As part of my regular service as a KPSU DJ, I apprentice new volunteers to help train them. For those who tuned in and did not hear the usual Blasphuphmus Radio rig-a-mo-role, this may explain why. Klara, my apprentice, picked out the music, and ran the show instead. I did engineer the first half of the show, and did pick out a few tunes for the middle-section of the broadcast. But let's face it; this one was hers. Ob-soive:
Klara's Show
(Where Klara takes over Blasphuphmus Radio for a week.)
Playlist & Footnotes.
See ya in seven.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
From The "Blast From The Past" Dept...
An obscure bit-player from radio history is the focus of today's show, as we replay classic bits from his radio broadcasts from the late '90's, and from his one appearance in 2006. Ladies & Gentlemen, I speak of none other than Mr. Holden Craft himself (pictured here, on the left). Ob-soive:Episode 039: The Legendary Holden Craft
(Featuring various recordings from Blasphuphmus Radio history where Holden Craft made appearances.)
Playlist & Footnotes
This one has a special place in my heart, as Holden is one of my oldest friends, and really knows how to craft a great Shaggy Dog story.
Tune in next week, as I present something that has yet to be determined at this point! Can you stand the excitement?
See ya in seven!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Here Goes
Today was my first paid day at PSU, prepping for the classes I'll be teaching in a couple weeks. Not a whole lot to report; there was some paperwork, some "Welcome" speeches, and we met a slew of people that it will take weeks to learn the names of, anyway. My favorite moment involved the discussion about trying to create low-paper-use classrooms this year, proceeded by the distribution of about 10 documents, all of which were also available "on-line" in case we lost them.
Some things about work never seem to change.
It's a little too early to tell how I feel about it all, but so far, so good. I haven't had a job in almost nine months, and haven't really interacted in large crowds like that since classes ended in Spring Term, so it's a little weird. While I was milling around today, I managed to sort out my bus pass for the term, and re-connected with other people who will also be teaching, all of whom I met in the Spring.
The biggest change is the morning routine. I haven't had to get up early for any particular reason in a while, and I forgot how quickly the morning can slip away from you when you have to be somewhere before noon. I need to get back into the habit of waking up at 6 AM again, but I have a feeling I'll be fighting that one for the first couple of weeks, at least.
I do find it fairly hilarious that, on the first day of my school year, the Fall Weather took hold of Portland again. We've already had the first few portents anyway, so it's not at all surprising that it rained. But the last few days of my summer were so pleasant, it only made sense that it should turn to crap the day its over.
Personally, though, I'm looking forward to Fall & Winter. This Summer has been depressing in a way I had previously thought impossible, punctuated with extreme poverty, loneliness, and an endless string of watched DVDs that ultimately left me unfulfilled, and empty. After three months of that, any change is a welcome one.
Some things about work never seem to change.
It's a little too early to tell how I feel about it all, but so far, so good. I haven't had a job in almost nine months, and haven't really interacted in large crowds like that since classes ended in Spring Term, so it's a little weird. While I was milling around today, I managed to sort out my bus pass for the term, and re-connected with other people who will also be teaching, all of whom I met in the Spring.
The biggest change is the morning routine. I haven't had to get up early for any particular reason in a while, and I forgot how quickly the morning can slip away from you when you have to be somewhere before noon. I need to get back into the habit of waking up at 6 AM again, but I have a feeling I'll be fighting that one for the first couple of weeks, at least.
I do find it fairly hilarious that, on the first day of my school year, the Fall Weather took hold of Portland again. We've already had the first few portents anyway, so it's not at all surprising that it rained. But the last few days of my summer were so pleasant, it only made sense that it should turn to crap the day its over.
Personally, though, I'm looking forward to Fall & Winter. This Summer has been depressing in a way I had previously thought impossible, punctuated with extreme poverty, loneliness, and an endless string of watched DVDs that ultimately left me unfulfilled, and empty. After three months of that, any change is a welcome one.
Monday, September 14, 2009
I Ain't No Physciscisk, But I Knows What Matters
You don't have to be no fish to tell when you're flounderin'
What am I? Some kind of barnacles on the dinghy of life?
I ain't no doctors but I knows when I'm losin' me patiensk
What am I? Some kind of judge, or a lawyers?
Aw, maybe not; but I knows what laws suits me
So what am I? I ain't no physciscisk, but I knows what matters
What am I? I'm Popeye, the sailor
And I yam what I yam what I yam and I yam what I yam
and that's all that I yam 'cause I yam what I yam
And I gots a lot of muskle and I only gots one eye
And I never hurts nobodys and I'll never tell a lie
Tops to me bottoms and me bottoms to me top
And that's the way it is 'till the day that I drop
What am I?
