Old Time Radio @ MindSay 
If we make it we can all sit back and laugh.
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying...
During a conversation recently a thought crept into my skull and there it has been until this time whence I felt compelled to place this brain activity into a written form so that all the world can gaze upon it and wonder why I haven't been locked up somewhere far away from society...
The topic that has been spiraling into the dark abyss of my cranium is that philosophy is a dying subject and will eventual be no more than a subject one must struggle through during one's college experience. And I have a reason why I think this to be the Gospel and it is a good reason, well at least that's what my brain tells me. And it is so simple, beautiful in fact in its simplicity...
And for the curious or the bored who happen to have made it this far in this entry and there are so many who reads this on a regular basis - for you, here is the reason. Up until recently in the history of man, humans had time to think and ponder all that he or she experiences in his or her life. For most of the history of man, a person had absolutely nothing to think of whilst sitting around the fire in the evening was the deeper meaning of all that surrounds them. Alone to one's thoughts without the outside world begging for attention. There may have been others there sitting, but there is only so much to talk about when one's range of experiences are limited. How many times can one talk about how well or poorly the plowing went during the day? How much can be said about the food served for dinner? How much can really be said about the neighbors?
So mankind had time to think and ponder for there wasn't much else to do. And then came the radio that brought news from distant places far beyond the reach of the listeners. And stories that required some imagination, but often filled in the details whether by the storyline or by the sound effects used. And folks stayed glued to he radio reducing dramatically the free time he brain had to think freely about everything and nothing...
And then came the television with much the same problems as the radio, but the extra dimension of site was added. More of the details were added so less imagination was require to use this medium and it sucked the souls out of those who had the misfortune of plopping themselves down in front of one...
And now the Internet comes along though still quite young in its development, it will eventually take everything handed down from television and add the fact that actual social interaction will be eventually replaced by Internet interaction and another piece of the puzzle will be removed forever...
So we are moving from family - clan members - sitting around a fire with only the thoughts in their head being only interrupted by actual conversation with someone sitting within two feet of them to a population that just sits about in front of their monitors gazing blankly upon the world as it is streamed in their brains...
Someone else shall do thy thinking and forming of thy opinions...
And with it so shall philosophy die. 'Tis but a tragic ending to something that has lived so long...
This is the Word of the AntiCrust...
Praise be ye who Read the Word for ye are Blessed amongst humans...
Well, it was daytime emmy time again, and I must say that there are few evenings better spent than this.
You see, each year, one evening exists where the spotlight rests on the medium I love in a way which is out of the ordinary. For all other nights of the year spotlight is bad, unwanted, and undeserved. So often when someone speaks about soaps, they speak of it with disrespect, and that's speaking politely.
And the thing is, we, my "family" and I, we know this. We know that we exist in the real world of medium, television, and entertainment altogether only as the redheaded step-child. We say it doesn't bother us, but that's not true everday. Somedays its hard that other people don't see the value, that they won't even try to listen to the beauty.
And so for one night each year we come together to celebrate the love affair we have with a medium called soap opera. The term soap opera comes from the days of the radio serial. Radio serial were started as a way to fill the dead air time between commercials. The majority of people listening to serials during that time were women working in the home, and so the biggest advertisers were the soap companies. Apparently, women working in the home during that time were also conesuers of soap.
And tonight I sit here in my favorite of all places: atop my soap opera soap box.
I won't bore you with the long version. You wouldn't read it if I did. I can't get my parents or my boyfriend or my Tyler to listen to the long version, so here's a recap. Soap operas are good for our society. They make us feel better about our screwed up lives. They address serious and important social issues, providing the general public with specific knowledge they aren't likely to get in their day to day lives. They allow us to unload our emotions in a way that's safe, letting us cry and experience loss without having to lose. And our soaps, they are daily. Almost as regular as the sun itself, they are there regardless of our trespasses. They see us through hardship and remain by our sides during times of joy. They provide constant companionship that most people do not ever have otherwise.
You should try it. I promise you'll enjoy yourself. Pick any one of them, as I love them all equally and applaud the work they do. Someday I hope I'll get to fight this good fight, and win big.
Some nights I'm quieter and more reserved about boasting this feeling of righteousness, but not tonight. Tonight was an evening spent among family, and in this particular family there is no room to be soft spoken.
I've been TCB a lot today, and I can't just sit and work in silence. So either I need the radio on, or I need the TV on in a low volume, something to interrupt the crickets. Know means? I alternated between radio, mp3's and TV. Why the fuck is Whoopi Goldberg on TV all the time? HBO played a terrible movie starring her earlier, which was a train wreck to say the least. At least the 5 minutes I was able to deal with, even at a low background volume. And now, as I go to bed, she has found her way on HBO again, sneakin on after Ocean's Twelve. Doing stand-up. Ask women even, female comedy does not work. Period. Also, it is rare that I find any black comedy to be entertaining. For every Chappelle or Chris Rock, there are a thousand Sinbad's and Mr. Coopers. Needless to say, Ted Danson was out of his fucking mind.
Another person on TV who continually gets more and more face time, is Bill Maher. This guy sucks it hard, and sucks it long. This is at least his third show. From what I have seen, he is Mr. Roundtable discussion, letting far more talented people make the good comments while he injects newsanchor commentary of constipation inducing comedic value. He needs to get out. GOLDBERG, YOU ARE NOT FUNNY. Sorry, I haven't got up to change it yet. Affirmative actions prevents me from changing it before 10 total minutes of viewing time, or brain damage starts to set in, whichever comes first.
Christ I hope Goldberg and Maher get as bent as the last person I talked about in this blog.
I still find the suggested tags mindsay offers up every five minutes to be delightful. "Period fucking sucks" I don't think i said anything of the sort. But then again, I do love the "Old Time Radio" that I mentioned before.
For those who don't know, BoingBoing is just about the most important, influencial, quirky and cool tech blog on the internets. It's like the Daily Show for your browser.
Anyway, I mentioned to Cory earlier today that I had a Shoutcast stream with Old-Time-Radio programs on it (from such writers as Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, and Heinlein). And he posted the link online!!!
Okay, now I'm all geeked out. This is like being quoted in Time magazine, or interviewed on CNN, but better, because you know that the reporters check their facts.
Anyway, if you're reading this from BoingBoing, you probably clicked on the link with my name, and you're wondering who the hell I am. Hi, I'm Brand Gamblin. I've been a professional video game programmer for the last seven years. I've worked for Microprose, Kinesoft, and Acclaim. I'm currently working for RoXoR games. I started up the OTR sci-fi/horror earlier this year so that I could take my public domain radio broadcasts anywhere.
I'm thinking about turning the stream into a weekly/daily podcast, where new shows would be downloadable every so often.
Anyway, welcome. Look around. Hope you find something you like.
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