Self Help Radio 110523: Painters Painting Revisited (The 21st Anniversary Show)

That was fun! For me, I mean. I don't know if you had any fun. But it's fun for me to have fun at something I've been doing for 21 years now. Not that I sometimes don't have fun doing it. It wasn't as much fun recording the show as doing it live. But I'll keep doing it as long as it's fun. For me. I can't imagine it would be much fun for anyone else.

It is true I am a tad bit proud of myself for having all the songs be about particular artists this time around. How I wish I could've done that in 2006! But better late than never. If only people would write more songs about artists! I am surprised so many I would expect to have not.

Oh well, enough rambling, I have a twenty-second year to get to. You can listen to the show now & anytime at the Self Help Radio website. Please note username & password. That's SHR & selfhelp. Lots of things happened & they are listed below!

Self Help Radio 21st Anniversary Show

"Michelangelo" Slapp Happy _Slapp Happy_

"Max Ernst" Moving Parts _Wrong Conclusion_

"I Like Cezanne" Neil Innes _Recollections 2_

introduction & a snippet from the original 2006 show

"Rembrandt" Fay Lovsky _Cinema_

"Vincent Van Gogh" Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers _Rockin' & Romance_

"Velázquez & I" Would-Be-Goods _The Camera Loves Me_

"Salvador Dali's Garden Party" Television Personalities _Privilege_

interview with old KVRX friend Chris Kane

"Trouble With Classicists" Lou Reed & John Cale _Songs For Drella_

"Picasso's Mandolin" Guy Clark _Boats To Build_

"Mark Rothko Song" Dar Williams _The Honesty Room_

"MC Escher" Momus _The Little Red Songbook_

interview with NPR programmer Cody Rockefeller

"Jasper Johns" Comet Gain _Tigertown Pictures_

"Leonardo" Pierce Pettis _Great Big World_

"Painting By Chagall" The Weepies _Say I Am You_

"Ballad Of Winslow Homer" The Dimes _The King Can Drink The Harbour Dry_

interview with painting restorer paint remover Craig Richards

"Song For Frida Kahlo" Tinpan Orange _The Bottom Of The Lake_

"Ode To Banksy" Jesca Hoop _The House That Jack Built_

"Marcel Duchamp" Pete Bentham & The Dinner Ladies _I Heart Here_

"Francis Bacon Slashed The Canvas" MC Lars _Lars Attacks!_

our favorite librarian Carole stops by!

"Jackson Pollock" Soft Cough _Soft Cough_

"Mondrian" Turtlenecked _Pure Plush Bone Cage_

"Botticelli's Venus" Bellows _Next Of Kin_

"O'Keeffe" Tracyanne & Danny _Tracyanne & Danny_

conclusion + goodbye plus a surprise phone call from Chuck!

"The Ruben's Room" The King Of Luxembourg _Royal Bastard_

"Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes)" Book Of Love _Book Of Love_

Whither Painters Painting Revisited? (Hint: It's The 21st Anniversary Show!)

(image from here)

This week is the 21st anniversary of Self Help Radio. The show began on October 9, 2002, on a station called KOOP ("co-op") in Austin, Texas. Since the 9th of October 2023 is on a Monday, & since my show is on a Thursday, I thought I'd go ahead & celebrate the anniversary a bit early. Because you wouldn't hear it if I celebrated it alone in my room next Monday.

Since the show's sixth anniversary, it has been the tradition to revisit a theme on the anniversary. Generally I don't revisit themes, though the longer this show has gone on, the more likely I will do it if asked. One of the nice things about revisiting a theme is that I can perhaps find music I missed the first time around. I can also refine the theme somewhat - perhaps reinterpret it. That's fun!

On May 3, 2006, Self Help Radio has the theme "Painters, Painting, & Painters Painting." My original idea was to have a show just about painters. Each song would be about a different famous painter. Things didn't work out as planned, so I included songs about painting & about a generic painter & even songs about artists. But there was always a part of me that was a bit disappointed. If only I had the chance to find more songs about specific artists!

