7.24.2009
7.21.2009
Is that jonquil?
I KNEW we picked a good color, but I didn't realize we were in such distinguished company.
 |
| From house |
7.18.2009
Results are in!
During spring break, I asked the cloud (ie: I posted on Facebook) about podcasts: what do folks listen to, are they using their PCs or their iPods or some other device to listen. I got a bunch of great suggestions--some hits, some misses, and some things that I've taken to listening to regularly.
The whole highly unscientific experiment was inspired by the lameness of the local NPR station. They don't play the talk shows during the day, and they don't purchase This American Life. (There is an alternative station that gets it, but it's AM and scratchy.) For a couple years I've been downloading the weekly podcast, but that's only an hour and yardwork takes a lot longer than that. So here is what got suggested, in the order that I continue to listen to them regularly:
The Adam Carolla Podcast. I don't think I had cable when the Man Show was around, and I certainly never heard Adam on the radio. But dang--I'm almost embarrassed to say how much I've been listening to this and laughing out loud. He's very much an unreconstructed knuckle dragger and I do wish he'd tone down the 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' and 'women can't change light bulbs' crap. But if you like masturbation and fart jokes--and frankly, who doesn't--this is the podcast for you. One recent episode featured a celebrity barbecuer (if that's a word) and devolved into the sounds of chewing and threats to cut off legs once they ran out of meat. Good stuff--and several episodes per week. Thanks Marie!
Jordan Jesse Go is a kinder, gentler NPRish comedy podcast--masturbation and fart jokes without the misogyny. Unfortunately, both Jordan and Jesse have day jobs (oddly--Jordan as an NPR music show host), so there's typically only one of these per week. Like Carolla, it's probably an acquired taste. Oh--and I would guess that a significant number of people who like one hate the other. Just a guess. Thanks Kramer.
The BBC's Thinking Aloud is a talk show about social science research. This one wasn't actually recommended. Rather, Joe pointed me towards In Our Time, which is a history talk show. That one I have listened to a few times, but the shows with topics I'm not interested in just don't grab me. But--at the end they always plug Thinking Aloud, which I've grown to really like. But again--only once a week.
Several people suggested the Savage Love Podcast. I'm sorry Dan, but you need a sidekick and/or guests. Your writing is fantastic, but it's clear that you slave over each word (even if you are scribbling them on cocktail napkins) in your column. I just don't think you have the spontaneity it takes to do the podcast--unless you want to get Ira Glass to produce each of them. There's another possibility here. While I love the column, and would read every week regardless of my circumstances, I mostly read the column out loud to my wife each week. Often in a restaurant. So perhaps this we have taken to getting a little vicarious exhibitionist thrill discussing santorum, pegging, and other Savagery in public?
There are a few more that never really grabbed me. After three months of this I finally figured out that You Look Nice Today is with Merlin Mann--the 43 Folders, productivity guru, steam-punk penis-pump guy. It's a pretty good podcast, but I'm not wild about the editing. I'm not sure I gave We The People Stories a fair chance. I did listen to some some good lectures, but it just didn't stick. And then there's Eugene's own Dan Carlen, with Common Sense and Hard Core History. Neither did anything for me.
So that's the big podcast experiment, and now I generally have plenty of listening material for gardening, woodworking, and making up for the lack of a full-blown NPR affiliate.
The whole highly unscientific experiment was inspired by the lameness of the local NPR station. They don't play the talk shows during the day, and they don't purchase This American Life. (There is an alternative station that gets it, but it's AM and scratchy.) For a couple years I've been downloading the weekly podcast, but that's only an hour and yardwork takes a lot longer than that. So here is what got suggested, in the order that I continue to listen to them regularly:
The Adam Carolla Podcast. I don't think I had cable when the Man Show was around, and I certainly never heard Adam on the radio. But dang--I'm almost embarrassed to say how much I've been listening to this and laughing out loud. He's very much an unreconstructed knuckle dragger and I do wish he'd tone down the 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' and 'women can't change light bulbs' crap. But if you like masturbation and fart jokes--and frankly, who doesn't--this is the podcast for you. One recent episode featured a celebrity barbecuer (if that's a word) and devolved into the sounds of chewing and threats to cut off legs once they ran out of meat. Good stuff--and several episodes per week. Thanks Marie!
