Well, it's been a while.
Writing full articles is so time-consuming that I don't have time to draft one every week, and thus I've been ignoring this thing for the past year or so, probably longer. However, this is still a good outlet to talk about things, so I'll probably do short blurbs, and then if the inspiration strikes me I'll post one of my patented long, rambling opinions.
Another day in research. Another day of more edits being made to my paper. Even though I wish I could get it out already, I know it's a process, and each time I go through this my paper is getting better and more publishable.
Good lunch with my girlfriend today. We always seem to have a lot to talk about, and we hit it off really well. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.
Still trying to buckle down and prepare for tomorrow's class. A lot of stuff to do as well for my application.
And hopefully I'll be around here more often.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Another Day, Another Piece of Sad News
By now, everybody has heard of the shooting in Tucson, AZ. Six have died, including four seniors, one of whom was a federal judge, one 9-year old girl, and an aide to United States Representative Gabrielle Giffords. 14 people were wounded, including Congresswoman Giffords. Congresswoman Giffords was shot in the head, but was out of surgery late yesterday and doctors are apparently hopeful for a recovery.
The prime suspect, already in custody and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and attempts to kill a member of Congress, is 22-year-old Jared Loughner, and he has currently invoked his right not to incriminate himself. According to CNN, the suspect was mentally disturbed and was a high school and community college dropout who attended Giffords's constituent meeting yesterday with the intent to assassinate Giffords.
This is scary in many ways. First, the meeting of an elected official should be exciting, whether because you get to meet someone important and pick this person's brain, or whether you want to exchange ideas. Nine-year-old Christina Green was a member of her school's student council, and was invited to visit Giffords at this meeting. Think of how happy she was before and while meeting Giffords. What Giffords was doing, meeting with the people who elected her to office, was exactly what she should have done. It's her job to represent her people, and take their wishes to Washington with her. This happy and important occasion is something that must go on, and now the fact that this kind of shooting has happened at an important public event at a supermarket makes things scarier. People should not have to think twice about making their voices heard or being a public official. Unfortunately, these things will happen.
Second, we should have learned a long time ago that firearms and mentally unstable people do not mix (read: Virginia Tech). Now, the facts have not all come out, especially about how Loughner was in possession of a firearm, so no one is to blame as of now (including Loughner, innocent until proven guilty, however much public opinion may despise him). But mentally unstable individuals with an agenda against others already tend to be dangerous, and putting weapons in their hands make them even more so. This should be common sense. I could get on my soapbox and talk about restrictions and gun control (even though I know that the right to bear arms is the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, but you have to admit some people just should not be able to have a firearm) and background checks, but I'll just say this: it's common sense. Dangerous people should not have dangerous things that can put others in danger.
I'm sure much more will come of this in the days and weeks ahead, including the search for an alleged accomplice. Right now, thoughts and prayers do go to the victims and their families, and hopes for a speedy recovery for the survivors of this horrible yet way too common tragedy.
The prime suspect, already in custody and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and attempts to kill a member of Congress, is 22-year-old Jared Loughner, and he has currently invoked his right not to incriminate himself. According to CNN, the suspect was mentally disturbed and was a high school and community college dropout who attended Giffords's constituent meeting yesterday with the intent to assassinate Giffords.
This is scary in many ways. First, the meeting of an elected official should be exciting, whether because you get to meet someone important and pick this person's brain, or whether you want to exchange ideas. Nine-year-old Christina Green was a member of her school's student council, and was invited to visit Giffords at this meeting. Think of how happy she was before and while meeting Giffords. What Giffords was doing, meeting with the people who elected her to office, was exactly what she should have done. It's her job to represent her people, and take their wishes to Washington with her. This happy and important occasion is something that must go on, and now the fact that this kind of shooting has happened at an important public event at a supermarket makes things scarier. People should not have to think twice about making their voices heard or being a public official. Unfortunately, these things will happen.
Second, we should have learned a long time ago that firearms and mentally unstable people do not mix (read: Virginia Tech). Now, the facts have not all come out, especially about how Loughner was in possession of a firearm, so no one is to blame as of now (including Loughner, innocent until proven guilty, however much public opinion may despise him). But mentally unstable individuals with an agenda against others already tend to be dangerous, and putting weapons in their hands make them even more so. This should be common sense. I could get on my soapbox and talk about restrictions and gun control (even though I know that the right to bear arms is the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, but you have to admit some people just should not be able to have a firearm) and background checks, but I'll just say this: it's common sense. Dangerous people should not have dangerous things that can put others in danger.
