This Week's Wednesday

Wednesday is my day off from retail work, which makes it my designated day to record my parts for each week's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio and to try to get around to doing whatever else needs doing. I always run out out of Wednesday before I run out of Wednesday things to do.

Another Wednesday with two--count 'em!--two appointments on my dance card. Given my work schedule, I don't have any choice but to load these commitments into my Wednesday parades. It does sometimes limit my flexibility in getting other stuff done. Brother John Lennon was right. Life is what happens.

On the other hand, both appointments were in the morning, so at least we were able to get them out of the way and presumably still have sufficient Wednesday left to, y'know, be Wednesday. Up at 7:00. Shower, coffee, breakfast deferred until later. Out the door by 8:15, packing a Sweet-N-Salty bar just in case peckishness ensues. Aware of potential construction delays, we allowed ourselves 45 minutes for the projected 15-minute drive. Splitting the difference, we arrived about twenty minutes early.

The appointment itself was brief, and we drove from that office to The Daily Diner in North Syracuse for a lovely breakfast. We still had time for me to grab my new comic books at Comix Zone before our next appointment at 11:30. After that visit was completed, we went to Wegmans to pick up a couple of small necessities. We made one other planned stop, and then figured we'd make a quick trip to one more grocery store to complete the rest of our shopping list.

"Quick trip." HA!! As if! Construction slowed Route 11 in North Syracuse to a pace far, far less rapid than the flow of molasses in subzero conditions. I think I saw a snail race past us, and I think it would have given us the finger if it had fingers.

We finally made it to the store, and then home a little after 2:00. After unpacking groceries and settling in, I took care of some work-related tasks before addressing this week's radio show.

Dana and I had set up the playlist Tuesday night (as usual). I also annotated the playlist on Tuesday night (as sometimes), but also dragged all of the individual files into the show folder, the first time I'd ever done that the night before recording and finalizing the show. It's a much longer process than it should be--my iTunes fights me every freakin' step of the way--so it seems a good idea to try to get that drawn-out piece of drudgery out of the way ahead of time if I can.

So glad I did that this week. Recording and finalizing the show took two hours, partially because the day's early start had put a scratch in my throat, partially because it just took longer to record, particularly with this week's giveaway gimmick, as two lucky listeners will each win a copy of the Half/Cubes' superswell new album Found Pearls. But finally: DONE!! And a really good show, too.

That pretty much exhausted my creative mojo for the day. I have been working on the Flashcubes book Make Something Happen! The DIY Story Of A Power Pop Band Called  THE FLASHCUBES, and even if I didn't add to that work's progress on Wednesday, it is at least back to being a current project. As mentioned last week, I'm using a simple hack to streamline the editing of my initial interviews, moving the draft along more quickly than before. The new approach allows me to do remote editing, pending a full review of the transcripts down the line. The draft edit of my initial interview with Flashcubes bassist Gary Frenay is complete, and I've begun editing my initial interview with guitarist Paul Armstrong. There is much, much more work to be done, and many more interviews to conduct. But for the first time in a long time, it feels like the book is once again moving forward.

I have a lot of things to do. And my next several Wednesdays don't look to be any less crowded than this week's Wednesday. But I'll keep on with the keepin' on, man. Life is what happens. Beats hell out of the alternative. That applies on all days. Even on Wednesdays.

If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.

I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.