All Things Considered, KERA Rocks

One of my Friday afternoon treats is the weekly e-mail I get from KERA giving me advance notice of all the goings-on during the upcoming week either on the radio, on tv, or other public events.

When I was in college, I was a little too conservative for my own good. I even joined the CR's for about half a second before I realized I was a Republican, but not by that much. Anyway, I had to write a PoliSci paper about where to trim the fat from the federal budget; I picked - you guessed it - public broadcasting. The gist of the paper was that if everybody who listened/watched public radio/television sent in a few bucks, it would virtually pay for itself. So after I turned in my paper, I decided to become a member of KERA and continue to pay my annual dues.

Just for the record - I don't hate Big Bird and I don't care if Burt and Ernie are life-long partners. Don't waste your comment space on that.

So, I get my annual coffee mug and membership card in the mail, but I never did anything with either. I just wanted to send in my money to avoid being a hypocrite. But last Christmas, KERA sponsored a free screening of Phantom of the Opera. Being a freak for all things Phantom, I dragged Melissa to the preview.

Since that experience turned out well, I've looked for every opportunity to gain something from my exclusive membership. Normally, the perks are not for stores that I would patron in the first place, much less at a discount.

Well, I got my weekly e-mail today and there are several events I'm putting on my calendar. On Sunday, the Grenada Theatre in Lower Greenville is screening Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. On Tuesday, Bret Easton Ellis is doing a reading and a Q&A about his new book, Lunar Park. He'll also be doing an interview on KERA the day before. Then on the 27th, NPR is having a live audio webcast featuring the White Stripes. I don't care too much about them, but the opening acts are a couple of bands called M. Ward and The Shins. I'll listen just for them.

My last tidbit about KERA. My favorite show is called The Glenn Mitchell Show. It runs every Friday from noon to one. Its host is an inquisitive know-it-all. The theme of his show is answering the questions you've always wanted to ask but never have. Listeners will call and ask the superfluous questions you've secretly pondered but have rarely asked aloud (eg. Why do Americans drive on the right side of the road but the European drivers are on the left. Or Why are men's buttons and women's buttons on opposite sides. Stuff like that).

The past couple of days, I've been reading quite a bit about DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak in 1941. I've been looking for old scorecards or play-by-play accounts for those 56 games and have not been able to find anything. So, I e-mailed my question to Glenn; lo and behold, he read my question on the air about 20 minutes later and it was answered about 10 minutes after that. Apparently, there is a website devoted to old scorecards. So, that's what I'll be doing this weekend.

It'll be a lively party.