| 40 Under 40 |
[26 Nov 2009|11:10am] |
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On November 12th, I was recognized as one of Syracuse's 40 Under 40. It's an event put on by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University to honor Syracuse area professionals for their successes in various fields and community involvement (and are, obviously, under the age of 40). I know, it sounds so... serious and grown up, doesn't it? But for those who don't know/realize, I'm 25 years old and have been working professionally in radio for over five years now with Marty & Shannon at HOT 107.9, as well as web/new media coordinator for Clear Channel Syracuse the past three. I try to be involved in the community in as many ways as possible, including speaking at various schools in Central New York both as a communications professional but also as a role model for kids with disabilities who want to see living proof that even a hearing impaired kid can become a radio personality. I've also shaved my head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, camped in a mall for the AIDS Walk/Run, and supported many other charities. I sound like I'm justifying my award, don't I? I'm surprised, I guess, but more than anything I feel honored.
If you get a copy of the latest edition of the CNY Business Journal, you'll see a special 16-page insert about all 40 honorees in there (holy cow, I'm the youngest one in there, too!). I was surprised to find my "friends at Clear Channel" snuck a half-page graphic in there about me, too:
 I didn't get to make a speech at the awards ceremony, which is okay, but it does mean two things: one, no one grabbed the microphone and said Ima let you finish, but... and two, I didn't get a chance to thank anyone. So I want to say thank you to my parents (that's my Dad next to me after getting my award), my siblings and my family for supporting me in my chosen path - no one ever once said I shouldn't do anything (except when they said I shouldn't try and eat 50 Cadbury Creme Eggs in an hour). Thank you to all my friends who are family in my heart. You're supportive, understanding, and always entertaining; without you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself or have anyone I could talk nerdy about music with. Whether I've known you for two months or twenty years, I know that life is nothing without the people who love you. Thank you to Marty & Shannon, who fought to get me hired (and have sometimes fought to keep me from getting fired) and gave me a job I love with two amazing people who I've come to think of like a brother and sister. We might fight sometimes, but at the end of the day I know we love each other. Thank you to Julie Pandillo, who first encouraged me to pursue my web geekiness as an actual job that has become a huge part of my career. Thank you to everyone else at Clear Channel Syracuse for their support and patience. Much love and respect to all the radio stations I've worked at before becoming a "professional": WHAB-FM (Acton MA), WXKS-FM (Boston MA), WAAF-FM (Boston MA), WERW-AM (Syracuse NY) and WJPZ-FM (Syracuse NY). Thanks to my teachers at Acton-Boxboro High School and Syracuse University... I know I fell asleep in a few classes, but I promise it was because I was working so hard that I just exhausted myself. And lastly, I want to give a very special thank you to everyone who's ever read my blogs, followed me on Twitter, friended me on MySpace/Facebook, stopped me in the streets, or just quietly listened to our radio station. Whether you realize it or not, you're the reason why I love radio - your reactions, your participation in all of our silly little games and contests, your phone calls, the stories you respond to and remember us telling... I never thought anyone would ever ask me for an autograph or a picture, but you do sometimes and it's all too much - too wonderful. Thank you all, and congratulations to my fellow 40 Under 40 honorees. It's all downhill from here.
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| Hear The World. |
[23 Jul 2009|03:46pm] |
I was travelling on Sunday and saw a magazine called Hear The World: The Magazine For The Culture Of Hearing. I admit, my first reaction was to be offended. A magazine to celebrate the majority? Turns out, it's actually a magazine and website (www.hear-the-world.com) intended to educate the hearing world about the importance of protecting your ears and to help them understand the 500+ million people around the world living with hearing loss.
Most interesting part of the website: Hearing Loss Simulator. Listen to music normal, and then listen to it as if you were hearing impaired and it'll help you understand how hearing cannot be corrected with hearing aids, unlike vision with eyeglasses. To tell the truth, though, these simulations are always a little flaky because every hearing loss is different. No one simply just needs everything louder. There's huge differences in clarity, tone, and pitch - I often try and explain my hearing loss in terms of a piano. I can hear the keys on the left just as well as anyone else can. Around middle C is where I start to have really have trouble, and then my hearing just drops off. I can't hear the five right-most (the highest) notes on a piano. Just the clack of the key against the piano itself.
