Musings of a Tech Writer

In unveil my new intro and talk about being sober for two years, the critic in my head, and Adam Lambert.

It was a warm sunny afternoon with a brilliant clear blue sky. I sat at a picnic table with my lunch from Safeway: broccoli salad and a turkey wrap. Usually from this park I could see planes taking off from SFO and the Oakland airport. Not today. No plays would fly today. "There's a three-hour time difference. So there probably weren't many people in those buildings," my boss had said on the phone. My mind numb, I didn't catch her mistake. But wait. Six a.m. on the west coast mean nine a.m. on the east coast, not three a.m. Those buildings were horribly full. There was no work that day. There would be no trip over the Bay Bridge, which now appeared vulnerable and exposed. Sitting there on Bay Farm Island, eating a turkey wrap, I was glad that planes for one day weren't shattering the peace and quiet.

Join me as I wander around on a rainy night, trying to find the Chan Center at UBC. The outro music is Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral by Richard Wagner.

I lay out my back story.

I wrote the following during a ten-minute creative writing exercise in my class. Let me know what you think. I have more.

My grandmother sat at a white Formica table, the top emblazoned with a large yellow daisy, a cigarette in one hand.

Frito corn chips ringed the saucer of her coffee cup.

She wore her favorite lucky bathrobe covered with green shamrocks.

I knew where all her candy was. She kept Wrigley's gum in the smallest drawer of her kitchen. The front parlor held a glass jar of anise candies with dark red wrappers.

But in the back pantry, she maintained stacks of prune juice in glass bottles. This held no appeal to a six-year-old.

"Your Aunt Fanny takes too many baths," she said, exhaling a stream of smoke from her nostrils. "If you take too many baths, you lose all of your good body oils."

"How many baths does she take, gramma?"

"Oh she takes one every other day. Sometimes once a day. You only need one bath every week or so."

Grandma dipped a Frito into her coffee cup and took a bite.

I reached into the greasy paper napkin and also took a Frito, munching it slowly.

"That's why she gets so many colds, honey."

As I shuffle through my DVDs, I talk about a new addition to my collection, and going to the movies.

When the truth is found to be lies
And all the joy within you dies

Don't you want somebody to love?

I'm back. And there's a light over at the Frankenstein place.

This week, a 38-minute version of a classic.

My tribute to crazy.

I've decided to finish out the rest of the year with MTW, making it to at least episode 100. I'm at 90-something now so I might as well keep going. The remaining episodes will probably be audio mash-ups.

Since I've started MTW, I've tried to post one episode a week. Next year, I plan to only post episodes when I feel like recording them. Crickets. Is there anything more boring than someone talking about their podcast schedule?

Anyway,  I'm just at a point where I'm switching gears. I've enjoyed MTW but I'm getting more into writing. So that's where I want to focus my time and energy.

Thanks.

Mark

I'm not in a place to create a spoken podcast. I'm not sure what to call it but here's a short experimental audio collage. Let me know what you think.

Dear listeners,

I'm trying to figure out what to do with my podcast. I don't want to keep doing the same show every week.

When I first thought about podcasting, I wanted to do something innovative. Well, that hasn't really happened.

I need to regroup and think about what I want this podcast to be or if I want to just blog.

So I'm taking a break for a bit while I try to figure out what I want to do. Thanks for your patience as I work my way through the podcasting blues.

My computer crashed and this is the first episode with my new HP. I mostly talk about the crash.

Breakthrough

Cleaning the house, I talk about Ekhart Tolle, non-alcoholic beer, and the mob.

In this short episode, I talk about multi-tasking and Whitney Houston's comeback.

On the menu today: Alarm systems, Altar Boyz, meditation, and Pushing Daisies.

I almost deleted this one because of the muffled sound quality. But I couldn't bring myself to re-record it. I go to a supermarket and talk about Julia Sweeney, Canadian health care, and an embarrassing elevator experience.

I as I stumble along, I try to figure out my future.

Pride! That is what's so often forgotten... I talk about Pride, the heat wave, car troubles, and Carnival of Souls.

This episode is devoted to stewing.

Today's topics are cleaning and the end of the world.

I talk about weight, hair, and my energy theory of life. Please check out Paul's blog. 