I yam what I yam!
I yam what I yam what I yam what I yam what I yam
To be or not to be? Who's askin'?
I can open up an ockean I can take a lot of sail
I can lose a lot of waters and I'll never have to bail
I can pushk up Madagascar grab a whale by the tail
What am I?
What am I?
I yam what I yam!
I'm Popeye, the sailor
I'm Popeye, the sailor
I'm Popeye, the sailor
I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam
I yam what I yam what I yam what I yam
I'm Popeye the sailor man!
What am I? Some kind of barnacles on the dinghy of life?
I ain't no doctors but I knows when I'm losin' me patiensk
What am I? Some kind of judge, or a lawyers?
Aw, maybe not; but I knows what laws suits me
So what am I? I ain't no physciscisk, but I knows what matters
What am I? I'm Popeye, the sailor
And I yam what I yam what I yam and I yam what I yam
and that's all that I yam 'cause I yam what I yam
And I gots a lot of muskle and I only gots one eye
And I never hurts nobodys and I'll never tell a lie
Tops to me bottoms and me bottoms to me top
And that's the way it is 'till the day that I drop
What am I?
I yam what I yam!
I yam what I yam what I yam what I yam what I yam
To be or not to be? Who's askin'?
I can open up an ockean I can take a lot of sail
I can lose a lot of waters and I'll never have to bail
I can pushk up Madagascar grab a whale by the tail
What am I?
What am I?
I yam what I yam!
I'm Popeye, the sailor
I'm Popeye, the sailor
I'm Popeye, the sailor
I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam
I yam what I yam what I yam what I yam
I'm Popeye the sailor man!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Mangled Bohemians, LIVE!
Another two-hour adventure today on the radio, this time with local experimental / ambient / drone artists, Mangled Bohemians! Ob-soive:Episode 038: Mangled Bohemians, Live! Part I
Episode 038: Mangled Bohemians, Live! Part II
(Featuring a DJ set by Mangled Bohemians during the first hour, and a live performance during the second!)
Playlist & Footnotes.
Mangled Bohemians might win the award for one of the nicest bands I've ever met, though there are several groups vying for that position currently, so we'll just say that you won't be annoyed by any rock star pretension, or uncomfortable behavior from so-called "noise" artists. These guys love music, love making music, and love playing it for you. What more could you ask for?
Tune in next week for a special look back at an obscure character for Blasphuphmus Radio history, Mr. Holden Craft himself. Don't know who he is? Well, tune in next week, and find out!
See ya in seven.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Summer's End
September is here, the rains have begun in Portland, and as my last week of freedom comes careening toward me at breakneck speed, I've been trying to think of a good way to come to terms with Summer '09. It hasn't been easy. Without getting too personal and too weird for an online blog (but that hasn't stopped me before), to sum it up briefly: this has been a difficult few months. I haven't had a job all year, and that combined with all the usual problems that come with being single and over-educated in the northwest has led to some existential evenings and frustrated fidgeting. In a lot of ways, I've been looking forward to working and going back to school more than anything else, which in and of itself makes me wonder what's wrong with me.
The problem vying for the most computational time in the old brain-pan has been that of being in my mid-30's. Americans love to make a national pastime of concerning themselves with age in all of its various forms: we are obsessed with babies, want to appeal to young people, expect the middle-aged to actually do everything, and worry endlessly about what to do with the old. I've fallen into that trap, undoubtedly; one of my favorite movies has always been Brazil, but having finally reached the age of the main character, it's uncanny how much that film captures what I'm feeling and thinking these days. It is surprising how much of our lives are spent running business & goverment created mazes, and how much energy we will spend on looking for (or maintaining) romances.
Probably the most annoying aspect of all of this is the fact that I am not singular in these experiences or sensations. We all have trouble with money, being alone, jobs, dating, and, essentially, living. Even yet still more annoying is that, as we age, our perceptions of these things follow a somewhat predictable trajectory. As we go through the ups and downs of being human, our experience is almost identical to that of a large portion of the people our same age, gender, tax bracket, etc. There's nothing worse than feeling alienated and put upon, except to find that everyone else is too busy feeling alienated and put upon to notice.
The primary frustration I had with this summer (and, to a large extent, this year) is that I freaked out far too often, occasionally in public, but mostly around people I count as friends. I feel terrible about that. While many good things did happen for a lot of people this year, there isn't anyone among my friends who doesn't have some kind of hardship too. If anything, I wish I had been a better friend, and I wish that I could strike that delicate balance between making time for myself when I need it, and making time for everyone else for the exact same reason. I guess I shouldn't hold that against myself too much, as it seems to be a problem for others. But the largest amount of the guilt I carry now comes from trying to deal with the way I've treated people at a time when I should have been trying to maintain as many friendships as possible.
