Actually, I'm on the road. I might not be on the road from 7-9am tomorrow, but if I'm not, & I'm not asleep, I'll be listening to Maria & Macy as they do a Self Help Radio episode about roads!
You can find it on 88.1 fm on your dial +/or online at wrfl dot fm, which is how I'll be listening!
You are in for a treat!
Friday, June 26, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Grief
I've written about grief before, when I talked about the death of my dog George, & I am still flabbergasted by how powerful grief is. I know I wrote this already, but the night George died, I drank an extraordinary amount of whiskey - probably enough to put most anyone to blackout sleep - but my mind wouldn't let me get drunk. It was so absorbed in the pain I was going through that it said "fuck you" to the alcohol in my head. On Facebook, I wrote: "grief > alcohol," a mathematical equation I haven't tested since then. Nor do I want to.
To a friend today I wrote this:
"I was walking the dogs yesterday & trying to understand why grief seemed to be the most powerful emotion I've ever felt. I think it's because it's every emotion you feel for the thing you have lost - not just the love, but the dumb things, the frustration, the anger, the impatience, the worry - everything that goes into a living, breathing relationship with someone - & all the years are dropped on you all at once. It's crippling. You lose a little of yourself, & you know it."
It seems strange to me that we survive grief. It must be that grief transforms us somehow. Transforms us without making us colder. If anything, it makes us more sensitive. That seems counter-intuitive.
Despite the name of my radio show, I don't really read much self-help or even listen to those shows. I've never seen an episode of "Dr. Phil," just clips on shows like "The Soup." I am resisting reading what social scientists say about grief because at some level I don't think understanding it will help any. Not when you're so deep in it.
Like every emotional battering, grief makes it hard to be logical. But look at me, here, making a stab at it.
To a friend today I wrote this:
"I was walking the dogs yesterday & trying to understand why grief seemed to be the most powerful emotion I've ever felt. I think it's because it's every emotion you feel for the thing you have lost - not just the love, but the dumb things, the frustration, the anger, the impatience, the worry - everything that goes into a living, breathing relationship with someone - & all the years are dropped on you all at once. It's crippling. You lose a little of yourself, & you know it."
It seems strange to me that we survive grief. It must be that grief transforms us somehow. Transforms us without making us colder. If anything, it makes us more sensitive. That seems counter-intuitive.
Despite the name of my radio show, I don't really read much self-help or even listen to those shows. I've never seen an episode of "Dr. Phil," just clips on shows like "The Soup." I am resisting reading what social scientists say about grief because at some level I don't think understanding it will help any. Not when you're so deep in it.
Like every emotional battering, grief makes it hard to be logical. But look at me, here, making a stab at it.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Family Matters
There will be a Gary-less (not, as is usual, garrulous) Self Help Radio on Saturday morning. But there will be a Self Help Radio, which is wonderful. The two delightful women who brought you the twins show earlier this year will step in for me & do a show about… Well, I don't know! They haven't told me. They are Maria & Macy, of course.
I have to be out of town on family matters. It's a sad story that I don't want to talk about just yet but it does require my presence. For lots of reasons. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm being coy.
I've been pretty candid about my relationship with my family on this blog, probably because so few people read it, & also because I really love to talk about my family. I don't know if I really love my family as a unit, but there are members I love dearly. The truth is, most of them are whatever is slightly less than strangers to me. Because of that, I have toyed around with starting a blog called "Gary Complains About His Family." But of course there was always a part of me that thought that would be a little tacky.
Anyway. I'll discuss things once I'm slightly more clear headed. I'm very glad that Maria & Macy will be hosting the show, though. I think they're dynamite.
Macy & Maria
(or is it Maria & Macy?)
I have to be out of town on family matters. It's a sad story that I don't want to talk about just yet but it does require my presence. For lots of reasons. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm being coy.
I've been pretty candid about my relationship with my family on this blog, probably because so few people read it, & also because I really love to talk about my family. I don't know if I really love my family as a unit, but there are members I love dearly. The truth is, most of them are whatever is slightly less than strangers to me. Because of that, I have toyed around with starting a blog called "Gary Complains About His Family." But of course there was always a part of me that thought that would be a little tacky.
Anyway. I'll discuss things once I'm slightly more clear headed. I'm very glad that Maria & Macy will be hosting the show, though. I think they're dynamite.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Sugar Substitute # 162
This is the freeform show I do before Self Help Radio, & I play lots of different stuff, as you can see in the playlist below, including something from the delightful, strange & weird new collaboration between Scotland's Franz Ferdinand & the legendary band Sparks. Again, what I played is below.
You can listen now by going to the Self Help Radio website. Is there a problem with a username & a password? Did you mean SHR/selfhelp? I thought so.
Please to enjoy.
"1/2" Barcelona _Simon Basic_
"The Power Couple" FFS _FFS_
"Yuppie Restaurant" Barnabys _Augustus Loop_
"Notches On A Frame" Barna Howard _Quite A Feelin'_
"Riding Lightning" Crushed Out _Teeth_
"Crazy" Winter _Supreme Blue Dream_
"It Could Have Been Cheryl" The Brotherhood Of Lizards _The Wayward Genius Of Martin Newell_
"The Pattern" Ceremony _The L-Shaped Man_
"Oh No! The Unicorns Are Knife Fighting Again" Ladybirds _Regional Community Theater_
"Clap Your Hands!" Clap Your Hands Say Yeah _Clap Your Hands Say Yeah_
"Antwoman" Robyn Hitchcock _Jewels For Sophia_
"Going On Cold" Blind Mr. Jones _Stereo Musicale_
"Paul Newman" The Fontaines _The Fontaines EP_
"Life Is Strange" T.Rex _Tanx_
"Willie Goes To The Seashore" Tullycraft _Old Traditions, New Standards_
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Self Help Radio 062015: Drifting
(Original image here.
