Click on any of the entry titles to get more information about all the awesome things written about!

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

The Addicts, Addict, listens to "Press #3"

Once again I have missed a live broadcast of The Sonic Society. But thanks to modern technology I was able to grab Tuesdays show. And it was good. It started out with one of those tales that end at the beginning. It was called "Press #3" from Crazy Dog Audio Theatre. Granted, I think these people may be a little touched. This one got weird, funny, eclectic, and political. But not quite in that order. But as the lady says. "not again".

Third Coast Live brought in some sketches. Like in the old days when you could sneak up stairs with the radio under the pillow. I did that all the time, but audio theatre was a very dead thing back then. But for me, just something to listen to, for a natural nocturnal person.

These sketches included "Dick, Private Eye" one memorable line, of course I like the gumshoe stuff, was, "Do you like my arms like this?", "Do you like my lips like this?", "Do you.........you shot me!", to which he states, "I wasn't going to wait for how the knife felt in my back". There were some other sketches mixed in there. But that was the best.

Another story was quite intriguing, about a man, Will, who lived in a place he felt out of touch in. He wanted to get a job but didn't really see the point as everyone had one, but the days were never changing. A police officer would put tickets on cars everyday that would never be driven. But didn't ask who kept taking the tickets. And another man who worked on the same piece of wood for a house never to be built. Will was however offered a job, child care, so to speak. Babysitting for a little girl who has never grown. From what I could hear, this was the only real job in this whole place.

I would give it away to give more, but I enjoyed this outing of The Sonic Society, and as always, I did have the best seat in the house.

I have seen a television ad for The Sonic Society, but alas it is in my head. There is a man tinkering with something, the narration begins.........

Inward voice, "I'll never get this thing done" what is the thing? "I'll never get this motor done" Pops on screen now, a motor for the man to work on. Partially in view may be a garage, until, his wife walks in the door. "Have you got it finished yet?", "Hey I am in the kitchen". Garage scene evaporates, now a full kitchen. Audio depicts a woman soft footsteps onto the way into the kitchen, where in she stubs her tow in the living room, and steps on a cat. We built in our imagination the scene.

Audio drama is like a book, scenes are suggested in noises and such. But they build in the imagination. I could see a television ad for The Sonic Society like that. Blank white backdrops being filled in as the thirty second story unfolds. Just like imagination.

These Tuesday nights are fun when I get them off, and can enjoy it live with the addict. Next week would be worth me putting in a request for Tuesdays off, screw the boat for which I do not want to rock, but "Yankee Clipper"? These people are awesome. If you caught "A Christmas Carol", you'll love "Yankee Clipper". I have been excited about this.

Until next time, this is the Addicts, Addict

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Addicted to more than just audio

Though I think my internal clock is still off. It's after 11, everyone has gone to bed, and it still feels early. Like, two hours earlier. So here I sit trying to figure out this silly Mac machine my sister has.... and I came across this little holiday audio gem:


MP3 of "It's a Wonderful Life"
A 1947 Lux Radio Broadcast of
It's a Wonderful Life with original cast (Jimmy Stewart et. al). MP3 Link, hour-long, 10meg file.

Reader comment: Greg Tulonen says,

Thanks for the It's a Wonderful Life link. Lux Radio Theatre was a curious and wonderful show wherein the stars of major motion pictures recreated their roles for a live radio version (with no retakes!) It ran for over twenty years, from 1934-1955. I can't imagine the movie stars of today agreeing to a similar arrangement with television.

The great otrcat.com offers mp3 CDs of every Lux Radio Theatre episode ever broadcast, as well as hundreds of other radio shows: Link



OK, that's it for now.. I'm off to listen to some of the many podcasts that I can now actually listen to since my iPod has come back from the dead. :-)

~Dani

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Standing in for a "Vacationing" Addict




I always get a little excited when these radio programs start. The hair stands up a bit. And the colonial theatre of course out do themselves. The audio quality is astounding. And to do, A Christmas Carol in such a way. Well I have to tell you, hair on end. Surely I have seen the story, but still my imagination doesn't reference much of that.

"The chance in hope" Jacob says. Scrooge is the defiant one isn't he?

A Christmas Carol has lessons we could all learn. And not just at the holiday season. Like the first spirit who brings Ebenezer to his past. Long lost childhood memories that we so soon forget.

"May you be happy in the life you have chosen". Those are the words of whom Ebenezer could have called, wife. I could easily get political about this. But he chose a path early on in his years of greed. You wonder where Mr. Scrooge went wrong. The man he worked for loved Christmas, reveled in the holiday.

Oh I hear a station break. Fizz Gizit, well I do not know how to spell the name, so there you go. And I have recently had a short chat with Jack ( Orson Wells reincarnate ) about upcoming Colonial Radio Theatres "Yankee Clipper", and more airings of it. Big smile there. Also, Biff Stryker is coming up in the future. That's exciting stuff, heady material for Biff, but then again he's a clod of a space cadet, and that is the fun. Fizz is from "Robots of the Company" a personal favorite of the addict. The station break featured o'le Fizz chatting up "The Sonic Society". It is so coming together from what it once was.

When I was young I remember searching through the AM band late at night and happening across a radio play. Great entertainment. One recollection was traveling late at night and happening across a cassette with radio plays on it. Guess I have been an addict too.

Back to the program.......

The second guest, a jolly giant. The ghost of Christmas present. "God bless us, everyone". Tiny Tim had said that he wanted those in church to see him. To remember who helped those to walk, and those to see. It is Christmas at the Cratchets, "God bless Mr. Scrooge", I run a few emotions in that. I guess I could raise a glass to an employer. They do pay me, so I can make a Christmas feast. The Jolly giant has more for Scrooge to see, as time is fleeting for this spirit. As once fat he his now frail, and protruding from his robe a sight, and at his legs, as he shows Scrooge a metaphor or two, two children they are. Scrooge asks, "have they no resources, have they no recourse?" "Are there no prisons, are there no work houses!" the spirit exclaims. Charles Dickens himself is saying something to his people of the day. Or to those of the present.

Death comes calling. Or ghost of the future. This spirit shows Scrooge as you know, the Christmas future, of a pawn broker buying trinkets "he feared us in life, but profited us in his death". Of a household without a child. And the about face that all this brought about onto Scrooge. It is a great story. One that could be told in any time of year really. And hats off to The Colonial Radio Theatre, true to it, right down to the accents.

And now the the seasons final performance of "Robots of the Company". A holiday episode no less with a Santacon. These robots usually include the audience into the story. By usually asking at times if we are getting it. Or not. Very funny stuff. Of course some characters were done by our friends at "The Sonic Society".

And next time from "Crazy Dog Theatre" "Press Number Three". Crazy Dog presented "Gerry, in the dark passage". So "Press Number Three" should be good as well. And as Jack says "Join us, won't you?"

This has been -=topper=-

Have a great santacon day

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

RIP iPod

See that list down there in the last entry? The one I spent WAY too much time on?

Welll- PFFFFT. Perhaps the universe is trying to tell me to keep my ears open during my vacation, cause my silly iPod DIED. Made it three quarters of the way through the flight, and then NADA.

So, though this is not a big deal while here, I do dread the flight home... dammit.

I did get one small moment of joy however. I had downloaded the season finale of Robotz of the Company from Dream Realm's website- and listened to it before my mp3 world came crashing down around me. OMG- it was so funny!!! This time I could recognize both Jack and Andrew's voices.... teeheee....