I'm sure much more will come of this in the days and weeks ahead, including the search for an alleged accomplice. Right now, thoughts and prayers do go to the victims and their families, and hopes for a speedy recovery for the survivors of this horrible yet way too common tragedy.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Random Interesting Things
Some stuff I've run across on the internet:
Guy stealing a parking spot learns a lesson:
Check out this great MSN Video: Parking Jerk Learns Lesson
Creating one's own personal parking spot:
Check out this great MSN Video: Sneaky Parking Trick Caught on Video
England vs. United States, Lego style:
"England’s goalkeeper needs to wipe that silly smile off his face . . ." -Jeff Gordon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
And a few pictures from Uni Watch:
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, has two massive Angels hats outside. But if you notice in the pictures, the caps are complete with the MLB patch on the back, New Era labels, the manufacturer of MLB caps, and size labels as well. Those would need a couple of massive heads to fill them. Maybe a certain slugger allegedly pumped up on steroids...
Guy stealing a parking spot learns a lesson:
Check out this great MSN Video: Parking Jerk Learns Lesson
Creating one's own personal parking spot:
Check out this great MSN Video: Sneaky Parking Trick Caught on Video
England vs. United States, Lego style:
"England’s goalkeeper needs to wipe that silly smile off his face . . ." -Jeff Gordon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
And a few pictures from Uni Watch:
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, has two massive Angels hats outside. But if you notice in the pictures, the caps are complete with the MLB patch on the back, New Era labels, the manufacturer of MLB caps, and size labels as well. Those would need a couple of massive heads to fill them. Maybe a certain slugger allegedly pumped up on steroids...
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Olympic Thoughts
This is incredibly late, but my internet wasn't working the day I wrote this and then I got slammed in terms of my schedule, so here it is:
After starting out with much controversy, including lack of snow and glitches in the Opening Ceremony, the Olympics definitely closed with a bang. The Canadian portion of the Closing Ceremony was probably the best I've ever seen in terms of a closer. It's great that a country is able to make fun of itself, and the inflated beavers and moose certainly helped, as did the makeshift bubble hockey game.
Props to Joannie Rochette for doing as well as she did, especially under her circumstances. And Kim Yu-Na may be the best figure skater since Michelle Kwan, and has already one-upped her with the gold medal.
I'm disappointed that the United States didn't keep up the pace in terms of gold medals after starting off so well, but setting the record for total medals not only in U.S. history but in Winter Games history is no small feat, so congratulations to Team USA.
Being one of those four-year observers, or one who only follows most Olympic sports once every four years during the two week period known as the Olympics, there were parts that still confused me. For example, why were Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto scored how they were, and why weren’t they better than the top three? Not much insight was given into that. Nevertheless, the performances were mesmerizing, and this gives me a new appreciation for these skaters. Not just the ice dancers, but everybody, though this may have to do with the fact that I can barely skate myself, much less do lifts, throws, spins, jumps, or even go backwards or stop.
What really got me, though, was the medal ceremony. This part is always a beautiful moment, with the athletes celebrating their accomplishments that they have worked their whole lives for, congratulating each other, getting teary-eyed hearing their anthems and watching their flags rise from the ground, and being happy in general. But it’s something even special when the athletes are singing the national anthem themselves, and not just mouthing it, but really getting into it, like Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir did last night. Add in the fact that the whole crowd was singing “O, Canada”, and it definitely sends chills up your spine. “O, Canada” really isn’t a bad anthem, and perhaps even beautiful. It’s very patriotic, smooth, and elegant. And the fact that the entire crowd at Pacific Coliseum, as well as at BC Place when moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau received the first Canadian Olympic gold medal on home soil, and it’s incredible. Canadians are a proud people, even if they try to be humble, and these games have shown it.
On the other hand, too much pride can be a bad thing. Their “Own the Podium” campaign has fallen flat, having all but conceded the medals race to the United States in terms of total medals. Sometimes, a little humility can be a good thing, even for a people who are quite humble to begin with.
Bode Miller was known for his partying and blowing everything off in Turin in 2006, but so far this year at the age of 32, he’s won three medals in three events, including one gold. Just think, if he had been committed throughout his life like he has this year, how great could he have been? Could we be talking about the best skier of all time? I can’t help but feel some potential was wasted here, despite what he’s done so far. Also, if he had medaled in his last two events, that would have given him seven total Olympic medals, which surpasses former speedskater Bonnie Blair the former most decorated U. S. Winter Olympian in history. We could have had two athletes, including Apolo Ohno, surpass the former record in one Games. That would finally mean the U. S. is getting stronger in winter sports.
