Pull Up Your Shorts! June Gossip

From Radio Paranoia

Dishing With Dea

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When Guise Faux barked "Pull up your shorts!" I hadn't a clue he meant the long overdue RP update. Since mid-June your radio Pheme has been dodging enormous mosquitoes on holiday to our lovely Manitou Island summer lodge, followed by a hectic tour de furs of the dance floor at Anthrocon (about which moar l8r).

So, still holiday-lagged, we assumed for an unpleasant moment GF was referring to another of those sordid Weiner tales. However he meant tidbits of gossip. Well, treasured readers, that we can do.

So, here goes nothing. How about these shorts, eh, gnomes?
Happy Canada Day, li'l fellah.

















Pirates Week in dry dock for repairs
American pirate scene veteran and documentarian extraordinaire, Ragnar Daneskjold announced 23 June 2011 that he was taking an indefinite hiatus from his weekly PiratesWeek podcast, citing recurring bouts with tendonitis. Without mentioning any specifics he did hold out the possibility of a return, possibly with a revamped format, for the podcast which has documented the international free radio scene since 2005. This is probably as good a time as any for a respite as HF propagation has been quite poor this year and there has been less shortwave pirate activity about which to report.

Our sincere thanks to Ragnar for his excellent programmes, and our very best wishes for a recovery. And we're a mite jealous of his productivity. We can barely manage to roll out of bed by noon, never mind producing a 30 minute programme nearly every week.

DMCA suit reinstated against NJ radio shock jocks
We noticed this on our radio news feed recently whilst looking for DMCA issues regarding the reuse of music and audio. Nevertheless it does point to certain issues that may have a chilling effect on the nebulous concept of free speech in radio and the internet. At the same time there are valid concerns by the copyright holder/plaintiff involved in this case, as well as issues regarding slander, defamation and alleged damage to his livelihood.

"Copyright, Defamation Suit Reinstated Against N.J. 'Shock Jocks'"
"...(District Judge Joel) Pisano was too quick to dismiss the defamation claim, which alleged that (Craig) Carton and (Ray) Rossi spent 45 minutes on their radio show bashing (photographer Peter) Murphy, impugning his personal integrity, calling him "a man not to be trusted" in business dealings and suggesting he is gay."

"Fuentes said the claim should not have been dismissed before Murphy deposed Carton and Rossi, and further that Pisano was wrong to deny Murphy's motion to extend discovery, given the station's destruction of its recordings of the program a few days after it aired."

Note that the duo are no strangers to controversy, but apparently are strangers to irony. In 2007 Carton and Rossi said they felt threatened by free speech from a police spokesman, in response to the radio pair's criticism of the police department.

From The Radio Equalizer blog
05 May 2007
"Jersey Guys Yanked, Union Threats, 101.5 FM, Talk Radio"
"According to several news reports in the Garden State, after New Jersey 101.5 FM talkers Craig Carton and Ray Rossi exposed a potential "ticket blitz" scheme, police union officials went nuts, making threats and revealing Carton's home address and license plate number on television news programs."

"The station issued a statement saying "this form of intimidation and extortion is reprehensible.''"

One wonders what the courts might make of some of the various furballs hacked up by certain U.S. pirates over the past couple of years, along with similar slanders amongst hamster cannibals on 14275 and 14313 kHz. Oh, wait, this is HF radio, aka, shite nobody cares about. Never mind, darlings.

Speaking of which, we note the on again/off again kiss-and-kick affair between EE and K on IRC and the FRN seems to be... well, we don't quite know how to put it. It's certainly melodrama worthy of popcorn tossing. Guise Faux promises/threatens an upcoming blog article retrospective of the Summer 2008 pirate war and its fallout over the past three years. Foolish fellow, can't seem to let well enough alone.

Apparently as well the Frantic Rascal's Nuthouse brief flirtation with a new forum layout didn't last. The puzzling Coronary Mess Ejaculations forum headed by Kracker seems to have vanished as quickly as Anthony Weiner's career. And it appears Captain Ganja has taken on the unenviable chore of cat herding. We hope his humour and stash survive the ordeal.

Anthrocon 2011
Your radio Pheme followed our Manitou Island holiday with an absolutely insane tour de furs of the dance floor at Anthrocon in Pittsburgh and, boy... are my arms furry. Had a smashing time. Literally. I was smashing into everything and everyone. Well, almost... didn't see Boomer but then, I wouldn't, would I! I'm quite blind, you see, and Guise Faux wouldn't play the part of my seeing-eye person this year. Spoilsport.

On the crowds and lodging shortage, a fellow was quoted as saying "Many furry fans are already bunking four to a room -- the Westin's limit." We're not certain whether he meant that's a bad thing.

Fursonally, I believe my costume should have won, but some fellow snatched away my trophy and microphone to award the grand prize to his own favourite rabbit. Who knew Kanye West was not only a furry but a Commander Bunny devotee? I suppose we can forgive him.

Pirate dad embarrasses son at bus stop
(An explanation would only spoil the surprise.)

"I hope this lives with him for the rest of his life," Price said. "He can use it against his kids and tell them, 'If you think you are embarrassed by me, you should have seen your grandfather.'" -- The Pirate's Final Goodbye

'Til next time, darlings, pray for sunspots. Pray! you heathens, pray harder!

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Click for 24-hour bandscan waterfall graphic for 6800-7000 kHz spectrum, 13 June 2011. Note WYFR was still active on 6915 and 6985 as of that bandscan, but appears to be less active as of 1 July 2011. ALE, CW and other data comms still noted.

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Dea Fauxnette is a sight-impaired but sharp-eared correspondent for Tales of Radio Paranoia. Don't try to sneak anything past her. She heard you coming before you got started.