Round One of Public Radio Contest Ending

UPDATE: Round One voting is ending at midnight eastern time TOMORROW! Those who have entries, make sure your contact info is up-to-date, as they are contacting the 10 finalists on Monday!


From 5/8/07:
How do you know you are an audio addict, and love to listen? When you've spent 2 hours straight on the Public Radio Talent Quest site (click john Hodgman) listening to entries! Honestly, they are so much fun, and really gives you a sense of all the talent out there just waiting to be discovered!

What I also love seeing there are all the podcasters and audio drama folk who are also submitting entries. Podcasters such as JT Shea, and Christiana Ellis, as well as audio drama enthusiasts Sherman Sleeves and BK Turning all have posted audio on the site.


Do you see why two hours can fly by so quickly listening to two-minute entries?

Head over and listen for yourself, or- join in the fun and submit your own! The deadline to submit entries is fast approaching- Monday May 14th! (Sorry my global friends, it's only open to chatty folk in the US). The voting however, goes until June 1st.

And oh yes, this addict has an entry too. ;-)

Podiobook to be made into movie

From Chris Miller's blog:

Scott Sigler’s book, Infested, previously released at the podiobook Infection, is going to be made into a movie by RH Films…

The deal was arranged by RH Films president Peter Gethers and the co-presidents of Rogue, Andrew Karpen and Andrew Rona. Random House Films will also get filmmaking rights to the unpublished second novel in Sigler’s series, which Crown has already signed. Infested, which Crown senior v-p and publisher >Steve Ross said is expected to be one of the imprint’s biggest books for next spring, follows a CIA specialist and Centers for Disease Control scientist >trying to contain a bioterror threat in the form of a fast-spreading parasite that turns its victims into serial killers.

Well holy CRAP! Congrats to Scott, for this great news, and for bringing new hope to authors podcasting their books everywhere!

26th Annual Audio Theatre Workshop

There is still time to register for the 2007 Audio Theatre workshop, hosted by National Audio Theatre Festivals. The week-long workshop is from June 23-30 in Missouri. Some of the special programs during the week include:

1. A Narrator's Track hosted by Grammy and Audie-winning audiobook producer/director Paul Ruben. William Dufris, known to many as the voice of Bob the Builder, will be on hand to work with narrators on demo reels. Limited to 20 participants.
2. Improv and character development workshops.
3. Sound Design and Sound Effects sessions.
4. Production of a new audio play from the NATF Script Competition.
5. Field Recording and Audio Art. Award winning audio producer Dwight Frizzell will create "Sonic Force" for the NATF workshop audience - a composition for voice and machine which uses the sounds of A-10 Warthog fighter engines to tell the human stories of the pilots and their jets. Some additional field recording will be done at the conference for this play.


More details available, including scholarship information and registration forms, at the link.

Thanks, LBTE!

Script Competition Winners Announced

Inaugural Future Classics radio script competition

A Victorian and a South Australian have triumphed in the inaugural "Future Classics" radio script competition.

From January to March, Adelaide-based radio theatre company, Insight Presents, sought new half-hour radio play scripts for their inaugural radio script competition.

Forty-seven scripts were entered, narrowed to seven finalists and,
eventually, two winners whose work will be performed and recorded before a live audience at the Reynella Memorial Hall in Adelaide, South Australia on 15 July.

Julie Thomson from Naracoorte in regional South Australia scored with her rural comedy, “Down the Road”, set in the 1950s in the lead up to a disastrous church fete. Typically Australian, with loveable characters and familiar situations, the play provides a gentle stream of chuckles and captures the essence of country Australian life.

From Ascot Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, John Papadatos also found success with his outlandish, futuristic farce called “Time’s Justice”, about a mobile court of the future that accidentally mistakes dull Mr Smith from Earth for a notorious galactic gangster.

And now a message from the RIAA

Via Christopher Penn via Steve at Wicked Good: An LA Times article today discussed the Recording Industry ASSociation of America's new way to squeeze every single penny possible out of those who love to bring music to listeners. The RIAA is now seeking royalties from broadcast radio stations. From the Times article (requires free registration):

"For years, stations have paid royalties to composers and publishers when they played their songs. But they enjoy a federal exemption when paying the performers and record labels because, they argue, the airplay sells music.

Now, the Recording Industry Assn. of America and several artists' groups are getting ready to push Congress to repeal the exemption, a move that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually in new royalties.

