Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2006

Charlottesville to make city meetings available on demand

This is really good news, and I'm pleased they will have this in place. Here is the press release... CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — The Office of Communications with the City of Charlottesville today announced the launch of both live and on-demand access to City Council and other meetings via streaming Internet video beginning with the City Council meeting of January 2nd. The City recently implemented advanced web streaming solutions offered by Granicus Inc. to improve access to City government by offering video and audio of meetings broadcast in City Council Chambers to anyone with computer internet access. “With our new streaming video system, citizens can now decide what they want to see and when they want to see it from any device with an Internet connection,” said Ric Barrick, Director of Communications for the City of Charlottesville. “This year has been an incredibly successful one for our website and we know this new feature will set the momentum for future enhancements in 2007.” Th

Wags Outside: Excellent commentary on working a second job

I tend to complain a lot that my life is too busy. I work the morning shift at WNRN three days a week, which means getting up at 4:30. I do a mixture of child-care and work throughout the rest of the day, sometimes working until very late in the evening. But, Charlottesville blogger Wags Outside has an excellent post about the second job he took this year as a package handler for UPS. Unloading tractor trailers is not rocket science. Grab a box, put it on the belt. Grab a box, put it on the belt. Grab a box, put it on the belt. The expected pace is a package every 3 seconds. It's easy to keep that pace when you're grabbing Aunt Edna's Christmas fruitcake or a package from LL Bean. It gets a bit more challenging when you're dealing with heavy auto parts, or picking apart a teetering wall of packages that is threatening to bury you in an avalanche. He took the job to provide a second income, as he writes Charlottesville wages don't really cover costs very well. This

NewsAdvance.com | Developer pours energy, creativity into Lynchburg

I grew up in Lynchburg, and I'm amazed at how fast it is now growing. We spent the weekend there, and it was bustling. Charlottesville developer Oliver Kuttner sees a future there, and even says in this News and Advance article that he'd like to live there. NewsAdvance.com | Developer pours energy, creativity into Lynchburg I do worry about the idea of building too much by the James River. Lynchburg is built on a hill, and there's a very steep incline. But every fifty years or so, a massive flood can reach way up into the city's streets. The Flood of 1985, was particularly devastating. And, to my knowledge, there has been no flood abatement program like the ones in Scottsville and Richmond. I'd also like to spend more time in Lynchburg. My parents live there, and there are a lot more opportunities then those that existed when I was a boy. Heck, I even went to go see Borat at a cinema less than a mile away from Liberty University. It's interesting to read that T

Afternoon shift at WNRN

I'm in the afternoon today, something I've not done before. Thankfully I was able to mix up my daycare schedule for Josephine. It's a different place here in the afternoons. More people, of course, and a different style of music. I also am having a hard time seeing because I'm using my contact lens rather than my bulky glasses. My challenge in 2007 is going to be to shake up my schedule.

Homeward bound

Okay, I was pretty bleak last night about the prospects of leaving here. I still wish I could stay, somehow, but the goal is to be back over here again in four months or so. And then again next November. My Thanksgivings will likely be spent over here for years to come, until I can figure out how to move over here with the family. But, I am looking forward to getting back to Charlottesville. The site is moribund, and I've not posted anything since last week. The Wake-Up Call file from Sunday is sitting on a hard drive at WNRN, waiting for me to go and get it. I took the instructions with me, which wasn't good. My apologies to the producers, and to Rick Moore on that. Charlottesville is home. I've lived there longer then I've lived anywhere else in my adult life. More than four years, now! Four very full years, with a lot of turmoil and drama, but a lot of happiness, too. And, a lot of possibility. And, I'm ready to take it all to the next step. I can't wait to

"Break of journey"

So, Jim is watching an episode of the Ghost Whisperer on Sky +, and it has to be the one in which there's a major plane crash. It's freaking me out. But, I can type while sitting on this couch. I'm not comfortable sitting on the bunk bed I sleep on when I'm here at Dunstable. I hope all goes well tomorrow. My flight leaves at 5:00 PM London time tomorrow. I've got a long day ahead of me. I'm hoping to be at the Luton train station by 10:30, to catch the train into London. I'm then getting the Underground to a stop to meet with someone from the UK Podcaster's Association. There may be an interview in the future. After lunch, I'm then hoping to be at Heathrow for 3:00. The Underground trip to Heathrow usually takes an hour or so. The Heathrow Underground stop is back in operation. The trip is over. I've not written anything about it since Saturday. Not even to myself. So much to say. Too late now. I hope I can recall the details once I get back, bu