Guess what? That's what is going to happen today! Each song on today's anniversary show will be about an artist & even that was a bit hard - I had to skip repeated songs about a particular artist. Both Andy Warhol & Vincent Van Gogh, for example, have multiple songs about them.

Plus, I'll have guests that talk about painters - & also some people from my radio past.

The proof is in the broadcast! Listen today from noon to 2pm on 90.3+98.3fm in Portland & online everywhere at the Freeform Portland website. It won't be a masterpiece or anything. Just an anniversary show!

Preface To The 21st Anniversary Show: Longevity

(image from here)

It can be said with absolute modesty that I had no idea I would still be doing a radio show called Self help Radio twenty-one years after it began. I actually didn't think I would still be doing it in 2006, which is when the show with the theme I am revisiting (more on that tomorrow) aired. In fact, I bought myself one of those "books" one stored CDs in back in the day & after the show I would collect the songs I played & burned them to a CD to keep them, a sure sign I didn't know how long this would last. What did those things hold, fifty CDs? There are more weeks in a year!

It would make the woman I married sad, perhaps, to hear this, but I didn't even know how long we'd be together. In October 2002, we had been dating for about a year. My longest relationship up to that point was barely three years long. My track record was terrible.

Same with radio. I had done radio from mid-1994 to mid-1999 at KVRX, & had waited a year to volunteer at KOOP. By the time I started Self Help Radio on October 9, 2002, I hadn't had a regular radio show in three years. Nothing felt permanent, nothing seemed assured.

Which is not to say it's a surprise that I've been doing this for twenty-one years. Around the time I left Austin, I was determined to keep doing the show wherever I ended up, & so I have. Around 2013 or 2014 I started inviting people onto the show to do the silly interviews & that breathed new life into the show. So if you had asked me in 2009, or 2014, did I think I'd make it 21 years, I probably would've said, "God I hope not" because I would think I was being funny but if asked to be honest, I would've said, "Sure, why not?"

On anniversary shows I revisit old themes. It's in the hopes of improving on them. I will explain why I am revisiting this year's particular theme tomorrow.

Officially It's October 9, 2002

(image from here)

Well! The website Best Of Date chooses two horrific events from October 9, 2022, when the feel-good news story is right under their noses! Self Help Radio debuted on KOOP Austin at 2pm on October 9, 2002. No one was shot. No one was executed. But also no one was warned. Who knew it would go on this long? Not me!

Yes, it's October 3, but in general I like to my anniversary shows before the date rather than after. I hope you understand.

"20 years, 11 months, & 26 days have passed since October 9th, 2002," says the site. It really doesn't feel that long. Certainly not those extra 26 days!

More anniversary musings tomorrow.

The Corridors & Hallways Of Film

(image from the IMDb)

Neither a corridor nor a hallway is a good place to see a movie, but maybe these films recommended by the show's resident cinephile Chuck are exceptions to the rule?  Wait.  Did you not hear his segment on this week's show?  My golly, please go listen at the Self Help Radio website. After you've listened, supplement your experience with the following links Chuck supplied:

Here is his YouTube playlist of films, trailers, & clips.
Chuck's note: Most of the clips are the first from an available playlist for a film on the list & may not be related to the subject.

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

Chuck's note: (Click on the "read notes" icon - I have put links to the youtube videos, where the film may be streaming for free, & the occasional bit of other information.)

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

Here are Chuck's IMDb keyword lists - one for corridors, one for hallways.

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).

Direct links for Chuck: Twitter,  Bluesky, & Substack.

Is it safe to come out of the corridor yet?

