Four Years Ago, In Idaho

Four years ago today, we were on the road from Twin Falls, Idaho, to Portland, Oregon. My wife had a minivan with lots of stuff crammed in it - including three dogs. I had our little Prius with three cats. I documented that drive here on the blog, starting with this post. If you're curious.

So today is the four-year-anniversary of arriving in Portland. I have no regrets. I love it here. I love the people, I really love the food, I really really love the radio stations that let me help out. It's funny, I thought I might not be able to make the drive - we drove five hundred miles a day - but now I really don't think I could make that drive. But it's cool - I don't plan on going anywhere.

At some point outside of Boise - where we stopped & ate - I was falling asleep & my wife noticed & she called me (she was in front I think). It probably saved my life - or kept me from a dumb accident. But look at that road up there! Until we made it to the mountains of eastern Oregon it was a little dull. At least you could drive terrifyingly fast!

The Nicest Thing

We recently adopted a kitten & a puppy. I might have mentioned them already. We have three other animals - two dogs & a cat - all around the age of ten. The old dogs don't like the new cat but have had experiences with cats so don't mess with him. The old cat is fond & protective of the new cat. But the new puppy is generally disliked by all three of the Old Guard. So what happens?

The new puppy (Pete) & the new kitten (Bluto) become buddies, that's what happens. It's the nicest thing. They play too - it seems Pete is a little rough, but when I try to pull Bluto to safety, he goes back to play.

Last night I needed to check on Pete, & discovered him in the living room:

They just like each other. Again - it's the nicest thing! I hope it lasts.

Self Help Radio 050423: Get A Grip

Here's a caveat about this week's show as it appears on the Self Help Radio website: it's not exactly how it aired. There were technical difficulties which caused me to delay the first airbreak. I played an instrumental track while I got help. What I have shared on the website removes that instrumental track (since I talk over it during the first airbreak) which shortened the show, so I added a song at the end that was not broadcast originally.

What was important is that the funny people who add so much to my otherwise bland show got to be heard. I was afraid I wouldn't get to share their contributions. & they were great this week! If you listen at all, it should be for their creative additions.

The show is available to be listened to now at the Self Help Radio website. Remember, you'll need a username (which is SHR) & a password (which is selfhelp) to listen. Below is a list of the songs I played & a brief description of what happened during the airbreaks. For a show whose host barely has a grip on things other than the occasional whiskey glass, it could've turned out much, much worse.

Self Help Radio Get A Grip! Show

"Your Love's Got A Grip On Me" Nick Todd _Rockin' At The Hop_

"I'm Losing My Grip" The Rivingtons _The Liberty Years_

"Devil's Grip" The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown _The Psychedelic Years Revisited_

"Monkey Grip Glue" Bill Wyman _Monkey Grip_

introduction & definitions & focus group flashback # 1

"Don't Lose Your Grip On Love" Brinsley Schwarz _Nervous On The Road_

"Get A Grip On Yourself" The Stranglers _Stranglers IV (Rattus Norvegicus)_

"The Grip Of Love" Tom Verlaine _Tom Verlaine_

interview with martial arts master of many grips Jeff Piper

"Their Grip" Elti-Fits _Messthetics # 106 The Manchester Musicians Collective 1977-1982_

"Get A Grip On Yourself" Pearl Harbor & The Explosions _Pearl Harbor & The Explosions_

"The Grip Of Love" Ghost Dance _Gathering Dust_

"Grip Of Fear" The Blanche Hudson Weekend _Standing On The Lift To The Scaffold: 2009-2013_

interview with Todd Mattel, inventor of the GI Joe Kung Fu Grip
focus group flashback # 2

"Grip It" Trouble Funk _Saturday Night Live From Washington D.C._

"Grip The Mic" Ultramagnetic MC's _New York What Is Funky_

"Break The Grip Of Shame" Paris _Tommy Boy Greatest Hits_

"Grip Like A Vice" The Go! Team _Proof Of Youth_

interview with clinical psychologist Dr. Leonard Dirt

"Grip" Inspiral Carpets _The Beast Inside_

"Thorn In Yer Grip" The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa _Susurrate_

"Get A Grip" Spectrals _Bad Penny_

"Get A Grip" B Boys _No Worry No Mind_

"The Grip" Chris Knox _Almost_

conclusion & goodbye & focus group flashback # 3

"Get A Grip" A Certain Ratio _ACR Loco_

"Don't Let Go Of Me (Grip My Hips And Move Me)" Mike & Brenda Sutton _Don't Hold Back_

"Thighs High (Grip Your Hips & Move)" Tom Browne _Phat Trax - The Best Of Old School, Vol. 2_

Whither Get A Grip?

(Wikipedia says "OK Grip")

"Get a grip" is one of those themes that says to the hypothetical listener "Is Gary all out of ideas?" To which a Gary might reply, "Oh yes! A long time ago!" But this extremely hypothetical listener might press on, saying, "It's an idea, though, isn't it? Even if it isn't a good one." To which Gary almost certainly will say, "That's the tagline for Self Help Radio!"

While I can't be sure what reason I have for this theme, I believe it began with a Stranglers binge which led me to look for songs that used the phrase "get a grip," which is an idiom that one online dictionary defines as "to control one's reactions or emotions; often used as an imperative urging someone to calm down." Naturally, I didn't find enough songs I liked to make an entire show with just "get a grip" tunes, so any song featuring the word "grip" filled out the playlist. & when I thought I had enough, a show was planned.

That show airs this afternoon 12 to 2pm Portland time on 90.3+98.3fm & online at Freeform Portland dot org. & I had fun making it. That might mean it's worth a listen.

Preface To Get A Grip: (Parenthetical Titles)

(image from Discogs)

It's interesting to me that the original single for the very famous Stranglers song "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" (which is pictured above) listed the song title as "Grip." Technically, that's true - if there are words in parentheses in a song title, you don't have to say them - which begs the question, why put them there in the first place?

This article attempts to answer the question of why that is. It points out that the Simple Minds song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" can simply be referred to as "Don't You," which I think is just dumb. Someone did compile a list which they put in their subjective "order of parenthetical charm." I'm sure you have favorites.

What was the first song to do this? I couldn't find out but I suspect it first became common in the 1960s. Some theorize it was a way to draw attention to the song if the title wasn't repeated in the song. Or perhaps it made it easier to find on a seven-inch record sleeve economically - you could just write "Sweet Dreams" instead of "Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These." A time saver of a sort. But what do I know?