In spite of all of that, summer did offer some good opportunities that I took advantage of, and gave me a chance to spend more time than I ever wanted to participating the art of self-reflection. I completed 1 & 2/3 of the 2 'zines I had planned for the break, maintained a clean house for most of the summer, fully took care of my yard in all the ways it needed to be handled, and didn't renege on my promise to quit drinking. I even managed to fit in a few social activities here and there, and focused a lot of positive energy into the radio station on a more than weekly basis. If I remember summer '09 for anything, hopefully it will be those things.
The week after next I will start my job (finally), and two weeks later I start taking (and teaching) classes. And even considering the logistics of wrapping up the few little things left to be handled in the spare amount of time left, a large part of me still feels like this was the longest summer I've ever had to muscle through.
The problem vying for the most computational time in the old brain-pan has been that of being in my mid-30's. Americans love to make a national pastime of concerning themselves with age in all of its various forms: we are obsessed with babies, want to appeal to young people, expect the middle-aged to actually do everything, and worry endlessly about what to do with the old. I've fallen into that trap, undoubtedly; one of my favorite movies has always been Brazil, but having finally reached the age of the main character, it's uncanny how much that film captures what I'm feeling and thinking these days. It is surprising how much of our lives are spent running business & goverment created mazes, and how much energy we will spend on looking for (or maintaining) romances.
Probably the most annoying aspect of all of this is the fact that I am not singular in these experiences or sensations. We all have trouble with money, being alone, jobs, dating, and, essentially, living. Even yet still more annoying is that, as we age, our perceptions of these things follow a somewhat predictable trajectory. As we go through the ups and downs of being human, our experience is almost identical to that of a large portion of the people our same age, gender, tax bracket, etc. There's nothing worse than feeling alienated and put upon, except to find that everyone else is too busy feeling alienated and put upon to notice.
The primary frustration I had with this summer (and, to a large extent, this year) is that I freaked out far too often, occasionally in public, but mostly around people I count as friends. I feel terrible about that. While many good things did happen for a lot of people this year, there isn't anyone among my friends who doesn't have some kind of hardship too. If anything, I wish I had been a better friend, and I wish that I could strike that delicate balance between making time for myself when I need it, and making time for everyone else for the exact same reason. I guess I shouldn't hold that against myself too much, as it seems to be a problem for others. But the largest amount of the guilt I carry now comes from trying to deal with the way I've treated people at a time when I should have been trying to maintain as many friendships as possible.
In spite of all of that, summer did offer some good opportunities that I took advantage of, and gave me a chance to spend more time than I ever wanted to participating the art of self-reflection. I completed 1 & 2/3 of the 2 'zines I had planned for the break, maintained a clean house for most of the summer, fully took care of my yard in all the ways it needed to be handled, and didn't renege on my promise to quit drinking. I even managed to fit in a few social activities here and there, and focused a lot of positive energy into the radio station on a more than weekly basis. If I remember summer '09 for anything, hopefully it will be those things.
The week after next I will start my job (finally), and two weeks later I start taking (and teaching) classes. And even considering the logistics of wrapping up the few little things left to be handled in the spare amount of time left, a large part of me still feels like this was the longest summer I've ever had to muscle through.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Supes Is Back! Two Hours Worth!
The Man of Steel is always vigilant, working night and day to keep America safe from evildoers everywhere, and this week, he's trying to stop The Yellow Mask as he shows up again to wreck havoc in a town that could very well have been your own. Ladies and Gentlemen, covering for What's This Called?, I bring you a two-hour, six-part extravaganza, The Mystery Of Dyerville! Ob-soive:Episode 037: Blasphuphmus Radio Theater Presents!: The Adventures Of Superman Part V, Hour 1
Episode 037: Blasphuphmus Radio Theater Presents!: The Adventures Of Superman Part V, Hour 2
(Where I bring you all six parts of the super-serial, The Mystery Of Dyerville, and some incidental music from a 1939 Broadcast from Washington D.C.)
Playlist & Footnotes.
Additionally, I re-ran a previous episode from a month or so ago during the 11 AM hour, to maximize your radio listening. If you missed this one the first time around, this is the perfect opportunity to catch it again:
Repeat of Episode 031: Handed Down From On High
(You heard it before... now, hear it again!)
Playlist & Footnotes
Stay tuned next week for a special live performance from Mangled Bohemians on Blasphuphmus Radio, and where they DJ their own selections on a special version of How's It Named? at 12 Noon. Can you stand the excitement?
Probably not. See ya in seven!
