I just thought I'd let both of you know, we're welcoming the Grackles to Radio Reboot Sunday afternoon 1-3 pm.

They're there to promote the Mutiny show on March 9, but maybe that's getting ahead of ourselves. They're bringing in all their latest material, an acoustic guitar, AND a new car. Okay, maybe there won't be any car, but I did hear they promised me a year's supply of Turtle Wax. That's like, what, 6 ounces?

But wait, there's more! You can join in on the fun at 88.3 fm if you happen to be on the south side of Chicago, or listen online at wxav.com. Heck, you can even send instant messages to WXAVstudio on AIM with, I don't know, requests or questions for the band or something.

As always, it'll be available as a podcast, like, Monday, or something.

Now how much would you pay?

While watching SNL, I noticed Win Butler (Arcade Fire) wrote Haitian Creole on his guitar with tape: "Sak vide pa kanpe." ("That which is empty doesn't stand.") Yes, I know Regine Chassagne is from Haiti, thus the band has ties to the island and justification for this and the political references in Funeral. There's just one thing I can't get over - she doesn't look one bit Haitian. She looks like a white-bred New Yorker. Or Canadian. I'm calling shenanigans.

Edit (2/26): The actual Haitian proverb is "An empty sack cannot stand up," as found in the comments of this blog post. (Haitian Creole is a very inaccurate language, thus both translations would be technically correct. However, a native speaker would be more readily familiar with the proverb and its meaning.)

Amazingly, I haven't seen any furniture out on the streets this storm. This ruins all my midnight scavenging plans.

For some strange reason I can't quite explain or justify, I've become addicted to Google Everything. It doesn't matter what it is or what it does; if it comes from Google, I'm all over it. This started with Blogger Beta merging with Google, and my subsequent (re)discovery of the Google Homepage. Basically, if you have gmail, you already have it. You can put your gmail, email, y-mail, hotmail, coldmail, AIM, and probably have your mail carrier deliver your snail mail there. You can read all your blogs on it (which I somehow already had set up, with all my favorites already subscribed), keep your calendar on it, write notes on it, draft a to-do list, write and store all your documents in any format, schedule a haircut, groom your dog, clean your house, and do your laundry. on it. I'm even blogging from it right now.^*

The stupid and scary thing is, Google now has (owns?) all my data. All of it. I stopped short of putting any financial information there, but I don't doubt that you can.

As you well know, I'm no stranger to doing/keeping stuff online. There are significant advantages to this. For one, it will never be lost. Also, it's all in one place, accessible practically anywhere, and easily shared with whoever needs it. This is going to come in very handy once I start scripting a secret new TV project with some friends.

On the other hand, how stupid is it to entrust all this to one super-conglomerate like Google? I know their motto is "Don't be evil," but can we believe them? They're slowly growing to a status similar to Microsoft or Apple. Do I really want them to have access to (read: own) any or all of my data? For that matter, do we really want them to have so much control over a significant percentage of the world's data?

On a related side-note, check out South of North beta, wherein I try to use the Google calendar in my home page. There are obvious disadvantages - feedback is welcomed.

^* update: well THAT experiment didn't work. Good thing I know how to copy 'n paste.

One of my favorite podcasts, 75 Minutes, has called it quits.

On one hand, I'm disappointed and depressed that I won't get to listen to all the great new music Mike supplied every week. On the other hand, I fully agree with his reasons for leaving - when he started, podcasting was new, vibrant, and dare I say it, cutting edge. Now, he's just one in a swarm. In his words, he no longer wanted to contribute to the white noise out there. That's ironic, because there really is no other source I can find that's so eclectic and current.

Which brings my thoughts to my current projects, of course. Is what I'm currently doing in radio and tv contributing something worthwhile to the music (... and comedy) culture, or is it just adding to the white noise?

I may be only just getting back in the DJ booth, albeit as a guest these days, but over the nineteen or so years since I was last on a radio station, I never stopped having these dreams.

I almost forgot - I'll be on WXAV again tomorrow (Sunday, February 4) from 1-3 pm. If you're on the South side, tune your radios to 88.3FM. Everyone else can use their intarwebs to listen. If you're reading this on Monday morning, don't worry; it'll be on the podcast. I can't think of a better way to spend your time while you wait for that game everyone's making a big deal about.

There, that's done. Now off to the Dials show.

I am not cold. Cold is inconsequential. I will allow it to pass over me but not through me. Temperature is but a number.

At least, that's what I tell myself.

I am one with the cold.