Excuse #1: "It's just an excuse for card and candy companies to take your money."
Excuse #2: "Why do one day what you should be doing the other 364 days a year?"
Sound familiar? I know I've said these in the past as reasons to not celebrate Valentine's Day. I too was once a Valentine's Curmudgeon. There was a time, even in my married life, when the whole holiday seemed silly to me, for reason #2 more than anything else. (In my defense I did live up to my words and made some effort throughout the year.) I feel you friends. I understand where you're coming from.
However, a few years ago, at the gentle prompting from my longsuffering wife (whom I honestly believed felt the same as me) suggested that she would appreciate just a little Valentine's Day celebration. At that moment I realized that I had been a complete idiot about the whole holiday. I immediately repented of my purposeful neglect and began restitution in the form of surprise delivery of flowers on or about Feb 14th.
I'd like to make a suggestion to anyone that is feeling a little curmudgeonly on this holiday. (I'm speaking more to my fellow males than anyone else.) Try it out. Surprise your significant other with a little something on V Day. I guarantee they'll appreciate it.
The "excuses" seem valid but the problem is that they are really just that, excuses. Excuses, because you've been hurt in the past, or romance makes you uncomfortable, or you're lazy, or a cheapskate. It's time to get over your hangups. When given an explicit opportunity to celebrate your relationship and shower love and romance on someone you love and care for deeply, why would you be so foolish as to neglect that?
1. You don't need to spend much, if any, money to make a special effort. In love, unlike so many other things, honest effort and intentions count for a lot.
2. It's entirely possible to make a big deal of Valentine's Day AND still make an honest effort throughout the year to romance your beloved. In fact, once you start finding ways to romance you will find that the whole process is not: silly, a chore, a waste of money, or hard. It is in fact a lot of fun with real and tangible benefits to yourself, your partner, and your relationship.
There's no better time than now to start. It may be uncomfortable at first, but with a little practice you'll get into the swing of things and find out just how awesome Valentine's Day can be.
Go forth and sweep them off their feet.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Rhapsody in Amy
How do you quantify a person? It isn't possible. There is so much that goes into a human being. (This is why stereotypes kind of work on large groups but tend to fall pretty flat on an individual basis.)
My wife, Amy, is having another birthday today which is fine and normal. What's a little different is that this year I find myself contemplating her and all the many things that make her who she is.
I am constantly impressed with the dilligence, love, and care she puts in to being a mother. Being responsible for the emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being of four small boys is no small task. (Especially when her only sibling was a sister. This means she gets the "joy" of learning "boy" on the job.) She cares and worries so very much for her children and the stress can bring her to tears and anguish of soul and mind. I hate to see the pain and anguish it brings her but if it didn't then she wouldn't be doing her job so damn well.
I love her mind and how it works. I love her logic (even when it differs from mine). I love how smart she is. She's funny too. Really funny. (Perhaps even more impressive, is that she still thinks I'm funny.) Her artistic abilities are expansive and the skill and detail she puts into her profession as a costume designer have always been impressive to me.
She's beautiful. She's always had a slightly unconventional beauty (one of the things that initially attracted me to her) and it's gotten better with age. I mean that. She gets just a little bit more beautiful every day.
If I take anything away from this moment of reverie, it's how lucky I truly am to be with someone with so many facets and depths. I know this year I'm going to do my level best to make sure she has a birthday worth what she means to me.
My wife, Amy, is having another birthday today which is fine and normal. What's a little different is that this year I find myself contemplating her and all the many things that make her who she is.
I am constantly impressed with the dilligence, love, and care she puts in to being a mother. Being responsible for the emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being of four small boys is no small task. (Especially when her only sibling was a sister. This means she gets the "joy" of learning "boy" on the job.) She cares and worries so very much for her children and the stress can bring her to tears and anguish of soul and mind. I hate to see the pain and anguish it brings her but if it didn't then she wouldn't be doing her job so damn well.
I love her mind and how it works. I love her logic (even when it differs from mine). I love how smart she is. She's funny too. Really funny. (Perhaps even more impressive, is that she still thinks I'm funny.) Her artistic abilities are expansive and the skill and detail she puts into her profession as a costume designer have always been impressive to me.