In addition to the impressive list of celebrity "ambassadors" and supporters of the program (some of which are pictured above), the website also has a good collection of facts about hearing, tips for protecting your children and more detail about the Hear The World initiative where Phonak (a hearing aid company) has strived to educate the world about hearing and hearing loss. I just wish they used a better byline than "for the culture of hearing."
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| A shout-out. |
[27 Mar 2008|02:32pm] |
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Reposted from my hot1079.com page - not everyone reads both pages, and this meant a lot to me, so...
Marty, Shannon and I are always enthusiastic to help out whenever we can, wherever we can. For example, three weeks ago I got my head shaved for St. Baldrick's, the foundation that fights children's cancer. In June, we'll be at the AIDS Walk at Beaver Lake Nature Center. Even the Donkey Basketball game was more than just another silly night out - we helped raise money for the ESM Class of 2010.
One of my favorite things to do is visit schools and speak to kids about who I am and what I do - it's funny because I never thought I'd be someone talking about my career and giving advice to others. I do it because I see how I can help not only with giving direction about finding the things you're passionate about and pursuing them, but also about growing up with a disability, coping with it, and overcoming it to do what you want to do.
I got this e-mail today:
I want to give you a HUGE shout out! On Tuesday March 25 you were at my daughters school Weedsport Elementary as a guest reader. I just want to say thank you for talking to my daughter about being deaf. In the past I have had issues with her. She does not like to wear her hearing aids. She will not put them on until she gets to school and takes them off as soon as that bell rings to go home. She is embarrassed by the fact that she needs them. When she came home Tuesday she was so excited to tell me about you. She listens to 107.9 all the time and to have someone from the Radio talk to her about this excited her! She told me about her conversation about the FM system and how you only have 10% of your hearing. Anyways... Thank you for being a mentor for my daughter and I hope she continues to meet more people like you! By the way... She carries your autograph around with her and shows it to EVERYONE!
- Kim A.
I felt tears well up in my eyes as I was reading it. It means a lot to me to know that what I do means a lot to other people. Thank you, Kim.
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| The apologist. |
[03 Mar 2008|05:51pm] |
First, I need to apologize that my posting here is going to become more and more sporadic, or at least if I am going to able to write here it'll be much more abbreviated.
Second, I need to apologize to just about every woman that's ever stepped in my life or allowed me to step into hers. Because I'm writing a book about you.
Ever since I was a kid (I still am to some, I guess) I wanted to be a writer, and I've always tinkered with this and that, indulged in poetry, lyrics, gonzo blogging and various other literary expressions of my mad mind. I conceptualized a few ideas for a book, including an embarassing collection of poetry I shared with a small handful of people as well as a script that never saw the light of day beyond a Film class. However, consistently writing about one thing has always been taxing on me, both emotionally and creatively. I think I've finally found a way to organize a lot of the things I've wanted to write, and I'm going to do it.
And yes, before you ask, the fantasist in me has already started pondering what I'd tell Oprah if I ever became a book of the month. Even though I've only got a dozen pages written. But I really think this is far less damaging of a fantasy than the one I had about the musician the other day. And far more... possible.
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| Shampoo. |
[12 Feb 2008|06:23am] |
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The particular brand of shampoo + conditioner I use has recently been relabeled and repackaged. Everything's essentially the same, including the logo and the color scheme, but they added the words "HEY GOOD LOOKING!" to the top and changed the level (Medium) to "Happy Medium." Or maybe they've subdivided Medium into Happy Medium and Sad Medium.
I'm not opposed to the flattery, but the emotional value of my shampoo disturbs me.
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| "the Frederick Douglass of deaf people" |
[05 Jan 2008|09:40am] |
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One of my most memorable classes at Syracuse University was Philosophy 191 with Dr. Laurence Thomas, not just because he was a great professor but because it was one of the few classes that has an immediate application to the real world. I'm not going to use Italian history (except on Jeopardy) or 18th century poetry (except to impress girls), but I can apply all of our discussions about moral fiber and debates about justice and righteousness to my own daily life. Hot-button issues like abortion, racism, and other polarizing discussions were turned on their head in that class when we established premises or modified the situation in light of various scenarios.
