BlogSep 30, 2024
Some glitches hereWe apologize for the technical problems experienced during the last week with our web host. We will work to insure it does not happen again. Thank you for for patience. Sep 17, 2024
The Dangerous ElectionA man with dementia superimposed on a sociopathic personality has been nominated by the GOP as their candidate for president. This potential disaster will be the prime topic of the show until election day. He should be in jail for his attempt to overthrow the US government. He should be discredited for the hundreds of thousands of Americans dead from Covid owing to his self-centered mismanagement of the pandemic. Instead he could again become president unless good people stand against him and his cronies. We plan to do all we can to put him in proper perspective. Mar 6, 2024
The Art of the PossibleThat is what they call politics. And what is turning out to be possible are things nobody thought were possible even as recently as a decade ago. We will examine this, and strive to discuss more sane topics as we tumble into this election year. Sep 20, 2023
Yes, let us DO the Time Warp, againA report on the space-time discontinuity that occupies 40 years of time, and hundreds of miles of space. To this we felt a need to add some real medical topics. And Burning Man, yet another disruption in space-time gets a look. Also, a lot of the usual antics. Sep 13, 2023
Outta townYour host left the building for a trip to Southern California which should produce some interesting musings soon, if not today. My all-time favorite peer group was visited and on the way home the formerly largest freshwater late in the USA west of the Mississippi (now re-constituted) was driven to (and through). Expect those peers to elevate the programs of the next few months with tales worth hearing. May 24, 2023
Getting to a milestoneWhattya know? We got to 1,000. Hope this collection of favorite moments going back to the very beginning will reach new ears and persistent brains. We liked this collection so much we plan to do more of them soon. And Mr MacMillan is adding the earliest shows long-absent from the site. We expect to get just about every hour up soon, plus extras. Thanks for listening. Mar 30, 2023
Heading towards 1,000 programsIf all goes according to plan we will hit our 1,000th edition of Radio Parallax in May. We are probably going to hit the re-set button not long afterwards and take a hiatus. New programs can be expected, but not weekly. Those listening on KDVS may anticipate archival programming over the summer thanks we hope to the efforts of Guy Torici who has secured our shows off the web for broadcasting on terrestrial radio. We are working on this and will advise. Feb 27, 2023
OMG it is 2023 somehowWe admit to sloth when it comes to updating these messages. We last did so months ago. And it got to 2023. We will try to do better and plan to stick around till show 1,000. Stay with us won't you? Jun 29, 2022
Just because you don't take an interest in politics....... does not mean politics won't take an interest in you. So said Pericles. We take a look back at Watergate 50 years on with Jefferson Morely in show 955. His new book Scorpion's Dance, The President, the Spymaster and Watergate is insightful and probes angles not adequately explored to date. A don't miss interview. And an update on the January 6th hearings with Trump expert Steven J. Harper in show 956. Mar 25, 2022
Astrolomy vs AstronolgyFuture show topic. On only about 49 day of the year does your supposed sun sign correspond to where the sun really is on that date. Nobody who thinks he/she is a Libra really is. Same for Scorpio. Most of the time you are really the sign before the one you think you are. For 8 days in the year you are 2 signs ahead. On 18 days (11/30 to 12/17) your birthday makes you one of the 13th sign of the zodiac - Ophiucus. The astrologers have not worked out the personality for you Ophiucoids. Which frankly, is the least of their problems. Stay tuned for more. Mar 24, 2022
Our 20th yearWe did not see 20 years of radio when we began, but 20 years we have achieved. More to say on that in our 20th year. Stay tuned. Oct 15, 2021
High School Madness & Mary RoachLooking forward to a look at one of those most singular events - the high school reunion - not the skit by the Firesign Theater by the way but rather the host's 50th. Turns out we've been lying about being 39 for years, just like Jack Benny. Expect a few reviews of answers to the question "What have you been doing the past half-century". Plus the always entertaining Mary Roach who will talk up her new book Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. Oct 7, 2021
Fall 2021As we head into the next cold and flu and covid season we will continue to produce programs on a semi-regular basis. We thank you for your patience. Not being on terrestrial radio at the moment is a challenge, but we are working on fixing that. Meanwhile check for new shows every week. Aug 7, 2021
As I was saying...It does look bad when the splash page refers to the newly installed Biden presidency. So let us perform a better late than never update and note that we plan to continue produce programming if not weekly then bimonthly through the end of 2021. Stay tuned, as it were. Jan 27, 2021
Democracy in America survives to fight another dayJoseph Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States January 20th. Donald Trump needs to be impeached and banned from future federal office. We will be on the case in 2021 with expert opinions. Jan 12, 2021
A putsch failes to become a coupDonald Trump incites an assault on the democratic process and the Congress with lies about a theft of the 2020 election. Luckily for the American experiment with democracy and the world-at-large things went no better than anything else that has ever been directed by the soon-to-be ex-president. And the danger is not yet over. Dec 9, 2020
Threat of a coup diminishes...The two big stories of 2020 - the election and the Covid-19 pandemic are moving in opposite directions. The danger of a stolen or subverted election is fading but the Covid case rate will increase for a while. Radio Parallax will continue over the next few months on a less-than weekly basis. We need to catch out breath, and prepare for what 2021 will bring. Oct 26, 2020