Afternoon tea in Berkhamsted with Mr. Gateway

Sit down with me for a second while I have several cups of tea? Today's warning of gale force winds did not come about, and so the day ended up quite lovely, with the sun shining on Hertfordshire. Of course, Henry is at his cousin's play. Matthew is sixteen and six-foot-six, but he's still playing a Munchkin in a presentation of the Wizard of Oz in Pendley. Henry's aunt came to pick him up. We had eight hours of pure fun today, though. Henry wakes up early, and so at 5:30 this morning he came to collect me from the sofa. And we began to play. In the past, this might have left me exhausted, but the best thing about being news director at WNRN is that I'm now ready to go after being awake for just a few minutes. I can shake off exhaustion pretty easily. So, we began to play, but not until he had his breakfast. Today, that consisted of "grown-up cereal", a cup of milk, and some toast with marmite. Unfortunately, I ended up eating most of the toast. So far tod

Afternoon tea in Berkhamsted with Mr. Gateway

Sit down with me for a second while I have several cups of tea? Today's warning of gale force winds did not come about, and so the day ended up quite lovely, with the sun shining on Hertfordshire. Of course, Henry is at his cousin's play. Matthew is sixteen and six-foot-six, but he's still playing a Munchkin in a presentation of the Wizard of Oz in Pendley. Henry's aunt came to pick him up. We had eight hours of pure fun today, though. Henry wakes up early, and so at 5:30 this morning he came to collect me from the sofa. And we began to play. In the past, this might have left me exhausted, but the best thing about being news director at WNRN is that I'm now ready to go after being awake for just a few minutes. I can shake off exhaustion pretty easily. So, we began to play, but not until he had his breakfast. Today, that consisted of "grown-up cereal", a cup of milk, and some toast with marmite. Unfortunately, I ended up eating most of the toast. So far tod

Visiting the Tring Christmas Festival (formerly the Victorian Tring Fiesta)

The English will do just about anything in a cold, driving rain. The High Street in Tring was closed to traffic this evening for the Christmas Festival. That is when the lights are turned on, and a carnival breaks out. Henry and I left Pippa's flat at precisely 6:30, when the Festival was to begin. At the time, it wasn't raining, so I decided against taking the umbrella. I also did not put socks on Henry's hands as Pippa had requested, though I did put him in two pairs of socks as well as a wooly hat to go under his jacket's hoodie. All day, Henry was incredibly excited. “I'm so excited,” he shook, as we passed by the library parking lot, where they were setting up the roundabouts and a carousel. He was so giddy, and all day he's been asking when he would get to go to the fair. I even used not-going as a threat when he refused to pick up his toys at about 4:30. Even now as I sit down to write this, I can hear the sounds of the festival. You usually can't hea

Television in Britain

So, I'm watching television in the Peterson's apartment. At the moment, I'm watching Al Jazeera in English. It's really good, at the moment. To be honest, I don't watch much television news, but I think because the news channels in the U.S. seem to treat international news like it is something that happens in 80 second increments. In fact, I just watched a segment on Fox News (it's over here, too, as is CBS News and CNBC and likely others) that was actually called "Around the World in 80 Seconds" and all of the news focused on light, fluffy pieces. New Dehli TV, on the other hand, covered today's bombing in Sadr City with a graphic quality CNN isn't going to touch. Bodies being pulled from scorched minivans. What aren't we watching? What aren't we getting? Now, I've got the Chinese channel on, in English, but I'm not really watching. As a journalist, I'm feeling much better about the trade, because everything I've watche

A bus ride filled with peril through the Downs

“You can get on, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get you up the Downs,” said the bus driver as I tried to purchase a single ticket on the 62 to Dunstable, where my aunt and uncle live. “There's been a serious road accident and the police aren't letting anyone through.” I got on anyway. I had been waiting for the bus for 15 minutes. A taxi driver stopped and asked if I wanted to take a taxi. It would have cost twenty pounds for the ride. I told him I'd wait for the bus, but to check back in 30 minutes or so, just in case. There were about a half-dozen teenage girls loitering about in the bus shelter, across from the Rose and Crown. The words coming out of their mouths would have made a sailor's mother invest in a soap factory. An older woman was waiting for another bus, which was also late, the 500 to Watford. Thankfully, the bus arrived, and I got on, taking much too long to pay because I couldn't find enough change to pay the 2.70 for the ride. There we

Greetings from a dingy Internet cafe in Heathrow!