That semester, I met with Dr. Thomas in office hours, spoke with him outside of class and even had lunch with him. One of his favorite questions to pose to me was a debate that is not unlike the "Sound And The Fury" debate, and now, possibly three years after being in his class, he's written an entire essay about on his blog and he used me as an example:
http://www.moralhealth.com/blog/_archives/2007/12/27/3431739.html
He called me "the Frederick Douglass of deaf people," which may be the most unusual thing I've ever been called, but I agree with his stance. It is wrong and inappropriate for parents to want to impose any condition on their children, be it blindness, deafness or any other characteristic. I don't like the idea of genetic manipulation in fetuses that's in the very near future (i.e. making your kid have blue eyes because you want it to have blue eyes) but that's a bigger debate. At the same time, Dr. Thomas is right - just like Douglass would not have been who he was had he not been born into slavery, I most likely very much would not be who I am today had I not been born hard of hearing.
Think about it -- if you hadn't been born the way you are, would you be doing what you're doing right now? That's not a light question, folks.
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| The world went down. |
[01 Nov 2007|05:23pm] |
I wonder what Fatboy Slim listens to when he's having a bad day. This probably sounds ridiculous to anyone who only knows him as "that Funk Soul Brother guy," but in the UK he's written about in the tabloids as often as the US gossips about Brad Pitt. In fact, 4 years ago, he and his wife (a famous UK radio DJ) broke up because she had an affair - in the press, it was like a British version of the Nick and Jessica breakup. They had a kid, too, to make matters more complicated but they did get back together later that year and are still together to this day. Perhaps happy endings are possible.
In the early 90s, before he was Fatboy, Norman Cook had a group called Beats International and wrote a song called "Come Home" that included this verse:
Yesterday my radio came alive
All the words seemed to be about my life
Hearing "Ain't No Sunshine" makes me cry
"The Whole World's Down On Me" and "For The Good Times"
Come home...
(sigh)
Beats International was a good glimpse at his soul, but the rest of his work over the last 15 years has been nothing but acid house, big beat, tripped out funk, dance remixes, and pure tongue-in-cheek musical fun. His two latest albums, Late Night Tales and Greatest Hits Remixed, are just more of the same fun that I've been in love with ever since I first saw the video for "Praise You" over 10 years ago. And even better, it gives me something new to listen to instead of the same depressing crap I listen to over and over again - hooray for distractions from myself!
The liner notes from Greatest Hits Remixed, a hilarious list of each remix:
Redanka - great to have a new version to play out as I am bored titless of the original
Chemical Brothers - they really are my brothers
Plump DJs - welcome to the plump world of breaks
Junkie XL - if it's good enough for Elvis...
Mulder - it started as a bootleg, loved it, legalised it
Timo Maas - Der Englaender hat es wiedermal geschafft
Mike D and Adrock - they are as old and skool as me and you've got to love them
Darren Emerson - loveable chancer - wish he'd used some of the original
Simon's GT Mix - this poor bastard has been locked in a studio with me for 20 years at last he gets to mix one of my tracks his way...
Justice - je ne regret rien
Dave Clarke - the cigar smoking James Bond, shaken and stirred
Xpress 2 - apparently there's three of them
Fantastic Plastic - thought they didn't have drugs in Japan
Jon Carter - my mental mentor strikes again
Kid Carpet - I told you modern computers were shit, casios and ataris rule
Chief Xcel - big up the bay area
Midfield General - self indulgent bollocks but he was my label manager
Krafty Kuts - started out selling me records, ended up selling records for me
Switch - Switch is the best thing that's happened to dance music since Daft Punk
Three years ago, I drove all the way to Toronto on a school night just to see Fatboy Slim. He was set up in the middle of the dancefloor, so the records would occasionally skip - not a perfect performance by any means, but it was perfect to me. No alcohol, and I left promptly at the end to be back to work at the morning show, go to class AND work at Blockbuster. It was one of the happiest nights of my life.
Only thing is, I had no one to share it with. I mean, I love Fatboy Slim, but has Fatboy Slim ever loved me back? He did give me a high-five, though.
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| In heaven... |
[04 Dec 2004|11:01am] |
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Everyone has a hero. Mine for the last seven years was in Toronto on Wednesday, November 10th. Yeah, a school night. Toronto's 250 miles from Syracuse, and the event started at 10pm. He was supposed to appear around midnight. And I had class the next morning at 8:30am. No one else wanted or could go. Was I crazy enough to do it?
You bet your ass I was.
