#MaxFunDay 2012
It’s been a very long time since I owned a TV. In the good ol’ days, that meant that nearly all of my entertainment and news came straight out of the radio, in my case, WNYC. (I’m talking like, the pre-Hulu, pre-Netflix streaming days, if you can recall such a thing.) I downloaded episodes of This American Life via Audible. My options were … limited. Some nights, I found myself listening to Danny Stiles, despite my irrational hatred for him. I call these “the dark ages.”
Then, sometime around 2007, I decided to check out MaximumFun.org after hearing The Sound of Young America on WNYC. I listened to Jordan, Jesse, Go! It was really weird and goofy, but hell, it was still better than listening to Danny Stiles.
Since then, I’ve watched in awe as Jesse Thorn has grown his old college radio show into a new media empire. I’ve watched The Sound of Young America evolve into the excellent Bullseye. I never miss an episode of Jordan, Jesse, Go! I’m thrilled with the new programming he continues to add, most recently The Memory Palace and RISK! And, I can feel satisfied that I too, am a part of this community via my monthly contributions.
But today is #MxFunDay, and Jesse Thorn doesn’t care about my money today, he cares about inspiring 1,000 new listeners to become contributors. So if you listen to even one MaxFun program, just that one time and you didn’t think it was terrible, I’m asking you to give. Because when you give, you give artists and creatives the opportunity to take risks and try something new. Also, when you join today, MaxFun will donate meals to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank for every new member. Come on, don’t make me Ira Glass guilt trip you here.
But #MaxFunDay is bigger than me, and bigger than Jesse Thorn, and bigger even than all the sexual things I’d like to do to Jordan Morris’s springy locks; this is about you and your commitment to independent media. Even if you are not a member of MaxFun Nation, please take a moment today to consider all of the independent media you consume and whether you are doing what you can to support the people who make the things you love.
Here’s the link again to become a member of Maximum Fun: Join
Don't be scared. It's over
I’m starting to think that I’ve done more harm than good with this spam. Probably shouldn’t have tagged all of them with MaxFunDay. I hope I didn’t scare off any new donors or make anyone upset :( Anything I said that sounded mean was meant in good fun. My writing isn’t great and I don’t know if everything read as it should have.
Finally, a word from my oddly twisted heart:
Friends, you should listen to MaxFun. If you already listen, you should donate to MaxFun. I do both because…well, have you looked at the rest of my entries tonight?! This is a hardworking bunch of folks who love what they do and love to share it with the world. If not for donations from appreciative listeners, there’s a real good chance they would no longer exist.
And I know that my life would be a lot less colorful, and a little more lonely, without them.
If you think that’s pathetic, please cram it.
Basset hound to follow. Thanks for putting up with me.