One thing that has happened occasionally is that people act like some songs have parenthetical titles when they just don't. As someone who has looked at a lot of playlists over the years, I am a little surprised by this. To take two examples:

A person at one station who regularly played a certain Depeche Mode song always listed it as "(Your Own) Personal Jesus." It turns out they had downloaded the song with that title. They never bothered to check if that were the case.

A person at another station (& I've been told this is quite common) always referred to the Joy Division song as "Control." Apparently they thought the original title was "(She's Lost) Control." This is almost certainly because of the movie of the same name, which doesn't have that song on the soundtrack, but a quick look at the tracklisting of both the "Atmosphere" single (which has "She's Lost Control" as a b-side) & the album Unknown Pleasures (on which the original version exists) will note there are no parentheses in the title of that song. Still, on playlists, that person wrote that they played the Joy Division song "Control."

Personally, I just write the whole song name. Most of the time. I just noticed that last week I wrote the Rexy song as its title "(Don't) Turn Me Away." Probably just copying & pasting. I generally write "Don't You Forget About Me" or "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" without the parentheses. & when I play the Stranglers tomorrow, I won't be playing "Grip." I'll play "Get A Grip On Yourself."

New Intro Time Again Again Again Again Again Again Again Again Again Again Again!

(There's a sample from this movie in this year's intro! Image from IMDb.)

There's a good reason to make an "intro" for your radio show - it automatically separates your show from the previous one. It may also include a legal ID - you gotta have one of those - & it may show off (or cast in a bad light) your audio editing skills. I have a generic intro for the Dickenbock Report, & I play a George Carlin bit at the beginning of Corporate Standardized Programming (which is where the show gets its name) but every year, around the beginning of May, I make a new intro for Self Help Radio.

Why the beginning of May? I think it's because that's when the schedule changed at KOOP - the station in Austin where the show originated - but also probably because when the show was on a college station, like WRFL, it marked the end of the spring semester & the beginning of the summer.  Sometimes I don't get to it at the beginning of May - last year it was the middle of May, the year before that it was June - but I had some time yesterday & here it is - the new intro:

Ta-da! The 2023 Self Help Radio Intro!

Wanna hear the previous ones? No? Oh. Well, here they are in case you change your mind.

You can listen to the 2002 intro (my first!) here.

You can listen to the 2003 intro here.

You can listen to the 2005 intro here.

You can listen to the 2006 intro here.

You can listen to the 2007 intro here.

You can listen to the 2008 intro here.

You can listen to the 2009 intro here.

You can listen to the 2010 intro here.

You can listen to the 2011 intro here.

You can listen to the 2012 intro here.

You can listen to the 2013 intro here.

You can listen to the 2014 intro here.

You can listen to the 2015 intro here.

You can listen to the 2016 intro here.

You can listen to the 2017 intro here.

You can listen to the 2018 intro here.

You can listen to the 2019 intro here.

You can listen to the 2020 intro here.

You can listen to the 2021 intro here.

You can listen to last year's intro here.

It's a little weird to call this final intro on the list "last year's intro" when I played it last week. But I suppose one should think of the intros like television seasons.  That was the 2022-2023 intro; the new one is the 2023-2024 intro. But. It's too late to go back & change everything!

Belafonte

(Image from the Wikipedia*)

Harry Belafonte seemed a larger-than-life performer when I was a child. I remember how delighted I'd be when he showed up on television shows - like the Muppet Show. Later I found out more about him & it turned out he was also an awesome human being. When I was able to find & listen to his records, I loved how much he loved exploring music. As you know, he died on April 25 at the age of 96 - an extraordinary life well-lived.

On Monday nights/Tuesday morning, I have a show on KBOO. I record it over the weekend & it's mainly a chance for me to play lots of music separated from the silliness & theme-focus of Self Help Radio & The Dickenbock Report. It also gives me the ability to celebrate & remember artists we've lost like Belafonte. So for the first hour of the show tonight, I'll be playing some of my favorite Belafonte tunes from his first decade of recordings.

It's on midnight to 3am Portland time on KBOO - 90.7 fm in town kboo dot fm everywhere. I know I cannot really capture his talent in a few songs, but I did want to take the time to play his music. He was, as I've said, extraordinary.

*By Carl Van Vechten - Van Vechten Collection at Library of Congress, Public Domain,

Self Help Radio 042723: Indiepop A To Z # 71

(all images from Discogs)

Here it is! Installment number seventy-one! From Reiner to Riverhead! Lots of groovy indiepop tunes for you!

It's been a bit of a relief (sorry if this is a broken record) to not have to program three hours of this show. Had I stayed in the three-hour block, I would've finished this series sooner (I mean, I probably won't finish, but I could've thought I was moving closer to the goal faster than I will now) but there's a lot of prep & research that goes into this kind of show. The breathing room I suddenly had with filling only two hours was quite welcome.

In any event: show is on the Self Help Radio website. Make sure you note: username is SHR & password is selfhelp. It's downloadable! It's almost all music this week. Next week the dumb interviews return.

Will we finish the letter R next time? I can't wait to find out!

Self Help Radio Indiepop A To Z # 71

"Emily" Kai Reiner _Kai Reiner_

"Autumn" Reinheitsgebot _The Complete R.S.C. Recordings, Volume 1: December 1984_

"If..." The Relations _Patrick._

"My Divorcee" The Relationships _Trend_

"Lovely" The Release Party _The Release Party_

"I Saw Your Eyes" The Relict _Tomorrow Is Again_

"Train Journeys" Remember Fun _Train Journeys_

"Give To You" Remington Super 60 _Happy As We Were_

"Butcher's Daughter" Reserve _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 2_

"She Drives My Train" Resque _Life's A Bonus_

"Flowers In The Sky" The Revolving Paint Dream _Flowers In The Sky: The Enigma Of The Revolving Paint Dream_

"Just Ask Why" The Revs _Buzz EP_

"(Don't) Turn Me Away" Rexy _Sharon Signs To Cherry Red_

"Top Of The Pops" The Rezillos _Can't Stand The Rezillos: The (Almost) Complete Rezillos_

"On Bus #9" The Rhinos _Year Of The Rhinos_

"American Boys" The Rhythm Sisters _Road To Roundhay Pier_

"Stone Heart Blue" Ribbon Stage _Hit With The Most_

"That Summer Feeling" Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers _Jonathan Sings!_

"Drive Blind" Ride _Ride_

"It's Not Easy" Rik Rak _Illuminated_

"Keep Smiling" The Rileys _The World & His Wife_

"Caprice" The Ringing _The Sun Shines Here: The Roots Of Indie-Pop 1980-1984_

"Swallow" A Riot Of Colour _Swallow_

"We're All Trying To Get There" Ripe _Just A Taste: A Summershine Records Compilation_

"Tomorrow's Tears" The Riptides _Tales From The Australian Underground Vol. 2: 1977-1990_

"Let Me Stay" River _...Is The Postman_

"Innocent June" River Roses _Each & All_

"Looking At The Sky" Riverhead _Alpharetta_

Whither Indiepop A To Z # 71?

