There may have been more, but I have only caught two, so far. I am talking about Candidates Forums, live Q and A programs designed to give voters a more personal glimpse of individuals seeking to become members of the Local Station Board. These get-to-know-them sessions are not given much attention by WBAI—it's as if they were stuck into the schedule at random. The first one I happened upon was a contentious two hours that included a dramatic entrance by JUCista Cerene Roberts, whose atrocious behavior on previous occasions got her barred from ever putting as much as a toe onto an official WBAI locale, such as the studio. We later found out that permission was granted by Berthold Reimers on orders from KPFK's Lydia Brazon, who Chairs the Pacifica National Board and is sometimes referred to as "the wicked witch of the West."
This one is a yawn stretched to the extreme, but I thought it ought to be made available, because it is a taste of things to come. You can always spot check to get that imitation KoolAid flavor. The three candidates on this program are, Carl Makower, Pauline Park and Dacio Quintana—the latter two belong to the JUC faction, which has already been warned by Local Election Supervisor Gene A. Johnson that they violated a Pacifica Fair Campaign provision. These people probably mean well, they have a vague idea of what is wrong and why the audience has dropped out, but the solutions they offer don't raise much hope, should they be elected. They seem aware of the poor programming and, being seated in it, they must find the makeshift "studio" arrangement laughable, but they just don't seem to have grasped the core of WBAI's present crisis. Now, more than ever, people want to hear what new candidates propose as a path out of WBAI's worst financial crisis in 55 years, but the proposals they make are not inspiring. With that, I leave you to listen to this forum and hope that you post your comment when you wake up.
This is absolutely hilarious! These three dopes are so dumb that it makes you wonder how they aren't already in WBAI or Pacifica management. All their answers regarding WBAI are generalities, not specifics, and deluded generalities, at that. So this is what WBAI appeals to and seeks financial support from?
ReplyDeleteSo much damn talk about themselves. My life is now complete that I know Dacio Quintana fancies himself as Napoleon, the transtesticle sure admires itself and Makower sounds like one of those old leftists living in the past. He'd love babbling Bob. Most of all, they are boring! No one would want to listen to them and their message because they as so damn boring!
I should have pledged and ran for a seat. "What would be the first thing you would do?" "Get Reimers ass fired and investigated by the D.A.!"
You know what may have made me laugh the hardest? When Park mentioned how LGBTABCDEFG people don't listen to WBAI. No shit! And what is a palm card? Did Quintana mean business cards?
I love the continuous sound effect of the mic being passed back and forth. Can't these nitwits at least gently pick it up rather than sliding it across the table? Can't these jerks even afford a mic swivel boom mount and a shock mount? Jeez, I bought them for my mic! Think of it, I'm not even a real radio station (a show, really) and i am more professional. And yes, before you ask, I got a wind screen. Total cost less than $300. I bet I will have more listeners than WBAI in no time.
SDL
I think you nailed all three of them.
DeleteI also wondered what a palm card is. Something they hand out in the tropics? That LGBT person was a bit much—she squeezed in her plug for JUC.
I guess people who have fresh ideas and might know what would work are too intelligent to throw their hat into this wingding ring. I wonder if Reimers is aware of the loathing he generates? He is either a pawn for the West Coast Wilkerson/Siegel gang or he has some juicy stuff on some of them.
Dreadfully conducted interview, of course. Ms Park seems to be the most grounded, most intelligent, most articulate. That said, all appear to be the usual WBAI/Pacifica suspects, ie, ‘progressive’ and ‘community’ low-level aspirational activists.
DeleteAll moot, of course, at this point.
~ ‘indigopirate’
ps: Uhm, ‘palm cards’ is a standard term, and a standard practice for some promotions and outreach. Feel free to google the phrase – not that it would be helpful for WBAI – it won’t. Anyone tuning in would very soon simply tune out.
Among my family papers, going back some 200 years, I have come across several calling cards—no address, just name and, perhaps, title. I think they were handed to the butler to announce who the visitor was. Sounds awfully stagey, but I love the civility of it.
Deletewbai .. let s dicuss the motion about the meeting over the adjourment of the motion to have a discussion to have a meeting .
