The Changing Seasons of Salad Bowls

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Another night as an Internet Disk Jockey.

I've been through a lot of the training, and I'm comfort- able now with the electronics, or maybe the proper term is 'software' that actually puts the sound up on the web. With that under my belt, this show was much easier than the last. I did a lot of requests too, which meant that people were getting to hear what they wanted to hear whenever they wanted it. So they had the opportunity to shape and mold their radio experience to suit them.

It was easy for me. If they requested something that I didn't have, I searched Amazon.com for their musical downloads, bought it for a paltry fee, and then download it into WINAMP, the program that plays the music like a stereo system, and then broadcasted it. Quite simple. I made people's requests appear out of thin air, and I seemed to have every album ever made. This made me feel good having that kind of control. Having that kind of power at my fingertips.

I hung out all night, drinking coffee, bullshitting with people, waiting for my 'Brother in Arms', NiceNMean to show, but he didn't. Too bad. I was beginning to like him. But the channel was lively and chipper and full of life. I enjoyed being there, kidding around with everyone. IRC (Internet Relay Chat) has become addictive. It has drawn me into another world of people that I never knew existed.

I have a friend that thinks IRC is filled with lying people swindlers, frauds, child molesters and gangsters. They feel that everyone that uses an IRC channel is little more than a lying felon. They need to face someone eye to eye to tell if they are lying to them so being on the Internet to make new friends is just not in the cards for them. I shake my head to this. Firstly, what do they think I am? A liar, child molester, swindler...online only to misrepresent myself? I'm actually there to look for fun and friends of like minds.

Secondly, why would someone have to come on line to misrepresent themselves? You can misrepresent yourself anywhere. There is greater leeway to misrepresent more on line, obviously. For instance, you can say that you are White, when you are Black. You can say that you own a house, when you live with your mother. You can say that you are employed, when you are not. But you can do most of these things in a face to face setting too. It's not logical to believe that you are a human lie detector and can tell if someone is lying to you just by looking at their faces.

Let's face it, PEOPLE LIE. They can do it anywhere. Not just online. But the experi- ences gained by just being in channel are more impressive. I'm not saying that all Internet chat rooms are worth a pile of dogshit. Many are just that. Ratshit holes where bullshit kids congregate. Some channels (chat rooms) are full of freaks who are into various sexual situations. Some even illegal, and these, no doubt, are swarming with undercover cops. Shit, I think undercovers open up such channels to invite pedophiles and rapists in, and then have them set up meets with supposed victims to lock their asses up.

There are other channels which are ruled over by over- bearing SysOps, who will kick/ban you from a channel in a heartbeat for the most minor of infractions. These channels are oppressive and bothersome to be in. But if you are ever on the Undernet, join 40+jukebox and enjoy the atmosphere and the company. Very good balance of men and women, and a group of people who really want to connect with another person.

And if we are a pack of liars, then I count myself as one of them. I enjoy playing music for them, and going to see them every night to see how things have unfolded in their lives since last we spoke. Because, isn't that what we are anyway? Gregarious? Aren't we at our best when we have the opportunity to interface with others? Be it in real life, or even on television? Who's to say that it has to be in a church, a bar, a Laundromat, a disco or the job? Who's to say? How many of us are so interested in the lives of soap opera characters, or characters on our favorite television shows that we tune in nightly? Are we concerned that these too are people being paid to misrepresent themselves?

Minds can meet anywhere in this day and age. In real life, or over the timeless, distance- less span of the Internet. These little boxes that we call computers can change our lives if we stop being archaic about things. I should know. I'm an Internet DJ.

Hobobob