Episode 6: We, Branded Bipedal Billboards

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In Episode 6: We, Branded Bipedal Billboards, I muse on the tribal drives that cause us to join with others in supporting certain endeavors, and note how this tribal drive is often hijacked by those with a pecuniary interest and used as a means of spreading commercial messages through our very outerwear, sometimes without our notice.

Early music, "The World is a Toilet" from Turmoil.

Closing music from Lee Rosevere, "Dreaming is a Private Thing."

A very short opening snippet from Wagner's opera "Sigfried" can also be heard.

Episode 5: Freak Show Porn

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In Episode 5: Freak Show Porn, we consider people like Jeff Yeager, an author who celebrates his life as a cheapskate. For those suffering personally in this economic downturn, Mr. Yeager's advice can help greatly. Good luck getting it, though, especially on our commercially funded media, at least without an unnecessary filter of denigrations and distortions that make Jeff—and people like him—look like freaks.

Intro: The opening sequence from the 1932 movie "Freaks".

Closing music: "Ode To A Baby Snowstorm" by Ghostly Dust Machine.

Episode 4: Tools and Their Boxes

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Episode 4: Tools and Their Boxes Concerns what happens when advertising dogma creeps into civic life. We've seen all too much of this corruption of our common spaces, what with our stadia and arenas branded not by the names of their builders as was traditional, but with names reflecting whomever bid the highest on the name and only the name, leaving the bulk of construction and maintenance for someone else to worry about.

Sadly, it could be—and might just become—quite a bit worse. In this episode, I examine one such so far failed attempt shove commercial branding onto my home state's transportation infrastructure, and my dream esprit de escalier response to the committee who proposed it.

Bear in mind, folks, that this bill was reintroduced without amendment in January of 2014. Head here to follow its "progress." If they dare reopen public comment, I will be there.

Other voices from the record of the House Transportation Committee from Tuesday, January 22, 2013.

Music backing my rebuttal speech: "Bomb Run" from the Dr. Strangelove soundtrack, and the unforgettable conclusion to Leonard Nimoy's extraordinary rendition of "If I Had A Hammer."

PS. This episode was recorded before Mr. Adams' unlikely scenario involving a fictional Johnny actually played out, at least in part. I was somewhat surprised at that.