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!

Internet Break One

Taking an internet break, sorely needed. Going to Texas, photos to come.

Aside: I hate flying. I have come to regard Southwest Airlines as the equivalent of Greyhound Buses in the Sky (with less leg room).

I have been reading David Buckley's biography of Elton John, wherein I learned of Elton's 70s-era bedroom-in-the-sky, complete with fur bedspreads and all the drugs you want. I guess you have to be Elton John to afford that? (see photo at left, courtesy of Celebrities in Flight blog post at Getty Images.)

Liberace wept!

~*~




Our radio shows this past week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (sperm donor/IVF edition), Thursday, Friday.

Today at McAlister Square (broadcast location of our show), the Greenville Literacy Association's Really Good, Really Big, Really Cheap Book Sale ... be there or be square!

In addition, OCCUPY THE MICROPHONE will be tabling (and reading Tarot) at the Spartanburg Music and Arts Festival in early September, so come on out.

Also wanted to let people know about the Generous Gardens project. WE APPROVE!

See you in about a week, peoples.

Radio radio - update from the airwaves!

At left: Efia Nwangaza at the Multicultural Festival on June 27th.


Local Occupier, powerhouse Civil Rights attorney and director of the Malcolm X Center for Self Determination, Efia was on our July 4th radio show -- #Restorethe4th -- wherein we discussed reclaiming the 4th Amendment.





Efia was also on yesterday's show, greatly assisting us in our interview with Ralph Poynter, spouse of activist lawyer Lynne Stewart, who is suffering from advanced-stage cancer and currently seeking compassionate release from federal prison. There are two national support rallies for Lynne today (in New York City and Los Angeles) and one on Friday (in Washington, DC); please go to LynneStewart.org to sign the petition and learn more about her case. There are names and numbers to call, and much work to do.

We thank Ralph for being on our show and laying out the case so well.

Today: Bradley Manning, Ariel Castro, force-feeding Muslims during Ramadan at Guantanamo, and other timely topics on OCCUPY THE MICROPHONE, live at five!

Broadcasting from McAlister Square in Greenville, to all points of upstate South Carolina, all the way to Gaffney. Live streaming available at WOLI AM, so give us a listen.

The Resurrection of Mark Sanford, and other scary tales

I did not blog about the special District 1 congressional election between our embarrassing former Governor (and Nikki-Haley-discoverer) Mark Sanford, and Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, because I found the subject distressing and depressing. And of course, I already knew Sanford would win the reddest of red districts in the reddest of red states.

I found it depressing (but oh so predictable) that the best the Democrats could do was present a comedian's inexperienced sister and her Hollywood-fundraisers. Without question, the most entertaining events in the race (besides our fabulous radio shows making fun of Appalachian Trail Marky) were 1) when Larry Flynt endorsed Sanford, which was a genuine hoot, and 2) when Colbert-Busch got mouthy during the debate (or at least what passes for mouthy in the low-country).


At left: Our Green Party candidate for District 1, Eugene Platt, a photo I took at the Green Party convention in 2010.


Eugene Platt, the only US military veteran in the race, was not even allowed to participate in the congressional debate at (infamous military college) The Citadel. So much for all that military-solidarity crap they preach down there.

My redoubtable radio co-host, producer and consigliere, Gregg Jocoy, wrote a great article about Platt and the empty-suits offered by the two major parties. The title of the article sums up the whole dilemma-- The Hidden Candidate: South Carolina Voters Chose Between Inexperience and Disgrace.

Platt, an elected member of the James Island Public Service District Commission, was also a special guest on our show, OCCUPY THE MICROPHONE.

~*~

We have also been discussing other horror stories on our show, such as the recent nightmare up in Cleveland featuring Ariel Castro, that has captured the attention of the nation. Undoubtedly, this horrific crime will be one that most news outlets will be revisiting multiple times, since it seems too unbelievably awful to be true.