By the way, Ohno should not have been disqualified when he did. That smells of home country bias, since the Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay fell in the 500 meters. A small piece of revenge from the Canadian judge to take away a silver, even though Ohno did not have enough force in his bracing hand to push Tremblay down. Ohno has handled himself with grace, to his great credit.
Lindsey Vonn is a competitor. I don’t know how hurt that shin was, though she seemed like she was in pain. And if she was, winning gold and bronze and being one small mistake from a medal in another is quite good.
Shaun White is probably the best snowboarder ever. The air he gets is incredible, his tricks are mind-boggling, and his competitive spirit and love of fun is high. If it were me, I probably would have just gone down the middle of the pipe if I knew I had already won the event, but of course White performed his second run, and even improved on his score. And it was worth it too, seeing that Double McTwist 1260 at the end. I have a lot of respect for the women as well, since it takes incredibly gifted athletes to compete, but it’s almost a letdown seeing the women after the men since they don’t get as much air and don’t have as many twists and turns in their tricks because of that, and that’s the reason to watch halfpipe anyway.
Short track speedskating is dizzying to watch. I wonder how they keep from getting nauseous (besides years of training, of course). It’s also quite fun, with the unpredictability and the lack of stoicism on the ice and in the standings at any given time. And it makes for some unlikely rivalries, with South Koreans for some reason despising Ohno. I know why they did in Salt Lake City in 2002, with Ohno throwing his hands up after allegedly being blocked by Kim Dong-Sung. But I don’t understand it now. Old grudges die hard, I guess?
That gold medal hockey game was amazing. Zach Parise scoring with 25 seconds left was epic, and then Sidney Crosby coming back to score in overtime against an incredible Ryan Miller was a great ending, even if it didn't go the way I would've preferred. Congratulations to the men's hockey team as well for their result, after being predicted to not medal and then going undefeated all the way up to the gold medal game.
I'm proud though that USA finally beat Canada in hockey for the first time in fifty years in round play, and what a game it was. Ryan Miller has to be one of the best goalies currently playing, surviving that barrage of shots from an incredibly talented Canadian team, and stopping most of them. Despite that, the U. S. played physically themselves, though I would caution them to work on their defense a little more. Furthermore, is it just me, or has Martin Brodeur looked a little off lately? Is his age and/or the pressure catching up to him?
Cross-country skiing and biathlon are actually quite fun to watch, especially at the end when there are often photo finishes, and a lot of passing before then. And Norway has nothing to worry about with regards to their program. They have some world-class athletes out there, and they’ve gotten their medals as well.
Stephen Colbert is funny. As is his moose. I can see how some people may think the gag is old, or not even funny in the first place, but I like when Mary Carillo interacts with it. It lightens up the mood. And a side note, how does Cris Collinsworth, a football analyst, get to cover Olympic sports and even comment about them? Granted, he’s doing a decent job for someone whose life has mostly been about football. But NBC must have known something we don’t, taking someone with a job that requires little crossover or outside knowledge and sticking him in the biggest athletic stage in the world. Tiki Barber can learn a thing or two.
And finally, a thought about the Men’s Figure Skating competition. Yevgeny Plushenko is a talented skater, and probably the best in the world. But on that night, Evan Lysacek just had a better performance. Yes, Plushenko landed a quadruple jump. But the way scoring is set up now rewards the entire program, including footwork, which in my opinion Lysacek focused on more than Plushenko and thus did better. If the sport were all about jumps, then just go out and jump and see who can turn the most before landing. But it’s figure skating, not figure jumping. It’s tough for a favorite to lose, no question, especially if he was leading after the short program and skated well enough in the long program to win. But Lysacek won, fair and square. Just saying.
After starting out with much controversy, including lack of snow and glitches in the Opening Ceremony, the Olympics definitely closed with a bang. The Canadian portion of the Closing Ceremony was probably the best I've ever seen in terms of a closer. It's great that a country is able to make fun of itself, and the inflated beavers and moose certainly helped, as did the makeshift bubble hockey game.
Props to Joannie Rochette for doing as well as she did, especially under her circumstances. And Kim Yu-Na may be the best figure skater since Michelle Kwan, and has already one-upped her with the gold medal.
I'm disappointed that the United States didn't keep up the pace in terms of gold medals after starting off so well, but setting the record for total medals not only in U.S. history but in Winter Games history is no small feat, so congratulations to Team USA.
