mikesmy.name

Today was Al Franken’s last day on the air at Air America Radio. I’ve been listening to him regularly during my lunch hour for the last several years and I’m going to miss his B quality SNL legacy humor and his neverending “um’s” and “ah’s”. And of course, I’ll miss nodding and thinking “oh yeah, you go Al!” as I perpetually agreed with JUST about everything he said. Oh and:

• Wait, wait, don’t lie to me (the multi-Peabody award winning segment)*
• Truth, Lie, or Waffle
• Hate email of the day
• A bunch of great regular guests including David Brock, Joe Conason, Norm Ornstein, and Christy Harvey

So why is the star of the now bankrupt radio station signing off permanently? Is Air America radio doomed? Hardly. I believe that progressive radio is here to stay and the lineup of progressive talking-heads is stronger than ever. The truth is that Air America doesn’t need him any more.

Besides, Al has much bigger fish to fry. He’s running for Senate!! Go Al! I would vote for you, you know… if I lived in Minnesota. Want to keep tabs on Al and his Senate bid? Go to his new site: www.alfranken.com.

So long Al… It was a good run

*Ok, the segment didn’t really win any Peabodies

Ever come home and notice a “newspaper” in your driveway? I don’t subscribe to any newspapers so I know every single one of these is just a bunch of advertisements. Now I know everyone with something to sell is desperate to get my attention, but at least have the decency to pay postal fare for it and put it in my mailbox. That way I can just conveniently throw it away with the credit card offers and the pleas to save the starving children of Africa.

In my mind, this is nothing more than littering and should be illegal. Maybe it is illegal and the advertisers just don’t care. Shame on them! Shame on them… (sigh).

The pic above is of a house in my neighborhood. It is currently unoccupied so it is easy to see the cumulative effects of this wasteful dumping. I say to the following:

• coupons and advertisements disguised as newspapers
• phonebooks (honestly, who uses these anymore?)
• door-hangers and leaflets shoved in door-jams

You are all EVIL and you are all officially on notice! If I ever find out where your lawn is, rest-assured… I’ll leave some steaming crap of my own on it.

You expect this sort of behavior from the delinquents of society… and celebrities. But an astronaut?

• Suspect – 43 year old Lisa Marie Nowak
• Weapon – A BB gun and a can of pepper spray
• Motive – Jealousy in love triangle with 2 other astronauts.

Read it and weep: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16997958

My response? Just a solemn shake of the head. What is the world coming to when America’s number one profession (according to kindergarteners everywhere) has been reduced to this?

I hate teen angst. That whole “Life is so hard. You just don’t understand!” outlook on life just drives me bat-guano crazy. Get this:

• Suspect – 16 year old Louise Egan Brunstad
• Weapon – Mercedes Benz (obviously she’s rich)
• Motive – She was denied lesbian fun-time with a classmate at her private Holy Innocents Episcopal School

Read it and weep: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15349057

My response? Oh boo-fricken-hoo! Sure my life growing up wasn’t all peaches and cream, but I was grounded enough to know better than to believe that my life was horrible and nobody else understood me.

Before they send this little tot to jail, she needs a good spanking and a healthy dose of reality!

“Melancholy Jesus looks up at you with eyes full of sorrow, yes, he hates it when you smoke.”

More thoughtful gift ideas for your overly religious friends can be found at: www.misspoppy.com. Check it out!

Here are the B-Side tracks that I created while working on Songs From Shopmart. In my mind, they just weren’t good enough to make it onto the “album”. But fear not, I’ve amassed them here so you can judge for yourself. If you thought the album was bad, wait till you get a load of these…

Ah, Joe the sequel. Sequels are so much fun. They’re bigger, flashier, and… bigger and flashier. Ok, so there’s no substance, but that’s the joke right? Or is it? Does the sequel take the Joe excitement to another level? Or does it just get bogged down in the debilitating sickness that is sequelitous? To find out, read on… (ha ha! Sucker.)

This is the “art piece” episode of Joe and not really a true sequel (thus the 2.5). Of course, it’s as true as a sequel gets in the Joe universe and the concept is all a part of the joke. I think this is the best of the Joe stories, but as LeVar Burton says, “Don’t take MY word for it.”

Remember those old Choose Your Own Adventure stories? Well how about one in cheesy poem form? Teen angst never looked so stupid.

This is a techno album I put together during my year of worthlessness. I named myself “Mike Nefarious.” Catchy eh? It is the only thing I have to show for the time of inactivity between the time I graduated college and formally entered the working class. It’s kind of silly, kind of blah, kind of generic… but it’s mine and I’m still proud of it. Take a listen.