Self Help Radio 110223: Rumble

Do you hear that rumble? Might there be a rumble? Rumbling promises more rumbling! & certainly there was two hours of rumbling on Self Help Radio this week.

In case you do listen to this show - I know you didn't listen when it aired - I do feel like I should let you know it's a fundraiser show - every time I talk, I ask for financial help for the station. I am in a strange position because I've been at so many radio stations, nearly all my friends are in radio. & I feel awkward asking them for support when they do the same at their stations. So I hope someone who might listen, who might appreciate the shows I do or at the very least the kindness of the station that airs them, I hope they might feel moved to make a donation. If that is you, reading this, go to the Freeform Portland donation page. & again, if you listen to the show, there's a lot of this kind of hat-in-hand talk on the show.

Meanwhile! The show itself is now at the Self Help Radio web page. Please use the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access. Everything that's on the show - minus all the donation talk & the silly spots I made for the fund drive - is listed below.

Thank you for listening & thank you for your support.

Self Help Radio Rumble Show

"Rumble" Link Wray & His Ray Men _The Link Wray Collection 1956-62_

"Rumble, Rumble, Rumble" Betty Hutton _American Songbook Series: Frank Loesser_

"Rumble Chillen" Albert Williams _The Sun Blues Box_

introduction & definitions

"Rumble Boogie" Don Cherry _The Don Cherry Singles Collection_

"The Rumble Drum" Marais & Miranda with the Pardo Ancient Instrument Ensemble _Ballads Of Long Ago_

"Rumblin' Tumblin' Baby" The Emeralds _Condition Your Heart_

interview with nutritionist Dr. Dale Newton

"Rumble In The Jungle" Don Covay _Hot Blood_

"King Of The Rumbling Spires" Tyrannosaurus Rex _The Definitive_

"Rowche Rumble" The Fall _Dragnet_

interview with geologist Dr. Dean Neighbors

"Rumble At Joe's" Sue Evans _Rumble At Joe's_

"Rumble On Mersey Square South" Wimple Winch _The Wimple Winch Story: 1963-1968_

"Rumble With The Gang Debs" Tullycraft _Disenchanted Hearts Unite_

Sir Archibald Von Poesy reads a poem live!

"Get 'Em In A Rumble Seat" Harry Reser's Six Jumping Jacks _Volume Two_

"Rumble Seat" Bobtown _A History Of Ghosts_

"Rumbletrain" The Mighty Lemon Drops _Laughter_

interview with fight enthusiast Dick Neff

"A Rumbling In The Land" Julie Felix _The Second Album_

"Rumble" Robin & Linda Williams _In The Company Of Strangers_

"Rumblin'" Neil Young _Le Noise_

conclusion & goodbye

"Rumble" You Am I _You Am I's #4 Record_

"Rumbler" Black Lips _Sing In A World That's Falling Apart_

"Rumbling Joker" Robert Pollard _Waved Out_

"The Rumble" Original Broadway Cast _West Side Story (1957 Orginal Broadway Cast Recording)_

"Trucker's Rumble" Deadbolt _Voodoo Trucker_

Whither Rumble?

(It's Rumbling Bridge! Image from here.)

First of all, there's no mistake there - the theme is "rumble." Not "rumbling." There is a tendency I have (& perhaps you do too) to have the theme be a noun, so one wants to make any theme which might be a verb into a gerund for the sake of some kind of sense of agreement. But you know what? I don't mind the awkwardness of a theme like "rumble."

But why do a show with a theme that's a verb or at best a possible weird noun? For me, it's all about onomatopoeia. As you know because it's the best sounding figure of speech & one of the easiest to understand, onomatopoeia is when a word is made by the sound it makes. Like beep. Or snarl. Or buzz. It occurred to me - & frankly I didn't check this before I started planning the show - I hadn't done a show with an onomatopoeiacal theme in a long time. & my brain started liking the word "rumble."

One thing I discovered is that I sure have a lot of versions of Link Wray's "Rumble." The song itself is collected on my records & it's covered by lots of folks. I never knew it was so beloved!

