIANS FOR TAKING THE SAME PAYMENTS SHE TOOK.

Once again, good work, Will.