Being one of those four-year observers, or one who only follows most Olympic sports once every four years during the two week period known as the Olympics, there were parts that still confused me. For example, why were Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto scored how they were, and why weren’t they better than the top three? Not much insight was given into that. Nevertheless, the performances were mesmerizing, and this gives me a new appreciation for these skaters. Not just the ice dancers, but everybody, though this may have to do with the fact that I can barely skate myself, much less do lifts, throws, spins, jumps, or even go backwards or stop.
What really got me, though, was the medal ceremony. This part is always a beautiful moment, with the athletes celebrating their accomplishments that they have worked their whole lives for, congratulating each other, getting teary-eyed hearing their anthems and watching their flags rise from the ground, and being happy in general. But it’s something even special when the athletes are singing the national anthem themselves, and not just mouthing it, but really getting into it, like Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir did last night. Add in the fact that the whole crowd was singing “O, Canada”, and it definitely sends chills up your spine. “O, Canada” really isn’t a bad anthem, and perhaps even beautiful. It’s very patriotic, smooth, and elegant. And the fact that the entire crowd at Pacific Coliseum, as well as at BC Place when moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau received the first Canadian Olympic gold medal on home soil, and it’s incredible. Canadians are a proud people, even if they try to be humble, and these games have shown it.
On the other hand, too much pride can be a bad thing. Their “Own the Podium” campaign has fallen flat, having all but conceded the medals race to the United States in terms of total medals. Sometimes, a little humility can be a good thing, even for a people who are quite humble to begin with.
Bode Miller was known for his partying and blowing everything off in Turin in 2006, but so far this year at the age of 32, he’s won three medals in three events, including one gold. Just think, if he had been committed throughout his life like he has this year, how great could he have been? Could we be talking about the best skier of all time? I can’t help but feel some potential was wasted here, despite what he’s done so far. Also, if he had medaled in his last two events, that would have given him seven total Olympic medals, which surpasses former speedskater Bonnie Blair the former most decorated U. S. Winter Olympian in history. We could have had two athletes, including Apolo Ohno, surpass the former record in one Games. That would finally mean the U. S. is getting stronger in winter sports.
By the way, Ohno should not have been disqualified when he did. That smells of home country bias, since the Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay fell in the 500 meters. A small piece of revenge from the Canadian judge to take away a silver, even though Ohno did not have enough force in his bracing hand to push Tremblay down. Ohno has handled himself with grace, to his great credit.
Lindsey Vonn is a competitor. I don’t know how hurt that shin was, though she seemed like she was in pain. And if she was, winning gold and bronze and being one small mistake from a medal in another is quite good.
Shaun White is probably the best snowboarder ever. The air he gets is incredible, his tricks are mind-boggling, and his competitive spirit and love of fun is high. If it were me, I probably would have just gone down the middle of the pipe if I knew I had already won the event, but of course White performed his second run, and even improved on his score. And it was worth it too, seeing that Double McTwist 1260 at the end. I have a lot of respect for the women as well, since it takes incredibly gifted athletes to compete, but it’s almost a letdown seeing the women after the men since they don’t get as much air and don’t have as many twists and turns in their tricks because of that, and that’s the reason to watch halfpipe anyway.
Short track speedskating is dizzying to watch. I wonder how they keep from getting nauseous (besides years of training, of course). It’s also quite fun, with the unpredictability and the lack of stoicism on the ice and in the standings at any given time. And it makes for some unlikely rivalries, with South Koreans for some reason despising Ohno. I know why they did in Salt Lake City in 2002, with Ohno throwing his hands up after allegedly being blocked by Kim Dong-Sung. But I don’t understand it now. Old grudges die hard, I guess?
That gold medal hockey game was amazing. Zach Parise scoring with 25 seconds left was epic, and then Sidney Crosby coming back to score in overtime against an incredible Ryan Miller was a great ending, even if it didn't go the way I would've preferred. Congratulations to the men's hockey team as well for their result, after being predicted to not medal and then going undefeated all the way up to the gold medal game.
I'm proud though that USA finally beat Canada in hockey for the first time in fifty years in round play, and what a game it was. Ryan Miller has to be one of the best goalies currently playing, surviving that barrage of shots from an incredibly talented Canadian team, and stopping most of them. Despite that, the U. S. played physically themselves, though I would caution them to work on their defense a little more. Furthermore, is it just me, or has Martin Brodeur looked a little off lately? Is his age and/or the pressure catching up to him?
Cross-country skiing and biathlon are actually quite fun to watch, especially at the end when there are often photo finishes, and a lot of passing before then. And Norway has nothing to worry about with regards to their program. They have some world-class athletes out there, and they’ve gotten their medals as well.
