From Point Conception to the Mexican Border...
Nathan Callahan’s subversive and thought-provoking essays offer a lively deconstruction of contemporary culture at its most profoundly absurd. The rich and powerful, the sexually challenged, the religiously restricted, dogs, dopes, dreamers, the famous and infamous all come to life as Callahan encourages listeners, from a distinctly Southern California perspective, to peer into the center of the dream and snicker.
The Stroke Thought Clots, Apraxia and Must See TV
On Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 1:55 am, my father Frank’s right hand went numb. At the time, Frank was upstairs alone in bed watching his TV favorite, Seinfeld. It was episode number 16, The Chinese Restaurant. .… more
Common as Crows My Favorite Smartest Ordinary
Crows are the smartest birds in the world. Their intelligence surpasses some primates. Think of crows as flying chimps… with feathers… and a beak.… more
The Future of Freeway Communication Report Drunk Drivers, On Sale Now
Are you texting while you're driving on the freeway? Be sure to watch the new Amber Alert programming.… more
Too Much Apparatus In a Brave New Improved World
What’s the connection between REI and Aldous Huxley? Did the author of Brave New World wear a Primal Warrior dayglow spandex cycling jersey? Did he cross-Country ski? Or was it something more insidious?… more
Travel Narrows the Mind From Here to There
"They change the sky, not their soul, who run across the sea," said Horace, the Roman lyric poet. Think about where you are right now, he might have added. Do you want to leave? Do you want to see more of the macro-geographic world, and less of where you call home? Do you think that travel broadens your perspective? Don’t. Travel narrows the mind.
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Nuclear Plume Paranoia AMA Approved Radiation
I’m recording this message now because when you hear it, we’ll all be dead. The iodine supplements won’t be enough to counteract the harsh dosage of radiation we’ve absorbed. Or maybe not.
It’s been over a year since radiation overdrive. I’m not talking about the one at Fukushimi Daiichi. I’m talking about the one at Irvine’s Hoag hospital… in my gut.
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Smoke Free, At Last Second-Hand Modern Living with Carcinogens
I come from a smoke-free family. I’m not a smoker. My parents never smoked and neither did their parents… smoke tobacco. But that didn’t prevent us from being smoke tolerant. As long as we were in a well-ventilated area, we never made a fuss about the carcinogens we may have breathed in from the smoke of others. … more
Junk Calls for Angels Southern California Telephone Etiquette
I’m in Costa Mesa on Placentia near The Detroit Bar without my car. It’s in the shop — clutch problems. So I’m at a stop waiting for a bus to arrive. Perfect. I brought a book. The Angel Esmeralda is calling me. I’m reading when a homeless man with a black plastic sack filled with cans shows up. … more
The Safety Net Safety Net Opening Remarks at the Metaphor Debate
“Pork barrel,” “sacrificial lamb,” “witch hunt,” “blank check.” No doubt, we are entering the critical season of political metaphor where expressions like these and others — “straw man” and “sacred cow” — take on added weight. Rather than simply shorthand expressions for you, as politicians, to avoid answering a question with any specificity, these metaphors can, at this time in the political calendar, help shape a campaign. For example, recently the image of “safety net” was invoked by one of you on the stage tonight — Mitt Romney. … more
Monster Food Truck Rally Where Bad Ideas Go to Die
Let others quarrel about street food licenses, health permits and the accuracy of the word “gourmet” in gourmet food truck, I’ve looked into the glaring headlights of free range capitalism and they’re blinding. If I’m desperate enough to buy it, the market will supply it. Forget about how my desires effect and reflect on the real world. As long as I have a Vietnamese slider, life (in the economy) is good. The future rolls out from there. … more
The Western Gate How the SoCal Byte Got Its Name
From Point Conception to the Mexican border, the coast shears in. Named after the Mission of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the Point’s early residents — the Chumash — thought of their home as the "Western Gate," where the souls of the dead found passage to paradise. We live south of paradise, below the Cape of California. In the bight … more
Duck and Cover The Culture War Fetal Position
To better understand America’s culture war, a full consideration of Bert the Turtle is essential. Bert, by the way, starred in the 1951 United States Civil Defense film, Duck and Cover — a black and white animated American pop culture respond to the Soviet Union’s first atomic bomb test in August of 1949. … more
