Self Help Radio 050814: Damage

Self Help Radio can inflict a lot of damage over a couple of hours.  Is there such a thing as "radio insurance"?  If so, look into it.

Here's the show: the show on the website.  Or here's the direct links: part one & part two.  The song list is below - it may or may not damage you to look at it.

Be safe & thanks for listening!

(part one)

"Damage" David Sylvian & Robert Fripp _Damage_
"The Damage" Ivy Green _The Damage_
"Damage" The Attractions _Mad About The Wrong Boy_

"Damage" Yo La Tengo _I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One_
"Damage" Handsome Furs _Sound Kapital_
"Damage (feat. GZA) (Radio Edit)" Ol' Dirty Bastard _Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version_

"The Needle & Damage Done" Neil Young _Neil Young Archives, Vol. 1: 1963-1972_
"The Damage Done" Sisters Of Mercy _Some Girls Wander By Mistake_
"Damage Is Done" One The Juggler _Nearly A Sin_
"The Damage Has Been Done" Ann Clark _Shake A Leg!_

"Damaged Goods" Gang Of Four _Entertainment!_
"Mr. Damage" Angels _Out Of The Blue_

(part two)

"Damaged" Primal Scream _Screamadelica_
"Damaged" Vivian Girls _Vivian Girls_
"For The Damaged" Blonde Redhead _Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons_

"Brain Damage" Austin Lounge Lizards _Lizard Vision_
"Brain Damage" Shakes _I Think We Should Stay Away From Each Other_
"Brain Damage" Bill Cosby _Himself_
"Doin' Damage" JVC F.O.R.C.E. _The Best Of B-Boy Records_

"The Voice Of America/Damage Is Done" Cabaret Voltaire _The Voice Of America_
"Where Damage Isn't Already Done" The Radio Dept. _Lesser Matters_
"Too Damaged" Subsonics _In The Black Spot_
"Damaged I" Black Flag _Damaged_

"Damage Done" Moderat _II_

Whither Damage?

The evolution of a thought to a radio show is a trivial one, fraught with too much conceit & of course not  bit of self-importance.  Its unimportance in the grand piano scheme of things is unrivaled in the history of human indulgence.  Yet here we are, at least I'm here, wondering aloud or in the corners of our minds, why do a radio show about such-&-such?  Oh!  To be a warrior in some oppressed land fighting for one's freedom rather than making a boring radio show!

Well.  Self Help Radio airs today from 10am to noon on WRFL - 88.1 in Lexington,  Maybe listen?  Who cares?

Preface To Damage: No One Is Safe

I am something of a comics nerd but I confess I hadn't heard of (or forgot about) this DC comics character

It makes sense why I might not know who he is - the son of the original Atom, Al Pratt - because even though I tried to keep up with Roy Thomas' obsessive desire to tie all the old comics together - a task of which I approve, as it's something I would try to do - reading both All-Star Squadron & Infinity, Inc., in the 1980s - I had all but given up reading comics in the 1990s, & this character was created in 1994, according to Wikipedia.  I've read a couple of the more recent JSA comics since then, but the character didn't stand out to me - or I just didn't remember him, which is sort of the same thing.

I do feel a little weird, though, because there was a time when I loved the fact that I knew pretty much every hero & villain & supporting character in the DC Universe.  I loved the idea of parallel worlds, & was one of those happy kids who waited for the JLA/JSA crossovers in the summer.  When Crisis On Infinite Earths happened, I was pretty bummed - I loved the fact that I was one of those loyal readers who knew that the Marvel Family lived on a different earth than the Freedom Fighters (whose world was conquered by Nazis!).

& I have no idea what's going on with the most recent "reboot."  I have an idea: don't restart, just tell the tales & let the characters die & others replace them.  Oh, I'm sorry, you couldn't hear me above the noise of all that money to be made.  My apologies.

Also, sorry to Damage - I'm sure you're a fine character.  Hey!  I knew your dad when he lived on Earth-2!

What I Hate: Stinkbugs

These guys:

They've infested our sun room.  This is a bad thing, says this page.  I am none too fond of bugs, even ones called "stinkbug," & I am especially not fond of bugs that emit an odor when smashed.

For the longest time, I just let them be.  Occasionally, one would fly at me in a particularly hateful way, but mostly we avoided each other's space.

No more.  I have started to kill them.

I am a vegan, & I get asked often about whether I eat honey or wear silk.  The answer is, not really, but I don't have the same attitude about bugs that other vegans do.  Silk is a no-brainer - it's not my style.  But if I'm going to eat honey, it'll be local honey, since I know those folks care about the bees.  Bees are important, & if there's going to be an insect I have to care about, it'll be bees, although they'll probably be extinct in my lifetime.

I grew up poor, in apartments that had cockroaches.  I killed them.  In the summer, flies would get in.  We had a fly swatter.  If I find something crawling on me, I may scream like a child, but I also will fling it off &, if I am not shivering too much, stomp on it until it's dead.

I'd be a terrible Jain, in other words.  Not as bad as someone who salivates when people talk about bacon or who'd wait in line for a KFC Double Down, but still not someone other Jains would hang around with.

Let this be a warning to the stinkbugs in my vicinity: I am no longer guardedly indifferent to you.  I am your enemy.

But please don't fly into my mouth when I'm asleep.

Mowing The Lawn: Seven Thoughts

1.

There used to be an old KVRX promo spot in which a bored teenager was being badgered by his mother to mow the lawn, & he says he doesn't want to, he'd rather listen to KVRX.  The humorous tag was, "KVRX - it's better than mowing the lawn."  Meanwhile, you could hear the lawnmower revving up in the background.

2.

I tried to find it in old recordings but had no luck.  Sorry!

3.

I didn't have a yard growing up.  We lived in apartments.  Occasionally, my sister would give me five bucks to mow their lawn.  It wasn't any fun.  She used to mow her own lawn but doesn't anymore.  She pays someone now.

4.

We have a lot of lawn where I now live.  When the wife was getting a fence put around the backyard - essential when you have beagles - the guy from whatever company suggested to her that she might want to install a larger gate for a riding mower to pass through.  She said no, she expected her husband to mow the lawn with a mower.

5.

Which is fine with me.  I think mowing the yawn should be a chore that feels like a chore.

6.

We have a large yard & an electric mower, which is quite heavy, because of its giant battery.  We had to buy an extra battery because of the length of time it takes to mow both the front & back of the house.  It stopped working last week so we borrowed the neighbor's gas mower to mow the lawn today.  Two observations:  a, the electric is quieter, & b, it cuts better.

7.

Oh yeah, I spent the day mowing the lawn.  That's why I'm going on about it.