Let's get ready to rumble on today's Self Help Radio which airs noon to 2pm on Freeform Portland which is on the air in town at 90.3+98.3fm & online at freeformportland dot org. I'll also be asking for you help for the Fall Drive today so to preemptively give, become a Friend Of Freeform right now by going to our Patreon site. Just think of how many more shows with oddball themes like "rumble" are possible with your support!

Preface To Rumble: Rum Balls

(These rum balls don't rumble. Image from here.)

Confession time: though I love to cook, I'm not that good at baking. If I told you why I think that is, you would laugh at me, so I'm not going to say so. But one other reason is that often with baking if you follow the recipe exactly you might screw up because I believe like with gardening one needs to have a knack for baking. A kind of "yeasty thumb," if you will. But please don't.

Here's a recipe of vegan rum balls. They seem easy enough - & I love when people try to veganize recipes, I've done that a few times for non-dessert-y things, with mixed results. I haven't had a rum ball in a while & I am struck by how little rum goes in them. I might double the rum content. Or just finish the fifth of rum you bought for the recipe thinking you'd need more than a couple of tablespoons. Wow.

Rumble & rum ball are kinda homonyms, or rather, homophones, as people constantly correct me these days. It's like there's another kind of synonym out there that everyone has always called a synonym & then suddenly everyone's like "if it means the same but it's often considered not, it's a synophone."

Just as I wrote that, I wondered if there really were something called a synophone. I found only this reference on the internets, from here:

To my understanding, heterographs are words that have different meanings, different spellings, but sound the same. Synophones are words that have different meanings, different spellings, & sound similar but not the same.

So, ball & bawl would be heterographs, while ball & bell would be synophones.

This is what I get for trying to be sarcastic & make things up. Enjoy your rum balls!

Halloween Thoughts

It's Halloween night, I am beat, it's been a while since kids came to trick & treat. Guess it's nearly over.

What I did for Halloween is made three radio shows - Self Help Radio's was new, it was about ghost towns (not so scary); the Dickenbock Report was a kind of repeat from a show I did about nightmares ten years ago; & Corporate Standardized Programming was three hours of Halloween songs. I'd share them but Halloween is nearly over.

Also I bought some candy & my wife bought some Halloween bags & I put the candy in the bags & I sat in front of my house & handed them out tonight. I had thirty-six bags to give & have fourteen left. We didn't get a lot of kids. I think it might be because I didn't use the Next Door dot com "treat map." I'm always a little leery of interacting with that app.

In case you're wondering, no, I didn't dress up. I'm not a dressing up kind of guy. I don't think I've dressed up for Halloween since I was a kid. At least nothing elaborate. The kids were very cute tonight. A lot of Harry Potter. One kid, probably in middle school, was dressed as Jason from Friday The 13th. I said, "Take a bag but don't kill me!" He laughed at this.

Here's something I don't think I've seen before: parents following their kids while holding glasses of wine. It's a Portland thing I guess.

Kinda glad the holiday is over. People around her sure love it though. I need to work on another radio show!

Two Halloween Things

Happy All Hallow's Eve Eve! Here are two Self Help Radio related Halloween things:

1) Almost all of the Halloween shows I've ever done for Self Help Radio are archived on the Self Help Radio Halloween page. The most recent one - ghost towns - is on the front page. It wasn't all that scary though. Maybe I won't add it to the Halloween page later.

2) Tonight's episode of Corporate Standardized Programming on KBOO - airing midnight to 3am on 90.7fm in town & online at kboo.fm - will be a mishmash of Halloween songs. You don't have to stay up late to listen tho - it'll be at the show's page in time for tomorrow.

Now I need to get ready for Halloween! I am making little treat bags for the trick-or-treaters. If they come by. They hardly ever do but in case they do.

Self Help Radio 102623: Halloween 2023 - Ghost Towns!

Can you imagine an actual ghost visited me on the Halloween show? It's true! For the purposes of this Halloween post! Because the songs about ghost towns I found weren't as scary as I'd hoped. There were a few things that were scary, tho. I promise. I'm a big fan of Halloween so I wouldn't ruin it by not having some scares in the show. Did I mention a ghost visited me?!?

This week's show is at the top of the Self Help Radio web page. It's not too hard to listen but you need a username (SHR) & a password (selfhelp) to do so. Lots of songs about ghost towns - all called "ghost town" as you'll see - & some surprises. That is listed below.