Self Help Radio 092823: Corridors & Hallways

You may not know this but I tried to do this show from a corridor but the corridor has a guard who wanted my ID! & I tried to do this show from a hallway but the hallways was full of boxes of books! Plus both were heavily trafficked. There would have been a lot of interruptions. Would some of them have been comical? Probably. Would some of them have led to a kerfuffle? Almost certainly. Would I be in jail right now because my wife has told me she will not bail me out the next time I start a fight in a hallway or corridor? Oh yes indeed. So it was all for the best. Though I would've preferred to do a show about corridors & hallways in a hallway or corridor. We can't always have everything we want!

If you want to listen to this show, though, you can do so now or whenever (you should listen to it in a corridor or hallway tho) at the Self Help Radio website. Remember to use the username SHR & also the password selfhelp to access the file. Lots of stuff happened on the show. Lots of music was played. That is all detailed below.

The hallways pictured above was a podiatrist in Fort Worth. They didn't want us to exit the way we came in. I left them a Self Help Radio rug.

Self Help Radio Corridors & Hallways show

"Dark Shadows & Empty Hallways" Tammy St. John _Ripples Vol. 4: Uptown Girls & Big City Boys_

"Corridor Of Dreams" Cleaners From Venus _Midnight Cleaners_

"Hallways Of My Mind" The Dells _The Dells Musical Menu/Always Together_

introduction & definitions - featuring the Definition-O-Tron 3000

"The Sixties Corridor" The Meanies _No Sleep 'Til Bedtime 7" EP_

"Standing In The Hallway" The Bangles _Different Light_

"Corridors" The House Of Love _Audience With The Mind_

"Hallway" Gorky's Zygotic Mynci _Spanish Dance Troupe_

"Endless Corridor" Siglo XX _Answer_

interview with hobo Major Sterling

"Hallway" Marmoset _Tea Tornado_

"Ant Corridor" Robyn Hitchcock _Luxor_

"1997, Passing In The Hallway" Martha _Courting Strong_

"Corridors" B-Movie _Climate Of Fear_

"Hallways & Doors (feat. Eligh & Grouch)" DJ Drez _The Capture Of Sound_

interview with realtor Morton Smith

"Shock Corridor" Saint Etienne _Finisterre_

"Cat In The Hallway" Tiny Ruins _Some Were Meant For Sea_

"Take A Hard Look Down The Long Corridor" Sonny & The Sunsets _Hairdressers From Heaven_

"Hallways" Islands _A Sleep & A Forgetting_

"Corridor" Death Lens _No Luck_

our resident cinephile Chuck stops by!

"Hallway Symphony" Hamilton, Joe Frank, & Reynolds _Hallway Symphony_

"The Corridors Of Power" Dean Wareham _I Have Nothing To Say To The Mayor Of L.A._

"Hotel Hallway" Like A Motorcycle _Dead Broke_

"Sun Corridor" Norse Horse _Hey Girl, Hey: A Polyvinyl Sampler_

"In The Hallway" Ducktails _Jersey Devil_

conclusion & goodbye

"Red Velvet Corridor" Swans _Soundtracks For The Blind_

"Bare Hallways" Hiroki Tanaka _Kaigo Kioku Kyoku_

Whither Corridors & Hallways?

(image from here)

All right. Let's get this out of the way. This is a rare "double theme" for Self Help Radio not necessarily because hallways & corridors can be (although aren't) synonyms, but because - & I know you suspected this - I couldn't find enough songs about one or the other so I had to combine the two. I just want you to know that there are plenty of songs about hallways & plenty of songs about corridors to fill a show each. I just didn't like enough songs of either kind to fill two hours of the show I wanted to do. I hope you understand.

The idea for this show came from a song that I won't play on the show. In the David Bowie song "Teenage Wildlife" (I recently listened to Scary Monsters for the millionth time) he has a part where he sings,

You'll take me aside, and say

"Well, David, what shall I do? They wait for me in the hallway"

I'll say "Don't ask me, I don't know any hallways"

In addition to noting David Bowie being massively unhelpful to a sad teenager, I also was intrigued by the word "hallway." It led me to trying to find songs about hallways. When there weren't enough of them, I also sought out songs about corridors. & that's where this theme came from.