ReplyDeleteYou just can't make this stuff up folks . . dysfunction to the max
Linda perry "news" all day 3 or 4 minutes on akai gurley . that's it , nothing else Shameful
Haskins getting darker and darker every morning . It's his "duty" to bring you the blackness everymorning . Because it's who he is . And he ain't going nowhere ! ain't that the truth .
Howard jordan doing the usual white bashing .
Gary Byrd .. having brotha bob law on , one of his resident racist guests to talk about what martin said .
and to discuss how to stop blacks from shopping on black friday . yeah good luck with that .
Good timing! I had just finished downloading this morning's "I-ain't-goin'-nowhere-'cause we'se-in-de-middle-of-de-dial!" routine. Haskins is getting worse and worse as desperation sets in. He isn't wrapped too tight, but I think he has enough brain to realize that the jig is up. He has surrounded himself with delusional wannabes who get recycled week after week. Giggly Pammie loves it! These are pathetic people... innocent black and white civilians are being slaughtered en masse and the morning misfits waste a good part of their air time oooh-ing and aaah-ing in admiration and awe as they hear a Princeton junior talk about her brave fight to get Woodrow Wilson's name taken off a campus building. Talk about warped priorities!
DeleteThese are idiots, plain and simple.
Good timing! I had just finished downloading this morning's "I-ain't-goin'-nowhere-'cause we'se-in-de-middle-of-de-dial!" routine. Haskins is getting worse and worse as desperation sets in. He isn't wrapped too tight, but I think he has enough brain to realize that the jig is up. He has surrounded himself with delusional wannabes who get recycled week after week. Giggly Pammie loves it! These are pathetic people... innocent black and white civilians are being slaughtered en masse and the morning misfits waste a good part of their air time oooh-ing and aaah-ing in admiration and awe as they hear a Princeton junior talk about her brave fight to get Woodrow Wilson's name taken off a campus building. Talk about warped priorities!
DeleteThese are idiots, plain and simple.
They tried to find a radical black audience while excluding everyone else. The problem is that the radical black audience they want is minuscule and can't financially sustain the station. WBAI knows it, but won't admit it. That's why they tried for the Hispanic crowd, too, recently. However, radical Hispanics are even fewer and not interested in English talk radio, but Spanish. Also, let's be honest, Hispanics have integrated into the USA better already because the main racism is still anti-black here. It is the truth, no matter how wrong it may be. However, the black nationalist radical crap is NO answer to the problem.
DeleteHere's a little tidbit I just thought of. My father was an electronics repair man in the 1960/70s. He did mostly in-house calls. He had a good reputation because he liked to fix the TVs and Radios in the house rather than make a rip-off excuse to pull them to the shop and screw people. He had a probably 70% business in black homes. He told me how when he went to the black homes that had a picture of Martin Luther King on the wall, they were usually nice people. When he went to the ones with Malcom X on the wall, they were usually nasty. Take that how you will. Just thought I'd pass it on. No matter what, my father saw how the Bronx went down and down further more than most loud mouthed white leftists ever did, because he worked there six days a week.
I think you are absolutely right. These imitation radicals are stuck in a time warp and too deluded to believe that the days of Black Panthers and Young Lords are over—not that the racism that generated these groups is over, but even protest movements evolve with the times. The Laws, Hammers and Byrds have not new thoughts to contribute, so—like a WBAI infomercial—they'r stuck on a treadmill, tethered by their own narrow vision.
DeleteSomeone like Haskins is the perfect model for these self-designated authorities, follower who seems incapable of independent thought. It's interesting—and sad—to hear how he so desperately tries to fit in. Now he is beginning to see himself as the captain of the BS WBAI, a mighty ship in mid-dial. Others may drop out but he will not be removed!
When he goes into those bursts of defiance, I wonder if he isn't trying to convince himself. He knows that the audience isn't there, he knows that nothing short of a miracle will get the station out of debt, and I think he knows that there ain't no such thing as a miracle.
