What's The Matter With Me? Podcast John Hoppin

Period of Change



Undergoing a period of change: I had surgery, I got published and I went on vacation. Plenty of new music reviews in this episode.



A word



What's The Matter With Me? Podcast is sponsored by Hoppin Hot Sauce. Order it on Amazon.



JWH Live!



Writings By John Winfield Hoppin is live, because my editor said I needed a writer's website. I think it's pretty nifty..



Selfie Edict







Subscribers get the selfie for as long as we all live. It's a lifetime subscription



Shout outs




https://twitter.com/MarchandsPetRat/status/1779926937177358503




Shout outs to Marchandspetrat, hockey s-poster living with MS



Shout outs to Rocky, Cousin Eric



Gotta write up questions



Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction) by Dax Pierson



Upcoming interview subject Dax Pierson



Shout outs to the Sandman who turned me on to James Wavey Snowy Beach, which was added recently at KFJC.



Psychedelic hip-hop from San Francisco



James Wavey Snowy Beach by James Wavey



Publication Dream Comes True



I was accepted on a piece of writing, and for the first time I made a signed agreement. Follow JWH Live! to hear more about the writing.



In the days before surgery



In the run-up to surgery, in a lot of trigeminal neuralgia pain, I increased my dosage and I felt like it was too much. Trying to even things out, I reduced by 25% overall, and it helped return me to the land of the living.



No coffee, no ibuprofen.



On a day when I would usually be recording, I went to the hospital to have surgery, my third RF Rhizotomy and fifth neurosurgery on my trigeminal nerve overall. I had two MVD (microvascular decompression) surgeries to begin with. Recovery is much easier with rhizotomy. MVD literally bores a hole in your skull, and it takes a lot of recuperation to heal. Hospital stay from rhizotomy can be as short as a few hours.



New tunes



In advance of surgery, maybe to take my mind off it, or to give myself something to look forward to, I bought some tunes.



Opera Glossolalia



Spontaneous Musical Invention by Thomas Buckner sings Robert Ashley



Robert Ashley is a composer of 1980s opera. There's a lot of talking in the libretto. The gatefold record comes with a cool book with photos. I really like the Recital label because they have interesting packaging. The record is one of 350.



Instructions?



Whiplash by Asha Sheshadri



This record is like sound art, but at the same time it's a record. I'Layered, specific, related to site. Like getting a bunch of jumbled-up instructions for a treasure hunt, cryptic. Edition of 200.



Chewing Gqom



The Gqom Trilogy by DJ Scriby // DJ Marillo // DJ Skothan //




Gqom is known for its beats which have a minimal, raw and repetitive sound with heavy bass. It is mainly described as having a dark and hypnotic club sound. The style of beats does not use the four-on-the-floor rhythm pattern which is often heard in other house music.
"Gqom" Wikipedia article



Digging this record - I'm new to Gqom, but I like it. The release is by three different DJs, a triple EP.







Drunk in Love by Elvin Brandhi & Lord Spikeheart



This is far out. File under extreme vocal performances. The feeling is metal, but the sound is electronic. Tense, spastic. Questionable in a good way, challenging material.



Numb







Now I'm back from surgery and my face feels different. Talking and eating and I'm sure other things that I'm not noticing are affected. Familiar disassociation after surgery.



It's a matter of deciding how I feel about the things that are different. First, I have to accept them.



Updating the map



After surgery, it takes time for my body to properly calculate changes in sensation, and adjust the body's size map accordingly.



In tune



The piano is tuned



Out on my own



Drove to Oakland by myself and went to a couple of friend's houses for about 3 and 1/2 hours. It was the first time in 16 months.

In "Drugged Out," a short episode featuring wine delivery, toilet paper shortage and trigeminal neuralgia pain medication.



Long Time







Subscribers get the selfie for as long as we all shall live. It's a lifetime subscription



Green fluid



Cuts in my hands have been getting infected and filling with green goop



In Our Cups



We got the wine delivery, man, and the wine deliveryman was in his 20s, maybe his mid-20s, and he was really upset about global warming. "Things aren't l really pleasant anymore," he said.



I felt for him. "I feel for you," I said



Toilet Paper Shortage



We still have a case of Bulgarian toilet paper that has no perforations and ripping it feels like tearing up someone's college application, or well-qualified resume printed out on nice paper.



Remember back in 2020, when there wasn't toilet paper? We bought a case of Bulgarian toilet paper and it was like riving a sheet of Bristol board to rip a sheet off. There were no perforations, it was 80% normal size so it didn't fit on the roll,



Thing I Know



I watched the "Taylor Swift: Eras" movie with Koko, so I know about Taylor Swift now. Not sure what, but I know it. The movie is long, but not as long as "Killers of the Flower Moon." She gets into slang patterns thata made me uncomfortable. To get it going, I had to figure out my Disney Plus login credentials, and that, in itself, is a big bonus.