Remember, I have a lot more Halloween shows if you're so inclined. They are here.

One more link: Help out Freeform Portland during out Fall Fundraiser! Go to this webpage & make a donation or even better become a Friend Of Freeform. It's what makes my dumb show possible.

Self Help Radio Halloween 2023 Ghost Town Show

"Ghost Town" Don Cherry _The Best Of Don Cherry: The Columbia & Monument Years_

"Ghost Town" Meic Stevens _Outlander_

introduction, definition, & our resident cinephile Chuck calls

"Ghost Town" C.W. McCall _Black Bear Road_

"Ghost Town" The Younghearts _All About Love_

"Ghost Town" The Specials _Ghost Town_

interview with ghost hunter Victor Stillman

"Ghost Town" Angelic Upstarts _2,000,000 Voices_

"Ghost Town" Michael Martin Murphey _Tonight We Ride_

"Ghost Town" Gemini _Geminism_

a ghost interrupts!

"Ghost Town" Chrome _Alien Soundtracks II_

"Ghost Town" The Coctails _Hip Hip Hooray!_

"Ghost Town" Kurt Vile _Smoke Ring For My Halo_

our resident cinephile Chuck calls again

"Ghost Town" Pierce Pettis _While The Serpent Lies Sleeping_

"Ghost Town" Sarah Shook & The Devil _Seven_

"Ghost Town" DJ Shadow _The Mountain Will Fall_

interview with ghost town realtor Vincent Starr

"Ghost Town" The Vaccines _Come Of Age_

"Ghost Town" The World _First World Record_

"Ghost Town" The Shed Project _Ghost Town_

conclusion, goodbye, & our resident cinephile Chuck calls one last time

"Ghost Town" Mikey General _Confidence In Jah Self_

"Ghost Town" The Hot 8 Brass Band _The Life & Times Of..._

"Ghost Town" D'Arkestra _Ghost Town_

Whither Halloween 2023 - Ghost Towns?

(A building in the ghost town of Golden, OR - from the Wikipedia)

Here's the thing - I do a Halloween show every year. I don't know why I can't just play "The Monster Mash" & that Ministry song like everyone else but I can't. Instead I feel the need to explore a different Halloween-related theme each year. I have covered black cats, clowns, death, Frankenstein, ghosts, graveyards, haunted houses, hell, monsters, mummies, nightmares, pumpkins, spiders, vampires, voodoo, werewolves, witches, & zombies. One show I called "Attack Of The Self Help Radio" & featured songs using the phrasal beginning "attack of the..." I have complained about running out of Halloween-related themes before.

This year I chanced upon the idea of a show about ghost towns. Ghost towns are pretty scary, right? It turns out not so much. The songs about ghost towns can be more wistful & sad. But there were so many! & I found some guests who found ghosts in ghost towns! & it's probably not a theme that anyone will explore this Halloween - so ghost towns it is today!

Also it's the Fall Fundraiser - perhaps you can help out by becoming a Friend Of Freeform. The station is worthy of your investment.

Self Help Radio's Halloween 2023 show - about ghost towns - airs this afternoon from noon to 2pm on 90.3+98.3 fm here in town & online everywhere at Freeform Portland dot org. Tune in for some thrills - & maybe just a few chills!

Preface To Halloween 2023 - Ghost Towns: Oregon Ghost Towns

(The banner for visit oregon dot com.)

On the site whose banner I display above, it tells us:

Oregon is historic for its record number of Ghost Towns

Did you know that Oregon has the highest number of ghost towns in the country? Thus far, 200 Oregonian ghost towns have been counted! Some of these abandoned communities are completely starved of human interaction while others have an extremely small population with 30 people or less.

During the pandemic, I daydreamed about visiting some nearby ghost towns. Alas, we had an elderly dog who didn't enjoy car rides & there was always the trepidation of visiting places where people thoughts masks were irritants. (Not the ghost towns, the service stations & other places we'd have to stop at.) It's interesting that I didn't think then of doing a Halloween show about ghost towns. But the idea of visiting ghost towns has always been at the back of my mind.

Now I get to visit them on the air!

