Preface To Rainbows: Omigolly! This Is The 1,300th Post!

It's hard to imagine, I know, that I have written one thousand three hundred entries in this blog (counting this one) & in general have almost nothing to say.

You know I love to do the math. Here goes:

(I am cutting & pasting most of this from the entry for post 1200.)

I started this blog on 09/12/06.
176 days later, I reached post # 100 on 03/07/07.
158 days after that, I reached post # 200 on 08/13/07.
149 days after that, I reached post # 300 on 01/09/08.
138 days after that, I reached post # 400 on 05/26/08.
141 days after that, I reached post # 500 on 10/14/08.
162 days after that, I reached post # 600 on 03/25/09.
186 days after that, I reached post # 700 on 09/23/09.
149 days after that, I reached post # 800 on 02/19/10.
154 days after that, I reached post # 900 on 07/23/10.
143 days after that, I reached post # 1000 on 12/14/10.
158 days after that, I reached post # 1100, at 05/21/11.
147 days after that, I reached post # 1200, at 10/15/11.

I counted from a calendar & came up with 139 days since entry 1200. The math is almost certainly screwed up - but I do try to be consistent, & have written in this blog five days a week for many weeks now.

Also, if the days above don't add up, don't worry - it's not at all important. I am something of a quitter & when I don't quit, I have terrible follow-through, so it's somewhat amazing to me that I've kept this up. Especially since I have nothing to say.

Or maybe, like most other blogs, it's the reason I keep going?

I am returning to listening to songs about rainbows. Also, I am roasting potatoes. The two are not incompatible.

Holy Crap Lou Reed Is 70 Today!

He doesn't look a day over 100. Happy birthday Lou!

Click for a live version of "Heroin" performed with John Cale in 1972!

Thursday Picture Of A Pet

I know parents are not supposed to have favorites, but of all our animals - with the exception of Beatrice, whose relationship with me goes beyond pet/parent - this little fellow is probably my favorite. His name is Winston & despite his puppiness, he's not a puppy - he'll turn five this summer. He has a condition called Musladin-Lueke Syndrome - colloquially, & with a smattering of racism, called "Chinese Beagle Syndrome" - & he'll be this way for the rest of his life. A friend at KOOP called him a "perma-puppy."

He's had a lot of health issues associated with his sickness, & the wife calls him "our Prius," to joke about the amount of money we've spent on him. Occasionally people will say, when we tell them he's a dwarf, "I want one!" But the truth is, most breeders will kill beagles with this syndrome. That's why they're not common. (In addition, the same condition in other breeds is fatal after one year. They don't know why this is not so with beagles.)

He's been spoiled his whole life, so he's pushy & needy & a big pest, but I think that's why I love him so. He's been in generally good health - when he's not eating things he shouldn't, like cat poo or peach pits - but we fully expect to spend another Prius' worth of money on him during his lifetime. He's really worth it.

Don't Take Our Advice

I know, it seems absurd for Self Help Radio to be giving out advice. Almost no one expects to hear advice from a Self Help Radio show! But it turns out it's all right - it's not the show that's giving the advice, so much as the music on the show. Therefore Self Help Radio can't be legally liable for any advice you might take from the songs. Blame the singers, not the radio show!

The show is available for consultation at the Self Help Radio website. It's in two parts: part one is here & part two is here. All the advisory song titles are listed below.

As always, thanks for listening!

(part one)

"Get Yourself Together" Velocette _Get Yourself Together_
"Accept Yourself" The Smiths _This Charming Man_
"Be True To Yourself" Bobby Vee _The Look Of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection_

"Respect Yourself" Staple Singers _Can You Dig It? The 70's Soul Experience, Vol. 2_
"Do It Yourself" Sprites _Starling, Spiders, Tiger & Sprites_
"Get A Grip On Yourself" The Stranglers _Rattus Norvegicus_
"Believe In Yourself" Sesame Street _Sesame Street Silver: The Tenth Anniversary Album_
"Help Yourself" Diamond Joe _Crescent City Soul: The Sound of New Orleans_

"Find Yourself, Pt. 1" Marvin Holmes _Bay Area Funk_
"Express Yourself" Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band _Express Yourself: The Best Of Charles Wright_
"Pull Yourself Together" Hefner _Breaking God's Heart_

(part two)

"Let Yourself Go" Laptop _Don't Try This At Home_

"Eat Y'self Fitter" The Fall _Perverted By Language_
"Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself" Sandie Shaw _The Greatest Hits Of Sandie Shaw_
"Think For Yourself" The Beatles _Rubber Soul_
"Be Yourself" Whodini _Greatest Hits_

"Make Yourself A Happiness Pie" Roger Ruskin Spear _Electric Shocks_
"Just Be Yourself" LaBrenda Ben _The Complete Motown Singles: 1963_
"Be Yourself" The Antennas _Whip! Wobble & Grind! 1962-1964_
"Help Yourself" Railroad Jerk _One Track Mind_
"Get Yourself Together (Demo)" The Jam _Sound Affects_
"Find Out For Yourself" Acid House Kings _The Sound Of Young Sweden_

Whither Advice?

"Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it." Benjamin Franklin said that. I hope that means this show is for the some folks in between - & no, last week's show was the in between show, not this week's again, & - oh never mind.

It's very unusual for Self Help Radio to be doing such a self-help radio-y thing like giving advice. I have no advice to give. Well, I have one bit of advice to give: if you're lucky, enjoy it. If you're not, endure it. Sometimes it seems to me that experience & skill & art & demeanor are all helpless in the face of hard luck - & get all the credit in cases of good luck. That's all the advice I have.

But the music I play tomorrow will be filled with advice from people less shy than I to give advice. If you want to hear it - whether you take it or not, I don't care - you can do so from 7:30 to 9am tomorrow morning on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington. You can listen to it on your radio or online at our website. (If you're reading this & only want to click once, you can click here to get the live music stream.) If you are late in getting this information, you can listen any time after tomorrow at the Self Help Radio website.

You may want to listen to Self Help Radio's show about advice - there might not be much self-help on the show for months afterwards!