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

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Get To Know Byron

"Imagine if the world as you know it... was nothing more than an illusion.
What if creatures like elves, dragons, vampire, zombies and werewolves walk amongst you every day... But you never see them.

This is the world I walk in.
I am called Byron
And these are my chronicles."


A spin-off from Darker Project's hit series "Dark Terrors", meet Byron and hear the stories of his world...

If you want some background, travel this way.

"One of my favorite things I've ever written."

So says Gregg Taylor himself! Find out why!

--------------

"I don't know how long I sat there... reading the name on the door over and over until my scrambled brain could make sense of it... Drake Finn Investigations..."

Detective Drake Finn is like a lot of hard-boiled, down at the mouth kind of private eyes. Except he lives in a dark and dangerous future where who the Ominframe says you are is exactly who you are and always will be. Until an access protocol that can change all of that is put on the table. Then all bets are off... and a tough guy who's just been poured a sparkling glass of brain damage doesn't have half a chance... does he?

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Audio Drama in Podcasts

From my post after Podcamp City Online:

"[snip]I was also disappointed that the session by Jack Ward on audio cinema didn't work out. That's unfortunately one of the downsides of an online meetup- you are bound to have technical difficulties. It would have added to balancing out the topics of the day. As well as introducing audio cinema to quite a few people who I think have no idea about the power of this medium as it relates to podcasting.

"Fortunately, it is the same session that was given at this year's Podcasters Across Borders. Since the Canadian Podcast Buffet is posting audio from PAB, there is a good chance Jack's presentation will be added to the feed. I will definitely let you all know when/if it becomes available!"

Well- it's available! Well, it's been up in the feed for 5 days now actually. That shows how often I update iTunes.

Check it out here: http://www.canadianpodcastbuffet.ca/?p=145

UPDATE: And, Jack gave me the link to the Powerpoint presentation that goes along with the audio! Download HERE and follow along!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

It's Podcast Award Season!

Sticking with the theme, it seems this time of year is the time of year for all the podcast awards to be given. The previous post was about the Parsec Awards, which will be given out at Dragon*Con. There is another podcast award ceremony that is happening at that particular con, for the Podcast Peer Awards. It's the third installment of the awards, which are given twice a year. The winners of this round have been announced, and there was a great representation of audio drama and podiobooks represented, in several different categories. All nominated and voted on by fellow podcasters. You can see all the finalists and the winners if you click right here.

Also, the annual Podcast Awards finished up their voting and announced all of their winners this year, minus the People's Choice and Best Produced. Those are announced at the Podcast and New Media Expo in September, where the awards ceremony takes place. The numbers were crazy with voting this year, with 1.3 million individual people voting, and each person voted an average of 3 times over the two week period. That's insane! You can see all of the winners at the link here.

With every one of my votes, I made a comment about perhaps expanding to include separate categories for serialized fiction and audio drama. I think the time for their own space is well overdue, their popularity as increased greatly over the past year. That's a good thing!

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners of both of these awards!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Parsec Finalists Chosen!

Ooohhhh, what a nice list of finalists for this year's Parsec Awards! I am loving seeing the outbreak of audio cinema in the finals! Here are a few of the many categories:

Best Audio Drama (Long Form including Independents)Best Audio Drama (Short Form including Independents)Best Audio ProductionPlenty more- click the subject line to check them all out! I need to keep my opinions out of it for now, as I am honored to be one of the judges of these fabulous podcasts. I'll definitely give a re-cap after the fact though!

The winners will be announced at a ceremony taking place at Dragon*Con, August 31-Sept. 3.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

New poll!

So, what is your audio addiction? New poll on the sidebar. Now matter how you listen, radio, podcasting, CD, 8-track, what is the one (or more than one if you like) thing you find yourself listening to the most?


I chose two myself... :-)

Tell us what you're addicted to!

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Creating Radio for the People

Found this article as I was scouring the political feeds. I'm all for more independent radio! The perfect station for me? Independent news and radio dramas- and maybe a little indy music in the mix. Talk and stories would reign, though. :-)

Guess I had better get back to my world-domination plan...

Creating Radio for the People
By Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate
Posted on August 8, 2007, Printed on August 9, 2007
Rupert Murdoch is looking like the cat that ate the canary with his successful takeover of Dow Jones & Co. and its flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal. Media conglomerates like Murdoch's News Corp. are among the most powerful corporations on the planet. His papers beat the drums for war while distracting with gossip and glitz.