Why won't I play the Bowie song? It's seven minutes long & that's really the only mention of hallways. It's a great tune but not really part of the theme.

Hey! The show is on today, Thursday the 28th, from noon to 2pm on Freeform Portland. You can listen at 90.3+98.3fm in town & online everywhere at Freeform Portland dot org.

Preface To Corridors & Hallways: Seeing Ghosts In Hallways

Above is a picture of a beautiful cat that is no longer with us. Her name was Bronte & I have written about her all over this blog, but you can read my memorial to her here. It is very hard to believe she's been gone for over two years now.

Dwelling on my lost children is not something I want to do, at least not in public. I carry them in my heart & I have pictures of them nearby so I can think of them, but I don't need to share those memories & that pain with everyone. I am only sharing this because it's something that comes to mind when I think of hallways.

That was our hallway in Kentucky. Some nights I would wake up for some reason - maybe to go get a drink of water - & who should be there in the hallway but Bronte. Sometimes when she was there the dogs refused to go past her, even though she wasn't mean at all. She was just a bit intimidating I guess. I would laugh & ask her what she was doing there & pick her up & kiss her. Which wasn't what she wanted at all. She just wanted to sit in the hall.

This post is titled "seeing ghosts in hallways" but I don't really see Bronte's ghost anywhere. Our hallway here in Portland isn't nearly big enough for ghosts. But I am glad the show this week is encouraging me to think about her. & how much I miss her. & how glad I was she found us & spent most of her life with us.

September 26, 1329

(credit Wikipedia)

Normally, when I don't have anything important to talk about - well - I never have anything important to talk about - I should instead say - when I don't have anything about my radio show to talk about - I look at pictures I've taken on that day over the past few years & share one or two of them, usually with an anecdote. None of the pictures I've taken on September 26 - not counting the ones I took today, which I haven't looked at - were worthy of a story. So I went to Wikipedia to see if anyone famous or interesting was born today. It turns out there were lots - look here - but it intrigued me that the second name on the "births" list - pre-1600 CE - was a woman named Anne Of Bavaria. It's always fascinating to me that we know the actual birthday of anyone that long ago, but Anne's story - Wikipedia calls her a "German queen consort" - seemed to strike some kind of weird chord in me.

She was royalty, a member of the House Of Wittelsbach, a dynastic German line that existed from the 11th till the 19th century. The current inbred British royals are descended from someone from this house. They've had money & lands for a long time.  So yeah, on this day in 1329, little Anne was born. Whatever she did for two decades is unknown, although I'm sure she lived quite well.

When she was nineteen, she married Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. He was about thirteen years older than she was, which may have seemed weirder then than now, & she was his second wife. His first wife had died the year before. From what I can gather, the important thing was getting Chuck an heir. He was from Prague, although Wikipedia says he was the first King Of Bohemia to be Holy Roman Emperor, so I'm not sure if I know enough about Prague & Bohemia in the fourteenth century to suss out what connections there were. I do wonder if Anne & Chuck spoke the same language. Wikipedia tells us her Czech name was Anna Falcká.

Anne's life from then on must've been both exhilarating & then sad. She was Queen Of Rome & Queen Of Bohemia. She & Charles had a son, in 1350, whom they named Wenceslaus, probably after the song. (Just kidding. The song didn't exist yet. But he was named after the saint who features in the song.) At last, an heir! But Wenceslaus died just a year later. & then, in 1353, at the age of 23, Anna herself died. A trajectory probably no different from the poorer folk of her day, but certainly she lived better than they did. Here are some facts that are mentioned in this article:

A story has it that she was heartbroken & never recovered after her only child’s death, but according to another version of the events her untimely passing was the result of a fall from a horse.