I have to do this fast or I may drift away!
I did a radio show this morning with the theme "drifting." Lots of driftful music (there's no such word as 'driftful') was played and very drifteous discussions (seriously, there's no such word as 'drifteous,' either) were had, all captured digitally for your driftaneal enjoyment (please stop making up words with 'drift'). I spoke with an actual drifter, with my spiritual mentor (who confessed he was once a drifter), & with a drifting friend in Hollywood. As the show was happening, the continents drifted slowly - very slowly - away from one another.
When it was done, the show drifted over to the Self Help Radio website where it is not anchored firmly in place. You can listen to it there! You should pay attention to username/password information on the page! You can peruse the playlist there or below!
Excuse me now, while I drift off to sleep…. (Thanks for listening.)
(part one)
"Drifting Along" The Riverside Ramblers _Black & White Hillbilly Music: Early Harmonica Recordings 1920s-1930s_
"Driftin' Blues" Johnny Moore's Three Blazers _Charles Brown 1944-1945_
"I'm A Drifter" Fred Neil & Vince Martin _Tear Down The Walls_
"Vagrants, Tramps, Hoboes, Drifters, Transients, Bums, & Winos" George Carlin _When Will Jesus Bring The Pork Chops?_
"The Drifter" Ray Pollard _Big City Soul, Vol. 1_
"Drifter's Escape" Bob Dylan _John Wesley Harding_
"The Drifter" Heidi Bruhl _The Get Easy! Sunshine Pop Collection_
"Drift Away" Narvel Felts _Drift Away_
"Drifting" Claude Huey _Moaning, Groaning, Crying - A Galaxy Of Soul_
"Drift" Heinz Kiessling _The In-Kraut, Vol. 3_
"The Drifter" Green On Red _Gas Food Lodging_
"Frantic Drift" The Chills _Kaleidoscope World_
"Adrift Again" Bradford _Shouting Quietly_
(part two)
"Drift 13" Jane From Occupied Europe _Coloursound_
"Driftin Blues" His Name Is Alive _King Of Sweet_
"Drifting" The Rockingbirds _Rough Trade Shops: Country, Vol. 1_
"Crowd Of Drifters" The Magnetic Fields _The Charm Of The Highway Strip_
"Drifter In The Dark" Ween _Chocolate & Cheese_
"I'm A Drifter" Johnny Cash _Unearthed_
"You Drift Away" The Postmarks _The Postmarks_
"Drifting" Goodnight Monsters _Summer Challenge_
"Drift" Vermillion Lies _Separated By Birth_
"Drifting" Sugar Plant _After After Hours_
"Garage In Drift" The Hit Parade _Cornish Pop Songs_
"Drifter" Wild Nothing _Gemini_
Friday, June 19, 2015
Whither Drifting?
This is the first image that comes up
when one writes "drifting away" in
Google image search
It's from here.
Haven't we all at one point or another felt like we were drifting? Hasn't every one of us, when thinking about actually drifting, or when feeling like we're drifting, or when imagining our selves & consciousnesses just drifting away, started looking really, really hard at the word "drift" & came to think, "That's a weird-looking word. It doesn't look right. Is that really how you spell 'drift'?"
& hasn't every person who's had this experience suddenly developed a temporary brain injury, where the word "drift" looks so much better spelled "drfit" or "dritf" or even "difrt"? & then, magical new pronunciations enter the head? & the desire to revenge on those who have wronged you grows mightily within?
No? Have I gone too far?
After the antipsychotics took effect, I was able to appreciate the word "drift" again for its many uses, for the feeling one gets when one's mind drifts, for the eternal desire which I believe all troubled humans share to just one day drift away, hopefully to some happy eden where there's lots & lots of pizza.
That's how this show came about. & it's happening tomorrow morning from 7 to 9am on 88.1 fm WRFL in Lexington & online at wrfl dot fm. If I don't completely drift away after the show - if I don't become a drifter - I'll archive the show on the Self Help Radio website. But I hope you drift on by to listen. If you get my drift.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
2100
This is the twenty-one hundredth post on this blog.
For a long time, I counted wrong, so you can (but don't) go through this blog & see me writing little celebrations of yay! making it to an arbitrary even number divisible by 100. Many times I am wrong about that. There is an awful good chance I am wrong right now. Here's what I have as a kind of record-keeping that I just did because I don't trust anything I wrote in the past:
Post 1: September 12, 2006
Post 100: March 7, 2007
Post 200: August 13, 2007
Post 300: January 11, 2008
Post 400: May 29, 2008
Post 500: October 19, 2008
Post 600: April 2, 2009
Post 700: October 4, 2009
Post 800: March 2, 2010
Post 900: July 30, 2010
Post 1000: January 4, 2011
Post 1100: May 30, 2011
Post 1200: October 23, 2011
Post 1300: March 11, 2012
Post 1400: July 30, 2012
Post 1500: December 23, 2012
Post 1600: May 23, 2013
Post 1700: November 22, 2013
Post 1800: April 21, 2014
Post 1900: September 12, 2014
Post 2000: January 29, 2015
Post 2100: June 18, 2015
I have been doing this a long, long time. Gosh, sometimes I even write about my radio show!