Stephen Colbert is funny. As is his moose. I can see how some people may think the gag is old, or not even funny in the first place, but I like when Mary Carillo interacts with it. It lightens up the mood. And a side note, how does Cris Collinsworth, a football analyst, get to cover Olympic sports and even comment about them? Granted, he’s doing a decent job for someone whose life has mostly been about football. But NBC must have known something we don’t, taking someone with a job that requires little crossover or outside knowledge and sticking him in the biggest athletic stage in the world. Tiki Barber can learn a thing or two.
And finally, a thought about the Men’s Figure Skating competition. Yevgeny Plushenko is a talented skater, and probably the best in the world. But on that night, Evan Lysacek just had a better performance. Yes, Plushenko landed a quadruple jump. But the way scoring is set up now rewards the entire program, including footwork, which in my opinion Lysacek focused on more than Plushenko and thus did better. If the sport were all about jumps, then just go out and jump and see who can turn the most before landing. But it’s figure skating, not figure jumping. It’s tough for a favorite to lose, no question, especially if he was leading after the short program and skated well enough in the long program to win. But Lysacek won, fair and square. Just saying.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Classic 99 KFUO FM (99.1) To Be Sold, Help Is Needed to Save Station
According to Sarah Bryan Miller of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, legendary radio station KFUO-FM (99.1) has been sold. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) has entered into an agreement with Gateway Creative Broadcasting, owners of Joy FM (97.7 and 94.1) to turn over 99.1 for a $150,000 down payment, $1.35 million at the sale's supposed closing in March, and smaller interest payments for ten years when $14 million is due, for a total of $26 million. (Story here courtesy of Stltoday.com.) The kicker is that Joy FM plans to convert 99.1 into a Christian Contemporary station, leaving St. Louis without a classical music outlet for the first time in 61 years.
There are many issues with this situation:
First, the LCMS did not publicize its intention to sell the station and other interested buyers were kept at arm's length, including those from their own church. Also, the board decided to grant full power regarding negotiations and the decision to sell to a handful of people led by Kermit Brashear, a lawyer who is from Omaha, not the St. Louis area. In fact, most of the board is not from St. Louis, leading one to wonder whether they understand the significance and importance of this station to the area.
Second, while there are many other Christian stations in the area, some of which already play Christian Contemporary (five, according to Ontheradio.net), there is only one classical station, which could come to the FCC's attention. Furthermore, even though KFUO is only the 20th ranked radio station in St. Louis according to Arbitron, who measures radio listenership across the country, it is doing better than every Christian station combined, including Joy FM's two stations, which scored so low they do not even show up in the chart (the only Christian radio station to be ranked is gospel-playing KATZ-AM). KFUO has turned a profit for the past 60 years, and only lost money this year due to the economic downturn (as seen on KTVI Fox 2 News). Could one assume that the LCMS would continue to make money in the long run with KFUO rather than taking a lump sum now? Perhaps there would not be as big of an immediate impact, but the effect would be continuous.
Third, the other potential buyers reportedly included not only the Circle of Friends, who have donated $800,000 in the past to KFUO, but also media conglomerates such as Clear Channel and Bonneville who would have been able to top Joy FM's offer and not have had to make the LCMS finance the deal. Theoretically, this could have helped the LCMS's money troubles more than the current situation, but the LCMS decided to only negotiate with Joy FM, reportedly to keep the station in Christian hands (which is ironic especially if other Lutheran groups, including members if the LCMS itself, have offered to buy the station). This collusion could get the FCC's attention as well.
Fourth, while the LCMS and Joy FM are coming up with solutions to keep classical music alive on the radio in St. Louis, their suggestions leave much to be desired. Putting the station on Joy FM's current stations that are out of range of the St. Louis area (which is why Joy FM wanted 99.1's superior signal in the first place) and supplementing it with HD radio (which many people don't have) would leave a lot of people in the dark with regards to being able to hear classical music. And despite the fact there are satellite and internet options, as well as CD's and iPods, not everybody has satellite radio, cars are not equipped with internet radio for the most part, and one of the benefits of having a radio station is being able to hear pieces that you never knew existed and not have to spend too much money buying songs. And there are local benefits as well, with local DJ's who know their music and understand the city and its culture, and the services the station provides to the community, such as promoting local events or broadcasting live concerts, for example. (Many references can be found here at the Culture Club blog at Stltoday.com. Just click on a KFUO tag and read away.)