She's beautiful. She's always had a slightly unconventional beauty (one of the things that initially attracted me to her) and it's gotten better with age. I mean that. She gets just a little bit more beautiful every day.
If I take anything away from this moment of reverie, it's how lucky I truly am to be with someone with so many facets and depths. I know this year I'm going to do my level best to make sure she has a birthday worth what she means to me.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Reason # 2 I'm Glad We Dumped The Dish
Our last Dish Network bill was $62 for one month. Multiply that by twelve and that's $744 per year.
What, not reason enough yet?
Here's how we kicked the Dish to the curb:
-We already had a high speed internet connection.
-We purchased an inexpensive 32" HDTV (1080p) that was also web-enabled. ($370) Since our wireless router and the TV share the same room I simply plugged the TV into the router with a network cable. The TV uses a special menu and apps for things like Netflix, Hulu, youtube, Amazon Instant Video etc and accessing them is a breeze.
-For our bedroom we moved the old analog TV upstairs and purchased the Roku XDS box ($99) that gave our old TV the same functionality that was built into our new HDTV. (The Roku connects wirelessly to our wifi router for internet connectivity.)
-Just to test the reception I purchased a $10 set of rabbit ears for the HDTV and we get two networks, NBC and CBS, in full and glorious uncompressed 1080p HD. (Suck on that Dish Network and your compressed HD signal) If we get two networks with just rabbit ears the next step is to purchase and install an outdoor antenna. To continue flipping the bird in Dish Network's general direction, I'll be using the same mounting post and coaxial cable Dish Network installed. The outdoor aerial should cost in the $35-$50 range.
For Programming:
-Hulu+ is $7.99 a month and acts as the DVR we we're paying the dish people almost as much for on top of our regular programming fees. Plus it has a LARGE selection of entire show seasons, a whole section of Criterion movies and they're now dabbling in exclusive show content by importing and showing exclusively TV shows from Britain and Canada.
-Netflix Watch Instantly. They have a great selection of TV shows, documentaries, British TV, martial arts, foreign, art house movies, kids TV shows, etc. In other words, stuff my family and I love to watch already. Again, $7.99 a month.
-For those networks that refuse to do Hulu and the few that we can't access through our TV interfaces we acquired a $14 cable that connects from the video card in my computer to one of the HDMI ports on the HDTV. The computer sees it as a second monitor and we can view anything available either on the web or downloaded from the web on our HDTV now too.
-For new and recent movie releases, pay services like VUDU, and Amazon Instant Video allow us to stream full HD (1080p) versions of the movies directly to our TV, usually in the $5-8 range.
Total up front costs:
$533
Monthly Reoccurring Costs:
$15.98 x 12 = $191.76
Total costs our first year: $533+$191.76=$724.76
Still cheaper than a whole year of Dish Network by a few bucks.
Considering that the $533 were all one time costs our next year savings are going to be $552.24.
Suck on that Dish.
What, not reason enough yet?
Here's how we kicked the Dish to the curb:
-We already had a high speed internet connection.
-We purchased an inexpensive 32" HDTV (1080p) that was also web-enabled. ($370) Since our wireless router and the TV share the same room I simply plugged the TV into the router with a network cable. The TV uses a special menu and apps for things like Netflix, Hulu, youtube, Amazon Instant Video etc and accessing them is a breeze.
-For our bedroom we moved the old analog TV upstairs and purchased the Roku XDS box ($99) that gave our old TV the same functionality that was built into our new HDTV. (The Roku connects wirelessly to our wifi router for internet connectivity.)
-Just to test the reception I purchased a $10 set of rabbit ears for the HDTV and we get two networks, NBC and CBS, in full and glorious uncompressed 1080p HD. (Suck on that Dish Network and your compressed HD signal) If we get two networks with just rabbit ears the next step is to purchase and install an outdoor antenna. To continue flipping the bird in Dish Network's general direction, I'll be using the same mounting post and coaxial cable Dish Network installed. The outdoor aerial should cost in the $35-$50 range.
For Programming:
-Hulu+ is $7.99 a month and acts as the DVR we we're paying the dish people almost as much for on top of our regular programming fees. Plus it has a LARGE selection of entire show seasons, a whole section of Criterion movies and they're now dabbling in exclusive show content by importing and showing exclusively TV shows from Britain and Canada.