Final Show before Election 2020We have updated Trumppandemic.net with new links and key information. Please check it out and share widely. This election and the Covid-19 disaster in America are intertwined stories of how Donald Trump ignored reality and got people killed unnecessarily by strange, distorted politics overroding science, medicine, logic, and common sense. VOTE NOVEMBER 3rd as if your future depends on it, because it does. Oct 15, 2020
Election 2020 - Trump PandemicWe refer you the website we have put up: Trumppandemic.net It is a visual to go with our audio... with just three weeks till the election Dec 12, 2016
Goodbye to 2016As you no doubt have noticed we are in sleep mode. Thanks to all of you who contributed funds. We are taking a break for an indeterminate time, but plan to be back in 2017. It seems we will have plenty to talk about. See you then. Jul 13, 2016
We need your supportThank you to all who have contributed via paypal to keeping this program going. We are not doing as well as we might hope, however. So we are going to set a goal of $1,000 in the next 3 weeks. If we make that we will go another month. If we fail we will suspend production, including broadcasting on KZFR until we do reach that number. Please do what you can. Apr 20, 2016
NOT a KDVS Pledge Show!For the first time since 2003 Radio Parallax is not participating in KDVS's annual pledge drive. We are no longer a part of the station. We have placed a pay pal button on our web site to facilitate contributions to us to promote the continued production of this program. If you are a KDVS listener you should consider helping them. If you are a fan of this program you should consider instead contributing to us directly. Thank you. Douglas Everett Apr 5, 2016
Sponsorship!Radio Parallax continues. We are sad to leave KDVS, but glad to have the opportunity to seek your direct support for production costs. These have always totaled about $10,000 a year. We never sought to recoup by charging stations. KDVS does have a yearly pledge drive, but the funds we raised (thank you for all that support) always goes to the station alone, not us. We will be linking future shows to sponsorship from Doctors Clinic for Men - where your faithful host spends his time when not producing radio. Feel free to view our website: http://www.sacdc4m.com/ As for right now we need to address the queries from several listeners about the KDVS pledge drive which starts next week. We say, with reservations, that you should support our local radio home for the last 14 years if you are a regular listener. Our reservations come from the fact that despite the station's desperate need for extra funds in the wake of ASUCD cutting financial support the people in charge are determined NOT to make a major effort to gain sponsors nor seek grants. They want to do it all via pledge drives. But they are running the drives very poorly. During the add-on event last fall the core staff neglected to have the usual 3 operators manning the phones. We know of people calling in 9 times during our hour and never reaching an operator. This coming drive appears to show them staffing 2 people, instead of the usual 3. The station has the right to commit financial suicide, of course, but we suggest you pause before contributing this year. Failing to meet their goal - AGAIN - may force the station to take sensible steps to better its finances. Please Do NOT make a contribution in our name. Especially if we were the reason you listened to the station. If you want to help Radio Parallax then please hold those funds which would normally be pledged next week. We are setting up a method by which you can help us directly. Our goal is to raise half of our production costs from you dear listener. Stay tuned. Mar 29, 2016
Life goes onWe plan to air some favored prior programs which will air on KZFR 90.1 FM in Chico (where we have been since 2007). Our enjoyable chat with UCD history Professor Larry Berman about his real-life spy book is slated to go first. After which we will re-visit The Science of Superheroes with author James Kakalios. Mar 3, 2016
David Talbot & siblingsWe are pleased to be able to again speak with author David Talbot about his work on Deep Politics. His latest, The Devil's Chessboard, includes information that is not in our history books, but should be. We devote the entire hour today to this conversation. In a happy bonus we hope to bring another Talbot onto the program next week. Sister Margaret Talbot has written a wonderful chronicle of their father actor Lyle Talbot. Last night one of Lyle's first films was shown at the Castro theater in San Francisco and all four of the distinguished Talbot progeny were in attendance. We will talk about that on next week's show. Feb 10, 2016
The End is NighAll things must pass. Our time as a local show on KDVS will end next month. Frankly we've extended our Davis run longer than expected. The podcasts will continue into 2016. And we hope we can maintain a presence on KZFR for a while. A lot of our early shows were not aired in Chico so we'd like to broadcast some favorites. We will keep you posted. Hopefully with more alacrity than our usual rate of blog updates. Sep 9, 2015
Support the SN&RSupport the freedom of the press by coming out Sept 16th. Read Jeff vonKaenel editorial for more info. We will remind you on this weeks show. And we note with sadness that we are planning to turn over the keys two weeks from now for the "Best of Radio Parallax" on KDVS (and KZFR) while planning some original new content. Podcasts will continue, also with fresh material. Graham Smith and Edward MacMillan will be producing this as your longstanding host goes on assingnment this fall. Jul 29, 2015
We are still doing our thingWe are happy to report that we are finding time to keep producing the show despite the summer heat, wildfires and busy, busy schedule. Let's do more. May 29, 2015