I recall finding it interesting, in the Sixties/Seventies, how so many of the dashiki-clad, afro sporting pseudo radical blacks were of a light complexion. I knew quite a few and sensed a resentment... not towards whites, but towards blacks whose appearance left no doubt of their ancestry.
One close friend of mine, a writer named Orde Coombs. who had come here from the West Indies, was determined to cash in on this trendy radicalism. We were at a party one night when he observed that people of lighter hue seemed to gravitate towards each other. This gave him an idea for a suitably controversial article, so he wrote one for New York magazine: Mulatto Power! He shaped it into a conspiracy. Pure nonsense, but it heightened his name recognition and got him a TV talk show. He did another piece for the NY Times wherein he suggested that camps be set up to house street thugs. He was playing the game rather well. Esquire sent him to Africa on an assignment. He was the first person I knew who contracted AIDS, but it was early on, so nobody knew what that was.
I think this is the perfect accompaniment to what you say...
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8QEIaATPis
SDL
SDL are you going to do a Pod-cast show? If so where, and when. Hope so the more the Merrier!
ReplyDeleteAs for the elections,...well.
It would take the likes of the great radio journalists, and performer of the 1940 thru the 2000's to even begin to turn our shit around. 'And even they might not get the job done things are so bad.
Instead we have a Clown Car of characters.
Angels do Weep.
My Uncle Sydney! I was listening to your podcast #3 (catching up and doing one a day in order) and realized how you have been with me for most of my life. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but a fun thing, for sure. Good stuff and so happy to hear you again!
DeleteWell, I am doing a free form radio show. I think all my influences of old WBAI, WFMU, college radio, shortwave radio, etc. will be found in the mix. Free form may be an understatement, as I will do whatever my Cancerian mood swings dictate that particular moment.
Now, where will you find it. Right now it will be on shortwave radio. I haven't decided exactly what station, if I go the legal route. You see, in Europe, there are now these independent lease time radio stations (Channel 292, IRRS, etc.) with 10,000w transmitters that essentially have signals that cover just about all of Europe, from Spain to Western Russia. The cost is super cheap, about $25/hour.
Another option, which I may do instead of or in addition to the legal line, is having my show on a pirate radio station that has a damn good signal. I know the guy and he'll do it for free.
Now, I may also put the show up on a website for downloading to listen to.
No matter what, people outside of Europe can use the University of Twente sdr (software defined radio) online to hear me. It's like using a radio located in The Netherlands to listen to radio. It's really cool, actually. You just put in the frequency you want in the frequency box and it takes you to it. That how I listen to the Europirates.
I will most definitely inform everyone of when exactly my debut will commence. This will be my first time on radio in about fifteen years, since my days on Fred Geobold/Kuhn's The Light Show, wreaking havoc and destruction at WBAI. I take pride in having been yelled at by Valerie Van Issler once.
SDL
Tangled with "VVI"?!
ReplyDeleteWell Done Comrade!
Look forward to hearing the where, and when of you 'Casts.
Peace.
Funny story, actually. The show before Fred's was the Rastas, the only nice people I ran into at the station. Well, evidently, after their show they went into the smoking room and smoked up the place with pot and hung out there for a long time. Eventually, I went to have a cigarette (yes, a regular one), and the placed wreaked of pot. Van Issler shows up at the door, bends over a bit, points her finger at me and yells, "If I ever catch any of you smoking pot at the station again, I will ban you!" I showed her my cigarette and told her the Rastas had been there a little while before. She looked at me and said, "OK, but consider that your warning..." She then stormed off.
DeleteThat was like my 2nd time up there. I told Fred and you know how Fred would speak, "Oh... Never mind her... She's like that sometimes..." That was also the morning I said "Hello" to Jim Freund, who side swiped me while zipping around with his arms full of books, records, CDs and whatever and responded, "Yeah." Fred said, "He's a busy beaver... You see all that stuff he has? He'll never even get to most of it..."
I was actually enjoying the circus. My kind of craziness. If it weren't for something not really related to WBAI, I may have tried to work my way into the station. Hell, watching Fred sleeping on the board while I'm doing an interview via phone (they had ten phone lines way back then) was kind of funny. 212-279-3400.
SDL