For the record, Lydon’s not bolting from Open Source and Open Source isn’t bolting from public radio. As many of you know, since UMass Lowell stopped funding Open Source at the end of the year, we’ve been talking with lots of possible partners and underwriters. We’ll keep you posted.
Chris emailed us a story from The San Jose Mercury News last night, describing a dinner David Halberstam attended the night before he died. He was with writer Mark Danner, Orville Schell, dean of Berkeley’s graduate school of journalism, and writer and NPR documentarian Sandy Tolan. The story said they closed down Chez Panisse in Berkeley discussing the similarities between the Vietnam War and the current quagmire in Iraq. “No one wanted to leave,” Schell recalled. “It was kind of like the last supper.”
We’re planning to remember Halberstam tonight and continue the dinner party conversation with Schell, Danner and Tolan. Any questions for them?
This will sound really stupid — I met David Halberstam once. He asked me to ship some books to him on Nantucket Island. I asked him for his name. Very quietly, he said, “David Halberstam.” I felt like the biggest idiot on the face of the earth. My face was flaming. I said, “I’m so sorry. I knew you looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember who you were.” Again, quietly, he said, “That’s alright.” He gave me his information and said goodbye. The thing is, ever since that time, which was about five years ago, whenever I wondered if it was possible for me to have a partner at my age, whenever I imagined him, I always thought, “someone like David Halberstam.”
Mary, this story raises the fascinating question, “Is there some half-completed Halberstam manuscript out there on the Iraq war?” (“The Most Experienced But Mediocre-est”? “The Dull and the Dimmest”?) perhaps? It seems like it would be a hard topic for him to avoid.
Hmmmm…out of curiosity, what stirred the above debunked Boston Globe story? Please forgive my prying, but if this rumor’s been published in a major paper, shouldn’t it be answered and clarified?
Halberstam a memory going back to childhood and The Best and the Brightest, a fine book and eerily resonant phrase. Maybe your guests could reconstruct the parallels between Vietnam and Iraq bruited about that fateful evening at Chez Panisse?
It sounds like mynocturama, and maybe others, had a similar reaction to this rumor as I did. With no disrespect at all, because I would definitely wish only the best for Chris (and crew), I still felt almost betrayed as I read the paper (online). Reflecting on the emotion of my reaction I thought of the blog posts quoted on the air coming from people in places I will never visit, the “listener suggested shows,” the intermittent-daily reports from Mary, “Hiiiii, this is Brendan, Blogger in Chief,” and the semi-regulars we’ve been introudced to on the show. All together, they show that the model is working, and a community is being formed. Bigger isn’t always better; constant improvement is. And constant improvement–and innovation–are hallmarks of my favorite radio-internet experience.
(And I confess that I am not a financial supporter, so call me a hypocrite if you wish!)
Zeke, as long as you keep contributing your writing, no one will call you a hypocrite in these offices.
Rest assured that Chris and Mary wouldn’t negotiate any deal that would mean the end of this baby.
Zeke, you’re right: the model is working and a community is being formed, and it’s growing more vital every day thanks to you and lots of others. Fear not. We’re all in this together.