Once again, I've been caught up in so many things and haven't been consistently posting so I'll try to come up with a theme and touch on it all:

I just keep doing it. I shouldn't, but every once in a while I get optimistic and do it anyway. I'm talking about engaging these assholes online in what I hope to be a real conversation about real issues. These Bill O'Reily wannabes end up taking gigantic leaps in logic (and truth) and when you call them on it you get called names. Who the fuck raised these people?

"Who the fuck raised these people?" is the question that's been on my mind lately. All of the wankers who are flushing the world down the toilet. People aren't born with their ideas and attitudes. I know about the War Criminal's parents. Jeez, there's been a ton of books written about the psychology of this idiot, how his parents relate to it, etc. But the rest of these bastards...you have people in our government who say - on the record - that they pray that we bomb Iran. Pray? Seriously? That's what your god does?

I can give a less serious, but personal example. Recently, I found out that someone who I thought was a friend and colleague seriously screwed me over professionally. But I've always been a person who attaches part of my self-identity to what I do so I've taken it personally. And I just don't understand what happened? What motivates someone to treat another person that way? Call it Karma or whatever, but it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me (I'll just end it right there). Yes, I should talk to this person, but there's still the possibility that he could fuck up the cool things that's happening in my life so I'll just have to always wonder. But it connects to that - who raised you question.

I guess this is a little narcissistic as the "who raised you" question assumes that I'm right and these fuckers are wrong as opposed to me and my kind are just different than these people and theirs. But I'd rather be wrong on the side of treating people humanely or not screwing up the environment. I think I had a pretty laisse faire upbringing. Sure, there were obvious influences, but I don't remember any kind of ideology drummed into my head. If there was any, it would have been the other way, but for the most part I was left to figure this shit out on my own. And from that, I've decided that we don't need to fuck each other over to get what we want.

I've probably made this point before...let's say your goal is to say "fuck all" (I've been listening to a lot of Eddie Izzard lately). I'm going to try to make as much money as possible and screw every one else. Fine. Why can't I be a capitalist pig by trying to get monopoly in alternative energy or in food that doesn't create huge piles of animal feces that does horrible things to us.

Alright...enough of that. On a lighter note. The latest podcast is up. If you haven't checked it out yet, I suggest you do so. We have a good time creating the thing.

Labels: capitalism, environment, podcast, raising children

We just finished a new podcast tonight. Not our most PC moment. A few pops combined with not sleeping for a couple of days got me imitating an Indian Bill-collecting duck. You have to hear it. We also talked about some tarted-up dolls called Bratz. I've never heard of these things, supposedly their little girl dolls dressed in thongs & make-up. Nice job, Madison Ave.

We also talk about fat chicks & big heads on the Food Network, and a small child is called a whore. You should check it out...here.

Labels: bratz, food network, podcast

We got a bit stupid on this week's Podcast. When the lesbian declared she was the real father of Anna Nicole's baby, I knew we were going downhill...I ended up calling the baby a "gooey lotto ticket". That morphed into a discussion of the Vagina Monologues - which I'm volunteering in a local production of. No big surprise that I'm now called Johnny Vagina. I sure hope I get a cape with that new title.

I'm still a bit frustrated with the podcast - on a techincal level. I put myself into debt by buying all this equipment, including a new laptop, and I still can't get to do what I want with the show. Right now, I'm being held up by a $50 usb cable that's on backorder. Oh...and Vista? BLOWS!!!!! I'm sure no one's surprised. With all the crap I've had to buy to get stuff to work because nothing old works with Vista, I could have just bought a Mac. Which is what I will be doing the next time I buy a computer.

On a totally unrelated note...I saw 2 different people park in different parking lots, taking up 3 spaces so that no one would park near their cars. And their cars weren't anything special. Dude, no one's going to be fucking with your Honda Accord. It wasn't even pimped out! Douchebags.

Labels: podcast, Stuart Bedasso, vagina monologues, windows vista

It's been a bit tough posting here the past week or so. To be honest the podcast has been taking up a lot of my mental energy - which isn't a bad thing. I've been struggling with how political it should get, versus just the three of us talking about our lives versus playing music. So far the music's been losing out - to my surprise. But I've really been enjoying the experience. My credit rating hasn't though. God, I've spent a lot of money on equipment - I just ordered a new laptop to go with the mixer, microphones, etc. Did I mention how much I'm enjoying it?

There's also a MySpace page for the show as well. One of the hosts, Keziah, is a MySpace freak so she created a page for the show. You can check it out at http://myspace.com/bedasso. I haven't found my MySpace experience to be that much fun so far. Every page is really obnoxious. One good thing that has come out of dealing with it though is that I found a friend from a teaching job I used to have. I had a huge crush on her, but she was married. Turns out she's now divorced (or so the mypage site says). So I actually got in touch...we'll see what happens. Gosh, I hope she hasn't been secretly been one of the 3 people who reads this site...oh well, more grist for the therapy mill.

So to sum up...podcast good...myspace bad...old crushes...uh...exciting yet scary.

