I went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
It is amazing how passionate and loyal one becomes to one's school. But, there is nothing quite like watching James Taylor sing "Carolina In My Mind" live at the Dean Dome (nor is there anything quite lining up for days for tickets).
Every time I hear this song it takes me back to Carolina and leaves me with a smile. They were great times. This song is a real "pick me upper" for me, and I am sure for many others. Everything that I own that is programmable has this song pre-loaded into it.
This version is one James Taylor did live with Sirius|XM Satellite Radio as part of their Artist Confidential series. I have, sadly, lost contact with many of my friends from that period. Others, I am still in contact with. Most I am sure do not read my blog. Suffice to say I remember them all fondly. So, to all those UNC alumni out there, thanks!
Funnily enough, having watched UNC drop a 16-point lead over Duke I do not feel so bad having listened to Carolina In My Mind a "few" times.
And for the real fans, here is a 1972 live version of ""Carolina In My Mind".
Enjoy.
Musings about the law, politics, culture, people, education, teaching and life. An independent voice and an independent perspective - Carpe Diem!
Showing posts with label Radio Shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Radio Shows. Show all posts
10 February 2011
21 November 2010
Roger Ailes and Nazism...
Roger Ailes is the Head of Fox News Channel. I am not convinced that "news" is the right word for what Fox does, but to each their own.
However, it is Ailes' comments about National Public Radio (NPR) that have me shaking my head and muttering WTF is this man talking about?
Ailes said the following in reference to NPR in the wake of the firing of Juan Williams:
"They are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. They are the left wing of Nazism."
Comparing NPR executives to Nazis is absurd in the extreme. It also highlights a complete lack of understanding of Nazism and ultimately the development of the Final Solution and the holocaust perpetrated against European Jews.
Ailes remarks remind me of the content of a subject I used to teach at universities throughout Indonesia on advocacy. Advocates must be conscious of their biases and their prejudices so that they do not begin to exaggerate to the point of absurdity in trying to sustain their argument. Comparing NPR executives to Nazis is an exaggeration in a most offensive form. If Ailes was not always so focused on getting off cheap shots at liberal institutions and the liberals themselves, then his brain might have kicked into gear before his mouth did and he might have thought twice about his comparison of NPR executives and Nazis.
In hindsight he did reflect a little and offered an apology of sorts, but not to the NPR executives. Ailes offered his apology to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Part of the reason why I do not watch Fox News Channel is that there is nothing that I can reconcile with the slogans "Fair and Balanced" or "We Report, You Decide", as both are clearly misnomers for what FNC does.
However, it is Ailes' comments about National Public Radio (NPR) that have me shaking my head and muttering WTF is this man talking about?
Ailes said the following in reference to NPR in the wake of the firing of Juan Williams:
"They are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. They are the left wing of Nazism."
Comparing NPR executives to Nazis is absurd in the extreme. It also highlights a complete lack of understanding of Nazism and ultimately the development of the Final Solution and the holocaust perpetrated against European Jews.
Ailes remarks remind me of the content of a subject I used to teach at universities throughout Indonesia on advocacy. Advocates must be conscious of their biases and their prejudices so that they do not begin to exaggerate to the point of absurdity in trying to sustain their argument. Comparing NPR executives to Nazis is an exaggeration in a most offensive form. If Ailes was not always so focused on getting off cheap shots at liberal institutions and the liberals themselves, then his brain might have kicked into gear before his mouth did and he might have thought twice about his comparison of NPR executives and Nazis.
In hindsight he did reflect a little and offered an apology of sorts, but not to the NPR executives. Ailes offered his apology to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Part of the reason why I do not watch Fox News Channel is that there is nothing that I can reconcile with the slogans "Fair and Balanced" or "We Report, You Decide", as both are clearly misnomers for what FNC does.
15 November 2010
Lara Bingle vs. Nicole King...
I was going to write about this the other day. I was intending to put this in the "tattoo series" that I have been putting together. The hook was always going to be that Nicole King and Lara Bingle were cousins and the idea of healthy competition among family members.
To be honest, King's tattoo is pretty impressive. It is worth pointing out that along the rib cage is one of the more painful places to have ink work done. Unless you are a fat bastard like me, then it is not all that different to anywhere else on your personal canvas (aka skin).