Yet people are finding innovative ways to fight back, to demand independent, community-based media. One such effort that you can join is the movement to create new, full-power, noncommercial FM radio stations in the U.S.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The Federal Communications Commission will open a one-week window, Oct. 12-19, during which nonprofit community groups in the U.S. can file applications.

Think for a moment what a powerful, noncommercial radio station could do in your community. As the late George Gerbner, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, said, we need a media not run by "corporations that have nothing to tell and everything to sell, that are raising our children today."

Community radio is the antidote to that small circle of pundits featured on all the networks, who know so little about so much, explaining the world to us and getting it so wrong. On community radio, you can hear your neighbors, you can hear people from your community: the silenced majority, silenced by the corporate media.

Pacifica Radio, the network where I got my start, is the oldest public broadcasting network in the United States, founded in 1949 by conscientious objectors like Lew Hill. He created the concept of "listener-sponsored" radio -- the radical concept that quality programming could be put out over the air that would be so different and so valuable to the audience that the listeners would give money to keep it going, and they have, all over the country.

After Pacifica station KPFT went on the air in Houston in 1970, its transmitter was blown up, twice; it is the only U.S. radio station to have suffered such crimes. The transmitter was destroyed by the Ku Klux Klan. Why? Because the station allowed people to speak for themselves, and that challenges stereotypes and caricatures, which fuel hate groups like the KKK.

Pacifica Radio is now part of a national coalition, RadioForPeople.org, that is helping groups file for their own radio licenses. You can check out the availability of a license by entering your ZIP code at the website getradio.org.

Independent community radio provided critical coverage of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. While Cumulus Media was banning the Dixie Chicks for daring to speak out against war, Clear Channel radio stations were sponsoring prowar rallies around the country. Roxanne (Walker) Cordonier, the South Carolina Broadcasters Association's 2002 radio personality of the year, was fired by Clear Channel-owned station WMYI-FM in Greenville, S.C.

"I was fired for being antiwar," she told me. "I was told to shut up. People who retained their employment had the presence of mind to keep quiet." She sued, and Clear Channel settled with her just before trial (for a sum said to be about a year's salary). Four years later, she is back on the air, now buying airtime on a locally owned station. "People forget," she says, "these are the public airwaves, and the public is not getting access to them."

From coast to coast, from Alaska to Hawaii to Florida to Maine, people are organizing to reclaim a small portion of the public airwaves. The October FCC application window for full-power, noncommercial FM licenses is an opportunity to make a meaningful, long-term contribution to your local media landscape -- to help give a voice to the voiceless, to carry on the fine tradition of Pacifica Radio, to create a beacon for truth under which people can discuss the most important issues of the day: war and peace, life and death. Check out getradio.org. Start your own community radio station, and wipe that smile off Rupert Murdoch's face.

Amy Goodman is the host of the nationally syndicated radio news program, Democracy Now!

Monday, August 06, 2007

7/7/07 is Imminent(ly happening over and over)

UPDATE 8/6: (Is "imminently" even a word? LOL) JC has been working very hard on his 50/50/50 webpage, which is a directory of all the podcasts who interviewed JC during that crazy month of June! If you had a JC interview as part of the Book Three promotion, and you don't see your show on the page- let him know!

JC Hutchins is one big tease. The entire month of June podcasters
all over the internet world played their interviews with the man (this podcaster included) to help promote the third book release. I listened to several of them, and it was tons of fun. I loved all the different perspectives all of the different shows came from, based on what their shows are about. I swear, if you want to become a total JC Hutchins expert (or perhaps a stalker), here is a list of just a few of the podcasts he's had interviews with:

- Barely Podcasting (in 4 parts, then will put up the entire interview)
- Strangely Literal
- Tag in the Seam
-Tvindy Time
-Love Long and Prosper
-The Sci Phi Show
Update: - Muse With Me
Update: - The Gigcast
Update: - Better Late Than Never
Update: - Murder at Avedon Hill
Update: - Sonic Society
Update: - Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy


This was just off the top of my head. If you did an interview and want it listed- let me know and I'd be more than happy to add it!

What's next on this big tease leading up to the premiere of Book Three? Well, today episode Zero was posted! What is Episode Zero? Why, The Story So Far!

Tomorrow (Thursday) JC is having a Clone Line Q&A chat, and rumor has it that anyone who joins in for the chat will get a very special bonus... Friday is the big launch party in Second Life, then holy MOLY Saturday is the day!

UPDATE: Chapters One and Two of Book Three are AWESOME- but since you all are fans and listen, you all ready know this. ;-) JC has definitely taken the top spot as this Audio Addict's favorite writer!

