My annual reminder that the best holiday music on the planet can be found on Soma FM
Four new episodes published today, including original stories which eventually became part of the movie “A Christmas Story”
I’ve been into radio for as long as I can remember. Before I became a ham, I was into shortwave and broadcast radio (back when there were things worth listening to). If you lived in the eastern USA in the 1960s and 70s, you may remember tuning in to WOR 710 AM – a clear-channel powerhouse that covered half the country at night. I did nearly every weeknight, so I could listen to The Jean Shepherd Show. He was a master storyteller, recounting events from his childhood, his military service, and more, as well as commentary on life in general. Perhaps you are familiar with the popular holiday movie “A Christmas Story” – Jean Shepherd wrote that story based on his own childhood experiences and it is his voice you hear providing the narration throughout the film.
Shep was also a ham! Originally licensed at the age of 14 in Hammond, Indiana as W9QWN (you can listen to him tell the story at https://youtu.be/P4TASsfEgO8 ) he later held various call signs as he moved about the country (you may remember there was a time when you were issued a new call sign if you moved to a different region) until he finally ended up as K2ORS when he moved to New York. He remained active with that call sign until he became a Silent Key in 1999.
Many of his on-air stories related to his experiences as an amateur radio operator (his story about building a modulator and making his first AM phone QSO can be heard at https://youtu.be/YabPko5m1-k ) and many more are about his various jobs in broadcast radio, as well as radio and technology (of the time) in general.
If you search online you can find a number of books he’s written, as well as more recordings from his 20+ year stint at WOR scattered around and in small collections, but if you enjoyed the couple of broadcasts shared here and want more, you can find what’s probably the largest single collection (over 400 episodes) of Jean Shepherd airchecks at: http://afterburnradio.com/shepherd/PodcastGenerator/ or
https://redcircle.com/shows/0c4262e6-3785-4fe0-b584-d2155c6513c4
Or by searching for “Jean Shepherd Airchecks” on your favorite podcast site or app.
You’ll find these recordings to be of varying quality, as most were actual airchecks recorded by fans at home off the AM radio. To me, the imperfections add to the nostalgia and make it sound just like I remember AM radio of that era, as do the occasional commercials for Palisades Park (“come on over”) and Ballentine Beer. Excelsior!
Posted in amateur radio, ham radio, radio
Found this poor fella (or gal?) within feet of my doorstep…
Whether you’ve arrived here via a link from my new home over on Medium, or are a returning long-time follower of Homeless On Wheels, I welcome you and am glad to have you here reading me.
Wow, it’s been over five years I haven’t written anything here, and more like ten years since I’ve posted with any frequency or regularity. I thought I’d better write something to let followers know I’m still alive and kicking. I survived a bout of Covid back in February of 2020, have since recovered and been vaccinated, and I’m trying to get back to writing more frequently.
So what happened to me? Well, I started this blog to write about the RV life and lifestyle, which should presumably include travel and adventure. As it happens, life got in the way, and while I’m still living in my tiny motorhome, I’m mostly staying in one place. My motorhome has become a stationary tiny home. I didn’t have much to write about that would be of interest to the intended audience of this blog, so I didn’t write. Shame on me.
Anyhow, I may or may not continue to write were on Homeless On Wheels, but I expect to be doing the majority of my writing over on Medium now. Over there I can write on a greater range of topics, not feeling obligated to keep within a niche lifestyle topic that I’m more adjacent to than being an active participant. Medium has a great community of active writers, and a much greater opportunity for exposure to a broader audience. So if you want to keep up with me, head on over there and follow or subscribe. And feel free to leave a comment below, if only to say “hi” and let me know you’re still around. THANKS!
After a bit of a hiatus, Afterburn Radio is back on the air and streaming online! It’s very much still a work in progress, but the basic format remains the same: Excellent music from multiple genres punctuated with intelligent talk, timeless comedy, and captivating drama. Give it a listen right here, hop on over to afterburnradio.com, or search for “Afterburn Radio” on your favorite radio app (TuneIn, Nobex, etc.).
Listen in your Media Player -or- Listen in TuneIn Be sure to share it with your friends, too!
Posted in music, radio, technology
Tagged Afterburn Radio, music, nobex, radio, TuneIn
I should probably mention up front that this is going to sound like one of those “things were better in my day, young fella!” kind of discussions that old people like myself are fond of having, so if that isn’t your cup of tea, feel free to move on. The subject at hand is what us geezers used to call the “blogosphere” — which is now just known as the internet, or online media, or whatever you want to call it. On the one hand, it’s good that blogging has more or less become mainstream, but part of me still misses what the old blogosphere had to offer.
I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, but especially at those times when Dave Winer, one of the original fathers of blogging, writes about the necessity of having your own home on the social web — instead of a parcel of land…
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Posted in Uncategorized
Great post!
As promised, we’re going to discuss the problems facing social nudity in the U. S. currently. It’s generally recognized by people who enjoy social nudity that there are lots of problems. Hardly anyone would deny that. A golden age for naturism and nudism this isn’t. (This discussion may apply to similar countries as well, though there are often differences.)
And as we observed in Naturism and creativity a week ago, explicitly describing what the problems are is the essential next step to dealing with the problems after recognizing their existence.
Let’s also keep in mind that, in spite of the problems, there are changes occurring in U. S. society which are potentially positive for social nudity. That has been discussed here, for example. These changes include:
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While you’re waiting for this evening’s special Beatles’ Anniversary show on television (7 or 8 pm on CBS, check your local listings) or for those of you who just don’t “do” TV, give a listen to my all-day, all-Beatles broadcast on http://afterburn.caster.fm – I’ll be pulling from the entire Beatles discography; not just the hits, but rare, obscure, and deep tracks too. Over ten hours of nothing but awesome Beatles music. Give it a listen.
Jean Shepherd Christmas Marathon
Tune in all day today, Christmas Day, for the Jean Shepherd Christmas Marathon. Hear him read from his original story that inspired the now-classic holiday movie “A Christmas Story” as well as Grant Reynard’s “Rattling Home For Christmas” – a great train story.
Jean Shepherd was an American humorist and these are but a few of his broadcasts from the 1960’s and 70’s when he had a late-night radio show on WOR in New York. Today’s marathon features some of his Christmas Eve and Christmas Night broadcasts.
Homeless On Wheels 