So, I hope everyone will be listening tonight! I'll be thinking of you...

-Dani

PS- GEEZ it's flipping COLD here. People actually function in this weather????

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Addict Playlist In Case Of Withdrawl Symptoms

Forget packing clothes- do I have enough loaded on the iPod??? Well I've just spent an hour downloading and transferring all the things I could possibly listen to. I was so impressed with my list I captured it:

It's only 2/3 of my list- my iTunes screen stopped at 32! Then there are all the old Shadowlands shows that I have that aren't in this particular playlist... but I bet this will be MORE than sufficient for when I get the shakes and the sweats from not hearing Sonic Society for THREE EPISODES! I was so bummed- I thought it was only two, but then I realized we fly home on a Tuesday... damn.

So, I hope you all enjoy the shows, especially the Christmas Show that is coming up this Tuesday- I hear it's an excellent rendition of A Christmas Carol.

I will catch up with all you addicts in a few weeks!
Happy Chrismahanukwanzaakahidays!!!

~Dani

Friday, December 16, 2005

A Super Present from a SuperPal

A fellow addict gave me the heads up on this link- I've got it downloaded and all ready on the playlist for my pending travels! The website this came from is pretty cool too- check it out!
Thanks Brad!
~Dani



From our friends at Great Northern Audio Theatre!:

Dear Friends and Listeners:

The rogue comet, Skippy, is headed right for Big City. Who are you going to call? Ok, you called them and they weren't home--who else are you going to call? That's right SuperPal. "SuperPal: The Saving of the World" is the story of the plucking of Big City from total disaster told through press conferences and in-depth interviews with the people who say they knew SuperPal best: His agent, his girlfriend, and some other people.

SuperPal was recorded in July, 2005 live at CONVergence 2005 Science Fiction Convention in Bloomington, MN. We didn't even know we were making fun of FEMA in this 28-minute audio satire, but sometimes you get lucky and get ahead of the curve.

At the last Great Northern Audio Theatre Board of Directors meeting Brian said, "We couldn't even give away this show, if we tried."

"Sure we could," said Jerry. "We'll just let them download it."

"For free?"

"What the hay," reflected Jerry.

"You're killing me here, Jerry, you're killing me," said Brian.

So, for a limited time only (from now until Christmas) Click here and download our SuperPal MP3 files and enjoy. Be sure to download the credits PDF, so you'll know who did what.

Prove Brian wrong.
Prove Jerry right (he usually is).
And download SuperPal: The Saving of the World" today.

A very Merry Christmas.
For Free.

Thanks,
Great Northern Audio Theatre

LINK

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

iPods for Anarchists


(Now here is a true Addict! ~Dani)

02:00 AM Sep. 27, 2005 PT

"Must-have" devices seem to instantly lose their charm for me when they're adopted en masse -- even when it comes to the iPod.

So, being a huge music nosher but not wanting to become a black silhouette plugged into the matrix via white wires in my ears, I decided to build my own.

How hard could it be? DIY modders around the world are designing and sharing rogue alternatives to brand name electronics. For those with curiosity, diligence and a rebel's spirit, it's quite possible to get your hands on a unique MP3 player and avoid selling your soul to tech conformity.

After searching around a bit, I came across an MP3 player kit named EchoMp3, designed by Belgian electrician Michel Bavin. I could buy it online for around $100 (not including a memory card), have it shipped to me and assemble it myself by following the instructions posted on his website. Not only was it sans logo, but it just looked cool. Nothing gives the finger to mass production like duct tape.

I had built a guitar amp a couple summers ago and figured I could handle a slightly smaller project. I just had no idea how small. When I giddily opened the letter-bomb-looking box and dumped out all the components, I had a gut check moment: The box of chips and bags of resistors contained, as far as I could tell, small, square ants.

Bavin's TechDesign website led me to a few instructional pages on soldering tiny components, but my clumsy first attempts at attaching the MP3 decoder chip onto the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) left an entire side of pins covered in solder.

It was time to call for help. Luckily I knew Raphael Abrams, an electrician recently moved from New York, who I had found through the Tech Design website. Abrams' portable MP3 player design actually inspired Bavin's EchoMP3. A few of Abrams' other designs had been used as animal callers for hunters and as a bus stop announcer for a public transit system in France. Without his expertise I would have been lost.

Using tweezers, a magnifying glass, a de-soldering wick and a lot of problem solving Abrams was able to guide me through some assembly techniques and send me on my way after a couple of hours' work. After an additional four hours of soldering on my own, I popped in the battery to the board, plugged in some headphones, turned it on and ... nothing.

I sulked back over to Abrams' apartment where he was also baffled, at least initially. After a few hours of trial and error, poking and prodding and going over all the solder joints again, we were able to get a consistent boot and triumphant playback of some Adam Ant MP3s we had thrown on my $50, 512-MB MMC (MultiMedia Card) to test it. "Goody Two Shoes" never sounded so good.

I then drilled, scraped and dremeled some holes in the project box that it came with (not a perfect fit by any means), and attached it all together with some store-bought screws. I personalized it by engraving "kPod" (KeithPod) on the back.

The player sounds great, looks cool and, thanks to my clumsiness with power tools, it's quite unique looking. The memory card can hold about 120 songs (comparable to an iPod Shuffle) but can only play linearly and has no file system.

This is truly only a labor of love and makes no sense for any other reason than to have made it yourself. You can buy other brand name players with included memory cards for cheaper, and you can even buy this particular kit already assembled for fifteen more dollars. On the other hand, you can't put a price on taking back a little piece of knowledge from the largely unknowable world of technology. I spent far more than 15 dollars in time and trips to the hardware store, but I wouldn't trade it for all the iPods in the world. Well, maybe a Nano.

End of story

Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68959,00.html
(great pictures at link)

Audiophiles Unite

A Music File by Any Other Name

By Michael Calore

Editor's note: This article previously appeared in Wired News' sister publication, Webmonkey.

Finding music on the internet is getting easier by the week as legit and less-than-legit file-trading services show up by the dozens. Given all of the options, the number and variety of file formats can be ultimately confusing for the uninitiated.

Today we'll study the most popular audio formats and the players that support them. We'll look strictly at audio-file formats that utilize lossy compression, because the small file size and ultimate portability of compressed audio files has afforded them huge popularity, not to mention near ubiquity, on the web. We'll also be looking exclusively at downloadable, and not streaming, file types.

Let's start with the basics of audio compression. I'll do my best to give you a simple explanation. If you already know this stuff, or if you just want to know the difference between MP3 and all the other audio formats, feel free to jump ahead to the next page.

The term "lossy compression" is used often when referring to digital audio file formats. Basically, it means that some audio data is thrown out during the process of creating the compressed file. Most compression formats on the internet -- MP3, OGG, AAC and the like -- utilize lossy compression.

Most audio encoders will start the compression process by excising frequencies and sounds outside the range of human hearing. You technically can't hear those sounds, so your ears won't miss them. Next, the data used to shape the audio you actually can hear is reduced. Bits and pieces are taken out of the audio, but the omissions are made intelligently by algorithms that know which small pieces to take out without causing too much damage to the sound quality. The result is a file that still sounds very much like the original uncompressed parent, but is only a fraction of the size. An MP3 encoded at near-CD quality is roughly one-tenth the size of the original audio file.