For a long time, I counted wrong, so you can (but don't) go through this blog & see me writing little celebrations of yay! making it to an arbitrary even number divisible by 100. Many times I am wrong about that. There is an awful good chance I am wrong right now. Here's what I have as a kind of record-keeping that I just did because I don't trust anything I wrote in the past:
Post 1: September 12, 2006
Post 100: March 7, 2007
Post 200: August 13, 2007
Post 300: January 11, 2008
Post 400: May 29, 2008
Post 500: October 19, 2008
Post 600: April 2, 2009
Post 700: October 4, 2009
Post 800: March 2, 2010
Post 900: July 30, 2010
Post 1000: January 4, 2011
Post 1100: May 30, 2011
Post 1200: October 23, 2011
Post 1300: March 11, 2012
Post 1400: July 30, 2012
Post 1500: December 23, 2012
Post 1600: May 23, 2013
Post 1700: November 22, 2013
Post 1800: April 21, 2014
Post 1900: September 12, 2014
Post 2000: January 29, 2015
Post 2100: June 18, 2015
I have been doing this a long, long time. Gosh, sometimes I even write about my radio show!
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Hout There
Sitting at the computer, he wrote the word "hout." His spellcheck seemed untroubled by it. Usually, he thought, there would be a little red line - oftentimes dashed - underneath the word, indicating it was misspelled. Sometimes there might be suggestions, depending on the program: "Did you mean hour? Might you have meant house?" But although he was certain that there wasn't an English word called "hout," the computer chose not to consider it an error, and indicate it as such.
A quick search online found that it was a word in Dutch. It meant "wood." It was also a word in Finnish, a plural version of the word "hoku," which meant "rhyme." Hout, in Finnish, therefore, meant "rhymes."
In neither case did he look up pronunciation. He continued to say the word, in his head (for at no point since the mistake did he say the word out loud), as though it rhymed with "bout" or "scout."
One last thing: the word meant "today" in a language called Vilamovian. Vilamovian! Now there was a word that his spellcheck did. not. like. It seemed to him that the dotted red line under the name of this obscure language pulsed like an angry vein in someone's neck! It seemed to him that his spellcheck hated this word.
As usually happened in cases like this, he willingly found himself going down the rabbit hole of curiosity, even if he knew - and he knew - that any information he found would not be of any use to him afterwards. So he discovered this:
Wymysorys, also known as Vilamovian or Wilamowicean, is a West Germanic micro-language actively used in the small town of Wilamowice, Poland (Wymysoü in Wymysorys), on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland, near Bielsko-Biała. It is considered an endangered language. At present, there are probably between 70 and 100 native users of Wymysorys, virtually all bilingual; the majority are elderly.
Micro-language! Endangered language! West Germanic language spoken in Poland! For a few minutes, it occurred to him that he could learn this language and be one of the one hundred people who knew it. That would be exciting!
Then he noticed that his spellcheck didn't like the word Wymysorys, either. So he said (again, in his head, not out loud), "Aw screw it. I don't want to learn a language my spellcheck doesn't recognize."
He did like the way Wymysorys looked, however. He thought the word might cool good on a shirt. A conversation started. He'd get to say to whomever asked, "It's an endangered language!"
All of this brought him back around to why he wrote the word "hout" in the first place. He thought about it, and he realized he wanted to write "hot out there." As he got older, as his typing skills got sloppier, he often found he'd inadvertently combine words or add letters intended for one word to the end of the word preceding it. Since he was just writing an email, and not anything of consequence, it didn't really matter much, but it did waste a tiny bit of time every time he stopped to correct it. He was glad he read over his emails before he sent them.
Because there was nothing he hated more than wasting time.
A quick search online found that it was a word in Dutch. It meant "wood." It was also a word in Finnish, a plural version of the word "hoku," which meant "rhyme." Hout, in Finnish, therefore, meant "rhymes."
In neither case did he look up pronunciation. He continued to say the word, in his head (for at no point since the mistake did he say the word out loud), as though it rhymed with "bout" or "scout."
One last thing: the word meant "today" in a language called Vilamovian. Vilamovian! Now there was a word that his spellcheck did. not. like. It seemed to him that the dotted red line under the name of this obscure language pulsed like an angry vein in someone's neck! It seemed to him that his spellcheck hated this word.
As usually happened in cases like this, he willingly found himself going down the rabbit hole of curiosity, even if he knew - and he knew - that any information he found would not be of any use to him afterwards. So he discovered this:
Wymysorys, also known as Vilamovian or Wilamowicean, is a West Germanic micro-language actively used in the small town of Wilamowice, Poland (Wymysoü in Wymysorys), on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland, near Bielsko-Biała. It is considered an endangered language. At present, there are probably between 70 and 100 native users of Wymysorys, virtually all bilingual; the majority are elderly.
Micro-language! Endangered language! West Germanic language spoken in Poland! For a few minutes, it occurred to him that he could learn this language and be one of the one hundred people who knew it. That would be exciting!
Then he noticed that his spellcheck didn't like the word Wymysorys, either. So he said (again, in his head, not out loud), "Aw screw it. I don't want to learn a language my spellcheck doesn't recognize."
He did like the way Wymysorys looked, however. He thought the word might cool good on a shirt. A conversation started. He'd get to say to whomever asked, "It's an endangered language!"