Halloween Time Again

(A snapshot of the page)

Since Halloween is right around the corner, I wanted to remind you that pretty much every Halloween show I've ever done is available for listening over at the Self Help Radio Halloween Page.

From spiders to pumpkins, from "attack of the" to Frankenstein, from voodoo to black cats, from clowns to death, from mummies to hell, from nightmares to graveyards, from haunted houses to werewolves, from witches to zombies, from monsters to vampires - there are eighteen (18!) Halloween shows I've done. I wonder if they're any good?

& there'll be another Halloween show this week! What luck!

Psychic Cinema

(image from the IMDb)

You didn't have to be psychic to appreciate last week's episode of Self Help Radio which was about psychics. But maybe you predicted our resident cinephile Chuck would come by & talk to us about films featuring psychics. If you haven't listened already, then before your brain explodes please go so do at the Self Help Radio website. Then check out the helpful links Chuck has supplied!

He has two YouTube playlists of films & trailers: part one is here; part two is here.

Chuck did something quite interesting this time around - he says, "I uploaded a few scenes I filmed with my phone, which I have put on the playlist, but they can all be found on my channel."

Here is his Letterboxd list. Here are his Letterboxd reviews.

Here is the IMDb list of films available to stream for free.

Here is Chuck's IMDb keyword list.

Chuck says:

I posted about some of the films on Bluesky (right now it's just all the links seen here, but go ahead an give me a follow. I usually follow back).

He adds:

I tweeted about some of the films on Twitter (right now it's just all the links seen here, but go ahead an give me a follow. I usually follow back).

Here are the direct links for Chuck: Twitter,  Bluesky, & Substack. He adds, "I may write an article about them on Substack, someday, but in the meantime you can subscribe for free. (I have started using the chat section for early announcements about the letterboxd lists for upcoming shows.)"

Chuck foresees that you will have some incredible psychic film experiences!

Self Help Radio 102023: Psychics

(Original photo by Tom Magliery, available here)

Oh hey look a show about psychics that really has only a handful of songs about psychics but instead has songs with titles like "Psychic [Thing]" & someone texted I should've played "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot & I responded "What if I want to do a show about reading minds?" & they responded "Isn't it this show?" & this is why Self Help Radio is mostly dumb.

But I did have someone talking about psychics in movies & I talked to two psychics & to someone who hunts psychics so let's just say on average there was maybe 50% content about psychics so it wasn't quite so bad although I really probably should've looked for songs about mind-reading & prognostication I don't know why I didn't maybe I'm just lazy.

Anyhoosle the show is available now at the Self Help Radio website. Remember you'll need a username & password to access the files - I'd try SHR & selfhelp. Everything that happened on the show is below. But you already knew that. Didn't you?

Self Help Radio Psychics Show

"I Am The Psychic" Art Brut _Brilliant! Tragic!_

"Psychic" Christine Lavin _Please Don't Make Me Too Happy_

introduction & definitions

"Psykick Dancehall" The Fall _Dragnet_

"Psychic" The Goon Sax _Mirror II_

"Too Much Yang Energy" Nib The Psychic Fiend _Sonic Damn Nation_

"Psychic Hotline" Gwen McCrae _Psychic Hot Line_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by!

"Psychic Trauma" Sad13 _No Cover: Carpark's 21st Anniversary Covers Comp_

"Psychic" Sam Baker _Pretty World_

"Chant With Me!" Nib The Psychic Fiend _Sonic Damn Nation_

"Psychic Future" Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds _La Araña Es La Vida_

interview with psychic sidekick Brett Kirkland

"Psychic Beginner" Johnny Marr _The Messenger_

"Psychic Friends" Papercuts _Life Among The Savages_

"Psychic Friends" Space Ghost _Yeah, Whatever..._

"Psykick Espionage" Joanna Gruesome _Peanut Butter_

"Psychic Love" Prissy Clerks _Bruise Or Be Bruised_

interview with psychic hunter Barrett Kohl

"Psychic Visions" Electric Six _Heartbeats & Brainwaves_

"You're No Psychic!" Nib The Psychic Field _Sonic Damn Nation_

"Call A Psychic" Orion _After Dark 4_

"Psychic Rainbow" Anna Oxygen _This Is An Exercise_

interview with psychic & author Bobby Kaufman

"Psychic" Probe _User Friendly_

"Is This For Real?" Nib The Psychic Fiend _Sonic Damn Nation_

"Psychic Attack" The Radiation Flowers _The Radiation Flowers_

"Psykick Damage" School Damage _A To X_

"Psychic Dance Routine" Scowl _Psychic Dance Routine_

conclusion & goodbye

"Psychic Self Defense" Brief Candles _They Live We Sleep_

"Psychic Whore" East River Pipe _Goodbye California_

"Psychic Tapes" Mutators _Secret Life_

Whither Psychics?

