Random Stuff (sorry, Mrs. Mills)

Rating: NSS
If you run out of ideas of things to look up on the internet, here are a few (with editorial comments).

First stop, this quote of Albert Einstein from Quotations Page: “If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.”

Apparently I need more Z in my life! (That's Z, not zzzzs.) Ergo, I have TWO blogs. . .

It was theme song day on 106.5 the Arch yesterday. At 5:32 pm they played “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, which is the theme song to Issues, Etc; at 6:37 they played “Who Are You” by the Who, which is the theme song to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Check it out for yourself. Just type in 11/20/2008 and 5:32pm.

I bemoaned the fact that The Morning Show on MPR was ending in December. Apparently they’re planning on keeping the format as a webcast and on an HD station. Whew. The good news is, it’s not going away; the bad news is, it will be a 24-7 format. Sorry, people in my office!

If you’re truly bored, you can read the news story and watch the newscast segment about the first female “Catholic” priestess to give birth. Apparently she is part of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion, which is not recognized by the pope. The priestess’ husband is a pastor at a United Church of Christ congregation, which makes their son truly ecumenical.

It's Been an Up/Down Day

Rating: ?
Today has had its share of smiles and frowns. It's been like riding the kiddie coaster. No real huge highs and lows; just the minor ones.
I had much to ponder during Bible class--smile
I heard that the Morning Show on MPR is ending in December--frown (a big one)
I have an organ fill-in date for Sunday--smile
My students were not so good today--frown
I got paid and on time!-- double smile
It was a rainy, gloomy afternoon--frown
I got to listen to Issues, Etc.--smile
I discovered a crack in my windshield--frown (a big one)
I suppose that all-in-all everything balances out to make it another average day.

A Tribute

It is the beginning of week 3 without Issues, Etc.

I was a Johnny-come-lately to the Issues, Etc. listenership. I listened the first time a couple Novembers ago because a relative happened to be a guest on the program and asked me to listen, which I did. I then wondered what they were going to talk about later, and I became hooked. When the same relative was a guest again, I listened via the internet mainly because I wanted to hear the interview live and because I didn't know what St. Louis radio station carried the Sunday Night broadcast.

Soon I became a regular listener. I listened in the car. I listened to archived broadcasts at work. One afternoon I remember switching back and forth between Garage Logic on my computer and Issues, Etc. Then I called in with a comment. It was quite unnerving to be on the radio and hope my comment didn't sound ignorant. I once received a mug (only weeks before the show was eliminated) for an on-air comment.

I had heard a friend or two as guests on the show. I was pleased and a mite jealous when my husband was asked to be a guest. What an honor to be on Issues, Etc. I remember going with him to and from the broadcast live from University Lutheran Chapel in Minneapolis. I was excited to actually see the show live. It was a great show that day. I find it very peculiar that exactly one week after that show the bridge under which we drove to return that day collapsed. I don't think that it means anything, for it was merely coincidental. Yet where did I turn to hear commentary? Issues, Etc.

I have been mentally working on a postmodern project for some time. I often turned to Issues, Etc. as a resource library. Some excellent nuggets of knowledge came from it. I heard of books, people, and topics to use as resources.

I looked to Issues, Etc. for commentary on all sorts of matters, but I loved the show for its unabashedly Christ-centered, scriptural, doctrinal content. It always reminded me that is it about Jesus. (Another mental project is it being all about Jesus.)

Now what do I have to listen to on the drive home? Rock and roll. I like it, but it doesn't give me much to think about; it just gives me cerebreoredundogram (big, long word for getting a song stuck in one's head). I wish I could listen to Issues, Etc. again.

I'm sure this is just one more post for Issues, Etc. that you probably don't want to hear my little emotional rambling, if there is anyone out there even reading this. If no on is reading, just add it to the pile of statements about how much the show meant to us all. I know that for me, this is more than a show of politics. It is personal.

Still Missing Issues, Etc.

Not that I didn't think the Issues, Etc. plot wouldn't thicken, but I did not guess the firestorm it has provoked.

I wish I could say all that I want to about the fact that this show is off the air, but I do not feel that I am glib enough or can add any pithy comments to all the comments that are floating around about cyberspace.

Still, I cannot reconcile or justify myself to its disappearance, and my fear is that even if it returns in whatever form, it will not be the same Issues, Etc. that I have come to know and respect.

I love Garage Logic (a radio talk program from Minnesota) and listen to it online. Yesterday a caller called in on the topic of whatever it was about which they were talking and said, "They have gone from wanting to challenge things to shutting it down." It is so unbelievably true in our world in more ways than one. I point no fingers anywhere; I am merely observing.

Todd, Jeff, we miss you.

I have Issues

I have issues, or rather, up until today I had issues. That is not to say that these issues have been resoloved. No, my favorite radio program is now off the airwaves. Issues, Etc. has been yanked. The website reads, "Issues, Etc. is no longer available."

If this were merely a case of a radio program going off the air, I would not feel compelled to write anything about it. This, however, is not the case. I first learned of the cancellation of Issues, Etc. from a phone call from my husband saying that he heard from someone who heard from a good authority that the show was being discontinued. I did not realize that he meant TODAY. I was thinking that the show would end sometime in a few weeks or months. NO, when I turned it on at 3 o'clock, it wasn't there. The website for the radio station was down (HTTP 400 bad request), and that was it.

I later heard that at 10 o'clock today the host, Todd Wilken, and the producer, Jeff Schwarz (I'm sorry if I misspelled that) were fired, ". . .for the good of the station. . ." Let me go on the record as saying that that is a crock of baloney! You don't fire someone when their show is doing well. You don't eliminate a person whose show carries the entire radio station. It is one of the few (if only) nationally syndicated radio show produced by KFUO radio. It is heard around the world. I know of three people personally who live in foreign countries and listen to Issues, Etc. online.

If you have never heard of Issues, Etc., let me give you a little idea. . . It is a conservative, confessional radio program that discusses all sorts of issues. It's talk radio for Christianity. They talk about current issues, historical figures, religious issues; basically they run the gamut. Sometimes I would wait and wonder what Todd had to say about this, that, or the other issue, such as the St. Stanislaus debacle here in St. Louis.

Little wonder then, that certain people wanted him off the air. I mean, come on, can you truly belive that his detractors would let him stay on the air, when some of his strongest detractors are the ones in charge?

Again I reiterate, if it were merely the passing of a favorite show, I wouldn't be so hurt. I am not certain of any facts, but I suspect there is politics involved. It saddens me. I would write to those responsible, but I'm not sure how to word my statement to show them the importance of the show and the sadness I feel for it's elimination.

I just want to add as a final thought: Thanks, Todd, for my Issues, Etc. mug. It is now my most favorite.