Mantan Moreland and You're Out of Luck

I recently watched "You're Out Of Luck" (1941) one of the eight films Frankie Darro and Mantan Moreland did for Monogram Pictures. As I've noted before in my review of "The Irish Luck," these films aren't great art, but they're definitely entertaining.

Darro and Moreland played virtually the same roles in each film. Darro was the young, impulsive eager beaver ready to leap headlong into trouble, while Moreland was the more cautious and practical -- and definitely wanted to avoid trouble at all costs.

Sure, it's the same relationship Mel Gibson and Danny Glover play in the "Lethal Weapon" franchise but there's a difference. In the early 1940's it was rare for an African-American to be an equal partner to a white man -- even on film.

In the movie , elevator operator Frankie O'Reilly (Darro) and janitor/handyman Jeff Jefferson (Moreland) work at the Carlton Arms hotel, where they witness the murder of a gangster. Frankie's brother, the police detective assigned to the case, asked Frankie to help keep any eye on some of the suspects in the hotel. And of course, Frankie not only agrees but also volunteers Jefferson's help.

Mantan was rumored to ad-lib many of his lines and was actually a big enough star to get away with it. In this first audio clip, Jefferson protests always being dragged into another mess. But listen carefully to what Mantan actually says. It sounds to me like a very subtle commentary on the role he was forced to play. (And is he referencing "King of the Zombies" which he also starred in the same year?)

You're Out of Luck - Jeff's complaint

Mantan Moreland was an accomplished stand-up comedian with an impeccable sense of timing. In this next scene, Frankie tries to gather more clues by bluffing. His brother's been demoted from detective for various setbacks in the case, and Frankie wants to help. Jeff has his own opinion about what's going on.

You're Out of Luck - Jeff's observation

I'm not saying that a film as slight as "You're Out of Luck" is worthy of serious post-modern analysis. But, as always, Moreland's performance gives this breezy little mystery just enough substance to make it worth watching even today.

- Ralph

Jupiter's Message

Just a quick observation today about Jupiter's new spot. Current thought is leaning towards a comet strike that's left a blast site about the size of the Earth.

We have a hard time conceiving of such sizes, but consider this: what if it had hit the Earth instead? There's plenty of documentation that we've been hit by some pretty hefty debris in the past, and the possibility of it happening in the future isn't an "if" but a "when."

Wondering why we need to go into space? Look at Jupiter. And check out the Pacific Ocean-sized scar left from the last impact in 1994.

As Robert Heinlein said, "The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in."

And the universe just keeps chucking rocks in our direction.

- Ralph

Nigerian 419 revisited

Ken has a lot of fun using Nigerian 419 scammers as unwitting collaborators for some impromptu literary efforts. But he's fully aware of the dangers that such spammers represent and takes appropriate precautions.

Our last post was about Ken's latest spoof, and shortly after that results of a survey by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG) came to my attention. In our last post we made two assumptions that apparently aren't true.

1) Most people are familiar with the Nigerian 419 scam, and would never fall for it.
2) Most people are aware of the dangers of spamming.

According to the survey, 17% said they responded by mistake. OK, we all make them. But look at the other figures: 13% didn't know why they responded. Worse, 13% sent a note back ( primarily to complain and ask to be removed from the list). Of course, they weren't aware that by responding, they confirmed that their email address was real, making it valuable as resell item to other spammers.

Almost as incredible were the 12% that admitted they were interested in the products. I don't even know where to start. But keep that stat in mind as you clean out your inbox of emails for "V!agra" "Hot women in your area" and of course, missives involving Nigerian Ministers of the Interior.

And finally, there was a significant percentage that clicked on the links "just to see what would happen." Wow. It's sort of like seeing a land mine and stepping on it anyway just to see what would happen.

Apparently, there's still a lot of ignorance out there. So let's issue a disclaimer for Ken's Nigerian hijinx. Unless you really know what you're doing, do not try this at home. Especially if you click on things just to see what happens. People do get sucked into the scam, and many of them do lose all their money. Our goal is to show the scam for what it is by pointing out the absurdity of the claims.