For the next week, I'm in England on a trip to see my son. I'm hoping to blog about the experience. Now I am off the plane. I've made my way through customs and baggage claim, along the Heathrow Express train, and am now sitting just outside the Underground station at a net cafe. Sweating very much indeed. It's not that it's hot. It's just that I've lugged my luggage all across Heathrow. Now I am trying to learn this keyboard. I am going to have a cup of tea and sit here for the next hour or so, trying to kill time. And I'll write a bit, too, maybe. I'm incredibly sweaty. It's a mixture of cold and hot. Someone wants me to be lukewarm, which is an appropriate way to think about it. The plane was full. I sat in between people, which makes it hard to sleep. On my right was a very nice man who I chatted with for quite a while. I can't remember the details, but a lot of it had to do with with aging. On my left was a college girl who I didn't

Terry Gilliam on the Sound of Young America

Jesse Thorn continues to blossom into one of this country's most serious interviewers on the Sound of Young America . In recent weeks, he's had some really excellent interviews, and his chat this week with Terry Gilliam is absolutely top-notch. The conversation goes on for about forty minutes, and mostly focuses on Gilliam's latest film Tideland, which did not get good reviews. Gilliam very candidly discusses why this is the case, and at the end discusses how he's largely unbankable. Thorn's questions are intelligent, thought-provoking, and I feel like I've just eavesdropped on a chat between two colleagues. Take a listen: (won't show up in Bloglines or in an aggregator) powered by ODEO The Sound of Young America is a listener-supported podcast and independent radio production. Each week, Jesse Thorn talks with a couple of figures in the world of entertainment. This week also features a great conversation with Chris Elliot. Again, this is not a forced inter

WNRN, Gateway Virginia headlines

So, I'n currently up to four days reading the news at WNRN, and am temporarily filling in as the news director here. This is a great challenge, and one that I'm enjoying. Who knew getting up at 4:00 could be so exciting? In any case, this means I have returned to the experiment of the Gateway Virginia headlines. This is a proposed blog and podcast to provide a quick daily briefing of the news in western and Central Virginia. I've been tweaking it for a couple of months now, and the beta test will now increase to at least four days a week. Consistency is crucial if this is to become a viable media outlet, or media sub-outlet, or whatever. Here's today's installment. powered by ODEO I'm looking for any and all feedback on this. I think this is a useful way to turn the work I do for WNRN into a podcast that could reach new audiences. I have to work on the delivery, and find the right pace, but I'm pleased that I can post these in a timely fashion. I have this

A one-way friendship between two cities

I've never been entirely impressed with the concept of the sister city, or "twinning" as its known in England. Charlottesville seems to have a lot of these arrangements, and it's supposed to be important, but the vast majority of us are never going to go to any of them. It's a nice gesture, kind of cute, but really, what's the point? But, in any case, the English town of Bideford in Devon was recently visited by an enthusiastic man from Manteo, North Carolina. He arrived in the town hall bearing a nice present for the people of Bideford, proclaiming the two town's long history of friendship. The man believed the two places to be twinned. As the Guardian reports , the Bideford town clerk knew nothing about it. It was left to Bideford's town clerk, George McLauchlan, to break the news - after accepting a clock and other goodies marked with the Manteo logo - that he had never heard of the place. In fact, Bideford is twinned with Landivisiau in Brittany. T

U.Va Law professor talks baseball

Part of what I do for a living is record audio at the University of Virginia for their podcast . There's some really amazing stuff available through this site. I've just realized that someone has submitted their feed to Odeo, which means I can just add a little embed code here to make the player work out. Anyway, yesterday, U.Va Law Professor Ted White gave a talk called "Baseball at the Crossroads" in which he outlined all of the major problems facing the sport. First of all, kids aren't playing the sport like they used to. Second, the economic playing field favors large-market teams over small-market teams. And finally, the steroids crisis is seriously hurting the sport. White is the author of Creating the National Pastime: Baseball Transforms Itself, 1903-1953 . This talk is part of the Provost office's More than the Score lecture series, held before every Saturday home football game. The very beginning of this talk features some information about the seri

Live Arts Presents Helen of Troy

Last week my wife and I went to go see Helen of Troy at Live Arts . The next day, I interviewed Ronda Hewitt to find out more about the play, and just what it meant. You can take a listen below. powered by ODEO My website, the Charlottesville Podcasting Network , is giving away two free tickets to the play, which runs in the UpStage theater through October 28th. How can you enter the contest? Well, take a listen, and then drop a line to contest@cvillepodcast.com with your name and phone number. We'll draw a winner on Monday.

Saturday Night Live: Why Bother Anymore?

Sisyphus pushes that rock up that hill, hoping his task will be over once and for all. He struggles, and struggles, and struggles, and everytime, his strength collapses and the boulder escapes him, back to the bottom of the hill. Twenty times a year, a group of men and women who we're told are talented do the same thing, trying to push the weight of a live television show up to the top of a hill in order to please us, to entertain us. But, something in the execution always escapes, and they never get up to the top of hill. Yet, the metaphor could equally be written so that we are the ones pushing the rock up the hill, tuning in to this show to see if we will be pleased, if we will be entertained. Saturday Night Live is supposed to be the pinnacle of televised comedy, and we put it on our television screens in the hopes that it will work out, that we will see something majestic. And it so seldom happens. Tonight's episode is no exception. I can't believe that I keep tuning i

Last chance to support WNRN this morning

Okay, this is your last chance this fall to support the news on WNRN during the fall fund-drive. It would be awesome if we got a call or two from folks reading this blog who haven't made a pledge yet. I'm here until 9:00 AM this morning, and would love to hear from you. Call in at 979-0919. There's a bunch of great premiums available.

