The Oppenheimer Report: August 2019

Monday, August 26, 2019

The Oppenheimer Report 8/26/19

Are you a collector? When I still lived in Buffalo,NY, I collected historic postcards, with special emphasis on cards relating to that city. I belonged to a postcard club and regularly attended the annual postcard shows in Cheektowaga, NY. I suppose that officially makes me a nerd. Over the years, I collected three or four albums full of old postcards. Some of those cards are quite rare. Eventually, I stopped collecting, but every so often, if I find an unusual postcard, and if the price is right, I’ll buy it. If I want to send correspondence that is particularly memorable, especially to a fellow songwriter, I’ll include one of those old, postmarked cards. While I used to search for pristine cards with no markings on them, sometimes it’s more interesting to have a card which was previously postmarked and dated. It’s also entertaining to read what someone else wrote on those cards, sometimes over 100 years ago. Before the era of texts and email, postcards were the popular mode of abbreviated correspondence. “Having a wonderful vacation; yours ‘til Niagara Falls!” Back in the day, I used to be pretty good at appraising the value of an old postcard, but now that I’ve been out of the collecting business for 25 years, I have no idea what my cards might be worth in today’s market. Back then, I discovered that the cards I’d collected early on had doubled in value within a few years. Some of the rare postcards might fetch $25 or more today, but most are likely not all that valuable. For a while, I only looked for old cards from Crystal Beach, On., because those cards are difficult to find.

In keeping with my love of correspondence, the other things I’ve collected over the years are rubber stamps and other hand stamps. If you’ve ever received a letter or postcard from me, it most likely included a rubber stamp imprint. I enjoyed collecting these from the different places I’ve travelled, and they are enduring mementos. Whenever I use one of these stamps, I am reminded of the place where I purchased it. While I have not actually counted all the stamps I own, I probably have close to 100.

To those who responded to last week’s report about the break-in and arson fire at Hunters Bay Radio’s transmitting station, thanks for reading the report. My intention was not to fuel controversy, but merely to point out that it was a very suspicious fire and that, in my opinion, it deserves to be further investigated. Everyone is certainly entitled to express their own opinion, but some people insinuated that I or Hunters Bay Radio had an alternative agenda. We simply want to know who would choose to destroy a communications tower. I hope the $1000 reward offered will lead to a tip as to who committed that deplorable crime.

Jamie Oppenheimer, Songwriter, Author, Blogger, Radio Producer, & Host has been writing THE OPPENHEIMER REPORT every MONDAY since 1992 and has published the articles on his blog since 2006. We are including Jamie's weekly reports, as a new feature of #HuntersBayRadio, The Bay 88.7FM.
#GotLocal? HuntersBayRadio.com #WeAreMuskoka #WeAreAlmaguin

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Oppenheimer Report 8/19/19

Around 10:45 p.m. on Shauna’s birthday last week we got a text message from one of our friends and fellow volunteers at the radio station, informing us that he was unable to tune in to the FM signal for Hunters Bay Radio and it appeared to be off the air. He asked if in our location we were experiencing dead air, and indeed we were. When we called Managing Director Jeff Carter to inform him, he quickly logged in and determined that there was no transmission from the radio tower. Early the next morning, Jeff and Grant Nickalls drove up to the tower to discover that someone had broken into the building that houses our broadcasting equipment, and that there was evidence of a fire. After further investigation, Jeff learned that the fire had occurred roughly one week earlier, but the station had never been informed. It was the thick black smoke and soot from said fire that had eventually damaged our equipment. There was evidence that an accelerant had been used, and clearly that would indicate that this was not an accidental fire.

The following day, on the Hunters Bay Radio Facebook page, Jeff posted a notice along with photographic evidence of the damage. He learned that the police had inspected the scene of the crime, shortly after it had initially been reported by the person who had discovered it. Oddly, the police had come to the conclusion that this crime was a simple break and enter, and not arson. The tower is in the middle of nowhere, almost a kilometer past a locked gate which had not been opened. In other words, someone had to have driven to that remote location, parked a vehicle, walked with a container of accelerant, probably with a crowbar as well, pried open a heavy-duty steel door to the transmission building, and set a fire which in turn damaged thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars in broadcasting equipment. My understanding is that this is, by definition, arson, and a Federal offense. Our station, along with the owners of the building, have offered a $1000 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved in this crime. It seems suspicious to me that someone would travel such a great distance into the middle of nowhere to break into a relatively well-secured building, carrying a flammable substance, simply to perform a random act of vandalism. I was at the building with Jeff on Saturday and personally witnessed the destruction. The stench from burned electrical equipment was almost unbearable. It is puzzling and frustrating that no one thought to contact our radio station to inform us about the crime, so that we could have inspected our equipment earlier. Perhaps if we had been afforded a little lead time the resultant damage could have been lessoned.

Of course, there are those who think this might have been an attack on our station, but I really have no idea who would do something this despicable. There are other businesses who operate equipment in that tower building; perhaps it was someone with a grudge against one of them. Regardless of the motive, a Federal crime was committed in our community, and we urge local law enforcement officials to find the people responsible. These officials publicly criticized our station for representing this fire as an act of arson when, by definition, it was. Not only did this cowardly crime destroy thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars in valuable equipment, but someone out there in our community probably knows who did it. We didn’t even realize there had been a crime committed until our equipment failed, a week later. Whether our station was the target or not, the end result is that our community radio station, which has pumped over $100,000 back into local businesses and charities, and provides countless other services to the local community, is for the time being, compromised. We are now forced to use our limited funds to get back up and running at full steam. You may have noticed that the FM signal is weaker than it was previously. Hopefully, that will be rectified soon. Shame on whoever is responsible. You did a very bad thing to many good people.