Mary Wilson, who with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard formed the original Supremes, said the exemption was unfair and forced older musicians to continue touring to pay their bills.

"After so many years of not being compensated, it would be nice now at this late date to at least start," the 63-year-old Las Vegas resident said in Milwaukee, where she was performing at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino. "They've gotten 50-some years of free play. Now maybe it's time to pay up." "

Um... they still have to work to pay their bills.... okay....

Excuse me, Ms. Wilson? If I could have a moment to speak with you, and Lars, and other starving musicians like you? Thanks.

Come closer. OK, are you paying attention, cause I'm going to say this once, and in language I know you will understand.

You're dumb.

OK, go off to your concert now, I know you will most likely have to raise ticket prices if this falls through. After all, you've got bills to pay, right? And I know it completely sucks to have to keep working in order to pay those bills, caught in your dead end job doing something you can't stand.

Oh wait- why is it you are artists again?

Like Chris Penn put in his blog post- go ahead. It can only help podcasting and podsafe musicians.

Who knew the Onion spoke truth?

Red Panda Season Two Almost Over!

Have you been listening to Decoder Ring Theatre's "The Red Panda"? If not- well, DO IT.

There are only a couple episodes left of the season. But the beauty of podcasting is, you can listen and catch up at any time! Here's the second-to-last episode synopsis:

"When you put on a mask and fight for what's right, secrets are your
stock and trade. They protect you, and those around you, from those
that would seek to end your quest for justice. But when those secrets
are compromised, the shield can become a sword in the hands of a
vengeful enemy. What will happen when that moment comes for our
heroes? When the mask slips, just a little? And what fury will come
crashing through... The Hidden Door?"


Go. Now. Subscribe. Gregg has a baby to feed. (How this weighs on his baby eating, I don't know. Just do it and don't ask questions.)

PodCamp Mania!

They have only been around less than a year, but they have spread like a virus- the PodCamp "Un"Conference. It all began last September in Boston, and since then have been popping up all over the United States, as well as the world! The idea is to bring a free networking day to podcasters in a particular region. This also helps those who might not be able to afford the travel to the bigger events such as Podcasters Across Borders or the Podcast and New Media Expo.

The Camps, naturally, are not exclusive to the regions either. People flew in from all over, including Canada (I know- makes it sound so far away eh?), to attend PodCamp NYC at the beginning of April. The more the merrier is definitely a motto for podcasters, and the PodCamp.

PodCamps can also be an online event as well. The end of July marks the first online-only PodCamp, hosted by Podcaster Who's Who. Obviously it can't be as face-to-face as the other camps, but it can certainly connect you with a wider range of podcasters, still at the same reasonable price. You even save on gas money!

So you can certainly understand my excitement when I discovered that there is a PodCampAZ coming our way at the beginning of November! Sometimes you get so involved in the wider range of podcasting and podcasters, you forget that you might actually have a few people sharing your passion right in your own region/state. I'm very excited about this, and look forward to helping where I am able to make this camp a success- which means FUN!

Though, how can it not be? Evo, Mike, and Summer bring joy where ever they go...

So check the main PodCamp wiki page, and get involved in your podcasting community NOW!

PodCamps I'm planning on attending*:
*PodCamp Who's Who: http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/Podcamp+Whos+Who
*PodCamp SoCal (since I will be at the Expo): http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/PodcampSoCal
*PodCamp AZ: http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/Podcamp-AZ

PodCamp Main Page:
PodCamp: http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/


(*You can also register for any PodCamp at their wiki pages)

Canadian radio thriving- quite well, actually

Shamelessly swiped from Tod Maffin's Blog at the CBC:

Canada’s commercial radio stations revenue increased by 5.7% in the last year, going from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion. Profit margins went up too by 2.7% to 20%.

• Commercial AM radio experienced stronger growth in revenues between 2005 and 2006 than at any other time in the last five years.
• Revenues for commercial FM radio stations in Canada have been steadily increasing over the last five years.
• The Canadian private-radio industry employed 9,763 people in 2006 and paid a total of $577.8 million in salaries.
  

Wow. Maybe I should rethink this whole "moving to Canada for political reasons" thing? At least I know I would have a good chance of finding a job in radio. ;-)

Capitol Steps giving us the lighter side of politics

It has been awhile since I've listened to the awesome songs by these
Senate staffers, but I just spent a good 15 minutes catching up and laughing hysterically! They are a live troop in DC who perform and sing covers of all sorts of tunes. With their own current political spin, of course. ;-)

A few of my faves: A Leader Like Barack (tune of Leader of the Pack), Good Morning, Starbucks (tune of Good Morning Starshine), and Bomb Iran (tune of Barbara Ann- minus John McCain's spin).