In the footsteps of David LettermanOwing to a number of circumstances beyond our control (and new obligations) it is apparent that Radio Parallax is going to find it more difficult to provide shows like clockwork every Thursday. As such we think we should plan to end our run in the not-too-distant future starting with our KDVS presence. We hope we can turn it up a notch - much a Dave did - for our final terrestrial broadcasts on the KDVS transmitter. We envision continuing podcasting for a good long while and the ease of broadcasting into Chico means we can go a while longer on KZFR. Please send comments via info@radioparallax.com. This has been fun, and will continue to be fun for a while longer. May 20, 2015
Sports Pre-emptionCal Aggie Baseball will take the Parallax this Thursday. So we will concentrate on our OTHER favorite station KZFR. We travel north to Chico in order to speak with GM Rick Anderson about their great community-based facility (with over 120 volunteers - and about the same number of underwriters)which will celebrate 25 years of broadcasting next month. May 11, 2015
KZFR & KDVSWe are hoping to go north to the fine town of Chico to chat with the hood people at KZFR. We hope in the wake of that to facilitate a visit by KDVS DJs to better weld together these great community radio stations. This is going to be fun. Apr 22, 2015
Pledge Drive IIYour help is needed dear listener. We want you to call in during the 5 o'clock hour tomorrow Thursday April 23rd to demonstrate that a)we are reaching you and b) you care enough to act. It's important we get the needed feedback (and financial support). Please call 530.754.5387 to make a pledge. Thanks. Doug Apr 19, 2015
Pledge Drive TimeFor the 13th time Radio Parallax doe its part to raise funds for KDVS. Our effort will be put before you Thursday the 23rd. We hope that everyone who listens will do THEIR part to keep our nose above water. Last year we had a dismal turnout. Only $800 for our hour. If we can't make $1,000 this year we may have to hang it up. The station badly needs new equipment and we badly need to see that YOU care enough to help dear listener. In past years we made double that. Times are tough, we know, but that means YOU are more important than ever. Feb 20, 2015
The show is the blogYeah, I know. We promise to be better about blogging, then neglect to update these notes(sigh). Well doggonnit we have a lot of things keeping us busy: the quilting bees, the charity work at the local disco, the carving of ships to stick inside bottles to sell to tourists, the square dances. It eats up the day. But watch this space. We predict confidently - more frequent contributions. Since the last one was Thanksgiving that should set the bar low ENOUGH to make this a lead pipe cinch. TBC Nov 24, 2014
ThanksgivingGiven a Thursdays @ 5-6 pm time slot we are sure that once a year our terrestrial broadcasting audience plunges. We can hardly expect that many will choose to augment their turkey slicing holiday with the background sounds of Parallax. But some people will be keeping society functioning on this day, as they do every day, by manning the desk in hospitals, staffing firehouses, keeping gas stations open etc. We salute those doing their duty on a holiday and hope to make the day better this year with an emphasis on comedy bits we've always liked. We are busy making our selections now. Nov 13, 2014
That's Show BizEntertainment influences just about everyone not living in a cave. So we can hardly exclude it from a program in "public affairs". Today we'll look back at our interview with Norman Lloyd, associate of Orson Welles, tennis mate of Charlie Chaplin, director for Alfred Hitchcock (and a working actor still) on the occasion of his 100th birthday! And we talk with voice actor Corey Burton whom we caught up with the tribute for Stan Freberg, legendary lampooner of American culture. We hope to have more to say about Freberg in the future and note that traveling to Los Angeles for the program has yielded us wonderful chats with author Ray Bradbury, famous radio director Norman Corwin, and Fireside Theater veteran Phil Proctor. Clearly, we should head south more often in 2015. Jun 12, 2014
Speaking with those who have done great thingsThe interview on today's show is but a portion of a long discussion recorded with Pete McCloskey. The former Congressman is a singular figure in 20th century American politics. Though a Republican he was a leading anti-war figure in the Congress and a co-author of the Endangered Species Act. In 1972 he openly challenged the incumbent President - Richard Nixon - for the GOP nomination. He managed to get re-elected to Congress despite being in front of the popular opinions of the time. History has vindicated his stands and we feel privileged to have been afforded the chance to speak with him. Fortunately we have at least another hour of material besides what airs today, and if we are lucky we may be able to speak to the Congressman again. What you hear today, and in future installments only scratches the surface of what episodes we might explore with this remarkable and principled political figure. Apr 3, 2014
Fundraiser coming upKDVS asks for help once a year and the time is upon us. Please consider making a contribution during our annual pledge drive week later this month. In recent years the station has failed to meet its goals and this is creating significant hardships due to the failing of increasingly old equipment. Do what you can, please. More in this later. Doug Dec 9, 2013
Coming up on 600 showsOur fits show in the new year will count out at #600. In 2014 we intend to bring you some of the people we have been pursuing for quite a while - and continue talking about topics we think are important. Jan 16, 2012
Our 500th ShowShow #500 is this Thursday. Holy mackerel. From June 2002 till January 2012. As Samuel Goldwin once said: ”we've all passed a lot of water since then”. And so we have. Under and sometimes off the bridge. We are going to spend considerable time in the archives OURSELVES for this one. Finding our favorite moments may he harder then we think. This is inspiring a long overdue website upgrade. Mr MacMillan will add his bio, for example. Some of his facts may actually be true. We fully expect many to be. And we will have more photos as time goes on. We swear. Stay tuned Sep 25, 2011
