New World Notes News
Volume 2, Number 13 -- March 31, 2009
This week in New World Notes, #57 -- March 31 & April 3:
"Feed the Naked":
Comedian Jimmy Tingle
A surprising amount of humor is heard on New World Notes. I'm as surprised as anybody. On the one hand, certain comedians deliver astute social and political commentary (George Carlin, Stephen Colbert). On the other hand, certain social/political commentators and activists sometimes are very funny.
This second group, larger than the first, includes Medea Benjamin, John Pilger, Michael Parenti, Kathy Kelly, Molly Ivins, Jello Biafra, and singer/songwriter Roy Zimmerman--to name only a handful of voices that have apppeared on the show so far. And James Howard Kunstler (next week) and Jeremy Scahill (the week after that).
As Monty Python used to say . . . before serving up a generous helping of more-of-the-same . . . And Now For Something Completely Different!
This week's radio show comprises an interview with stand-up comedian Jimmy Tingle intercut with selections from his recent CD, Jimmy Tingle for President (see http://www.jimmytingle.com/).
Tingle is a Boston-area institution--like Legal Seafood but better looking. He's known nationally and abroad, thanks to appearances in films and TV. He served a 2-season stint as the humorous commentator on CBS's 60 Minutes II.
I didn't know there was a 60 Minutes II, but these oversights happen when you deep-six the TV set. Alas, unlike Utah Phillips, I didn't have the wit to blast the damned thing to Kingdom Come with a 12-gauge shotgun. I assume he used a 12-gauge. It doesn't really matter. Even a .410 would do the trick, I should think. I'm just speculating, of course.
I would have given the program a more creative name, though . . . like Another 60 Minutes . . . or Son of 60 Minutes . . . or maybe 38 Minutes Plus Commercials.
Jimmy Tingle is a self-confessed, card-carrying Roman Catholic Massachusetts Liberal Democrat (RCMLD--pronounced "rice-mold"). Could he possibly be funny?
I mean, look at fellow RCMLD John Kerry. There was a laugh riot in 2004! How about Michael Dukakis? OK, maybe he was Greek Orthodox, but still. . . . Face it: the Democrats nominated Kerry just to make Al Gore look alive by comparison.
In any case, as Lance Itoh was always saying, "You be the judge!" No, he isn't the bicycle racer. Think back. . . .
Personally, I like him. Tingle, that is, not Itoh.
Entertaining the troops: Tingle on the picket line in Cambridge, MA,
during the Writers Guild strike, December 2007
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern) . . .
- Tuesdays, Noon to 12:30 PM, WWUH-FM 91.3 (West Hartford, CT) & http://wwuh.org/
- Fridays, 7:30 to 8:00 AM, WHUS-FM 91.7 (Storrs, CT) & http://www.whus.org/
- Saturdays, 7:00-7:30 PM, KRFP-FM 92.5, Radio Free Moscow (Moscow, ID) & http://www.radiofreemoscow.com/
- Any time: Listen to or download any installment ... or subscribe to a podcast ... at A-Infos Radio Project: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php?op=result&action=series&series=New%20World%20Notes/
Soon to Come -- Date of first scheduled broadcast [on WWUH] listed:
- April 7 -- Can Technology Save Us?
- April 14 -- Independent Journalism & Alternative Media: Jeremy Scahill
- April 21 -- Men and War
Poster by Ricardo Levins Morales (courtesy
Northland Poster Collective)
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