Do you remember the good old days, when public radio and TV really was public? I am increasingly disgusted with the "commercials" I hear on NPR and public TV. I mean, do they think we're stupid or something? We can recognize a commercial when we hear it.

It turns out that the advertisements on public radio and TV have changed since the good old days. They are called, "enhanced underwriting credits", and they have every element of a commercial except for two things: they don't occur in the middle of a program, and they don't contain a call to action.

Still, in our local case here, 91% of the funds for WBUR in Boston are derived from either enhanced underwriting or public fundraising. Which brings me to my next point. WBUR is fundraising again, and I am boycotting the fundraiser again. I'm particularly pissed this time around, because they are trying to position this fundraiser as this little mother's day thing. And it does seem as though they are not completely hijaking all of the usual morning and afternoon commute shows for fundraising. But they are taking five to ten minutes every half hour or so, which is almost worse.

I'm very unhappy that they are fundraising again. I am a public radio supporter, but I object to the frequency with which they run these things, and I resent the disruption that they cause. There must be a better way.

I am at the point where I would rather purchase public radio than fund it. I mean, even though I contribute to the station, I am rewarded with the two things I hate the most about public radio: more fundraisers, but more importantly, commercials. Why should I pay to support public radio when they are going to continue to push the limits of enhanced underwriting. What's next, "premium underwriting" with program interuptions and jingles?

Check out this article, from the Columbia Journalism Review, that talks about some of these issues, including a brief explanation of what happened when Christopher Lydon and Mary McGrath left The Connection on WBUR in Boston.

Let me say another word about this Canon FX camera. I got this camera when I was a kid. My grandfather on my mother's side (Kermit Lagman) gave it to me. It's a good thirty years old now. It's completely manual. There is no built-in flash. I have two lenses for it, a fast 50, and a 135 telephoto. And it is just as good a camera as a $1,000 SLR. It's just a little harder to use.

I got a set of slides back from the developer today, and I was really, really surprised. There are some absolutely amazing pictures there. I've been taking mostly color negative pictures, because it's just easier to look at them. You don't need a slide projector, or a light box or anything. But I've seen so many great pictures, particularly low light stuff taken on Fuji Velvia ASA 50 film, I had to try.

So last month, I loaded up my old Canon FX with Fuji Velvia, and took it to the carnival. I took some pictures there, I took some in the house, and I took some wierd pictures with glow-sticks. Well, the carnival pictures, in particular, are staggering. If you liked what you saw on my home page recently, you won't believe what these slides look like. The sharpness and color is unbelievable. I have to find some way to scan or print them so that I can put them up on the web site.

Oh what a night. I mean Katherine was spectacular. She went to bed at 9:30 or so. And then she slept until 7:30 AM! Unbelievable. Usually she wakes up between 6:00 and 6:45 or so, and it's very clear that she is not tired anymore, and that she wants to be awake and rascally. But you have no idea how important that extra hour is, it's huge. I mean, think about it. I got up late for work this morning. Late for work, and it was at 7:30. Right now, Kara gets woken up every morning about 45 minutes before she wants to get up. Does that totally suck or what? It does. It totally sucks. So if little K-LO keeps it up, we'll be happy happy.

Can I just tell you that Danny and Oswald were THE REASON Kara and I watched The Amazing Race. These guys rocked. They got eliminated today, but Oswald had to ride an ATV through all these muddy trails to get a clue. When they were interviewed afterwards, they talked about how the race had pulled them out of their zone of comfort, and that they had new confidence. And then Oswald says, "I would never ruin a glitter shirt under other circumstances." (loosely paraphrased).

Then, I remember them in Hong Kong, I think, and they had a few hours to get to the airport, so they go shopping at Gucci and other stores, and buy perfume.

Freakin' awesome.

As to the ones that are left, they are all rejects. The brother and sister are just a little too close - it's kindof wierd. The separated couple are both retards. The wife is bitchy, and the husband is just a loser. The other two guys are just both asses.

Oh well, maybe next season there'll be a reason to watch.

Hey, I finally saw Katherine roll over today! She was wide awake this morning around 8ish, as I was getting ready to leave for work. So Kara brought her into the bedroom, and we were playing with her on the bed, and she rolled.

Over the weekend, she rolled, but I was not in the room. It really sucked, I had been with her all freaking day, because Kara was at work. Then the mailman comes, and I walk from the TV room to the front door, pick up the mail, look at the envelopes, look over at Katherine to make sure she's OK, throw the letters on the dining room table, and go back to the TV room and she's on her stomach. Arg.

Anyway, she doesn't like being on her stomach much at this point, but it's a lot easier on the bed than on the floor.