(image from Discogs)

Hey yeah! We've gotten to the Indiepop A To Z episode where we'll play Jonathan Richman!

But wait Gary! Didn't you also play the Modern Lovers at the Indiepop Ms? Yes I did! But I would argue that solo Jonathan Richman - or when his name was before "& The Modern Lovers" - was a somewhat different beast than the first incarnation of the Modern Lovers. If I wanted to argue. & I don't want to argue.

Listen to the show today on Freeform Portland from noon to 2pm Portland time. On the air in town at 90.3+98.3fm & online at freeform portland dot org.

Even if you're feeling argumentative.

Preface To Indiepop A To Z # 71: Bluto & Pete

There's really not a lot to say about my silly series of indiepop artists in alphabetical order that I haven't already said in seventy other posts (or more) but to share something twee - here is our new puppy Pete (he's almost twelve weeks old) saying hello to our new kitten Bluto (just over six months old). Pete has gotten a chilly reception from our older girl dogs & our older boy cat (all of them are around ten years old) but Bluto & he will play & hang out. So far they haven't commented on my radio show though Bluto does occasionally jump on my desk & rename files now & then. He perhaps fancies himself a poet.

Anyway. The show is tomorrow! I better get to listening!

Mark Stewart

(image from Mark Stewart's Twitter page)

This morning on KBOO I played a couple of hours of music made by Mark Stewart, whom we lost on April 21st. I confess I found myself drawn to his music less because of its fiery left-wing rhetoric & more because I could get lost in it - although surely his lyrics & singing had something to do with it. I loved how voraciously creative he was - & I remember being absolutely thrilled when I played something from Citizen Zombie in the past & he commented on Twitter - probably just to say thanks.

Anyway, it's mainly the music, the first two hours of the show. You can listen here.

Sad he's gone, glad he left so much for us to listen to.

Movies On Another Planet

(image from the IMDb)

If you were off-planet or something, & didn't listen to this week's Self Help Radio, hey, you really should! Do it at the show's website, self help radio dot net! The theme was "planet" & among the guests we had, our resident cinephile Chuck stopped by to talk to us about movies which took place on a planet other than our own. Here are the links he's like you to know about to supplement his segment:

Chuck now has a Substack! Check it out!

Here is his YouTube playlist of films, clips, & trailers for sci-fi films with an alien or aliens (not all are on other planets tho):

Part 1 (1913-1979)
Part 2 (1980s)
Part 3 (1990-2005)
Part 4 (2006-2015)
Part 5 (2016-present)

Here is the IMDb keyword list he used.

Here is the Letterboxd list of sci-fi films with an alien or aliens.
Chuck tells us: "Click on the 'read notes icon - I have put links to the YouTube videos, where the film may be streaming for free, & the occasional bit of other information."

Here are his Letterboxd reviews:

https://letterboxd.com/robotcat/tag/alien-sci-fi-/films/
https://letterboxd.com/robotcat/tag/shr-planet/films/

Here is the IMDb list of sci-fi films with an alien or aliens that are available to stream for free elsewhere.

Chuck continues to tweet about some of the films he watched or may watch in the future - that list is at his Twitter account.

Chuck did a lot of work for this show! Go listen! & then watch some movies!

Self Help Radio 042023: Planet

(Original image by Ella Frances Sanders from here*.)

Apologies for posting this a day late. Since I have a show on Saturday mornings on XRAY (today's show was in honor of Record Store Day if you wanna listen to it) it gets kinda intense & I focus on that instead of posting this week's Self Help Radio. So I guess I'll post these on Saturdays from now on?

This week's show had the theme planet & we had fabulous guests & lots of tunes & all the usual nonsense. I had a lot of fun putting the show together. Almost as much fun as I would traveling to another planet! Oh boy! Will that happen in my lifetime? Nope. Certainly not.

So. Listen to the show yeah? It's at the Self Help Radio website. Remember to use the username SHR & pass the password selfhelp to access it. Everything that happened on the show is below. A show that should've aired on another planet. But was only on this dumb one.

Self Help Radio Planet Show

"Planet Minuet" Tom Glazer & Dottie Evans _Space Songs (From Ballads For The Age Of Science)_

"Story Of The Planets" Sally Starr _Sally Starr's Adventure To The Moon_

"Interplant Janet" Lynn Ahrens _Schoolhouse Rock: Science Rock_

introduction & definitions

"Planet Queen" T. Rex _Electric Warrior_

"Another Girl, Another Planet" The Only Ones _The Only Ones_

"Planet Claire" The B-52's _The B-52's_

"Escape From The Planet Earth" The Continental IV _Dream World_

interview with Dr. Charles Planet, who doesn't think Earth is a planet

"A Visit To A Sad Planet" Leonard Nimoy _Presents Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space_

"Planet Earth" Devo _Freedom Of Choice_

"Lonely Planet Boy" The Pastels _Comin' Through_

"Planet Rock" Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force _Street Jams: Electric Funk Part 1_

interview with Lemuel, a visitor from another planet

"Planet Of Fools" David Thomas & Two Pale Boys _Erewhon_

"Planet Of Women" Sonny & The Sunsets _Tomorrow Is Alright_

"Red Planet" Alvvays _Alvvays_

"Planets Ain't Aligned (feat. The Freestyle Fellowship)" Nobody _No Categories 2: A Ubiquity Compilation_

interview with Preston Truitt, discoverer of Planet X

"Blues For Planet X" My Favorite _Tender Is The Nightshift: Part 1_

"Planet X" Red Ribbon _Planet X_

"First Day On A Brand New Planet" Urusei Yatsura _We Are Urusei Yatsura_

"Happy People, Scary Planet" Kawaii _If It Shines, We Have It_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by/conclusion & goodbye

"Planet E" Tiga _No Fantasy Required_

"Fear Of A Blind Planet" Wax Tailor _The Shadow Of Their Suns_

"Planet" Ken Nordine _Wink: Ken Nordine Does Robert Shure_

"Shoot The Planet" MomusMcClymont _Two_

* Yeah, it's fucking arrogant to stick my dumb logo on such a wonderful drawing but fuck I love it so much & it fit the theme so well I hope I can be forgiven.