Been to the Stargate Cafe lately?

Season two of the award winning sit-com is well underway, and it's off to a great start! Crashes are stopped, core overloads are averted, and dates are denied.

If you've never heard anything from Wesley and the gang before- well head on over to Planet Retcon's site and see all the great things there! In-between the Stargate Cafe episodes, they have a new show, Log of the Crimson Lien, which I haven't heard yet but will have to go back and catch up. But my fave is definitely Stargate. It's Cheers in space!

SFF Audio Twitter Links

So many awesome things are posted over there, I thought it would be time-efficient to give you all the twitter links so you can pick and choose what you want to check out!

Of course, I totally expect you to check them ALL out....

* Imagination X Podcast has new horror story: http://tinyurl.com/22bhk8
* Online Audio: Devolutionist: http://tinyurl.com/yovmpl
* Sounds Like Canada interviews Robert J Sawyer: http://tinyurl.com/yv4uus
* Darker Projects completes David Moody's Autumn: http://tinyurl.com/ywfn8d
* Sci-Fi Read Along Adventures: http://tinyurl.com/27q5b9 (this one is SO COOL!)
* Jim Butcher on Cover to Cover: http://tinyurl.com/yqcr3n

Want more? Naturally you can head to the SFF Audio site... but if you Twitter and want updates, then add SFF as a friend!

Robotz Ends Third Season With A Bang!

Really... I mean it. Dream Realm's smash-hit flagship comedy Robotz of the Company ended it's third season last week.

Mayham, madness, and an enemy they had no idea existed! Except in the mind of the fearless Brisco, of course. I just could not stop giggling at the Star Wars references- they were intertwined in the plot very well!

Make sure you listen past the credits, because as with any season ending, there is a cliffhanger...

Podcast feed here, or you can head to the blog page and listen directly!

http://feeds.feedburner.com/RobotzOfTheCompany

Trust me, this beats Spiderman 3 any day of the week!

Summer Fan Audio on Sonic Society

The Radio Memories feed (they have been generously hosting the Sonic Society for over a year now) alerted me to Sonic Society beginning their Summer Fan Audio series with Broken Sea Audio's Planet of the Apes.

The Society is podcasting the first two chapters, but if you want more, you can catch the rest of Part One of the series right here:

http://www.brokensea.com/pota/pota.htm

This is a special summer series that will be podcast-only. Something tells me they won't lose many listeners over the summer, by Podcast Pickle top 100 stats. Thanks to JC Hutchin's 7 Son Podcast Novel moving into the Hall of Fame, everyone in the top 100 has moved up a notch. The Society has finally achieved the Numero Uno status Jack and Shannon have wanted, and most certainly deserve!

A Baby Panda is Born!

I know the postings have been scarce here the last week, as I've had a houseful of guests and have not had much blogging (nor breathing) time- but I had to jump in and give a HUGE congratulations to our foreign correspondent Gregg Taylor and his wife Clarissa of Decoder Ring Theatre on the birth of their first child, Maxwell!

He's adorable- and I am sure he will be fitted with his red mask soon. :-)


So.... CONGRATULATIONS!

Afterhell Volume Three Now In Production

Copied from SFF Audio. But hey, I wrote it, so it's not technically cheating, is it?

The amazingly horror-ific series by the extremely creative folks at Ollin Productions have just started production of Volume Three of their Afterhell series. If you have never heard of Afterhell, you are missing out on an eargasm of multiple proportions. No better way to explain the series than to read it from the source itself:

"This is your gateway to a nightmare world of the ear and the mind.

There, horrors have been set loose on the world. Planet Earth is changing to fulfill a new role in the universe. It is the new Hell. Madness and evil are everywhere. In everyone. In everything.

All over the world, civilization has fallen. Cities burn with lunacy and brimstone. Science can't explain it. Faith can't account for it. The human race is under attack from its own shadows, sins, and deepest fears. The survivors face a surreal existence where only the darkest dreams come true. No one is safe. And everyone is on trial.

Poetic justice and naked cruelty. Personal demons and infernal beasts. It's all here. This is the home of the damned. This is AFTERHELL."