Jordan Jesse Go is a kinder, gentler NPRish comedy podcast--masturbation and fart jokes without the misogyny. Unfortunately, both Jordan and Jesse have day jobs (oddly--Jordan as an NPR music show host), so there's typically only one of these per week. Like Carolla, it's probably an acquired taste. Oh--and I would guess that a significant number of people who like one hate the other. Just a guess. Thanks Kramer.
The BBC's Thinking Aloud is a talk show about social science research. This one wasn't actually recommended. Rather, Joe pointed me towards In Our Time, which is a history talk show. That one I have listened to a few times, but the shows with topics I'm not interested in just don't grab me. But--at the end they always plug Thinking Aloud, which I've grown to really like. But again--only once a week.
Several people suggested the Savage Love Podcast. I'm sorry Dan, but you need a sidekick and/or guests. Your writing is fantastic, but it's clear that you slave over each word (even if you are scribbling them on cocktail napkins) in your column. I just don't think you have the spontaneity it takes to do the podcast--unless you want to get Ira Glass to produce each of them. There's another possibility here. While I love the column, and would read every week regardless of my circumstances, I mostly read the column out loud to my wife each week. Often in a restaurant. So perhaps this we have taken to getting a little vicarious exhibitionist thrill discussing santorum, pegging, and other Savagery in public?
There are a few more that never really grabbed me. After three months of this I finally figured out that You Look Nice Today is with Merlin Mann--the 43 Folders, productivity guru, steam-punk penis-pump guy. It's a pretty good podcast, but I'm not wild about the editing. I'm not sure I gave We The People Stories a fair chance. I did listen to some some good lectures, but it just didn't stick. And then there's Eugene's own Dan Carlen, with Common Sense and Hard Core History. Neither did anything for me.
So that's the big podcast experiment, and now I generally have plenty of listening material for gardening, woodworking, and making up for the lack of a full-blown NPR affiliate.
7.03.2009
Back to China
I guess we'll call this my birthday / graduation present: we're heading back to China for 2 weeks at the end of August. Whoo-hoo! We're calling it a practice run for a potential sabbatical trip.
I want independance: from construction!
Sitting here at the end of week 8 of what was quoted as a 5 week job, I'm regretting a little bit not blogging the whole process: from the mis-sized windows to the mis-communications about paint, it would have made a good story.
But we're at the mercy of the people working for us. Once the house is taken apart, you're sort of stuck with them. It is nice to have them sit down with you and explain what's going on, but I can't help but feel like smoke is being blown up my ass. Disclosure is nice, but all to often it feels like finger pointing. 'We didn't know the sub was going to do it this way, etc. etc.' What you want to say is: 'Hey--the check to the sub doesn't have our name on it, it has yours.' Or: 'Hey--it's your insurance policy, not ours.' But then again, I have no idea who would get tangled up into the bullshit if things went downhill. But one thing I do know would definitely happen: work would grind to (even more of) a halt, we would continue to sleep on couch and twin bed in the mini-dining room, and it would be a huge mess.
So we smile, nod our heads, and I secretly reconfirm my decision not to tell this story day-by-day.
But we're at the mercy of the people working for us. Once the house is taken apart, you're sort of stuck with them. It is nice to have them sit down with you and explain what's going on, but I can't help but feel like smoke is being blown up my ass. Disclosure is nice, but all to often it feels like finger pointing. 'We didn't know the sub was going to do it this way, etc. etc.' What you want to say is: 'Hey--the check to the sub doesn't have our name on it, it has yours.' Or: 'Hey--it's your insurance policy, not ours.' But then again, I have no idea who would get tangled up into the bullshit if things went downhill. But one thing I do know would definitely happen: work would grind to (even more of) a halt, we would continue to sleep on couch and twin bed in the mini-dining room, and it would be a huge mess.
So we smile, nod our heads, and I secretly reconfirm my decision not to tell this story day-by-day.