-Netflix Watch Instantly. They have a great selection of TV shows, documentaries, British TV, martial arts, foreign, art house movies, kids TV shows, etc. In other words, stuff my family and I love to watch already. Again, $7.99 a month.
-For those networks that refuse to do Hulu and the few that we can't access through our TV interfaces we acquired a $14 cable that connects from the video card in my computer to one of the HDMI ports on the HDTV. The computer sees it as a second monitor and we can view anything available either on the web or downloaded from the web on our HDTV now too.
-For new and recent movie releases, pay services like VUDU, and Amazon Instant Video allow us to stream full HD (1080p) versions of the movies directly to our TV, usually in the $5-8 range.
Total up front costs:
$533
Monthly Reoccurring Costs:
$15.98 x 12 = $191.76
Total costs our first year: $533+$191.76=$724.76
Still cheaper than a whole year of Dish Network by a few bucks.
Considering that the $533 were all one time costs our next year savings are going to be $552.24.
Suck on that Dish.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
It's a Christmas Music Miracle!
Well, not in the way you might think. I've made no bones about my love for music. Not surprisingly, I was lucky enough to receive a substantial quantity of great music over the Christmas holidays. Here are three of the standouts. All of the following are great discs and come recommended:
Tom Waits - Bad As Me - Great disk that falls solidly in his later canon. A mix of ballads and his rythmic howlers.
Stand Out Track: Bad As Me. It's full of tribal rythms, braggadocio lyrics, and howling in the way only Mr. Waits can. This is the kind of song that he does so well and only he could write and perform.
Wilco - The Whole Love - This one bridges Wilco's later interests: expermental soundscapes and 70s folk-pop.
Stand Out Track: Capitol City or Whole Love. Both are great pop songs that really highlight the strengths of Jeff Tweedy's songwriting and the cohesiveness of the current lineup.
The Posies - Blood/Candy - I've been a fan for a long time but I admit my interest has waned in them of late. However, I'm quite pleased with their latest (from 2010). Four words: all killer no filler. A great pop album in the grand tradition of happy pop songs with often dark lyrics.
Stand Out Track: Licenses to Hide (but it's all REALLY good.) This one is full of great melody, harmony, interesting tempo shifts, and great lyrics. They really play with the pop song format in interesting and creative ways.
Tom Waits - Bad As Me - Great disk that falls solidly in his later canon. A mix of ballads and his rythmic howlers.
Stand Out Track: Bad As Me. It's full of tribal rythms, braggadocio lyrics, and howling in the way only Mr. Waits can. This is the kind of song that he does so well and only he could write and perform.
Wilco - The Whole Love - This one bridges Wilco's later interests: expermental soundscapes and 70s folk-pop.
Stand Out Track: Capitol City or Whole Love. Both are great pop songs that really highlight the strengths of Jeff Tweedy's songwriting and the cohesiveness of the current lineup.
The Posies - Blood/Candy - I've been a fan for a long time but I admit my interest has waned in them of late. However, I'm quite pleased with their latest (from 2010). Four words: all killer no filler. A great pop album in the grand tradition of happy pop songs with often dark lyrics.
Stand Out Track: Licenses to Hide (but it's all REALLY good.) This one is full of great melody, harmony, interesting tempo shifts, and great lyrics. They really play with the pop song format in interesting and creative ways.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Reason # 1 I'm glad we dumped the dish.
A few weeks ago I was browsing our usual Dish Network channels and I paused for a moment on HGTV. It was another one of those surprise makeover shows where the upper middle class couple invites some sort of generically perky designer and their TV show crew to secretly redo a room in their house. It was all to formula and the couple was beside themselves with gushing joy that they had such a new and stylish room. There were hugs, cheers, and even some tears. I've watched these sorts of shows for years now. They sell a nice little fantasy that's fun to contemplate if it were to happen to you. This last time though, my feelings were different. I wasn't amused, envious, or intrigued. I was instead, angry and disgusted.
First, what a colossal waste of time. It isn't even good entertainment. If I'm going to spend time watching TV, then for crying out loud I should be watching something with at least minimal artistic value. All these types of shows really do is perpetuate empty and vacuous consumerism by making you feel the need to spend idiotic amounts of money to be just like the first world jackasses on screen.
