Heaven's Jam

Well, here's the new Gospel Rewind podcast. It's a good one!

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©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

The Peanut Explained

Once a man named Riddle called a small town radio station a peanut whistle. With a chuckle I adopted it to mean any scruffy enterprise.

Originally, a peanut whistle was a miniscule ham radio (shortwave) transmitter with only a single watt or two power output that the “hams” (amateur radio operators) used. It was also Bob Riddle’s humorous semi-offensive metaphor for a low power, usually AM, radio station; those at which I spent most my broadcast career. By the way, Bob was a newsman who worked for me at radio home three where I was program director.

In the USA radio stations are limited to a maximum of 100,000 watts on FM and 50,000 watts on AM. Most of my radio homes have been 5,000 watts or less. I feel the power “disadvantage” made me more inventive than those big budget facilities ever could.

Well, the Peanut Whistle Audio Podcast is coming very soon. The equipment is up and running; I just need to find the time to get some episodes recorded. Ideas for new shows are appreciated.

Stay tuned

©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved

We're Back!

Whew! what a crazy few days. My darling daughter Abbey just hosted her first sleep over party for her 7th birthday. She seemed to have the time of her life with several other girls screaming and having a good time as well. My son Luke and I were the only boys there. He found no problem in crashing the party, though. Oh my aching head; the noise and preparation took its toll on me. Her having a birthday so close to mine overshadowed my turning 44. That is a good thing; I really don't like too much fuss placed on myself. The last couple of days I have spent sick due to, I think, over indulgence in party food. One of our adult guests was sick, but I hope the former explanation is reason for my little 48 hour stomach bug.

Stay tuned

 ©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Pandora’s Box

  Many music fans with high speed Internet already know of the vast streaming audio choices the web offers. Today I am listening to Pandora radio. The service is awesome and it is free; you can tailor according to your own tastes. Type in your favorite song or artist and, voila, it chooses a mix of selections especially for you with very minimal ads. To me; as soon as most Americans have a computer, Wi-Fi or WiMax receiver or web enabled cell phone, traditional radio is dead. That may be sooner than most people think. I hardly ever listen to AM or FM for anything more than news or the occasional talk show. I suspect many others have similar listening habits. Unfortunately, the market cannot withstand the infinite choices available and needs to be sifted because no company can make money when the audiences are so diluted. When any average 16 year old can start an on-line radio station in his basement and can pull away just one listener from more traditional media who knows what kind of Pandora’s box we’ve opened.

Stay tuned

copyright 2010 the Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved

The GRIN returns

  Oh the memories, below is a short recording of my Internet radio show Southern Gospel Favorites from March of last year, enjoy...

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copyright © 2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Change of Season

  Today has been crazy; in a good way. As I emerge from a wintry depression funk Angie has come up with a remarkable idea that will affect our lives in a very positive direction. Problem is: not all of the pieces of the plan and how they fit are known to either of us. All that I can reveal now is that it is extremely exciting and for our family. (God willing, to borrow an uncharacteristic phrase). If this idea materializes we all will begin to feel a sense of independence and higher purpose previously unknown in our very happy marriage.

  I am cautious, but optimistic. 2010 is going to be a pivotal year bringing a brighter season in our lives. I wait, impatiently.

Stay tuned

copyright ©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Flashbulb Elvis

  An earlier generation would ask, "Do you remember when JFK was assassinated?" The inevitable response was a detailed recollection of exactly where one was and precisely what one was doing when the tragic news struck.

  Well, I was born three years after that black day in Dallas. So my personal flashbulb memory is the passing of the King of Rock n Roll, Elvis Presley, on August 16, 1977. I was eleven; buying a 35 cent comic book at Reddings supermarket in Savannah, Georgia, when I overheard Beth, the cashier saying, "I can't believe he's dead." Not knowing who she was referring to I paid for the comic book and ran home. There, my mother was on the phone with my friend Daniel who had broke the sudden news to her. She was incredulous, Daniel had been known to stretch the truth a time or two. The pieces of the puzzle fit and we all realized he was not lying.

  Today is the King's 75th birthday so happy birthday Elvis; your fans still miss you. 32 years later and his popularity has not diminished.

  stay tuned

copyright ©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Confirm Me

  My 44th birthday approaching I feel less and less inclined to feel validated by anyone. Take for example the ever popular social website Facebook. More than once I have sent out those silly friend requests only to never be "confirmed". Take it as maturity setting in; but, these things just do not bother me as they once would. When I was 17 or 18 such behavior from a prospective friend would have been devastating. Honestly, Bill Gates never imagined Myspace or Facebook in 1983 or 1984 when the world was much less virtual.

  Stay tuned

 

copyright ©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

Finger Nails on a Chalkboard

  Well, I broke a New Year's resolution; I promised to write a new blog every day. Even though I missed posting yesterday here's what I would have wrote. Have you ever been to a church service or a concert where the person behind you was singing loudly off key? On Sunday the tone deaf of a neighboring row were so distracting that a pew in the back seemed inviting. If it had been a paid event I would have wanted my money back.

  Do these people not know that they sing so badly? Forget monotone singing, sometimes they clap off rhythm and everybody seems out of sync. Maybe it's just me. Probably not, my wife agreed when she stepped down from the choir and thought I had made a poor seating choice; funny,  "Caruso" was seated after me along with her companion who frequently punctuated with loud comments to the preaching. OK, lesson has been learned for next Sunday. Please, my musically challenged friends; if you frequent church or the concert halls refrain from unsolicited participation unless you plan a stage career we didn't come to hear you perform. I'll get enough of your type on American Idol this month.

Stay tuned
copyright ©2010 The Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.

The Holiday Road (to recovery)

Happy new year my friends! Wow, twenty ten; that just sounds nice and futuristic. Seeing that I have always been an early adopter of all things new this year has a good vibe to it.

My wife Angie and I have had a blessed 2009 and look forward to the good things in store for 2010. 2009, what a great year it was: Angie got a fantastic new full time job she loves while I was allowed the privilege of becoming Mr. Mom with my proudest achievement, my family. We all enjoyed a Myrtle Beach vacation with Angie’s mother and my brother-in-law and his crew. The ‘09 holiday season has been my all time favorite. Thanksgiving was a blast; then Christmas Eve at my house with my sisters, my mom, the nieces and nephews joining my gang at our house; another celebration in north Georgia with my dad’s sisters on Sunday and yesterday, New Year’s Day, we opened gifts at my mother-in-law’s. Whew! What fun we all had.

The Turning Point

Through a process that has taken about 2 years to fulfill I have discovered with self-taught study of the human psyche that I fit into a melancholy temperament.  I have fought deep depression my whole adult live through  introspection and will. I have not been very successful, especially in the will department. Introspection has been a heavy burden because I have had my head stuck in an unremarkable past thinking this was truly therapeutic. I was dead wrong. One day recently, during the holiday season, I had an aha moment. I had been going through the motions letting one day melt into another when I realized that have so much to be thankful for here and now. I have a wonderful wife and great kids. They are what I have always wanted. Angie is a companion in the truest sense of the word, she is the model wife. My kids are my most valuable education; I have learned far more from them than they have from me.  And I continue to evolve personally and desire a more positive forward thinking outlook. Now I have a more keen since of purpose that I feel was lacking before. A new focus on the present has emerged and our hope is for a brighter future.

Stay tuned

© copyright 2010 the Peanut Whistle. All rights reserved.