Whither Planet?

(These planets are too close together!! Image from here.)

As mention yesterday, Self Help Radio has already explored the themes Mars & Venus. It is not inconceivable that the show may one day explore Mercury or Jupiter or Saturn or even Uranus. (Sorry, it's one of those jokes that's just always there, one can't help oneself.) But what about the term "planet" in general? We live on a planet. Aliens visit us from other planets. We'd all like to one day travel to another planet. Starfleet is the exploration & defense arm of the United Federation Of Planets. I want to do a show about planets but not be confined to our solar system or even literal planets! Why can't we hear songs about metaphorical planets? Did John Donne say something about no one being a planet? Or something sort of like that?

This afternoon, from noon to 2pm Portland time, on Freeform Portland - which you can listen to in town at both 90.3+98.3fm & online everywhere at freeform portland dot org - we will explore the term planet while listening to songs about planets of all kinds plus talking to people somehow related to one planet or another. & then the next astronomy-related show can be about Pluto or Neptune. Or maybe moon, sun, or star. Like space, the possibilities are endless! Or at least there's just a lot of possibilities. Like there's a lot of space. A lot of themes about space.

Okay. I'm done now.

Preface To Planet: Three Questions

(image from here)

Question one: Haven't there already been shows about planets on Self Help Radio before?

Answer one: Yes! There's been a show about Mars. & about Venus. But that's it!

Question two: What's the farthest planet to be discovered at this point?

Answer two: According to this article, the melodiously named OGLE-2014-BLG-0124L might be the furthest away. It's 13,000 light years away. It's a gas giant but really who isn't.

Question three: Does Gary have a favorite planet?

Answer three: Ooo, I've never thought about that. I kinda like the Changeling planet in the Star Trek universe with the Great Link, but since I'm not a Changeling, I'd be kinda out of place there. I wish I could wander around all the planets in our solar system, actually. Like Dr. Manhattan on Mars in Watchmen. But maybe I don't have a favorite planet.

Meet Pete

On Sunday we brought this beauty home to our little home. His name is Pete & he's almost eleven weeks old. We've had him for a little over forty-eight hours & we took him to our vet today, where this picture was taken. He's sweet & a bit bitey & the rest of the household doesn't quite know what to make of him. He's very bonded to my wife which is as it should be. He's too adorable for words. I'll probably post too many pictures of him over on the show's Tumblr page if you wanna keep an eye for him there. Or just ask! We've already taken hundreds.

Other Places, Other Spaces

Wow! Look at these incredibly boring logos!

Just a small bit of information about where to find the radio shows I do. This is a question no-one has every asked me. I'm just pretending someone gives a shit.

Every radio show I do is archived for a time at the Self Help Radio website. As a rule, I prioritize Self Help Radio - it's my baby - so the most recent show is at the top of the page. But in-between there'll be episodes of my other shows, so what if you can't wait a week to listen? Luckily they're archived at the web pages of the stations on which they air.

The Dickenbock Report can be found at its page at XRAY dot fm. Although for some reason this past week's show isn't there. Oh well. I'll put it up later this week on the Self Help Radio page.

Corporate Standardized Programming doesn't have a page on KBOO's website yet, but the first two episodes (& tonight's as well) are on the old Self Help Radio page there. There'll be a page for that show at some point but things move slowly at KBOO - the staff are incredibly overworked.

See? A small bit of information. Very small. Mostly unhelpful. Utterly unimportant.

Self Help Radio 041323: Options

(it's at least one of your options)

As usual, you had the option to listen to this week's show, which had the theme "options," when it aired at its regular timeslot, Thursdays noon to 2pm on Freeform Portland. Almost certainly you did not avail yourself of that option. As was your right.

But then you heard that in addition to the music, I talked to a psychologist about option paralysis! to a retired General who wrote a book called "Failure Is Not An Option"! to a fellow opening a club in town called Options! & to a game show host trying to sell a game show called Options! Maybe you thought, I might have enjoyed that. In case you did - & sure, you didn't, but in case you did - you now have the option of listening to the show any time you want.

It's at the Self Help Radio website. You'll need a username & password to listen - that's SHR & selfhelp respectively. Every song I played & the interviews are listed below, so you have the option to skip around to what you want to listen to.

Aren't options great?

Self Help Radio Options show

"I'll Take An Option On You" Peggy Healy, Roy Bargy, & Rhythm Boys _I'll Take An Option On You_

"Options" Gomez _Whatever's On Your Mind_

"Options" Woolen Men _Options EP_

introduction & definitions

"Options R" Wire _Pink Flag_

"Options" The Proletariat _This Is Boston Not L.A._

"Sabbatical With Options (feat. Aesop Rock)" Prefuse 73 _Surrounded By Silence_

"Options" Sa-Roc _The Sharecropper's Daughter (Deluxe Edition)_

interview with psychologist Dr. Sandy Stern

"C Is The Heavenly Option" Heavenly _Le Jardin De Heavenly_

"Heavenly Option" Cinnamon _The Courier_

"No Options" Lunatics On Pogosticks _Whatever Gets You Through_

"I Need Options" Freezepop _Secret Companion_

interview with self-help author Brigadier General Herman Masterson (Ret.)

"Modern Options" Steven James Adams _Old Magick_

"The Saturday Option" Lambchop _What Another Man Spills_

"At The Purchaser's Option" Rhiannon Giddens _Freedom Highway_

"Not An Option" The Wild Reeds _The World We Built_

interview with club owner Andrew

"Apple Option Fire" Hot Lava _Lavalogy_

"No Mundane Options" The Paddingtons _No Mundane Options_

"Keeping Options Open" Tuns _Duly Noted_

"Option 8" Horsegirl _Versions Of Modern Performance_

you can an option game show host Milton Graves interrupts!

