Bob CollinsFall of a media star, where is Bob Dylan’s guitar, taking bullying seriously, dispatches from ‘planet parenthood,’ and books that self destruct.
1) FALL OF A MEDIA STAR
Jeff Dubay, once one-half of a popular sports talk show on KFAN, made his return to the airwaves yesterday on WCCO to describe his battle with cocaine. He was interviewed by Chad Hartman, another ex-KFANer.
“You take it… and for the next 10 minutes you have this euphoric feeling that turns to a horrible physical illness,” he said about crack cocaine. “What makes it go away? You have some more.”
Of the many disturbing comments was the story of when Dubay asked for help.
“‘You’ve done no damage yet ,’ I thought. It’s embarrassing but you have to sack up and say, ‘I need help.’ I picked someone close to me, someone that I trusted and cut open a vein. ‘I’ve been doing it for three or four weeks and I need help. Can you help me?’ And this person said, ‘no,’ and walked out the door.”
He said he turned to his former partner, Paul Allen, whom he says is his “best friend,” and got some help.
But, he said, he ended up in treatment that was too God-focused . “Don’t tell me I have a disease and then tell me the solution is to pray,” he told Hartman. “There’s a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment that’s a little dangerous and a little sad. In the first week of treatment they tried to convince me the root of my problem is I’m selfish and egotistical.”
He says he’d like to “do radio” again. “But what I really want to do is tell my story” to people who might end up in the same spot as him, he said.
The unanswered question at the end of the interview? Why wasn’t it happening on KFAN?
2) WHERE IS BOB DYLAN’S ELECTRIC GUITAR
It was a rough moment in music history when folksinger Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Where’s the guitar? The daughter of the pilot who flew Dylan to his appearances says she’s got. Dylan says he’s got it. So the big guns are being pulled in to investigate these claims — PBS.
History Detectives is tackling the investigation in its season premiere next week.
3) TAKING BULLYING SERIOUSLY
The anti-bullying message has fallen on deaf ears in Worthington, at least those of whomever set up WHSTrojanGossip, a Twitter account dedicating to spreading gossip about students at the high school there. Don’t bother looking for it; it’s been shut down, thanks to school and law enforcement officials who didn’t shrug their shoulders.
“If it affects our school year, we have a right to address all of it,” the school administrator says. “I know for a fact some of these kids aren’t seeing this as a joke and they’re taking it very personally.
“Every kid is going to make some mistakes — some more severe than others. That’s how they learn and get experiences, but when they’ve crossed this line, this has gone way too far.”
4) AND IT RHYMES WITH “P” AND THAT STANDS FOR “POOL”
In Farmington, a five-year-old boy went into his mother’s purse to find $5 for admission to a swimming pool nearby. Lucky for him — not so much for the family — there was $1,400 in cash in there that was intended for the monthly mortgage payment.
More from “Planet Parenthood:” A Two Harbors couple has lost the license to be foster parents. In Minnesota, you don’t spank foster children.
Speaking of Farmington: At public meetings, the city doesn’t allow the public to speak on current issues. Should that change?
5) FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?”
Here’s a novel way to get people to make the time to read books. A publishing house in Buenos Aires has created a book that starts to self destruct as soon as you open it.
Just what people who want to relax need — more pressure and timetables. TechDirt hates the idea:
I’m also troubled by the pressure the vanishing ink implicitly puts on readers. The idea that you must finishing reading a book within a set time or otherwise you’ll have lost the opportunity is hardly conducive to enjoyment. It smacks rather of the classroom, where teachers tell you to finish a book by a certain date, with the justification that the experience will be good for you.
It seems to me that a much better idea would be to give away representative works as ebooks — with no pressure that they must be read by a certain date. There’s minimal waste of resources, since electrons don’t cost much to deliver. And best of all, if you really like the book, you can give a copy to your friends.
Bonus I: Pat Summitt, battling early onset Alzheimer’s, received the Arthur Ashe award last night. Here’s a Kleenex.
Related: Three new drugs may be final hope for Alzheimer’s patients (SF Chronicle)
Bonus II: Some of the most beautiful storm-chaser images you’ll ever see.
Bonus III: New close-up video of the botched San Diego July 4th fireworks. Note the people who couldn’t decide whether to run or stay.
TODAY’S QUESTION
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is preparing to stage the first film festival of Internet cat videos. The event is capturing headlines around the world. Today’s Question: What does the popular fascination with silly Internet videos say about the human condition?
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Daily Circuit (9-12 p.m.) – First hour: The state of the airline industry.
Second hour: The ethics and purpose of zoos.
Third hour: Raising the minimum wage.
MPR News Presents (12-1 pm): A program from the Aspen Ideas Festival: Mortimer Zuckerman and David Rubenstein speaking about the condition of our economy.
Talk of the Nation (1-2 p.m.) – Investigating the Colorado wildfires.
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – Fewer women pursue careers in science because men are better than women at math. At least, that’s the stereotype that can affect how female and male scientists communicate with each other. And it can influence who ends up quitting or staying in science. NPR will report on new research on the psychology behind sexism in science.