However, the icing on the cake for these two is that Bingle has come out on the Kyle Sandilands 2Day FM radio show and said that she is not related to King. They are not cousins. Bingle does not know of her, and has never met her.
Not to be deterred, King has countered that they are in fact cousins because King's mother and Bingle's father were cousins.
In the big scheme of things, I am sure it is important for them. For me, it is just a pretty good excuse to post some bikini pictures of two attractive young women, and one with a pretty nice tattoo.
To be honest, King's tattoo is pretty impressive. It is worth pointing out that along the rib cage is one of the more painful places to have ink work done. Unless you are a fat bastard like me, then it is not all that different to anywhere else on your personal canvas (aka skin).
Lara Bingle's fame sort of stemmed from being picked from relative obscurity to be the bikini in the Australian Tourism ad campaign "Where the Bloody Hell are ya?" More recently it has been about being engaged to Michael Clarke, Australian Test Cricket Captain in waiting, and then being separated from Clarke.
The fact that there is a mobile phone topless shot of her floating around the internet taken by a married former lover of hers, Brendan Fevola, ensures that she remains a searchable prospect on the internet. This is particularly so in the light of persistent rumours that there are also a few naked and full-frontal options available.
However, the icing on the cake for these two is that Bingle has come out on the Kyle Sandilands 2Day FM radio show and said that she is not related to King. They are not cousins. Bingle does not know of her, and has never met her.
Not to be deterred, King has countered that they are in fact cousins because King's mother and Bingle's father were cousins.
In the big scheme of things, I am sure it is important for them. For me, it is just a pretty good excuse to post some bikini pictures of two attractive young women, and one with a pretty nice tattoo.
19 October 2009
Quizzes, Guns, Grenades, Jihad, and Ramadan

Somalia is a violent place, and with those who remain steadfast in their determination to meet and defeat the enemies of Allah wherever they maybe found in Somalia, it would not seem that the place is going to become any more peaceful, at least not in the short-term.
Sheikh Andullahi Alhaq was presenting the prizes to a group of winners in a recent Ramadan quiz contest organized by the Al-Shabaab insurgents where he hoped that their prizes would encourage and facilitate their participation in the Jihad against Allah's enemies. So, what sort of prizes might be so encouraging and facilitating, you ask; well, for the winners it was an AK-47, two hand-grenades, an anti-tank landmine, and some office supplies. The runners-up were not quite so lucky. They received just an AK-47 and some ammunition.
The quiz was a radio broadcast and consisted of questions on science, culture, and the Al-Quran.
I always was led to believe that Ramadan was the holiest of months, a month for reflection, and in essence a jihad of its own as one resists the everyday temptations of food and other things. A quiz where the prizes are weapons to be used in violent jihad seems to run counter to what many claim Islam to be about. I am not Muslim so perhaps I am missing something with respect to my understanding of how this quiz fits into the spirit of the holiest of months.
The question in my mind is this, "How do you convince people that a religion is a religion of peace if there is a concurrent promotion of violence or violent conflict?"
This does not have to be a question exclusively directed at Muslims or Islam. It just so happens that this is the context in this case. The question could be posed equally to other religions that have used violence as a means of resolving conflict. I do not think that any religion is immune, is it?
09 September 2009
Kyle Sandilands -- Stupid Is As Stupid Does...

It is always interesting to see and hear people offer an apology for being truly offensive. But, the apology more often than not tends to sound really hollow and more like damage control than a real apology. This is the case with Kyle Sandilands of 2Day FM fame, or is that infamy.
After the debacle of the lie detector segment (which you can read about here) and a two-week suspension, it has not taken long for Sandilands to jump right back in where he left off. Sandilands is often portrayed as a shock jock, but I am starting to think that the only shock that this bloke will get is when he looks in his own jock(eys).
I have written about the dangers of exaggeration and using analogies that just do not hold up to scrutiny. But, as an extension of this there are some things that are just not funny. So, the idea that a concentration camp is in some ways an extreme reality version of a Jenny Craig weight loss program is not only objectionable, it is offensive.
One of Australia's premier comics, Magda Szubanski, who happens to be of Polish extraction, and is currently the one of the faces of Jenny Craig in Australia, was the subject of the concentration camp taunt by Sandilands. Szubanski has battled with her weight for many years and finally committed herself to doing something about it. To her credit she has lost 25kgs.