"Death Is Optional" Negativland _Speech Free_

"Technicolor Option" Knifehandchop _Rockstopper_

"Option Paralysis" Githead _Profile_

conclusion & goodbye

"If War Was Not An Option" Suheir Hammad _Poems Not Fit For The White House_

"Vinoo Mankad Option" Muslimgauze _Tandoori Dog_

Whither Options?

(image from here)

Can I tell you, people in Portland have it good. There are so many options for great non-commercial radio here! In most other places, you may have a college station, or a community station, & then the NPR station. Usually the NPR station doesn't compete with the college/community station for music, but in Dallas & Austin there's an NPR music station as well. A part of me doesn't really consider anything NPR does in the same category as college & community stations because they playlist. Most of their deejays are just voice talent like on commercial radio stations.

& I don't really count commercial radio stations, although of course they're an option. This is true: the only times in the last few years I have heard commercial radio stations is either coming from a car that is passing or from people working on our house. & the stations seem utterly unchanged from when I listened to them in the 1980s, over forty years ago.

But as I was saying - options! On the left side of the dial are the stations at which I deejay! Plus there's others including some low power stations on both sides of the Columbia! It's incredible. I had too many options when I came to Portland & I had to settle on three. But there are more!

Is that the reason why Self Help Radio is about options today? I don't think so. I can't remember, actually. But listen today from noon to 2pm Portland time on Freeform Portland - we're on 90.3+98.3fm in town & online at freeformportland.org. You have the option not to do so, of course, but I hope you don't take it.

Preface To Options: Option D

This is one of the few images on my computer with the name "option." It's named "option d," presumably by me, since among the options I've had I have no chosen becoming my father or joining the army. I might have once made conceptual art but I wasn't very good at it. I am almost certain to die if ever I am alone in the woods.

A reverse-gurple image search suggests to me that I found it on this blog. That does not tell me where the blog found it. It's popped up here & there without any attribution. If I were a better detective - or didn't have a radio show to put together - I'd try to find out where it is. It's very funny.

Anyway, I like what I've done with the show so far. Fingers crossed it stays okay for tomorrow!

Sock It To Me Sakamoto

(image from Wikipedia)

Very early this morning, on the show Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO, I played three hours of music by the late, great Ryuichi Sakamoto. I'll put it up on the Self Help Radio website anon, but you can listen to it now should you be so inclined at the KBOO website.

It didn't occur to me at the time, but this is one of the reasons I wanted to do just a general format show - to be able to have the time & space to showcase a performer like Sakamoto. I am grateful I had the opportunity today.

Supermarket Movies

(image from the IMDb)

When Self Help Radio behaves itself, we are visited by our resident cinephile, Chuck, who talks to us about movies involving the week's theme. This week it was supermarkets!

You didn't hear the show? Shame on you! No double coupons this week! Go please to the Self Help Radio website & avail yourself of our fresh selection of supermarket tunes!

Now that you've done that:

Have a look at the IMDb keyword list that Chuck used to find supermarket movies.

There's also a list on Letterboxd.

If you'd like to see some of these movies for free, check out Chuck's Youtube playlist. There's also a list of films on the IMDb which you can stream elsewhere for free.

Have a look at some of Chuck's Letterboxd reviews.

& to find out what movies he's watching next - follow Chuck on Twitter!Z

Anyway, those are too many items for the Express Checkout Lane. What were you thinking?

Self Help Radio 040623: Supermarkets

(original image here)

Self Help Radio's return to Freeform Portland was I think a nice affair. It's nice to be in those studios, the new Freeform Portland studios, in the afternoon. It's nice to have an episode of SHR that's only two hours long, it's just nice. I hope it's a nice program. I have no idea. I don't trust my judgment.

Alas, Freeform Portland doesn't archive its shows like KBOO did, so to listen to this you have to go to the Self Help Radio website. There you'll find the show (along with the others I do). You'll need to have a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to listen. Is it fun to listen to while in a supermarket? Why don't you do that & report back? Everything that happened on the show is below.

Happy shopping!

Self Help Radio Supermarket Show

"Supermarket" Earl Sinks _The Man With 1000 Names_

"Supermarket Full Of Cans" The Eyes Of Blue _The Mod Scene_

"Let's Loot The Supermarket" The Deviants _Disposable_

introduction & definitions - featuring the Definition-O-Tron 3000!

"Supermarket Blues" Eugene McDaniels _Headless Heroes Of The Apocalype_

"Supermarket" Pete Dunaway _Black Rio 2 (Original Samba Soul 1968-1981)_

"A Supermarket In California" Allen Ginsberg _Howls, Raps, & Roars: Recordings From The San Francisco Poetry Renaissance_

"Abominable Snowman In The Market" Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers _Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers_

interview with Jack & Jill Johnson, owners of Jack & Jill's Supermarket

"Lost In The Supermarket" The Clash _London Calling_

"Fairytale In The Supermarket" The Raincoats _The Raincoats_

"Le Supermarché" Les Calamités _À Bride Abattue_

"Supermarkets" George Carlin _On The Road_

"Supermarket Fantasy" Screeching Weasel _Boogadaboogadaboogada!_

interview with five-time Bagboy Of The Year winner Barry Knock

"Supermarket Scene" Icecream Hands _You Can Ride My Bike: The Best Of Icecream Hands_

"Supermarket" Denim _Novelty Rock_

"Electronique Supermarket" Skanfrom _Cashier Escape Route_

"Supermarket Casanova" Hyperbubble _Candy Apple Daydreams_

interview with supermarket consultant Tom Buddy

"Queen Of The Supermarket" Bruce Springsteen _Working On A Dream_

"Supermarkets" Jerry Seinfeld _I'm Telling You For The Last Time_

"Touching Boys (In Supermarkets)" Alice & The Enemies _Alice & The Enemies_

"Supermarket Sushi" The Chickpea Darlings _Bitter Lemon_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by

"Precarious (Supermarket Song)" Martha _Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart_

"Supermarket" Wet Leg _Wet Leg_

"Matt Neffer, Boy Spotwelder: At The Supermarket" Bob & Ray _Classic Bob & Ray, Volume Three - Selections From A Career: 1946-1976_

"Supermarket Supermodel (feat. Chela)" Seth Bogart _Seth Bogart_

conclusion & goodbye7

"Supermarket" Iggy Pop _Skull Ring_

"Rob The Supermarket" Kid Kapichi _Here's What You Could Have Won_

"Supermarket" Flux Information Sciences _Private/Public_

Whither Supermarkets?