Tenth Doctor debuts on Sci-Fi tonight

Now, I've already seen all of these before, but the second season of the new Doctor Who debuts tonight on Sci-Fi . This is the Christmas episode, which was on BBC1 last Christmas. Now, somehow, I've managed to see this one, and if you didn't like Christopher Eccleston's portrayal, I strongly recommend watching this to see what it's like when a Doctor regenerates. It doesn't always go well. But, Tennant is really intriguing as the Doctor, and seems much more comfortable in the role then Christopher Eccleston. In this episode, the Christmas Invasion, he's mostly absent, recovering from the shock of absorbing the entire time vortex of the TARDIS. He's not well, and he's asleep for most of the episode. But, of course, Earth is invaded in a very interesting way, and will he save the day? Tennant is probably only known to Americans in his role as Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I've never seen him in any other role, but last we

Support WNRN - pledge tomorrow morning from 6 to 9

It's fund-raiser time again at WNRN. If you're thinking of supporting the station with a donation, consider doing so tomorrow morning between 6 and 9. That's when I'll be reading the news, and it would me ever-so-good if some of you would show your support while I'm on the air. Of course, the music during Acoustic Sunrise is first-rate, and the perfect blend to begin your day. I've been reading the news since May, and it's been a great experience. I've had a real musical education working with Anne Williams, and I look forward to continuing this into the future. The Internet has brought us many more ways to listen to music, but there's nothing better then the radio to bring you something you've never heard before, with the context provided by someone whose job it is to scour the world for great tunes. So, consider supporting tomorrow during fund-drive between 6 to 9 AM.

Ron Moore on The Sound of Young America

Jesse Thorn is America's Radio Sweetheart, and the host of a radio program called The Sound of Young America . Every week, he interviews someone responsible for something "awesome." I was first drawn to the show because of its tendency to talk about comedy, which I think doesn't get discussed as much as it should. But, this week, he's interviewed Ron Moore, the co-creator of the new Battlestar Galactica, which is hands-down the most provocative show on television today. Here's the show, courtest of the odeo player. powered by ODEO

Blogging from Spider City

Personally, I blog whenever I feel I have to confront a fear. Or at least, tell everyone how pathetically fearful of the world I can be. I'm spending the day catching up on a lot of audio that needs to be produced. I've got an interview with Tim Westergren of pandora.com , as well as a feature for the Voice of America on the future of women's colleges. And, of course, a lot of other things as well. My studio is a mess, usually, though I cleaned it up a little bit today. Just to the right of this keyboard is a mixing board, a small one that I use to manipulate various sound sources. Right now I'm listening to something from the Animal Collective. Which is appropriate, because just now, out of the corner of my eye, I spied a wolf spider crawling on the little mixer, just creeping along. Though I'm a man in my thirties, the site of a spider is enough to make me jump. I know I'm perfectly safe, and that no harm can come to me. But, why do I still panic and shriek? T

Dedication On the Tuesday Geoff Show

As I may have mentioned before, my favorite podcast is that of Virgin Radio's Geoff Show . They take their nightly broadcast and reduce it down to all the talking bits. And each night, they dedicate the show to someone who has requested it. Well, my wife officially rocks, because she submitted one on my behalf, which woke me up this morning as I began work. Tune in, and this is pretty cool! http://www.virginradio.co.uk/djsshows/shows/geoff/podcast.html You'll have to grab the Tuesday September 5 show to hear this.

Ruminations on podcasting

So, what is a podcast, anyway? Frankly, the term does more harm then good. It leads people to be confused about what the darned thing actually is. Everyone always says they've not done any podcasting because they don't have an iPod. I've always thought of podcasting like a general word to describe several things, all of which are related. What do you think of when you think of the word "radio"? Are you referring to the device, the sound-waves, or the people talking or singing through the little speaker? All three uses would be useful. That's how I think of podcasting, or have thought of podcasting to this point. But, I've gotten in several heated arguments about this, because the term is meeting with a lot of resistance. People tell me an mp3 on a website is not a podcast. When I try to explain that it could be seen that way, they get angry. Or they tune out, which is even worse. In the weeks to come, I hope to clear up some of the language on my site, whi

