Dear reader,
Do you know how many variations of “Marfa Public Radio blue” there are? It turns out, many: slate blue, sea blue, robin’s egg blue, and turquoise blue, represented by Pantone shades 645, 305, 318, and 631, respectively.
This is the kind of thing one must consider while designing new merch for Marfa Public Radio's Spring Drive, which kicks off on April 29th.
I held Pantone swatches to the sky, to our neon sign, to our shirts, to our logo. The result of my blue obsession is a gorgeous enamel camping mug in Pantone 543 that you can enjoy under a starry Pantone 540 sky.
We are a nonprofit organization, which means we are legally required to make tote bags. Without further ado, we bring you the new Marfa for Beginners tote.
To create this one of a kind black Marfa For Beginners tote, we pulled out all our tote bags and had a show-and-tell. What did we like? What did we hate? It turns out we love a gusset, and we hate a tote bag that can’t actually carry anything useful.
I tested its utility and I can confirm the bag holds multiple useful items including my laptop, a box of cheez-its (full-size), a tin of tea, a book, and a water bottle.
In the photo, I look like I’m going somewhere with purpose. I’m not. I live in Marfa. But, we wanted you to be able to imagine your own experience with this bag. So, as an example, here's the bag featured on the streets of London, England.
And last but not least, we designed limited edition bandanas in a new shade. Hazard orange is trending, so instead of our classic dark blue bandana, during our Spring Drive, you can get this limited edition orange and blue bandana, a perfect pop of color.
You can get these premiums when you support the station as a sustaining member during our Spring Drive, but it's never too early to donate!
Caló
Ir de onda: In Spanish, ir de onda means depart from or lose the wavelength, as in a connection with a radio station frequency. In Caló, it means to lose sense of direction or the thread of the conversation. You lose the onda when you’re distracted or suddenly something shinier, louder, or more urgent steals your attention.
Caló is a borderland dialect. You can find more episodes here.
Other programming:
A West Texas university’s effort to repatriate 900-year-old Native American remains took a significant step forward this week when the university determined a local man is a “lineal descendant” connected to the remains. You can read Annie Rosenthal's story on that here.
Midland ISD has removed several books from their library shelves to review for indecent material. The titles are among the most targeted by conservative groups. Mitch Borden has more on that here.
And tonight, we have a special Marfa Mystery Hour hosted by Desert Poets resident Jordan Honeyblue. Jordan will share a few poems and chat about her work with us. That’s tonight from 8pm-10pm.
High Five
As mentioned, Desert Poets Resident Jordan Honeyblue will be DJing Marfa Mystery Hour this evening. Ahead of her show, here are 5 poetic songs from Jordan:
- Sound of Rain - Solange
- Ultra Black (feat. Hit Boy) - Was
- Sue Me (feat. Kelly Price) - Wale
- Shed Some Blood - Rhye
- Antidote - Orion Sun
You can catch The Marfa Mystery Hour every week at 8pm and find all of our music shows on our Mixcloud.
PSAs
We're hiring for a Morning Edition Host here at Marfa Public Radio. This is role is a permanent part-time position. The person in the role is responsible for hosting daily newscasts, airing local underwriting and public service announcements, and delivering local breaks to provide weather updates and other information for our audiences.
If you think this could be you, head to our website for more info.
If you have PSAs you want on the air or in this newsletter, head to www.marfapublicradio.org/psa.
Join us for our Block Party on Friday May 3! We’ll be in the Marfa Public Radio driveway to celebrate the end of our Spring Drive, with music from local DJs David Branch of Honky Tonk Happy Hour, Michael Camacho of The Rock Pillow, and Jacquline Delolmo, aka Sweetheart of the Radio.
We’re so excited to open up the radio station and celebrate with y’all. Come by from 6-9pm for drinks and dancing in the driveway.
Merch in the Wild
Here's Alpine musician Allison rocking her Marfa Public Radio tee at band practice.
Do you love your Marfa Public Radio bandana? Do you wear your Marfa Public Radio socks? Do you wear a Marfa Public Radio hat on sunny days?
If you wear, use or spot Marfa Public Radio merch out and about, send us a photo to photos@marfapublicradio.org with the subject line "Merch in the Wild.”
And you can get your own MPR merch here!