(Charles Xavier in the Pstandard Psychic Pstance, from here.)

You know what we need right now? We need a psychic to tell me why the heck Self Help Radio this week is a show about psychics. Maybe a psychic placed the idea in my mind. If so, they're probably waiting to take credit once they've heard the show. & maybe they'll be disappointed.

Because the show will actually be less about psychics & more about psychic things. & not necessarily psychic gifts - for example I had enough songs about ESP to make me think, hm, maybe one day I can do an ESP show, so I shouldn't play them now. I do that a lot. I prefer the specific to the general. Even though I will probably never do an ESP show.

But it does not take a mind-reader to know that Self Help Radio will be about psychic things today on Freeform Portland. Indeed, the time is predictable - because it's regularly scheduled - noon to 2pm. In Portland you can tune in - with your radio, then I guess your mind - at 90.3+98.3fm & everywhere you can listen online at Freeform Portland dot org.

Hmm, though the future is cloudy, I predict no one will tune in. (I mean, you know, because no one ever does.)

Preface To Psychics: Fads & Fallacies

(image from the book's Goodreads page)

When I was a kid I was hungry for magic. I read comics books & sci-fi, I watched movies like Godzilla & Planet Of The Apes, I was enamored by anything Star Trek & anything Star Wars. Mainly I just wanted there to be something, anything supernatural in the world. I did dumb things to try to achieve it. You might want to read my story about trying to astral project. Time & again, I failed to find the magic & mystery I so desperately wanted. Sometimes I was told I didn't believe enough. Sometimes I was told I doubted too much. Most of the time it seemed like someone was lying to me about the magic they claimed to have, or to have seen.

Psychics were probably the least of this - reading a mind wasn't nearly as fun as using the Force to lift an X-Wing Fighter out of a swamp - but boy I would've loved telekinesis or remote viewing. I did love Professor X & Marvel Girl of the X-Men. It never occurred to me that some people took these claims seriously in a scientific context. & that's where Martin Gardner comes in.

As happened so very often, my dear friend Russell lent me my first Martin Gardner book. It was the one above. Although the title may seem a bit pejorative, the book itself examined the claims people made about supernatural events & reported testing about them. Gardner's column in The Skeptical Inquirer would perhaps do this more thoroughly - in one column, Gardner was so even-handed I thought he actually believe in ESP! - but this book switched my disappointment into a keener understand of our world.

& it is a world of magic & mystery - just not the kind I was hoping for. I'm all right with that. Though man it would've been fun to astral project.

The October 17th I Was On A Ferris Wheel

On October 17, 2017, my wife & I went to the State Fair Of Texas. It was almost certainly the first time she was there. It was the first time I had been there probably since a field trip in elementary school. So - the first time in forty years? There were absolutely a larger number of deep-fried things there now than four decades previous - but alas there were not vegan-friendly, so I couldn't try any of them.

We did ride the Ferris Wheel though. Should I capitalize Ferris Wheel? Does the Texas State Fair Ferris Wheel have a name? Yes, it's the Texas Star Ferris Wheel. Here is a picture I took on it:

Here is another picture:

The wife & I shared the Texas Star Ferris Wheel with a couple a bit older than us who had no interest in engaging with us at all. Which was fine because I discovered something about myself on that Ferris Wheel, & it was this: I am actually quite afraid of heights.

It was a weird thing to discover because I had previous enjoyed Ferris Wheels as well as roller coasters & those "rides" that lift you up & then drop you. But something was different about this experience, & I know what it was - they stop the Ferris Wheel to let new people on, so for a moment (or moments) (sometimes long moments) you're just sitting up there, very high up, in a quite precarious position. I remember becoming overly focused on how easily I could fall from there. & it took all the strength I had to not freak out.