Second, what kind of world do we live in where someone makes a living decorating other people's houses? How, as a society, did we get to the point where such paltry life skills manage to be a viable profession?
Third, Is evereyone onscreen so blissfully unaware of how truly sad and idiotic they look if just a room makeover elicits these sorts of emotions? (I swear it was like a dead relative had been miraculously brought to life.)
Oy vey.
First, what a colossal waste of time. It isn't even good entertainment. If I'm going to spend time watching TV, then for crying out loud I should be watching something with at least minimal artistic value. All these types of shows really do is perpetuate empty and vacuous consumerism by making you feel the need to spend idiotic amounts of money to be just like the first world jackasses on screen.
Second, what kind of world do we live in where someone makes a living decorating other people's houses? How, as a society, did we get to the point where such paltry life skills manage to be a viable profession?
Third, Is evereyone onscreen so blissfully unaware of how truly sad and idiotic they look if just a room makeover elicits these sorts of emotions? (I swear it was like a dead relative had been miraculously brought to life.)
Oy vey.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A Sweet, Smart, and Soulful Girl
In the summer of 2000 I got home from a trip to the British Isles. It was a a lot of fun (despite everyone else that was SUPPOSED to go flaking out). On a side note, I also learned on my return that making ATM withdrawals across international borders costs a lot in surcharges. But this is only tangential to the story.
You see, a week after returning there was this party. Nothing momentous, just another summer pool party for our single adult ward (a congregation made up of mostly 18-31 year old single Mormons). The party was at someone's house with more money than sense. I remember this party for two reasons. First of all there was a giant dolphin fountain (See, more money than sense!) and secondly I met a girl.
Well, I had met her before but had never exchanged more than a few words with her. She was tangentially a part of the group of people I hung out with. (It was a big group with lots of people cycling in and out.)
Several of "the group" we're sitting around a table chatting about artistic endeavors. (I remember talking, rather pretentiously, about "my art".) At the other end of the table I heard this girl talking about David Lynch. My movie geek sense began tingling. David Lynch? The famed auteur? The guy that gave us one of the most brilliantly bizarre films ever made, Eraserhead? I had to talk to her. A cute Mormon girl discussing David Lynch at a party is not something you ignore! Needless to say, I worked my way over to the other side of the table and we began to talk movies. Lo-and-behold, we hit it off. We agreed that a movie night in the near future was in order but left it at that. I sensed that she was more than casually interested in me and I was still tingling. She was awesome.
The next day was church and I wasted no time. I Immediately tracked her down and we agreed to a movie date at her house. A few days later I brought a suitably artsy movie over and, not surprisingly, she liked it. She seemed to like ME too. We took a walk and began to talk. We finished the walk and talked some more, several hours more. I remember going home late, heart a flutter. I had wanted to kiss her that night but thought that might be a little premature.
Fast forward to our third date. We returned home to her house, sat on the couch, and talked some more. When it was time to for me to go we hugged and, on a whim, I leaned in and kissed her then quickly left, not looking back. I wasn't sure if I had been too forward or not but it felt right.
Luckily, it was right. The next day we hung out and she let me know in no uncertain terms that she was fully ready and willing to kiss me too. (Did I mention she was also very good at it?)
Time passed. I remember, sometime around my birthday that year, realizing that I really and truly was in love with this lovely, artistic, smart, and soulful girl. (She tells me she knew I was in love with her when I once called he " My Main Squeeze".)
We dated into the summer 2001. I had just finished a principal photography on a very dysfunctional and ultimately failed short film that had ended up stressing me out beyond words. One warm summer evening, a week or so after the shoot, I was decompressing over at her apartment. Glad to be done with the film, my mind was turned to more serious matters. I was thinking that maybe it was time to ask her to marry me. I loved her, she loved me, and we were great together. There really was no reason to prolong the inevitable. I had a problem though. I was irrationally scared at the prospect of the actual proposal. In other words, I was a big fat wuss.
Luckily, the stars aligned. It seems she had been thinking along the same lines. Sitting there on her futon, we had "the talk". She wanted to know where this relationship was going (and rightly so). We had dated for a year and she wanted some clarification. I remember the conversation going something like this,
Amy: "Nate, we've dated for a year now. Where do you see this relationship going?"