I also hope to blog in depth about the trial of now-convicted murderer Jodi Arias, later in the week...I am especially interested in whether she is sentenced to death. I can't think of the last time a young, thin, pretty, smart, middle class white woman actually received the death penalty; I challenged my radio-listeners to come up with an example, and no one has been able to do so. Karla Fay Tucker might qualify, but she was not middle-class, and the uniquely-grisly nature of her crime seemed to guarantee that she would be an exception. (Speaking of horror stories, people are always particularly freaked out by ax-murderers.)

I do think it is fascinating that Arias' designated defense witness, domestic-violence-expert Alyce LaViolette, was internet-mobbed on Amazon (of all places), where they were peddling her book. This was enough to cause LaViolette to take an emergency break from the trial due to a 'panic attack' brought on by all the online viciousness. This event was then the subject of a hand-wringing post on HuffPo, by an anthropologist who reduced the whole thing to 'bullying'... um, no. Leave it to another expert to get it wrong.

The outrage over LaViolette's rather embarrassing fawning over Arias (while providing multiple excuses for inexcusable behavior) was a symptom of the public's ongoing disgust with 'experts' who explain away evil and try to make it palatable and understandable, when it simply isn't. If LaViolette is going to do that shit on the taxpayer's dime (and attempt to sell a book in the process!), she has to be ready to face the consequences. No sympathy from this quarter.

More on Jodi to come, I promise.

~*~

And keeping with our general horror story theme: Yesterday was Confederate Memorial Day!



Above, the door to the offices of SC Works, which is in McAlister Square (also the location of WOLI studio, where we broadcast our show). I commented on this 'holiday' at length on the air, and read THIS POST about my Confederate ancestor, Thomas Hatcher.

He deserted the Confederate army, and I am so proud of him.

Hello America

I filed for an unemployment-benefits extension today, which I did not know was even possible. I learned of my extension-eligibility from a very helpful state employee at the Greenville-area One-Stop center yesterday.

And so, I girded my loins and prepared for today's long bureaucratic process at the unemployment office, where I have not been since November.

I am always somewhat obsessed with bean-counting the minute I enter the unemployment office. It is just so glaringly obvious. Today, about 50 people, give or take (very hard to count precisely, since people are constantly entering and exiting)... with only three white men in attendance, and they all appeared to be over 40. The rest of us, women of all colors and ages, and black men, all ages.

As I said, interesting.

Ever since I started counting, the results have been more or less the same.

My question: Are the young white men really staying employed en masse during this economic crisis, or are they too proud to apply for unemployment?

~*~

At left: Interior of Greenville Mall, around the time I worked there. (from Deadmalls.com)




The One-Stop center is in an old shopping mall, McAlister Square, that has been utterly transformed--you might say the building was recycled. I used to take my daughter there when she was a child; I recall St Patrick's Day and Halloween events that she loved. And now, when I walk in, it is still jarring to me that it is no longer a shopping mall. But I am so glad they managed to find some good purpose for it.

There is a website that I find fascinating, Deadmalls.com, since I am one of those people who actually worries about the proliferation of big-box stores and malls. I often wonder WHAT ON EARTH we will ever do with them.

Ever since I read JG Ballard's Hello America, I've wondered what these entities will be in 100-200 years from now. I imagine the enormous suburban office buildings chopped up into tiny apartments; I see the big-box stores turned into homeless shelters for hundreds of people... or possibly turned into hospitals, schools, or condos. What else could you do with them? Simply knock them down when they are no longer needed?

Greenville Mall, where I worked for awhile and had one of my fender-benders, is now gone; torn down some time ago. It was once the big deal around here, and now it is history. I think of it as a symbol of the fleeting nature of fads and fashion and why it's futile to try to be cool. (Buddhist aside: Empty malls that once attracted the moneyed young, filled to overflowing with hustle and bustle, are a good subject for anicca [impermanence] meditation.)

Cool lasts for a week or a day, and then something else is cool. I always tell people, I was totally cool for about an hour in the late 70s, during which time I visited both Max's and CBGB's. But the hour passed, and I descended back into my usual uncoolness.

It was a nice hour while it lasted.