As discussed yesterday, today's show differs from the previous Self Help Radio show about "markets" (see that playlist from 2018 here) in that it's a show not about all markets but only supermarkets. But that's not really the story, is it? The story is that Self Help Radio has returned to Freeform Portland! That's right, we're back on the station where the show first found a home when it came to Portland. I'm sure I've talked about the reasons for that before.

So rather than laborious explaining to you why the show is about supermarkets, & in lieu of doing the show in an actual supermarket, I'll just take this to say that today April 6 I'll be at the new Freeform Portland studios from noon to 2pm Portland time with a somewhat brand-new Self Help Radio (all the interviews today are new! some of the songs I played on the previous markets show!) which you can listen to & it won't be in the middle of the night on 90.3+98.3fm in Portland, & online everywhere at freeformportland.org. I hope you can tune in.

By the way, why didn't I record it in a supermarket? Let's just say a person whose name was not Fred Meyer was very rude to me in the plant milks section & leave it at that.

Preface To Supermarkets: This All Seems Very Familiar

It isn't a supermarket but I'm having déjà vu!

Longtime listeners of Self Help Radio, of which there are none, might have warned me about this week's theme. I forget about my shows very soon after I've done them - it's almost a necessity, since I've been doing this for over twenty years. But I keep a page of themes I've covered over on the SHR website. It's supposed to protect me from repetition.

But as I was listening to songs for this show, I felt like I had done a show about supermarkets before. So I checked the list. No, "supermarkets" was not there. I assumed some of the songs might have fit other themes. But the feeling kept nagging at me. & I decided to look for songs in playlists.

Voila! In 2018, I did a show about markets.

That show was recorded, & it aired in Kentucky, so almost certainly no one listening to Self Help Radio now heard it then. I'm not sure anyone even heard it then! & I haven't gone back to the blog for those shows (except to steal the picture above) so I'm not sure if I thought I couldn't find enough songs for a show only about supermarkets.

But guess what! I have! & I'll also probably play the supermarket songs I played five years ago for the markets show! I have no shame! What! You don't really care! You're just pretending to care!

It'll be fun to kind of revisit a theme as I return the show to Freeform Portland. That was I can also pretend I meant to do it. But I did not.

What Did I Do On April 4, 2017?

You know what? I don't recall. I was living in Fort Worth, Texas, at the time. We had just been living there for a few months. I was still doing Self Help Radio remotely - recorded in Texas, airing in Kentucky - but I was volunteering at KNON, so that might explain this:

It's called "Dallas Skyline Morning." I bet I had gone up to KNON for some reason.

But Gary, you may say, wasn't your mother still alive? Might you have gone to visit her? Perhaps, but I'm not sure I would've turned onto I-75 if I were going to her apartment. I might have continued down I-30. This picture was taken from I-75.

Also, look at this:

This picture was almost certainly taken on the ramp that goes from I-30 (seen to the left) to I-45.

Hey Gary, I hear myself say, don't you have a rudimentary dumb journal that you keep to tell you what you were doing on those days? I do, but where's the fun in that? My memory deserves to be challenged once in a while.

But okay. I checked. I was working as Traffic Director at KNON at the time. This was on my way to work.

Not very exciting, after all. But I do like the picture of downtown Dallas. It looks like the buildings are awkwardly waiting for something to happen.

Corporate Standardized Programming

(hopefully better logo coming soon?)

Tonight on KBOO - midnight to 3am on 90.7fm & kboo.fm - is the premiere of my new radio show, Corporate Standardized Programming. It is "replacing" Self Help Radio in the sense that it is that show's previous timeslot. Self Help Radio will now air on Freeform Portland on Thursdays noon to 2pm.

The show is what some might call "general format" - there's no theme, or there might be a theme for individual sets - the whole three hours won't be devoted to something dumb like chipmunks or crosshatching.

The show is also recorded - I put it together on Saturday - but I will live tweet it. (At the show's Twitter account.) Which is cool because I am giving away tickets tonight! How will I do that? I have a text line for the show which I will monitor.

The show takes its name from a George Carlin bit which I will use to open the show. Like Self Help Radio, which isn't a self-help radio show, this really isn't "corporate standardized programming." I seem to like to title my radio shows what they're not. How strange to realize I have a schtick this late in the game!

Maybe you'll listen. If not, the show will be archived on the KBOO website & on the show's website. As always, my radio stuff is as easy to ignore when it's on the air as when it's on the web.

Switcheroo

(Some weirdo on the Freeform Portland Discord)

On Tuesday morning, I did my last Self Help Radio (for now) on KBOO. I believe I have been doing the show in the midnight to 3am slot for well over two years now - since the Fall of 2020. Since perhaps the middle of 2021 I've been doing it live in the KBOO studios.

The thing is, I never really wanted Self Help Radio to be three hours long. It's not been easy to fill 180 minutes with a particular theme - & I've spoken before about how I dislike "broad" themes - like cars or colors or whatever - I like a little bit of a challenge. But challenging is what it has become.

You might not know this but I've also been doing a two-hour version of the KBOO show on XRAY on Saturdays. It seemed to make sense - streamline the show for a different audience - but I've started to feel like that was cheating. As well I was doing both shows live. It was a tad boring for me.

It's been kind of exhausting as well schlepping up to KBOO on Monday nights. With the prospect of Freeform Portland opening its new studio, I decided on a change. Bear with me.

Self Help Radio is moving back to Freeform Portland. It'll happen (live! at the Freeform Portland studios!) from noon to 2pm on Thursdays. But wait! Don't I already have a show there now?

Yes, & the last episode of The Dickenbock Report aired yesterday. I am moving (as of next week) the Dickenbock Report to Saturday mornings, 5 to 7am, on XRAY. Where my two-hour Self Help Radio redo has been.

