'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Baron Dave Romm's Review
Shockwave Distribution CDs
By Baron Dave Romm
Suddenly, I've been doing these recommendations for six months. Actually, the anniversary was a couple of weeks ago and since I started off doing several a week, the last time would have been Recommendation #42, which would have been nice. But I missed it. Still, please indulge me this go 'round. I'm going to talk about my CDs.
Shockwave Radio, Science Fiction/Science Fact, the only tactile radio program in the galaxy, is about to celebrate its 23rd Anniversary. Science fiction humor at it's finest. We're broadcast on a non-profit radio station, and anything I charge for CDs gets plowed back into the venture. Each CD individually burned and lovingly printed and assembled by yours truly. Mention Bartcop-E and I'll autograph it to you... but I digress...
For many years I made Shockwave Distribution Tapes. 60 and 90 minute cassettes of live performances, studio production and broadcast shows. I'll still make tapes, but at this point they're all Special Requests. Still, there is a lot of material that hasn't been digitized, and if you like the CDs, you may want to delve further into the show. Indeed, the first CD came about because I did the editing digitally with a cassette in mind... and realized that it was just as easy to burn a CD!
For the 20th Anniversary of Shockwave Radio in 1999, I interviewed Jesse Ventura. His job as Governor of Minnesota aside, I mainly wanted to talk about his science fiction movies (Predator, Abraxas, Batman and Robin, etc). He was very nice and I had a one-on-one chat with him (which is a story unto itself). After a while, the interview wandered off into dairy price supports and term limits. The beginning, dealing with science fiction, is on The 20 Year Free-Fall. The whole interview is still up on my audio page. (Self-flagellating nitpicker's note: I suffered much anguish over hyphenation, and got it wrong. After the CDs were released, two experts said that there should be a hyphen in "20-Year". Oh well. Wait for the 25-Year Free-Fall.)
Also on the 20th Anniversary Show was the first of the Shockwave Samplers. 15 minutes of various bits cobbled together in an interesting and amusing fashion (I hope). The samplers are not intended as straight comedy, but rather as a condensation of the various aspects of the show. Shockwave does a great deal of original programming, whether it's our own productions, interviews, reviews or commentary. We're not talk radio, and we don't exclusively play audio production; we've been compared to Firesign Theatre, Hitchhiker's Guide, Monty Python, Art Bell and Dr. Demento. All true and not true at all. Shockwave has no format, and the samplers reflect that. Intending to make the samplers available on a Distribution Tape, I made four 15 minute samplers. Since I had the files on the computer already, I added the Ventura Interview and a few other bits and made the CD. I love living in the future. Full annotation of the CD here. Just making the cover was a lot of work, as few people took pictures of a radio show.
Food Wars and The Empire Bakes Off were originally digitized for my nephew. As such, it's the least slick crystal case. But you'll like it anyway. Kara Dalkey wrote parodies of the original Star Wars movies. (Repast of the Jello was a live performance, and I'm waiting on the guy who has the master to digitize it.) I play Luke Cakewalker, and Kara plays Lotta Oregano. Other Shockwave Riders play Ham Salad, Darthomatic, R-2-D-Frost, and so on. More food puns than you can shake a chopstick at, if that's your idea of a good time. "Use the fork, Luke". Loads of fun for the whole family. At the moment, these two are also up on the audio site.
In 1982, Minicon (the local Mpls science fiction convention) had a theme of "Backwards into the future". Before the con we held a dead-dog party, held Closing Ceremonies on Friday, held Opening Ceremonies on Sunday, had the pre-con party after the con and the very first thing I did at the next Minicon was to hold the organizational meeting for the previous year. Good thing we decided to do it.
Closing Ceremonies, or less formally known as The Fall of the House of Usherette, is one of my favorite Shockwave bits. Brian Westley always wanted to write a Dudley Do-right episode where Dudley gets turned into a vampire. I always wanted to write a murder mystery where the audience did it. (Not to give anything away...) As we were working on it, Dave Sim accepted being Artist Guest of Honor. Kara had been adapting Cerebus the Aardvark for the radio (with Sims' permission), and we added her sixth effort to the show. It was great having the creator of the comic book in the audience! The show itself came off spectacularly well, with Jerry Stearns nailing Dudley's voice and Michael Butler doing a British and two different Australian accents. Steve Brust playing Hercule Pardo, the criminologist announcer. I play Daschiell Hamlet, the hard-boiled yet indecisive crime-fighter, among many other parts. ("To be, or 221B, that is the question.") A few visual jokes don't quite come off on the recording, but it's still great after 20 years. For a bonus on the CD, I added my favorite other Cerebus adaptation.
