Sunday, April 29, 2018

Update On Governor Highway Signs

In my seemingly nonstop Quixotic quest to get vain politicians to stop wasting taxpayer money by needlessly putting their names on highway signs, I thought I'd provide an update of the 2018 Ohio gubernatorial campaign.  At this point, I've emailed or called all the primary candidates that I could track down.

Of course, none of them have responded.

This is because:

a) politicians are vain and want their names on highway signs;

b) campaigns are busy;

c) they think I'm a crank;

or d) all of the above.

Ah, well, soon the primary will be over, and I can concentrate on fewer candidates.  Maybe then, I can email and call instead of one or the other.  My hope is, of course, some journalist or state representative will pick up the cause, and I can go back to just exclusively writing about silly stuff such as comic books and rock music.  Until then, the quest continues . . .

Here's what I have done so far.

Democratic Candidates

Dennis Kucinich/Tara Samples - Emailed/ No response

Analysis - I like Dennis, but he is undoubtedly an egomaniac, so I don't see him going for this, though, like all candidates, he should.

Bill O'Neill/Chantelle C. Lewis - Emailed/No response

Analysis - Given that O'Neill once printed all his campaign material in his own garage, I would have expected he would be all about saving money, but so far, it's crickets from Geauga County.

Paul E. Ray/Jerry Schroeder - Couldn't find any contact information

Analysis - If you run for governor, at least get a Go Daddy website or something.  Given this candidate has no chance, I didn't bother following up.

Joe Schiavoni/Stephanie Dodd - Emailed/No response

Analysis - If I were this guy from the Youngstown area, I would have held a press conference on I-80 in front of the Ohio border and pointed at Kasich's and Taylor's names on the sign and then the closed rest stop immediately after it and drawn the implication about misplaced budget priorities.  This guy is probably running just to get wider name recognition, but if you can't recognize the mileage you could get from a cheap political stunt like that, maybe you shouldn't bother running next time anyway.

Richard Cordray/Betty Sutton - The email bounced back, so I called and left a voicemail.

Analysis - This guy seems like he has pennypinching potential, but if you can't get your website email working, should I really trust you with running a state government?

Larry Ealy/Jeffrey Lynn -  See Ray/Schroeder above.  Supposedly, Ealy is a former male stripper.  He should have done a striptease by the Welcome to Ohio highway sign outside Cincinnati and said he would strip out unnecessary spending.

Green Party

Constance Gadell-Newton/Brett R. Joseph - Emailed/No response

Analysis - Given that she's running unopposed, maybe the campaign is on cruise control until the fall, but this was still a disappointment.  The previous Green Party candidate earned my vote by being the sole candidate to pledge to do away with the governor's name on the Welcome to Ohio highway signs.

Republican Party

Mike DeWine/Jon Husted - Emailed/No response

Analysis - Given the pissing match over who is most primitive going on right now, DeWine should have beaten up Taylor over this fiscal responsibility issue.  After all, her name is currently on the signs.

Mary Taylor/Nathan Estruth - Couldn't find any contact information.

Analysis - Given that Taylor's name is up on the signs currently, I didn't hold much hope here, but one would think she would have an email or phone number listed on her campaign site.  Apparently, you can give her money, but otherwise she doesn't want to hear from you.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Thanks For The Fun In Michigan City!

I had a lot of fun at the Michigan City Zine & Small Press Fest!  Thanks to Michele McDannold and the other organizers!  I gave a talk about zines, was part of a panel of zine publishers, and read some poetry.  I also have quite a stack of summer reading now!

Monday, April 16, 2018

Nice Article On The Michigan City Zine Fest!


Michele McDannold, the organizer of the Michigan City, Indiana USA Zine Fest forwarded me a nice article about the event.  It is here.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Palookaville 23: Clyde Fans Finally Finishes!

I must have missed this last year when it came out, possible because I had given up hope of it ever happening, but Seth finally finished Clyde Fans.  The long-running serial started in the late 1990s in Palookaville.  The serial started in issue 10 and has concluded in issue 23, which doesn't sound unreasonable until one realizes that 10 was published in 1997 and 23 in 2017.  That's 20 years!

Anyway, another enjoyable issue of Paolokaville, and I am glad that I lived long enough to read the end of the story.  If you want to see what I have written about Palookaville over the years, then you can click here, though I apparently had no comment on issue 22 since there is no post on that one.  I must have liked it though because I read 23.  Will there be a 24 now that Clyde Fans is done?  Maybe not even Seth knows . . .

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Song: "Window Shopping"

This one is about online dating, a very interesting phenomenon in the Internet age. Some people are very serious about finding a mate while others are just window shopping.  Hilarity ensues when the two collide.  I had a lot of fun with the toy piano on the recording.  You can check out the MP3 here.  Really, this stuff is much more fun and cheaper than therapy.  The lyrics are below.  It's the same deal as always.  If you like a song, then feel free to cover it if you're in a band or whatnot.  I love to hear covers of my songs, so please let me know about your version.  If you start making money, then send me a check/we can work out a deal.  Similarly, if you want to use a song for your Youtube video or whatnot, then just let me know.  It's usually fine by me unless it's a commercial product or whatnot (and then it's likely fine as well--I just want my cut).  Find out first though.  Write me at wredfright ATATAT yahoo DOTT com.

He's got a box of expired condoms.
He doesn't know why he hasn't thrown them away yet.
The sight of them depresses him.
He's trying hard to forget.

She's going window shopping.
She's going to find herself a new man.
She's going window shopping.
She's going to swipe right on whomever she can.

She can.

She wants to go on her last first date
They say that love is a wonderful thing.
She should really know by now
That they say a lot of things.

He's going window shopping.
He's going to find himself a new woman.
He's going window shopping.
He's going to swipe right on whomever he can.

He can.

That old man isn't lonely; he's happy.
He's ready to deploy.
He's living on donuts and fear.
Feels like he did when he was a boy.

He's going window shopping.
He's going to find himself a new man.
He's going window shopping.
He's going to swipe right on whomever he can.

She didn't fuck Karen or Laura.
She did not fuck Pauline.
Anita said that she'd go out,
But she's nowhere to be seen.

She's going window shopping.
She's going to find himself a new woman.
She's going window shopping.
She's going to swipe right on whomever she can.

Written April 2018
Recorded April 2018

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

All American Reunions Video With GoGoBots Music

I found this video while going through my old videocassettes. It dates from 2000 or so. The reunion planning company that I worked for hired my buddy Mike Dee to make a video to send to prospective high school classes to let us organize their reunions for them. I ended up doing the voiceover announcing, and somehow Mike and I, or my boss, decided it was a good idea to have our band, The GoGoBots, provide the background music. I'm guessing my boss didn't want to mess around with paying royalties for real music licensing because why otherwise would you let an obscure punk band be the soundtrack for your corporate video? In any case, this was fun to watch. And, no, the company can't plan your reunion. They're out of business now. Just like The GoGoBots.