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October 22, 2005
Pump up the volume
We're on a migration route. We're not destination but in-transit station. Migrating birds get down from Russia over to the coast of Africa and take a break around here for food and rest. They love such places as the Lentini's Biviere (a small lake) and Vendicari (a pond system and protected oasis). This morning while a bit out of town I got into a sudden eclipse of a few minutes when what looked like tens of thousands of these birds were moving southward like a giant cloud in slow waving. And no dead bodies. Let's hope the Hungarian antidote makes here soon.
Memory Serves: In Gozo, an Island in the pelagos of Malta, in Victoria, they have a Bus Terminal Station surrounded by trees. The reason why the locals will laugh at the tourists standing by in waiting is the trees are heavily infested with pigeons. And the "dropping", say that in English please, is abundant, a light rain. What they've done so far is to put patches of metal net on some areas so that the "dropping" gets really fine. For those stubborn on American-English, dropping is bird poo.
Do you remember Spike Lee? When he was not on valium and gave us "Do The Right Thing"? Like everything else, boomboxes are back. They're discreet for now, kinda shy, white, wisely sized and take a CD or an MP3 plate but they're back. From Bang & Olufsen and Beverly Hills to Sharp and Panasonic and the golden Ghetto blasters years, set for a loud returning. If a bird comes diving over you do not hesitate to pump up the volume with the latest Madonna. Chances are this may be more effective than prayers. I use my pretty big speaker on the Sony phone to broadcast for personal use but you may look at your flea market for some huge clunky piece of decor to wow visitors.
Precisely when the term boombox was coined is not known. Dep. stores such as Sears and K-Mart began used it in their marketing as early as 1983. Merriam-Webster pins it at 1981, and defines the boom box as "a large portable radio and often tape player with two attached speakers". Here a retrospective is provided.
My Night Clerk is lost in a frenzy New Year's turnover and trying hard for a comeback before dawn.
Posted by lck at October 22, 2005 12:28 PM