If I get enough encouragement, other CDs will be forthcoming. I have a few other things digitized, waiting for editing and for a jewel case and CD label to be designed. It's a lot of work, but I do it for you, the fans and... well, you know. Anyway, if you're interested in these CDs, drop me a line for ordering info. And if you waant to support independent radio, pledge to KFAI-FM, Fresh Air Radio. Mention Shockwave!
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here.
Reader Comment
Re: Clock Cursor
I see the clock is back! At least this time, I know what it is.
It's hotter than Hades here, no rain (although if you look at the weather channel, you'll see rain ALL around the OKC area, just not HERE in Norman) and I have been
envious of the beach weather you have reported. Hold on though....your hottest months are yet to come (I remember Sept and Oct....Santa Ana winds).
Sarah (in OK)
LOL - what can I say, Sarah....couple of days with no fun mail, and I start doing peculiar things. ; )
Reader Comment
Re: Clock Cursor
Ok, it's cute for about 30 seconds. Then it gets plain irritating. How about having an option for those who want it to get the cutsie cursor and let the rest of us do without it.
Don't mean to be too grumpy, but I don't like having it forced on me. The first time you did it, I thought something was wrong with my computer. At least this time I knew what was
wrong, but that still didn't remove the irritation at having to see it while reading.
Linda >^..^<
Okay. Won't use the clock cursor again til I need some more mail. LOL. Thanks, Linda.
(PS - keep the cursor on the scroll bar, and it disappears - at least it does here.)
Anonymous Reader Comment
The (Not So) Happiest Place On Earth
''This week they made us an offer for the celebrity parade. They need cast members (out of
costume & on their own time) and their guests to come out and be part of the cheering
section. They'll let us and our guests in for free to
pretend we're actually enthusiastic about these probably terrible shows.
This sounds like the Disney I know! Allowing employees (& guests, too), in 'for free' is pretty much an admission that even they KNOW their product is wafting the aroma of fresh cow patties. While the heads of people who actually perform a service will be served on silver platters
in the name of 'cost-cutting', corporate will line their golden parachutes, and plot for the day they can bail. Proving once again, cut enough corners, and you lose your edge.
The Disney/ABC affiliate (KABC) tonight covered the 'celebrity parade' like it was a news story. Jeez....Jim Belushi singing & Drew Carey on Splash Mountain. Yeah. I wanna be like them!
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
The temperature is starting the seasonal climb. The hot weather seems to avoid the area til late August/early September. September & October
are usually our warmest months.
Have to buy school uniforms this week. Long Beach mandates uniforms in the public school system. It's an interesting situation, and I can have attitudes about it
on both sides of the fence. On one hand, it sure cuts down on arguments regarding clothes in the morning. On the other, it's just a band-aid cure, trying to hide
poverty while smothering individuality. Regardless, we have a great local public school, and I'm grateful.
Last Wednesday, someone abandoned another car on the cross street (the house is on a corner) - it happens a couple of times a year. It's been ticketed, and should be towed
tomorrow. At least it passed the sniff test. Life in the big city...LOL
Tonight, Monday, CBS has reruns of 'King Of Queens', 'Yes, Dear', an hourlong rerun of 'Raymond', and then a rerun of 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'.
Scheduled on a fresh Dave are Jimmy Fallon and Stupid Human Tricks.
On a rerun Craiggers, the scheduled guests are Denise Richards, Jonathan Silverman, and Pet Shop Boys.
NBC has a rerun 'Fear Factor', then a fresh 'Dog Eat Dog' and a fresh 'Meet My Folks'.
Scheduled on a fresh Jay are Tom Hanks, San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds, and Lyle Lovett.
On a rerun Conan, the scheduled guests are Juliette Lewis, Eddie Griffin, and The Breeders.
