Aural Delights No 169 Meta Show

Good job on the Meta Show, Cap’n. Thanks for the kind shout-out, too – that was generous of you, and I really do love helping out when I can. Thanks on behalf of David, too. I’ve got to say, it’s extra-fun over here now that David and I are both involved in the Sofa – while we like similar things and we work together lots on David’s “stuff”, we haven’t had really had a hobby in common in quite some time!

Thinking about the shape of the show, it sure has changed a lot over the years. Honestly I like our good ship like she is, and I like where Tony is headed with her in 2011. StarShipSofa may not be perfect by everyone’s standards, but that’s part of why I like this show. StarShipSofa has got great heart.

Good luck with StarShipSofa HD, Tony. I just can’t wait to see you at some of the upcoming events and SofaCon in the future!

Exciting things, Tony. I knew about the Webinar on narration but not about most of the rest of it. Being the least tech-savy guy on these boards, I can only imagine – and that most imperfectly – what the HD HyperDriveHighDefHotDogHotDamn Casts will be like…but drool flows at the prospects. I can look ahead to some live audio and video renditions of stories…dramatic adaptations done like radio drama…effects, sweat and all!

I look forward to kicking back in my kitchen with a jar some time soon, and chatting about writing and music and art and history and life with Tony, David, Robyn, Amy, Jim, Dee, Skeet, and the world.

But, Tony…when do we get the holodeck?

Do I REALLY get to do a Quiz Show? Not to scare anyone away, but did I mention my appearance on “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” back in 2000? Missed the hot seat by 0.8 seconds.

Looking forward to the New Year Tony, and all that the SSS has to offer. Carry on Cap’n!

Ooh! I like moxy’s suggestions!

moxy said:
How about “Observation Deck” or SSS “Onscreen”, viewport, boardroom?

“StarShipSofa Observation Deck” has a very nice ring to it.

Here is a much belated “You’re doing an awesome job on the show”. After listening to this episode I can’t help but feel like I should be saying that more. I love the mix of old and new SF, I love the serials and the fact articles and wouldn’t mind more should they arrive. Lastly, Observation Deck sounds pretty top notch to me.

I’m going to ramble here, so apologies ahead of time. And what I’m saying, what I’m thinking, is from a uniquely American point of view.

As I mentioned to Tony in an email, that good old audio-only medium, radio, was just coming into its maturity as a powerful and artistically varied voice in the 1940s when the gray eye of the t.v. tube nudged it out of the living rooms of America and turned it into a record-spinning, soap-selling machine. It had been that all along, that and much more! But when television with its capacity to show faces and exemplify action came along (“Like going to the movies in your living room! And all for FREE!) it usurped all those elements of artistry and expression from the radio.

So while adding sight to audio podcasts will provide interesting opportunities, I hope the addition of a visual component to this wonderfully egalitarian medium of the internet as a communication tool, doesn’t have the effect of removing people like Tony and Matt and all of us from it. Visuals will require more technological savy and more expensive tools. I fear that that factor, coupled with what undoubtedly will happen as huge corporations find ways to make a profit from turning out entertainment (which as in radio, as in television, as in all commercial “media” is simply the bait that delivers millions of relaxed, credulous audients into the hands of advertisers) and, consequently, begin to lobby the US congress to write legislation to “save the sanctity of the internet” — from Tony, Matt and us…. Well, I fear it.

As I say, what I mention above is the American experience. The British managed to maintain a viable, energetic broadcast radio environment. I lived in England during the to-do with the “Pirate”m radio stations, Radio Caroline, and the like that operated offshore and broadcast to the BBC-dominated island. Of course, I was sympathetic to what they were doing… Forgetting, of course, that because the Beeb was a public utility, it was not subject to commercial needs and could express not only a public need for news and information — and, yes, propaganda — but was able to be a strong voice for artistic expression.

Ah me. Shut up Larry and go have your New Year’s Eve!

Have a happy one, all.