FREEDOM WINS

It's an historic day on planet earth. We salute every family who's suffered terror. We salute our President. We salute every woman and man serving freedom on the frontlines of a war that goes on.

We'll continue to entertain you at My Damn Channel as we honor and praise what's right and what's just.

"Justice has been done." (President Barack Obama, 5.1.11)

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My Damn Channel Sees God and Others at "The Book of Mormon"

Jesse Cowell (My Damn Channel Director of Content),                      Rob Barnett, Josh Gad  
Josh Gad, Rob Barnett (My Damn Channel Founder/CEO)


We saw God last night (and others) at "The Book of Mormon" - the funniest, most original musical comedy on Broadway.

The show stars Josh Gad, our My Damn Channel brother & hero & the star of our newest comedy series, "Gigi: Almost American."

We're previewing Gigi now, created by Josh and The Lost Nomads. Our series launches 3/23. New episodes every Wednesday on My Damn Channel.

I decided not to read all the Mormon press or ask Josh all about the show before experiencing it fresh. This was such an orgasmic comedic masterpiece. Get tickets and see this for yourself. And we'll buy more and give them away like Santa, or the other guy.

"Mormon" was created by South Park's Matt Stone & Trey Parker with Avenue Q's Robert Lopez. We had insane comic heaven hangtime during and after the show with them all last night... along with The Pope: Jon Stewart; "Mormon" producer and show business Midas: Scott Rudin; the Head of Comedy Central and MTV Networks Entertainment Group: Doug Herzog; Iconic Legends Mike Nichols and Angelica Huston; our friends and heroes from IFC: Dan Pasternack & Debbie DeMontreux; and we even met Spock: Zachary Quinto. 

"The Pope" proves every time year after year that he's one of the most generous humans in the game. We were so stunned to see Mike Nichols, I couldn't imagine lame bla-bla and went to a spontaneous salute - which he returned!

We capped off the night and the cocktails with da man of the year, Josh Gad, eating 2am style pizza reminding us all of why we love the voodoo we do. God bless.

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Call Me Oscardamus!

The nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards were announced this morning by Mo'Nique and The President of the Academy! both looking good reading from a monitor.

The nominees are all fine - you can read the full list here - but I think the real story of the day is that a couple of weeks ago I predicted the 10 Best Picture nominees:

BOOM! Nailed it! 10 for 10, baby! Just call me Oscardamus! That's my writing, scribbled two weeks ago, with doodles. I am clearly the Christian Bale of Oscar predictions; the David Fincher of predicting the future; the Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook of picking movies that will win an honor! Not you, not you, and not you!

Now, I now what you're saying. "DannyMoney, the last choice is not quite clear! You've got three listed!" Yeah, yeah. Winter's Bone is first, and that's the one I'm going with. Got a problem? I'll give you 127 hours - OF PAIN. Which is exactly what that movie was about. James Franco in pain.

So yeah, just call me Oscardamus. And don't worry, DannySwami will be calling the winners right here, soon enough. Don't bet against me, suckas, you gonna get HURT. 

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The King And I: The Irreplaceable Howard Stern

Like millions of us, my stepmom is a lifelong Howard Stern fan. She just sent this photo taken off of Howard TV, airing our in-studio interview from earlier this week. I had the honor of being Howard Stern's guest on his Tuesday, 420 show (scroll to 840a).

Response is coming into My Damn Channel via email, phones, video views, comments, new subscribers, tweets, wall postings, and even a live spotting this afternoon in a clothing store (to complete the surreality). The influx of intense energy all flows back to a man undeniably uniquely qualified to hold the heavyweight title: "King of All Media."

Howard endures as one of the most talented and honest souls alive. He embodies the freedom of speech with every breath. For all who've been fired, laid off, downsized, pink slipped, discharged, axed, or job eliminated...it's hard to imagine speaking truth to power on a live microphone the way Howard has done it for decades.

I first followed Howard Stern on a carrier current, college radio station, 64 WTBU at Boston University. (There's a great scene depicting TBU in "Private Parts.")

If you've ever chased a radio dream, then your college years are likely the last time and place you ever experienced the fear and thrill of exercising your freedom of speech over a live mic.

Primordial FM rock radio stations were created in the late 1960's. Early heroes like Harry Shearer and Steven Clean were blowing minds at places like KPPC in Pasadena, California (which eventually became the world famous KROQ).

The combined forces of original radio talents and pre-corporate rock music created stations throughout the 70s powerful enough to infect audiences with a sense of community, purpose, passion, sex and fun that began to hit the wall around 1980.

I was sitting on the front steps of my apartment on Beacon Street in Boston with Steven Clean and my best friend, Mike Isabella the night Ronald Reagan was elected President. I was 20. I was about to drop out of college and take a full-time job as a rock radio jock at WAAF out in Worcester, Mass. One year later, I had the only radio thrill that came closest to being on Howard's show this week. Lightning struck and we convinced the Rolling Stones to do a private show for our station's fans in 1981 to start up the "Tattoo You" tour.

