Keith Povall has been an online pal for years. He lives in Walsall in the UK where he and his mate (that’s the way they talk) Wally the Welder frequent the White Horse pub, a traditional pub that Keith says is quickly dying out. So we decided to visit (via Google Hangout). I love all things British and could listen to these guys talk for hours. A few minute should be enough for most folks. I share my poorly produced video here for archival purposes.
Category Archives: Personal History
A quest to save AM radio
Most of my on-air time for the dozen years (1972-82) I worked at my hometown radio station was on the AM station. In the 60s (?) the station sold (at cost?) “FM converters” because so few cars had FM receivers. This NY Times story tells the tale:
“In 1978 half of all radio listening was on the AM dial. By 2011 AM listenership had fallen to 15 percent, or an average of 3.1 million people, according to a survey by Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a private investment firm. While the number of FM listeners has declined, too, they still averaged 18 million in 2011. (The figures are averages based on measuring listeners every 15 minutes.)”
“In 1970 AM accounted for 63 percent of broadcast radio stations, but now it accounts for 21 percent, or 4,900 outlets, according to Arbitron. FM accounts for 44 percent, or 10,200 stations. About 35 percent of stations stream content online.”
“Nearly all English-language AM stations have given up playing music, and even a third of the 30 Major League Baseball teams now broadcast on FM. AM, however, remains the realm of conservative talk radio, including roughly 80 percent of the 600 radio stations that carry Rush Limbaugh.”
Prairie Garden Trust hike
Henry and Lorna invited me out for lunch yesterday, followed by a walk up to The Point and along Hiller Creek (Hiller’s Creek?). Things are just about to get spring-tacular so we’ll have to do this again in a couple of weeks.
Mainland Ukes
Hopped in the MINI and took a little road trip to Nashville, IN on Thursday. The 368 miles took about seven hours. Nashville — a quaint little village in the hills of south-central Indiana– is the home of Mainland Ukes, owned and operated by Mike Hater and his charming wife Tootka. Tootka is the brains and Mike is “Artistic Director.”
Purpose of the trip was to swap my new soprano uke for a slightly larger “concert” model.
Mike and Tootka’s story is interesting. After years as a psychiatric nurse, Mike quit and moved back to Indiana where he worked in landscaping before throwing in with a guy who sold harmonicas. When that business tanked, Mike and Tootka took over and switched to ukes. Mike played and knew lots of folks in uke space, so…
Somewhere in this adventure Mike got snowed in for five days and used the time to meet (online) some people in Thailand (where he lived as a younger man). Mike and Tootka connected, corresponded for a while, and then he jumped on a plane to go meet the lady. After that it was love, marriage, and back to the US and Mainland Ukes.
They have a big uke festival in June and I’m thinking I might try to make it. Nice people, good ukuleles.
I have a tiny instrument
Back in the 70’s I took guitar lessons for a few months. In answer to the question, “You think I’ll ever learn to play?” my teacher (Hoyt Wooten) answered: “Depends on how long you live.”
While I won’t live long enough to learn to play the guitar, I might live long enough to learn a few chords on my new ukelele. I’ve got lots of support I didn’t have 30 years ago. Half the members of The Order of the Fez play the uke, including Professor Peter and Howlin’ Hobbit, who advised on this latest purchase.
YouTube is awash in instructional videos and the technology is much better. I’ve got a tin ear so keeping that guitar in tune was a bitch. I had a little pitch pipe that was all but worthless. This time around I have a little eletronic doo dad that clamps on to the uke and uses vibration to tell you if the string is sharp or flat.
I’m approaching this in the manner of Bill Murray learning to play the piano in Ground Hog Day. I have a long time in which to learn to play a few chords. Once I get a few thousand hours under my belt, I’ll share something here.