Help is needed to keep KFUO classical. Dennis Stortz, the current program director at KFUO, forwarded the following e-mail sent to St. Louis Symphony Orchestra newsletter subscribers (with a little note attached at the beginning in response to an e-mail requesting ways to help):
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David, see below from the St. Louis Symphony. Help is needed. Thanks for these kind words:
The sale of St. Louis ’ only classical music station was announced this morning, Tuesday, October 6, 2009. KFUO-Classic 99 (99.1FM), which is owned by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, was sold to Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which plans to change the station to JOY FM, a contemporary Christian music station. The sale is pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). You may read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s report on the sale here.
KFUO-Classic 99 has been providing classical music to the St. Louis community for over 60 years. The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra has a long and valued relationship with KFUO. During the 2009-2010 season, Saturday night orchestral concerts have been broadcast live on Classic 99. The SLSO is one of only a handful of orchestras in the United States to offer live broadcasts.
The SLSO, along with many of its fans and friends in the local artistic community, believes the loss of KFUO-Classic 99 would diminish the cultural diversity of the St. Louis community. With the loss of KFUO, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, one of the cultural jewels of the city, would lose a vital advocate. The sounds of classical music over the region’s airwaves would be silenced.
We suggest that you express your opinion on the pending sale of KFUO. You may contact the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod via its website or e-mail its Board of Directors: bod@lcms.org. Or you may reach the Synod by phone 1-888-THE-LCMS (843-5267). You may also contact the FCC via its websiteor e-mail fccinfo@fcc.gov.
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St. Louis media expert Mike Anderson has a brief summary and case study here, and St. Louis Jazz Notes has a summary and some good points as well.
To comment about a couple of the frequently asked questions (PDF) about the sale of KFUO posted on the LCMS website: The LCMS claims that the possible sale of KFUO has been on the board's agenda since February 2008, and thus claims that the sale was made public. Except no one is going to be checking agendas for every owner of every radio station in the interest of buying or in this case saving the station. Yes, perhaps the information was obtainable, but that does not change it from being secretive and underhanded. Also, the LCMS claims that they were not interested in only selling to a Christian organization. Of course they would say that. They are trying to put out a fire here. How would it come off if they admitted that they were only selling to a Christian broadcaster? I am not saying that they definitely were, but I am quite skeptical of that statement. Granted, the LCMS is trying to find ways to further their mission of spreading the gospel and touching people's lives, and that is a good thing. But I am not sure that doing so by alienating the community and even its own members is the way to go. More people would be willing to listen if the LCMS had a good reputation. As of now, that seems to be going down the drain.
While the sale has been agreed to, it is by no means final (courtesy of Examiner.com). The FCC has to authorize the sale, and for the reasons listed above, among others, there is a chance that the deal will not go through. If you are a supporter of classical music, let your voices be heard, and help save this civic treasure from being cast away.
Disclaimer: I am not Christian and I am not a fan of Christian Contemporary. I do respect its right to be composed and played. However, this article is an appeal to save the only classical station in St. Louis, not an appeal to keep Joy FM from broadcasting in the city. If they find another outlet, great. Just please not at the expense of the the city's only classical station.
There are many issues with this situation:
First, the LCMS did not publicize its intention to sell the station and other interested buyers were kept at arm's length, including those from their own church. Also, the board decided to grant full power regarding negotiations and the decision to sell to a handful of people led by Kermit Brashear, a lawyer who is from Omaha, not the St. Louis area. In fact, most of the board is not from St. Louis, leading one to wonder whether they understand the significance and importance of this station to the area.
Second, while there are many other Christian stations in the area, some of which already play Christian Contemporary (five, according to Ontheradio.net), there is only one classical station, which could come to the FCC's attention. Furthermore, even though KFUO is only the 20th ranked radio station in St. Louis according to Arbitron, who measures radio listenership across the country, it is doing better than every Christian station combined, including Joy FM's two stations, which scored so low they do not even show up in the chart (the only Christian radio station to be ranked is gospel-playing KATZ-AM). KFUO has turned a profit for the past 60 years, and only lost money this year due to the economic downturn (as seen on KTVI Fox 2 News). Could one assume that the LCMS would continue to make money in the long run with KFUO rather than taking a lump sum now? Perhaps there would not be as big of an immediate impact, but the effect would be continuous.
Third, the other potential buyers reportedly included not only the Circle of Friends, who have donated $800,000 in the past to KFUO, but also media conglomerates such as Clear Channel and Bonneville who would have been able to top Joy FM's offer and not have had to make the LCMS finance the deal. Theoretically, this could have helped the LCMS's money troubles more than the current situation, but the LCMS decided to only negotiate with Joy FM, reportedly to keep the station in Christian hands (which is ironic especially if other Lutheran groups, including members if the LCMS itself, have offered to buy the station). This collusion could get the FCC's attention as well.