Electric Wire Buried In Flesh



I'm drugged out!



I experienced severe face pain once before bedtime, and then many times (a couple dozen?) after 4am. I cut out coffee, ibuprofen and started going up on my medicine that day, settling on twice of my usual dosage. That was too much, and I became extremely drowsy and experienced visual, balance and energy side affects. Eventually I settled around 175% of my usual dose, which. for the moment, is keeping the pain away and limiting the worst side effects.



Surgery is next week, my third RF rhizotomy. I knew this treatment could recur and that it was not necessarily permanent. Let's hope the third time's the charm.










00:00:00 - Intro



00:00:22 - Shout outs



00:01:08 - Jingle



00:02:00 - "Taylor Swift: Eras" movie review



00:02:13 - Bulgarian toilet paper



00:04:42 - Trigeminal neuralgia returns



00:07:45 - Outro



00:08:44 - Wine delivery

In "Spring Concert," an incidental return to Dry Marchuary, a chapbook's worth of poetry and the school's Spring Concert.



From chaos comes order







One way to enjoy Hoppin Hot Sauce is "On Pasta".




In the midst of near-total chaos, small rituals ground us, nourishing both body and soul.
"On Pasta" at HoppinHotSauce.com



Shout outs



Shout outs to schwabino kickin fatal aikido kung fu karate they bout to find your body you better ask somebody mymedia designer.com tell a friend to tell a friend about my media designer



See for yourself



Spring Concert Selfie



My hair is long as it's been since 2009! See for yourself above. Subscribers get the selfie e-mailed to them, they don't even have to do anything, just lay there.







It's an NFT, it's collectible, it's a blockchain. Blockchain sounds like a necklace to me



Lost Weekend Here I Come







The wine delivery is coming tomorrow. In the meantime, we've been back to "One Or Two Beers Dry January-February-Marchuary" mode, just for the past few days. Long live one or two beers Dry January



To go in your chaps



Hippie chapbooks




A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch.
"Chapbook," Wikipedia



I collected what poetry I have written since I moved here in 2021. It's over 45 pages, and Wikipedia says it's enough to make a chapbook.



Let my children play music



Once upon a time in the auditorium



I went to the San Leandro Unified School District Spring Concert in my wheelchair, to see my son play trumpet in the spring concert.























Once upon a time in the auditorium







Chapter List






00:00:00 - Intro



00:02:47 - From chaos comes order



00:03:21 - Shout outs



00:04:10 - Long Hair



00:05:23 - Wine delivery



00:05:58 - Poetry Collection



00:06:57 - Chapbook



00:09:04 - Writing in Google Keep



00:09:43 - Spring Concert



00:14:27 - Attending The Concert

In “I Drove,” getting reacquainted with driving, where did kale come from and borscht out the wazoo.



Iconic trio











At Breakfast is a great time to have Hoppin Hot Sauce.




Just like the iconic trios of Larry, Curly, and Moe, or black, white, and grey, or even the Roman numerals I, II and III, eggs, English muffins and Hoppin Hot Sauce form an unforgettable trio that’s sure to become a favorite in your kitchen.




Shout outs



Shout out to Jersey Girl and Max LevelWe're going to broadcast a game show in MayI'll be the score



No matter what







Selfie



Selfie or no selfie the email is going out - grab it while you are still living, go to whatsthematterwithme.org and click subscribe



I drove



Two lane blacktop



I drove my van. First, around the block. Next, to the library, where I saw men with nowhere else to go walking around the library grounds in the rain an hour before opening. Finally, I drove to Oakland, up 580 and to Piedmont Avenue, to Cato's Ale House. I photographed it from my parking space and texted it to my buddy, lamenting that it was too early for beer. He replied, "It's never too early for beer." It's good to have friends. Shout out to Matt. Turning around, I drove back home.



Where did kale come from?



According to the "kale" page of Wikipedia\, Kale came to America in the 19th century from Croatia, brought by USDA botanist David Fairchild, who did not eat it, who detested cabbages of all sorts.



Borscht



We have a freezer full of borscht. Chock full of borscht, we have borscht coming out the wazoo. My aunt and uncle were in town and we had them over for lunch. We ate borscht.



























Two lane blacktop







Chapter List






00:00:00 - Intro



00:00:42 - At Breakfast



00:01:55 - Shout outs



00:02:56 - Selfie or no selfie



00:03:20 - I drove my car



00:04:38 - Fear of driving



00:05:41 - Men with nowhere else to go



00:08:16 - Slash at the Oscars \"I\'m Just Ken\"



00:09:41 - Where did kale come from?



