STATIC by "SPARK"

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 41, 22 April 1932, Page 7

STATIC by "SPARK"

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SPARK

WERE Mr. Karl Atkinson not such a true lover of music his lecture recitals would scarcely have that wide appeal, compelling as they do, the attention of those who disclaim any appreciation of the classics. I know quite a number of listeners who are now embryo music lovers through Mr. Atkinson’s illustrations, and have been told that his brochure "Papa Haydn" (2YA) was another that had fastened itself in their memories. To induce calm repose, could not the stations have as closing-down melodies some of the beautiful trios? * * ed (ouULD it be emphasised more that radio is an essential to every home, when rioting broke out in Auckland? 1YA rose to the occasion _and kept all advised as to. the condition of affairs, besides conveying to special constables the knowledge that their services were required to help in maintaining order. * at Oe HE amateur radio transmitters’ mobile emergency station ZL2CA conducted a series of tests in the Wellington district recently and was remarkably successful in making contact. The tests, both in Morse and telephony, were in transmission only, but it is hoped that two-way communication will be arranged for very shortly. * * * HE Commonwealth PostmasterGeneral, Mr. Fenton, has announced that in the near future a new class of broadcasting station is to be established in every capital city of Australia. These will be known as C stations, and it is proposed they be used for high class entertainment only. Suggested broadcasts are grand opera, highclass orchestration and educational lectures. Assistance of the theatres and universities will be sought to raise the standard above the pot pourri at present given by the A stations. Should not the new stations be ‘classed A stations and a re- _ arrangement made? * x * RAdIo is not an unmixed blessing. The farmer more than others must have felt dejected on hearing 2YA broadcast the last wool sale of the season. This in the middle of wool week, too, when town folk are doing their utmost to foster a wool sense-that is town folk excepting those associated with football clubs that have purchased foreign jerseys. * * * HOSE who heard Dr. Walter Boroman speak on the Problems of Population (4YA) were given something to furiously think about.

Japan, with its comparatively low standard of living able to exist only by industrial competition with West-: ern countries, is a menace to us far exceeding any earlier Eastern migration. India with its literally starving millions is a palpable threat to us. I have seen miles upon miles of country that have been brought into cultivation by Britain’s policy of irrigation and modern transport establishment, that has put off the evil day when dire necessity will prove that these measures were merely rigorous expedients. China, with her seething four hundred and forty millions, is a country as yet not over-populated, if we think of it in terms of agriculture. I have seen in Suland China again miles upon miles of territory that have never known the plough. But with her rapidly increasing population a period to this is already in view. British control here could temporarily put back the day when we shall have to fight to keep our entity-the League of Nations notwithstanding. * * * ig you knew of someone who daily stole milk tokens or the newspaper, would you not conscientiously think yourself mean in not disclosing the fact? So what about that pirate you know of? In this country where there is so much "verboten" no one would wish to make it worse by ecreating a nation of "narks," but if some will not play the game fairly is it not up to you to help to make them. A word to the Radio Inspec-

tor will always result in having the report investigated, and with the elimination of this form of sneakthieving the broadcasting service will respond accordingly. x * * LL heard with regret Lewis Berger’s good-bye from 2ZW on Monday night. Even "Mr. Heigh-ho" seemed disconsolate that his delightful little cameos had come to an end. There is a universal demand for more, and it is to be hoped that it will not be long before something similar is instituted. + a * MENTION by Captain Galloway (2YA) that the mosquito uses the envelope as a raft, when it emerges from the pupae stage until it has sufficient strength to fly, and that a puff of wind might have disastrous results to the young fully developed mosquito, should make Wellington people more firmly resolved to exterminate the pest. The only place in Wellington that I can think of where a mosquito can be hatched must be down the drain. * * * I HAVE been asked ‘by many who know the "Big Smoke" if the pronunciation of Tyburn and Holborn has altered since 1760. I'll ask one. Does the Cockney to-day speak like Sam Weller? And an-other-A YA announcer pronounced Cardiff as a Welshman does-is that wrong? Before the war, when Britain’s coal trade with countries bordering the Mediterranean was sub-

stantial, Cardiff was spoken of as a Greek colony and I have heard it undoubtedly mispronounced quite often. Terse descriptions ‘of the place, however, whether in a pure or broken English, were always right ae ® * (00D news again! 2ZW is to be on the air on Saturday mornings and will in future observe Friday as a silent day. It is not everyone who wants radio morning, noon and night, but like the bootlegger’s gun, it is wanted badly when it is. not there. Saturday mornings have been dismal in Wellington. Congratulations. . * * * "THE simply. told story of the work done in cosmic radiation research, Dr. D. B. McLeod (8YA) would have delighted the scientific listeners as well as those whose interest is merely inquésitive. One of the first workers in this branch of science was our own Sir Ernest Rutherford and so much has been learned, that the subject has now pros and antis. The school of thought, led by Professor Jeans, contends that the universe is running down and that these radiations originate in the absolute destruction of matter, whereas the contention of those who lean towards the reasoning of Professor Millikan, a great worker in the field, is that the universe is continually re-establishing itself. To further study the incidence of cosmic rays which arrive on the earth from all directions, Pro- ' fessor Compton, of the Chicago University, is to visit New Zealand in the near future, and make observations in the Mount Cook region. The rays are extremely penetrating, much more so than gamma rays, but experiments to determine their absorbability through known thicknesses of matter, from which their wavelength may: be discovered, have been widely conducted, and it is for this purpose that Professor Compton is visiting New Zealand. Exact knowledge of the absorbability and wavelength of the rays is necessary to determine their origin and thus answer’ the question as to whether the universe is being destroyed or not. I shall look forward to hearing Dr. MclLeod’s next talk on "Astronomy." x * *" GATHER from listening to the } Japanese stations that the auth- | orities are.making the fullest use of : broadcasting to see that the na- | tionals view from the right angle the | attitude of Japan towards China. | Japanese generally: are not given to : believing that every country but their own is right as do some of our ;. peculiar people, and the officials ap-

