John Stewart explains the financial mess

After a distasteful experience at a live taping of the John Stewart show, I haven't watched as regularly as I once did. But Stewart and his staff are brilliant, and never more so than here where he dissects the cranky correspondents at CNBC.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Bluesman John Cephas, RIP

Piedmont blues guitarist John Cephas has died at age 78. He had retired from performing because of illness. He performed many times in Connecticut with his partner harp-player Phil Wiggins.

Horton Foote, RIP

The New York Times is reporting that Horton Foote died here in Hartford today.

Foote has been in town for the production of To Kill A Mockingbird, and for the upcoming Dividing the Estate at Hartford Stage.

I caught the virus

I hate to be part of T-Mobile's viral anything, but when it's clever (as this is), and good (as this is), and it works (as this does), then you've got to admit it moves you. I got the rockin' pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu.



I was in Grand Central Station the night they filmed the waltz scene from Fisher King, from which this is obviously stolen, and the contagious magic of dance breaking out in an unexpected place is wondrous.

Horseshoes

Well, we didn't make the goal, but we came close enough, considering the times. In fact, we raised a lot of money during the three hours of Caterwaul Marathon Fundraising - $5500. Thanks to everyone who called and donated.

Thanks too, to musicians Nerissa Nields and Pete Lehndorff who took part in a successful Skype Me A Song experiment. And to Jim Mercik and Abu Alvin Carter Sr. who joined me live in the studio.

I hope those of you who were watching the radio show enjoyed it. We won't be doing that too often.

Thanks again.

How to see radio

The slightly-grand experiment happens this morning as I attempt to juggle the annual Marathon fundraiser, with a show goal of $6,000, running the board, Skype-ing songs with willing musicians, hawking t-shirts, chatting on facebook, and streaming the show with a video webcast at ustream.tv.

Well see just how sane I am at the end of the three hours which begin at 6 a.m.

If you want to contribute, call 860-768-4008. Please call.

It's just an illusion, like the stock market

And far more entertaining.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

I feel like a bit of a jerk asking listeners to donate to WWUH in such dire economic times. People are hungry and frightened, and tomorrow I get on the radio at 6 a.m. and ask listeners to part with their hard-earned income to support, of all things, a radio show (but a really great radio show, right?)

We've lowered our expectations a bit at the station. We're not seeking any increase in our published goal over what we hoped to get last year, $60,000 in listener contributions.

Because I was digging out from the storm, I heard none of Monday morning's FM on Toast show, but I did hear Steve Dieterich's Celtic Airs top out with more than $6,000 in three hours. Congratulations to Steve, and thanks to our listeners.

It's an amazing achievement in these days of a declining Dow and expanding unemployment. How many years have I played Dust Bowl ballads never once thinking we'd live through such a sobering re-hash of history.

But, despite all this, I'll do as Steve did today, and ask listeners to help us reach a goal of 10% of the station's overall goal, or $6,000. I will immodestly remind you that programming at WWUH is priceless, but not free. Our budget is tiny ($125,000 per annum), but it pays for a totally homespun and eclectic mix of programming. We play music you won't hear on other broadcast stations, and our public affairs programming is exemplary.

To try to keep things fun, we'll be featuring a few new Marathon fundraising methodologies tomorrow. With "Skype Me A Song" I've asked some musician friends to Skype into the show with a song during the fundraiser. I've already got four volunteers (in a bit of a Folk Next Door reunion it'll be Pete Lehndorff, Hugh Blumenfeld, Nerissa Nields and Tim Mayock).

Nerissa Nields will be unveiling the third song in her triptych of songs which began with Ash Wednesday, was followed with Merry Christmas Mr. Jones, and will be completed tomorrow with I'm Half My Mother's Age (in which our original character tells us about her life fifteen years on!)

I'm also trying to create a webcast of the show with my laptop's webcam. That may not be as successful, but if it is, you will witness, visually, the chaos of Marathon, along with the audio stuff. The problem with a webcast is that the video won't likely synch with the audio coming out of your radio, so it will look like a bad dub of a Japanese Godzilla movie.

Please call in, if you can, and support the station. We've got great t-shirts and CDs as thank-you gifts.

Creepy Joe™ feels Calhoun's pain

Apparently UCONN basketball coach has gotten all the support he needs, including a call from Connecticut Senator Creepy Joe™ Lieberman, and the head of the NCAA. According to the Hartford Courant:

Sen. Lieberman and all those other phone calls from around the country — from the head of the NCAA, all the other various people — that's all I've really needed," said Calhoun, a cancer survivor.

I find it strange that Courant sportswriter Mike Anthony identifies Calhoun in this context as a cancer survivor. Because there's no other reason to use that description here, one can only assume that Anthony was attempting to drum up sympathy.

And if I recall correctly, Lieberman also supported John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Constitutional scholar Bobby Knight supports Calhoun's First Amendment rights.

I watched the UCONN men's game Saturday (yes, I'm still a fan), and was appalled when commentators Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg climbed on the Calhoun bandwagon and claimed that Calhoun had been "conned" (their pun not mine), when Ken Krayeske asked the now infamous question.

In the end, all those who are in the tank for Calhoun seem to be re-framing the controversy as if it were somehow about Calhoun's generousity, which doesn't seem to be the issue being questioned.

There are three issues: Does Krayeske, or anyone in the press have the right to ask any question they please at a press conference (or is the post-game press conference sacrosanct)? Should the highest paid state employee be questionned about the economic problems facing the state? And did Jim Calhoun handle the question correctly, and with the dignity required of a top state representative?

The answers seem pretty clear, and it's become obvious that Krayeske has made his point.

Boring stories of

The Avett Brothers channel Bruce Springsteen as part of an online Springsteen project called Hangin' Out On E Street.



Also noteworthy, Matt Kearney's Atlantic City.