Surfing in KauaiSince we believe in going out to experience new things in order to report on them for RP – as a public service of course – part II of surfing lessons took place this month. This time the travel location was Kauai, rather then Costa Rica. So little time, so may tropical paradises. What is one to do? At the risk of sounding like a total and utter jerk I would point out that – as a friend's mom once said – it is better to do things than to have things. And the modest cost of a short stay in paradise compares pretty favorably with the cost of a helleva lot of gee-gaws we purchase to keep up with the Joneses here at home. Criminy, think of the cost of a new car and its clear that a vacation is not all that expensive if one's tastes in accommodation are temperate. At any rate, we are again hoping to bring a clip of the time spend in tropical climes. In this case my old pal Joe O. was kind enough to trot out his video equipment and record a fair number of attempts at standing up. Given the large volume of material we able to snag a couple of clips demonstrating a respectable amount of time standing vertical vs the waves. To better appreciate this video we counsel listening to the audio - where we talk about adventures in the land of poi. And yes, no matter what you've heard it tastes great and is highly nutritious. The latter is a fact. The former may be hotly debated - but I'm sticking to my pro-pounded taro root stance, dammit. Dec 20, 2010
Milestones: I visit my 80th country AND update my blogWe have a new policy at RP. We will add new blog entries every 8 months at minimum, whether the site needs it or not. We are bad, we admit it. But wouldn't you rather we put our energy into making good radio? Sure you would. Our thanks to those who helped us while the shows host was in South and Central America. We placed three shows in the can before departure and all managed to hit the airways on schedule. Yours truly reached a milestone of sorts in that upon clearing customs in Bogota, my lifetime country total reached 80. The odds are looking pretty decent that I may make 100 before re-locating into that eco-tourist destination in the sky. We are hoping to bring some footage shot on location in Colombia. In particular a 90 second clip of passing on the highway. This may not seem like something eventful or worthy of review upon returning home, but chances are you've never been on Colombian roads. The Andes are no place for an interstate such as the main arteries we have come to expect here. In fact, our journey to Cartagena had to be given up because the highway had washed down into the raging river below. If a picture is worth 1000 words then our clip should be worth about 300,000 words of description. We celebrate the fact that Colombia is now, once again, a country that it is safe to visit. It is not quite ready for prime time however, as a tourist destination. It is rather more Third World than one might expect. For more of description we recommend listening to the show archives. Oh, Costa Rica was pretty nice too. But then it always is. It is possible to have a crappy time in CR- I know a guy who did it – but this takes a truly exceptional effort, one dependent on a bad attitude. Surfing was attempted with some success. A hint for those longing to learn – do not wait till you are past your 39th birthday to start, or 49th, or worse. Listen to more about THAT in the archives as well. Eh? Feb 28, 2010
Andy Warhol's 15..... go!Our thanks to the SN&R's Rachel Leibrock a) for taking an interest in the show b) working hard on an article and c) getting it published. If by chance you missed it: http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1376574: We're pleased to get such felicitous ink coupled with Mike Iredale's pix. Rachel went out of her way to observe RP in action including a trip to Insight when I filled in for Jeffrey C., a visit to KDVS, and an excursion to my home studio. Why I'm "dangerous" remains a head-scratcher. And that sepia cover shot makes me look as if I'd just had a meeting with Dick Cheney where we agreed to waterboard a bunch of guys. Its like me channeling the ghost of Roy Cohn. I hate it, but maybe my sinister visage will move more papers. But I don't get it. Couldn't I have been the most something-else man in radio? We quote from the SN&R a lot. They do good work. I don't expect attaboys to be reciprocated, but we're grateful that our interest in digging around to find things to chat about is valued, along with how we do it. Quite glad actually. More later... Feb 23, 2010
hey..... an update....When The Bee said hat they were looking for people who'd been to 70 countries I wrote Carlos Alcala, to gain a place on their roster. A was second tier, but was glad to be there. Check out the article: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/01/24/2480367/around-the-world-many-times-bee.html For better or worse here's a longer narrative. In 1988 at the stunning site of Pagan, Burma (a world class attraction too-seldom seen due to the junta's ham-fisted management of tourism) I discovered another stunning attraction. She was 5'2" and I was hit with an anvil the moment I saw her. She had a most engaging personality and lightning wit. Though I was QUITE taken, I had to leave Pagan the same day we met owing to Burma's idiotic visa policies. But all was not lost. I was headed to India via Bangladesh while she was going to Nepal. I could catch her in Katmandu if I could keep my wits and change my schedule to skip Varnasi. Arriving in Calcutta my first order of business was to go to Air India and change my ticket. Calcutta was crazy. I was struck by the fact that tourist hotels all seemed to have "we have generator" signs. The reason became obvious when, upon trying to change my ticket (at an airline offices in the basement of one such hotel) the power went out. While awaiting those generators switching on the paperwork went on by flashlight. In the midst of this tumult I'd asked the agent for the appropriate change. What a scene. I can't speak Hindi, but two Spanish Hare Krishnas were in line and I COULD talk to them in espanol. By the glow of flashlights my papers got filled out. When the lights came back I got handed a ticket. It had been a slow and dark (obviously) process in a stuffy basement room and took two hours, but back in the daylight I was pleased to clutch an early ticket to Nepal. Alas, this was India. Back at my hotel room, shared with a British lad who was finishing 6 months with Mother