Some Sunsets

Here are two sunsets & one picture of the sun which I have taken on February 5ths past.

On this day, last year: an apocalyptic sunset as seen from our neighborhood.

From three years ago today: an invisible winter sun.

From five years ago, the clouds lead the way to the end of the day.

The first two (on this page, not chronologically) were taken in Portland, the last in Fort Worth.  I'm not sure why I like winter sunsets - certainly you don't always get to see the sun set in rainy Portland.  But I was a little surprised at the photos of the sun I've taken on this day.  So I thought I'd share.

National Missing Dickenbock Report Day

(image from here)

You might not know this, but I do another weekly radio show besides Self Help Radio, & it's called The Dickenbock Report, & it airs Thursdays from 8-10am on Freeform Portland.  Unlike Self Help Radio, the show isn't live - I record it at home, & per Freeform Portland policies I have to turn it in three days early so it can be "cleared" (ie, made sure there weren't any FCC violations) before airing.  Freeform Portland is run entirely by volunteers, & so it's a volunteer that does that.  We get a note from whoever "clears" the show that it's been approved, & I expect to listen to it Thursday morning so I can live tweet it like I do Self Help Radio (which I do live, however).

Like SHR, The Dickenbock Report is theme-based, but it's in the corny form of a fake newscast, usually organized around a National Day, like yesterday's show, which was based on National Missing Persons Day, which is February 3rd.  The show cannot be re-run, you see - it would make no sense to have that show airing on a different, unrelated say.  So I make sure that I get the show in on time, or else the Freeform Portland automation would either run the previous week's show (bad) or another show (which is called "an evergreen") in its place (which wouldn't be so bad).

My luck at Freeform Portland has been okay.  Sometime last year, the server would go down right before my show with such regularity that I joked about it on the show.  But lately I have been surprised & pleased that the show is airing at the right time, no problems, & I am able to live tweet the show, & I feel all right about the work I put into the show, which is close to what I put into Self Help Radio, mainly because of recording my airbreaks.

Oh I understand no one listens - that's a given.  But I feel a small sense of accomplishment.

Except the National Missing Persons Day show didn't air this week.  The volunteer who "cleared" the show made a mistake that led to a previous show airing.  It was a show that happened to be on my birthday, which is January 20.  So somehow a show from two weeks was placed where the show that the volunteer had "cleared" was supposed to be.

By the way, the volunteers who "clear" the episodes don't sign their names.  I have no idea who did it.  & I'm almost certain that that person isn't aware of the mistake they made.  Which means they might do that regularly.  This is the joy of a volunteer-run station.

Sorry to be complaining about this.  I spend some time on these shows - even if it's not obvious because of how shabby they are - so it's both disappointing & frustrating that it won't get to air.

& so I put it on the Self Help Radio website.  Here's the direct link.  You'll need the username SHR & the password selfhelp to listen.

Yes, you wouldn't have otherwise listened, & you certainly won't now.  But the case of the missing Dickenbock Report on National Missing Persons Day has been solved.  & it wasn't at all exciting.

Self Help Radio 020122: Tambourines

(Original image here.*)

It was sad, all my tambourines were confiscated at the doors of KBOO before I could go in.  Otherwise I would've played tambourine live on the radio along with all the tambourine songs I played.  Because a tambourine is fun to play & infectious!

Instead, the show contained lots of tambourine songs, including some interviews (detailed below) as well as a set dedicated to the most famous tambourine song of all time.  If you didn't like it, if you don't enjoy a set of covers of the same song, I will just say this: it was my wife's idea.  If you did enjoy it, it's also my wife's idea.  Credit where it's due!

Please play your tambourine along when you listen!  & you can do that both at the show's page at KBOO & at the show's website.  If the latter - if at the show's website - make sure you note the username & password required to listen.  They are SHR & selfhelp respectively.

Enjoy!  Enjoy it like you don't normally enjoy the tambourine!

