Thought Dump (o kafés! Edition)
Public Radio:
WBHM (90.3 FM) began their Fall fundraising campaign this Wednesday. So far it seems to be less intrusive under the new station format – they do not seem to be as willing to interrupt the national news programs with the pledge drive info as they were when they played classical music all day. So, whereas before this would have been a personal plea to please give so that I can have my radio back, this time around I will simply try to appeal to your better natures. Certainly, if you live in Birmingham and listen to WBHM regularly, you should seriously consider supporting the station with a small donation (rhyme time!). If you are outside of the B’ham market, then I would urge you to donate to your local public media outlet. It is an undervalued community service that deserves our support.
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I’m a Funcle (again)!
That’s either “Fake uncle” or “Fun uncle,” in case you were wondering. The eminent Memphissian physician’s new baby boy arrived at 1:51 PM and weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs. 10 oz. Congratulations, mi compadre!
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Kentuck:
It is time again for Northport’s Kentuck Arts Festival. I have missed out on it the last couple of years – and if not for The Terminal calling my attention to it, I probably would have missed it again. If the rain holds off, the weather should be fantastic for browsing the rows of arts & crafts booths at this nationally-renowned event. I’m thinking about going on Sunday, mostly so I won’t butt up against the Tuscaloosa game traffic. In addition to artists showcasing their works, there will be food and live music. Check out the list of participating artists at their web site, and make plans to attend and support this wonderful cultural institution! I’ll be there, and I just might come back with an art or two.
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Blog-Friendly Establishment Amendment:
Last week I bemoaned the lack of prime coffee-shop space from which to read, write, browse & broadcast. Today I decided to try out o kafés – a new coffee house in Pepper Place. It is beyond ideal. The place is huge (not that it needs to be – there is one other patron in the whole place), it has at least five easily accessible power outlets, a number of seating options, friendly staff, and good coffee – all in a wonderfully eclectic and industrial atmosphere. The WiFi connection is better than the one I’ve got at the house – as fast as you could possibly want. The lack of patronage is a little troubling, as I would really like to see this spot succeed. I’ve only been here for 45 minutes or so, but already I can say it is my new favorite place to indulge in the solitary literary and geeky pleasures.
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Music:
I love this idea. Three songwriters (and a group of around 50 collaborating artists) took an off-the-wall suggestion and turned it into a 3-disc opus: Of Great and Mortal Men. It is a collection of 43 original songs about each of our 43 past U.S. presidents. Especially timely, since we’re going to the polls to elect the 44th in a couple of weeks, this set sounds like it should be both educational and entertaining. Sign me up. I haven’t listened to the songs yet, but I foresee an iTunes visit coming in the near future.
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Politics:
I think we all needed this: the Alfred E. Smith dinner. Finally a little lightheartedness in a sea of slung mud.
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Your Weekly Geeky:
Listen to your entire music library anywhere! It’s called Simplify Media. Use this service to access all your music files from your laptop, your work computer, or even your phone! I have 40 GBs of music at home, and now I can listen to every track whether I’m at the coffee house or the office or wherever. Superuseful! Plus, I can share my music with other people who use the software (and I’ll be happy to authorize you – the only stuff you can’t get are the Apple security-enabled files… and I’m working on that). Try this out. It is open-source (read: free)!
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Toodle-oo and thanks for reading!
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:09 pm
[...] technical feat here… the sound came through with, as far as I could tell, original quality. grammaticaster - I have 40 GBs of music at home, and now I can listen to every track whether I’m at the [...]
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
[...] technical feat here… the sound came through with, as far as I could tell, original quality. grammaticaster - I have 40 GBs of music at home, and now I can listen to every track whether I’m at the [...]
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
[...] technical feat here… the sound came through with, as far as I could tell, original quality. grammaticaster - I have 40 GBs of music at home, and now I can listen to every track whether I’m at the [...]