If you have not subscribed to the 7th Son Novel yet, all you have to do is paste this feed into your podcatcher:

http://www.jchutchins.net/7thSonPodcast.xml

You can also get Book 1:Descent and Book 2: Deceit separately through Podiobooks.com. It's also a perfect route to take if you just want straight story, with no extra-podcast frills and chat.

Lets Get Ready To Rumble!

The things you come across when you Twitter! For the wrestling fan, yes, now there is even an audio production for YOU. Check out Body Slam Alley, from Broken Sea Audio Theatre:

"Are you tired of the same old pre-packaged slickly edited and produced showcases, featuring your favorite sports entertainment superstars? Have you always dreamed of having unlimited ‘behind the scenes access’ and ‘backstage’ passes to stalk your idols and find out more about them then you ever dreamed, or were ever permitted to see in their carefully scripted, thoughtfully set up promos? Well do we have the show for you!

Welcome Ladies and Gentleman to professional wrestling’s latest innovation! "

I love it- and although I am not a wrestling fan, I am curious enough to give a listen. I'll let you know what I think!

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Quote of the Day

"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat."

-- Albert Einstein, when asked to describe radio

Friday, August 03, 2007

Silent Universe Is Back!

TOTALLY worth the cross-post:

The slicker than ever audio drama, Silent Universe, is out now with "Episode 6." J. Marcus Xavier's podcast series is tight and the show is flowing super-smoothly. This time around there's a free upgrade to the "64kbps stereo" edition in the feed too. Normally you'd have to pay to get the premium sound edition like this. Download direct |MP3| or plug this URL into your podcatcher to have a listen:

http://www.silentuniverse.com/silentuniverse.xml

(Thanks Jesse baybeeee!)

PodioMedia Chat Interview w/ Gregg Taylor

The newly-named PodioMedia chat has started off its second season with an interview with the mastermind behind Decoder Ring Theatre, Gregg Taylor. I love listening to interviews with Gregg. There is no mistaking the wit and sense of humor (whoops, I'm writing about a Canadian- that's humour) that make Decoder Ring productions such a joy to listen to. He just sounds like a wonderful person!

PodioMedia Chat is the former PodioBook Chat (I am sure a new logo is forthcoming!). Host Chris Moody realized he had so many people beyond strictly podiobook authors he wanted to talk to, he needed to change the name! It's now open for all forms of entertainment podcasting and podcasters, and all of those involved in this growing medium.

He all ready has an impressive list of interviews in just 17 episodes alone. From Podcasting for Dummies co-author Evo Terra, to Sonic Society's Jack Ward, Scott Sigler to CC Chapman, it's a broad mix of entertainment creators who chat with Chris about what they love about what they do.

Head over and subscribe today... who knows? You might even hear a certain addict be interviewed soon... ;-)

Thursday, August 02, 2007

RDR! Featuring Crazy Dog Audio Theatre This Month

A while ago I mentioned Frederick Greenhalgh of Final Rune Productions and his show Radio Drama Revival! wanting content for future shows. Well, audio drama delivered. The entire month of August is going to feature The Last Harbinger, from Crazy Dog Audio Theatre!

Crazy Dog is never dull, very compelling, and always pushes the envelope. They are also one of the few masters of sound out there when it comes to audio cinema. It's always an... experience to listen to a Crazy Dog show.

It took me long enough, but I subscribed to RDR!, and began listening. I tell you I have not been disappointed (check out episode 26- niiiiiice). It's the perfect audio drama show for an addict: not a lot of pointless chatter, right to the feature, great interviews, and all in a tight 30 minute show.

It's also an excellent blog, as Frederick has his finger on the pulse of all that is happening in the radio drama/audio cinema world.

You can click the post title to take you to the website, or if you all ready know you'll love it, subscribe at this link here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/RadioDramaRevival

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

On Tap Magazine Interviews Podcaster

These podiobook authors must be marketing geniuses. Or else they just know the right people!

Phil Rossi, musician, podcaster, and author has an excellent interview about his podcast(s), and his love for them all, over on On Tap Magazine.

Best quote from the very first sentence: "The optimist calls it “doing it for the love.” The pessimist, “I’m not getting any money out of this.”"

Amen! Check it out at the link!

A New Look for the Addict Blog

Well, it turned out if I wanted to use Bloggers new poll feature, I had to upgrade the template. So, after saving all my code, I upgraded. Then spent two hours learning the new way of doing things.

Overall, I like the set up. Then I figured since I was changing the template ANYWAY, that maybe I should completely change clothes.

What do you think of my new outfit? And will I find matching shoes?


Now, to think of polls... hey I know the perfect one to start with!