Derek Smalls

When I pry myself from listening to Air America Radio, I tune into Harry Shearer's weekly LeShow. Having listened to the hour-long show for now more than a decade, I wanted to state for the record how entertaining and prescient LeShow has remained over the years. Strange, but probably more than anyone else syndicated by the staid and annoying NPR, Shearer has done the yeoman's job of original journalism and media criticism in what appears as a one-man operation (by a comedian no less) to the casual listener.

As things get wierder in the world, LeShow has kept pace. Lately, Shearer has discussed energy topics more frequently than in the past, but still with the same engagingly snarky slant -- other than AAR and Democracy Now!, the only broadcast venue where I hear about the revolving corporate door for Bush oil cronies/political appointees. (One of the recent ongoing topics revolved around the extreme and escalating price of the typical airport banana. Shades of things to come?) And for media wonks, Shearer's occasional broadcasting of snooped satellite feeds serve as an informative service as well as works of art on their own terms.

Now that Shearer has a regular blog at The Huffington Post, I can get a more frequent dose of understanding the way of the media. Dang it, that's why I like blogs so much -- Shearer's been doing it for more than 20 years! It just took everyone else this amount of time to find a more accessible (for the ordinary person) communication medium to work with.

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Also, check out James Kunstler on Air America's Ring of Fire show from last Saturday June 4 at the America Place audio archives.