All of this brought him back around to why he wrote the word "hout" in the first place. He thought about it, and he realized he wanted to write "hot out there." As he got older, as his typing skills got sloppier, he often found he'd inadvertently combine words or add letters intended for one word to the end of the word preceding it. Since he was just writing an email, and not anything of consequence, it didn't really matter much, but it did waste a tiny bit of time every time he stopped to correct it. He was glad he read over his emails before he sent them.
Because there was nothing he hated more than wasting time.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Sugar Substitute Episode # 161
In any event - should you desire listening to such a thing - you can do so now & whenever at the Self Help Radio website. Like Self Help Radio episodes, there's a username/password combination it's easy to find, & like my blogger posts about Self Help Radio, I'll tell you what songs I played (besides Brian Eno) below.
I hope you enjoy!
"Black Cloud" Morrissey _Years Of Refusal_
"All I Can Do" Eggplant _Anorak Twat_
"No Ladder" Coves _Soft Friday_
"The Great Pretender" Brian Eno _Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)_
"Camouflage" Ed's Redeeming Qualities _More Bad Times_
"North Marine Drive" Ben Watt _North Marine Drive_
"Last Man Alive" The Grifters _Ain't My Lookout_
"Needle & A Knife" Tennis _Ritual In Repeat_
"Days Of Grace" Tanya Donelly _Sleepwalk EP_
"I Started A Blog Nobody Read" Sprites _Modern Gameplay_
"Slit Skirts" Pete Townshend _All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes_
"No Smoke Without Fire" James Hunter _People Gonna Talk_
"Sugar Factory" So Cow _The Long Con_
"Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends" Phil Ochs _Live In Lansing 1973_
"Be Fast Be Clean Be Cheap" Age Of Chance _Crush Collision_
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Self Help Radio 061315: Fight! Fight! Fight!
Non-physical fights I've had a lot of. I don't keep count but I bet I've lost more than I've won. Jeez, sometimes I think waking up in the morning is a fight I've lost. But that's not what this show was about. It was about real fight! Fights I'll never have. Fisticuffs! Combat! Rivalry! & maybe a little about the non-physical fights.
You can listen to me chat with Hollywood guru Mark Miller! Also with street-fighting promoter David Fruchter! Plus, another entry in my snobby series, Dramatic Readings Of Classic Rock Songs! Richard Edward Oliver Speedwagon does not know what's coming to him!
The show is available now for your bellicose listening pleasure at the Self Help Radio Fight Club Web Site. Play attention to password info on the page. The belligerent songs I played are listed below.
Thanks for listening - or are you just cruisin' for a bruisin'?
(part one)
"Looking For A Fight" Bleached _Ride Your Heart_
"Learning How To Fight" The Cribs _The Cribs_
"Fight" Tanya Tagaq _Animism_
"This Is Worth Fighting For" Richard Dawson _Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best Of World War II_
"Stand Up & Fight" Bush Tetras _Boom In The Night (1980-1983)_
"This Is Why We Fight" The Decemberists _The King Is Dead_
"Fight Scene" The Kamalas _The Kamalas_
"Lovers Town Revisited" Billy Bragg _Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy_
"Fight" Art Brut _Bang Bang Rock & Roll_
"Fight Music For The Fight" Bromheads Jacket _Dits From The Commuter Belt_
"Street Fighting Man" Lake Trout _Not Them, You_
"I'm A Lover Not A Fighter" Lazy Lester _Authentic Excello R & B_
"Fight Fiercely, Harvard (Live)" Tom Lehrer _The Remains Of Tom Lehrer_
"Fight Song" The Electric Company _The Electric Company_
(part two)
"Academy Fight Song" Mission Of Burma _Signals, Calls, & Marches_
"A Boy Named Sue" Johnny Cash _Johnny Cash At San Quentin_
"Lovers Not Fighters" Milky Wimpshake _Lovers Not Fighters_
"Kung Fu Fighting" Robyn Hitchcock _Uncarved Pumpkins: Live Rarities 1987-1994_
"You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party" Hot Rats _Turn Ons_
"Dog Fight" The Twistaroos _Twisted!_
"Pillow Fight" The Sixths _Wasps' Nests_
"Fight Fire" The Fantastic Dee-Jays _The Fantastic Dee-Jays_
"Fight Fire With Fire" Frances Nero _The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 6: 1966_
"Fight Fire With Fire" Shay Holiday _It's Not How Long You Make It_
"Fight Fire With Fire" The 2X4's _The 2X4's_
"Fight" The Cure _Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me_
"Rabbit Fighter" T. Rex _The Slider_
Friday, June 12, 2015
Whither Fight?
I can't remember why I decided to do a radio show about fighting. I can say with one hundred percent certainty it had nothing to do with the REO Speedwagon song "Can't Fight This Feeling." I only mention this because, every time in the last few weeks I've been thinking about doing a show with the theme "fight," that damn song - which I can't possibly have really heard since I was a kid, but which of course populates old movies, new movies (thanks, Adam Sandler), & commercials - pops into my head. But I didn't find a good cover of it (could there be a good cover of such a bad song?) & I refuse to play it.
Okay, maybe I'll play it. What? Stop!
The show is on tomorrow from 7-9am on 88.1 fm WRFL Lexington, which I am told is streaming again at wrfl dot fm. I'll archive the show later that day on the SHR website because I wouldn't be up that early on a Saturday if I didn't have to be.
Bonus radio! I'm doing a show called Sugar Substitute from 6-7am! Plus I will be subbing the children's show Ages 3 & Up from 9-10am! If you can call that bonus radio.