Fourth, while the LCMS and Joy FM are coming up with solutions to keep classical music alive on the radio in St. Louis, their suggestions leave much to be desired. Putting the station on Joy FM's current stations that are out of range of the St. Louis area (which is why Joy FM wanted 99.1's superior signal in the first place) and supplementing it with HD radio (which many people don't have) would leave a lot of people in the dark with regards to being able to hear classical music. And despite the fact there are satellite and internet options, as well as CD's and iPods, not everybody has satellite radio, cars are not equipped with internet radio for the most part, and one of the benefits of having a radio station is being able to hear pieces that you never knew existed and not have to spend too much money buying songs. And there are local benefits as well, with local DJ's who know their music and understand the city and its culture, and the services the station provides to the community, such as promoting local events or broadcasting live concerts, for example. (Many references can be found here at the Culture Club blog at Stltoday.com. Just click on a KFUO tag and read away.)
Help is needed to keep KFUO classical. Dennis Stortz, the current program director at KFUO, forwarded the following e-mail sent to St. Louis Symphony Orchestra newsletter subscribers (with a little note attached at the beginning in response to an e-mail requesting ways to help):
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David, see below from the St. Louis Symphony. Help is needed. Thanks for these kind words:
The sale of St. Louis ’ only classical music station was announced this morning, Tuesday, October 6, 2009. KFUO-Classic 99 (99.1FM), which is owned by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, was sold to Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which plans to change the station to JOY FM, a contemporary Christian music station. The sale is pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). You may read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s report on the sale here.
KFUO-Classic 99 has been providing classical music to the St. Louis community for over 60 years. The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra has a long and valued relationship with KFUO. During the 2009-2010 season, Saturday night orchestral concerts have been broadcast live on Classic 99. The SLSO is one of only a handful of orchestras in the United States to offer live broadcasts.
The SLSO, along with many of its fans and friends in the local artistic community, believes the loss of KFUO-Classic 99 would diminish the cultural diversity of the St. Louis community. With the loss of KFUO, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, one of the cultural jewels of the city, would lose a vital advocate. The sounds of classical music over the region’s airwaves would be silenced.
We suggest that you express your opinion on the pending sale of KFUO. You may contact the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod via its website or e-mail its Board of Directors: bod@lcms.org. Or you may reach the Synod by phone 1-888-THE-LCMS (843-5267). You may also contact the FCC via its websiteor e-mail fccinfo@fcc.gov.
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St. Louis media expert Mike Anderson has a brief summary and case study here, and St. Louis Jazz Notes has a summary and some good points as well.
To comment about a couple of the frequently asked questions (PDF) about the sale of KFUO posted on the LCMS website: The LCMS claims that the possible sale of KFUO has been on the board's agenda since February 2008, and thus claims that the sale was made public. Except no one is going to be checking agendas for every owner of every radio station in the interest of buying or in this case saving the station. Yes, perhaps the information was obtainable, but that does not change it from being secretive and underhanded. Also, the LCMS claims that they were not interested in only selling to a Christian organization. Of course they would say that. They are trying to put out a fire here. How would it come off if they admitted that they were only selling to a Christian broadcaster? I am not saying that they definitely were, but I am quite skeptical of that statement. Granted, the LCMS is trying to find ways to further their mission of spreading the gospel and touching people's lives, and that is a good thing. But I am not sure that doing so by alienating the community and even its own members is the way to go. More people would be willing to listen if the LCMS had a good reputation. As of now, that seems to be going down the drain.
While the sale has been agreed to, it is by no means final (courtesy of Examiner.com). The FCC has to authorize the sale, and for the reasons listed above, among others, there is a chance that the deal will not go through. If you are a supporter of classical music, let your voices be heard, and help save this civic treasure from being cast away.
Disclaimer: I am not Christian and I am not a fan of Christian Contemporary. I do respect its right to be composed and played. However, this article is an appeal to save the only classical station in St. Louis, not an appeal to keep Joy FM from broadcasting in the city. If they find another outlet, great. Just please not at the expense of the the city's only classical station.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Congratulations and Such
Just wanted to say congratulations to the Class of 2009 at Wash U. I originally had doubts about the place, and have had them throughout the four years, but now that graduation is over and everybody has gone their separate ways, withdrawal seems to be setting in, and in hindsight the positives do outweigh the negatives. Good luck, and hope to see some of you fairly soon.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Other Than Universal Health Care or Medical Malpractice, What's the Biggest Problem You'll Need to Address In Your Future as a Physician?