What about those three hours on Monday night/Tuesday morning? I don't really want to give them up! So I am doing a new show at this time. Premiering midnight Monday is a general format show I am calling Corporate Standardized Programming. It will be recorded. I'll still live tweet the show but won't be going up there & being extremely exhausted all day Tuesday.

To sum up, Gary's week of radio will, starting Monday, be:
Tuesdays midnight to 3am: Corporate Standardized Programming (on KBOO)

Thursdays noon to 2pm: Self Help Radio (on Freeform Portland)

Saturdays 5 to 7am: The Dickenbock Report (on XRAY)

The XRAY & KBOO shows will be archived at their respective sites, & I'll probably archive all three at the Self Help Radio website.

Yeah, switcheroo implies something sneaky, & this took a while to pull together - the various programming folks at the three stations were all very sweet - but I couldn't think of a better word!

Self Help Radio 032823: Instant Radio Show

As announced this morning, Self Help Radio's "Instant Radio Show" is the last episode of Self Help Radio on KBOO for now. It was a program that should've been a bit more clever - instead, you know, I just played a lot of songs that used the word "instant." I also talked to some folks like I do, I had a segment about idioms, & otherwise filled three hours the best I could.

What happens now with Self Help Radio? It's going to be on a different station next week. I'll talk about that on Friday. For now, be aware you can listen (for one last time!) at kboo.fm or (like usual) at selfhelpradio.net. As usual, the latter needs a username & password (SHR + selfhelp respectively) but at least it can be downloaded. Everything that happened on the show is linked below.

Three hours a week was hard! I can't believe I lasted as long as I did.

Self Help Radio Instant Radio Show

"Instant Man" Ronnie Self _Bop-A-Lena_

"Instant Happy" Don Ho _Instant Happy_

"Instant Night" Beauty Pill _Instant Night_

introduction & definitions

"Instant Replay" Dan Hartman _Step Back & Boogie_

"Long Live Instant Pandemonium" Robert Pollard _Of Course You Are_

"Instant Disassembly" Parquet Courts _Sunbathing Animal_

"Instant Flame" Grape Room _Heart Of Gum_

"Instant Nightmare!" The Dears _Lovers Rock_

interview with Jason Lemon of Instant Karma Unltd.

"Instant Karma!" John Lennon _The John Lennon Collection_

"Instant Party Mixture" The Who _Maximum As & Bs (The Complete Singles)_

"Instant Mashed Potato" Chris Knox _Songs Of You & Me_

"Instant Hit" The Slits _Cut_

"Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance To Anything)" The Dead Milkmen _Death Rides A Pale Cow (The Ultimate Collection)_

interview with Andy Jett of Instant Psychedelics

"Instant Reaction" Clarence Carter _Testifyin'_

"Instant Love" The Main Ingredient _Brotherly Love (The RCA Anthology)_

"In An Instant" System Exclusive _System Exclusive_

"Instant Feeling" Aerial FX _Watching The Dance_

"Instant Weight Loss" Sparks _Angst In My Pants_

interview with Charles The Dragon Tamer

"Instant Tunes" XTC _White Music_

"(Do The) Instant Mash" Joe Jackson _Look Sharp!_

"Instantly Yours" Bill Nelson _Do You Dream In Colour?_

"Of The Instant" Gang Of Four _Songs Of The Free_

"Instant Coffee Baby" The Wave Pictures _Instant Coffee Baby_

idioms!

"Instant Knowledge" The Asteroids _Life On A Asteroid_

"Instant Doppelgängers" Surfer Blood _Snowdonia_

"Past Tense Hopes & Instant Fears On 42nd Street" 39 Clocks _Subnarcotic_

"ACME Instant Dehydrated Boulder Kit" Severed Heads _Goodbye Tonsils_

"Instantaneous Decisions" Sun City Girls _Libyan Dream_

a "big announcement"

"Instant Love" Chance Gordon _Instant Love_

"Instant Love" The Monzas _There Ain't Nothing Like Shaggin' (The Secret History Of Carolina Beach Music)_

"Instant Happiness" The Bare Facts _"No Tease..." (Primi-Teen Pounders • Inept, Outta-Tune Teen Romp From The (w)Rec(k) Room!)_

"Instant Love" Bob Leers _Rock-A-Billy Boys_

"Instant Reaction" The Go _Don't Take Her Away_

conclusion & goodbye

"Side One" Jimmy Nelson _Jimmy Nelson's "Instant Ventriloquism"_

Whither Instant Radio Show?

(image by David Shrigley)

Tonight's theme is "Instant Radio Show." Will I show you a simple way to make a radio show? Nope! Will I play a lot of songs that use the word "instant"? Yep!

C'mon, you know my show is dumb. Always assume the simplest, most literal possible scenario.

It's on tonight midnight to 3am Portland time on 90.7fm & kboo.fm.  If you listen live you'll hear an important announcement late in the show!

Preface To Instant Radio Show: Carnation Instant Breakfast

(image from here)

As a child, I watched a lot of television. We were very poor, & mostly we ate junk food. It made me desire the junk food I saw on television - well, any food I saw on television, really. But the more novel the better. Case in point: Carnation Instant Breakfast.

The Wikipedia tells us, "Carnation-brand Instant Breakfast (Renamed Carnation Breakfast Essentials in 2022)* was introduced in 1964. It is a powdered instant drink that is manufactured with protein, vitamins & minerals & sugar. It is typically prepared with milk, & is available in different flavors, such as chocolate, vanilla, & strawberry. Powdered forms are marketed in individual-serving packets & in cans. Carnation also manufactures prepared bottled instant breakfast drinks in liquid form."

For the life of me, I can't recall if I ever had Carnation Instant Breakfast. But boy when I found out about it, I wanted it. It's just not the sort of thing my mom would buy for us - "You have chocolate milk," she might say, even if I explained it wasn't just chocolate milk.

Was there a commercial for Carnation Instant Breakfast that was showed during Saturday morning cartoons? I don't know. At some point, I stopped seeing the commercials, & I hardly ever thought about Carnation Instant Breakfast again. Until this week, thinking about this show. I wonder if it even still existed. & it does, sort of. It's called something else.

Doesn't Instant Breakfast sound like the name of an early 70s prog band tho?

* Italics mine.

Coming Attactions

Will explain soon.