I heard Volume One where else? The Sonic Society during their first season. It caused me to purchase Volume Two, because I couldn't wait for Sonic Society to air it. Being the horror/gore fan that I am, I have never heard anything to make me cringe as much as this series does. It's wonderful!

The best part of this is, Volume Three is going to be released first through a podcast sometime in May! How much better can this get? I'll keep you posted on the details. Here is a promo for Volume Three:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/audioaddict/Afterhell_Vol3_Promo1.mp3

Listen to Afterhell: Dark Descent through the Sonic Society archives:

Part 1

Part 2


See you in Hell!

With Spring Comes Finale's

In Sonic Society's case, it's only a mini-ending. Their latest podcast is not the season finale, but has the ending of their four-part Crazy Dog Audio Theatre feature, Infidel. Next week will be their season finale, and it feature something homegrown by Sonic Cinema productions, Phil Morris: Celestial Lawyer. It's a great story, you should all enjoy it!
They will also be finishing out the third season of Robotz of the Company from Dream Realm Enterprises as well.
Why is this a mini-ending? Well, the Society is planning on bringing us summer fun every two weeks over the summer months, with fan fiction and tribute audio! Yay!

Hmm.. I wonder if there will be a Dr. involved...

Podcast Pickle Upgrades Good For Audio Cinema

On April 6, the newest upgrade of the Podcast Pickle directory, Pickle 5, was launched, sporting a new look and several new features. The features are designed to make the Podcast Pickle experience even more user-friendly, and a one-stop resource for both the podcaster and the listener alike. The upgrades include:

* A newly-designed podcast player, with the look of an mp3 player, designed to fit in any blog margin. It streams through your podcast feed, so your listeners can listen to any episode directly off of your podcast site, or any website you wish.

* A “tip jar”, in which listeners can opt to leave a few dollars for their favorite shows. (This option can also be removed by the podcaster.)

* A direct link to your Amazon or Ebay store.

* Rss for any blog you wish to feed into your Pickle page.

* For the listener, especially those who listen through their computer, all of your favorite shows can now be played on the “My Pickle” player. This feature is located directly on the Podcast Pickle homepage. It opens up a player containing every one of your chosen favorites.

Pickle 5 is still beta, with many threads and discussions in the Pickle Forums for feedback on glitches that still may be in the system. Site owner Gary Leland and team appreciate and ask for all feedback regarding any portion of the website.

I've tried most of these things out, and have found no kinks thus far.

Now I know, I'm a total cheerleader for this website. However, when you look at these features, and how inclusive and supportive they are to the podcasting community, how can I not be?

With so many audio cinema groups now podcasting, along with collectives like the Sonic Society and the endless array of pod-books out there, the pickle player would be an asset to their websites. It not only has the look of an mp3 player, but also works in the same fashion. People who hit your site do not have to search the archives for your content- it's all right there in the player. An example? Well, none better than mine, since I haven't searched around to see who else is using it yet (yes, you can customize the color).

Take some time to play around with all these features, you will definitely find they will work for you, whether a listener or a podcaster. :-)

Three neat-o podcast hits

Tee Morris's new pod-book, "Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword", takes the podiobook to the next level. Sure, you get straight narration of the story. The twist is in the added sound effects, music, and even a cast! It's a great fantasy twist on the old private-dick theme. The 9th chapter just went up, so you can start listening and don't even have to have lag time in-between chapters!

Why have I waited so long to bring this up? Why, because I was waiting for my debut, that's why! LOL!

What's funny is, I had several audio things that I did at different times, and it's all coming out at the same time. It's quite hilarious to me, but the little stroke of the ego is kinda nice too... heheheh. I've been a long-time listener to the Variant Frequencies podcast. So when Rick asked if I'd like to read a flash fiction piece, I was like uh, hell yeah!

And I got to be creepy... me likey. I hope you do too! Though I couldn't do it without an awesome story to begin with, written by Anne Stringer. (See? Matt Wallace doesn't take up the WHOLE podcast... ;-) )


And finally... me thinks I should finally watch Buffy and see what the hub-bub is all about.

Boxcars711 providing another OTR outlet

My oldest old-time radio friend Jack, half of the dynamic duo at The Sonic Society, sent me this.

It's quite an eclectic mix of old time faves... although I do see they've got some Decoder Ring in the feed too. Which just goes to prove what an awesome old time sound they have!

Check the show out at the link below!

