There are no dogs on the internet.
No wagging fur
No river sticks tossed
no wet kisses.
No geraniums on the internet.
Only facsimiles
Senseless, scentless
sterile.
Reality isn't really here
Reality is there
Passing right by
over your shoulder.
Illegitimate truths
trump
legitimate lies
where I live now.
First, listen to the music.
Then go make some.
Jim Kloss
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 - 11:50AM
Any group or individual claiming to represent Whole Wheat Radio, its webcast or house concert series, its mission, listeners, artists or management, is a fraudulent scam. At this time, no group, individual, website or webcast has our permission or endorsement to use the name, mission statement, historical and technical accomplishments or reputation of Whole Wheat Radio for its own purposes.
Independent musicians are advised to carefully research the legitimacy, efficacy and history of any website that requests their music for review or airplay. Beware of sites that, while claiming to be a folksy independent music resource, are little more than "free music" collection, distribution or stream ripping outlets, have no cohesive mission statement, do not recognize the unique rights and the craft of independent musicians, and/or do not actively promote working online resources that allow the public to easily find and potentially purchase your music.
Here are a few legitimate music resources with overtones of the original Whole Wheat Radio spirit worth checking out:
For the last 8 years, I've been in the unique position of leading, for better or worse, the direction of the Whole Wheat Radio website and webcast. It is beyond my written ability to communicate the thousands ... millions ... of colorful threads I daily wove into the fabric. To summarize the experience in a single phrase, I lean on my favorite writer and philosopher, Kahlil Gibran - "Work is love made visible."
My work here is now over. I no longer love this job. I no longer love my bosses, my customers, my associates, my office, my reason for sitting down daily at this computer and volunteering another hour, or two, or twelve, and weaving in a few more rows of fabric. To cheekily quote a not-so-lofty writer and philosopher (and, ironically, very non-independent musician), David Allan Coe - "Take this job and shove it."
I ask that you accept my resignation with the same mix of dignity, sweat, poetry, competence and wry humor I offer it and which I tried to bring to this job daily for the last 8 years.
For what it's worth, and since the peanut gallery's speculation is almost always spectacularly wrong, the unfortunate and crude situation which I was forced to address below is merely the last straw. My back, and heart, broke months ago. So the original December 31st, 2010 shutdown date I'd quietly suggested to a few trusted colleagues has now unexpectedly moved up. To yesterday.
Whole Wheat Radio -the original, one-of-a-kind and real Whole Wheat Radio- is now closed. Permanently. With it go my sincere hopes and efforts to make a small, positive difference in the lives of independent musicians. With it go thousands of hours of musical and creative joy - along with a hundred or two of utter bewilderment and frustration.
My heartfelt thanks go out to those generous few of you who helped purchase the thread and marveled at the result. We did good. Thank you. It's time to cancel your subscription. I'd do it from my end, but it appears Paypal won't let me. I'll notify you by email to make sure you get the news. Just so you know, and because you never got public credit, it was you who quietly made it all work. Unlike so many others, you unselfishly put your money, your vote of working support, where your not so big mouths were. Without hope of monetary gain, recognition or even thanks you sat beside me every keystroke of the way. You were my strong shoulders. I will miss your dignified and quiet strength. Thank you for your regular support.
Finally, I realize I am, as of this moment, now free of this job. My life is mine again. I feel a huge sense of relief. It's over. Thank goodness!
Because now, Nature willing, I can use all the lessons learned behind the door I just closed, to slowly pry open completely new doors...
Jim Kloss
Gardener, Boomeranger, Writer and Kite Flyer
A group of people who met on this site over the years and spent time here have, without asking for input or communicating first with me in any way whatsoever, taken it upon themselves to create their own social version of Whole Wheat Radio as a Facebook group. Although there was already an official and widely subscribed Facebook fan page set up specifically for that purpose, a page created with the express purpose of benefiting 'the many' including listeners, independent music fans and independent musicians themselves, a page which languished because these same people refused to use it, they choose to create a new group and then, in a violation of both privacy and intent of everything Whole Wheat Radio stands for, forced various Whole Wheat Radio participants to be subscribed to that group.
They are free to pursue that course regardless of my personal assessment of how it may help or hinder Whole Wheat Radio's longstanding core mission.
But, as founder and director of Whole Wheat Radio, I want to apologize personally to everyone who was subscribed to that group without their permission. I made a promise to you when you signed up for an account on Whole Wheat Radio that I would respect your privacy to the best of my ability. I notified everyone upon signup that those having a Facebook account would be linked through that Facebook account to Whole Wheat Radio and that Facebook privacy policies, which you control, were your protection. I told you there was no such thing as real privacy on the internet, including Whole Wheat Radio, but that we had no intention of violating common sense privacy. But I did not anticipate your involvement in Whole Wheat Radio might open you up to being spammed or force-subscribed to Facebook groups you may or may not want to be a member of.
Upon realizing that Whole Wheat Radio listeners and artists were being targeted in this serious affront to common sense privacy, I shut down the official Whole Wheat Radio website and webcast. Both remain shut down and will remain shut down until this issue, among others, is resolved.
There are other serious issues at hand that contributed to the decision to shut down the website and webcast. They must be dealt with. I do not have time at this moment to address them all. Thank you for your patience as I process recent events along with living my ordinary day-to-day life. I will update this announcement as time, energy and clarity permit.