Thought I'd publish an essay I wrote for a class last semester to get back in the swing of things...
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Health care costs, much like everything else recently, have gone up for various reasons, including inefficiencies in the health care system, administrative expenses, inflated prices, including for insurance and prescriptions as well as general health care, bad management, inept care, waste, and fraud. These costs unfortunately have been passed to the consumer, forcing everybody to pay more for care, insurance, and drugs, sometimes to the point of barely being able to afford it, or even making those who cannot afford these to forego insurance and pray that nothing bad happens to them, decide not to get treatment needed for illness, or choose which prescription out of many to buy and perhaps taking less than the required dosage to stretch the prescription for a longer period of time, or even foregoing the medicine altogether. If a patient has to make any of these choices, the road ahead for that person will not be smooth, but physicians will have to share in the brunt of uneasiness this person will undergo.
If a patient at first decides not to receive the care that one needs to get better, eventually a physician will have to deal with every illness, all in later stages, that the patient has accumulated during this time. It will be more work on the doctor trying to juggle each illness, making sure that viable treatments for each illness will not make the others worse, while these treatments will be extensive due to the patient waiting so long until he had no other choice but to take care of his ailments. A similar case can be applied for patients taking their medicine sparingly, or even not at all. The medication that was prescribed to take care of their illnesses will not be as effective if not used properly, and thus the illnesses will continue to fester and perhaps new ones will build up, and the physician will have to tiptoe around everything so as to not make things more complicated.
These complications arise in the first place because the patient does not have enough money to pay for care, insurance, or drugs. If this is the case, the patient more than likely does not have enough to pay the doctor taking care of him. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, an insurance premium for an individual is $4,400, and employment-based health insurance premiums have increased 100% since 2000. In the United States, the poverty level for a single person was $10,787 in 2007, meaning an individual below the poverty line would have to pay almost half of his annual salary towards insurance, if that person so chooses to be covered. Hence, it is likely that an individual will remain uninsured to pay for other expenses, but when the time comes that a patient has to be taken care of, how does he pay for the costs incurred? This trickles down to physicians again, who earn their livings from these payments. With costs on the rise and the economy on the downturn, it is natural to believe that more and more patients will not be able to cover the normal costs of health care, and physicians will take a hit in their time, energy, and money.
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Health care costs, much like everything else recently, have gone up for various reasons, including inefficiencies in the health care system, administrative expenses, inflated prices, including for insurance and prescriptions as well as general health care, bad management, inept care, waste, and fraud. These costs unfortunately have been passed to the consumer, forcing everybody to pay more for care, insurance, and drugs, sometimes to the point of barely being able to afford it, or even making those who cannot afford these to forego insurance and pray that nothing bad happens to them, decide not to get treatment needed for illness, or choose which prescription out of many to buy and perhaps taking less than the required dosage to stretch the prescription for a longer period of time, or even foregoing the medicine altogether. If a patient has to make any of these choices, the road ahead for that person will not be smooth, but physicians will have to share in the brunt of uneasiness this person will undergo.
If a patient at first decides not to receive the care that one needs to get better, eventually a physician will have to deal with every illness, all in later stages, that the patient has accumulated during this time. It will be more work on the doctor trying to juggle each illness, making sure that viable treatments for each illness will not make the others worse, while these treatments will be extensive due to the patient waiting so long until he had no other choice but to take care of his ailments. A similar case can be applied for patients taking their medicine sparingly, or even not at all. The medication that was prescribed to take care of their illnesses will not be as effective if not used properly, and thus the illnesses will continue to fester and perhaps new ones will build up, and the physician will have to tiptoe around everything so as to not make things more complicated.
These complications arise in the first place because the patient does not have enough money to pay for care, insurance, or drugs. If this is the case, the patient more than likely does not have enough to pay the doctor taking care of him. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, an insurance premium for an individual is $4,400, and employment-based health insurance premiums have increased 100% since 2000. In the United States, the poverty level for a single person was $10,787 in 2007, meaning an individual below the poverty line would have to pay almost half of his annual salary towards insurance, if that person so chooses to be covered. Hence, it is likely that an individual will remain uninsured to pay for other expenses, but when the time comes that a patient has to be taken care of, how does he pay for the costs incurred? This trickles down to physicians again, who earn their livings from these payments. With costs on the rise and the economy on the downturn, it is natural to believe that more and more patients will not be able to cover the normal costs of health care, and physicians will take a hit in their time, energy, and money.
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