Wednesday oddems: eyman meets pieman; bogged-down jim leads the pack; ron, ron, don & no john; hosts go to battle; hint lives!

~~Eyman failed, failed, failed to get his opportunistic anti-gay rights initiative on the Nov. ballot. Right wing talk radio was luke warm about this. Evangelicals felt he jumped in and stole the ball before they'd even decided how to play it. For once, we loved hearing from former State GOP Chair, Chris Vance. He told the PI's Neil Modie: "Now he's coming in and hijacking issues and shoving his way into an issue because it's become a business for him. It's how he gets paid," Vance said. "There will be no end to Tim Eyman as long as people are willing to send him money ... it's hurting the legitimate perception of the initiative process. When you've got a clown out there in a Darth Vader suit lying to the press and things like that, it's not good for the initiative and referendum process."

~~Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome, but Ron & Don (KIRO m-f 4-7p) are squirreling their way into our hearts. The schtick is a tag team of Ron, the Big Dumb Shit & Don, the Loveable Fuck-up. (It may be the other way around, but whatever) it's a tried and true formula and we're finding our finger lingering longer on the KIRO button at that time o' day, despite we're categorically opposed to even casual testosterone use. Bet we're not the only ones who get guilty pleasure out of listening to those guys...

~~What does blog success look like? A way ours does is that if you google, "six pack pics no underwear" you'll get to BlatherWatch.

Battle of the Talk Show Hosts Redux, June 14th, 7p-9p at Everett Events Center. Tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the door the night of the event. Doors open at 5pm. The players have sure changed since the last one in September. Lou Pate, Mike Webb, and Allan Prell will be missing- add Ron Reagan, and Ron & Don. If they had Proccacino, it'd be Ron, Ron, Don & John, which would be way too cute, and besides, somebody's gotta run the station. As it is, they're short on conservatives, Dori Monson (m-f, 1-4p) is the only one- can't they get Sytman & Boze to come over and stick their head on the block? (The costumes, the make-up and the obsession with skin, teeth, and hair typify radio talent's legendary insecurity about their looks. The old TV slam that someone "has the looks for radio" runs deep within these homely, loudmouthed, deeply-troubled egotists. There's that old dichotomy of being "the piece of shit the world revolves around.") Putting them onstage in front of their fans is a traumatic occasion and many hours are spent not only in front of the mirror, but also in therapy sessions both before and after these events- BlatherWatch, 9.15.2005).

~~Podcasting Liberally, that wicked, drunken liberal free-for-all recorded Tuesdays at the Montlake Alehouse at Drinking Liberally, the weekly progressive net-rutting was especially wonderful tonight. It was Fag Night in celebration of the failed attempt to kill the hard-won gay rights bill. Sitting at the table hosted by an ebullient Goldstein were some ace-boom local poofters trying to force their lifestyles on us: The Stranger Editor Dan Savage, Rep. (soon to be Sen.) Ed Murray, and Stranger reporter, Eli Saunders. (Murray shepherded the bill through the long, long, legislative night). Also regulars Molly Martin, Will Kelley-Kamp and Carl Ballard. Sometimes these are plodcasts, but not tonight- everyone' was up, happy, and gay; neeners were had by all. (Note to Stefan and Dori Monson: you better listen to this and report who didn't say, "fuck.") Listen here. It's fun and funny, insightful and inciteful.[UPDATE: KEEP CHECKING PODCASTING LIBERALLY- THEY PROMISE TO GET THE PODCAST UP FORTHWITH).

~~We're still hearing buzz about David Goldstein's Big Night Sunday trying his wings (and flapping his jaws) on his first attempt at talk hosting on KIRO. Lot's of radio folks were listening as it turns out. We've heard from Fisher insiders that his name came up for a try on the 'Tators (KOMO m-f, 10a-12p) when Ken Schram is out. People who know what they're talking about, but have absolutely nothing say about it, opine he should be the morning guy on Air America's KPTK- if they had one...which they probably won't.

~~Another good sign for Goldstein is that the Seattle Times after all these years is finally publishing the name of his blog which is Horsesass.org. Of course, the PI would have published it even if it were called "hairy muthafuckas."

~~More glory with which former KIRO talk host, Rep. Jim McDermott has covered himself: He's leading the Washington delegation in junket mileage, according to a PI story which quotes the Center for Public Integrity. Is it too late to get a good Democrat to run against the old dodger? A candidate, if he or she had the cajones could make a run, rack up 30-44% against him, and be in good shape for a run in two years; that according to a long time Seattle political newsie. If any D had the cajones, that is. Icons are a dime a dozen these days- let's get us a new one.

~~John Hinterberger is not dead. The former talk host, and longtime Seattle reporter and restaurant critic from the now-deceased KINGAM radio 1090, was termed "late" in a piece in the Seattle Sunday paper. Our friend, Nancy Leson, now sitting in the Hinterberger Restaurant Critic Chair at the Times, (and doing such a better job of it, it's now called the Leson Restaurant Critic Chair) writes, "It was an ERROR (a PI error, I might add: it appeared in their Sunday OP-ED page in our paper). When I saw it, I called him at home and asked whether 'the rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.'We had a good laugh."

~~Mutterings around radio town have Dave Ross going to CBS full-time when his contract is up in 2007.Charles Osgood, they say, is coming to the end of his long, distinguished career and "Dave is the heir apparent at CBS. And Dave's parents who live on Long Island are getting up there in years..."

~~Arguments will be heard on Thursday for San Juan County v. No New Gas Tax, before the Washington Supreme Court. This after a Thurston judge ruled last year that KVI's John Carlson, and Kirby Wilbur's wall-to-wall blanketing of their airwaves for the eventually defeated anti-gas tax initiative, I-912 was illegal campaigning and made Fisher Brodcasting pay for the time. The company, and Carlson and Wilbur are claiming this is a 1st Amendment issue and have briefs from the ACLU, the libertarian Cato Institute, the State Association of Broadcasters, and of course the Republican Central Committee's toilet brush, the Building Industry Association of Washington. We disagreed. Stay tuned, we'll keep you up on the court doings.

~~I can’t stand watching history roll right over us. It’s like they’re asking you to bend over, put your head in the sand, and put a flag in your ass. ~Janeane Garofalo

Comments

[shadow]

Chris Vance comes out of the woodwork now that Eyman has failed to get the signatures he needed. "It's become a business for him. It's how he gets paid."

Well duhhh! It took him how many years to figure that out??? He doesn't have the cajones to say anything against Eyman before he started gathering signatures.

[chris]

It's because they are scum. BTW. when Timbo was walking around Olympia in that Darth Vader outfit, I wanted to yell out, "Hey, that looks totally gay!"

[sparky]

you mean you didnt??? awwwwwwwwwwwww

[Fremont]

Wow, Bla'M, making Google is like making the cover of McCall's! And I heard your blathervoice on the DL podcast! Hopefully, CBS won't make YOU a Ross-ian offer....

[Fremont]

6bnhmb

[joanie]

It is fun hearing these inside republicans bickering . . . Chris Vance and Tim Eyman starring in "The Bickersons."