Teresa I discovered the agent had written the wrong day. It was for the same date I ALREADY held to fly out of India. I KNEW an all-day battle was now needed. It had seemed too easy. When I hit Air India's central office the next day I was stunned to see the line. It was 50 people long. Computers were down and nothing moved. I sat at the end of the line dismayed. THEN a guy yelled from across the room that I was cutting-in. He was, in fact, the real end of the line. I did a quick head count. There were 147 people waiting in this first of many lines. A guy next to me who looked as though he came from the area near Burma turned and said: "You didn't know. Stay where you are." I said "Thanks, I think I will." It was kill or be-killed. For hours I ping-ponged around the cavernous room. Among the blockades to resolution was the fact that the flight I needed was fully booked. Asking everyone I could get eyeball-to-eyeball with if there was not SOME way this simple issue could be resolved I found myself camped out next to the office of a Mr Ram. A lady with the desk closest to his door sat fanning herself saying he should be here "soon". Soon could be soon, and it might not be on the same day. I wasn't going anywhere and stayed parked next to the big electric fan outside his office. But by-God Mr Ram did show after 90 minutes with a man in tow. I leaped up and gave him my spiel making an audition with what I hoped would prove charm. Both men seemed to chuckle at my forceful (and now well-oiled) presentation. Mr Ram was a man of authority. He sized up my story, smiled and said "Mr Banerjee can help you - and he WILL help you!" He directed me to the 2nd floor with a jolly handshake and instructed me to relay my tale to Banerjee. I might finally be getting somewhere I thought but, it so happened, the Communist Party had chosen the giant stairwell to hold a rally in support of some labor action. They sat on the steps chanting and singing. After picking my way past the participants - a long process as the density of bodies in India is a different thing than in America I got to the reception desk. I asked for Mr Banerjee and was told no such person worked there. I insisted that no less than Mr Ram had directed me. "I'm sorry Sir there is no one here with that name" he maintained. I elected to blow past him in the best Ugly American style to look for myself. I strolled brazenly past work stations reading name tags. Two minutes in I found a thin man with "Banerjee" on his tag. I grabbed his hand and said I was glad to meet him since he could resolve my problem. I had been assured of it. Banerjee assessed my tale. "We have contingencies for such developments" he verified and sent me back to the lady with the fan. She had not been able to help I opined, but Banerjee told me what magic words to say and assured me she'd know what to do. After pointedly muttering "There is NO Mr Banerjee here." to the clerk at the desk - who did flinch - I made my way BACK down. Past boisterous communists waving placards of hammers & sickles I moved back to the fan lady. When I said what I was told to say she smiled, put down the fan and whipped out pieces of paper. She stamped them. Stamping was always good I figured. My lady, now fanless, took me on another journey through headquarters to another woman in a red sari who apparently monopolized the ability to produce real tickets. Red Sari read my papers, looked at the stamps, observed the fan lady and then exercised HER power to produce a piece of paper good for travel on Air India on the flight needed. I had prevailed and it had only taken 6 hours. A quick TKO by Indian standards. I felt fairly certain that somebody who THOUGHT they were flying to Katmandu was going to remain in Calcutta when the time came to fly, however. I was equally certain that I was NOT going to be that person by virtue of being the first in line at the airport on flight day. I was second, actually. A Dutch kid named Jacob was first; a veteran, I think, of the Indian wars. We signed-on and winged north as hoped. As it turned out we flew in immediately aftermath of a squall that had left the city powerless. Downed lines were everywhere. A panic at the soccer stadium left 40 dead. It was a grim day for Katmandu, but not for everyone as I found my gal that night despite conducting a search in a blacked out district of guest houses and restaurants lit by candles. And that begins another story. A more colorful and interesting one than this. But one I'm not telling. Jan 8, 2009
World's worst blogger is back!World's worst blogger is back! I don't think I am the worst writer of blogs, but I must be near the bottom when it comes to timely updates. The last update chronicled my visit to NYC. What followed? Washington DC, then a jaunt to Hawaii, followed by a trip to Siberia. I know blogs don't need to be bout trips, but to not comment on a visit to the Altai mountains to catch an eclipse must be some kind of blog felony. So, where was I? Washington I like. It has a broad open feel to it due in no small part to the space and air of the Capital Mall. I got a tour of the Voice of America's offices and a side trip to Baltimore where I got to go onto an WWII sub. The submarine corps was not for me. I don't know how those boats cruised the high seas. They are not that big. I guess the one plus was in storm you could go down a hundred feet and wait. But man that duty took guts. Arriving in DC brought one of those moments where you suddenly look out and know precisely where you are. I had been to the station before, in 2004, and upon arrival I was, if not home exactly, back in familiar territory. The Big Apple was, conversely, cold, strange, foreign and not a place I could ever live in. With the nephew working for WNYC though I plan to go back in spring. Stay tuned. And have you ever been hit with claustrophobia? On board the jet set to wing me home from Baltimore I considered asking the stewardess to allow me to exit the aircraft the moment they closed the doors. I was in serious pain. The new onset of at least one kidney stone was verfy ill-timed. The pain had begun the night before and was hitting a crescendo I just was not sure I could STAND the flight(s) home. Luckily, I had adequate analgesia and after chewing down a pill I thought I could actually do it. I did, but I got home through significant misery. I swore never to try that stunt again. Should you ever ponder such an adventure my recommendation is DON'T. Hawaii is a place I have a soft spot for. It helps that my grandpa was from Kauai and I still have cousins there. I don't know them personally, but I know they are there. That distinctive island accent is one of ones I grew up with. They have to be as fine an archipelago as any on this blue planet. I'd been to Kauai, Oahu, Maui and the Big Island and had always had a hankering to visit Molokai to see the old Hawaii. And THAT will be be the next installment. 