I can't fight this feeling anymore. I've forgotten what I started fighting for. God damn it!
Okay, maybe I'll play it. What? Stop!
The show is on tomorrow from 7-9am on 88.1 fm WRFL Lexington, which I am told is streaming again at wrfl dot fm. I'll archive the show later that day on the SHR website because I wouldn't be up that early on a Saturday if I didn't have to be.
Bonus radio! I'm doing a show called Sugar Substitute from 6-7am! Plus I will be subbing the children's show Ages 3 & Up from 9-10am! If you can call that bonus radio.
I can't fight this feeling anymore. I've forgotten what I started fighting for. God damn it!
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Preface To Fight: Non-Confrontational Guy
One imagines that I could take an assertive class if I wanted to. One also imagines that I might not pass it. Because I just hate confrontation.
It's absurd - because it causes me all kinds of personal anguish - but I generally expect people to act as decently as I would. I know.
I've learned to accept that drivers will cut me off; that people who imagine their time more valuable than everyone else's will cut in line; that in general the average person will default to rude for whatever reason. But the great disappointment is when you're part of some community - it might be a job, it might be a volunteer organization like, oh, let's say, a non-commercial radio station - & someone there is inexplicably rude & douche-y. It shouldn't happen - but of course the same people who are aggressive asswipes or thoughtless fuckwads in the rest of the world inhabit those places too.
I'm thinking about something that happened recently. I subbed a show while a person at the radio station was working on the new studio. I understood he had to be there - he was essential to the operation of the station, troubleshooting everything so we could broadcast without problems where we'll be for a couple of years plus.
This person boasted to me that he'd been working in radio for nearly three decades. & I had no problem with him wandering around, using a drill & other instruments, picking things up, putting them down, while I was playing music. But - listen - if you're ever in a deejay booth & the sound disappears & the deejay is about to go on the mic, you will stand very quietly, if you have any experience in a radio station, while the deejay talks. You know any noise you make might go out over the air.
If you have any experience in a radio station. Well, not this guy. With nearly three decades in radio. He proceeded to wander around the deejay booth, including several times walking behind me, occasionally bumping me, whenever I went on the air.
But did I say anything? Of course not! What good would it have done? What if I my tone of voice somehow offended him? I just suffered through those two hours while he puttered around & did his job, making my job a lot more difficult.
Maybe I should take one of those assertive classes after all.
It's absurd - because it causes me all kinds of personal anguish - but I generally expect people to act as decently as I would. I know.
I've learned to accept that drivers will cut me off; that people who imagine their time more valuable than everyone else's will cut in line; that in general the average person will default to rude for whatever reason. But the great disappointment is when you're part of some community - it might be a job, it might be a volunteer organization like, oh, let's say, a non-commercial radio station - & someone there is inexplicably rude & douche-y. It shouldn't happen - but of course the same people who are aggressive asswipes or thoughtless fuckwads in the rest of the world inhabit those places too.
I'm thinking about something that happened recently. I subbed a show while a person at the radio station was working on the new studio. I understood he had to be there - he was essential to the operation of the station, troubleshooting everything so we could broadcast without problems where we'll be for a couple of years plus.
This person boasted to me that he'd been working in radio for nearly three decades. & I had no problem with him wandering around, using a drill & other instruments, picking things up, putting them down, while I was playing music. But - listen - if you're ever in a deejay booth & the sound disappears & the deejay is about to go on the mic, you will stand very quietly, if you have any experience in a radio station, while the deejay talks. You know any noise you make might go out over the air.
If you have any experience in a radio station. Well, not this guy. With nearly three decades in radio. He proceeded to wander around the deejay booth, including several times walking behind me, occasionally bumping me, whenever I went on the air.
But did I say anything? Of course not! What good would it have done? What if I my tone of voice somehow offended him? I just suffered through those two hours while he puttered around & did his job, making my job a lot more difficult.
Maybe I should take one of those assertive classes after all.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Xpletive
Accidentally, I received a text. Apparently, I was added to a group text although I didn't know it because I had my phone turned off while I was subbing a radio show & besides the current station set-up is deep in the bowels of a building where famously everyone complains that there's no cell phone reception. Understandably, I joined the conversation late. Interestingly, someone was invited to the conversation who was a wrong number. Unsurprisingly, they were unhappy with their inclusion.
Sidebar, your honor: what are the odds that a random phone number screw-up, dyslexic-like, would actually be to a cellular phone that received texts? Probably greater as the time goes by, but still. Not all phone numbers are taken, right?
Back to the action:
This person was also offended by the use of the word "fuck" in an early text. They wrote this: "Did not appreciate the xpletive on my phone."
Finding myself fascinated by this, I began to wonder about this warrior against errant texts. This isn't a new thought - a million & more people have asked this question - but how does this person live through the world without at the very least hearing a baker's dozen of "xpletives" every day? If this person goes to a web site on their phone, surely there's an "ass" or a "damn" that's bound to rile them. Do they shoot out an angry email? A text in which the word "expletive" is abbreviated by one letter? Does it make the word dirtier if you start it with the letter x?
I've read about cult communities where the leader controls all the information coming in & going out, & of course there are people of fundamentalist religious orientations who make sure they're surrounded by nothing but people who believe the same things, but isn't a cell phone a slightly different proposition? I mean, someone sent a text at this person &, evil outside world that it is, the text included the letters k, u, f, & c organized in a manner that causes offense to (I believe) a smaller & smaller amount of people. But that got through!