Oh! Also! A weird postscript courtesy the Wikipedia:

Asteroid 100733 Annafalcká, discovered by Czech astronomer Miloš Tichý at the Kleť Observatory in 1998, was named in her memory.

Isn't it fascinating that she featured prominently enough in someone's memory to name a frickin' celestial body after them?

So anyway - happy birthday to her? You didn't live long, you had no children, but there's an asteroid named after you, so - well done?

The 1968 Project, Part Five

(The front page of the 1968 releases section of Rate Your Music. The top four haven't changed.)

As I explained in a previous post, I have another dumb thing I'm doing which has occasionally found its way onto the radio. Please read the previous post to learn about the 1968 Project. I recently finished the fifth installment which, by the way, means I've listened to about 99 records now that were released in 1968. It's been a lot of fun.

That episode is both at the Self Help Radio website & on the KBOO website. You have to scroll for the episode on the show's website, but you can download it if you want; the KBOO show is a direct link.

Anyway. Just thought I'd tell you. I'll do another one after KBOO's Fall Drive ends.

Self Help Radio 092123: Get Out

(original image here)

We got out! We're free! After years of being trapped in a dumb radio show we are liberated! All it took was a show that enabled us to get out!

The record of our escape is two hours long. Perhaps it will educate or edify others in similar radio predicaments. You are encouraged to learn what you can so perhaps listen more than once.

The program waits for you at the Self Help Radio website. Please use the username SHR & the password selfhelp to access. Details of the program are below.

Sadly, we were so unaccustomed to freedom that we returned to the radio. We simply couldn't live in the outside world. Alas!

Self Help Radio Get Out Show

"Get Out (& Let Me Cry)" Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes _The Jamie/Guyden Story_

"Get Out Of My Life" Marva Whitney _It's My Thing_

"Get Out Of My Life Woman" Lee Dorsey _Cracking The Cosimo Code (60s New Orleans R&B & Soul)_

introduction & definitions

"We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" The Animals _Animal Tracks_

"Get Out" The Popguns _Love Junky_

"Get Up & Get Out" Iggy Pop _Soldier_

"Get Out Of My House" Kate Bush _The Dreaming_

interview with inventor Harrison Baines

"Get Out Of My Dream" The Clouds _The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 4_

"Get Out Of The City" Ivy _Apartment Life_

"Get Out Of My Mirror" Felt _Me & A Monkey On The Moon_

"Let's Get Out Of This Country" Camera Obscura _Let's Get Out Of This Country_

"Get Out!" The Blue Aeroplanes _Broken & Mended_

interview with screenwriter Braydon Peele

"I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive" Rosie Flores _The Executioner's Last Songs Volume 1_

"Can't Get Out Of Bed" The Charlatans _Up To Our Hips_

"Get Outta Town!" Lucky Soul _The Great Unwanted_

"Get Out" Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations _I Came From Love_

actor Horace Bentley interrupts!

"Get In Get Out" The Angry Orts _The Angry Orts_

"Get Out" The Goon Sax _We're Not Talking_

"Get Out Of The Way (So I Can Get Back To My Life)" Diplomats Of Solid Sound _What Goes Around Comes Around_

"Get Out Of That Rut" The Satyrs _Don't Be Surprised_

interview with self-help writer Hector Bridges

"Get Out Of The Way" The Uncalled For _Mindrocker_

"Get Out" Maddy Prior & The Girls _Under The Covers_

"Get Up Get Out" Rosebuds _Night Of The Furies_

"Get Out" Kitbuilders _The Sound Of Cologne Vol. 1_

conclusion & goodbye

"Get Out & Get Under The Moon" Helen Kane _Helen Kane Great Original Performances_

"Get Out Of Town" Anita O'Day with Billy May _Swings Cole Porter_

"Get Out Of My House" Miya Folick _Roach_

Whither Get Out?