500 posts on Charlottesville Podcasting Network

I don't want to disrupt the normal cycle of the Charlottesville Podcasting Network , so I'll just announce here that I've just posted the 500th post to that site. The numbers have gone up to about seven podcasts a week since we began providing audio archive editions of WINA's Charlottesville--Right Now with Coy Barefoot. We've also continued producing features, as well as providing platforms for other area podcasts such as The Food Geek and Gentech . Of course, there's also WNRN's Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call, which was the very first radio program we began offering up as a podcast. That led to me working for WNRN as a news reader every Tuesday and Friday, something that's revitalizing my desire to work as a news reporter. In the fall, I'm hoping to redouble my efforts to produce more pieces for Virginia public radio stations. So, you may ask how it's gone so far. Have I met my goals? Have I been successful? I've certainly had some media ex

Nielsen: We're number #182

According to Nielsen , Charlottesville has moved up three spots to become the 182nd television market in the country. In case you're keeping score, that's because we've got 83,850 "TV homes" in the area. Harrisonburg is the 181st market, with 87,630 television homes. I wonder what Doc Multimedia will think of this, and if it will help him get his desired HD?

The end of the summer

How can it possibly be August 18th, with students expected to descend on town tomorrow morning? Where did this summer go? It seems like I just recorded U.Va's graduation ceremonies. For that matter, where's the whole year gone? In about five minutes I'll be writing about how I can't believe it's Christmas. Is there a way to stop time, or at least, to slow things down a bit? Perhaps a way to pluck the strings of reality a little bit differently then we're used to? When I work the morning news shift at WNRN , I definitely feel very different. Waking up at 4:00 just adds five hours to my day, because I certainly don't get any more sleep. And now that I'm doing it twice a week (Tuesday and Fridays!) I wonder if I should readjust my life and just decide to wake early every single day. Now I'm talking crazy. But yes, the end of the summer, but of course, it's going to be warm for a while. While I walked my dog the other day I noticed all sorts of yello

Law and Order: Special Letters Unit

So, I have a tenth-month-old daughter. She's awesome. Anyone who doesn't have kids, I want to say, don't worry: It's great fun when they start learning how to speak. Josephine can utter certain phonemes which do represent things in the real world. Watching a human being learn to speak is fantastic. And, I am anticipating that watching a human being learn to read will be just as amazing and fantastic. So, as a public service, I want to announce something. Sesame Street has my vote as an absolutely cool television program. Now, now. Most people think Elmo has killed the show. Joel Stein even takes it task in a recent article. He quotes the creators of Wonder Showzen as saying "Elmo doesn't grow. People show him something and he laughs. He doesn't learn a lesson." And, okay, on that basis, yes, the show seems to be produced at a lower level of quality then when I was a toddler in the mid 70's. My dad used to brag that the show helped teach me how to

Three weeks gone by?

How did three weeks go by since the last post? For the life of me, I am a little unclear of how that happened, exactly. This entire summer is almost over, and of course, I'm wishing it will be soon because I'm ready for sweaters and jeans once more. I'm also ready for Court Square Tavern to re-open. I'm torn between working there and working there again. On the one hand, I'd like to be there for grand re-opening, but on the other, I've done okay without it, financially. But, really, three weeks since a post. On here, at least. I'm posting several things a day to the Charlottesville Podcasting Network site. But, nothing here. Part of this is because adding WNRN to my work week has sped things up. I've been reading the news once a week, but for three out of the past four weeks I've gone up to two days a week. This has meant rethinking my work week. It doesn't pay very much at all, but it has begun to take up a lot more of my time. July was not a h

Pedaling my way towards biking

Last night, I rode downtown from our house to pick up our second car, which we had left on the street. The wife and I had both driven there, and I drove us both back in her car. I was there within twenty minutes, and was amazed at how easy it was, with all the bike lanes and everything. I think as the price of gas continues to rise that we'll be doing that much more often. The above paragrpaph, though, is a just a way of giving a promo for a radio programme the BBC will air on Monday, and will stream through the website. You can also listen again. I thought folks might be interested in knowing about it. The Fall and Rise of the Bicycle, 9.00-9.30pm (4 to 4:30 EST) New series. Mark Stephen explores the bicycle in three very different cultures. He meets cyclists in Namibia, China, Denmark and London, and finds out why the bicycle is of pivotal importance to the future health of the planet. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/fallandriseofthebicycle/pip/ehip5/

Post World Cup Blues

I was talking to a friend on IM tonight, and we were both really missing the World Cup. He's decided to play in an amateur league, and I'm watching D.C. United beat Celtic from the Scottish Football Association. D.C. is winning, 4-0, and I'm able to watch it on television while I do write some correspondence. So what if it's Celtic's second team? I watched at least part of almost every one of the sixty-four matches in the World Cup. I've been sad that the tournament is over, but here I am, making potential plans to go to D.C. this Saturday to watch a Major League Soccer game. Sure, it's not nearly as interesting as the World Cup, but I think I'm hooked as a spectator. I've always assumed that U.S. soccer would bore me, because of the overemphasis on the MLS, which doesn't feature enough teams to be interesting. I'm entranced by this match with Celtic, because it is an international match, even though it is a friendly. And, I've just dis