00:12:11 - Dax Pierson interview upcoming



00:13:07 - Borscht



00:13:35 - Aunt and Uncle ate borscht



00:14:09 - Losing



00:14:34 - Outro

In "Buying A Used Wheelchair," breaking my wheelchair and buying a new one on Craigslist, more record shopping, cooking borscht and getting accepted for publication.



Every week we order pizza from the place in town. On the day after, for lunch I eat cold pizza with Hoppin Hot Sauce on it.(Hoppin Hot Sauce jingle)



Those who say don't know & who know don't say



Buying a used wheelchair selfie



Subscribers get the selfie and the show notes e mailed to them, and I don't know what they do with them



Record shopping



I went record shopping at Amoeba and it turned out to be a pretty good score:




Something Is Wrong (Vintage Recordings From East Africa)



Fiona Apple, "Tidal"



Black Top Blues-a-rama, Volume 2 Live at Tipitina's, New Orleans



J Dilla, "Donuts"




The record store person gave me "the nod"



Terminal Event







I broke the arm off of my wheelchair, with a bang. The manufacturer was out of stock, but I needed to find a replacement. I got on my computer and I searched eBay and sfbay.craigslist.org. craigslist came through for me



Cooking While Disabled







We made borscht. For the second year in a row, we used this Serious Eats recipe for Hot Ukrainian Borscht (With Beets, Beef, Pork, and More)



Accepted



After an uninterrupted months-long streak of many rejections, a few different editors wrote me to let me know that my writing was accepted. All in all, a piece of microfiction (in this case, a story of exactly 50 words) and two poems. It's very exciting to turn the corner on this project and move from submission to publication.































Chapter List






00:00:00 - Intro



00:05:04 - Subscribers get the selfie



00:06:01 - Record shopping



00:13:36 - Terminal event



00:21:08 - Borscht



00:27:58 - P.T.



00:29:30 - Outro

In "Swift Correction," Taylor Swift wrote all the songs, hoping everything's okay, and a sprained knee. But first, I'm programming robots to do my bidding! I can feel it-- success is near at hand.



Automaton I



I spent all day working on an automation to send posts created on the Hoppin Hot Sauce blog out to the mailing list automatically. Automations help multiply my actions which is important so I can conserve energy and avoid fatigue that comes with MS. Hopefully, I can stay in better touch with the hot sauce audience.



Automaton II



Swift Correction selfie



Previously, another automation I made sends new episodes to our What's The Matter With Me? Podcast mailing list. Subscribe today. Subscribers get the selfie along with show notes.



Cool thing



Hoppin Hot Sauce is a disabled owned & operated business



Shoppers at our Amazon store support disabled-owned business



Hope everything's okay



About the time when we were driving and we saw two fire trucks and an ambulance.



My wife said. "I hope everything's okay."



To which I replied, "Clearly, it isn't."



Correction: Taylor Swift wrote all the songs



Correction: Taylor Swift wrote all the songs



My wife texted: "The standard edition of 1989 (Taylor's Version) comprises 21 tracks: re-recordings of the 13 songs from the standard edition of 1989, re-recordings of the three bonus tracks from the original deluxe edition, and five previously unreleased "From the Vault" songs that were written for the 2014 album but excluded from the final track list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_(album) I don't think the Taylor's version are covers."



Of course, she was right. I tried to explain it in the episode, but it's really very complicated.



Path of pain



The path of pain began when I sprained my knee. Unfortunately, I fell in my bathroom, and bent it the wrong way. After that, I was leaning heavily on my cane, which caused soreness in my left pectoral area. The pain traveled from there down my arm, stopping in my bicep, forearm, wrist and hand.



It was painful, like sitting cross-legged but the heel goes outward instead of inward. The bruise was on the inside of my knee. Recovery proceeds, slowly, haltingly; I'm trying to stay off of it as much as I can.



Bueller... Bueller...







I'm practicing for the CBEST California substitute teacher exam.























Correction: Taylor Swift wrote all the songs







Chapter List






00:00:00 - Intro



00:01:43 - Subscribe to get the selfie



00:02:27 - Taking the selfie



00:03:18 - I created some automatons



00:06:22 - Conserving energy



00:07:06 - Hoppin Hot Sauce Jingle



00:07:24 - Hope everything\'s OK



00:08:49 - Taylor Swift Correction



00:14:31 - It happens every night



00:18:28 - The Path Of Pain



00:19:26 - Substitute teacher exam



00:21:43 - Outro




Taylor SwiftAutomatonHoppin Hot SauceMS (Multiple Sclerosis)Trigeminal NeuralgiaPodcastAutomationPain ManagementDisabilitySubstitute Teacher Exam (CBEST)