Things I've been meaning to tell you...

Oh, anonymous Internet reader. It's been a dreadful month. I won't spill my personal business here, but suffice it to say that this has been the worst month of my life. I'm sure that there will be other bad ones, but they will be measured by the heartbreak and agony of December 2008.

But, I'm looking ahead to 2009, which has to be better. It must be. I have to regroup and figure out what the next 35 years of my life are going to entail. Will I still be the same person? Will I make improvements that will allow me to become a better human being? Stay tuned.

For this blog post, though, a bullet list of things I've wanted to write about but have not managed to actually generate into a single post.

1. I finally signed up for Twitter two months ago. I'm enjoying it, but I am not sure if I'm using it as much as I will in the coming months and years. It's a nifty little way to get advice from people on things, and to find out what others are up to. I've also got one for the Charlottesville Podcasting Network.
   
2. The Wire is a damned good show. I'm finally watching it after making several attempts in the past. I love the show Homicide, and the Wire is everything I expected it would be. More great stories about the gray areas in the law.
   
3. I have joined a gym in order to give me something to do and to work out some aggression and pain. I've had a lifelong fear of exercising in front of other people, and I've decided to smash that stupid phobia to little pieces. In three weeks, I've gone 14 times and I am creating a fitness plan. I've lost about 20 pounds over the last two months. My goal is not to be a big bruiser, but simply to set myself up to be healthy for the rest of my life. My dad is 67 years age and looks like he's 45. I'm hoping I can do the same thing through hard work and perseverance.
   
4. I had a great Christmas, despite the general crappiness of December.
   
5. The weirdest thing about Facebook is connecting with people that I've known in the past. Going through this last month has been made easier by being able to reach out to people in my network. I've had good talks with therapists and great advice from friends I've not seen in ages.
   
6. I apologize to Andrew Hersey for not producing that audio yet. I have high hopes for my audio career, but at the moment that's taking a back seat to taking care of myself.
   
7. I'm convinced 2009 will be much better than 2008. Even years are never as good to me as odd years.
   

WNRN podcasts and videos

I'm really excited to be very tangentially involved with WNRN's interviews by giving a place for them to be heard through the Charlottesville Podcasting Network. A lot of folks come through the studio to speak with Anne Williams or Ronda Chollock, and we archive the audio on the CPN site. To stay in touch, sign up via RSS or e-mail.

Tonight, Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkins will be appearing at the Gravity Lounge and this morning they were at WNRN. Ian Solla-Yates posted the audio this morning, and if you're interested in the show, why not take a listen to see if you'd have a good time?

But that's not all. They're also filming the songs and putting them up on YouTube so you can see the experience. Both the videos and the audio podcasts are a great way for a local radio station to find a new way to reach people interested in music. Kudos to Ian for exploring this sort of thing. I spoke with him last week, and he says they're going to be continuing to upgrade this service for listeners and viewers.

Here's Devon Sproule:



I'd never heard one of her songs before this, and now I have. So I'm much more likely to go see one of her shows as a result. Hooray for the community!

Podcast of Live Arts' Sweeney Todd

Sometimes the objectives of the Charlottesville Podcasting Network are met. One such time is right now, as I've just posted Ray Nedzel's podcast preview of Live Arts' production of Sweeney Todd. Ray spoke with actor Lydia Horan and director John Gibson, and his podcast gives a quick musical preview. The show opens tonight and runs through January 10, 2009.