Smoggy Fort Worth Sunrise

This photo was taken on this day in 2017.  In the morning.  When it was smoggy.  So it's called "Smoggy Fort Worth Sunrise."  It's the view from a park we walked to every morning.  & since it was July, & a summer in Texas, we often started walking well before the sun rose - so we got to the park in time for sunrise.

Three of the four dogs we moved back to Texas with in 2016 are here with us in Oregon, & they have gone soft.  They act utterly miserable when it hits the high 70s Fahrenheit.  Those mornings in Texas in July & August, it was often the mid-80s at 5:30am.

Just four years ago.  & so much has changed.  It's almost never smoggy in Portland.  When the skies look like they do in this picture, it's because of wildfires (!).

Exciting News!

Can I confess something?  I wanted to tell you news that's exciting to me so I went to googla image search & looked for "exciting news" & I was all like, "Hey! I could make that myself" but really I don't have the motivation or interest so you get that graphic up there.  Which I did make myself.  It's very exciting isn't it.  It exudes excitement.  I think it's the two exclamation marks.  But maybe the boring font ruins it?

Anyway, here's the news: I'll be back in the KBOO studios Monday night/Tuesday morning & I'll be doing Self Help Radio live again at KBOO!  That's pretty exciting, right?  I honestly can't believe it.  So maybe it won't happen.  I think it will, but maybe it won't.

No one noticed, but I slept through the Dickenbock Report yesterday.  I didn't announce it or live tweet it & I woke up about a third of the way through but no one cared.  It was recorded, so it aired, but I missed some of it.  So I suspect me doing SHR live won't be that big of a deal either.

But I'm excited!

Self Help Radio 071321: Volcanoes

(Original image here*.)

Let's see.  Should I write "this show was a blast!"  No.  No.  How about "this week's Self Help Radio was an explosion of music & fun!"  Still not getting the correct feel for the show.  Hm.  I've already rejected "you're gonna lava it" as well as "it's erupt to the highest standards for the show" & especially "be careful walking around this solid show - you might krak-a-toa."  That one would get me arrested.  I guess I'll just go with the safest bet:

This week's Self Help Radio, a show about volcanoes, probably didn't suck.

Nailed it!

Listen to the show, which flowed I think quite well, at both the KBOO website & also at the Self Help Radio website.  It's the same show either way.  It's three hours long & lots of songs get played & other stuff happens & all that is detailed below.

Even though this is supposed to be some kind of self-help for me at least, I am still very afraid of volcanoes.  & I live close to lots of them.

Self Help Radio Volcanoes Show

"Volcano" The Jets _Gomen Nasai (Forgive Me)_

"Volcano" Billy Preston _R'n'B Meets Northern Soul Volume 1_

"Volcano" The Band _Cahoots_

introduction & definitions

"Volcano" Paper Moon _Hey! Where'd The Summer Go?_

"Volcano" Turbo Fruits _Turbo Fruits_

"Volcano!" Grand Duchy _Petits Fours_

"Volcano" JoJo Effect _Ordinary Madness_

"Volcano" Antipop Consortium _Fluorescent Black_

our friendly librarian Carole stops by to talk about volcano books!

"Volcano" U2 _Songs Of Innocence_

"Volcano" The Wave Pictures _Brushes With Happiness_

"Volcano" Guided By Voices _Surrender Your Poppy Field_

"Volcano" Eartheater _Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin_

"Volcanoes" Islands _Return To The Sea_

interview with volcano fan Travis O'Rourke

"The Volcano Song" Logan Whitehurst & The Junior Science Club _Goodbye, My 4-Track_

