Lex Friedman Presents The Lex Files » 2002

Video killed the radio star

January 29, 2002 on 11:06 pm | In Brandeis, Good Stories, Life Updates, Modern Technology, Things of Amusement to Me

Two summers ago, while I was in sunny California, I had a problem. More specifically, my car — which I had driven across the country — had the problem. And the problem was this: The tape player tied.

Okay, no big deal.

The radio worked fine; fun tunes could still pump into my car. That was the way it was for a long time. Then, near the end of 2001 (remember that year?), I went home to Arizona for Thanksgiving. Upon my return — the radio didn’t work. The clock didn’t work either. Nothing. No time displayed, no radio, no nothing.

So, on the advice of a friend, I bought a replacement fuse for the radio. The clock immediately lit up when I changed the fuse — and froze. The time didn’t change. I took the fuse out and put it in again and turned on the radio. It worked. Then… it too froze. Couldn’t change the volume. Or the station.

Then, it petered out. After a few minutes of hard work, the radio and clock both quit. They stopped working completely again.

I decided the solution would be to go home to Arizona again, come back, and see what happened. I figured either the radio would work again or the steering wheel would have fallen off.

You guessed it, the car picked Option 3: The radio still didn’t work.

So I was driving around, cursing my radio-less luck last week… when the radio went on. And the clock started ticking off minutes again. It was incredible.

And then, sadly, it froze. The time stops, the station can’t be changed.

Over the past few days, I got used to the radio being as intermittent as the wipers. Off and on, entirely at whim. Just not my whim.

But the saga continues. And today, believe it or not, I entered a new chapter of Wacky Radio Living: My car radio randomly turns on to a station (in this case, 104.1 WBCN Boston), stays for a bit, and then gracefully segues through a period of light static before settling on the delightful audio of… UPN Channel 38.

Yes, you read correctly: My car radio now picks up television broadcasts of a channel that doesn’t broadcast its sound over radiowaves. So, driving to campus today, I listened to the Price is Right and heard a woman win an RV on the Showcase Showdown. Later, I heard an amorous, cheating couple whisper and kiss during some soap opera; and still later, I got to hear the new syndicated version of “The Weakest Link.”

That, my friends, is the Spirit of Radio.

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April 28th, 2003

The Second Biggest Reality Star in the Room

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No cigar

January 28, 2002 on 5:00 am | In Brandeis, Football

Man, the Eagles were close. And they played a good game. And they were almost in the Superbowl.

Cool.

I’m rooting for a 0-0 tie on next Sunday, because I despise both teams equally (though with much hatred).

I’m trying a new web browser, Opera. It does everything well so far, except for displaying the page with which I submit posts to this very blog. How annoying.

I hate Sundays. Too much rehearsal, not enough time for football, videogames, and eating.

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Sickening

January 27, 2002 on 5:10 pm | In Brandeis, Food, Lauren

My girlfriend was sick for a long time. We’re talking 103 fevers, runny noses, sore throat… She was so sick, it took her twice as long to make my dinner and clean my room for me!

Just kidding. Of course, I took good care of Lauren. I made her whatever food requests she had, and it sort of seemed like a precursor to what her food cravings will be like when she’s pregnant: Chicken soup, toast & jelly, absolutely plain pasta, fruit punch, tropical fruit punch, etc.

The most interesting thing I got to prepare was… I think it was a cantaloupe. She kept confusing it with a honeydew. That means it was probably a cantaloupe, right? Well, I got to carve it all up and chop it into tiny Lauren-sized pieces. I was thinking about how I don’t think my dad would ever cut up a fruit for my mom, and how special it was that I was doing so for Lauren. Because, see, to me, cantaloupe (and most other fruit) holds less appeal than vomit and bile mixed together with salsa and toothpaste…

But for a sick girlfriend, anything.

Essentially, because Lauren was feeling like she had vomit and bile shooting through her veins, I got to prepare her cantaloupe and feel the same way.

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From the Grab blog: The Adventures of Lex and Lauren in San Luis Obispo

January 24th, 2002

January 24, 2002 on 3:54 pm | In Brandeis, Science, The Lex Files

I remember back in the day when I used to update this blog almost daily. I’m getting back into that groove… slowly. In the non-daily sense, if you will. Which you will.

Anyway, for the first and last time, it’s my last semester of my first time at college, which is a first that should last forever. I’m taking physics this time around, which is exciting, because I enjoy telling friends that I can’t be bothered because “I’m busy with my physics homework.” Physics has never been my strong suit. Until now.

Today is the third day of classes and I’ve already read two chapters and written 5 pages. School: Can’t live with it, can’t cheat.

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January 20th, 2002

January 20, 2002 on 11:29 pm | In Brandeis, Modern Technology

Recording with my a cappella group has, thankfully, ended. Now I’m back at school, with a new fourth housemate, a new course schedule, and just one final semester separating me from the rest of life.