But, back to Mr. Clean. I'd been Steven's intern for a time at WCOZ in Boston. At that point in his career, Clean had been fired by many of the best radio stations in the country. He was a real life inspiration for the Dr. Johnny Fever character in "WKRP in Cincinnati." Steven was incredibly talented, brilliant, a true music expert and fan...and he was rebellious enough to drive the most patient souls to the edge of their sanity.

Considering the nation's new President, Steven held a joint firmly in my face and said, "See this? This is OVER!"
By the time of Reagan's second term, most radio station managers had a "Just Say No" policy for disc jockeys expressing free thoughts on mic, or taking free reign over any music playlist.

A small number of former radio station program directors shaved their beards, cut their hair, bought expensive suits, and armed themselves with halliburton briefcases filled with blow and bullshit designed to convince every fearful radio exec that they had the only secrets to ratings success, fortune and fame.

Conformity soon became the norm. Tighter playlists made stations sound the same from city-to-city. The job of disc jockey was transforming free thinkers into people paid to read positioning slogans, timechecks and weather forecasts.

In the midst of all this unholy homogenization, Howard Stern began to build a radio show free from the constraints put on most of his competitors. His talent grew on the radio and expanded with every carefully planned new project he launched.

Superfans know that Howard pays homage to legends who came before him like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin. I can't think of another entertainer who has more succesfully won battles with corporate brass than Howard. One of the many surprises about the real man to outsiders is how he maintains his position with grace and wisdom.

No one knows what the next chapter will be for the Stern show in 2011. Assume Howard can see the possible moves on the chess board more clearly than most. As a fan, I'll be following as I have since the beginning. As a business owner, My Damn Channel stands ready to serve The King anytime he calls. 

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Jimmy Kimmel: Handsome Men's Club

And the Oscar goes to:

JIMMY KIMMEL.

Last night's Oscar special on Jimmy Kimmel Live featured Robert Downey Jr and the premiere of the trailer from Iron Man 2.

But the video that must be seen now - over any Monday morning work priority - is the HANDOME MEN's CLUB, starring its President Mr. Kimmel and the most A-list cast to ever grace video virality.

Prepare to be Handsome:

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A THOUSAND WORDS

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RED MEAT

7 days to go. If you watch and listen to all the blabber, you'd think we can't keep a thought in our head if it doesn't fit into the smallest possible soundbite to stir up the greatest possible doubt.

Here are some of the code words to move you to VOTE like a simpleton.

Terrorist
Tax
Spend
Republican
American
Democrat
War
Hope
Congress
Liberal
Abortion
Conservative
Bush
Experience
Change
"Joe"
Oil
Polls
Bailout
Rescue
Hero
Socialist
Battleground
Iraq
Drill

This red meat sampler only scratches the surface of the games played on all sides behind McCain and Obama to scare you into action.

Do something COMPLETELY AMERICAN - in 7 days (or sooner if you can early vote) - walk into a voting booth - put all the bullshit aside - and make the smartest possible choice to elect your next President.

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PRESENTING the FUTURE

Respect and thanks to Dave Stewart for an inviation to an inspired dinner in Los Angeles with Nokia this week.

Dave is a fan of My Damn Channel and a Change Agent. He's a soulful musician and a visionary thinker in search of new ways to put music, entertainment, and ideas into your control.

Dave hosted dinner along with his latest partner in magic, Tero Ojanpera, Nokia's Executive Vice President of Entertainment and Communities.



Less than 30 Nokia dinner guests included musicians, producers, filmmakers, and smart humans dedicated to further empowering people to access information and entertainment through impressive technology.

Mick Jagger was there. I've been lucky enough to work with him and the Stones on a few projects since "Tattoo You." We spoke before dinner and I gave him the My Damn Channel shebang.



Here's Q&A with Dave & Tero on where this is all going. 

Dave is on tour this summer as Dave Stewart and His 30-piece Rock Fabulous Orchestra. This man makes mincemeat of the mundane. He's also releasing a new album and a book. Info here.

More to follow.

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

I put our children to bed just one night - five months ago, feeling the real possibility that Barack Obama could be the next President after Iowa.

Last night was an historic moment. Here's a photo and a prayer - in respect for the work ahead - and for what happens next.



Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro is the mother of President hopeful and Senator Barack Obama. Born in 1942 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Stanley Ann Dunham attended the University of Hawaii in the late 1950's. It was during her study in UH that Ann Dunham met Barack Obama's father Kenyan student Barack Obama Sr. and got engaged, and later married at an age of 18 in 1960.  Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr. divorced in 1965, when he left for Harvard University to continue his education. In 1967 when Barack Obama was 3 years old, Ann Dunham married Indonesian student in UH Lolo Soetoro, so that's why there was a "Soetoro" in Dunham's name. Dunham and Soetoro divorced in the late 1970s. In 1992, the 50-year-old Stanley Ann Dunham earned a Ph.D. in anthropology for her 1067-pages-long dissertation Peasant blacksmithing in Indonesia: Surviving and Thriving Against All Odds from the University of Hawai'i. Ann Dunham died in 1995 of ovarian cancer and uterine cancer at the age of 52. In A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama’s Path, New York Times reporter Janny Scott writes a biography on Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro.

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