And he didn't even know why.

A woman came to see me yesterday at my office. That's not unheard of in itself, but she had a bone to pick with me.

I wish I could have spent more time with her, but since it was deadline day, I didn't have the time. I invited her to return today or Friday, but she refused.

She took issue with a couple of lines in a previous issue of Connect Statesboro that referenced her husband in a rather oblique way. The gentleman's been referenced before, and some pretty stinging criticism was leveled at him a while back.

I guess she didn't read those issues.

Apparently she and her sons had picked up a copy of Connect at a local restaurant, and she was dismayed to see some of the thoughts - written in an opinion column, mind you - about her hubby.

That's fine. I don't blame her for disagreeing, and she did have a point that her sons might not like reading negative stuff about their dad. Nonetheless, he's a very public figure. Others have said far worse things about him. None of that should affect their love for their father - if my dad was on the front page of the New York Times as a pedophile, I'd still love him.

Would'nt necessarily endorse his behavior, but he's dad. Gotta love the dad. And that's how it is for public figures - the fame (and huge paycheck) means that you've got to put up with some crap that Joe Sixpack won't ever have to face.

Still, I'm here to extend the olive branch. I spoke with the writer of the piece in question, and told him to pursue an interview with the gentleman, and even with he and his wife if they're so inclined.

If the two want to set the record straight, here's their chance, especially noting how recalcitrant they've been to respond to media requests. I'll let them sit down, have their say, and answer some of the questions that have been swirling around.

Should they take me up on it, it'll be in next week's Connect.

(humming) Stir it up...

My column of two weeks ago about WVGS 91.9 fm, GSU's campus radio station, seems to have ruffled some feathers.

If you haven't read the column, click on the link above. It's okay, we'll wait for you to come back here.

A small war of words started, centered around Facebook.com, of all places. Never one to shrink from a challenge, I've been clarifying my thoughts for folks.

Check here. Or here. Maybe here, too. I also heard that the kids on their morning show were talking smack about me. It'd be great if they'd write honest-to-God letters to the editor (or even straight-up e-mails) that we could publish, but I guess this latest generation doesn't do that kind of thing.

I got a Facebook message from a former WVGS staffer. With her permission, here's her message and my response:

From:	Cortney Johns
To:	Jake Hallman
Subject:	WVGS
Message:	seriously do you have to hate wvgs so much? Im not even there anymore and it drives me crazy that you care so much to write as much negative stuff as you possibly can about it. Just to let you know, ive had a bad taste in my mouth about you the first time i met you at the hostage thing and you acted all nice to my face then wrote such horrible things about what i was doing there inthe next paper. That wasnt cool. Advice to you, give it up, GSU is not going to have a station like the 1970's anymore. This is what the professors want and thats what goes. Open your own station and play what YOU want to hear please so we dont have to hear you bitchin anymore! Oh, even it is negative your still giving us publicity so thanks for that. thanks, Cortney X Buzz employee :) and this is only my opinion not anyone elses.

And my response:

02.12.07 11:36am

Jake:

Sorry about the hostage thing. Over the past year I've learned that when I need to be a bastard, I need to just come out and be a bastard, not sugar-coat it. To be honest, though, you always did strike me as one of the talented WVGS people. Hope you're doing something in the field now. My writing style tends to be more sledgehammer than scalpel. I love WVGS — really, I do. That place made more college memories for me than damn near anywhere else except for Foy, where I had all my classes. That's why I can't stand to see it become 99X-lite. In my latest Connect piece, I tried to present some steps to help the station. I don't want to see it disappear, but I firmly believe it can be much more than it is right now. And becoming something more is doubly important right now — when I came up through the DJ ranks and was station manager, we didn't have to compete with iPods and satellite radio. Seems like a million years ago, but it wasn't even a decade. WVGS is going to have to offer the listener something new, some compelling reason to tune in. That reason should be that WVGS will introduce them to new music they'll like, good stuff that they won't ever hear on other stations, or won't hear on other stations for months. Everybody wants to be part of the in-the-know crowd and feel like they're ahead of the curve, and WVGS can leverage itself to use that particular quirk of human psychology. But, as you said, this is what the professors want. That's why I and several others vehemently opposed the changeover of the station to the comm arts department. It feels like WVGS lost its soul in that transition. Thanks for writing. Seriously. In fact, the above is probably what the column should have been. If it's all right with you, I'd like to post your message, my respose, and whatever your response may be on the Connect blog at connectstatesboro.blogspot.com. If it's not cool for me to use your message (and believe me, I'd understand), I'll just post the guts of my response, edited a bit for the world at large. Again, thanks for writing. If you've spoken with anyone else who thinks I should die in a fire, let them know that we'll gladly print any "letters to the editor" they send, and I'd be happy to open up a dialogue with them.

Let me know your thoughts. As soon as I find out what the morning DJs were saying about me, I plan to make an unannounced visit to one of their shows.

Lovin' the job...

Some days I'm glad that I work where I work. There are some damned interesting folks running around this building.

Here's one of the soda machines out back - it's a little finicky, and usually covered with notes from folks who've lost money in it. I don't know if they ever get the refunds they crave. (click to enlarge the photo)



Today, when I got my customary Diet Coke, I noticed an entirely new note on it. (Again, click for the bigger version)




There's a killer nickel named "Bob" running around out there. Be careful, y'all.

Make sure it's popular

I'm a huge fan of Aqua Teen Hunger Force on Adult Swim. Been watching it for years. Laugh out loud at it.

However, I recognize that even though the show's pretty popular among a small, nerdlike demographic, it's not crossed over like, say, The Simpsons or Family Guy.

You've probably heard about this by now. A couple of guerilla marketers put up small lighted billboards featuring an ATHF character throughout Boston, effectively shutting down the town over terrorism fears. Why?

1) Because though the Mooninites are hilarious, they're definitely not mainstream. Nobody knows who the little guy giving them the finger is.

and more importantly,

2) Because we Americans have been completely wussified (not my original choice of words, but hey, this is an "official" blog). Ooooh, something that looks like a Lite Brite on a wall! IT MIGHT BE A BOMB! EVERYBODY PANIC! TERRORISM!

Get a grip people, seriously. Take a lesson from the Israelis, who live with things blowing up all the time, but refuse to lose their collective heads over it.

I've been wanting to write this paragraph for the longest time:

I grew up during the last throes of the Cold War. Even at 8 years old I and all of my friends knew the Russians had enough nukes pointed at us to wipe out everybody in the nation. We, likewise, did the same to them. But y'know what? This country never showed the collective fear that we have since Sept. 11. If this country suddenly is more scared of a few ill-educated religious fanatics who might cause some minor damage (in the grand scheme of things) than we were over the Soviets who could have frackin' killed us all, then we all need to start dressing in pink and sipping lattes.

And when Ignignot flipping the bird makes Boston freak out, I think that we may just be the wussiest nation of all.