The amount of compression (and data loss) applied to a file can be determined by its bitrate. In audio compression, the bitrate is a measurement of the amount of data that is sampled per second. Files with higher bitrates are larger in size and generally sound better than files with a lower bitrate. Most music stores selling audio files on the internet sell files with bitrates of 128 Kbps or 160 Kbps. This range is generally regarded as being comparable to CD-quality audio. Some audiophiles or digital music enthusiasts will encode files at bitrates of 256 Kbps or higher. These bitrates result in slightly larger file sizes, but the audio quality is greatly improved, and, in many cases, indistinguishable from the original CD source.

There are several lossless compression formats as well, such as SHN, FLAC, APE and Apple Lossless format. We'll cover those in a future article.

(the rest of the article may be redundant to you addicts, but if you'd like to read more, click the link. ~Dani)

LINK

Monday, December 12, 2005

Isolated Heroes in Space

As I am about to travel across the country to spend Christmas with my family in Massachusetts and New York, Tuesday's Sonic Society has us traveling through space again with the next chapter of The Arbiter Chronicles, by Prometheus Radio Theatre.




I was browsing through their website- hey did you all know they have had George Takei- flipping Mr. Sulu- as a guest voice? Now color me impressed! :-)

We're going to hear a little bit from Crazy Dog Theatre about writing radio drama, and there is still more Robotz of the Company! For some reason I thought it was finished... considering I helped put the schedule together that is a little embarrassing. The addict is not paying attention! :-S



So, this is it for me for this year I'm afraid. I've batted my eyes at Dave just enough to get him to update the blog for the next couple of shows... because I can't just let it all DIE for the two weeks I'm gone! Though knowing me, you will probably catch me lurking here and there.. I am an addict after all, and staying away is next to impossible. :-P

Keep your ears in tune to the sounds around you,
~Dani

Thursday, December 08, 2005

The Word Of The Year Is..

December 7, 2005 2:04 PM PST

Podcasting, the word of the year

Just a year ago, the term "podcast" was considered for inclusion in the New Oxford American Dictionary of English, but rejected because not enough people were using it, according to a BBC story. Now, however, illustrating the technology's rapid growth in popularity, the term is not only being added, it's been declared the dictionary's Word of the Year, the story says.

podcast

The New Oxford American is following the lead of the Oxford Dictionary of English, which added the podcast and other tech terms last summer. We're still waiting for Merriam-Webster to catch up.

No one is out there arguing that there shouldn't be an official word for "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player," as podcast is defined in both dictionaries.

But some bloggers take issue with the "pod" in podcast, derived from Apple's iPod music player. They, like some in Redmond, Wash., argue that the term is a misnomer--podcasts can be listened to on any digital music player.

Blog community response:

"Great that it has entered the dictionary, but I do not necessarily agree with the definition. What about RSS? To me, that is what sets podcasting apart from other downloadable audio files online. Also, I don't like the radio reference...I think it is pigeonholing the genre."
--The Sum of My Parts

"The Philoneist says: Radio on demand applications are rightfully hailed as easily produced, distributed, and promoted, giving rise to the Internet as a grassroots medium with limitless avenues for content. Thankfully, Apple has paved the way for this environment with the iPod. The Misoneist says: But do they deserve all the credit (and free advertising) associated with this word? To the victor goes the spoils."
--Philoneist

"Interestingly, the BBC also says the term was first coined by journalist Ben Hammersley. And ever since, podcasters have been explaining, "No, even though the name is PODcast, you don't need an iPod!" Now we know who to blame.:-)"
--Trafcom News

Posted by Michelle Meyers

LINK

The second... Blogging! :-)
~Dani

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

There are dragons in Texas?



A new member of Sonic Society debuts tomorrow evening- the Texas Radio Theatre Company!

They are airing a recording of a live performance, so that will be neat to hear. After there is an interview with Rich Frohlich, founder of Texas Radio Theatre, then the continuation of the Bot War in this week's Robotz of the Company.

Get the show notes HERE. And listen in tomorrow! If you can't listen live, you can always grab the podcast as well. I'll put up a more direct link when the show is uploaded. :-)

Ahh! Two more weeks left before the addict is on vacation! Maybe I can coerce Dave into keeping the blog up-to-date while I'm away.... gotta go work on my cyber-puppy dog eyes...

~Dani

Friday, December 02, 2005

Special Shadowlands Podcasts

Why I am up at 1:45 am, I have no clue. Having sick kids home for three days has my system all out of whack I imagine.

BUT as I was wandering around in internetland, I noticed that there are special Sonic Society podcasts uploaded, featuring two Shadowlands plays.


Check them out yourself HERE and HERE.

I'm happy I get to add Phillipa Graves to my collection! I just remembered the last time I heard it (well bits of it) was when I was in Halifax two summers ago and they had a fill-in show. I even squeaked a few words out on the airwaves myself. ;-)

And on that nostalgic note- I had better get to sleep! The kids may be under the weather, but it doesn't stop them from getting up EARLY.....
~Dani

Thursday, December 01, 2005

The interviewer gets interviewed

Well what do you know- Jack on the receiving end of a well-montaged interview with Rabble Radio!

From the show notes:

(1:43 - 5:47) Homebrew - When it’s snowing outside, what’s better than a radio drama? Curl up with a hot toddy as Homebrew introduces the Sonic Society. The Sonic Society is open to new members. If you’re a radio drama enthusiast or a producer, check out www.sonicsociety.org. Hear the Sonic Society every Tuesday evening from 9-10:30pm on CKDU 97.5 FM in Halifax or download the shows from their digital archives at www.ckdu.ca.

Download the interview HERE! It's awesome, they make Jack sound cool! *ducks and covers*

Giggle-giggle,
~Dani

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Hey I knew those robotz!

I need to go back and listen to the interview with Roger Gregg.. but I did get to listen to "Gerry in the Dark Passage", go bathe my child, then catch Robotz at the end... all with my Tuesday Night date Dave. Dark Passage was awesome, what a well-done play. I particularly liked the soundtrack. :-)

Now, Robotz as the regular readers know always makes me giggle, but I was REALLY giggling tonight as I tried to recognize the voice of The Society's host(s). I mean, it was easy to figure what parts they played, because they were the only new ones, but WOW.

I messaged Dave. Here is an idea of how our chats go during the show- so very very exciting LOL:


Danielle (11/29/2005 7:21:17 PM): that has to be andrew
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:21:34 PM): that voice, not the first one
Dave (11/29/2005 7:21:37 PM): yea sounds like it
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:21:53 PM): do you think the first one is jack? they recorded it together
Dave (11/29/2005 7:29:50 PM): bundlebot
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:29:53 PM): merde
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:30:20 PM): no!
Dave (11/29/2005 7:30:56 PM): corporal cannonfodder
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:31:09 PM): move like the french
Dave (11/29/2005 7:31:19 PM): move like the french and withdraw
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:31:24 PM): LMAO
Dave (11/29/2005 7:31:29 PM): hehe
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:31:48 PM): that HAS to be jack
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:31:52 PM): if it is- wow
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:31:56 PM): doesn't sound anything like him
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:32:01 PM): oh they will say
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:32:05 PM): YUP
Dave (11/29/2005 7:32:05 PM): yea I know
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:32:12 PM): wow
Dave (11/29/2005 7:32:26 PM): that was fun
Danielle (11/29/2005 7:32:27 PM): well there is my next blog entry, all cued up and ready LOL


So- great episode Robotz gang, and well done Jack and Andrew!