Monday, August 12, 2019

The Oppenheimer Report 8/12/19

Shauna and I watched an interesting movie last night, entitled Can You Ever Forgive Me?, starring Melissa McCarthy in an uncharacteristically dramatic role. Based on the novel by the same name, it is the story of author Lee Israel, who was infamous for having forged around 400 letters she pretended were written by famous authors and celebrities. She then sold these forgeries to collectors, with remarkable success. Eventually she was caught, but then after receiving a relatively lenient punishment, she went on to write a successful book about her con. I found the story fascinating, and her forged letters were clearly works of art. She went so far in her quest for authenticity as to use typewriters that would have been used by the authors she was impersonating, and she was masterful in her ability to mimic the voice and tone of the authors she copied. I heartily recommend the movie to anyone who might be interested in the subject of letter-writing; admittedly a small group. The story was really about a frustrated, troubled writer who could not make ends meet. Israel had received some early recognition for her original work but, like so many creative artists, she was her own worst enemy. I found her character fascinating and complex

I used to be an avid correspondent, and I loved sending and receiving letters and postcards. Back when I was taking a lot of photos I even had some of my own pictures printed as postcards. When I was actively pursuing a music publishing deal, I’d send out my submissions to various publishers and record labels, along with one of these cards, self-addressed for a response. Most of the time the people to whom I submitted my work wouldn’t write back, but sometimes they did. One of my favorite rejections notices, I think from Capital Records, read: “This song goes on and on and nowhere! Pass.” I was so deluded that I was encouraged that a big record company even wrote back!

I think letter writing is a lost art, and I receive precious few these days. I still write them from time to time, perhaps as a tip of the hat to my dad. He was a great letter writer, and he could make a mundane story into a hilarious adventure, simply with his wit and his uncanny ability to embellish. I think it all boils down to telling a good story. The other day, I was ranting in this report about the death of creativity and storytelling. So many of the blockbuster movies are remakes of old stories, or else they are animated. I find it ironic that the animated films are often better written than the films with real actors. To me, this is a sign of the times. While I am hardly a scholar of the English language, I am more and more impressed when people who correspond with me, show even a modicum of communication skills. My bar gets lowered every day. In these times when people cannot be bothered to speak in complete sentences, I think of my letters as a way of exercising my decaying communication skills. When I write letters, I am forced to consider what I am about to say, rather than texting the first misfire that comes into my addled brain. I am also likely to edit what I wrote (or have my long-suffering wife edit it for me). I’m not sure the world would be a better place if we became better communicators, but like, um, ya know, it like, couldn’t hurt. RU feelin’ me?

Monday, August 05, 2019

The Oppenheimer Report 8/5/19

As I tend to do on Thursday evening, I came in early for my Lyrical Workers show, so I could attend the “Live Drive Show”, hosted by my friend and fellow music lover, Silver Lake Joe Thompson. Every Thursday night, from 6pm-7pm, there is a live performance in the Hunters Bay Radio studio, often featuring local musicians. Last week’s guest was a local singer/songwriter, Trixie Freebird, whom I have come to know peripherally over the past several years. Accompanying her onstage were her son Sawyer, an up and coming young singer/songwriter, and two of my musical colleagues, Jeff Stamp and Juan Barbosa. I enjoyed their show. What I find particularly rewarding about these Live Drive shows is that I have a front row seat to the development of talent in our community.

I’ve known Stampy and Juan personally for over five years now. Both of them are musicians and songwriters I respect. There are a dozen or so other local artists about whom I feel the same, and I love watching them develop their respective crafts. While I don’t know Trixie well, I’ve spoken with her a few times over the years as we watched her son Sawyer perform. I remember seeing him busk in a local supermarket a few years ago, and Trixie seemed resigned, if not thrilled, that Sawyer hoped to make a career out of music. The performer I saw last Thursday night has grown by leaps and bounds, buoyed in part by the support of this local community. Sawyer was playing the new, handmade dreadnought guitar gifted to him by local luthier Claude St. Denis. I too own one of Claude’s beautiful guitars, and it made me smile to think that he gave one of those precious works of art to a young, upstart musician in our community. Who knows, maybe Sawyer will be the one to achieve his dream; I’m just happy he has one. Hunters Bay Radio and the volunteers who donate their time to it are doing so for one reason: to support their community. The one thing we have in common is that we do it together, and the collective effort gives a voice to the creative and talented. Everyone has a chance to participate in the dream of something bigger.

I fear the concept of community is on life support. The sad news stateside includes two mass murders within 13 hours of each other. One took place in El Paso, Texas and the other in Dayton, Ohio. To say the least, these atrocities are worrisome. We talk so much about the enemies we face outside our borders, and the Orange Emperor would have us believe that it is those outsiders we need to fear. I blame his irresponsible, ignorant rants for unleashing, in fact validating, the worst that America has to offer, but he’s just the gasoline. Like the infamous Senator Joe McCarthy, he’s just one misguided fool in a position to stoke the flames. The fact is, the U.S is indelibly divided, and not just in two, but into a hundred factions. It seems apparent to me the cancer comes from within, and I wonder where it all began to spin out of control. Hatred is as old as the hills; but what will neutralize it? When did families break down? When did social media become our reality? How and when did we become so intolerant and hateful?

I don’t know the answers those questions. I think there is nefarious going on here. Trixie, who is very spiritual, suggests it has something to do with the moon and the alignment of the stars. I’m not sure about that, but last week I felt the weight of the world upon my shoulders. Music is my community. Shauna and I feel strongly about its ability to heal and unify. What brings YOU together?

The Oppenheimer Report