An update

So, I read this week that Dave Winer is no longer going to blog . Also, Waldo Jaquith seems to have cut back. What are we to make of this? Is anyone declaring that blogging is dead? Well, this here blog has been dead, mostly because it is such a low priority, given everything that I'm involved with. I also keep myself from writing most of the things that spring into my mind. It was my original plan to blog about all the World Cup matches I watched. But, I soon stopped when I realized I couldn't keep up and do the bare minimum I needed to do to keep food on the table. The inertia of not posting anything was too hard to overcome, so I didn't even write a preview of my thoughts on the final! Truth is, I don't really see this blog as a conduit for information. I'm not sure what I wee it as. I could promote various podcasts I enjoy listening, but I don't think anyone would be much interested. I could promote my own podcasts, but that's what the Charlottesville P

The White Rabbit

We were outside sitting on the porch at Monsoon for dinner this evening. We had just come from the 30th anniversary celebration of the mall . Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared from the bushes lining the steps of the McGuffey Art Center . This large white rabbit flopped out, and proceeded to eat the grass. We were a bit alarmed. It looked like a loose pet, and this one dog had come barrelling towards it, but it was thankfully more interested in another dog which was actually on a leash. As we ate, we kept tabs on the rabbit. We told the waitress, who didn't know what to do, but joined us in keeping an eye on Fluffy. I called a friend who does some work at the McGuffey, but he didn't know anything about a white rabbit. We paid up, and I decided to go take a look. Our friend Todd stopped by to watch me, and called me a would-be "rabbit whisperer" and sure enough, the rabbit eventually came to my hand. It has tiny little ears, and seemed tame as anything. As I was

World Cup: Round of 16 predictions

So, we're at the important part now, where a loss sends a team home. This makes me very nervous about England. Ecuador could knock them out in tomorrow's match. Not that any of it matters, though. Germany is playing better than anyone else. They seem to really be enjoying themselves, and are taking their time with opportunities. Rather than taking quick shots on goal when they reach the box, they wait a second, protect the ball, and make something happen. This relaxation could be because of they're playing at home, but it could just be because they're so damned good. Argentina v Mexico is this afternoon. That should be a fantastic match, and I'd have to pick Argentina to win. Mexico didn't play nearly as well in the group stage, and Argentina has a crop of really talented men. I just hope it'll be a good game. So, England and Ecuador tomorrow. The loss of Michael Owen puts a lot of pressure on Peter Crouch to perform, and frankly, England just hasn't pla

Podcasting through Odeo experiment

Please bear with me, readers of this entry. I am very curious to try out some of the embedding tools that are available in Odeo, and similar podcast sites. The audio below is from something that I posted to the Charlottesville Podcasting Network a few weeks ago. It's Live Arts' announcement of its upcoming season. powered by ODEO I think for podcasting to work, it will become necessary for producers to make it as easy as possible for people to share the audio. Each piece of audio needs to be in as many different places as possible. I'm not about to cross-post everytihng I do, but I may begin using this blog to highlight podcasts I thought were worth listening to. I may even relay some experiment podcasts through here. Stay tuned.

Honest Thoughts on U.S. Match

We're not doing very well in this game. The one real chance we had, we messed up because Landon Donovan's kick went in the opposite direction of the goal. And, we only scored because Claudio Reyna let Ghana Dramani take the ball off of him. We have all of these great set-ups, but nothing seems to come of them. We're not playing awful, but we're certainly not playing as desperately as we need to. We need to be playing much more like we have nothing to lose, because, we have nothing to lose. Now Reyna is out, which causes me to make this bold prediction: His absence will help us get at least one goal, but maybe not two. Claudio Reyna is over-rated. Now, can Landon Donovan be a good captain and bring victory to our side? Stay tuned.

World Cup at the Halfway Point

Okay, it's getting a little ridiculous now, working between games. It's a bit better this week, with all of the final games of the first round being played at the same time, so there are only two World Cup slots each day to work around. Of course, today is the big day. The United States can get through with a little help from Italy, and with some actual scoring. We have got to score today, which will be tough. Ghana can also get through with a win, so they're going to play hard as well, but that could open up defensive holes for us to play through. But, Ghana is going to want this game possibly more than we do. Although, as Stephen Colbert said last night (with help from Alexei Lalas) "Ghana, you're not 'ghana' win!" I think I may have to take tomorrow off, because I have got to catch up on work!