And NOW- you can get the podcast HERE to download!

Night all,
~Dani

Monday, November 28, 2005

How crazy is your reality?


Tomorrow's Sonic Society proves to be an interesting story- Crazy Dog Audio Theatre premiers in the Society with something for the virtually video game minded in us all:

Gerry In The Dark Passage A story of a virtual man who lost his virtual way. Written, directed & produced by Roger Gregg

A dark, disturbing drama in which a man experiencing a schizophrenic breakdown retreats into his graphically violent hostage-rescue computer game. As his psychosis progresses, the game begins to spill into his real life with tragically violent consequences.

Afterwards... listen in for some information about the Consortium Comics project, an interview with the writer of the headlining show, and yes friends we have the current flagship Titan 1 closing us out with one of the final episodes of Robotz of the Company. Remember a few entries ago where I mentioned familiar voices? Well, make sure you listen in tomorrow to see if you recognize any of them! :-D

~Dani

Sonic Society Podcast!


I sure got a shocker this morning. As I'm downloading all my podcasts into iTunes this morning, I recognized a certain show downloading through the Radio Memories Podcast. I paused, rubbed my tired, holiday-hung-over eyes, and looked again. Sure enough- there it was.

Radio Memories Network has picked up the Sonic Society in their podcasts! WoooooooT! You can find them on Channel 3, which is the Theatre Channel. Now EVERYONE and their family, friends, and pets can understand why I rave about this show the way I do!

So everyone drop what you're doing and subscribe NOW! In your podcast program, just do a search for RMN Channel 3 Radio Theatre. You can listen and download directly off of Radio Memories website as well. I also have a link set up under The Main Addiction- so there is no way to get out of this! Our voices are legion- so spread the word!

Yay! I'm so happy for the Sonic team, as well as for all the other audio theatre groups that are going to get even more exposure now! Congratulations guys, you have worked hard for this!

:-D
~Dani

Friday, November 25, 2005

Naked Radio- wooHOO!

What is today? Friday? And I am just now sitting here and finishing listening to Tuesday's Sonic Society? Geez, the addict is slipping! I do have an excuse though- an onslaught of people visiting my home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

OK so I've got two guests. But that's not the point. They've taken over my office, and are holding my precious computer hostage! (Methinks I need to ask Santa for a laptop for Christmas...) Anyway, I'm catching up and listening to an awesome interview with Prometheus Radio Theatre.

But, unlike those I'm listening to, I'm fully clothed. (Well you know, kids running around and all...)

Now that I know you are curious, click here for the archive, and punch in 21:00 - 22:30 on November 22, get naked and listen to some awesome radio drama!






Now I'm off to get some leftover turkey, and contemplate my attack on Santa for that Christmas present... ;-)

~Dani

Monday, November 21, 2005

Canadian ISP Problems

Found this little bit from the best blog on the net, next to this one of course!
Thought it would interest all you Canadian podcasters out there.
~Dani

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Canadian ISP blocking iTunes store/podcasts?
A reader writes, "A very short thread on Apple's website notes that Rogers/Shaw ISPs in Canada are blocking podcast downloads because of a policy against multiple downloads."
Over the past month Rogers (ISP) in Canada has put some software on their networks that prevents activity for BitTorrents, P2P, IRC, and also along with that is a rule that if you are trying to download a large media file from more then 1 server it will be dropped. When you download a Podcast from iTunes it downloads that file from multiple servers in the background (I confirmed this by watching my cable modem logs). As soon as it tries to use more than 2 different servers for the download, it just stops. That's the reason why Podcast downloads stop at random places - it's the point where a 2nd server is involved in the download. The same issue causes timeouts and cut-offs in the iTunes music store.

Here is the problem - when anyone calls Rogers about the problem they say it is either a router, firewall or Apple problem and they shrug you off.

Hundreds or thousands of people in Canada can no longer get Podcasts or purchase music from the iTunes Music store. This is BAD. Please, Apple, contact Rogers and sort it out. So many people have called Rogers with no luck.

Link

Update: Three readers have written to say that they can't reproduce this error, or that it only occurs intermittently for them. It may be that Rogers is fine-tuning its packet-shaping app to catch fewer false positives from the iTunes server.

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/11/20/canadian_isp_blockin.html

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Writing, Acting, and Smurf Porn

Right at this very moment I am in the middle of a VERY entertaining chat with the folks who have been closing out the Society for the last 11 weeks- Jonithan Russell and the gang at Dream Realm Enterprises! So now I know all of their secrets... writing, acting, what's in the future, and smurf porn. I also got the scoop on a couple of familiar voices that are going to be in a couple of future episodes, so stay tuned. I'm not revealing it JUST yet... teeheeeee.....



There is also a good show lined up for this week's Society- with more Arbiter Chronicles by Prometheus Radio Theatre. After, there will be an interview with the Artibers themselves, and we round out the evening with the 12th episode of Robotz!


Can you believe that Sonic Society has been on-air for 12 weeks now? Time really does fly when you're having fun! What a great few months it has been too. I also happen to know first- hand that the next few months are going to be pretty exciting too! This number one audio addict was able to help Jack out with the scheduling of the shows... which was actually pretty fun putting together. Not that I did much, but it was nice to be trusted with such top-secret audio info!

So I hope you will all be listening Tuesday! I unfortunately may have to catch the archives- so you all HAVE to listen in my place! I command it! :-)))

~Dani

Monday, November 14, 2005

Soul Searching



Another Tuesday is upon us, and a couple more episodes of The Soul Patrol are ready to go in the Society this week! For those who have been following the series, here is what is in store:

#5. My Camp
Billi screws up and allows a teenage girl to get in touch with a past life. You'll never guess who she was. Hijinks ensue.


6. Bridge Of Indecision
There's no winning against heaven as Holly finds out when she's court martialed for insubordination. Her punishment is to make an excruciating decision for God. It's not pretty.


This week's interview I am most definitely looking forward to- because I will finally get to hear the voice of Robotz of the Company creator Jonithan Russell! See, in my mind he sounds like a Robot... I'm not sure why that is. ;-) The interview leads right into the next episode of the series, so I get to keep right on giggling...

Unless it's a serious interview. Serious and technical and joke-free. (Oh I couldn't even type that with a straight face! Somehow I don't think the interview will go that way.)

Yes fellow addicts, another good show is lined up for us. So I know you will all be listening! You should all drop Jack an email and tell him what a fantastic job he is doing with Sonic Society too!

~Dani

Thursday, November 10, 2005

BBC Radio's experimental audio-tagging project

I was scanning my feeds today, and came across this little audio find in the Boing Boing blog:




Public could help BBC to index archive

Posted: 1 November 2005 By: Robert Andrews

Email: news@journalism.co.uk

The BBC could ask listeners to write programme information about its radio news bulletins in order to make its vast archives more accessible to future generations of licence payers.

Under the Annotatable Audio project, radio listeners would be able to mark and add descriptive keywords to segments of programming they want to flag for bookmarking or sharing with others. It means they could highlight a specific item within a lengthy bulletin stream and return to that particular point later.

Inspired by Flickr and Wikipedia, the project is a private, early-stage pilot of social software produced at BBC Radio and Music Interactive that lets listeners slice programmes into chunks that can be identified by using tags.