Friday, September 4, 2009
I Could Have Told You That
From the Health News Dept. of the Telegraph.co.uk:
"Men lose their minds speaking to pretty women."
And I wouldn't have needed the funding or the Psychologists at Radboud University in The Netherlands to do it, either.
"Men lose their minds speaking to pretty women."
And I wouldn't have needed the funding or the Psychologists at Radboud University in The Netherlands to do it, either.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Classroom Update
As of yesterday, the second section of the class I'm teaching is full, and the third section only has six open spots. I imagine it will fill up eventually anyway, but if you're still looking for a FRINQ course for Fall '09, then I recommend the one I'm teaching.
Course Title: ON DEMOCRACY
CRN 13501 (11:30 AM - 12:20 AM)
Course Number: 131A
Class Meeting Days: Monday & Wednesday
Room: Cramer Hall, 149
Once complication for this class is that I haven't yet had a chance to meet with the professor who is guiding me, and therefore was only able to find out what the books were yesterday, because the PSU Bookstore finally had signs up listening what they were. Only one of them is in the store as of yesterday, but there are three total books required for the course (perhaps more eventually, watch this space for more info). The books are:
The Thirteen American Arguments (by Howard Fineman) ISBN: 0812976355
The Geography of Thought (by Richard Nisbett) ISBN: 0743255356
First Democracy (by Paul Woodruff) ISBN: 0195304543
All three are infinitely cheaper just about anywhere other than the PSU Bookstore. Just sos you know.
Fun stuff.
Course Title: ON DEMOCRACY
CRN 13501 (11:30 AM - 12:20 AM)
Course Number: 131A
Class Meeting Days: Monday & Wednesday
Room: Cramer Hall, 149
Once complication for this class is that I haven't yet had a chance to meet with the professor who is guiding me, and therefore was only able to find out what the books were yesterday, because the PSU Bookstore finally had signs up listening what they were. Only one of them is in the store as of yesterday, but there are three total books required for the course (perhaps more eventually, watch this space for more info). The books are:
The Thirteen American Arguments (by Howard Fineman) ISBN: 0812976355
The Geography of Thought (by Richard Nisbett) ISBN: 0743255356
First Democracy (by Paul Woodruff) ISBN: 0195304543
All three are infinitely cheaper just about anywhere other than the PSU Bookstore. Just sos you know.
Fun stuff.
Slackhabit on signal-to-noise ratio!
Ranger Mike and I have been pretty close ever since we met, and more than once he's tapped me to run sound for his show, signal-to-noise ratio. However, last night was a last-minute request that not only included me running sound for a two-hour event, but also involved me participating in the interview during hour 2. When I say last minute, I mean last minute: I found out about two hours before his show started, and he and I arrived at KPSU with 45 minutes to spare. I've cut things even closer in the past, but not anytime recently. Ob-soive:Slackhabit on signal-to-noise ratio, Part I
Slackhabit on signal-to-noise ratio, Part II
(Where I run sound for Seattle's Slackhabit, and help out a bit with the interview.)
Playlist & Footnotes.
This reminded me of the old days when I used to be on from 9 to 10 PM, and when all the DJs that were on Wednesdays would tap me to run sound for their bands. Good times. Thanks again to Slackhabit for getting to PDX a day early while they were on tour, just to play at KPSU. If you're not busy tonight, check 'em out at The Twilight, or on Saturday in Eugene.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Things I Will Never Understand
1.) Why people get married.
2.) Why people have children.
3.) Why people have bad taste.
4.) Why people buy into The American Dream.
5.) Why people aren't rioting in the streets regularly.
6.) Why I can pour out my heart and soul constantly in a never ending attempt to relate to humanity, and why it ultimately never works, or merely allows for me to be more easily manipulated.
7.) Why everything is too expensive to allow us to be comfortable or happy for very long.
8.) Why vices are the only means through which we can cope with reality.
9.) Why everything that benefits us in the workforce reflects rather poorly on who we want to be when we're not working.
10.) Why I keep believing that someday these things will make sense if I read enough books and listen to enough records.
2.) Why people have children.
3.) Why people have bad taste.
4.) Why people buy into The American Dream.
5.) Why people aren't rioting in the streets regularly.
6.) Why I can pour out my heart and soul constantly in a never ending attempt to relate to humanity, and why it ultimately never works, or merely allows for me to be more easily manipulated.
7.) Why everything is too expensive to allow us to be comfortable or happy for very long.
8.) Why vices are the only means through which we can cope with reality.
9.) Why everything that benefits us in the workforce reflects rather poorly on who we want to be when we're not working.
10.) Why I keep believing that someday these things will make sense if I read enough books and listen to enough records.
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