My wife didn't notice anything unusual about me, so I was I guess successful. I didn't tell her about how I almost lost it until a while later. But one thing I did know is that was the last time I would ever be on a Ferris Wheel again. Six years ago on this day.

Beggin' For Help

(image from here)

Much like a celestial event, pledge drives/membership drives/fund drives/fundraisers - they're called by different things at each station - have lined up in such a way that at the three stations where I deejay, the next few weeks will have me pitching (as they call begging on the radio) for two of them at a time in the same week for a couple of weeks.

So I thought why don't I just consolidate here on the web page. It's pretty obvious I'm not very good at this, right?

KBOO's is called the "Fresh Off The Vine Fall Drive" & it lasts until the 28th. I've been begging every Tuesday morning - sorry, pitching - for the last few weeks. How effective I've been I dunno.  But if you'd like to help, this is the proper web location to visit.

XRAY's drive - simply the Fall Drive -started today I think. It ends on the 27th. They are a little more savvy than KBOO - they have made a special page for the Dickenbock Report - if you would like to donate for that show. Otherwise, to help the station out in general, the web place to be is here.

Freeform Portland's Fundraiser starts October 23 (so in a week) & lasts until November 10th. We haven't started pushing anything yet, but you can of course donate & also become a Friend Of Freeform where you always can.

I love all the stations at which I deejay & volunteer & am sad I'm not a very good fundraiser. I hope the volunteering I do contributes in a way that perhaps offsets my inability to raise money. But at the very least I want you to know that all these stations deserve any financial support you can give. They are Good Places To Be & Good Places To Listen To. You should be Glad They Exist. I sure am.

Self Help Radio 101223: Medicine

(Original image here)

A spoonful of Self Help Radio, I am told, is far worse than any medicine. Oh dear how awful must an episode about medicine go down? I should attach one of those poison control stickers to this show!

Nonetheless, unregulated by any government agency (unless you count the FCC), Self Help Radio dispersed medicinal programming this week & would do it again if only my dealer would call me back. I always forget that when your dealer asks for your "honest opinion," he doesn't really want that. Darn.

You can take your medicine whenever you'd like at the Self Help Radio web page. Tell the pharmacist your date of birth & use the username SHR & the password selfhelp. If you need details, they're below.

It's only two hours long! No way you'd overdose!

Self Help Radio Medicine Show

"Medicine County" Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs _Medicine County_

"Medicine Man" Syl Sylvain & The Teardrops _Syl Sylvain & The Teardrops_

"Papa's Medicine Show" Bobbie Gentry _Local Gentry_

introduction & definitions

"Medicine" Rumblefish _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 6_

"Medicine" Hummingbirds _Va Va Voom_

"Medication" The Standells _Dirty Water_

"Music Is Medicine (feat. Shungudzo)" Captain Planet _Sounds Like Home_

interview with matchmaker Jennilee Bowen

"The End Of Medicine" The New Pornographers _Electric Version_

"Medicinals" PJ Harvey _The Hope Six Demolition Project_

"Hide The Medicine" The Psychedelic Furs _Made Of Rain_

"Medicine" The Sundays _Blind_

interview with Pastor Jeff Burrows

"Medicine" Christmas _Vortex_

"New Medication" No Frills _Downward Dog_

"Drunk Medicine" Sons & Daughters _Dance Me In_

"Medicine Show" Big Audio Dynamite _This Is Big Audio Dynamite_

interview with Dr. Jack Broad

"A Spoonful Of Sugar" Julie Andrews _Walt Disney's Mary Poppins (Original Cast Sound Track)_

"Medicine Man" Bobby McFerrin _Medicine Music_

"Medicine" Love Positions _Billiepeebup_

"Extra Medication" The Manhattan Love Suicides _The Manhattan Love Suicides_

interview with health advocate Jay Bellman

"Medicine" Momma _Household Name_

"Faster Than The Medicine" Lael Neale _Star Eaters Delight_

"The Medicine Show" The Dream Syndicate _Medicine Show_

conclusion & goodbye

"Edison's Medicine" In Letter Form _Fracture. Repair. Repeat._

"Fast Food Medicine" Tsunami _The Heart's Tremelo_

Whither Medicine?