This is a bonus episode. I yammer about dogs, working at home, and massages.

I talk about my class reunion, border crossings, and the passing of Michael Jackson.

On a windy afternoon, I talk about soup and high school crushes.

In this short episode, I talk about my love of Prisoner: Cell Block H.

Taking a stroll, I talk about reality television, gossip, OCD, and my intuition.

I talk about my weekend, the demise of General Motors, ferries, and the book "1973 Nervous Breakdown: Watergate, Warhol, and the Birth of Post-Sixties America."

I take you along on a walk and discuss one-on-one relationships, credit card debt, Bernie Madoff, friends, and fried eggs.

Broadcasting from a creek next our motel in Cache Creek B.C., I talk about wandering through rural B.C., George Carlin, my upcoming class reunion, and aggravating podcast downloads. My rantings get cut off because the batteries in my recorder died. So this episode is mercifully short.

On this Mother's Day, I talk about how this day can feel like cruel joke, Bea Arthur's passing, John Edwards, guilt, and ball-shaped hands.

In the Phoenix airport, I lament coming back from my trip and talk about swine flu, going through security, and Jimmy Carter. The outro music reminds me of my niece.

Back from vacation, I talk about being disorientated, volleyball, catching-up, and DVDs.

I talk about minding my own business, my dad's suicide attempt, and mature singers. You can watch Susan Boyle's performance here.

Surrounded by loud shoppers and associates, I walk through Ikea talking about our trip to Pemberton B.C., American Idol, Somali pirates, bankrupt pension plans, parents who take their kids everywhere, and Japanese covers of English songs. I had no prepared topics and didn't edit in this episode so please forgive the rough audio and long pauses.

Down by the stream, I send out some messages to other podcasters, talk about conflict, the Olympics, and Brad Pitt as Jesse James.

On a walk to work I talk about my bout of podcasting blues and Russian hackers. Happy Monday.

I don't have an episode in me today. The weather is just too nice and we're off to enjoy the sun. I'll get an episode posted shortly.

I haven't been listening to podcasts for the last week. I'm taking a bit of a break and letting my favorites pile up.

If you haven't seen it check out the Frontline special on the U.S. deficit. You can watch the whole show on their web site.

Basically, to the U.S. is running huge deficits to take care of our aging population. We are borrowing from China and Saudi Arabia to keep living beyond our means.  There are some hard choices coming. Probably the best thing our creditors can do for us is to cut off the money which will force us into financial rehab.

In my car/studio, I talk about my stress-related cold, being independent, and Latin drag queens. Beyondexgay.com has published my story about my experience with Exodus. Check it out. Comments are welcome and appreciated.

On a rainy Sunday, I talk about being organized, losing the genetic lottery, and escaping into the movie Double Indemnity.

Buckle your seat belts. This is a long episode. First, while cleaning up the kitchen, I talk about surviving Exodus. The episode abruptly ends and then picks-up after my trip to the "L Word" auction. Between topics and the outro music, this could be the gayest episode so far.  Oh, and sorry

about all the car noise.

I unveil my new intro. Let me know what you think. I also discuss economic woes, addiction, going back to the gym, and pillow shopping.

Topics this week include the 3D movie Coraline, rampant inconsideration, and my dream house.

I talk about the new DVD of Yentl and try to bury the hatchet with a disgruntled listener.

In this oddly philosophical episode, I talk about living in the moment, TV, and looking for love.

In this drowsy-cast I try to pass on some tips on job hunting in this economy and rant about Canada's objections to "Buy American."

I talk about inauguration day and the return of promise.

I bid farewell to George W. and discuss dealing with depression, my updated financial plan for 2009, and my sagging Libsyn statistics.

I talk about the recent severe and gloomy weather and my current fascination with Grey Gardens.

I chat about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and my love of the music, but not the story, of Carousel.

For the MTW golden anniversary (I think) I talk about the mishmash of old styles during the 80s which led me to drag an enormous desk into my childhood bedroom.

I rant about line-jumpers and inconsiderate smokers. I also talk about anger management.

From deep within my podcasting closet, a short episode about waking up, my latest contribution to the ailing U.S. economy, and my latest theory on the meaning of life.

Wondering what you can do about Proposition 8? See jointheimpact.com.