(image from here)

The phrase "get out" - an imperative sentence - is mostly considered a warning. Whether trying to keep you from possible harm in an emergency situation - "Get out of here! The place is on fire!" - or said in anger that might result in physical altercation - "Get out of my room & leave me alone!" - the phrase is hardly ever said in situations that are friendly, jovial, amicable.

Unless of course it's said in disbelief, like "No way!" An example might be: "I met the stars of Barbie today." "Get out!" One supposes it's short for "get out of here!" which is said in the sense of "I think you are lying & if you are lying you probably should leave." But in a more exaggerated, friendly way.

It's mainly the first use you'll hear on today's Self Help Radio. It's not really meant to be an instruction; for example, if you are listening in your house, you're not really supposed to get out of your house & cease listening. The same for in your car. It's best if you don't think of the phrase as said to you - it's probably never a good idea to think a song is actually directing you to do something. The songwriters & performers didn't have you in particular in mind at the time of composition & recording. Sorry if this is the first time you've heard this.

This show is especially good, in fact, for those who never get out at all. As is most of radio. If you're always listening to the radio, you're mainly getting out of other obligations, such as work, family, friendship. I'm not encouraging that but I appreciate it.

Listen to Self Help Radio's "Get Out" show today on Freeform Portland, which is on the air from noon to 2pm on 90.3+98.3fm in Portland, & online at the Freeform Portland website. At the very least, if someone asks you what you did today, you can say, "Oh I did get out for a while this afternoon."

Preface To Get Out: It's Not About That Movie

(image from IMDb)

Don't me wrong, I liked the movie. & in fact we'll mention the movie once or twice, how could we not? But the show won't be about the movie. It would be kind of weird if it was, wouldn't it? I'm not even sure where I'd start. I won't brainstorm here because I don't want to spoil the movie. It's one of those movies with a surprise ending of a sort.

Anyway, I would imagine anyone hearing that the theme is "get out" might be reminded of the movie. I mean, I was reminded of the movie. So I figured it's important to clear my throat & say, "It's not about that movie." Without leaving the impression that if it were about the movie, that would be a bad thing. It wouldn't be. In fact, if it were about the movie, it would probably be way more creative that my show could ever possibly be.

Not to overexplain or anything. The movie was a huge hit, see, & groundbreaking - I believe Jordan Peele was the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It made him an instant star & it grossed a quarter million dollars. In contrast, I have few listeners on a community radio station that is run by volunteers & has very little money. Maybe I should do a radio show about the movie, encouraging its fans & fans of Jordan Peele in general to throw some of their horror movie dollars our way.

Alas, that's not the case. It's not about the movie. It's in a tiny corner of the shadow of the movie because of the movie's towering presence. Apparently blocking the sun in this metaphor. But you know. I just wanted to make that clear.

This blog post, though. It's very obviously about the movie.

Three Memories Of September 19

Looking through my old pictures, I discovered that September 19 appears to be a day when, at least in three of the past nine years, I've done something. Like, on this day in 2014, I went to Cincinnati to watch dachshunds race:

It was for Oktoberfest. I had the most fun walking around downtown Cincinnati taking pictures.

Or a year later - my dog Pauline got skunked right before we traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana:

She's getting a bath here.

It's a little embarrassing now to mention why we went to Fort Wayne - we went to see Bill Maher - a person who's now so obviously odious that it's a wonder it took me so long to notice - but I do remember that he had no opener, he did about forty-five minutes, & at times he was so very unfunny that he fell back on his schtick of pretending that we were too sensitive for his bad jokes. As we left, we saw this guy:

& I remember thinking it would probably have been more fun to watch him instead of Maher.

(We brought the dogs & got lucky because the hotel had windows we could open - Pauline was still very skunky.)

Three years ago on this date, we didn't go anywhere -  it was the height of the pandemic - but I did notice two things happening in our neighborhood:

One neighbor was celebrating breakfast day - we weren't invited.

& Jill was having her bridal shower outside. It was a lovely day & Jill seemed fine. They said hello to the dogs.

