Saturday, September 24, 2005

mystery and recommendation

been thinking about rabbit's feet. rabbit foots? rabbits' foots? i remember that besides teaching me how to throw like a boy, my childhood friend ricky gerber had an envious collection. were they real? were they kosher? what was the appeal? i _don't_ know. maybe ricky has some insight into this deep and puzzling mystery.

um, sound. right.

a couple friends have recently launched projects worth checking out. one -
ear crack - i feel an especial kinship with contentwise, and i think you'll see why pretty quickly. plus, jonathan has figured out how to post audio, and uses this same software, and so has inspired me to get to it, and try to post some audio files myself. um, soon.

regarding the other - first a story. early this spring my bicycle lock key broke off IN the lock, while it was attached to a rack downtown. now this bike is very dear to me, so i couldn't fathom leaving it stranded overnight. i called around to bike shops and though received much sympathy, no one was able to assist. in desperation and on a hunch i called my friend richard and asked if he happened to have a crowbar. within about an hour we'd liberated my poor bike, with a hammer and can of air!! and we had a silly amount of fun while doing it.


richard brings this same creativity and aplomb to
bad at sports , with the help of his partner-in-podcasting, duncan. he also brings a fresh and welcome take on art stuffs happening around chicago.

both sites will welcome you, i promise, with open arms.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

sound people are geniuses too

a heartfelt mazel tov to emily thompson, who was just this morning named as a 2005 macarthur fellow (otherwise known as the recipient of a "genius grant.")


according to the macarthur website, ms. thompson is a noteworthy aural historian,
who has been working to bridge the history of the United States and the histories of technology, science, sound, and acoustics to examine transformations in the American soundscape. hoorah for emily!

Read more about her efforts and acoustic adventures
here.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

variation on a LISSENUP(three)


i know. i can't believe it either. it's almost time to once again convene, eat,
drink and listen to radio stories together. where _do_ the minutes run to?

(this is not the rhetorical question it may appear to be. i want Answe
rs.)


LISSENUPthree is on the near horizon (september 18th)
but in case you were beginning to tire of the usual routine,

this month's gathering is scheduled for earlier in your third
sunday of the month,
from 11:00 am - 1:30 pm / listening
starts at high noon.
in the usual potlucky spirit of LISSENUP, feel free to bring some
breakfast/brunchy foods to share.
i'll do my best to have enough
coffee for everyone.

just drop a line if you would like to come;
i'll hit you back with whereabouts.

pertinent details:
sunday, september 18

11:00 am - 1:30 pm

this time: radio about plastic wraps,
an odd snacking habit,
and an
inquisitive story about a man named vern.

Monday, September 12, 2005

word of the day - sounder

who knew?!!





sounder (SOUN-duhr) noun


1. A person or thing that makes sound.

2. A group of wild boars.

[From Old French sundre.]

Thursday, September 08, 2005

think: the sound(s) of power


deep wireless is the most heartful celebration of radio art i've ever encountered. the organization has announced a call for radio pieces which you may want to consider answering, even (or especially) if you're new to all of this. get in there!



Deep Wireless / Radio Without Boundaries
Call for submissions
On the theme - POWER
deadline September 30, 2005


Stretch the meaning to fit your idea of power
and create a piece for radio that reflects it.



Guidelines and submission details can be downloaded here.


Monday, September 05, 2005

the things they listened to

i'm finally getting around to reading tim o'brien's timeless collection of stories about the vietnam war, the things they carried and am finding it precisely relevant to present day realities - both in warzones overseas and right here in the usa - a different sort of warzone.

in the chapter titled 'how to tell a true war story' there's a story related about a group of six men who are sent into the mountains basically to listen for enemy activity. they spend a week in silence, listening, and share a near-hallucinatory aural experience including party music, and a chamber choir, and a barbershop quartet, and the fog rolling in. all of these sounds [whether they existed or not] talk and beckon to the soldiers endlessly. eventually the sounds collectively invite the soldiers to call in an attack, which arrives swiftly and wipes the area out. completely. [whether the story is true or not.]

the soldier telling this story then waits for the soldier he's told the story to, (presumably the author of the book) to ask about the moral. the moral of the story.

"all right," i said. "what's the moral?"
"forget it."
"no, go ahead."

for a long while he was quiet, looking away, and the silence kept stretching out until it was almost embarrassing. then he shrugged me a stare that lasted all day.

"hear that quiet, man?" he said. "that quiet - just listen. there's your moral."

i'm not really sure why i've posted this. [morals. listening. silence. all of it. why not?] but it may be a good time to read the book, if you haven't yet.

Friday, September 02, 2005

mayor of new orleans, uncensored


"excuse my french everybody in america. but i am pissed"
- mayor of new orleans, ray nagin


biking to work this morning, on the most gorgeous morning ever,
my frustration and sickness with what's happening in louisiana just continued to thicken.

please think about what you can do to help.
and listen to this un-cut version of an interview with the mayor of new orleans, ray nagin, on WWL AM in NO. be prepared for emotion, words you don't usually hear on the radio, and some fairly grim descriptions.