It must be a strange, sheltered life, a life perhaps lived with a kind of siege mentality.
The person was removed from the group text, whereupon other members of the group remarked that that the person seemed like - a word also that might offend - a "douche."
Sidebar, your honor: what are the odds that a random phone number screw-up, dyslexic-like, would actually be to a cellular phone that received texts? Probably greater as the time goes by, but still. Not all phone numbers are taken, right?
Back to the action:
This person was also offended by the use of the word "fuck" in an early text. They wrote this: "Did not appreciate the xpletive on my phone."
Finding myself fascinated by this, I began to wonder about this warrior against errant texts. This isn't a new thought - a million & more people have asked this question - but how does this person live through the world without at the very least hearing a baker's dozen of "xpletives" every day? If this person goes to a web site on their phone, surely there's an "ass" or a "damn" that's bound to rile them. Do they shoot out an angry email? A text in which the word "expletive" is abbreviated by one letter? Does it make the word dirtier if you start it with the letter x?
I've read about cult communities where the leader controls all the information coming in & going out, & of course there are people of fundamentalist religious orientations who make sure they're surrounded by nothing but people who believe the same things, but isn't a cell phone a slightly different proposition? I mean, someone sent a text at this person &, evil outside world that it is, the text included the letters k, u, f, & c organized in a manner that causes offense to (I believe) a smaller & smaller amount of people. But that got through!
It must be a strange, sheltered life, a life perhaps lived with a kind of siege mentality.
The person was removed from the group text, whereupon other members of the group remarked that that the person seemed like - a word also that might offend - a "douche."
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Sugar Substitue Episode # 160
Anyway - if you'd like to hear an hour of freeform music separate from a themed radio show - god, three hours of Self Help Radio would totally suck! - you can listen to this show at the Self Help Radio website. Pay attention, you know, to password info. The songs I played on the show are below.
Thanks for listening!
"William & Mary" The Lucksmiths _The Green Bicycle Case_
"No More Honey" Blonde Redhead _Barragán_
"Now Time" Close Lobsters _Kunstwerk In Spacetime EP_
"You're Gorgeous" The Cannanes _Short Poppy Syndrome_
"Tahitian Ambrosia Maker" The Mountain Goats _Sweden_
"Some Dreams Come True" Sw/Mm/Ng _Feel Not Bad_
"I Love You Like A Ball & Chain" Eurythmics _Be Yourself Tonight_
"Fresh Milk" Katie Smokers Wedding Party _Split 7" With Atatakakatta_
"Black Pitch" Deerhoof _La Isla Bonita_
"La Isla Bonita" Mega Emotion _Uncomfortable_
"In Her Diary" The Go Betweens _Bright Orange Bright Yellow_
"Boa Constrictor" The Magnetic Fields _69 Love Songs, Vol. 1_
"Prawns In The Bin" Haircut _Sweatshop_
"L.O.V.E. Love" Orange Juice _You Can't Hide Your Love Forever_
"Foxglove" Young Magic _Breathing Statues_
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Self Help Radio 060615: Start
(Original image here.
I started doing Self Help Radio on Saturday mornings today. How did it go? Have you ever started something & it went swimmingly the first time? I thought so! Give me a break.
I'm really beat because I woke up early because I was stressing about the show because even after over twenty years of doing this I get nervous because I somehow invest my radio show with feelings about my self-esteem because probably something in my childhood because isn't that how we all are?
You can listen to the show now, later - really whenever you feel like starting down the Self Help Radio road - at the Self Help Radio website. Please pay attention to password/username information. It's easy to find. But you can always ask me if you can't figure it out. I am understanding.
The playlist is below. The summer has started for Self Help Radio! I am easily startled! Or wait - am I oversharing?
Thanks for listening!
(part one)
"This Could Be The Start Of Something" Ray Charles Singers _Something Special For Young Lovers_
"Stop Before You Start" Sandie Shaw _The Best Of Sandie Shaw_
"I'll Start Over" Poets In Motion _I'll Start Over_
"Starting A New Life" Van Morrison _Tupelo Honey_
"Start!" The Jam _Sound Affects_
"Just Like Starting Over" John Lennon _Double Fantasy_
"Miss The Start, Miss The End" Sparks _Indiscreet_
"Start From The Start" Nervus Rex _Nervus Rex_
"Back To The Start" Nikki Sudden _The Last Bandit: The Best Of Nikki Sudden_
"Don't Let's Start" They Might Be Giants _They Might Be Giants_
"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" The Smiths _Strangeways, Here We Come_
"My Life Is Starting Over Again" Daniel Johnston _The Late, Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered_
"Right Back Where We Started From" The Cat's Miaow _Songs For Girls To Sing_
"Starts With A Handshake" Shirts _Street Light Shine_
"Start Again" Artisans _Why Popstars Can't Dance_
"Start Anew" Céleste _The Unheard Pleasures Of Inane - Somewhere In Europe, 1972 Vol. 1_
(part two)
"Start Again" Spearmint _A Week Away_
"This Could Be The Start Of Something Small" Airport Girl _Honey, I'm An Artist_
"Start Anew" Acid House Kings _Mondays Are Like Tuesdays & Tuesdays Are Like Wednesdays_
"Good Start" The Danny Says _Summer Bliss_
"Start" The New Year _The End Is Near_
"Start To End" Sons & Daughters _Love The Cup_
"A Shaky Start" Nothing Painted Blue _The Future Of Communications_
"The Start" The Bees _Free The Bees_
"Getting Started" Ashby _Looks Like You've Already Won_
"This Is The Start" Friends _You'll Never See That Summertime Again EP_
"The Start Of Something" Voxtrot _The Kids At The Club: An Indiepop Compilation_
"Start Again" Look See Proof _Between Here & There_
"Start New" Cloud Cult _Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus_
"The Day We Started" Afternoon Naps _Parade_
Friday, June 05, 2015
Whither Start?