( one of the greatest nights of my life with the barefoot man behind the record... )
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| A dreamy mix. |
[28 Jul 2003|09:08pm] |
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A writer once dreamed an entire poem, word for word, line for line. When he awoke, he remembered all of it and furiously began copying it down on paper. He transcribed the words perfectly and was on the last stanza when his wife came in and asked what he wanted for breakfast. His train of thought broken, the writer lost that last stanza from the dream. Everything else was remembered perfectly and trying to write a stanza anew would obviously have affected the poem, so he published the poem incomplete. It's still an amazing poem.
Sunday morning, I awoke from an interesting dream of my own at Tony's cottage in Maine. I dreamt I was with my SU floormates (Mike, Kelly, Jenn, and Alyssa and maybe others) at a concert. DJ Z-Trip was spinning and I was trying to enjoy his set at the same time I was trying to explain to my friends how he was mixing all of that live. I heard some of his usual mixes, like "Iko Iko," all within the dream.
But then all of a sudden, Z-Trip scratched the intro to Orbital's "Halcyon + On + On" and let it play by itself. This was surprising because it defies Z-Trip's typical genre of music. So I told everyone to shut up and listen closely to what would come next. Some beats from Plump DJs' remix of Argonauts' "Bumper" emerged, in sync with the haunting piano-based intro to Orbital's classic club anthem, and I was blown away. I was dreaming my own original mix.
I woke up and instantly wrote down the two songs. I've started mixing them already and it sounds, well, dreamy. And cool. Reminiscient of DJ Tiesto, the man behind the "In Search Of Sunrise" mix series. Expect to hear it on Mixology 303 (when it comes out). Think about how cool it would be to dream an entire mix CD.
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| A more existentialist entry than usual. |
[27 Apr 2003|12:10pm] |
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I have this haunting fear that we are all alone, yet alone together, which is the worst kind of alone. And worse yet, we are not meant to be together without being alone.
Humanity is an achingly complex body that bears no generalizations or universal truths simply because there are none to be made. Every single individual person is so frighteningly different from everyone else. It is a fundamental weakness of the mind to automatically group information and categorize experiences and stimuli -- it is for this reason that a white person may see all black people as being the same. Or a Jewish person seeing all Buddhists as the same. Or a feminist seeing all men as the same. These socially construed groups lead us to victimize large masses of people, either by preconceptions and assumptions or by graver, more genocidic measures. We simply don't have the psychological strength or time to give every experience and person an equal and fair amount of analysis. And you know it's true because you call people an asshole if they cut you off on the road -- you have no idea what kind of person they are, where they came from, what their dreams are, whether or not that was the first poor judgment they made behind the wheel in twenty years... -- all you know is they cut you off and you make a characterization. No one ever says "well that was a poor decision by that driver, I wonder why they did that." It's always a flat-out "asshole." (Or Masshole, depending on the license plate...)
So we group everyone else into a "them" category. What about us? You can sleep over at the House with your sorority sisters and talk about what an amazing bond you have with all of them. After all, you're all in the "pretty girl sorority," you MUST be all the same and have so much in common. Or maybe you feel some strange connection with the guy who sits next to you in class; after all, you both agree on all the same points your professor makes. Oh, and what about your best friend? You both had the same type of guy break your heart last year, and have gone through everything together -- you two understand each other and listen indiscriminately always. And then there's the person of your dreams, the one you love with all your heart and would lay down in traffic for. Because you think you two are soulmates.
However, we are blind if we don't realize that there are things we will never understand about each other. We do not have the same memories, the same dreams, the same goals, the same thoughts, the same heart. You will never fully understand me. And I will never fully understand you. I find so many situations where people express deep levels of empathy and compassion, but the lie of it stinks underneath the words. And the over-assumption of understanding sickens me. Having one or two similar experiences or traits does not make you the be-all end-all of compassion for the other. It's important, yes, to do the best we can when someone needs a friend. But be careful with who you put all your faith in, because that one person you choose will never be someone who understands you fully. And if you pick one person to depend on, you're asking for something they can't give -- understanding.
The only one who'll ever understand you completely is yourself. Depend on the good person that lies within. If there's any credo to always follow, it's "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." If we all listened to Lennon a bit more often, then I think we'd have a lot less problems because we'd be making far fewer assumptions and doing less damage to people, and perhaps more importantly, to ourselves.
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