I Heard the News Today, Old Boy

The buzz around the office today was the following headline on CNN.com: "GM Plant's Closing Like a Death Knell in Dayton."

From the first rumbling of what the news networks have now named the economic crisis to the Democractic National Convention to Joe the Plumber, Ohio has been one of the prime examples for how bad things really are. Now granted, if you've lived your whole life in Dayton like I have, you've been hearing about the trouble at GM almost since birth. Dayton is a strange place. Musically, we were alled the next Seattle by Spin magazine in the mid 90s, which somehow explains why every Daytonian is assumed to be drinking buddies with Bob Pollard of Guided by Voices.

Dayton has also been compared a lot (and not just recently) to Flint, MI, and living here, you can see where our city could easily find itself in a situation like that of Flint - economically despressed due to major industry jobs that had sustained the community for decades pulling out. We've all known that this was going happen, hoped that it wouldn't, prayed that new companies would recognize the large workforce available to them and move into to replace the lost jobs...but of right now, we'll have to keep praying.

I work in an office, not a factory, but I can't begin to describe the sorrow I felt reading that article. Even some 10 hours later, I'm somewhere between tears and getting sick to my stomach trying to process all of this to write about. As a member of the community, there's such a feeling of helplessness. You want to stamp your feet and shout and demand that these good, hardworking people keep their jobs so that their families will flourish and in turn, the community will flourish.

I'm not going to point fingers or try to blame people in a situation that I don't fully understand. Instead, I'll echo a point that's a personal mantra: support your local community in any way that you can. Whether it's buying your food from a locally owned grocer or a local farmer, or getting a few Christmas presents from a local artisan or craft fair - every little bit helps. I found myself saying it a lot during WYSO's fall pledge drive: if everyone contributes a little and does what they can, positive things can happen. Or, as My Morning Jacket says in their song "Librarian":
Cause everything'd be grrreat...everything'd be good...if everybody gave...like everybody could

Speaking of My Morning Jacket, the reason I quoted that song is because that's what I'm playing on the air right now. I think a lot of my broadcasts better express what I'm thinking about something than I can in words. I've often mused that within a single show, I write all sorts of open letters to people through music sometimes without even realizing it. Sometimes it's the lyrics or the juxtaposition of two songs. Other times it's the sheer sound or the tempo. Most people think that the music is the art in radio, and it's certainly a big part of it. However, there's a lot to be said for the artistry that goes into putting a show together.

We'll expore that further some time in the near future.

Who moved my (cream) cheese?

Today didn't seem like a banner day on the surface. I received the news that my car needs a massive amount of expensive repairs. I realized that I had missed something big in one of my teachers' guides about 4 hours into the day, which meant the next 6 or so hours were spent trying to catch up on my oversight. But something really cool did happen at work today. For over 6th months I've been working on a high school social studies book about American Government. Today, I got to officially add Barack Obama to the Presidents' section in the back of the book. I have to say, that felt good.

In other news, I recently tried Tofutti's non-dairy cream cheese, and I can't say that I'm a fan. I mean yes, I certainly enjoy that non-dairy quality of it. The less dairy in my diet means the less nausea and stomach aches I experience. However, I was not a fan of the distinctly soy taste. Part of the reason I love cream cheese is the tangy taste. Perhaps this would taste good on a breakfast bagle as the taste was a lot like the soy milk I take in my cappucinos, but on a sandwhich with roast beef it was fairly nasty. I will give Tofutti that they got the texture spot on, but this almost works to their disadvantage when matched with the taste. If the texture had been off, perhaps I'd have been more prepared for the taste to be off. Trader Joe's also makes non-dairy cream cheese so perhaps I'll try their brand and see how that works.

Since I got home so late, I missed craft night at the Trolley Stop so I will be left to knit on my own time. But first I think it's time to read some of David Sedaris' new book, which is being generously loaned to me by my coworker and appreciate the cuteness that is Leslie.

Rock and roll the vote with WWSU 106.9!

Befor​e/​after​ you cast your ballo​t pleas​e tune into WWSU 106.​9'​s elect​ion cover​age.​ WWSU is my radio​ alma mater​ and still​ one of my absol​ute favor​ite stati​ons.​ I had the pleas​ure of doing​ elect​ion cover​age with them in 2004,​ and this year Johna​thon and the rest of their​ crew are makin​g every​thing​ bigge​r and bette​r.​ They'​d like to submi​t this year'​s cover​age for a Peabo​dy Award​ so pleas​e liste​n and suppo​rt them!​

Tune your dials​ to 106.9FM in the Dayto​n area or go to WWSU to strea​m onlin​e.​ 

**If you want to strea​m in iTune​s and you can'​t get it to work via WWSU'​s site,​ simpl​y searc​h WWSU on Shout​Cast'​s websi​te and you'​ll be able to strea​m to iTune​s.​