As if things weren’t interesting enough around here, now I’m sick, with a “childhood illness” called Fifth Disease. While it sounds really impressive (”the whole way up to five?”), it’s basically a flu-like thing caused by a parvovirus. I’m a little surprised I got it, since that implies I’ve never had it before (remember, I’m from the generation where measles, mumps, and chicken pox were considered a normal part of childhood, not deadly diseases to be avoided by delivering partial immunity and pharmaceutical company profits), but it couldn’t have come at a worse time, what with Annie’s upcoming surgery and all.

It has slowed me down pretty well (the migrating joint pain is really uncomfortable, particularly in the evenings, and last night it hit my hands so hard I couldn’t type), so expect me to take a bit more time handling questions or problems. This of course comes on top of the expected slowdown with Annie’s upcoming stay in hospital (I cannot tell you how embarrassing it is to need help getting out of bed from someone who actually has a serious illness), so accept my apologies ahead of time, and thanks for your understanding.

As recently discussed on the Internet OTR Digest, here is one of the nine surviving episodes of Empire Builders, sponsored by the Great Northern Railroad and according to Elizabeth McLeod’s Documenting Early Radio page, discovered in the mid-1980s in their corporate archives. This episode, “James J. Hill,” aired February 2, 1931.

Our thanks to both Ken Stockinger and Jim Widner for providing the copies of these historical programs for the podcast!

You may stream the show using the player below, or download it with the link. Remember, by subscribing to this blog with any podcasting client (Juice, iTunes, etc.) the shows will be automatically downloaded to your computer or MP3 player!

 Empire Builders - James J. Hill [29:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

After listening to Bob Edwards interview Bob Elliott this morning on The Bob Edwards Show on XM Satellite Radio, I was going to post an article talking about the great team of Bob and Ray. But I realized I don’t have to; for those who love Old-Time Radio, Bob and Ray are no strangers, and for those who want to learn more, Bob Edwards has already written a fine article which can serve as an introduction for those few poor enough to never have laughed at this pair.

To hear the interview, hit XM OnLine and sign up for a free sample account and tune to XM channel 133, any time until tomorrow morning at 8:00am eastern, and all weekend long every fifth hour.

Oh…my…god.

Sorry, after re-listening to the first few Million-Dollar President productions from PRI, which is the pilot-set for PRI’s new morning news The Takeaway, airing now on a precious few PRI stations, I am writing this so I don’t become so depressed I slit my wrists after listening to the hosts of this program joking their way through an interview on The Bob Edwards Show. Just like NPR’s Trailer- Bryant Park Project, these guys have clearly used focus groups composed of children with the IQ of a turnip. Seriously, I know a whole lot of 20-somethings, and none of them are so brain-damaged as to listen to this nonsense.

Let me ignore NPR’s entry into the dumned-down-news category and focus on PRI’s as demonstrated in the Billion-Dollar President disaster, hosted by Adaora Udoji and John Hockenberry. The first episode/pilot aired a few months ago, and began with the formerly-respected Hockenberry telling an outright lie. No, you read that right, a news program starting out running a phony news story delivered with the somberness of legitimate news. I honestly was so stunned by the utter stupidity of such an act I was unable to move…what the hell happened to a formerly-respected journalist who is remembered for his solid reportage on NPR by those of us who grew up with the public radio system? A guy who goes off to the major networks and performs solid reporting there? What deadly trauma could possibly have changed him into a wanna-be standup comedian and…well…a liar?
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This is going to be an odd post…an old guy promoting an over-priced object for a gaming system only kids should by rights have any interest in.

We have a PlayStation2. We specifically bought the PlayStation2 because the old man (yes, me) wanted to play one game, which he received as a gift - 24: The Game. Since it was only available on PS2 (co-produced by Sony), I had to have one. Fortunately, through my wife we have “a guy” so we got a great deal on a mildly-used one. Of course, since we’ve owned it we’ve acquired more games than you can shake a stick at (just today I was laughing at my nine-year-old playing Sitting Ducks, an old PS2 game given to Katie by a friend of Annie’s that is so cute and silly it had all of us crying with laughter), but it’s 24: The Game that gets the Friday-night weekly workout.

A while back, a glitch in the save mode had me literally lose the entire first half of the game, as if I had never played it. I had to do some research on the Net, and find the built-in “cheat code” that allowed me to play all missions so I could reclaim my scores on those (there’s still one I haven’t re-done). Then my daughter lost a game save for one of her games, to much wailing and gnashing of teeth, and I decided something needed to be done. (More after the jump…)
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I knew I needed something to commemorate the 100th birthday anniversary of Edward R. Murrow, and spent quite a while going through his various reports…but I consistently came back to this program, broadcast on CBS after Murrow’s death on April 27, 1965. I am, honestly, unclear on the broadcast date, as most references list it as being broadcast on April 30, 1965, but at the University of Texas, the Joseph and Shirley Wershba Papers list the date of their recording, on seven-inch reel, as April 29th. This discrepancy may come from there being a version of this documentary broadcast on CBS television. It was also released as a record album on Columbia Special.