Labels: myspace, podcast

The Stuart Bedasso Show is finally here! We did our first podcast last night and it turned out pretty good. The major glitch in it right now is me getting comfortable with the technology. I've tried to make it as close as possible to radio work I've done, but it's not quite and it's made it a bit awkward for me to record the show, but I'll get the hang of it.

You can check out the show at: Bedasso.blogspot.com

In the hour, we talked a lot...in fact we only got to 4 songs and 1 "bit". Which is OK I guess. I'm thinking that I may have to give Keziah & Erick a topic or two that I'm going to throw at them a couple of days before the next taping. We'll see.

So, it looks like the show probably won't take too many serious turns and actually, there'll be more on my mind that I won't be able to get out on the show so I'll still be using this blog. (the internet is saved)

Labels: podcast, Stuart Bedasso

I'm not going to create another post...all excited about more musicians who are letting us use their music for the upcoming podcasts (though we just got the Blind Boys of Alabama, Brand X, Thrill Racer, Too Much Joy and Robert Freakin Cray!). I'm actually going to do the opposite.

I find it interesting to read the reaction of folks who are hesitant about giving permission. We've had four so far. One ended up saying flat out "no" after a brief, but semi-uncomfortable e-mail exchange. Another, the original e-mail went to one of the band members cell phone who via text, forwarded it to her record label (still haven't heard from them). The next two were music label reps who have asked to hear the podcast first. Here's the weird thing...all 4 artists/bands were women or a band fronted by one. I don't know if that's relevant or coincidence. Actually, now that I think about it....the only other two who questioned me before giving permission were women as well. Hmmmph. What's that all about? I usually only get negative reactions like this from women I want to sleep with.

Well on another note, here's a strange problem. One band who shall go nameless...someone from their management not only gave us permission but e-mailed me a bunch of songs we could play. Sounds cool, right? The problem is...uh...they're not very good. I think we'll just play the stuff I already have in my collection.

Still, everything's shaping up nicely. We're still waiting on permission from a number of artists and a record label that if approves will pretty much double the music I have that we can play (it's a jazz label...sorry)

UPDATE: OK, in the interest of honesty, I just got our first "questioning" e-mail from a male artist. But he is kinda feminine in his ways. (no, not Boy George)

Labels: copyrights, podcast

Jeez...There's almost 2 years until the 2008 election and there's already 7 dems running...and that doesn't include Douchebag & Bore. This was "rainbow" week. Barack, Clintonbagger & Richardson all announcing. Black, woman, hispanic, whatever. I really don't know enough about Richardson, so I'll do some homework later...or not...don't care...I'm not voting in that primary.

On a different note...a really good article on how eating meat products is worse for the environment than driving a gas guzzler. Honestly, THAT is something that could get me to go completely vegetarian than the eating animals argument. In the last year, I've definitely decreased my meat consumption - just trying to eat a little better. But this article does make me really think. Or I could just set up my own cattle farm in the back yard. I'd probably lose my security deposit.

Podcast...podcast...podcast...

Yeah, I know. I'm a bit too excited. But dig this...today I got the OK to use music from...ready???? Fishbone and the Bus Boys. I'm freakin psyched! There's only 3 more artists I really, really want. It doesn't look that good, but we shall see.

And more importantly, we got permission to use audio from Democracy Now. That's going to be huge...huuuuuuu-ga! (an inside rochester joke)

Looks like all the music is going to be mp3-based, which makes it a bit of a pain for me - the engineer - but we'll make it work. Just one more technological hurdle and we're ready to go.

Labels: bus boys, fisbone, podcast, presidential election

A few things and a podcast update...

I watched both segments when Stephen Colbert went on Bill O'Reiley & vica versa. We already know what an idiot O'Reiley is, but on his own show, Colbert made him look like a fool and on The Colbert Report, SC didn't have to do anything as O'Reiley made himself look dumb. You can catch both clips at Crooks and Liars.

Now...more seriously...Bill O'Reiley has to be fired. Plain & Simple. His disgusting take on the kidnapped kid - that he didn't try to escape because he had a better life with his captor than at home - was...I really can't think of an appropriate word. He has the right to think / say whatever he wants, but Fox should fire his ass.

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Alberto Gonzalez is a fucking moron. He got grilled by Congress today...er...yesterday. And he said that the right of Habeus Corpus is not guaranteed in the Constitiution - only the right of the government to take it away. Arlen Spector came as close to calling him a fucking moron as you could without saying it....and what killed me is Gonzo just chuckled, like it was a joke. You know, I still believe in non-violence, but I swear...if anyone needs to get mauled by a bear, it's this bastard. If there's a god, or karma or whatever, these jokers will all be coming down with long, painful diseases down the road.

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OK...podcast news. We got music & permission to play it from Josh Weinstein and Golem as well as new music from AJ Croce & Will Hoge. I'm still trying to get permission from a couple other bands that I really want to use...not giving up yet. I just got a digital camera so we should be posting pictures of us "performing". I'm also working on acquiring a decent digital voice recorder to use for "in the field" stuff - including the war protest in Washington on Jan 27th. Technologically, we're all set except for one little issue with headphones, but I plan on working that out early next week. We get together for a practice taping this Wednesday, with the real thing coming up the Wednesday after. Good times.