All of which makes me wonder: Is my email working? Because I had to change some settings, and I’m not sure that my outgoing messages are… going out. So if you didn’t get an email from me, I emailed you, I swear, you just didn’t get it. And yes, I mean you personally.

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January 13th, 2002

January 13, 2002 on 9:03 pm | In Brandeis, Music

Every once in a while, you find yourself in a place where you stay up late, wake up early, and slowly record lots of songs with your college a cappella group.

Of course, by “you,” I mean “me.”

And when you (read: “me”) find yourself in such a place, you don’t blog very often. So there.

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A pain in the ads

January 5, 2002 on 9:39 pm | In Life Updates, Modern Technology

I’m advertising now. Advertising on the web is the way of the future. I read that in the magazine.

Click on the ads. Check out the posters. They’re cool. I even have a “store” that I created just for you, my fans. You’ll find the customized ads of neato posters over on the left.

Tomorrow, I return to Massachusetts, where it’s 40 degrees colder and has a lot fewer cacti. Then it’s two solid weeks of recording with one of the two best a cappella groups that I sing with. Recording is a mixed bag, because it’s a lot of stress, chaotic stress, but it’s also a lot of stressful chaos, too. Add to that some “AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHH,” and you have recording in a nutshell.

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December 18th, 2001

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October 3rd, 2001

The Apple I Love

Gold Lame

January 3, 2002 on 11:14 pm | In Things of Amusement to Me

I have to say, I really think my poem from 12/31/01 is pretty funny. So if you started to read it and then ran away because it was so serious-like… well, then go back and read it again. The whole way through this time. It’s funny. Trust me.

I’ve decided I want to become a Blog of Note. (See Blogger’s web page if you don’t know what I’m talking about.) I want to make it happen without e-begging. We’ll see.

I have created a quiz, an online quiz. It’s in the style of those “purity tests” that those of you who attend college, or attended college since post-1990, will so lovingly recall. It attempts to determine one’s lameness. It is a Lameness Test. I call it Am I Lame Or Not?. (That, too, is a reference my peers will get and my parents will not.) (Sadly, however, my peers don’t read this page and my parents do.)

It’s funny. Sort of.

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January 1st, 2002

January 1, 2002 on 7:18 pm | In The Lex Files, Things of Amusement to Me

This my first post of 2002. It is also my last first post of 2002. Heady stuff, no?

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End of the Year

January 1, 2002 on 2:54 am | In Funny Internet Things, Things of Amusement to Me

End of the year
End of an era
Ending, beginning
Goodbye to the year of hopes
And of fears
Of friends
And of enemies
Goodbye to the year of so much sweet sweet happiness
Happiness
That became guilt
Deep guilt
In light of later sadness
In dark of later sadness
Light and dark
Happiness and sadness
Hope and guilt and fear and dread
And optimism
For a new year is coming
A new year with new life
New friends
New laughs
New hopes
A new year which perhaps will be free
Free from wacky free-form poetry
Which always — and I do mean always –
Sucks
And which no one should write
Unless they have entered the realm of parody
Even if they start out serious for a long
Long
Long
Time…
Just to throw you off
Here comes the new year
Marching proudly
Stepping through the ticker-tape
Standing tall, clinging to memories both joyful and terrible
Striding with poise that shows faith in the future
But also hesitating while it questions whether all this tape on the ground is really 100% genuine tickered
Because if it isn’t,
Then why the hell are they calling it “ticker-tape?”
Someone is looking for a whupping
And there will be whuppings in the year ahead
You can see it in 2002’s stance
2002 will be the year of the whup
And the year of healing, from whups of old, inflicted long ago
And from all the whups that have yet to be inflicted
Some we will inflict upon ourselves
Others we will inflict upon those who write free-verse poetry
And aren’t looking to score cheap laughs
But it should be noted, 2002’s confident sauntering indicates,
That as cheap as some of the laughs may be,
At least they are not
Scatalogical
Poopie poopie poopie peepee peepee peepee
(Until now anyway)
But 2002 stands tall
And steps through the fields of “ticker”-tape and
The fields of poo
And the fields of the downtrodden
(Who should appear at least metaphorically in any good non-rhyming poem)
(And this is indeed one — just ask my friend Noam!)
(Save for the previous couplet)
But as we were saying
2002 stands tall
And steps through the fields of
Ticker-tape
Poo
Downtrodden
And nothing sticks to the soles of its shoes
The souls of its shoes
Its white sneakers are just out of the box
And not even sadness, fear, hesitation, or raw sewage can dirty them
This is a year of purity
This is a year of cleanliness, innocence, and virtue
True, we will, as we have ever done,
Find a way to scuff up the sneakers
To mess up the clothing
To toussle the hair
Or is it tussle
Who cares anymore, though, certainly not 2002
Because while 2002 stands proud and clean today
Even it knows deep down that its cleanliness will not last forever
And it’ll be damned if it’s gonna spend its maybe five minutes of innocence and cleanliness and whatnot worrying about how to spell “toussle”
But at any rate
Happy new year
We hope
But if not
Let’s at least be able to say we tried