33333333333333333333333333333333333333333 A buddie from high school came with me. I drove to Marin County and crashed on Michael's couch for a early departure to Maui via Honolulu. This was visit #6 if you count the two day stay in 1988 which coincided with the stock market crash. Which I do. Crash the stocks and you STILL have a great time just being in the Sandwich Islands. Well, nothing is guaranteed in this world, but if you don't like Hawaii there is something wrong with YOU. The Lonely Planet, as usual, gave excellent hints about where to go. In the first hour we hit the most beloved store on Maui, which, to my surprise stocked THE best kava kava I have ever had. Sidebar: the Polynesians learned to grind up a pepper tree root centuries ago. It contains compounds that relax and are mildly intoxicating. And I do mean mildly. The first time I tried it I thought it did zero. It does though. It helps one unwind. It is safe and is the only herbal product I find useful. I've recommended it to patients and gotten good feedback. A couple I know told a native guy in Vanuatu that they were unimpressed with the kava they were ceremonially served upon arrival. As he was a “king” he instructed minions to serve these guys up “kings kava” from a 100 year old tree. Shawn swore that his stroll up from the beach after imbibing felt like a rock scramble in Yosemite. As an anesthesiologist he was qualified to judge its effects. He was stunned. Now the Maui kind was nothing of the sort. It was same mild stuff you can get in the coop in Sacramento, Davis, or Kentfield. It was much more palatable, however thanks to some some Island flavors blended in. I wish I'd bought more. The West side of the Island was literally unrecognizable. I took the folks there once but could NOT for the life of me locate where we had stayed. The whole lay of the land was altered by a giant new posh development catering to the exclusive sort of clientèle who want to hang out in places that are exclusive. So, for the sake of these assholes developers have bought up breathtakingly beautiful stretches of beach and shoved high rises up into the sky with fistfuls of stores selling the same crap these jackasses could, and should be buying in Manhatten and Beverly Hills. Not that I hate their guts or anything. Luckily the water is still nice even if the sea life appears to have taken a huge hit. For better snorkeling we drove north in day two to encounter a couple of native sons sitting in lounge chairs at roadside holding up greenish material. “Is that the famous Maui Wowie?” I asked the dudes. “Dis stuff is a Maiu Owie” replied the larger of the two large men, adding “You smoke dis shit.... you gonna hurt yo'self.” We had to laugh. And to be friendly my wing man contributed to the local economy. He enjoys the stuff and informed me that it was of decidedly inferior quality to that which he has grown accustomed to in Marin. I deferred to his expertise. The snorkeling that followed was good. Very good in fact, though I have seen better. That is not a complaint, however. A complaint would be as follows. I wanted poi. My portagee grandmother used to have taro root every so often. It was OK, but I really like the pounded stuff. The taro equivalent of mashed potatos. At luaus in previous trips I ate a lot of it. My inquiries as to where I might be found went nowhere. Costco had it on alternate mornings I was told. But the restaurant called fish and poi seemed a slam dunk. As we were led to our tables I asked; “You DO have poi, right?” I did not expect the “No sir we don't reply” from the seater nor the confirmation from the waiter that they took it off the menu because nobody ordered it. I was stifling my replies till he added scornfully; “Have you ever tried it?” “Yes” I replied, “I like it. Its why I came to this restaurant NAMED 'Fish and Poi' which is your name after all” He said he was sorry, but they had not been able to get a sign painter so they could CHANGE the name. Michael suggested that even if that WAS lame it never pays to give a waiter any sort of hard time. “I know” I said, “but the numbskull asked me if I'd ever tried it – like I'm the idiot who imagined he could get a foot the restaurant is NAMED after.” He agreed that was bogus and the food that followed was weak. Pounded taro root would have spruced it up considerable. On day 3 we struck for the summit of Haleakala an adventure to follow in the next installment... 444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444 As you may or may not know the Hawaiian island chain has formed over 80 million years or so from a long lasting, mysterious “hot spot” under the ocean. This plume of magma has been upwelling since the time of the dinosaurs and created not just the current crop of what we think of as the Hawaiian Islands but the chain of old worn down rocks that stretch thousands of miles to the northeast. The Pacific Plate has moved northwest relative to the hot spot something deduced as certain only in the past half century. The Big Island is now over the molten plume but a few million years ago it was Maui that was built up from lava piled upon the sea floor. And the top of the mountain, at 10,000 feet is still a stunner. I read that the drive to the top is the most abrupt ascent anywhere in the world. I suspect that is not hype. And it is well worth doing. On a prior trip I arose early enough to catch the sunrise from the top. It was worth doing but I don't think I saw the kind of spectacle that amazed Mark Twain. Even spectacular natural sights have their good days and not-so-good. Michael split the driving with me. I even let him remain behind