Track Mangoes

"Since the time of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away." Matthew 11:12

"He felt it rising in himself through time and darkness, rising through the centuries, and he knew that it rose in a line of men whose lives were chosen to sustain it, who would wander in the world, strangers from that violent country where the silence is never broken except to shout the truth...and with his face against the dirt of the grave, he heard the command. Go warn the children of God of the terrible speed of mercy."

Two college freshman go undercover to investigate the speed-dating scene of the Pioneer Valley. A comedy of manners a la David Sedaris ensues, complete with drunken lesbians, horny puritans, and Lindsay Lohan. Love is sought, seldom found, and always shot down in its prime...but you'll never guess by whom. (29m24s) Click the document to download and drag the file to your itunes. Thanks for Listening and think about RSS subscribing, also report problems, Track Mangoes Radio wants to know if this shyt works!


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When a 13 year old get's sent to Castro, San Francisco's Gay Mecca, he learns about porn, molestation, and even finds a girlfriend a la Sofia Coppola. A classic teenage romance replete with sexual dilemma. The first installment of Track Mangoes Radio! To download click the file, save to your desktop, and drag it to yer itunes. Thanks for listening and Please consider subscribing.

For more see http://www.flickr.com/photos/ellaehall/

So, you’re a well meaning liberal and you hate Rush Limbaugh. Well, aren’t you special?

As a well-meaning liberal, I find the Obama administration’s orchestrated attack on Limbaugh absolutely appalling. The White House has targeted a private citizen by name and Macalester’s student body couldn’t be happier. Has Obama gone mad? Or just fascist? Were the same thing to happen to one of our liberal golden children (Lenny Bruce and Mikey Moore come to mind) we would be up in arms, spouting some dogmatic non-truth about free speech.

Limbaugh—as well as other right-wing cultural malcontents like Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reilly—can (and absolutely should) be as rude as they want. No, I don’t find Limbaugh’s “Barack the Magic Negro” rejoinder charming or cute, just as I cringe when Coulter speaks of Christians as "perfected Jews" or O’Reilly of immigration policy. But would Limbaugh’s cultural commentary enrage us so much if they are simply unfair and untrue? Or do they contain a modicum of truth?

Though Rush and I disagree on many things, I think his analysis of certain cultural phemomenon, for example contemporary feminism, is bitingly accurate, though we may not want to admit it. What Limbaugh refers to as “feminazis” I see as the dogmatic-feminist-bourgeoisie with their painstakingly myopic view of the world, a world in which men are rapists, consent is black and white, and sex is political, ergo utterly boring. It is only in a society that has been intimidated by amoral lefties that women like Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon could reach mainstream status. I don’t agree with Limbaugh’s prescription for these cultural ills, but the diagnosis is accurate despite its acerbic choice of words.

You’re a twit if you think Limbaugh speaks for the Republican party. He’s an outsider, a crackpot, a crazed hermit. As a proponent of heartland conservatism he has been at odds with the Republican elite for years. But I suppose liberals wouldn’t know that because we only consume Limbaugh’s commentary through a biased filter, read: The Daily Show.
I’m also tired of people criticizing his lifestyle. So he’s a womanizer—so was JFK. So he obviously has some Major sexual hang-ups; so did Clinton. So he’s a wealthy pop-culture figure who pretends to be intelligent; so is Oprah. So he’s got an oxycotin problem…don’t we all?!

As an Obama supporter, I don’t agree with everything Limbaugh says. I was upset by his and Sean Hannity’s behavior on Inauguration Day, for example, when partisan politics should have been set aside. Nevertheless, I respect Limbaugh for his independent thought. His is the most provocative news analysis in the country. Not arch. Not substantial. Provocative. He goes his own way and writers and critics, myself included, should take a hint.

My point: instead of maligning crackpot radicals like Limbaugh we ought to look to them as barometers of culture, standing outside, looking in, and having the balls to critique accordingly. As a queer person of color with somewhat (shall we say?) “Strong” political opinions I am well aware that an outsider status affords a critic the ability to stand to the side and observe culturally normative tropes from the margins, see them for what it are: imperialistic, racist, sexist, and all those other buzz words the American Studies department likes to abuse. Likewise, Limbaugh can situate himself in opposition to the liberal pedantry disguised as right-doing and expose its more sordid and embarrassing sides. As liberals, we ought to desire the consultation of outsider figures, Right and Left alike, to help us see the things we can’t. That is the role radicals play in this culture.

We ought to implore Obama to get his staff's nose out of the dirt. We don’t need Special Olympics hating elitists like that anyhow. Obama’s dignity has been compromised; Limbaugh lost his dignity a long time ago.

"Gay-porn star Brent Corrigan testified in court on Friday that he was approached by murder suspect Harlow Cuadra on MySpace -- to ask about producing a film together. Twenty-two-year-old Corrigan, whose real name is Sean Lockhart, is at the center of the Luzerne County, Pa., trial of pornography producer Cuadra, who allegedly attempted to lure Corrigan away from slain rival Bryan Kocis, owner of Cobra Video. Kocis was found dead at his Pennsylvania home in January 2007 -- he had been stabbed 28 times, and a fire set to his home burned his body beyond recognition. Cuadra is charged with his murder."

If I ever write a novel it will have all the themes presented in that paragraph. Full Article.