Live Action Super Mario Brothers

Super Mario Brothers is firmly entrenched into my psyche. I spent a good chunk of the late 80's playing the game. It's nice to know I'm not the only, as evidenced in this skit from Gordon College in Massachusetts. (the above should work - this is an experiment)

US: Not all hope is lost

Okay, I might have said "not all hope is lost" after the U.S. team lost 3-0 to the Czech Republic. Teams have been known to come back from such a stinging loss. But, then, Italy beat Ghana 2-0, which gives Italy an edge and forces us to beat them on Saturday. And then, Ghana will be playing to save face for all of Africa. So far, none of the African teams have managed a win. That was just an ugly match, but it's not done anything to dampen my World Cup spirit. I'm really enjoying watching this tournament unfold. I'm glad to be watching Brazil and Croatia place. ESPN2 televised the entire opening ceremony for the match, something they've not done yet. Also in Group F play, yesterday's Australia-Japan match is what I needed to remember that things can turn around fast in this game. Australia's three rapid-fire goals felt great to watch. I loved the Togo-South Korea match today. Though they got beat, Togo showed heart and managed a nice goal. It was very

World Cup thoughts before the US Match

Fourth day of the World Cup. I've caught most of each match, but missed Sweden and Trinidad/Tobago. So far, the most exciting part of any of the matches for me has been the Australia-Japan match. Japan took an early lead on that controversial goal, but Australia kept up the attack. Tim Cahill came off the bench and scored two beautiful goal. As Jim Duncan said to me in an e-mail, England and Paraguay were kind of boring. England has to play better, but their group seems a lot tougher now that it is clear Trinidad is not a pushover. If anything, this World Cup seems to be showing an awful lot of parity amongst the 32 teams. But, England has to play better. Of course, we've not seen Togo yet, and Ivory Coast seemed more than a bit week. Portugal got what seemed to be a fairly easy victory over Angola on Sunday, but that was just because they scored in the first four minutes, and Angola could never recover. Mexico and Iran were a good match to watch. Mexico overpowered Iran in the

World Cup Day One Over!

Well, I caught the first half of Germany v. Costa Rica, but the second half did not record properly. Our VCR is in need of repairs, or we're in need of buying a new one. But, I managed to watch most of Ecuador v. Poland, a somewhat lackluster match, with two easy-looking goals for Ecuador. The second one was a total giveaway, which makes you wonder how Poland qualified. Still, the second match was infinitely more fun to watch because Tommy Smyth was the color man. How I miss the goal being described as "the old onion bag!" Final comments for the day. I love the Adidas commercial with the two kids in what appears to be a South American slum picking their top world players. It's really quite lovely. However, I hope they actually show the match by the end of the tournament, because this is one commercial that's going to get old fast.

World Cup Kicks Off! Germany V. Costa Rica underway

I'm actually beginning this post ten minutes before the start of World Cup. I've been listening to BBC Radio 5 Live, listening to commentary about the Germany v. Costa Rica match that kicks off the month-long event. In an alternate future, I would be living in the U.K. right now, but I'm not. I'm in my basement studio, watching the tail end of Cold Pizza. It would be nice if ESPN had some sort of preview going on for the event, but you take what you get, right? Oh wait! Eight minutes in, they cut away from the recorded show to have a little bit of American perspective. In one ear, BBC explaining what's going on in detail, and in the other, three American commentators explaining at a very basic level what's going on. I don't mind the disparity. The great thing about the World Cup is that it's about the entire world taking part in one event. There's nothing else like this. I'm actually sort of happy that American sports media doesn't pay too mu

Almost back home at Court Square Tavern

I was looking for a parking space downtown on Tuesday so I could go to the bank to drop off all my hard-earned podcasting money. Fifth Street was blocked by a truck carrying some sort of insulation. But, I didn't mind, because workmen were carting off the material into my bar! I stopped and had a look. The place looks surprisingly like it used to now that all the soot and grime has been cleared away. The bar has been pulled away, and all the kitchen equipment is gone. It felt good to stand on the terrazo, and it's going to be good to pull beers again there. When I asked the workmen if I could come in, one of them said "Sure, but there's no beer here yet!" That's okay, though. I was just happy to be back in the space, even if for just a quick minute or so.