On a rerun Carson Daly (from 5/07/02), the scheduled guests are Sarah Silverman and Nappy Roots.
ABC has 'NFL Preseason', with the new Browns visiting in Green Bay. On the west coast, we will then be treated to 'Marvin's Room'.
The WB has reruns of '7th Heaven' and 'Smallville'.
Faux offers 2 reruns of 'Boston Public'.
UPN has a rerun of 'The Parkers', then a rerun of 'One On One', followed by 2 reruns of 'Girlfriends'.
A&E's 'Investigative Reports' spotlights Barbara Ehrenreich's bestseller, 'Nickel And Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America'.
TCM has a great line-up today. Starting mid-day with Lord Love a Duck (1966), followed by
Georgy Girl (1966).
The evening seems to celebrate some of the better films of the '70's, starting with Grease (1978),
then a letterbox-version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), followed by
The Sting (1973), and wraps the night with
The Exorcist (1973). Pea soup, anyone?
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Ann Coulter Quote
Liz Smith
Ann Coulter boasts the No. 1 best-selling book in American non-fiction, "Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right." Many read it with slack-jawed wonder, thinking
if one simply switched "liberal" to "conservative" throughout, it would make more sense.
Ann gave an interview to George Gurley in the New York Observer this week. She actually says, "My only regret with Timothy
McVeigh (the Oklahoma City bomber) is he did not go to the New York Times building."
Liz Smith
Over Johnson Space Center
Ballunar Liftoff Festival 2002
An American flag hangs from a hot-air balloon in the shape of the Statue of Liberty's head, piloted by Gerald Lefevre, as the balloon flies over Johnson Space Center, Sunday,
Aug. 25, 2002, in Houston. The balloon was participating in the Ballunar Liftoff Festival 2002.
Photo by George Wong
Gore Was Too Aggressive?
Katherine 'Cruella' Harris
Former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris says in a new book that Al Gore might have gotten a statewide recount if he hadn't decided to "unleash the dogs of war."
Harris' 289-page memoir of the 2000 presidential election "Center of the Storm" is scheduled for release in October — just before the election that Harris hopes will take her to Congress.
"When the Gore campaign began to unleash the dogs of war upon me during the difficult recount controversy, I was not inordinately surprised," Harris wrote.
But she goes on to write that his aggressive tactics may have lost him the chance to obtain a statewide recount.
Katherine 'Cruella' Harris
Zeebrugge, Belgium
Tall Ship
16 sailors stand in the mast of an unidentified tall sailing ship as they leave the port of Zeebrugge, 130km (80miles) west of Brussels, for a parade of sail in front of the
Belgian coast, Sunday Aug. 25, 2002.
Photo by Geert Vanden Wijngaert
Out of Hospital
Jason Priestley
Actor Jason Priestley was released Saturday from an Indianapolis hospital where he spent 12 days recovering from injuries sustained in a crash at Kentucky Speedway.
Priestley was released from Methodist Hospital late Saturday morning, hospital spokeswoman Penny Johnson said. She said she did not know where Priestley had been taken after his discharge.
The actor's doctors had said earlier in the week that he would soon be moved from the hospital to a physical rehabilitation center.
The day after the crash, Priestley was moved from a Kentucky hospital to Methodist Hospital, where doctors repaired fractures on back and feet. They also operated on his injured nose and one of his eyes.
Doctors have said that Priestley is expected to make a full recovery.
Jason Priestley
Predicts Snowy Winter
Farmers' Almanac
If last winter's mild weather kept your snow shovel buried beneath beach towels and tanning butter, the Farmers' Almanac recommends dusting it off this fall.
Folks from Maine to Colorado can expect heavy snow and colder-than-normal temperatures, according to this year's edition.
The 186-year-old almanac, which goes on sale Tuesday, made similar prognostications last winter. Those predictions, based on a secret model known to only two people
that takes into account sunspot activity, planet position, and effects of the moon, were mostly wrong.
When the Farmers' Almanac, not to be confused with the Old Farmer's Almanac in New Hampshire, began publishing in 1818, almanacs provided the only weather forecasts available.
Farmers' Almanac
Farmers' Almanac.com
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Loses Ruling on Reruns
Phil Donahue
Phil Donahue doesn't get first dibs when it comes to buying the rights to reruns of his former show.
