Welcome to the Secret Coast Radio podcast broadcasting somewhere on the Secret Coast
Let us begin by saying:
We prefer the first person plural over the singular.
We prefer mystery over journalism.
We prefer similes such as “She had a face like a Sunday school picnic,” over “My life is like a roller coaster.”
We prefer elation over depression, ecstasy over dread, dreadlocks over buzz cuts, erudition over stupidity.
We prefer one-off movies over seven seasons of bloated streaming shows.
We prefer directness over digressions, dumbbells for exercising over dumb shits in congress.
Returning a phone call over pretending someone didn’t call.
We prefer guitars slung over shoulders over rifles.
We prefer the language of change be couched without jargon and academic balderdash or change will not happen.
We prefer Kurt Vonnegut over The New Testament but would really prefer if these two works of literature could be mixed and mashed together. What a book that would be!
We prefer turning people on with enlightened smut over turning them off with sordid politics.
We prefer creeks over cricks, the movie Reds over rednecks, mindfully blowing up dams over mindlessly blowing up in judgment.
We prefer RV names like Vixen and Wolf Pup over Intent and Attitude. Think of it this way: which rock band would you rather see live—Vixen and the Wolf Pup or Attitude with Intent?
We prefer people actually believe public health experts over believing in tooth fairies.
We prefer silence to gab, books over bootstraps, otters over opacity, Gore Vidal over televised gore.
I want to update you on NSP’s latest creative projects and invite your support to assist an independent Oregon publisher during these challenging times for small businesses. Some of these are free to enjoy while others can be purchased directly through the website. Thanks for supporting Nestucca Spit Press.
Matt Love
Pioneer Pride
Pioneer Pride: An Oregon City Memoir is a 20,000-word book published in 500-800-word installments on my Nestucca Spit Press Meditations blog. It chronicles my growing up in Oregon City in the 70s and early 80s and features stories about hackey sack, calligraphy, football, tennis, the Promenade, the mill, journalism, teachers, coaches, text from my journals of in high school, and a personal account of observing and interacting with a unique Christian sect, the Oregon City Followers of Christ Church, or the Kissers.
The book is free to read but I hope readers will consider “purchasing” it through the web site and support a writer at work. To read Pioneer Pride go to:
Published in 2004, The Far Out Story of Vortex I, sold out its 2000-copy press run a couple years later. To commemorate Vortex I’s 50th anniversary in 2020, Nestucca Spit Press has produced an E-book version of the book. This E-book version does not include the hundreds of photographs from the original because of their incompatibility with reading on devices and securing permission from the photographers to reprint them in digital form. The book cost $3.99 and the link to it is here:
A limited edition, handcrafted children’s book for adults about a magic mushroom-eating chipmunk named Jimmy who teaches a would-be writer how to help struggling people all around him and find a voice and purpose for his writing. (Based on a true story.) Cost is $10
Oregon Tavern Age (OTA) is a 64-page tabloid size book-with-in-a-magazine featuring original illustrations that culminates 22 years of writing about the crazy and poignant life that unfolds in Oregon Coast’s dive taverns and bars. Cost varies by number of issues purchased.
Enjoy 20 episodes featuring my observations, stories, poems, musings and original music from the show’s producer. Each show is around 20 minutes long and offers a welcome dose of humor, idealism, wordplay and meditation for these trying times. Totally free! And ad free! To listen to the show go to:
The Nestucca Spit Press Writing Curriculum features 30 lessons that I developed over the course of my long teaching career and used with great success. They are primarily in nonfiction writing, but also in fiction. Most are thematic in nature. They can be used by secondary classroom teachers, aspiring writers and online writing educators. The subjects are:
Zen Buddhism
Walking
Rain
Oceans
Food
Music
Stars
Kindness and Gratitude
Sartre Writing (for beginning or experienced writers)
Welcome to the Secret Coast Radio
podcast broadcasting somewhere on the Secret Coast
Let us begin by saying:
We prefer the first person plural over
the singular.
We prefer mystery over journalism.
We prefer Christmas tales over horror
stories.
We prefer flag football over tackle
football.
We prefer picking blackberries for our
morning oatmeal over almost any other morning activity.
We prefer murals of whales or herons or
elk decorating buildings over advertisements for health care,
communications and athletic apparel conglomerates.
We prefer dropping out of national
politics over tuning in, but realize that’s probably not the answer
to create positive change.
Or maybe that is the answer. Just tune
into local matters around you, or the three neighbors you’ve never
said a word to, or the dog chained up in a muddy yard that weakens
your spirit every morning on the drive to work.
We prefer laughter over vitriol,
loafing over vexation, letting go over vainglory, love over
vituperation.
We prefer RV names like Vixen and
Golden Eagle over Ultra-lite and Mega Deluxe.
We prefer mindfulness over madness,
measuring over mendacity.
We prefer the chirping and shrilling of
a chipmunk waking us up in the morning over an alarm clock.
Welcome to the Secret Coast Radio
podcast broadcasting somewhere on the Secret Coast
Let us begin by saying:
We prefer the first person plural over
the singular.
We prefer mystery over journalism.
We prefer a discussion over a
monologue.
We prefer building driftwood forts over
destroying them.
We prefer brief stories told across a
table over streaming shows that never end.
We prefer finding L7’s Hungry for
Stink cassette for a quarter over finding Bob Dylan’s Victoria
Secret CD for 50 cents.
We prefer people who follow through
over those who flake.
We prefer art made from beaverwood than
art stolen from colonized nations.
We prefer kindness over judgment.
We prefer people who evince a little
curiosity over the long gray-haired transvestite dressed in tight
yellow shorts and a fur coat sitting in the shoulder along Highway
101 over those who don’t bother to look.
We prefer ink stamping over 3-D
printers.
We prefer using a shim to make
something fit right over pounding something into place with a mallet.
We prefer Harriet Tubman on a $20 bill
over a genocidal maniac like Andrew Jackson.
We prefer athletes who don’t
choreograph touchdown or goal celebrations, especially when they’re
ahead 50 to nothing or 12 to zero.
I am excited to announce the launch of
Secret Coast Radio, a podcast in collaboration with an incredible
music talent. The show features new and repurposed stories by me and
original music by the show’s producer. Its motto is mystery over
journalism. We also prefer idealism over cynicism and kindness over
judgment. We also love telling a story about a chipmunk who eats
magic mushrooms and helps human beings.
Each episode is 20-30 minutes long and
we have six shows in the can. One show contains an interview and we
plan on bringing on more guests and showcasing other musical, art and
storytelling voices. I also want to hear from nurses, contractors,
teachers, etc. What are your stories that need to be out there?
Give Secret Coast Radio a try. Enjoy.
I’m not really sure where the podcast is going, but it’s something
I’ve always wanted to do and the time seems right. If you enjoy the
show, please spread the word. If you have any interest in being on
the show, let me know through a message.