No matter, it seemed a little odd to play a tribute after death on the centennial of his birth…yet there isn’t really any other single broadcast to so throughly review his broadcasting career, with obvious respect and affection. The program is narrated by Robert Trout, a legend in his own right, and contains sections from all of the most famous broadcasts; D-Dog, Buchenwald, the case of Milo Radulovich, Senator Joseph McCarthy, and many many more.

We originally received this program from our friend Terry Salomonson of Audio Classics - there are thousands of programs like this one in his catalog. This one is to celebrate the career of the most important broadcast journalist in the history of the medium.

You may stream the show using the player below, or download it with the link. Remember, by subscribing to this blog with any podcasting client (Juice, iTunes, etc.) the shows will be automatically downloaded to your computer or MP3 player!

 This Is Edward R. Murrow - CBS Radio, April 30, 1965 [45:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode of the podcast is a personal indulgence. Jack French reported to the Internet OTR Digest this morning that Dennis Crow, the best friend a four-inch-high stuffed bear ever had, and a good friend to the Digest and to my daughter as well, passed away suddenly yesterday, April 20, 2008. Certainly Dennis will be missed by his family, and those of us in the hobby who knew him, but he will be missed most of all right around Thanksgiving, when he gently reminded everyone to begin listening to the story of The Cinnamon Bear, so it would properly end on Christmas Eve. Each year he provided many handouts for devotees of Paddy O’Cinnamon, including maps, lyric sheets, even sheet music.

You can bet that each year, when my family gathers around to listen to the adventures of Judy, Jimmy, Paddy, the Crazy Quilt Dragon, and all of the amazing characters who populate Maybeland, we’ll think of Dennis, and be much obliged to him for everything he’s done over the years to promote the gentle magic of this timeless story.

So please indulge me; even though it’s nowhere near Christmas time, listen with me to the opening story of The Cinnamon Bear, and munch a cinnamon bun in honor of a man who always carried the wonder and joy in his heart.

 The Cinnamon Bear - Episode 1 [16:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jack French of the Metro Washington OTR Club posted a note to the Internet OTR Digest this morning announcing the passing of Dennis Crow, who died suddenly yesterday, April 20. Dennis was a member of the Metro Washington group, as well as SPERDVAC, and was the best friend a four-inch-high brown stuffed bear ever had, bar none.

Not only was Dennis a friend to the Digest, he was a good friend to my daughter as well. Each year, a little before Judy and Jimmy woke up, he would send her something related to The Cinnamon Bear - last year, he sent her a beautiful stuffed Crazy Quilt Dragon she was holding when I checked in on her as she slept Christmas Eve.

Dennis, thank you. I’m going to miss your gentle reminders about when to start The Cinnamon Bear next year, but where ever you are, know that every year when we listen, we’ll be “much obliged to you” for everything you’ve done.

This is specifically for those of us who, because of circumstances, cannot be attending this weekend’s Cincinnati Old-Time Radio and Nostalgia Convention…after all, we should have a little fun, too, shouldn’t we?

I got an early Christmas present not long ago from Jerry Haendiges, of The Vintage Radio Place. He sent some programs, suggesting I “broadcast” some here…thing is, many of the programs he sent I’d never heard, and some I’ve never heard of, even as long as I’ve been in the hobby. So over the next several months I’m going to run some of the shows he sent in low-bandwidth MP3 format - even at 32kbps mono, these shows are some of the best-sounding shows you’ll hear. But remember for even better sound, these shows (and a few bazillion others) may be purchased from Jerry in either audio CD format, or ultra-high-quality MP3 format.

This time we have an episode of Blondie from 1939 - this summer replacement for Eddie Cantor starred Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake as Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead, with Bill Goodwin announcing. I chose this as the latest in the “Haendiges Series” because our friend Will Hutchins was television’s Dagwood on the CBS series back in 1968, and Tommy Cook, with whom I appeared in Paul Reversky at 2002’s FOTR Convention (he, he…I always wanted to say something like that!) played Alexander in a much later incarnation of the radio program.

In this episode in the life of Dagwood Bumstead, he disregards the sage advice of his wife Blondie and is talked into purchasing an over-priced, ill-fitting suit. And, of course, every attempt to fix things results in his problems getting worse…until Blondie takes a hand.

You may stream the show using the player below, or download it with the link. Remember, by subscribing to this blog with any podcasting client (Juice, iTunes, etc.) the shows will be automatically downloaded to your computer or MP3 player!

 Blondie - Dagwood Buys A New Suit [32:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today on The Bob Edwards Show is a fascinating interview with Les Paul - you can listen to the show with a free three-day sample-subscription to XM Satellite Radio’s online service at listen.xmradio.com, and you’ll be able to hear the weekend version of this interview (edited for time) at the bobedwards.info website in the Bob Edwards Weekend forum. Now everyone who’s met Mr. Paul has a story to tell about it…this is mine.