Labels: Alberto Gonzalez, Bill O'Reiley, podcast, Stephen Colbert

Just a few random things:

At the risk of seeming Seinfeldian (Who arrrre these people?)...

Just exactly what is the business plan for UPS? In getting ready for the podcast, I'm in the middle of getting various things shipped to me...unfortunately, most use UPS. In this entire process, I have not seen one aspect of how they operate that makes business sense. It's as if every procedure they have has the same goal - to be as inconvenient &/or expensive for all the people involved in shipping something. The shipper, the drivers, the workers at the pick-up place and the shipee. The only thing brown does for me is give me skidmarks. I'm just sayin.

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More podcast news: This asking individual artist thing if we can play their music is going really well. You can add on Jill Sobule & AJ Croce to the list of people who have given us permission. It's inspired me to try a couple of other bands who I didn't think I'd be able to get, but what the hell...it only costs an e-mail. More on that later.

A couple of things I've bought for the podcast is a digital camera and a hand-held voice recorder. We'll be putting pictures of everyone involved on the show's blog and using the voice recorder to do some in-the-field stuff...such as the upcoming war protest in Washington. That's on the 27th and our first taping is the 31st. So assuming my ass doesn't get thown in jail, we should have some cool interview things to play for you.

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So I haven't gone off on The War Criminal in a while. To be honest, I just don't have the ambition to. We're at the point right now that anything that comes out of the mouths of anyone who works in that dickhead's administration is a lie. If anyone who worked at the White House right now told me that water is wet, I'd burn my umbrella. Can someone give me ONE example of something that someone who's worked for this murderer that has been truthful? I'm really not exaggerating. They lie about every, single thing. I can't even get that pissed about it any more. I'm just sitting and waiting for the Democrats to do what people think they're going to do. We shall see.

Labels: podcast, UPS, war criminal

As our target date for the first podcast approaches, there's been a few interesting developments...

Playing music on a podcast is a bitch. The record industry, in it's ultimate wisdom, has put it's legal chokehold on people like me who have no intention of making money off of a show like the one we're going to do. So if we want to play, Stairway to Heaven, for example, we need the licensing rights. Radio stations have to do it, so do bars that have live entertainment. This consists of paying the 4 publishing companies a buttload of money. It involves paperwork and keeping track of this crap. Well, F-that.

What we've started doing is asking individual artists for permission to play music that we already have. Are we going to Bono? No. U2 is probably not getting played on this show. But I have had e-mail contact with some interesting artists - not representatives, but the artists themselves. Who? Chuck D, Marc Maron, Joy Eden Harrison, Jimi Hazel from 24-7 Spyz, Ron from Hotel X, some unknown dude from Bakra Bata, Kellye Gray, Wally Pleasant, Deborah Magone, Ron from M'Lumbo and more. We also talked to reps for Will Hoge, Chuck Mangione, Kitty Margolis, and a rep for the Rogue's Gallery collection, which is going to be cool. We also got permission from Evidence Music to play stuff from whatever releases of there's we have. And there are a couple dozen more artists we're still waiting to hear from.

A couple of people actually offered to send us copies of new stuff as we plan on using stuff that's already in our music collection.

So here's what we're going to do music-wise - there's a bunch of CD's I have from labels that have folded, or independent artists I can't find. We're going to go ahead and use their music. As we're not making money from the show, I'm pretty sure everyone's going to be cool with it - if they ever find out. We also will be using stuff from the people I listed above. It's going to be a nice, eclectic mix. But there'll be talk and other surprises on the show so overall, it's going to be a nice, little show. More details on the talk-part later.

Labels: independent music, podcast

OK Kids...here's the deal. It looked as if this blog / website was going to disappear, but that's not completely true. What's going to happen to whitee.com is that it's going to be a lot less active. I decided that it would be cool to have all the links still around and the archive of posts - for all you volleyball porn enthusiasts & Biba fans.

The reason this site will be less attended to is that beginning at the end of the month I will be participating with some other folks in a weekly audio podcast. So in a sense I'm coming out of the closet - I'll be using my regular name & talking about aspects of my life. I've decided to take a break from being out front in terms of activism - as candidate, officer, board member, etc. That way, I can express the things I do here as myself.

That means if I ever do decide to run for office...well, let's just say that it may be an end to that because there will be documented proof that I called someone a fucking asshole...it'll be in my own voice on the net for all to hear. Which would be horrible for a candidate to say, right? Or that my site has links to...gasp...sexual websites that show naked people! Save the children!

So, I'm really, really psyched! I've been working on the creation of this podcast for almost a month now, my co-hosts are awesome, we've been getting permission to play some really great independent music and I've already written a ton of new bits for me & Cheese to play with.

I'll be giving up more details in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned.

Labels: candidates, closet, podcast