A judge ruled against the talk show host last week, saying Donahue lost the right to be first to buy when his contract with the owners of the show expired in 1996.
Donahue sued Multimedia Inc., Universal Television Enterprises Inc. and Gannett Co., Inc. in 1997, saying he didn't get first crack at buying the rights to the show
when Gannett acquired Multimedia in December 1995, or when California-based Universal Television bought rerun rights from Gannett in December 1996.
Phil Donahue
Wedding News
Quinlan - Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel's son, sprung from a Manhattan jail 36 hours earlier after mistakenly being accused of assaulting and robbing a woman, was on hand as his TV-star dad tied the knot
yesterday with his longtime mistress at a posh Florida hotel.
Upon arriving in Palm Beach for his dad's wedding, Gumbel said only that he was "here on personal business."
The elder Gumbel, 58, who left CBS's low-rated "Early Morning Show" for an HBO sports gig, and Hilary Quinlan, 42, said their "I do's" during a small and private late-afternoon ceremony at The Breakers in Palm Beach.
Guests included the groom's brother, CBS sportscaster Greg Gumbel, as well as his best friend and replacement on NBC's "Today" show, Matt Lauer.
The marriage is the first for Quinlan, a former financial analyst for Goldman Sachs in Chicago, and the second for Gumbel, who divorced his son's mom, June, last summer.
Quinlan - Gumbel
Barred From Earth Summit
Dalai Lama
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrives at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Leh in Jammu and Kashmir on August 23. Tibetan officials said on August 25 he
has been barred from the Earth Summit in South Africa.
Photo by Kamal Kishore
The Osbournes Quotes and Best Moments Website
Loves Santorini
Angelina Jolie
Actress Angelina Jolie is impressed with this Greek holiday island which will appear in the action movie "Tomb Raider 2."
The movie, due for release next year, is the sequel of "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," inspired by a popular computer game.
Jolie has begun work on aquatic action scenes being shot off the coast of Santorini, a crescent shaped volcanic island.
Asked about her opinion of Greek men, she replied: "The only man in my life right now is my son."
Angelina Jolie
BartCop TV!
Biggest Flop In Years
''Pluto Nash''
The Mel Gibson thriller "Signs" recaptured the top slot at the North American weekend box office on Sunday, while three new releases tanked and overall sales slumped to their lowest point in almost a year.
"Signs" earned $14.4 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, as its 24-day total rose to $173.2 million. Gibson plays a widowed clergyman who regains his faith as he saves his family from aliens.
After two weekends at No. 1, Diesel's extreme-sports action movie "XXX," slipped to No. 2. It pulled in $13.7 million this time, taking its 17-day haul to $106.7 million. It was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp.
The best of the anemic rookies was "Serving Sara," a romantic comedy starring "Friends" actor Matthew Perry and English model/actress Elizabeth Hurley, which opened at No. 6 with $6.1 million.
At least the newcomers did better than Eddie Murphy's "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," the biggest flop in years. In its second weekend of release, the $100 million picture grossed $630,000, a 71 percent slide from its opening tally
of $2.2 million. The total stands at $3.8 million. It was released by AOL Time Warner's Warner Bros. Pictures.
The sleeper hit of the year, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" jumped two places to a new high of No. 4 in its 19th weekend. The romantic comedy earned $7.6 million as its total rose to $64 million. It was released by IFC Films, a unit
of Rainbow Media Holdings Inc., which is majority owned by Cablevision Systems Corp. .
For a lot more, ''Pluto Nash''
Snarky Gossip
'The Fourth Wives Club'
Remember "The First Wives Club," in which Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton seek revenge on the husbands who dumped them for younger women? Los Angeles magazine
has just published a piece about "The Fourth Wives Club" - gals whose high-powered hubbies have been married three times before. Its members include Milton Berle's widow
Lorna Adams, Warren Cowan's wife Barbara Gilbert, Bernie Brillstein's wife Carrie Winston, Dale Grim's wife Alanna Tarkington, Freddie Fields' wife Corinna Tsopei and David
Begelman's wife Annabelle Weston.