Doing the news on WNRN

So, this is my second week reading the news on Wednesday mornings for WNRN . I've been up since 4:00 AM, and know more about the world then I usually do before this time of day. The idea is to develop three sets of three stories each, to be read every twenty minutes. For me, the process is exhilirating, and gives me new appreciation of what news actually is. Though I've worked in public radio off and on since 1995, I've never actually done a live news shift. I have hosted WVTF's Evening Edition a couple of times, and stumbled quite badly under the spotlight of the old "kidney room" studio. I knew the topic for each show backwards and forwards, but I need a script in front of me when the microphones are opened up. I stuttered, stammered, and stumbled, panicking on live radio, forgetting to breathe! And, you can't do that. This new experience at WNRN is even more challenging, because I don't get a second chance to improve a take. If I stumble, I get ca

Pabst Blue Ribbon to sponsor NPR programming

Pabst Brewing Co., makers of the bargain beer Pabst Blue Ribbon, is underwriting on NPR. Pabst, a brand not immediately associated with NPR’s high-falutin’ reputation, is sponsoring broadcast programming and NPR’s online music series “All Songs Considered.” This is interesting. I've recently had to switch to PBR, not because its hip in this town, but because I can't afford the beer I'd like to drink!

WINA radio appearance today

I'll be Coy Barefoot's guest for the 4:15 to 4:30 segment of WINA's Charlottesville--Right Now this afternoon. If you've always wanted an explanation of podcasting, tune in, or listen to the podcast when it's posted later on this weekend.

Jim Duncan on this Sunday's Wake-Up Call on WNRN

This Sunday morning at 11:00, Jim Duncan will be one of the guests on WNRN's Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call, along with Matt Hodges of Compass Home Loans . In addition to talking about the current state of the local and regional real estate market, Jim and Matt will also be answering questions about buying and selling homes. If you're getting ready to purchase, this is a great opportunity to ask Jim a question. If you miss the show, you can always get the podcast from the Charlottesville Podcasting Network or subscribe to the show for free in iTunes .

The joys of an undiscovered Monty Python record!

These days my time-killing habit of choice is to look up articles on Wikipedia. I'll spend hours looking up my interests. I've learned more than I ever need to learn about the lineage of certain video games. I recently looked up the digestive process because despite being 32, the whole thing is a bit of a mystery to me. But, today, all this rooting around on the site led to a piece of absolute gold. Yes, I've discovered a Monty Python album I've never heard before. The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album , which has never been released, but is available online . It consists of material that never made it anywhere else. Last night, I watched a couple of episodes of Flying Circus , so it was on my mind. I'm so happy these are being shown over the air again. One reason I'm so enchanted by radio are the Monty Python albums. My dad had an LP of the Holy Grail album. When I was six and learned how to use the record player, I listened over and over. This wa

Out of the baseball loop

I don't know why, but I've not given a fig about baseball this year. I don't know if it's because I'm busy getting the business off the ground, or if I'm paying more attention to my family, or if it's because the whole Barry Bonds situation makes me ill. Or, maybe it's because I'm planning on spending all my sporting energy this year on the World Cup. But, tonight, I see the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 14 to 3. The New York Times reports that Randy Johnson had an embarrasing outing, being taken out in the fourth. "Today it looked like I didn't have a clue out there," Johnson told the Times. I'm embarrased to find out that Josh Beckett is a member of the Red Sox. I didn't know that. When Johnny Damon became a Yankee, I stopped paying attention. I have no geographic claim on the Red Sox save for a couple years spent in New England in my twenties, but they've always seemed like the team I ought to root for. I was so impressed wit

Trivia for the Porter Goss Announcement

CIA Director Porter Goss resigned today , and I wanted to share a small piece of trivia. Goss was in attendance at last week's unveiling of James Madison's Montpelier , which I thought was fairly odd. I edited the bit out where John Warner made a joke about him being in the countryside, but if I get a request, I'll look for the sound bite.

91 Seconds on Film

I don't often use this blog to write about what I do on the Charlottesville Podcasting Network . I keep it separate, which mostly means nothing gets written on it. So, today, I thought I would just write up a little blurb on one of the podcasts we feature on the site. We've been providing downloadable film reviews from WNRN's 91 Seconds On Film for almost a year now. We publish them to the CPN feed, as well as to a separate podcast feed just for the reviews. Each review is about 90 seconds long, and provides an insightful look at a film playing in the area. The reviews run each Thursday and Friday on WNRN, and are then posted to CPN. As these are small files, they tend to get more downloads. They're quick and easy to, and often tell you more in 90 seconds if there's anything to what's going on. A crew of regular critics contribute to the series. With films easily available through Netflix and other DVD mailing services, there's always a market out there for

PodBop - promising customized music podcasts

WebProNews reports that a new site called PodBop makes it easier to know what's going on musically in your community. Shel Holtz says he thinks applications like this will help increase the number of people using podcasts. But, it's going to take work on the part of club owners, musicians and listeners to make this kind of thing work. A PodBop search on Charlottesville turns up nothing, but a search for Richmond pulls up mp3s from acts soon to appear at Alley Katz. This is a great idea, but there are so many great ideas out there and only so much time.