Travel Blogging

Im in Indiana! Hooray!

I got kind of a late start today. I woke up at eight, turned off my alarm and promptly slept for an additional two hours or so. Not too fantastic. But I made it to the bank, rented the apt., and grabbed lunch at Ahmos before hopping in my car and speeding off into the sunset.
I started traveling in earnest at around 12:40pm, and made it in at 5:30 which isn't too bad considering that I stopped for a while in Ft. Wayne. By that time I was pretty cheesed about not having my tunes in the truck. So after pooping and eating at Arby's, I stopped in real quick to buy a $20 FM transmitter for the iPod. The dang thing is completely ridiculous. It only broadcasts on four stations, all of which are very close to each other, but I suppose it works. The ridiculous thing is that it's about the size of a regulation hockey puck and plugs directly into the iPod. If I were them, I would not have included a picture of the device in action. But they did. And it did make me rather disheartened.
Buying the transmitter was pretty essential by that point, because about an hour after Ft. Wayne, all the decent radio disappears and you're on your own. For the return trip, I'll probably just run down the AAA batteries in the puck and take my chances once I can get in range of something not playing an eclectic mix of 70's crap-rock.

There is something very wrong with American radio. I believe earnestly that it has not changed an iota since 1975. With the exception of Christian stations and "ALTERNATIVE" (read: crappy) stations it's pretty much just Stevie Nix and Boston all the time (with a little Journey thrown in just to make sure you get every last bit of food out of your stomach).
Guess who now knows all the words to 'Jungle Love?' Ans: Me!

What's really weird is that the production of the shows still sounds awful. It's the same kind of "wacky" DJ voices, and all the ads sound like low-budget affairs recorded in mom's bathroom. Its especially sad because really interesting music radio, of the variety that used to be featured on WDET, is dead. Which is awful, because it was that station that introduced me to The Sonic Youth, Calexico, The Pixies, and my beloved fav-band Wilco.
NPR is pretty much setting the standard for quality radio production - and why it's not being followed is simply beyond me.

Enough about music - I am here in Indiana, so posting will officially be dubbed "IRREGULAR." Once I return to Ahn Ahba, with it's many fruits and WiFi,I'll get back on schedule.
Im going to try to make dinner tomorrow. Pray for my dear grandmother.