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Comment: Fascinating stuff. We always think of technology being permanent, that there'll always be somebody around who remembers how to do everything important, and that we are in a perpetual state of forward-motion. I got to thinking about this when I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago and saw my friend Sarah, whom I hadn't talked to in almost ten years. In shooting the breeze with her about the old days, she mentioned that years ago, I had single-handedly changed the way she makes pancakes by suggesting that she add a little bit of orange juice to the batter before hitting the griddle. This rattled me quite a bit, because I remembered doing that years ago, remembered the person who taught me that trick, and even remembered the occasion during which I'd passed it on to Sarah. The problem was, I myself hadn't done it for years. Not because I'd outgrown it or decided I didn't like it, but because I'd simply forgotten. The technology of delicious, tangy pancakes had been lost for nearly a decade, just as the structural secrets that keep those monumental stairways to heaven that you visit every time you go to Europe in place were. Calamity! I needed to rectify the situation immediately, so I quietly excused myself from the left coast, caught the first flight back to Newark, and planned to make myself the first proper breakfast I'd had since 1994.
Comment: I type this as a plate sticky with butter and syrup, and with a napkin stuck to it sits next to my computer, and a mountain of mixing bowls, whisks, egg shells, and cast iron acoutrements are piled in the sink behind me. My second cup of Bustelo is about halfway finished, and did I mention the container of orange juice I polished off to make this dream a reality? Damn... technology tastes goooood.
Comment: Thanks to the 3500 of you who came to the Record Fair last weekend. It was great to see you all showing your support for freeform radio, and believe me, your efforts shall not go unrewarded.
WFMU is an independent, listener-supported, freeform radio station broadcasting at 91.1FM in New York, 90.1FM in the Hudson Valley, 91.9FM in Rockland County, and online at wfmu.org