Episode #112: Forced To Repress
First Broadcast: 4/7/97.
In which I discuss the
Heaven's
Gate cult suicide, and the idea
that the cult's leader, Marshall Applewhite, constructed his
fantasy world of a superior "higher," "genderless" level of
existence as a result of his not being allowed to accept his
own homosexual orientation--an idea which I have not seen anywhere
else in the press, outside of
The Nation. Turns out I didn't
even see the Nation article until after this episode was edited
together; I guess great minds think alike. By the way,
State
Senator Joe Bruno is still a complete asshole for vowing
to let all rent control laws expire in New York State on June 15,
regardless
of the fact that a landlord's study said that rents would
increase as much as 50% in some neighborhoods
under deregulation! Who the fuck does this old, rich, white, male
jerk who doesn't even live in the city think he
is, threatening to destabilize the lives of every single renter
in the five boroughs at the drop of a hat?!?
Mail this bastard
and tell him he's going to have 8 million people ready to run
him out of the state if his plan goes through. Grumble, grumble . . .
Episode #113: From Second Generation
Tapes
First Broadcast: 4/28/97.
No, we're not referring to how we edit our show (nudge, nudge, wink, wink),
but instead I'm talking about
Jimi Hendrix. And I have to tell you:
one listen to the newest re-releases of
his albums Are You
Experienced?,
Axis: Bold As Love,
and Electric Ladyland
(as well as the latest compilation of material which probably would have
ended up on his fourth album,
First Rays Of The New Rising Sun), and
the only thing I can say is that the people who remastered those same albums for
compact disk for MCA 4 years ago ought to be shot for doing such a
shitty job. There is absolutely no comparison between the old CD's and the
new ones. The new ones are so much better that it's like comparing a 3-D,
color, pop-out painting with a flat, black & white line drawing--there is
that much difference. Why the hell didn't MCA do it right 4 years
ago? They had all the materials at their disposal--they could have used
the original master tapes instead of poorer quality second generation copies;
they could have hired
Eddie Kramer to make them sound good, like he did with the vinyl albums the first time;
and they spent so much
Episode #114: Gimme All Ya Got
First Broadcast: 5/5/97.
Yeah, once again I'm preoccupied with the battle over
rent control in
New York State, and
Joe Bruno's efforts to
completely demolish it. An article in the
Daily News set me off this
time, about a landlord on Manhattan's Upper West Side who tried to
increase a tenant's rent from $915.75 a month to
Episode #115: Rosebud
First Attempted Broadcast: 5/12/97. First two minutes not broadcast;
episode cut off before end. Beginning and end credits cut off.
First Successful Broadcast: 5/19/97. Repeated: 12/29/97
Yeah, MNN may have a new headquarters, but that didn't stop them from
screwing up our broadcast once again. This time "Deck #6" failed on
them, causing our tape not to start when it was cued. So, we tried
once again the week after, so that everyone could enjoy the full
meaning of "Rosebud." Or something . . .
Episode #116: I'm A Tenant And I Vote
First Broadcast: 5/26/97.
Bruno.
Pataki
(and why Bruno's acting as Pataki's shill).
Silver.
Giuliani.
Tenants.
Rent.
Tim McVeigh.
(Not that I completely believe the Tim McVeigh theory, but it's certainly
worth a look.) What more do you want?
Episode #117: In Praise Of Korean Delis
First Broadcast: 6/9/97.
This I week I take a break from the rent
debate and discuss stuff I remember from
summer camp, as well as my
love for
Korean Delis. I must say, I like the Korean Delis a whole lot
more than I ever liked summer camp, even though camp gave me more stories
to tell. Guess it all depends on what you're looking for.
Episode #118: We're Locked In A War
First Broadcast: 6/16/97. Repeated: 6/29/98.
Yes, we are (were? still are? who knows?)--locked in a war against
Joe Bruno, who let all
the rent laws expire in New York State at Midnight on Sunday, June 15
(less than 3 hours before our episode aired) because he made a vow to
deregulate
every apartment in the state (and, by default, New York City) one way or
another.
Sheldon Silver, on the other hand, wants to
make rent laws permanent in New York State--a sensible plan, since the
vacancy rate in New York City has been 4% or less (anything under 5% meets
the definition of a housing emergency under federal regulations) ever
since the City started taking statistics on it. What do people on the
street think? Well, we wanted to know too, so we took our camera to
Tompkins Square Park and asked a bunch of residents what their opinions
were of the whole situation. We also gave a big plug to
Tenant Net, which is the best
resource one could ever have to fight Bruno, Pataki, and all the greedy
landlords they represent. Am I biased? Duh! You had to ask?
Episode #119: Three-Way Orgy Of A
Handshake
First Broadcast: 6/23/97.
Yes, it's true. On June 20, 1997,
Governor George Pataki of the State of New
York (which, for some reason, seems to have a great deal of control over New
York--Goddess only knows why) made it official and signed into law
new rent
regulations that will remain in effect until 2003, when this whole debate will
probably erupt into another giant mess one more time. Can't wait. Anyway,
during that 4-day gap when there were no rent laws on the books, we taped
this episode, reflecting my thoughts on the whole situation, which were about
as amorphous as the laws themselves at that point.