But please: leave this kind of thing to Roy Rogers, Clark Kent, Boris Karloff and the others who know what they're doing.

- Ralph

Day 100 of the WJMA Podwatch.

Where's Ken? Happy Trails to Nigeria

Well, Ken's done it again. He's engaged in a lively correspondence with another Nigerian 419 scammer. In the past, he's spun scammers along with a dizzying cast of characters surrounding Clark Kent and Kent Enterprises, and a would-be dollar chopper's wearying experience with Boris Karloff.

Ken's latest story only runs for about two weeks. Mr. Smith Zuma bailed before things got really interesting.

Even though it's a torso rather than a completed work, I still think it's a great read. Mr. Zuma has the good fortune to contact Roy Rogers, who owns a sprawling ranch and mining operation in Tombstone, Arizona. Ken manages to work in references to Gene Autry, and his 1935 serial, "The Phantom Empire."

I think Ken does a much better job with documents then Mr. Zuma, and it's too bad our friend didn't pay more attention to the details in Roy's responses.

This should have gone on for at least another two weeks, especially with the introduction of Mr. Roger's personal secretary, who -- to protect her promised 5% -- is telling Mr. Zuma how to manipulate our somewhat eccentric and gullible mark.

Here's the entertaining, yet incomplete, saga of Mr. Smith Zuma.

Smith Zuma PDF

- Ralph

Day 100 of the WJMA Podwatch. (I feel like we ought to mark this occasion in some fashion. Cake, perhaps?)

WTJU and the World Wide Web

For me, one of the takeaways from the recent Public Radio Development and Marketing Conference was the increasing importance of the online audience. Granted, we're still at the "analog dollars/digital pennies" stage, but as the Jacobs Media Study shows, online audiences are growing.

And that's great news for WTJU, the station I volunteer for. Charlottesville, Virginia's blessed with a disproportional number of non-commercial radio stations. There's the powerhouse, WVTF (based in Roanoke) with the traditional NPR news/classical music mix. To a lesser extent, there's also WMRA (from Harrisonburg), with syndicated NPR news/talk. WNRN provides alternative rock, and other musical genres that appeal to the student population and the AAA public radio listener.

WTJU delivers a unique blend of several different formats. Although some of our programming is similar to that offered by the other stations, in my opinion WTJU provides richer, deeper content. Serious listeners can appreciate the difference -- and that's why I'm excited about growing our online audience.

WNRN maintains a tightly controlled playlist that leans toward the more popular and accessible artists of the genres they play. It's a successful strategy -- they've built a large audience over the years. But what about the artists that have something to say but aren't so mainstream? WTJU.

WVTF and WMRA air classical music, but it's designed for easy listening. Soothing melodies, excerpted movements, mainly classical and romantic composers (ca. 1730-1890), etc. It's not uncommon programming for public radio stations, and again, it works. Both stations have an audience. But what if you want to hear music of the renaissance, or something by a living composer, or a Maria Callas aria? WTJU.

And the same's true for jazz, and folk, and even world music.

Are there enough listeners within the WTJU coverage area to support this kind of in-depth eclectic programming? I think so, but it's a finite number. There's only so many people that can live within our listening area, and it's not likely the FCC will let us expand our signal.

But that's not true online. Through the Internet we could potentially reach every single person in the world who's passionate about Milt Jackson, or the Dixie Beeliners, or Steve Reich. And the early signs show we're making a start.

When I'm on the air, I send out updates about my program, always using http://cli.gs/WTJU as the URL for the audio stream. Cli.gs is a service that allows the creation of short, trackable redirects, so I'm able to see who's clicking on the link and from where.

The past two shows have brought in about 100 online listeners (we can currently accommodate 60 at a time). Most are from the U.S., but I've also had online listeners from Canada, France, Belgium, Sweden, Slovinia, and -- just this week -- Japan.

Online is where listeners (even local ones) are moving to, and it's where we have the best chance to grow. Because 200 stations streaming "Morning Edition" sort of cancel each other out (especially when the listener can access it directly from NPR). But a station streaming programming heard no where else? That's really where it's at.

Can't wait to see next week's stats!

- Ralph

Day 98 of the WJMA Podwatch.