'The Fourth Wives Club'
University of Dayton
Vatican Art
Art from the Vatican rarely seen by the public will be shown at the University of Dayton next year, the university said.
An exhibit titled "The Mother of God: Art Celebrates Mary" is scheduled to run two months at the university's library in fall 2003.
The 38 artworks date from the 4th century to the late 20th century and show Mary, who Christians believe was the mother of Jesus, in various cultures and forms.
Many of the pieces are not in the public part of the Vatican and only are seen during special exhibitions, said the Rev. Johann Roten, director of the Marian Library-International Marian Research Institute.
The institute, which has the world's largest collection of printed material on Mary, is hosting the exhibit with the 11,000-student Roman Catholic university where it is based.
Vatican Art
Not Quite ''Let's All Go To The Lobby...''
NFL Films
Relief may be on the way for moviegoers who seethe at the guy behind them who can't stop talking during the movie.
NFL Films has produced a tongue-in-cheek 75-second trailer that will run before movies on the 2,448 screens owned by Loews Cineplex Entertainment.
The trailer, which starts playing in Loews multiplexes this weekend, is the highlight of a national promotion campaign engineered by the NFL and Loews Cineplex called "Lights, Camera, Kickoff."
"The NFL has always wanted to extend its brand into entertainment areas, and this is a potentially good vehicle for the league," said John McCauley, VP of marketing for Loews Cineplex Entertainment.
In exchange for the NFL putting up the money to produce the spot, Loews will hand out booklets at each movie showing that feature an NFL TV schedule, information about fantasy football, discounts
on merchandise from the NFL Shop and an entry form for a contest to get a free screening with an NFL player.
NFL Films
A Glacier Bear?
Alaska White Bear
When hunting season opens Sept. 1, one special bear will be off limits: a rare white-colored black bear that a photographer spotted near Juneau and turned into a local celebrity.
The Alaska Board of Game ordered an emergency closure on hunting of all "white phase" black bears in the Juneau area. Effectively, that covers only one known white bear, the one photographed earlier this month by Pat Costello.
Costello petitioned the board Thursday asking that the bear he's dubbed "Spirit bear" be exempt, and the board ruled Friday.
"People recognize this is a unique animal," Costello said. "They don't want to see it just made into another rug."
State biologists have known of the bear's existence for a few years. It looks almost like a polar bear but has distinctive raccoon-like markings around the eyes. Experts say it likely is a
variation of what biologists call a glacier bear - genetically a black bear, but with a light coat that can run from cinnamon to blue-white.
Glacier bears are scarce, but a bear this white is even more rare. Biologists in Southeast Alaska said they have not seen another like it.
Alaska White Bear
juneauphotos.com
?
'' M oney . . .
Liabilities now total $1.6 billion in the Adelphia restatement.
WorldCom is thought to owe its banks approximately $4.5 billion....
That's the text of the latest attack ad rolled out by the party of Terry McAuliffe. The Democratic National Committee chairman plans to air them in selected battleground states and
congressional districts throughout the country.
The obvious aim is to somehow tie the Bush administration to the recent rash of corporate scandals.....
Joseph Perkins
WTF?
There has been a '?' floating at the bottom of this page for awhile (and if you've clicked on it), you've seen what the incredibly lazy, nationally syndicated hack
Joseph Perkins, who failed to check his facts, felt worthy of comment. Hell, he thought it was worth a whole column.
The clip in question was most definitely NOT produced, or paid for by the Democratic party, or any representative of the Democratic party (yes, this is a fact).
One would have thought that the San Diego Union-Tribune, being a 'real' newspaper, and
United Media, a national syndicator, would have corrected, or at least acknowledged the errors in
Joseph Perkins' column in a timely fashion. After all, Mr. Perkins is on the payroll.
Especially in light of Joseph Perkins is also the columnist who trashed Us Weekly's cover story on single moms because it "sends a decidedly harmful message to the millions of impressionable young
women who look up to them with admiration" and decide that this "lifestyle choice" is okay. In that particular column he named Today Show co-host Katie Couric as a single mom by choice.
To keep up to speed on how quickly the media responds when caught in a lie, follow the writings of 'Editor' at
Blah3.com: Free Speech for the New Century, who is quite on top of the entire situation. : )
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