However, Sandilands seemed to think she could lose a few more kilos yet, and that any suggestion that she might be genetically disposed to being heavy set as a consequence of a large frame was nothing more than the standard excuse used by fat people to stay fat. He then figured that to prove his point that he would reckon that the weight would fall off if she was in a concentration camp.
Brainless! There are myriad of other things that I thought about writing to describe Sandilands and his stupidity. But, I know there is no need to write them down as most people would probably have a good collection of their own.
The result is that Sandilands has been suspended again. However, if Austereo, the owners of 2Day FM has any testicular or ovarian fortitude, then they would convert this suspension into a firing. And, if Austereo does not do it then the sponsors must show their concern by fleeing en masse with their advertising dollars.
I am voting for a Sandilands dismissal by not tuning into any 2Day FM programs.
29 July 2009
Never Ask A Question If You Do Not Know The Answer...

They teach you this very simple philosophy of advocacy in law school. It seems that they should also teach it to you in media and communications studies programs as well!
There are always exceptions to every rule. There are sometimes as an advocate when in the pursuit of truth you take an educated and calculated risk in asking certain questions. However, for most advocates this would be a lot less frequent than asking questions to which you know the answer to.
A perfect example of this occurred on the Kyle and Jackie O's Lie Detector segment on 2Day FM radio. A mother dragged her 14-year-old daughter onto the show,and Kyle and Jackie O being the ratings hogs that they are decided that this would be a real ratings boost for them. The mother seemingly wanted to shame her daughter into confessing on public radio during a peak hour morning segment to her drug and sexual history.
As a parent, I am not into naming and shaming. It does much more harm than good to a child. That is my personal view and I am sure if there are any readers out there interested in this issue you will undoubtedly be able to find statistics that suggest naming and shaming works.
The girl had told her mother that she had been raped and the mother has not believed her. So, in her infinite parenting wisdom she has decided that taking a lie detector test on a public radio station would clear this whole sordid episode up once and for all.
The girl is 14-years-old! What was the mother thinking? And, more to the point, what were Kyle and Jackie O thinking when they decided to go ahead with this? Discussing a 14-year-old's sex life and drug use on a public radio program appears to me to be in blatant disregard for the rights of the child and the welfare of that child. If Kyle and Jackie O intend hiding behind the fact that the mother gave her approval and the mother is the guardian of the child and has the right to do so, is naive and disingenuous.
It is not rocket science to see that the potential harm here far outweighs any good that might come from the segment. Not everything in life is about ratings and popularity.
The girl clearly did not want to be there and can be heard saying before the questioning starts, "I'm scared ... it's not fair." This should have been a red light to stop the segment then and there. Unfortunately, no one present bar the girl seemed likely to stop.
Then the questioning begins.
The first question was pretty harmless about whether or not the girl had skipped school. Then the questions got to the nitty gritty of why the segment was on in the first place.
The mother asks the daughter, "Have you ever had sex?"
The daughter replies, "I've already told you the story about this ... and don't look at me and smile because it's not funny." At this point, anyone worth their salt would have cut to an advertisement and posed some quick questions to the mother about the story and what was going on here. I guess for some people ratings are more important than the rights and mental health of a child.
After a brief moment the girl then said, "Oh, OK ... I got raped when I was 12-years-old!" If the lead in of the previous question was not enough to shut the segment down, then this statement should have been.
However, after a brief pause, Kyle (Kyle Sandilands) asks, "Right ... is that the only experience you've had?" What an idiot!!! This bloke needs to get slapped around a little bit by regulators, by his station masters, and by the general public. The statement is outrageous!
Then the girls mother jumps in and says she only found out about the rape a couple of months ago. What? Has she reported it? Has she looked at getting her daughter some counselling to try and work through the trauma of being raped as a child? There are some serious issues here all around that need to be addressed relating to the welfare of this particular child.
I hope that in the aftermath of this fiasco that 2Day FM antes up and helps this family get the counselling that they need to deal with the issues that the rape has resulted in, as well as the stupidity of running the segment in the first place. This was hardly the time or place for "The Moment of Truth" to be played out. And, the sexual and drug history of a 14-year-old is hardly suitable material for a live segment on any public platform.
It is certainly a Forrest Gump moment, "stupid is as stupid does!"
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