the wheel after he puffed away on some local vegetation. In my experience the stoned driver is very unlikely to cause you grief. He or she tends to be hyper-careful in vivid contrast to the drunk. Most of the experience which led me to this generalization is decades old but I could see that it still held up in 2008. He managed fine. We jogged down for 45 minutes to a lookout point then jogged back up at a much-reduced pace to explore numerous spots to see in the general area. The view of Hawaii to the south was terrific. Mouna Loa and Mouna Kea are a half mile taller still and look magnificent. If you go to Maui you must do this. That night there was a festival of canoes from all over the Islands. A couple were even from Tahiti I think. We strolled around in Lahaina and... well you just can't have too bad a time with macadamia nut snacks and fresh fish. The taro question as in poi was shown to really be, at least in part, due to a shortage on Kauai. It seemed the crop was reduced by drought thus making he formerly ubiquitous taro chips snacks rare. Like poi they were tough to find. Unlike poi we did finally find some – locally made. And while I'm talking food... I would note that sugar, even that which sweetens soft drinks, should be fricking sugar, not the vile tasting high-fructose corn syrup. Drink a soft drink in Hawaii and you'll remember why you used to like such drinks. And y'know I have to take a break and go get some Hawaiian barbeque right now – complete with soft drinks. Be right back. 555555555555555555555555555555 Where was I? On Maui? As good as Maui is, and I am not sure there IS a bad Hawaiian Island (if you don't count former bombing range Kahoolawe, left a mess of unexploded ordinance by the Pentagon) its commercialism left us hankering for the old Hawaii and Molokai was the place that has elected to remain decades “behind” the rest of the place. The ferry was fun. Michael drank some beer and sat with some serenading locals who pounded out Hawaiian hits. Even from afar you could see that Molokai was virtually devoid of development. After the Miami Beach nuttiness of the West of Maui this WAS a trip back in time. Our rental car was at the airport and the shuttle man was there to greet us. Driving west we found the deep darkness unpunctuated by electric lighting to reveal a stunning starry sky. The Southern Cross was plain as day and the heavens just erupted with stars. We pulled over and scanned the heavens for a quarter hour. Our resort was on the west end and we missed the turnout giving a detour into the development of Mauna Loa which was being shut down. It was eerie seeing hotels that were being put on ice and a theater that was now closed. Turns out it was the only cinema on the island. Navigating was aided by the stars and looking down from the hill we could guess where the hotel was. We guessed correctly but found the sinage pretty limited and directions too. A phone call got us right soon enough and we were in for the night. In the day we could see that MUCH of the hotel complex was being boarded up. Beautiful location, but some squabbling over water and development had led to a golf course that was drying out and restaurants that were closed. The golf I couldn't care less about but Molokai is famous for having few places to eat. That hurt. We hiked about and swam a good deal. The high point of the trip was a LONG swim outside some rocks where I felt as though I might swim to Oahu. Of course given the strong current may fear they'll have to. The moist air, balmy water and stunning scenery made for a world class afternoon on our final day. Of course I'm leaving out the trip to the famed leper colony. On the next-to-last day we hiked down the hillside (having paid for the right to visit) to get a tour of the notorious colony. Leprosy is considered one of the LEAST infectious of infectious diseases. Most people probably could not get it at all. Some immune deficiency is involved. But after it arrived from Asia some people DID get it and given that it was not controllable until sulfa antibiotics arrived on the scene.
Apr 29, 2008
Where were we?...Ah yes, leaving the Big Apple for the Big Pork Barrel. After 3 days in Gotham I arose ready to skip town. While I entertained the idea of hanging there one more day my roommate's electing to stay in Brooklyn meant I'd likely have a morning to kill. So to hell with it, I reckoned, its off to DC.
Apr 26, 2008
Thank you everyone who contributed......Sad to say we missed our target of $1000 by just 20 bucks. Which in this case would have translated into another $500 bonus. Ouch!
Apr 23, 2008
KDVS and Radio Parallax needs YOU!This week marks KDVS's annual pledge drive. The station needs the support of the public to keep things going another year.
Apr 3, 2008
Dateline: New York City and Washington DC......Sacramento, actually, but yours truly just returned from both. I had only visited the former at age 20, for 24 hours. It badly needed another look. Now, I'll save DC, a city I lived in for 10 weeks in 1976 for next week. Here's my personal update on The Big Apple. It is is not so expensive. At least not for food. Ubiquitous delis offer an excellent selection, fast service, reasonable prices and very tasty food.
Mar 22, 2008
It's Official......Radio Parallax won the 2007 award as the lamest blog west of Reno and north of the Tropic of Cancer. Its not that our content was bad it is just that we have written exactly nothing since June 07. Our official position is that Doug was hit by lightning shortly after his last entry. The show is our blog really, but we swear we will try and do better starting this week.
Jun 25, 2007
Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA)With all the concern about serious infectious diseases that get a lot of press a mundane organism appears to silently gaining momentum. Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) has apparently escaped from the hospital environment to get loose in the general population. The news today is that some experts think it may be 10x more common than previously thought. This is grim news, but no surprise to this correspondent. I see many suspicious cases in patients who walk into my clinic now. For that matter I think I have had more than one bout myself in the past year.