Influential blogger Tom Coates, who oversaw development at the BBC, showed a demonstration in which a user marks individual headlines within a Radio 4 bulletin then adds descriptive text that can be used to make segments searchable.

"Over the next few decades, it's pretty clear that the massive archives of content that every broadcaster in the world has accrued over the last 70 or 80 years will start to appear on-demand and on the internet," he wrote.

"How are people supposed to find the specific bit of audio or video that they're looking for? What if what you're looking for is not a complete, coherent half-hour programme, but a selection of pertinent clips [such as] features on breaking news stories?

"We decided to look towards the possibilities of user-created annotation and metadata... that might allow the collective articulation of what a programme or speech or piece of music was about and how it could be divided up and described."

Searchable data is already added by journalists to radio and television clips that are posted to the BBC News site and an earlier prototype let readers tag stories on the site. Annotatable Audio project concepts may be used in future services, Mr Coates said.

Link

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

A bubbly white tiger finds the addict

Teeheee... it's always fun when I get new comments on the blog- but I wasn't expecting one to rise from a couple months ago! Apparently this voice actor doesn't seem to think she's bubbly- but I beg to differ!! From Thesaurus.com:


Main Entry: effervescent
Part of Speech: adjective 2
Definition: enthusiastic
Synonyms: animated, bouncy, brash, bubbly, buoyant, ebullient, excited, exhilarated, exuberant, gay, gleeful, happy, high-spirited, hilarious, irrepressible, jolly, joyous, lively, merry, mirthful, sprightly, vital, vivacious, zingy
Antonyms: dead, dull, lifeless, listless, unenthusiastic
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)
Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Main Entry: perky
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: happy
Synonyms: active, alert, animated, aware, bouncy, bright, brisk, bubbly, buoyant, cheerful, cheery, gay, jaunty, lively, spirited, sprightly, sunny, vivacious


Oh yes my dear, you are indeed bubbly! I also could have said spunky... ;-)

I also said in the post that I would post Elana's website- it was up yesterday and today it is down again! So I will put it in the links anyway, because eventually I know it will be up again, and everyone should see what this talented lady is all about. I think if she keeps going at the rate she is, she will retire before she hits 25. :-)

Ok, Dani's been dazzled for today, now she must go back to work!

Monday, November 07, 2005

A new member is inducted

Weeks sure seem to fly by. Bad because I feel like I never get any work done, and good because we're all ready up to the next meeting of Sonic Society!

We went to visit the Great-Grandparents over the weekend. It's always so much fun to visit them- and my girls always pump them for information. This week is was about their lineage, as my older daughter has been curious about that. Well, Grumpy (as he is known adoringly as) was just BEAMING as he rattled off 14 generations of Cutlers, since they came to America.


But I do have a point to my rambling. They recently got satellite radio as a gift, and they just love it. They have only about 4 stations they listen to. One happens to be- Old Time Radio! So I told them all about my little pet project here, and they were so surprised to know that radio drama still existed! Then, when I saw that Decoder Ring Theatre was going to be played this week- I made myself a note to get them a copy of the show to see what they thought about it. I also noticed they have a podcast, so you know I subscribed to that too...

So you know where I will be camped out Tomorrow, hope you'll be listening too!

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Follow up to the follow up

Who the heck is this chick talking??

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Two more addicts are born

Perhaps the love of radio stories is hereditary? Last night I told the kids that Jack and the Beanstalk was going to be played on the show, and asked if they wanted to listen with me. They were both very excited to do so. Grabbing a couple pillows, we all camped out on the floor and listened. By the end, they were both asking me to burn copies for them so they could listen in their rooms.

It was truly one of the most enjoyable shows I have listened to, because I not only was taken back to my days in the orchestra pit of Lyric Opera Theatre at ASU, but also because I saw the magic happen.

All with the sparkle in the eyes of my girls as they listened.

Yes, I took pictures for the blog- right before they entertained Dave on the webcam:

The youngest fans of the Society?

So I guess I should thank the host of the show too. Because if it weren't for his desire to get the word out about radio drama, well we wouldn't have two new pint-sized (like their Mom) and cute (welllll....) Addicts. :-)

~Dani

Monday, October 31, 2005

Family Fun on Sonic Society




If I could drag my computer out to the dinner table, I would this week for Sonic Society- because Colonial Radio Theatre is presenting an old fable that I am sure my girls will enjoy- Jack and the Beanstalk.

Well, we will just have to put down a blanket and have a pizza picnic in the middle of my office! Though, I need to keep in mind that with the time zone change, the show starts an hour later for me (the only problem with the time zone NOT changing in AZ), so dinner may indeed be finished at that point.

So, I guess we'll just have to rummage through all the Halloween candy they will have nabbed for me- erm, for THEMSELVES... instead. :-))


Afterwards, they continue the interview with Jerry Robbins, who will tell more secrets about how he and the rest of Colonial Theatre create such magical productions...

Then there are more intergalactic secrets revealed in the Robot world with the next chapter of Robotz of the Company! You know, they are becoming a more credible information resource than the mainstream media!

See you tomorrow!
~Dani

The addict gaining fans?

So- either I'm just REALLLLLLY quite the annoying loud-mouth, or my charming way is starting to turn some heads. :-)

My post last week about my Small World discovery got the attention of the host of the Small World Podcast, who is now a reader of the Addict blog. He's got a fun cast, and some great interviews, which is how I found him in the first place. ;-) So check him out... cause he's always looking for new, exciting, and creative people to interview!

Then I got a very witty and FUN email from Charles over at Schlock Theatre, telling me how he just worshipped the ground I walked upon, and how he could NOT begin his day without seeing if I had posted anything new.

Well, how would YOU interpret "what a fun read your blog is."?

Last but certainly not least, there is my new extended family over at Dream Realm, whose fearless leader Jonithan actually gave the Addict Blog a shout out in his latest newsletter! Teeheee.... all because his Robotz of the Company makes me giggle so. What a great group of actors- they have so graciously fitted me for my own straight jacket in their message board... that is just unabashed kindness, I tell you.

So keep spreading the word, and giving me your feedback... and I of course will continue to give you mine. Whether you want it or not! (Ok now THAT would be the annoying loud-mouth, but I do it in such an oh-so-charming way...) ;-)


Happy Halloween Everyone!



~Dani

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Got my Shadowlands fix...

Oohhhhh.... I just love that play, "Right Number, Wrong Party". Though now I always have Colin Farrell in my head because the first time I ever heard this play, I had just seen the movie "Phone Booth".

Of course, regular readers also know that I most likely always have Colin Farrell in my head. But that's just me. I'm so bad. ;-)

We're in the middle of tonight's Sonic Society, and I've got TWO dates this evening... WoooT! If you want to hear a really good whodunit with a totally unexpected twist at the end, catch the archive of the show.. punch in the times from 21:00- 22:30...


The Montage Theatre sketch I'm listening to now is pretty hilarious... thinking meat...LOL!

The radio station is also having a FUNDING DRIVE- so if you're listening and you likey what you hear, drop a few bucks their way. I did. :-)

Back to listening, Robotz is starting soon!

