Episode 118: ¡Feces Navidad!

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In one part of the world, at least, the phrase "getting good shit for Xmas" is taken more literally than in others. For a fun look at this region, one intended as levity for what December 25th can bring, I offer the gift of Episode 118: ¡Feces Navidad!

In this episode, I play: The Vince Guaraldi Trio doing "Skating;" and a tune I yanked from the internets.


Holiday Pooping: It's a Catalonian tradition!

I'm releasing this and all my episodes under a Creative Commons 4.0 attribution, share-alike, and non-commercial license.

With that, I wish you all warm and fecund holiday feelings and memories… freshly pinched, and conically presented in a spiral!

Episode 117: Can You Hear Me Now?

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It’s not coincidental that the most irritating advertising arose only after machines increased audiences. Broadcasting and amplification beyond the range of a single voice likewise allowed today’s aural effluent. Hence, Episode 117: Can You Hear Me Now?

In this episode, I read from Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, specifically a section I found quoted in Brooke Allen's book, Immoral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers.


What's Missing in This Picture?

Sound-bite-wise, I play: William Jennings Bryan's close to his famous 1896 nomination speech; and Alexander Graham Bell saying his name. I revisited both the 1947 movie The Hucksters and the 1950 television production featuring Spike Jones and his City Slickers Orchestra, pulling out of them some classic ads for both now-defunct and wholly-fictional soapy stuff.

To break things up just a bit, I played Lee Rosevere's "Ingenuity" (well, at least snippets of it). I opened with Clark Gable's character Vic Norman bitching about ads while backed by KMFDM; I'm closing the show with Mistle Thrush.

I'm releasing this and all my episodes under a Creative Commons 4.0 attribution, share-alike and non-commercial license.

Episode 116: Gates & Gatekeepers

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The more I dive into media history, the more I find that surprises. For example, did you know there was at one time a chain of theaters that didn't charge for admission? It's a mulling topic for me on this Episode 116: Gates & Gatekeepers.

In this episode, I read once again from Tim Wu's The Attention Merchants: The Epic Struggle To Get Inside Our Heads. As I mentioned, it was a strange, throw-away line from that book, but it got me to thinking, which is a good thing for a book to do.

Musically, I played: Podington Bear doing "Senseless" in its entirety; and snippets from Jahzzar's "Breaking Bad" and Podington Bear's "Forces". KMFDM's "Attack" backed Bernie Sanders in the intro, and I'm closing once again with Mistle Thrush's "It's All Like Today.

I'm releasing this and all my episodes under a Creative Commons 4.0 attribution, share-alike, and non-commercial license.