On Money and Podcasting

I've had some thoughts banging around in my head lately concerning podcasting and money. I think it all started with the debate that went on concerning the new Tip Jar that is now a feature on the Podcast Pickle podcast pages. A few select people, out of dozens, asked that they have an option to not show the tip jar button. (For an idea of how completely obscene* it looks, take a gander at mine.) The reason for wanting the option was basically that it ruins the "image" that the podcaster has. The image that content is provided for free, with no profit whatsoever.

Um, ok. I found this argument rather confusing, because by no means would giving someone the option of throwing a few dollars your way for job well done be considered profit. At least not to me. Not to mention the fact that we are all using space generously provided to us for free by a man who just wants to help promote podcasting, and watch this genre grow. Besides, other than those who stumble across the pickle page randomly, you'd pretty much have to ask your listeners to go over and give you a tip for anyone to know it's even there. And out of all your listeners, realistically how many actually would?

Bless Gary Leland's dear heart, he made the tip jar a removable option. I hope those three podcasters are happy, because I never would have catered to their request. I tell you, I respect Gary more now for his expertise in dealing with this, and have a little less respect for those who caused such a ruckus over nothing. In my eyes, their image has all ready changed.

Image. I completely understand the image that podcasters would like to keep. It's free. It's independent. It bucks the system, sticks it to the man. (Insert your own cliche' here). Yet, even in the midst of keeping the medium free, there are those who have their very own podcasts and blogs geared towards helping you profit from your podcasts. Leesa Barnes and Paul Colligan come instantly to mind. I subscribe to both of these blogs, as they provide a plethora of information on how to make your podcast better.

Is this a bad thing? Of course not. Everyone podcasts for their own reasons, and wants to put forth their own content. If you want to profit, and people pay you, great. If you want to remain independent and never see a nickel, go for it. Me? I just wouldn't mind offsetting my costs a bit. My show would be a horrible thing to try and profit from anyway, considering the content. I look at my show like any news/talk show... once you profit, your content can easily be dictated to you. I refuse to let myself do that.

This issue will be debated forever, and that's fine to debate. What bothers me is the harsh judgment of those who might want or need to make some money doing what they love to do. If you love what you do, AND get paid for it, isn't that the best of everything? It only makes the quality of your work better, in this case, it would be your podcast.

Do I dare add that Podcast Pickle is now offering an option for your Amazon and Ebay store, linked directly to your account page? ;-)



*not.

No, I did not forget PAB

Podcasters Across Borders is also sporting a nice speaking list as well. (I hear Mr. Mostly News is bringing the whole family across the border!) I'm not able to attend (again) this year, as I'm still trying to kiss Mark and Bob's butts to change the date on a weekend that doesn't involve my kid's birthdays. (Yep, the 22nd and 24th. I think it's a Canadian conspiracy to keep me from attending).

Until then, I will just have to get all the juicy details through blogs and flickr. ;-)

Click the link for the schedule of events for the weekend!

Conference Sessions for Podcast Expo Posted

All the conferences for the 3rd annual Podcast Expo in Ontario, CA have now been posted. There are 5 tracks for attendees to follow:

- Track 1: Audio & Video Podcasting 101 - A to Z for Beginners - Get Up To Speed Fast
- Track 2: Attracting & Growing Your Audience - Connecting To Your Audience & Guerilla Marketing
- Track 3: The Business of Podcasting & New Media - Monetization & Business Podcasting
- Track 4: Advanced Audio & Video Creation - "How To" Techniques for Editing and Creation
- Track 5: New Media for Special Interests - Educators, Musicians, Non-profits and more

I'll be there again this year, but unfortunately I'm not able to attend the sessions. I think I may have to email the Bourquin Bros. and suggest they offer more flexible options if you can't afford the whole shabang. It sure would be neat to hear fellow podcasters like Grammar Girl, Evo Terra, Tee Morris, and Charles Cadenhead speak on some of these topics! Check the link to see details on all the sessions and what everyone is speaking on specifically.

With or without attending the sessions, it will be an awesome time. Just meeting other podcasters, and the exhibits on the floor alone make it all worth it, and you don't walk away empty handed.

Come to the Greenpond

This was about one of the cutest kids audios I've ever heard! Broken Sea Audio brings you "Greenpond", which is for kids, with child actors from around the globe.

Episode one is basically set up. A group of kids on a hot day meet a horse whose come to warn them about the Gobblygunks... and the adventure begins!