~Dani

Monday, October 24, 2005

The Witch's Flyby

Some of you reading may not know me, so first and foremost a bit about me. I am held hostage by two flying monkeys named Kegan and Piper and one large wizard named Jack! At the moment, I am kept in a dark and dreery castle in the Windy City. In a short while, I will be relocated--they do this to keep me clueless, I think--to my homeland in the land of OZ. Yes, the Witch is returning to the land of Misery. Upon my return, I will no doubt be a hinderance to the innocent looking girl next door types and soccer moms. I say, let the games begin. Anywho, the Addict invited me to join in this little party. I suspect it's to pick my brain about all those Podcasts to which I'm so addicted. So, kiddies, I will gladly be a purveyor of fine Podcasts, music that is anti-mainstream and all else that is unique and, sometimes, downright weird! If that's not enough, view my profile that gives you my astrological, bust size, pet peeves, and strange tics!

Sorry, boys and girls, I don't do radio drama--there is enough of that in my real-life adventures.

I see the Addict has been heading some of my advice and listening to the sexy stylings of Adam Curry. If you aren't yet listening to the Daily Source Code, get with the program. Adam is the King Daddy of Podcasting and anyone that is anyone and occasionally no one, listens.

Since some of you may be new to this whole Podcasting thing, I'll start you out nice and easy with, "On a Podcast", to get you up to speed. When you get done jamming, come back and I'll give you my pick of the day Podcast.

*Tap, tap, tap, swinging hair in all types of circles, air guitar playing, dancing across the room.*

That song is hot and so is the band, Cruisebox.

Now that we are done jamming, let me introduce you to a podcast that all the HOT dogs in town are listening to. The little guy on the left is The Bat Pig and no doubt, he is listening to one of my husband's favorite casts, Skepticality.

I've always known that my husband was a super geek, but the first time I listened to this show, I thought, he has gone waaaaaaay beyond WTF is the MATTER with YOU! However, I was recently trapped in the car with the man and was forced to listen to some additional episodes of this show. (I should tell you that his persistance is how he ended up married in the first place.) Loved it. I'd venture to guess that if you are tired of hearing the same old, same old, you will love it too. The hosts, Derek and Swoopy talk about the strange, the unusual and the often wacky. Since I could never do it the justice, here is the iTunes description:

We're tired of pertinent social and science news being buried by clap trap. Our podcast is here to bring you relevant, under reported current events, as well as in-depth discussions from a scientific, critical, skeptical, and humorous point of view.

Derek and Swoopy are your hosts, filling your pod and your brain with skeptical insight and conversation, sometimes heated, on a plethora of topics that are ripe for critical examination. Bringing truth to podcasting, and all who choose to listen.

In our travels we will tackle the beasts of pseudoscience; the paranormal, supernatural, ufo / alien encounters, mis-understood history, and overwrought legends - urban or otherwise.

Our interview shows feature notable skeptics including; leading astronomy speakers, scientists, philosophy experts, and other scientific, secular, humanist, and skeptical book authors, and critical thinkers.
Now, you tell me, can Clear Channel do better than that?

~M




Comfort in the Shadows...

My family is used to me talking to my computer, and having odd noises and yelling drift from the office while I'm playing around online. But even my 5-year-old had to come running in and ask what was up when I squealed with delight when seeing what was coming up on Tuesday's show.

We are slipping back into the Shadowlands for the evening with their first original radio drama that started it all, "Right Number, Wrong Party." Though I started listening to Shadowlands a few months after it started airing on CKDU, it also happened to be the first of their radio dramas that I listened to as well. It's also the PERFECT series intro to raise the hairs on the back of your neck right before Halloween... heheheh. ;-)


There will also be an interview after with the Shadowlands players, and a sketch from Montage Theatre, AND MORE ROBOTZ! What a great show this is gonna be!

No, I'm not excited in the least.
Really.

Yes I just squealed again.

Friday, October 21, 2005

It's a small radio drama world

So I'm listening to Adam Curry's Daily Source Code Podcast on the road today as I'm out running errands. Now, for the most part the podcast is mindless chatter that passes the time. He likes to talk about himself alot, but every now and then I hear something that makes me cock my head to the side and go, "what have we here?"

Today was such a day. All of a sudden I hear, "Do YOU like old-time radio?" I looked at my iPod, as if it were speaking directly to me.

Why yes, yes I do Mr. iPod. Please continue.

An interview! With someone whose name I missed! Damn! Driving along, I reached over into my bag for a pen, and scrambled for paper, oblivious to traffic honking at the fact I do not do this very well. No matter - I scribbled down a name at the next stoplight, not remembering that indeed I had this on my iPod, and could always go back later and find it again.


The interview turned out to be with Fred Foy, former radio announcer and narrator for such old time shows as the Lone Ranger! The website? The Small World Podcast. It was a lovely interview. He hit is right on the head with what is missing today- and that is imagination. Thank goodness there are people out there who still share the love and continue to make radio drama. :-)

It gets better. After the interview, I hear "It's time once again for America's favorite radio show- the Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd".

Well, well... what is this? A story? An adventure story? Oooohhhh...
I ended up downloading EVERY episode. It's funny! The story, from their website:

"When his Time and Space Travel Device is stolen by the evil mastermind Dr. Steve and his sock-shaped assistant Fidgert...Dr. Floyd, his young protege Dr. Grant and their faithful robot companion C.H.I.P.S. must do what they can to get it back. Bent on achieving fame and fortune, Dr. Steve plans to race through history stealing historical items and then returning to the future to sell them on eBay. Can Dr. Floyd and his crew thwart the evil machinations of Dr. Steve and Fidgert? The only way to find out is to tune into the Radio Adventures Of Dr. Floyd!"

I'm on episode 7- they are dealing with Al Capone... LMAO! It is definitely worth a listen, but don't make fun of the Dr's small head.

Talk about paydirt for an audio addict! Yippee! I'll remember this as if it were yesterday... which now it is.

~Dani

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Feeding the hungry blog


So I open the door this morning, all set to go fiddle around on my viola at the kid's school all morning entertaining them with my squeaks and squabbles, and this is what I find. No, not the fall-themed flag. I knew that was there all ready.

Rain. RAIN? Now to be fair, we had thunderstorms all afternoon yesterday and night. So I sort of had warning. But when it only rains maybe two times a year, you would think that the one time I would actually want to leave my cave and play human for a day, I would have clear skies in which to do so.

Well, though I needed to reschedule my performance, I have been in total bliss enjoying the weather. I look outside right now and see the next dark cloud approaching. My only fear is that it doesn't knock out my power so I can listen to the show tonight!

So, what is a girl with suddenly three extra hours handed to her to do? Well, after contemplating the joys of folding laundry and scrubbing toilets, she decided to play with her... blog. I have now made it VERY easy for everyone to add their favorite addict blog to their list of feeds! Just look slightly to the right, and click on your preferred feed choice. Please let me know if there are others. I'm pretty proud of how this place is taking shape. Quite a fun work-in-progess, if I do say so myself. ;-)

I also caught up (which really wasn't that difficult) with DSC, Democracy Now, and the latest Mashup. For some reason I had neglected to upgrade my iTunes, and recently did. Now I'm feeding my new podcasting addiction. Do you know that all your podcasts automatically update when you open iTunes? I must have been living in the dark ages before- why did no one tell me this????

All-in-all a productively non-productive day. WooooT!

Be back in a few hours for show time!
~Dani

Monday, October 17, 2005

Oooh! An Audio Script Competition !

OK all you writers- get yer game on!
~Dani



For Immediate Release

NATF 2005 Script Competition Deadline November 15

visit www.natf.org for more information.

Please post and share - and forgive us if you are on more than one of
our lists.

