Self Help Radio 100518: Anniversary Pre-Game

(I found this image here.)

Self Help Radio first went on the air on October 9, 2002, a Wednesday, at 2pm.  At the time, I was also overseeing a program called "The Pilot Show," where new trainees at the station would get an hour to show us what they would play & say if they got a show.  There was no "pilot" that day, so I did two hours: one, a "hello" show, telling whomever might be listening hello, & the second, a show about war, since, at that time, it was being made very clear that soon the United States would be going to war with Iraq because - well, I'm not sure there was any real reason except somebody in power wanted it.

Sadly, I don't have copies of those shows digitized.  Let me rephrase that: gratefully, I don't have copies of those shows digitized.

In those days, I had no idea how long I'd be doing Self Help Radio.  Certainly not more than ten years!  I didn't really have any plans, but celebrating anniversaries seemed somewhat stupid up until I was certain that I might be doing the show for some time.  This happened in 2008, when I decided to revisit an old theme around the date when I first did Self Help Radio, & this became a tradition.

Here for your listening pleasure (?) or just for archaeological reasons, are the first four anniversary shows I did.   There are links to the original & anniversary shows so you can compare & contrast playlists.  & there are notes about the show as well.

Remember!  You'll need a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to listen!

Here they are:

Sixth Anniversary Show, 10/19/08
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
This show may sound strange, & it is: it's a show I did when I was in-between stations.  I had left KOOP in anticipation of leaving Austin, & WMUL was in my future.  I sound a little down, actually, in the first airbreak - I didn't listen to it after that.  But I remember that the theme was one of the first that I got feedback from on the original show - someone called & told me they were going to leave the house but the show made them afraid something would break.
Listen to part I & part II

Seventh Anniversary Show, 10/14/09:
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
I always liked this idea.  Each song contains a reference to a nationality.  This was recorded at WMUL in Huntington, West Virginia, before I became disillusioned with the station & the town.  The station was mostly focused on sports - more often than not, I was the only person in the studio before & after my show.
Listen to part I & part II

Eighth Anniversary Show, 10/12/10:
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
Another theme I liked: a series of songs that have the counting numbers in them, so 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.  Like the other themes I revisit, I long felt I didn't do this theme justice, possibly because I was still putting the show together (in the early days) the night before.  Long-term planning didn't happen for years.  This is also notable as one of my first WRFL shows - I had just been in Lexington since August, & I believe I am doing this around 5 in the morning.
Listen to part I & part II

Ninth Anniversary Show, 10/10/11:
Original show playlist.  Anniversary show playlist.
Another theme I felt I wasted.  My first "space junk" show - inspired by an article about how many old & non-functioning human-made objects we have orbiting the earth - didn't even feature "Telstar"!  I needed to correct that!  I was doing the show on Monday mornings at this time on WRFL from 7:30 to 9am.  I was having lots of fun.
Listen to part I & part II

Should I put up more anniversary shows?  Would you like that?  Let me know!

Whither No Show About Radiation?

Some facts about this week's Self Help Radio:

1) It doesn't exist.  Not in the sense of "it doesn't exist now but will tomorrow" but in the sense of there won't be an episode of Self Help Radio this week.

2) It doesn't mean there won't be an episode about radiation.  That will happen in two weeks.

3) Because the radiation show will happen in two weeks does not mean there won't be a new Self Help Radio next week.  Self Help Radio returns Friday, October 12.

4) The show next week will not be about radiation because it is the show's 16th anniversary episode.  The very first episode of Self Help Radio aired on October 9, 2002.  Next week's show is the closest to the 9th without being before the ninth.

4a) On anniversary shows, I revisit an old theme.  Since I've never done a show about radiation before, I have chosen to move the radiation show to the week after.

4b) The theme I am revisiting is mirrors, which first aired around fourteen years ago.  Since the show was only two years old (& I didn't know how long I'd be doing it), I didn't do a two-year anniversary then.

5) Tomorrow I will find some interesting things for you to listen to.

6) My apologies.  Even if the show were on the air, I would not have been able to do the show this week.

7) Seven facts is way too many for this nonsense.

8) & yet it continues.

9) It may never end.

10)

Preface To Radiation: Nope!

Hi.  I spent most of today (starting around 5am) in a hospital, or going to & from a hospital, gathering things to be taken to a hospital.  My wife had surgery on the spinal area around her neck, which seems tricky but is apparently a very common procedure, & she's done well, thank you, but if I spent the lion's share of the day with her today, when there were more people around to help, I can't imagine I'll have the time to do anything but help her when she comes home, as I hope she will.  & if she doesn't come home tomorrow, I will be spending most of the day at the hospital.

Here's a funny story: she is a dork who thinks she's some kind of hero, & she loves to get high scores, good grades, accolades of any kind.  When one of her students visited her, he told there were three stars on the board outside her room.  My wife immediately said, "I'm the best patient ever!"  When we asked the nurse what the stars meant, she said, "They indicate fall risk.  Three stars mean we have to help the patient in & out of bed."

Was my wife discouraged by that?  Hell no.  She asked, "What do I need to do to get four stars?"

This means no Self Help Radio this week.  My apologies to anyone who might have wanted to hear a show about radiation - that'll happen in a couple of weeks.  Next week is my anniversary show - celebrating sixteen years of Self Help Radio.

If you've nothing better to do, might I suggest catching up on older SHR episodes?  Or maybe listening to my last couple of KNON shows?

Any News??

Oh, you can't fool me.  I know you're waiting with bated breath ("bated" means "in great suspense; very anxiously or excitedly," as opposed to "baited," which would imply someone had put, let's say, worms in your mouth to help you catch fish maybe?) for word about whether there will be a new Self Help Radio this week.  The answer is I don't know yet.

On the way to Dallas this morning to do the Tuesday Morning Blend (I resisted just now linking to the page but have since thought better of it) I listened to many songs about radiation.  There are plenty & they're good!  But it remains to be seen if I'll have the time to put a show together.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear - what?  You found this blog by accident & you have no idea what it is?  It's for a radio show...  Oh, you don't care.  You just read this far in case there might have been something about pornography or drugs?  No, no, there isn't.  But wait!

Damn, they left.  Anyway, I'll keep hoping that I'll be able to put a show together.  & I'll probably know whether or not I'll be able to do that when I write again tomorrow.

No!  There's nothing about porn or drugs here!  It's called Self Help Radio for fuck's sake!  Why would you even think...  Oh, they're gone now.

The internet is weird.

How Many Times Have I Titled One Of These "Reminder"?

Well, here's another one.

This is a reminder that if you read this blog because you like to listen to Self Help Radio which usually happens once a week, Fridays at noon, that the show might not happen this week.

But wait!  Didn't I say that last week?  Yes, I did.  & it happened last week because the thing that might have kept it from not happening didn't happen but rather was rescheduled to happening this week.

& as far as I can tell, that thing will in fact happen this week.

What is the thing?  The thing is my wife having surgery.  This may require me to forego much of what I do to take care of her post-operation.  & most of what I do during the week is Self Help Radio.

For the moment, I am planning on doing the show.  But you know what they say about planning.  "Planning sometimes doesn't take into account surprises or other unexpected things which screw up plans."  Something like that.

Please consider this reminder reminded.  Or something.