On this September 19, I made food & two friends came over. One of them brought wine from their mother's vineyard - it was very sweet & very strong. I don't think I took any pictures though.

Thinking Better Of Old Disappointments

(image by Luc Fuller, found here)

There's always so much forgiving to do. It can be exhausting, both forgiving & being forgiven, Like watering the bushes in the front of the house, you know it's probably necessary but sometimes it feels like a waste of time.

There's always so much disappointment. That's almost certainly related to expectation. I'm hardly ever disappointed by anything that I have no expectations about. Expectations of? Expectations for?

Is that the basis of Buddhism? I wish my friend Russell were here, he'd laugh at that question & then talk thoughtfully about it. I don't even know what I'd do with a thoughtful discussion at this moment.

On the dog walk tonight it got cold, & it's always interesting when it gets cold again in Portland because you kind of expect it but it's still a bit startling. Maybe I spend too much time in the past. It's not safer there but at least I know what's going to happen. What always happens. What has already happened.

We walked several blocks to our car without incident & some friends of ours told us someone threw a bicycle at them as they existed a restaurant. We love this city, they can't wait to leave. How much is bad fortune do you ever wonder?

Self Help Radio 091423: Howard Gently Year One Continued

Yes, I'm reusing the terrible graphic. There aren't a lot of pictures of Howard Gently out there!

Also this should be called "Howard Gently Year One Concluded" as we did get through the first year of Howard Gently on Self Help Radio. The show is mainly bits from Self Help Radio that aired on WRFL in Lexington, Kentucky, in the period between July 2014 & March 2015. My dear friend Russell improvised all of it & it came so easy to us because we made cassette tapes when we were kids doing this very thing. There's almost certainly a part of me that doesn't really think I'm on the radio - just pretending.

In-between segments, I play songs from the shows that I thought Russ would approve us. & I started the show with one of his original compositions. Later in the year I'll start Howard Gently Year Two. I miss him so but am so grateful I have so many recordings of him being funny. He really was the funniest person I ever knew.

Show at the Self Help Radio website. Username SHR password selfhelp required. Tracklist below.

Howard Gently Year One Continued

"Because She's Beautiful" Russell Miles _Six Tunes By "Russ"_

"Up The Hill Backwards" David Bowie _Scary Monsters_

Howard Gently on the theme "Backwards"

"The House Of The Rising Sun" Nina Simone _Nina Simone Sings The Blues_

Howard Gently on the theme "Sunrise"

"Watch Out For The Normal People" The Boomtown Rats _A Tonic For The Troops_

Howard Gently on the theme "Normal"

"Panic" The Smiths _Louder Than Bombs_

Howard Gently announces his new magazine

"Heaven" Talking Heads _The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads_

Howard Gently on the theme "Heaven"

"My Daddy Is A Mummy" Richard Thompson _The Life & Music Of Richard Thompson_

Howard Gently on the theme "Mummies"

"Seasons In The Sun" Black Box Recorder _The Worst Of Black Box Recorder_

Howard Gently on the theme "Seasons"

Howard Gently on the Christmas holidays

"Party Girl" Elvis Costello & The Attractions _Armed Forces_

Howard Gently calls the show 1/16/15

"Jerkin' Back 'N' Forth" Devo _New Traditionalists_

Howard Gently calls the show 1/30/15

"Razor Edge" Ranee & Raj _Don't Tell Me I Must Go_

Howard Gently calls the show 2/20/15

Howard Gently calls the show 3/6/15

Whither Howard Gently Year One Continued?

It made my friend Russell so happy when I found that picture of that stranger who became Howard Gently. I added the pince-nez glasses & the Hawaiian shirt & beach background. Maybe even the moustache? I've probably mentioned this before. Anyway. It's nice to have a memory of making someone for whom I cared so very much so happy.