Script Competition Rules

The National Audio Theatre Festivals' mission is to advocate the
further development and practice of audio theatre.
The National Audio Theatre Festivals 2005-2006 Script Competition
deadline is November 15, 2005 (postmarked). The winners will be announced in early
April 2006.

THE SCRIPT: Audio theatre is a unique and collaborative medium. Like
any good theatre, audio (or radio) theatre always begins with a well-written,
perceptive, entertaining script. Use of sound and appropriateness to
the medium is considered. Maximum length for this contest - 30 minutes.

PRIZES: $800 split between 2-4 authors and free workshop production
participation. Prize winners and honorable mentions will be published
in the annual NATF Scriptbook.

RIGHTS: NATF will have the right to produce winning scripts for the
NATF live performance (Workshop) including broadcast and/or webcast, however,
NATF makes no commitment to produce any script. The author retains all other
rights to his or her work. If selected by NATF for production at a workshop
event, a new rights agreement will be signed by the author at the time of
production.

SUBMISSION RULES:
1. Send FOUR typed copies of your one audio script to: NATF Script
Competition c/o Sue Zizza, 115 Dikeman Street, Hempstead, NY 11550
postmarked by November 15, 2004.
2. The scripts will be judged by three audio theater professionals.
The judging will be "blind." The title page should include the title of the
script, names of all authors, name and address, phone and fax numbers, and
email address of the corresponding author. The subsequent pages should include only
the manuscript title and page numbers.
3. By entering this contest you are stating that the script is your own
work and has not been produced or commissioned for pay by other theatre
groups.
4. No adaptations of the work of other authors, stage plays,
monologues, short stories or screenplays will be accepted.
5. Only one entry per writer.
6. No member of the NATF Board of Directors, nor any person employed by
NATF or members of their families, are eligible to enter this competition.
7. Enclose $25.00 entry fee.

Questions? Call NATF Executive Director Sue Zizza at (516) 483-8321 or
email
sue@natf.org.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

A colossal Attack of B-Movies!


You know you have an addiction when you can remember where you were the first time you heard a story, and are excited to hear it again!


Tuesday in the Society we have a double-feature of B-movies from Schlock Theatre: Attack of the Giant Leeches and Colossus of New York!


Then, after the interview with Charles Pratt, there will be sketch from a "No Soap Radio" series out of CFRU in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, North America... (ok my humor isn't really good this morning. Lack of sleep and no coffee yet makes for un-funny Dani). If I'm not mistaken I also believe this is where our humble host went to college...

I also found some odd information I didn't expect to come across when I did a search for no soap radio- it's apparently some sort of prank. Maybe it's the above no sleep/lack of humor thing right now, but I'm still trying to figure it out.

Oh- can't forget Robotz of the Company! Last week's episode was SOOOO funny, so I definitely cannot wait to hear more!

OK, must go make morning stimulant... and find my glasses. I just realized I've been squinting because I don't have them on. Oy... it's gonna be a long day.....

~Dani

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Halloween Comes Early


I love this time of year. The temperature finally began to drop here in the desert, though still not enough to take out my sweaters. We decorated for fall, and kicked off our Halloween countdown with getting the kids their costumes and taking them to see "The Corpse Bride."

And now The Society is getting into the dark spirit Tuesday with "The Curse of Dracula", by Sound Mind Theatre. Being the horror fan that I am, I am absolutely convinced that vampires indeed exist, and if given the opportunity I would become one. It's the whole tortured soul-damned for all eternity thing... very seductive.

Ok, ok... it's the whole Brad Pitt and Antonio Bandaras as vampires thing- who am I kidding? (notice I did NOT say Cruise- blah.)



After that there of course is an interview with Lee Davis of Sound Mind Theatre. You know, I must say that these interviews have been REALLY good. And I'm the type who has been known to skip the interviews... But these have been fun to listen to. Perhaps someday the Audio Addict will be on the other end of one of those interviews... and then you all can skip me. ;-)

And after the interview- yes it is my fellow addicts- more Robotz!

So, grab your cross and your garlic ring... and I'll see you Tuesday!

~Dani

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Tuesday's Sonic Society

Link to Tuesday's show: Get In The Squad Car

Yay! More Soul Patrol on the Society Tuesday, along with the continuation of the interview with the creator of this unique series. And LOOKIE- I found neat information from their website about the series!

Then of course, they carry on with my current favorite giggle-fest: Robots of the Company!

Hope you will all listen in with me... I'll have plenty of pizza. :-)

Drop a note if you listened in! I want to know who's out there!

Dani

Monday, September 26, 2005

Take To The Stars!

Just saw Jack has been posting around about the line-up for Tuesday's show, so he has made my job easy this week ;-) :

This week on the Sonic Society!
The Starship Arbiter makes its first voyage across the heavens in Episode
#1 "Mutiny Springs Eternal" from Prometheus Radio Theatre
Afterwards we'll have an interview with some of the actors and writers of
this award winning SciFi epic and of course continue
with the next installment in the hilarious serial Robots of the Company by
DreamRealm Enterprises.
The Sonic Society sets sail every Tuesday night on CKDU 97.5 FM or on the
web at www.ckdu.ca from 9- 10:30 Atlantic Time.
Join us, won't you?
Jack



Only two more weeks and I won't have to grab the archives anymore! Wooooot! Of course, soon the time zone will be a-changing for the rest of the world too, so it will bring my favorite show a little bit closer to me too. :-)

~Dani

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Awesome findings by fellow addicts

You have all probably wondered what the music is now when you hit the page. It's coming from my new button on the side there, sent to me by my dear Wicked friend. What more appropriate place to put it than on the Addict's blog?

Soundseeing Tours






Another great place- MashUpTown... song mixing gone wild!







And finally, more mix-and-mash of some classic Beatles... there is one mixed with The Cure that is pretty groovy... yes I just wrote groovy...

Thanks to Christopher Stewart for that one! I'm sending this link to my Dad- he'll get such a kick out of it!




This should keep y'all entertained for awhile- at least until The Society begins! ;-)

~Dani

Monday, September 19, 2005

My Search For An Irish Princess

Oh the pains to find the perfect visual aide for Tuesday's show- it's quite interesting the things that come up on a Google search. When all you type in is "Princess", or "Red-Hair" (now THAT was an interesting one. I think Iwas blushing a few times- and I'm alone in the house!) But I wanted to find something that personified the heroine in the main story on the Society, "Gormlaith, Princess of Ireland".



I'm not so sure about this first one. I mean I think I hit it with the red hair, but since I haven't heard the show yet I don't know if she was really a warrior or not.













Then I came acoss this one. Not bad, but too much fantasy with the dragon flying around. And the poor woman will probably need more clothes, being in Ireland and all...















Then I found this- which I suppose portrays the royalty a bit more. I like the dark hair better myself too...















Somewhere in my search this guy came up, and then I wasn't interested in Irish Princesses anymore....








That was two hours ago....


Ahem. What was I talking about? Oh- tomorrow's show. So, I can't wait to hear the interview afterwards and get Prof. Harvey's take on her story. Also, they are finally doing some Montage Theatre- it's about time! They would play some clips on Shadowlands every now and then- LOVE it! Then of course I get to giggle some more with the next installment of Robot's of the Company. :-)))


So, everyone TUNE IN! I'm going back to Ewan- erm.. I mean work.... *blush*

~Dani

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Aye Matty, The Yankee Clipper

On this last Tuesday night with popcorn in hand I settled into the best seat in the house and gave a listen to, "Yankee Clipper". A fine ship with a strong wind at her back on the hunt for another, The Black Arrow.