(Creaky old meme whose origins are lost to time; found here)

If there's one thing the average person doesn't want any insight into, it's the mind of someone like me. By "someone like me," I don't necessarily mean "deejay." Or "deejay who does a radio show based on themes." Or anything like that. I mean, "Someone who becomes unnecessarily fixated on something that can ruin their entire day if they don't learn to focus it somehow." Is this a form of OCD? Is it akin to anxiety? Should I be talking to a professional about it? I don't have any answers, I just have this thing I do.

Which is this: one day something reminded me of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." It's not a song that I have memorized in toto. If I had to recite it I might get 70% of the lines right but I'd almost certainly get them out of order. But the song popped into my head one day while I was feeding my animals & I somehow got stuck on the first lines, "Johnny's in the basement, mixing up the medicine." This took many forms - like, reminding myself how terrible a rhyme "government" is for "medicine" in a song where there's brilliant rhymes like "the phone's tapped anyway Maggie says that many say" - but mainly I focused on the "mixing up the medicine." I wasn't all that interested in what the word medicine means in the song, if Dylan's referring to drugs (he is) or what, I just like the phrase "mixing up the medicine." It made me think of mortars & pestles, of homemade pharmacies with bubbling beakers, bunsen burners aflame. Needing somewhere to put all this, I thought, "What would a radio show about medicine be like?"

What it wouldn't be like would be too broad. I didn't want to have specific medications. I wanted it to be about the idea of medicine - from whatever uses one could find. & I probably wouldn't play the song that started it all. But I could tell you about it!

Self Help Radio's show about medicine airs today, Thursday, from noon to 2pm, on 90.3+98.3fm in Portland & online everywhere at Freeform Portland dot org. It is not a substitution for actual medical advice. As if you needed to know that.

Preface To Medicine: A Funny

By Hugo Tamzarian. His comics live now here (unlike the url at the bottom of the comic, which no longer exists).

Church Use Only

In general, my wife lets me pick the routes we take when we walk our dogs. She only asks that they be a certain length (so she can get her "steps") & that they're "pretty." I am not always certain about her aesthetic sense so for example recently I had to adjust one of our walks because she decided the area we were walking through was "dirty." Dirty is the opposite of pretty in this case. Anyway, I like to have a couple different circuits to take so they don't get too boring but that wasn't necessarily the case in Kentucky, where the picture above was taken on this day in 2015.

What makes this picture interesting to me is that it was taken on a dogwalk but not on one of our regular dogwalks. In fact, we had to detour quite a bit to get to where this picture was taken. Where was it taken? Let's see if I can find the general area on Guggle Merps. This is the closest I can find:

That's the driveway into Redeemer Community Church. I don't really wanna link to it, but you can find it pretty easily if that's something you need. The dumpster would be kind of straight ahead & on the right. We must've strayed from our regular path that day because it was a particularly nice day. It was also a Saturday, so perhaps we had more time to walk. In any event, I had never walked behind that church before, so I did. & I found the funny sign & the discarded tires. Because churches always have tires they need to get rid of.

It's sad to note that two of the dogs that walked with us that day are no longer with us. Luckily the other two still are & they walk more in Portland than they did in Lexington - we go on two dogwalks a day instead of one. Alas, October 10 in Portland was not a particularly nice day. We got rained on during both walks. & I don't think there's a nearby church whose parking lot we might walk through on either of the walks I took today. Hm.

Books About Painters

(images from Goodreads)

If you happened upon last week's show - which was our 21st anniversary show (!) - you heard our favorite librarian Carole stop by to talk about books about painters. (Painters was the theme - a theme from 2006 revisited for the anniversary.) If you didn't listen, & I'm sure you've got a good reason for it, but you should do so now - go to the Self Help Radio web page & listen! Then, come back here to find out more information about the books Carole talked about.

What were those books? They were:

Pigskins To Paintbrushes: The Story Of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes by Don Tate

Out Of This World: The Surreal Art Of Leonora Carrington by Michelle Markel & Amanda Hall

&

Rosa's Animals: The Story Of Rosa Bonheur & Her Painting Menagerie by Maryann Macdonald

Follow the links! Grow your library! Hope Carole returns soon!