Self Help Radio Tambourine Show

"Tamborine" The Why-Nots _Back From The Grave Volume 9_

"My Tambourine" Chuck Berry _Rock & Roll Music - Any Old Way You Choose It (The Complete Studio Recordings ... Plus!)_

"Soul Tambourine" Bettye Lavette _Souvenirs_

introduction & definitions

"Tamborine" Prince & The Revolution _Around The World In A Day_

"Dance And Shake Your Tambourine" Universal Robot Band _Dance & Shake Your Tambourine_

"Glass Tambourine" Wild Flag _Wild Flag_

"Tambourine" Flannery Brothers _Love Songs For Silly Things_

"Tambourine Day" The High Llamas _Buzzle Bee_

interview with master tambourine player Chaz Richter

"Tambourine" Ambarina _El Sonido Del Río Hablador Vol. 1_

"Tambourine" Ambitious Beggars _Beg!_

"Tambourine" Nice Man & The Bad Boys _The Art Of Hanging Out_

"A Zillion Tambourines" Ammoncontact _With Voices_

"Harmonicas & Tambourines" Hot Hot Heat _Happiness Ltd._

interview with tambourine player organizer Chrissy Locks

"I Am Your Tambourine" Tift Merritt _Tambourine_

"Velvet Like A Tambourine" Susan Voelz _13 Ribs_

"Black Tambourine" Withered Hand _New Gods_

"Toy Tambourine" Aberdeen _It Was The Rain: Lost Recordings 1993-1995_

"Funky Tamborine (Parts I & II)" C & The Shells _Funky Tamborine_

interview with Roger The Tambourine Maker

"Green Tambourine" The Lemon Pipers _The Best Of The Lemon Pipers: Green Tambourine_

"Texas Tambourine" Don Lang & His Frantic Five _Introducing The Hand Jive & Singles Compilation_

"Rockin' Tambourine" Frankie Lymon _Complete Recordings_

"Shake Your Tambourine" Bobby Marchan _Soulin' Volume 2_

"Glass Tambourine" The Green Pajamas _Strung Behind The Sun_

a brief history (disputed) of the tambourine

"A Rolling Tambourine" Kelley Stoltz _Natural Causes_

"Tambourine Girl" Ringo Deathstarr _Colour Trip_

"Tambourine" Happy Hollows _Spells_

"Tambourine" Book Of Love _Lovebubble_

"Black Tambourine" Lo Carmen _The Peach State EP_

"Rockers Tamborine" Shorty The President _Reggae Bloodlines_

a brief discussion of the song "Mr. Tambourine Man"

"Mr. Tambourine Man" Bob Dylan _The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert!_

"Mr. Tambourine Man" Melanie _Born To Be_

"Mr. Tambourine Man" William Shatner _Spaced Out: The Best Of Leonard Nimoy & William Shatner_

"Mr. Tambourine Man" Con-Funk-Shun _How Many Roads (Black America Sings Bob Dylan)_

"Mr. Tambourine Man" Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon _Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache_

"Mr. Tambourine Man" Flatt & Scruggs _1964-1969, Plus_

conclusion & goodbye

"Sixteen Chickens & A Tambourine" Roy Acuff & His Jug Band _The King Of Country Music_

"Shake That Tambourine" Elvis Presley _The Complete Elvis Presley Masters_

"Tambourine" Tapes & Tubes _Retroactive_

"Tambourine" Groovy Movies _Groovy Movies_

* "It's a Tambourine, Man!" by MarkyBon is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Whither Tambourines?

(image from here - where you can listen to a different radio show about tambourines!)

It's time once again for a Self Help Radio show about a musical instrument - we've done shows about drums & guitars, for example - in which we play songs about the instrument & not necessarily songs featuring the instrument.  You might expect the latter but you'll get the former!

We've have guests & we'll have a very annoying part of the show (it'll be at the end) but mainly it'll be groovy tunes about the tambourine & yes there'll be tambourine sounds.  I feel like saying more would be overselling.  It's a show about tambourines.  I thought it might be fun.  & it may yet be!

Tonight on 90.7fm KBOO + kboo.fm from midnight to 3am.  I will not bring a tambourine into the station with me.  You're welcome.

Howard Hesseman, RIP

It would be incredibly dishonest for me as someone who spends as much time as I do on the radio to not want to place some of the blame on the great Howard Hesseman & his portrayal of Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP In Cincinatti.  I was an avid listener to the radio, not really caring much about the personalities thereon - it wasn't until I first heard community radio that I realized that a lot of the commercial radio voices were cookie cutter & inauthentic - but Hesseman's Johnny Fever made it look like so much fun.

& you know what - he was right!  It's the most fun thing I've ever done.

So thank you, Howard Hesseman, for being perfect & funny in that role - & of course the many other things you did as well.  You may be gone but you're not leaving behind dead air.  Your inspiration sparked an untold number of people to want to play on the radio, too.

(Sorry, I don't remember where I found that photo!)