Words cannot express how grateful I am he spent so much time being my friend, talking to me, & of course being my spiritual mentor on Self Help Radio. Sitting with him improvising his segments was always one of the joys of my week. We did it on Skype. It often lasted more than ten minutes. It was difficult but exciting to edit them down to five. I would cut as much of my part as possible to maximize the Gently.

We started in 2014, & today on Self Help Radio, I'll finish the bits he did that year. You can listen to the previous installment here. Like on that show, I'll preface each bit with a song from the original show - & all these aired when I was on WRFL in Lexington - & I am picking a song from the show that I hope Russell would approve of.

Listen for lots of Howard Gently today from noon to 2pm on 90.3+98.3fm & online at freeform portland dot org. He may well make you a believer.

Preface To Howard Gently Year One Continued: I Miss My Friend

(A picture of the Gently Command Center from the now-defunct Howard Gently Facebook page.)

On this day three years ago, my mother died. I wrote about it at the time. I woke today feeling a little off, like there was something I was supposed to do. When I napped this afternoon, I dreamed I kept losing my wallet. When I woke I remembered weird advice my mother gave me about keeping my wallet in my front pocket, which I do to this day. My little brother wrote on Facebook about the anniversary of her death - which I know I would've eventually remembered.

It was extra strange because I spent the day listening to bits created by my friend Russell, who died in June. I wrote about that too.  As I hope you know, Russell played a character for nine years on my radio show, my spiritual mentor the Rev. Dr. Howard Gently. I will play more of his appearances on the show tomorrow.

Russell lost his mother early, she had a rare form of dementia that took her from him when she was still quite young. His mother was very kind. She seemed to me like a housewife in an old sitcom, one who is mock-stern but smiles ridiculously when her kooky son does something goofy. Russell loved her dearly, & he went to live with her after his father died in the mid-1990s.

There are so many stories to tell about our mothers & our friends. I am so grateful I have recordings of Russell being funny because although he & I went through some tough times, the things which initially bonded us - our love of music & our sense of humor - are there in the radio shows I made which he guested on. So many people love Russell's prank calls that I am a little shocked they haven't all become massive fans of Howard Gently. Maybe Gently is too subtle for them. Maybe he isn't making fun of religious people so directly.

Maybe you'll enjoy more of him. Having spent all day with him, I am glad to say I do. & I miss him so.

The Outdoor Cats Of September 12th

Here are three pictures, the first one taken in Kentucky on September 12, 2014, & the other two taken in Portland on September 12, 2021+2022. It seems like September 12 is (sometimes) a day for taking pictures of kittens allowed outdoors.

For whatever reason, I don't remember the cats in the top & bottom pictures, but the one on the sofa in the middle was a regular sight on our dogwalks for a time. I haven't seen it lately, though. We have dogs with us so I don't approach the cats (especially if they're on someone's porch or property), which means I never really get to know them. But that cat, with a cute black spot on its head as if it had a 1930s slick-backed haircut, is quite memorable. I hope it's all right.

We get coyotes around here & it's the best reason not to let your cats wander around outside. So many kitties go missing & people lament their loss on social media. I have no data about how many might have been carried away by predators at night, but my own paranoia suggests it's somewhere between all & nearly all. I would be beside myself if one of my dear felines disappeared in such circumstances.

Now I'm trying to think if I took a picture of a cat on a porch today. I don't think I did. Darn it.

Invitation To The Movies

(image from the IMDb)

You were invited to last week's Self Help Radio, a show about invitations - you are still invited & can listen at the Self Help Radio website - & I invited as well our resident cinephile Chuck to talk about movies featuring invitations. After you've listened, please follow the following links Chuck has provided:

Here is his YouTube playlist of films & trailers.

Here is his Letterboxd list.

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

Here is Chuck's IMDb keyword list.

& remember Chuck is on Twitter, on Bluesky, & on Substack.

Thanks Chuck! Glad you accepted the invitation to be on the show!