Me: "Well, I think we have something. I guess I see us getting married. How about you?"
Amy: "I see that too."
Me: "Why don't we then... get married."
Amy: "Okaaay. (long pause) Does this mean were engaged?"
Me: "I think so."
(Long pause)
Amy: "Ok, but I want you to do it the right way."
Nate: "Huh, ok. (kneels and takes her hand) Amy Glaser, will you marry me?"
Amy: "Yes!"
Then we kissed (we were very good at it by now) and called our parents. Not very romantic I realized. We immediately shopped for rings and I put a deposit down on the one she wanted. I payed off the ring and planned to do a better proposal at a nice restaurant.
A couple weeks later we went to the nice restaurant. (Plan working so far!) It was a lovely evening: great atmosphere, warm summer evening, great food. (Huzzah!) Then, they sat us in a weird little section of the restaurant with tiny booths all bunched together. The booths were so closely packed together we were essentially sharing a table with a couple of complete strangers. (Alert! Plans fizzling!) I managed to contort my body to fit in the little booth. (Kinda' hard to kneel now. Ugh!) In retrospect I should have asked for a different table but the thought never crossed my mind at the time. We had an akward dinner, trying to ignore out tablemates, and I recalculated my plans. (Sigh.)
Later, over at my place, I remember sitting on the couch thinking, "In the long run it doesn't really matter where it is I give her this ring. I think she'll be happy regardless."
I pulled it out of my pocket and I remember the look in her eyes when she saw the little velvet box. I was right. It didn't matter.
On October 11, 2001 we were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.
Now here we are living in a quiet little town in Ohio expecting our 4th child. We've grown a lot in these last ten years. I'm more in love with her now than ever and I look forward to many more years.
I love you Amy Kathleen Frary. You are are the superlatives I can think of and damn sexy to boot.
Nate
You see, a week after returning there was this party. Nothing momentous, just another summer pool party for our single adult ward (a congregation made up of mostly 18-31 year old single Mormons). The party was at someone's house with more money than sense. I remember this party for two reasons. First of all there was a giant dolphin fountain (See, more money than sense!) and secondly I met a girl.
Well, I had met her before but had never exchanged more than a few words with her. She was tangentially a part of the group of people I hung out with. (It was a big group with lots of people cycling in and out.)
Several of "the group" we're sitting around a table chatting about artistic endeavors. (I remember talking, rather pretentiously, about "my art".) At the other end of the table I heard this girl talking about David Lynch. My movie geek sense began tingling. David Lynch? The famed auteur? The guy that gave us one of the most brilliantly bizarre films ever made, Eraserhead? I had to talk to her. A cute Mormon girl discussing David Lynch at a party is not something you ignore! Needless to say, I worked my way over to the other side of the table and we began to talk movies. Lo-and-behold, we hit it off. We agreed that a movie night in the near future was in order but left it at that. I sensed that she was more than casually interested in me and I was still tingling. She was awesome.
The next day was church and I wasted no time. I Immediately tracked her down and we agreed to a movie date at her house. A few days later I brought a suitably artsy movie over and, not surprisingly, she liked it. She seemed to like ME too. We took a walk and began to talk. We finished the walk and talked some more, several hours more. I remember going home late, heart a flutter. I had wanted to kiss her that night but thought that might be a little premature.
Fast forward to our third date. We returned home to her house, sat on the couch, and talked some more. When it was time to for me to go we hugged and, on a whim, I leaned in and kissed her then quickly left, not looking back. I wasn't sure if I had been too forward or not but it felt right.
Luckily, it was right. The next day we hung out and she let me know in no uncertain terms that she was fully ready and willing to kiss me too. (Did I mention she was also very good at it?)
Time passed. I remember, sometime around my birthday that year, realizing that I really and truly was in love with this lovely, artistic, smart, and soulful girl. (She tells me she knew I was in love with her when I once called he " My Main Squeeze".)
We dated into the summer 2001. I had just finished a principal photography on a very dysfunctional and ultimately failed short film that had ended up stressing me out beyond words. One warm summer evening, a week or so after the shoot, I was decompressing over at her apartment. Glad to be done with the film, my mind was turned to more serious matters. I was thinking that maybe it was time to ask her to marry me. I loved her, she loved me, and we were great together. There really was no reason to prolong the inevitable. I had a problem though. I was irrationally scared at the prospect of the actual proposal. In other words, I was a big fat wuss.