"Born To Love Volcanos" The Dead Milkmen _Beelzebubba_

"King Volcano" Bauhaus _Burning From The Inside_

"Lava Man" Gee Mr. Tracy _Harmony! Rhapsody! Destiny!_

"Lava" The B-52's _The B-52's_

interview with volcanologist Dr. Magda Petrovich

"Mt. St. Helens" Jim & Jennie & The Pinetops _Rivers Roll On By_

"Krakatoa" Colourbook _Colourbook_

"Etna" Misstress Barbara _I'm No Human_

"Under The Volcano" Nickodemus _Moon People_

"Under The Volcano" Momus _Athenian_

a discussion of volcano movies

"Human Volcano" The Hummingbirds _Va Va Voom_

"Volcano Girls" Veruca Salt _Eight Arms To Hold You_

"Good Lava" Esperanza Spalding _Emily's D+Evolution_

"Volcana!" The 6ths _Hyacinths & Thistles_

"Volcano Lagoon" Eerie Wanda _Hum_

"Tell It To The Volcano" Miniature Tigers _Tell It To The Volcano_

a sensitive question answered: did human sacrifice humans (especially virgins) to volcanoes?

"Cities In Dust" Siouxsie & The Banshees _Tinderbox_

"Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung" The Flaming Lips _At War With The Mystics_

"Vesuvius" Saloon _If We Meet In The Future_

"Vesuvius" Vic Chesnutt _Ghetto Bells_

"Vesuvius" Sufjan Stevens _The Age Of Adz_

conclusion & goodbye

"Red Lava" Tristen _Dream Within A Dream_

"Eve's Volcano" Julian Cope _Saint Julian_

"Volcanoes Erupt" Say Hi _Bleeders Digest_

* "Mount St. Helens Eruption — 1980" by U.S. Geological Survey is marked with CC0 1.0

Whither Volcanoes?

(Image from here.)

Hot on the heels of last week's show about disaster, Self Help Radio quickly gets more specific & present a program about volcanoes.  But why so soon after disaster?  Why not have a couple of volcano songs along with the earthquake & flood & famine songs from last week?  Because Self Help Radio enjoys getting annoyingly specific.  A disaster show is simply about disaster - you see, there can be more shows, one about floods, one about earthquakes, one about famine, & - tonight! - one about volcanoes.

Fair enough.  But why volcanoes?  Were you even paying attention to your schedule?  Look, I've been grooving to Momus' new record Athenian.  When I got to the track, "Under The Volcano," I thought, Could there be many songs about volcanoes?  & I began to gather them.  & when I felt I had enough, I scheduled the show.  I didn't pay any attention to what preceded it.  Because who has the time for that?  Certainly not a radio show that gets annoyingly specific!

Lots of fun songs & fun guests & (because I was craving them) funyuns on tonight's Self Help Radio.  It's on midnight to 3am on 90.7 fm in Portland (& its environs) & online everywhere at kboo.fm.  Portlandites: we do have active volcanoes near, & I worry the show will seem provocative.  If you're near any active volcano, let them know I am doing this out of love.  Thanks.

Preface To Volcanoes: Pictures Of Lava

Okay, maybe it's better I say "pictures tagged lava."  I've never actually seen lava in real life.  I think I'd poop myself.  But here are some pictures I've taken that I somehow thought they featured lava.  I haven't looked at these, I will see them for the first time when I post them here.

This is from May 27, 2014, I just titled it "Lava Door."  I guess I thought the door looked like it was formed by lava?

This is from June 18, 2014.  This was a painting of a lava lamp on an old head shop which was in our neighborhood which I never visited.  Well, I went in one time to put up a WRFL flyer.  It seemed like it had been there for a long, long time.  & yet I never saw any customers in there.  It was called "New Age Gifts" & according to Google Maps, by 2015 it was out of business, its sign gone & only the Grateful Dead bears left on the white facade.  For a time it was a skate shop, & a place to see bands (I never saw a band there though.)  Now it looks like it's just offices?  I'll ask my friend Jon - he still lives nearby.

Finally:

This is from January 19, 2017.  It's called "Lava Lamps" because duh.  I believe I took that picture on a night walk during the winter of some neighbor who had lava lamps in their window.  That's all.  I don't remember the neighbor though.  Or where it might have been taken - you know, except I was in Fort Worth at the time.  But maybe I was coming back from a show or something.  Who knows?

One day I may actually take photos of real lava!  But also I'll need a change of pants.