"Cabaret Musicale" -is the title of a variety entertainment, arranged and produced by Edwin Dennis, to be presented from 2YA on Thursday, April 28.

parently intend to see that the canker does not grow. ‘Japan to retain her very existance, must trade with China, peacefully or forcibly, and a. successful boycott on the part of China would mean the starving of thousands of Japanese. To escape the force of disorder two million Chinese are emigrating yearly to Japanese controlled Manchuria, where Japan has only about 50,000 of her own people, but having spent two hundred millions sterling in development they are not prepared to hand the country over to looters who masquerade under the cloak of Chinese Nationalists. = ut * 2ZW really knew how eagerly their 10 p.m. news service was waited for, they would see that the announcer was better served. I don’t know whether it is badly written or whether it is because he has no time to overlook it, but the stumbling manner in which it is so often delivered is not the announcer’s usual style. The Australian stations late news is a splendid service, but one day I hope to hear our YA stations give a better one-a precis of the world’s news received per shortwave from every quarter of the globe. b Bod = ALL wireless enthusiasts should not fail to take the ‘"N.Z. Radio Times," the first issue of which is now in the shops, This monthly magazine promises to become very popular in eatering for such a wide field of varied interests. In the current number, besides the Mail Bag, a readable page, DX notes, shortwave notes, and liberal technical advise to beginner and advanced students, there are several excellent reminiscent articles. . Further, a questionnaire put to leading representatives of the trade: "What Do I Expect of the Radio Board in the Next Few Years,’ is answered. The replies will interest every reader, although many will think that the dealers’ demands are somewhat modest. e bd bed S. WRITES that I am sadly out of step in my remarks concerning the Wednesday night programmes from 2YA, and _ ventures the opinion that if they fail at all it. Ig because they are not light enough in character. But J. S. must surely admit that good music-lovers have a claim to space on the programmes, and that Wednesday is the night of the week when that one little hour could be conveniently given them. * ™ 3 M2. WILL YATES, who will be on the air on the 21st from 2YA, tells this radio story: "I have had a few compliments paid me on my work -sandwiched between the brickbats. One I remember was particularly embarrassing. An acquaintance after telling me how much he had enjoyed my number said, ‘And then straight afterward, they put me on some with a fiddle. I was nearly ringing them up to tell them to take him off." I didn’t have the heart to tell my music-loving friend that the oe with the fiddle" was none other than a record of that great artist Kubelik, Such is life,

qT" takes all kinds to make a world, but I wonder what sort it is, that listens to the dreadful rubbish which emanates from some of the Austral~ jan B stations. The announcers, both women and men, have common voices that are in keeping with their freely expressed personal opinions. Their simulated concern for purchasers is as nauseating as the breathless recital of the virtues of the goods they advertise. And to hear them recount-from a catalogue-to an audience that can listen to their other rubbish-the life of a great composer, prior to putting on a cheap recording of one of the composer’s works is truly revolting. We should be thankful that broadcasting was laid on a sounder basis in New Zealand. * * = "THE formation of study circles to take fullest advantage of ' the W.E.A. lectures could not be better advocated when such ~ an able exponent as Mr. R. J. Waghorn deals with the subject, "The Earth and Man." The speaker, in the first of his series (2YA), "Man’s Origin and Early History," advanced the theorem of the primate’s descent from a common ancestor. This subject can be terribly dry, but Mr. Waghorn wastes no words, and even those very well read in the matter could not but listen attentively. a a: = "rpTLL READY" writes: Probably the heaviest demands. that broadcasting makes are those placed on the shoulders of vaudeville artists, and comedians especially. One cannot help mentally comparing the freshness of the "Yates-Bishop" type of topical humour with the threadbare and stale stock-in-trade of some stage comedians whose efforts on the boards, happy though they. be, are no passport to success on the radio. If a comedian is to come frequently to the microphone and establish a. good reputation among listeners, he must be constantly in search of fresh ma~ terial-a new experience for those "stars" of former days, who, owing to the widely-scattered’ nature of their audience, have been accustomed to make gags, "business,’"’ and songs last for years. It is on record that artists have been seen working from scripts and music which have been in the family for generations until they were so worn as to be un{ decipherable. Broadcasting has’) changed the situation. Ten thousand vaudeville enthusiasts listen at one time. The artist cannot repeat his "act"? more than once or twise without boring them. His task is a difficut one,-for, in addition, he has only his voice to rely upon. A red nose counts for nothing! and television, which is further off than some optimists seem to think, will hardly help, because it will turn it white. No-in considering humour on the air, listeners should make due allowance for all these factors which are evidenced by the camparative scarcity of really funny records, The radio comedian ought to have our sympathetic consideration-hig lot is not a happy one.