Head to the link for more info, or grab the podcast feed here:

http://www.brokensea.com/greenpond/greenfeed.xml

My younger daughter has all of a sudden become a total audio book freak, so I can't wait to play this for her and see what she thinks!

What exactly *is* a Dibble?

Well, we are going to find out! I'm so very excited that I can finally blab about this! I was checking all my favorite radio drama places, and came across this wonderful news from Jerry Robbins! His funny radio series "The Dibble Show", which gets play on XM satellite and also had some podcast time on The Sonic Society, is being made into an animated series!

Read more about it over on Jerry's Colonial Radio blog!

Congratulations!!!

Happy Cute Bunny Day!

No, not audio related in the least. Just some fun for you on this eggceptional day!

Lego Weapons to Slay the Easter Bunny With:

Gettin' crazy on the Society

With Crazy Dog Audio, of course! The Sonic Society is counting down to the end of their second season with a 4-parter from the Irish group.

Then the second part of the Dick Dynamo interview, and yep, you guessed it- Robotz!

The are also going to be announcing the winners of the Firefly:Old Wounds T-shirt contest on next week's show, as well as posting pics of all the entries. Very exciting, can't wait to see who they chose!

EU price probe into Apple iTunes

Just an article I found I thought would be of interest to the musicians who read:

iTunes is the market leader in downloaded music

The EU has launched an inquiry into what Apple's online music store iTunes charges users across Europe, accusing it of restricting customer choice.

Brussels believes agreements between Apple and record companies violate EU laws by preventing users in one country buying music from a site elsewhere.

The move follows a complaint by UK body Which? that British users have to pay more to download songs than others.

Apple said it wanted to offer a single European service but faced obstacles.

Different pricing

The Commission's move is unrelated to an agreement, announced on Monday, between iTunes and EMI to make the latter's music available online without piracy protection.

Brussels has written to Apple and a number of unnamed record companies to notify them of their objections to the way music is sold, the first step in formal proceedings.

We were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us -Apple

Media reports speculated that it had contacted each of the "big four" record companies - EMI, Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal Music.

The Commission said Apple established customers' country of residence through their credit card details and only allowed people to buy tracks from the website for that country.

"Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes online stores in their country of residence and are therefore restricted in their choice of where to buy music," said EU competition spokesman Jonathan Todd.

ITUNES PRICING PER DOWNLOAD UK: 79p Denmark: 72p Germany: 66p France: 66p Belgium: 66p

Research by Which? in 2005 found that UK users paid 79p (1.16 euros) to download a song, compared with 66p (99 euro cents) in France and Germany.

Apple said it had always wanted to offer a fully pan-European service, but was restricted by the demands of its music partners.

"We were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us," it said in a statement.

'Restricting competition'

The companies targeted by Brussels have two months in which to respond to the charges.

Which? welcomed the investigation, saying the benefits of the European single market should be available to music lovers in all member states.

"This investigation proves that iTunes is overcharging its UK customers, who are paying substantially more for their music," said Alena Kozakova, its principal economist.

"The announcement means that companies can no longer hide behind intellectual property rights to restrict competition for consumers."

Manna For The Arts

Great new podcast has debuted, that I think all audio drama enthusiasts will enjoy and benefit from.

Manna for the Arts is "a one-hour audio program featuring audio theater, interviews with inspiring artists, health tips, mind puzzlers and more. Listen at your computer or download it to jazz up your commute. write us with your questions, or to order a CD of the program."

It looks like a lot of fun, and I have put it in iTunes so I'm able to check it out later! (I'm currently in the middle of some GREAT audio drama entries, so I have a running list of what to check out when the "work" is complete). Here's the lowdown for the first episode:

• Part One: "The Extra News", Interview with opera soprano Delynn Ketcherside, "Health In the Jungle": weight loss tips, audio theater drama "Finding Peter"
• Part Two: Continued interview with Delynn Ketcherside, the "Artstimulant" (poetic puzzler), audio theater comedy "Where's My Sting?", the "Final Word to Ponder"

You can grab the feed:
http://www.horizongate.org/podcasts/rss.xml

Or get the show directly off their website:
http://www.horizongate.org/podcasts/episodes.asp?id=1001

Happy Birthday SFF Audio!

Everyone head over and have some cake!!!
Mmmmm.....

Imagination to the X-Factor

They are back with a whole new site, podcast, and story!

Background:

A skeptic in a Haunted House

Leaves with no evidence of the Supernatural

But did he leave alone?

Find out HERE.