A few years ago, Mr. Paul was a guest of the Friends of Old-Time Radio Convention at one of the more…er…eclectic closing performances. He spoke for a bit, answered some pre-set questions, and accepted our applause. After the evening’s performances finally ended, I sought him out…I didn’t take anything for him to sign, I just wanted to thank him for taking the time out of his schedule to visit with us, and frankly I wanted to meet the guy, someone I’d appreciated for pretty much my entire lifetime, and particularly since I learned to play guitar after losing a finger on my left hand. I found him, and did so…while shaking his hand across a table, I held it for just a moment longer than customary (men know what I’m talking about), looked him in the eye and said, “I wonder if a lick will rub off?”

He got a huge grin on his face, grabbed my hand between both of his (they seemed so large to create such a delicate sound), rubbed it between them so I could feel friction heat, and with a soft laugh said, “I sure hope so!”

From The Globe and Mail: Patriot Act haunts Google service

Wow. Now not only do foreign governments dislike us, even friendly ones are beginning to mistrust us.

But what does this say about people within the U.S. who use Google’s services?

From the Pittsburg Post Gazette: Hi … this is Senator X asking for your support …

An opinion piece from Shaun Dakin, CEO of Citizens for Civil Discourse, the nonpartisan, nonprofit group that recently launched the National Political Do Not Contact Registry. It won’t help, but maybe if we let them know we don’t want to be annoyed by them, they’ll buy a clue and stop annoying us.

Alan Bell received this from one of his students, and forwarded it to the Internet OTR Digest - it made me laugh this morning, so I’m sharing it with you.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

I really screwed up - this was sent to me weeks ago, and ended up being blocked by the spam filters. Better late than never, here is a registration form for those interested in attending the 2008 SPERDVAC Convention (see the flyer for more info).

It’s conveniently in PDF format; most browsers will open it up directly, some will launch Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 SPERDVAC 2008 Convention Registration Form: Download

From ArsTechnica: Sirius, XM radio merger passes DoJ hurdle; FCC next

You know, I try to remain apolitical in this blog, but the current Justice Department hasn’t seen a telecommunications merger it didn’t love. While I’m not surprised, I am disappointed, since I can’t imagine a single satellite radio company not being a de facto monopoly.

All this flap about some contract employees reviewing the U.S. passport records of the major presidential candidates seems to me to be a little misguided. What worries me isn’t that some non-government-employee contractors reviewed these files…what frightens me is that the United States government is maintaining detailed records on its citizens who travel abroad. I’m not surprised that “security” was breeched (any time there’s a database, information from it will be stolen), but I am terrified that people in this country who have done nothing wrong, who have done nothing whatsoever other than visit a foreign country, are being so closely and secretly monitored by the government. Orwell wouldn’t have been surprised, I suppose…

I forgot to mention last week, there’s been an addition to the Bob Edwards Show/Bob Edwards Weekend Forum - now the free podcasts of Bob Edwards Weekend are available in one-click format! Just like the podcasts here, you can download the show directly for playing in your portable device, or listen to the show on your computer immediately simply by clicking one little arrow.

While it isn’t the full daily show, it is a great addition to anyone’s weekend, and now with one-click listening there’s no excuse not to enjoy the show!

An episode of this series, discussed on the Internet OTR Digest, titled “A Woman’s Wrath” from May 23, 1939. For amazingly complete information on the series, see the Digest…on a personal note, I was a little surprised at the…roughness of the production. While not a terrible series, it did seem a little…er…slapdash around the edges.

You may stream the show using the player below, or download it with the link. Remember, by subscribing to this blog with any podcasting client (Juice, iTunes, etc.) the shows will be automatically downloaded to your computer or MP3 player!

 Nick Harris, Detective - A Woman's Wrath [14:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Again with apologies for being late, here is the 2008 SPERDVAC Convention Flyer - it has most of the information you’ll need to get there and have a great time!

It’s conveniently in PDF format; most browsers will open it up directly, some will launch Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 2008 SPERDVAC Convention Flyer: Download

And I don’t feel a day over 60…

I’m spending another day away from the computers, my once-a-year “holiday.” Just in time, too…lately, I’ve been getting a lot of…unpleasant email, and truth is with everything that’s going on around here, I’m running out of tolerance for being blamed for things that are out of my control, or receiving demands that I volunteer even more of my time than I already do. Maybe not dealing with it at all for twenty-four hours will give me a little distance…although with my luck, I’ll just have twice as much horse-pucky to come back to the day after the Ides of March.

Thing is, this year I’m not even looking forward to the day the way I have for so many cycles of the sun. This year, it seems like an inconvenience shoved into an already ghastly year instead of a welcomed relief. I really believe if Katie weren’t looking forward to it so much (she has a good part of my day planned already), I’d bag the self-imposed vacation and spend tomorrow doing what I do pretty much every other day; squint at a CRT, the 19″ diagonal becoming my entire world.

Ah, well…before my day begins, I’ll set up another posting (something I promised to have out this morning and didn’t…please accept my apologies, Jerry) and maybe even a podcast show for tomorrow. And hopefully when I return, I’ll be a little less morose. If you get some time Saturday, listen to the Thursday episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar’s “The Clinton Matter,” which aired a few hours before I was born. I’d run it on the podcast, but I don’t have the time to find it.