We have in this tale some hair raising excitement, and the sound values give it to you in stereo. The canvas of the imagination fills in the rest.

The background sounds give you the impression of being there. And the actors, at least the ones that get to proceed, give you the emotion of the story.

There are artifacts that hint of life, only seen by victims and scared witnesses. "The eyes were red I tell ya". Great stuff, Yankee Clipper. If this is what is afoot with the lads and ladies of Colonial Radio then I do so yearn to hear their interpretation of "Sleepy Hollow".

I will surely return next Tuesday for the next installment of Yankee Clipper and as last Tuesday I hope to have the addict as my companion once again.

-=topper=-

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

What's Up With Gravity?

Teeheeee... oh this Robot's of the Company series just makes me giggle. And giggle. And giggle.

Oh it's so fun, and I was lucky enough to be able to ask the series creator, Jon Russell, about where he got the idea for the silly serial:

"ROTC came to me as one of those late night ideas you just get when you've been deprived of sleep and it just kinda hits you. We had had some major problems last year at about this time with a number of computer crashes which left DRE not being able to produce or release anything.

Once we got our systems back up and running, we couldn't really finish the projects we were working on until we got some back up copies of lines, as well as some retakes and such, so in the meantime, my hope was to do something quick, simple & reasonably funny to just put something out there so people knew we were, at least, still around. ROTC was the idea I came up with, and we ran with it. The first two episodes are the result of that.

This year we'd planned to go on with a short second season, but when Jack approached me to include something for Sonic Society, I decided to pitch ROTC at him, and he loved it! So, we settled on doing 13 episodes for our second season, and even now we're planning our third!"


Well I think it's great- and I certainly can't wait to hear more installments! I also am not surprised in the least that Jack loved it. :-)
(Did I mention that it was great to listen to the show at the appropriate time again? ) Yay!

Just like old times...


Look! Did you notice the time? It's halfway through the show- and I'M LISTENING!! Wooooot!

I even got my Tuesday night date Dave here. So it's alllllll good...

Oh my this Yankee Clipper story- how excellent! Ancient Egyptian curse and all... getting mauled by strange animals with glowing red eyes... OMG this is great!

More in a bit... still listening.... I miss listening this way.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Post-show recap so late it's PRE-show!

Hell I'm practically running over the next show I've gotten so behind! After spending much of this last week fund-raising for victims of hurricane Katrina, I sat down today and realized that although I listened to the show on Wednesday, I neglected to blog about it. Whoops!

So, quickly: last week's show rocked! A great beginning to the Society. The first two episodes of Soul Patrol were excellent. Very witty, certainly my kind of story. And remember how I said I was looking forward to Robots of the Company? Well, I found myself giggling through the entire thing.

But really, you need to listen for yourselves. Catch the archive of last week's show. The date- September 6. The time: 21:00-22:30.

Oh- and OMG did I mention the intro? AWESOME score! (See now you all just HAVE to listen!)

OK, so coming up on the next meeting of the Society, we get to take a trip across the seas in a tale from Colonial Radio Theatre. After the episode there is an interview with Jerry Robbins from Colonial Theatre, a sketch from Third Coast Live, then more of Robots of the Company!

All righty, that's it from here... see you all dancing on the airwaves Tuesday night!

~Dani

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

The Big Day Arrives!

I swear, the only time I get this excited about something premiering is when the next season of "24" is about to begin! (January 9th, btw. Mark those calendars!)

It is finally time to unveil that new intro- because Sonic Society is beginning tonight! New intro, new music, new clean-cut format. And once again...

I have to catch the archive. Dammit. Would it be wrong to ask Arizona to switch to Atlantic time? LOL!

Well, it just means I will have to feel out the radio stations here, and help get these boys syndicated! Man, that would be something...



Anyway, I am very excited to hear the NEW and ORIGINAL shows lined up for this evening. Starting with The Soul Patrol, which is about a band of female "soul savers" who are out to create more good souls for heaven. A very intriguing story-line... I wonder if they could do anything with mine? ;-) After the first TWO episodes, there will be an interview with the series creator, David Koenigsberg.



Then comes the next series... from Dream-Relm Enterprises, we meet the Robots of the Company! I can hear Jack and Andrew giggling at me now, since they know I am not the world's biggest Robot-sci-fi-deep-space fan. (But do I dare mention to them that one of my favorite movies is "Galaxy Quest"?) So, being the eager huntress of a good story, and most definitely a new and original one, my ears are perked to hear what this series is about!

So... congratulations to my homies up in Halifax- it's been a long time coming. I know how hard they have worked to get this off the ground, and YAY that day is finally here! Hugs and Kisses to you both!

See you post-show!

~Dani

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Show Archive & Stuff

Yay! Got a chance to finish listening to last night's show. It didn't feel like an ending, and that is good. Catch the archive HERE. They ran a bit over, so I would grab it from 21:00 until 22:40. :-) Happy Listening, and it will be because they give plenty of teasers on what is up-and-coming for the Society! Yippeee!!

As I was pimping the show and this blog on my Ryze network, Jack had this to say about the dawn coming to Shadowlands:

"I'm really touched by those words thank-you so much both of you!
I am also really excited about the Sonic Society starting up next week and I'm trying not to think about never listening to the Shadowlands theme for a show or doing the Shadowlands intro again. *L* I'm working on a new introduction and I received the final edit of the new theme last night from Sharon Bee www.sharonbee.com (my friend and music maker for our original works). The Sonic Society is going to be a pretty unique show. Each week brand new shows for the most part have not been heard on radio stations anywhere (definitely in Canada and in the case of many not even in the United States). These represent the work of people who have the same love of Radio Drama that Topper, Dani and I have and have an eclectic group of stories from comedic silliness "Schlock Theatre" to epic stories "Colonial Radio Theatre" to episodic Science Fiction "Prometheus Theatre" and around again! Andrew and I have sat in the recording both and had half hour interviews with at least 6 of these writer/director/actors and we're cutting those interviews into ten minute slices between our Features and the continuing serial we're doing called "Robots of the Company." Gone, for the most part, is the off the cuff banter as we make this show much tighter, and we'll miss that, but what's going to be more prevalent is the show, making radio drama, loving radio drama, and showcasing radio drama. What's also new and exciting is that in contacting 40 odd stations two days ago, more than half said outright they wanted to be our affiliate. So, I'm busily cutting and splicing the shows into ACTS and putting them on our server for distribution. A prof from Missouri State even contacted us, and since our distribution is for Canada AND the U.S. that means we're able to bring the series to a radio station near you. I think when you're intents are pure, things fall into place. People can feel that. First and foremost I want people everywhere to have great radio drama to listen to. That's why running the show in your radio station is absolutely free. And I've babbled on enough about my passion. Sorry for taking up your time! Back to the subjects at hand." ~J

Ever humble, isn't he? They also had another guest for the evening, the bubbly Elana Zatzman, who has had roles in a couple of the Shadowlands original stories. I found a link to her website through the voice-acting alliance, but currently it is down. I will update when it's available, cause it's a cool site. :-)

Anywho- so that is that. Onward to bigger things... I cannot wait to hear the premier of Sonic Society next week!

~Dani