From Point Conception to the Mexican Border... Nathan Callahan’s slyly subversive audio essays offer a heady deconstruction of contemporary culture at its most profoundly absurd. The rich and powerful, the sexually challenged, the religiously restricted, the famous and infamous all come to life as Callahan encourages listeners to peer into the dark creamy center of the Southern California dream.
THE CURSE OF TIME WARNER REVISITED: A TALE OF DODGER GREED
I stood near the third base line under a giant crane that lowered the loge level concrete supports into Lookout Mountain. A Valley kid in the hills by Chavez Ravine, I came to baseball in 1955 watching the beautiful losers of Brooklyn beat the mighty Yankees on TV. Now, my hometown of Los Angeles was building the most symmetrical ballyard on the planet for those winning beautiful losers: Dodger Stadium.
…more
LSD AND THE FLAW IN THE FABRIC
Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics at Zurich University recently discovered that LSD changes a person’s sense of meaning. Under the spell of Lysergic acid diethylamide, significance can be involuntarily added to events. This change in meaning takes place due to the stimulation of certain serotonin receptors not only during an acid trip, but after — in-other-words, with LSD, personal change may be permanent..
…more
SHUT UP, VIN SCULLY: BLASPHEMY FOR BASEBALL'S SAKE
Baseball should be a cheerful pastime, an escape from the everyday, and Vin Scully, the pre-eminent play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, its voice. In his last season, after 67 years behind the mic, Scully was bathed in universal praise. A street was named after him, a day was named for him, and a Dodger Stadium Scully monument was in the works. Life was complete for the Golly geewhiz Reagan-loving Hall of Fame broadcaster except for one thing: Scully forgot how to use his voice.
…more
VIN SCULLY DAY: HONORING THE VOICE OF LOS ANGELES
Before Vin Scully retires, the Dodgers need to designate a series of special days — one every homestand — when Scully’s voice can to be heard at the stadium for an entire game again. .
…more
It Is What It Is: A Status Report
On Election Day 2004, when exit polls showed incumbent President George W. Bush losing to Democratic challenger John Kerry, Bush assessed his situation to Time magazine. “It is what it is,” he said.
One month later, with Bush cheerleading the White House for another four years, “It is what it is” was declared America’s #1 Sports cliché by USA Today. While Bush rode a FUBAR invasion and a crashing economy to political victory, “It is what it is” was trending.
…more
Serotonin Day: A Public Service Announcement For Neurotransmitters
Are you violently happy, sad, irritable, restless, ecstatic, horny, hyperactive or just not sure? Of course, you are. We live on a bipolar planet and on June 21st it will be at maximum bipolarity. What’s been called the Summer Solstice, should be known as Serotonin Day.. …more
A Survey: On the Changing American Mind
I’m from the National Speculative Institute and we’re currently conducting a survey aggregating the views of people like you. The survey will only take about five minutes and your participation will be greatly appreciated. May I continue? Good. Since I have your permission, let me began by asking (on a scale of 1 -10, ten being more than 1) how often do you change your mind? . …more
The Treason of Images
To know the difference between what’s real and what’s representation is a very important survival skill in our age of duplication, virtual reality, and celebrity holograms. Learn it. . …more
The Best Reward is No Award
A Speech to Be Used on the Occasion of Winning an Award for the Arts
MGM's Louis B. Mayer once said, the best way to "handle creative types" was to "hang medals all over them." According to LB, if he gave artists "cups and awards" they’d do anything to please him. I hope not. …more