Jun 25, 2007
Bush/Cheney - Caught Sleeping Through Govt. 1A?The press seems to be giving Dick Cheney a pass on his position that the Vice-Presidency does not have to obey rules specified for the executive branch of government. Except when he exercises "executive privilege". So if the Vice Presidency is not a part of the executive branch then what branch does Cheney think he belongs to?
Jun 1, 2007
Interview with Vincent BugliosiWe are honored to have Vincent Bugliosi on the show. Despite an overworked voice he gave us a long interview. Do we agree that he answered EVERY question about the murder of JFK? Absolutely not.
Jan 22, 2007
Radio Parallax Appears in the Sacramento Bee!Radio Parallax appeared in the Sacramento Bee on January 9, 2007 - the article, by Sam McManis, can be read here: http://www.sacbee.com/127/story/104700.html Dec 9, 2006
Returning from Costa Rica...I have been putting off discussion of the election until I get back stateside from Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We must delve into the new Democratic controlled second branch of government in January.
Oct 29, 2006
Midterm Elections, The Iraq War and Gay "Marriage"As the election nears many predict at least one house of Congress going Democratic. A reigning in of GOP abuses of power will then follow, say some. This remains to be seen. Our two party system almost guarantees few earthshaking results from election day. Despite gerrymandering of Congressional districts by legislatures to insure that incumbents stay in power it appears that in as many as one tenth of the races (perhaps 40 of 435) real contests are taking place. Normally safe Republican seats ARE in play. In California we see John Doolittle and Richard Pombo - young turk conservatives given a lot of power by the GOP hierarchy - running for their lives.
Sep 27, 2006
Fox Interview with Bill Clinton, Dr. Bob Fitrakis (Green Party Candidate), The Battle for OhioTeam Bush has been trying to pin 9/11 and the failure to get Bin Laden on..... who else - Bill Clinton. So when the ex-Prez went face to face with Chris Wallace in FOX he was loaded for bear. When Wallace started to go after Clinton for his alleged failings re Bin Laden he got sent to the canvas. For my money this might be Bill Clintons finest hour, but don't take my word for it, check out the video: http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Clinton_blasts_Fox_host_Nice_little_0925.html
Aug 26, 2006
Current Events: Pluto, Bush, Judeo-Christianity Israel/Lebanon conflictWe should have stuck with our evaluation of what Plutos fate was likely to be. The world's astronomers in Prague indeed demoted Pluto after more political bickering than the Iowa caucases. See: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-pluto25aug25,0,1325722.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Media reports had focused on numerous crazy options for how to resolve the embarrasing dilemma of being unable to define exactly what a planet is. Some of these made little sense - but this shows what happens when political horse trading runs amok. The winner in this case was the most sensible option, so the International Astronomical Union does score a few points over the avarage voting population.
Aug 16, 2006
Israel and Lebanon Conflict; Pluto's statusIt appears that Pluto will survive the recall drive and will retain the title of planet. We thought Brian Marsden would carry the day based on his status as the solar system's nomenclature maven. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1843914,00.html. But sentiment is apparently winning out over Marsden's cool logic. Radio Parallax suspects Pluto will eventually lose on appeal and that we will define the solar system as having 4 "terrestrial" planets 4 gas giant planets and x number of Kuiper Belt objects plus a handful of asteroids that will be called "planets" by some people owing to their being round. Eight will eventually be the new number accepted by all no matter what you are reading this week. Then again, don't bet the farm on any quick resolution of this embarrasing astronomic conundrum.
Aug 14, 2006
Radio Parallax Semi-Daily BlogWe cannot recommend James Bamford's article in Rolling Stone highly enough. We are trying to get Mr. Bamford for the show. The article is in the August 10th issue of the magazine. Check it out at http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/10962352/iran_the_next_war. Radio Parallax thinks this is a MUST READ.
Jun 1, 2006
Interview with Ray BradburyWe're proud to announce that we will be interviewing fiction writer Ray Bradbury from his home in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 1st, 2006. May 25, 2006
Greg Palast returns to Radio ParallaxSome say Bush had a plan to invade Iraq before September 11th - that's not true - he had two. Greg Palast has obtained copies of both. On our show he explains the difference between Plan A of Big Oil/OPEC vs. Plan B of the Neocons. Greg also explains America's electoral shenanigans in greater detail. [Listen to this show] Mar 23, 2006
Congressman Pete McCloskeyMcCloskey is making a run at Richard Pombo's seat in the 11th Congressional District. He's mad about Pombo's efforts to undo the Endangered Species Act, which McCloskey co-authored. Listen to our interview with McCloskey pre-primary election. [Listen to this show] Mar 9, 2006
Radio Legend Norman CorwinWe spoke with Mr. Corwin on the eve of the 2006 Oscar telecast. A documentary about his life "On a Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin" was nominated for best short subject - and in fact won the award. He spoke with us about his illustrious career. A must for students of radio. [Listen to this show] Oct 13, 2005
Carol ChanningOne of our favorite interviews. The former toast of Broadway chatted with us about her star-studded career and people she worked with. She was a delight. [Listen to this show] |