Luckily, the stars aligned. It seems she had been thinking along the same lines. Sitting there on her futon, we had "the talk". She wanted to know where this relationship was going (and rightly so). We had dated for a year and she wanted some clarification. I remember the conversation going something like this,
Amy: "Nate, we've dated for a year now. Where do you see this relationship going?"
Me: "Well, I think we have something. I guess I see us getting married. How about you?"
Amy: "I see that too."
Me: "Why don't we then... get married."
Amy: "Okaaay. (long pause) Does this mean were engaged?"
Me: "I think so."
(Long pause)
Amy: "Ok, but I want you to do it the right way."
Nate: "Huh, ok. (kneels and takes her hand) Amy Glaser, will you marry me?"
Amy: "Yes!"
Then we kissed (we were very good at it by now) and called our parents. Not very romantic I realized. We immediately shopped for rings and I put a deposit down on the one she wanted. I payed off the ring and planned to do a better proposal at a nice restaurant.
A couple weeks later we went to the nice restaurant. (Plan working so far!) It was a lovely evening: great atmosphere, warm summer evening, great food. (Huzzah!) Then, they sat us in a weird little section of the restaurant with tiny booths all bunched together. The booths were so closely packed together we were essentially sharing a table with a couple of complete strangers. (Alert! Plans fizzling!) I managed to contort my body to fit in the little booth. (Kinda' hard to kneel now. Ugh!) In retrospect I should have asked for a different table but the thought never crossed my mind at the time. We had an akward dinner, trying to ignore out tablemates, and I recalculated my plans. (Sigh.)
Later, over at my place, I remember sitting on the couch thinking, "In the long run it doesn't really matter where it is I give her this ring. I think she'll be happy regardless."
I pulled it out of my pocket and I remember the look in her eyes when she saw the little velvet box. I was right. It didn't matter.
On October 11, 2001 we were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.
Now here we are living in a quiet little town in Ohio expecting our 4th child. We've grown a lot in these last ten years. I'm more in love with her now than ever and I look forward to many more years.
I love you Amy Kathleen Frary. You are are the superlatives I can think of and damn sexy to boot.
Nate
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
How Audiobooks Saved My Bacon er, Sanity
Due to those pesky character traits I've developed over the years such as, responsibility, ambition, and self-esteem, I find myself doing otherwise distasteful tasks in order to provide for my family, improve my career, and feel good about myself as a person. On such task is commuting. You see, I drive quite a bit between work, school, and home. I easily put 30000-40000 miles on my car in the last year. That's a lot of time spent just driving and it seems a crime to waste it.
What to do; what to do? Commercial radio is a wasteland of corporate managed mediocrity. NPR is hit or miss and always seems to have Diane Rehm on (Ugh). Listening to music helps but I need more stimulation. This is where the beauty of modern technology comes in. The resurgence of the audiobook format and the advent of podcasts are truly a godsend for someone like me. If I may be so bold as to express my strong opinion, here are some recommendations:
AUDIOBOOKS
The Dresden Files Series- All but the most recent have been narrated by James Marsters (you may know him as Spike from the Buffy.) He does a brilliant job with characters and narration and really bring the humor and action alive. I was forced to actually read the most recent one when I found out he was unable to narrate due to scheduling conflicts.
Harry Potter Series - Jim Dale narrates the American version of the books and is just a brilliant as James Marsters.
John Adams, The Greater Journey (both by David McCullough), and Einstein: His Life and Universe (by Walter Isaacson) - What these all have in common is that they're engaging, biographies/histories of interesting people and times and all are narrated by Edward Herrmann (you may recognize him as Rory's grandpa from The Gilmore Girls). Hermann has a lovely musical baritone and gives a lively and thoughtful reading to all these books. He is hands down one of the best audiobook readers of non-fiction. He could read the phone book to me and I'd sit through all 100 discs.
To Kill a Mocking Bird - I finally got around to this book after years of being told how great it is. I was not dissapointed. The version I listened to was narrated by Roses Prichard and boy did she get the accent and voice of Scout pitch perfect. I admit to choking up at several points in this book which is perfectly ok when quietly ensconced in my Camry with no one around to look at me sideways. My perceived manliness is still firmly intact.