Runaways In The Movies

(image from the IMDb)

Our friend Chuck - the show's resident cinephile - stopped by the show this week to talk about movies featuring runaways. That was the show's theme - runaways. You didn't listen? What, you had better things to do on a Tuesday morning from midnight to 3am?

Listen if you want at the Self Help Radio website or at the KBOO website - Chuck's segment is the first interview, about a third into the show - & then use these handy supplemental links to enhance your viewing experience!

Here's the IMDb keyword list Chuck used to find the movies.
Here is his Youtube Playlist.
Here's a list of movies you can watch elsewhere for free.
Here is the Letterboxd list as well as Chuck's reviews on Letterboxd.

Remember to follow Chuck on Twitter to find out what films he's watching next!

Self Help Radio 032123: Runaways

(Original image here.*)

Here's this week's show, about runaways, mostly metaphorical. It's pretty difficult to write songs I think about actual runaways. By the way, the most common definition for runaway I can think of - "a young person, especially a teenager, who has run away from home" - is number 5 (!) at dictionary.com. The number one definition is "a person who runs away; fugitive; deserter." Which is the original definition it had when it entered the English language, because of the sense of "running away," which one does from danger (or in a military situation). But in my lifetime, the "teenager" definition seems to predominate. I don't think that they take calls from deserters on the National Runaway Safeline.

Since this is a mostly ridiculous show, we don't get into that heavy stuff (we touch on it a bit) so apologies if some of it comes across as glib. We are just being goofy, we don't really want to be insensitive. Which is kind of the show's mantra, come to think of it.

Listen now at kboo.fm or at selfhelpradio.net. If you choose the show's website, you'll need a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp). I think the KBOO site just recording 150 minutes of the show, so if you're the sort of weirdo who wants to hear three full hours of this, you'll need to go to the SHR website. Everything that happens on the show is below.

Take care of yourself!

Self Help Radio 230314: Runaways
"Runaway" Gail Ganley _Girls On 45: Volume 4_
"The Runaway" Jud Strunk _Daisy A Day_
"The Runaway" The Blackbyrds _The Blackbyrds_

introduction & definitions

"The Runaway" Danny O'Keefe _American Roulette_
"Runaway" The Passions _Thirty Thousand Feet Over China_
"Runaway" Gary's Gang _Runaway_
"Runaway" The Moodists _Two Fisted Art (1980 -1986)_
"Runaway" Adventures In Stereo _Adventures In Stereo_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by to talk about films featuring runaways

"Runaway" Lush _Lovelife_
"Runaway" The Frenchmen _Sorry We Ruined Your Party_
"Runaway" Ladytron _Velocifero_
"Runaway" Bad Lieutenant _Never Cry Another Tear_
"Runaway" Yeah Yeah Yeahs _It's Blitz_

interview with Lawrence Roe, who helps runaway teens in Portland

"The Runaway" The Clarks _Restless Days_
"Runaway" The National _High Violet_
"Runaway" Imperial Teen _Feel The Sound_
"Runaway" Milk Music _Cruise Your Illusion_
"Runaway" Varsity _Fine Forever_

interview with Runaways Fan Club president Run Away

"Runaway" Joan Jett & The Blackhearts _Changeup_
"Runaway" April March _In Cinerama_
"Runaway" Beach House _Once Twice Melody_
"Runaway" Marlody _I'm Not Sure At All_
"Runaway Yeah" Eyelids _A Colossal Waste Of Light_

interview with Karl Amsterdam, who helps runaway teens in Kentucky

"I'm A Runaway" Tab Hunter _My Rifle, My Pony, & Me_
"My Runaway Heart" Carol Fran _Bluesoul Belles Vol. 1: The Complete Calla, Port, & Roulette Recordings_
"Runaway Child, Running Wild" The Temptations _Emperors Of Soul_
"He's Just A Runaway" Sister Sledge _All American Girls_
"God Save The Runaways" The Secret History _The World That Never Was_

a discussion of resources for runaways

"Billy Is A Runaway" Iggy Pop _New Values_
"Runaway Boys" Stray Cats _Runaway Boys_
"Runaway Blues" Randy Kaplan _Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie_
"Some Dumb Runaway" Kristin Hersh _Wyatt At The Coyote Palace_
"Runaway Strays" Spud Cannon _Squeeze_

conclusion & goodbye

"Runaway Jane" The Natvral _Tethers_
"Runaway Dog" Retirement Party _Runaway Dog_

* image licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Whither Runaways?

(image from here)

Here's the thing: runaways as a theme is pretty heavy. Running away is a hard decision for anyone to make, especially those who are young & have had traumatic experiences. In general, this is a light-hearted radio show & most of the songs about "running away" have nothing to do with those kinds of runaways. In fact, when I started collecting songs about running away - usually using the noun form "runaway" - I didn't even think about people who are running away from terrible experiences into possibly worse situations. The songs will mostly not be about that.

So please take this theme with a grain of salt. Not that you treat this show very seriously if you think of it at all, which almost nobody does. Still, I feel the need to issue a caveat. In case I offend, in case anyone thinks I am really putting out truthful information, in the very unlikely case anyone takes my dumb radio show seriously. Please don't!

In fact, you're encouraged to run away from it. Here's where you shouldn't be: tonight, from midnight to 3am Portland time, on 90.7fm in town, kboo.fm everywhere.

& that's all I have to say about that.

Preface To Runaways: It Is Happening

(image from Gurgle Merps)

Way back in 2021, when a lonesome Goodle Meeps car, armed only with a camera & a case of Red Bull, drove down Stark Street in SE Portland, it captured this little apartment building which featured a cafe & a photography studio on the first floor.  That photography studio would soon end its time in Portland, moving (according to its website) to West Linn, wherever that is. But it would be an opportunity for the little radio station that could, Freeform Portland, who moved in to that space in the fall of last year.

After spending its first years in what was basically a walk-in closet in the Baker Building up north (okay, it was two rooms & a hallway), it is absolutely amazing to have the space that - oh, well, you can't see - it's just the facade. I will have to take more pictures. Anyway.

Tonight! A Freeform Portland deejay will do his show live from the studio! Which means what exactly? It means we're coming to the end of recording-shows-from-home - the Dickenbock Report will be (I hope) live!!! this week.

Tonight, late-ish (the show is on from ten to midnight), I'll visit. If I don't report back about it, there is still work to be done. But I am strangely hopeful. It seems like it is happening!