I am re-starting my show. Get it? With a show about starting. Starting anew. Starting again. It'll be on at the same time, just one day later. How exciting is that!
Perhaps it bears mentioning that I'll also be on the air the hour before with a show playing random music. I will play - & I'm probably the first person in Lexington to do so - the brand new Close Lobsters single - their first in two years, since they reunited after over twenty years! - & I'll play the new single by Katie Smokers Wedding Party, an awesome German indiepop band. Plus, you know, the regular stuff I play.
That starts at 6am. Self Help Radio starts at 7am. As I mentioned yesterday, the live stream is probably down, so you can't listen at wrfl dot fm, but unlucky folks in Lexington can listen in real time at 88.1 fm. I will attempt to record the show & place it on the Self Help Radio website or I will present an unreasonable facsimile.
There you have it. What a way to re-start the show!
Perhaps it bears mentioning that I'll also be on the air the hour before with a show playing random music. I will play - & I'm probably the first person in Lexington to do so - the brand new Close Lobsters single - their first in two years, since they reunited after over twenty years! - & I'll play the new single by Katie Smokers Wedding Party, an awesome German indiepop band. Plus, you know, the regular stuff I play.
That starts at 6am. Self Help Radio starts at 7am. As I mentioned yesterday, the live stream is probably down, so you can't listen at wrfl dot fm, but unlucky folks in Lexington can listen in real time at 88.1 fm. I will attempt to record the show & place it on the Self Help Radio website or I will present an unreasonable facsimile.
There you have it. What a way to re-start the show!
Thursday, June 04, 2015
Preface To Start: Lowered Expectations
This morning I was on the radio for three hours. The show went to outer space & vanished into the ether because the temporary set-up at the temporary studio doesn't have a way (that I could find*) for me to record the show. The webstream is currently down, so I couldn't record it from home, either. This concerns me, because I require a recording of the show to put on my website for anyone who might want to listen to my show at some other time than crazy early on Saturday mornings in the Eastern Time Zone.
I stumbled around the temporary space - marveling, truly, at the great RFL volunteers who moved a radio station lock, stock, & music library across the UK campus - & also getting the stinkeye from the wary custodial staff, who apparently work all night - which is something I sort of remember from my days at the University of Texas, except it seems to me the staff there usually went home around 3am - anyway I have lost my train of thought - let me look at this paragraph again to see what I might have wanted to say - oh yeah - I stumbled around the place looking for some way to record the show, trying not to forget that I was also programming a radio show. Nothing. I could find nothing.
At which point, I had a few reactions. They were, as follows:
1) Fuck this! If I can't share my radio show, I'll only do a half-assed one**.
2) Well, I guess I can do the show, & then re-record it at home afterwards.
3) If I have to re-record the show, I will, but I'm going to make sure the show that airs is as good as I can do.
This happened over the course of seconds, but, irritatingly, it happened over & over all the morning long. I had been awake, at 3am, for around twenty hours, & there was a good chance that many things that were happening to me were some form of sleep-deprivation-induced hallucination. Actually, I think I had one of those on the way home, in the car, but luckily I was at a traffic light. I closed my eyes for a second. The world looked different when I opened them.
Even now, after a few hours of sleep, it seems to me that I am viewing the world through a kind of murky film. But I have seven animals who are constitutionally incapable of respecting my wishes. So I slept what little they'd let me. I wish I never gave up caffeine!
Where was I? Oh yeah. So - here's what looks like will happen Saturday morning:
1) I'll be on the air from 6am to 9am. 6am to 7am will be a freeform show. I will revive my old show Sugar Substitute for the summer.
2) Self Help Radio will be on the air from 7am to 9am. There's a very good chance the internet stream will be down, so I will just be doing the show for the Lexington community, who, I'm sure, wake up on Saturdays around 9am. Damn it!
3) If I can't find another way to record it, I'll re-record my airbreaks for you. So it'll be as shabby as a podcast, but will more or less be the same show that aired that very morning.
Sound good? No? Sound tolerable? No?
I know!
* It might have had one, but never underestimate how dumb I am. I'll ask before Saturday.
** Well, more half-assed than usual.
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
What Does WRFL Stand For?
Look at this:
In Australia, WRFL stands for "Western Region Football League." & of course, it's not American football, it's Australian Rules Football. The league's website is here.
How did I come to discover this? View the crooked path I took to write today's dumb blog entry:
--> You may have heard WRFL has moved! This is true! The Student Center where the station has lived since its exciting birth over two decades ago is being renovated. That meant everything had to be packed up & carried elsewhere!
--> To my shame, I didn't help with the move at all.
--> In my defense, while WRFL folk were putting things in boxes, so was I - my things, to be moved all the way to California.
--> Jesus, Gary, can't you just let it go?
--> Sorry.
--> The station moved from the corner of the Student Center to the basement of the White Hall Classroom Building.
--> The White Hall Classroom Building, says the UK web site, was built in 1969. & boy! Does it look like it. See:
--> WRFL is now in the basement, next to the Post Office. We have no windows, so we can't even see bad public art.