PODCASTS
This Week in Tech - Leo Laporte and Friends - This is where I get my weekly dose of tech news and analysis. I've been a fan of Leo since he was at the now defunct TechTV as a co-host on The Screen Savers.
Radio From Hell - It was described once by TV Critic Bill Frost as "A morning radio show for people who hate morning radio shows." This is apt. The hosts Bill Allred, Carey Jackson, and Gina Barberi manage to put out a very smart, very funny, very liberal, top rated radio show in Salt Lake City, Utah of all places. They do it without idiotic skits, music, or a stuntboy. It is sometimes very local but not inordinately so that someone who's never lived there wouldn't get it.
Writing Excuses - Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal. A weekly podcast from four working writers in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror genres and full of great advice for aspiring writers. A great one if you have any writing aspiration.
The Tobolowsky Files - Actor Steven Tobolowsky (You may know him as Ned Ryerson from Groundhog's Day or from hundreds of other movies and TV shows.) discusses his life experiences and a long career in the entertainment industry. He filters it all through the lens of what he's learned and how he's grown from all the bad and good experiences in his life. This could easily come across as self indulgent but he is a natural and engaging racconteur and his observations are warm, humorous, and often very profound.
What to do; what to do? Commercial radio is a wasteland of corporate managed mediocrity. NPR is hit or miss and always seems to have Diane Rehm on (Ugh). Listening to music helps but I need more stimulation. This is where the beauty of modern technology comes in. The resurgence of the audiobook format and the advent of podcasts are truly a godsend for someone like me. If I may be so bold as to express my strong opinion, here are some recommendations:
AUDIOBOOKS
The Dresden Files Series- All but the most recent have been narrated by James Marsters (you may know him as Spike from the Buffy.) He does a brilliant job with characters and narration and really bring the humor and action alive. I was forced to actually read the most recent one when I found out he was unable to narrate due to scheduling conflicts.
Harry Potter Series - Jim Dale narrates the American version of the books and is just a brilliant as James Marsters.
John Adams, The Greater Journey (both by David McCullough), and Einstein: His Life and Universe (by Walter Isaacson) - What these all have in common is that they're engaging, biographies/histories of interesting people and times and all are narrated by Edward Herrmann (you may recognize him as Rory's grandpa from The Gilmore Girls). Hermann has a lovely musical baritone and gives a lively and thoughtful reading to all these books. He is hands down one of the best audiobook readers of non-fiction. He could read the phone book to me and I'd sit through all 100 discs.
To Kill a Mocking Bird - I finally got around to this book after years of being told how great it is. I was not dissapointed. The version I listened to was narrated by Roses Prichard and boy did she get the accent and voice of Scout pitch perfect. I admit to choking up at several points in this book which is perfectly ok when quietly ensconced in my Camry with no one around to look at me sideways. My perceived manliness is still firmly intact.
PODCASTS
This Week in Tech - Leo Laporte and Friends - This is where I get my weekly dose of tech news and analysis. I've been a fan of Leo since he was at the now defunct TechTV as a co-host on The Screen Savers.
Radio From Hell - It was described once by TV Critic Bill Frost as "A morning radio show for people who hate morning radio shows." This is apt. The hosts Bill Allred, Carey Jackson, and Gina Barberi manage to put out a very smart, very funny, very liberal, top rated radio show in Salt Lake City, Utah of all places. They do it without idiotic skits, music, or a stuntboy. It is sometimes very local but not inordinately so that someone who's never lived there wouldn't get it.
Writing Excuses - Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and Mary Robinette Kowal. A weekly podcast from four working writers in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror genres and full of great advice for aspiring writers. A great one if you have any writing aspiration.
The Tobolowsky Files - Actor Steven Tobolowsky (You may know him as Ned Ryerson from Groundhog's Day or from hundreds of other movies and TV shows.) discusses his life experiences and a long career in the entertainment industry. He filters it all through the lens of what he's learned and how he's grown from all the bad and good experiences in his life. This could easily come across as self indulgent but he is a natural and engaging racconteur and his observations are warm, humorous, and often very profound.
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