--> But, you know where we are now. If you wanna stop by.
--> What does this have to do with Australian football?
--> I'm getting to that!
--> I wanted to mention that I will be on the air from 3-6 am tomorrow morning just playing songs & stuff, & I thought, "Hey! I'll announce it & somehow tie it in with you know the move." Since it'll be my first time in the "temporary space."
--> So I Googled WRFL in Google image search to see if there were any pictures of the outside of the station at the Student Center so I could place such a photo side-by-side with a picture (like the one above) on this blog page.
--> The Western Region Football League banner came first.
--> Mind blown.
--> Anyway. I'll be on the radio early Thursday morning. In case, you know.
In Australia, WRFL stands for "Western Region Football League." & of course, it's not American football, it's Australian Rules Football. The league's website is here.
How did I come to discover this? View the crooked path I took to write today's dumb blog entry:
--> You may have heard WRFL has moved! This is true! The Student Center where the station has lived since its exciting birth over two decades ago is being renovated. That meant everything had to be packed up & carried elsewhere!
--> To my shame, I didn't help with the move at all.
--> In my defense, while WRFL folk were putting things in boxes, so was I - my things, to be moved all the way to California.
--> Jesus, Gary, can't you just let it go?
--> Sorry.
--> The station moved from the corner of the Student Center to the basement of the White Hall Classroom Building.
--> The White Hall Classroom Building, says the UK web site, was built in 1969. & boy! Does it look like it. See:
--> WRFL is now in the basement, next to the Post Office. We have no windows, so we can't even see bad public art.
--> But, you know where we are now. If you wanna stop by.
--> What does this have to do with Australian football?
--> I'm getting to that!
--> I wanted to mention that I will be on the air from 3-6 am tomorrow morning just playing songs & stuff, & I thought, "Hey! I'll announce it & somehow tie it in with you know the move." Since it'll be my first time in the "temporary space."
--> So I Googled WRFL in Google image search to see if there were any pictures of the outside of the station at the Student Center so I could place such a photo side-by-side with a picture (like the one above) on this blog page.
--> The Western Region Football League banner came first.
--> Mind blown.
--> Anyway. I'll be on the radio early Thursday morning. In case, you know.
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
New Intro Time Again Again Again!
Every year - around this time - I make a new intro for the show. Normally, I do it in May. That's when the new season starts at KOOP, & it's when the summer semester starts at WRFL. However, as you might recall, I thought I would be traveling in May, to (sigh) the west coast. So I thought I'd wait until my first episode out there.
But! As you know! I'll be on WRFL this summer starting on Saturday, so I had to make a new intro. & so I did. Here's the intro you'll hear on Saturday morning around 7am:
The Self Help Radio 2015-2016 Intro!
&, of course, here are the intros from shows of self help past:
You can listen to the 2002 intro (my first!) here.
You can listen to the 2003 intro here.
You can listen to the 2005 intro here.
You can listen to the 2006 intro here.
You can listen to the 2007 intro here.
You can listen to the 2008 intro here.
You can listen to the 2009 intro here.
You can listen to the 2010 intro here.
You can listen to the 2011 intro here.
You can listen to the 2012 intro here.
You can listen to the 2013 intro here.
And this is the intro from the past year.
I hope you like the new one!
But! As you know! I'll be on WRFL this summer starting on Saturday, so I had to make a new intro. & so I did. Here's the intro you'll hear on Saturday morning around 7am:
The Self Help Radio 2015-2016 Intro!
&, of course, here are the intros from shows of self help past:
You can listen to the 2002 intro (my first!) here.
You can listen to the 2003 intro here.
You can listen to the 2005 intro here.
You can listen to the 2006 intro here.
You can listen to the 2007 intro here.
You can listen to the 2008 intro here.
You can listen to the 2009 intro here.
You can listen to the 2010 intro here.
You can listen to the 2011 intro here.
You can listen to the 2012 intro here.
You can listen to the 2013 intro here.
And this is the intro from the past year.
I hope you like the new one!
Monday, June 01, 2015
Last Monday Blog Entry?
Yes, last Monday blog entry. At least for a while. Who knows?
But why?
I'm starting a new Self Help Radio experience, which will happen now on Saturdays.
I will write five blog posts a week, per my doctor's orders*. Since I will most probably be posting my show on Saturday afternoons, I will be posting on Saturday. I don't post on Saturday. Usually I don't get out of bed on Saturday. Now I have to. Whose fault is that? Mine. Shut up.
Will Self Help Radio stay on Saturdays? Look, I don't know, I'm just glad the radio station has kindly taken me back. If the RFL powers-that-be thought I should do SHR on Tuesdays between four & four-fifteen a.m., I'd be a grateful fuck.
We went to Dallas this past week, the wife, the hounds, & I. The wife & I (the hounds couldn't care less) talked about the alternate reality version of us, who were settling in to living in Los Angeles. Actually, in that alternate universe, she would be traveling back to Lexington, & I'd be living the bachelor's life in Los Angeles, which is famously known as "Bachelor City"**.
Instead, I am sitting here, writing to you, boringly discussing rearranging my schedule. We should talk about something else. Jeez, didn't Game Of Thrones kill last night? Holy crap.
Okay, I have written enough, according to my doctor. I am working on my new intro, which will premiere Saturday. But wait! It may premiere tomorrow, too! We'll see.
* My doctor is a weirdo.
** I think.