It's been a couple of weeks since my last post, and I feel as if I am starting anew with my blog. Its strange to think that even though I've been consumed with other things (i.e. "Vamos a Barcelona") that my blog continues to live on. Very bizarre. As "spring ahead" just occurred Sunday morning, you can say that time is on my mind.
Without much further ado, my comeback post will be dedicated to my very first podcast listening experience, which featured Ira Glass and his "Plan B" segment aired on "This American Life."
As I was lying in my bed on Saturday morning, I wasn't yet ready to go to the library nor was I in the mood to watch mindl
ess t.v. So it occurred to me this would be the perfect time to listen to the "podcast." Listening to the first five minutes of Ira's podcast in class, wet my appetite for more and so I unplugged my laptop and plopped it atop my pile of blankets.
As my listening experience got underway, I kept thinking to myself, this is so great. I am being entertained, able to relax, do an assignment, and reflect on life choices all at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking! Not to make myself out to be a lazy person (everyone is allowed to lie in their bed sometimes and veg out), but listening to a podcast was actually extremely ideal for the entertainment I was looking for. Its strange to think of homework as entertainment, but that's what listening to Ira's podcast was for me.
Writing this blog post right now has led me to question, why I don't download these podcasts to my ipod? I really should. On my w
ay to the grad (where I am writing this blog post) I had the usual a.d.d. with my shuffle feature. I didn't want to listen to anything that came on! I listen to the same music all day long: at my computer, in my car, and walking around campus. Do I honestly need anymore classic rock? What I really should've done is download some more podcasts now that I'm thinking about it....
But, maybe I just liked this particular podcast? It can be quite possible, and before I put all of my eggs in one basket, and proclaim that I am a podcast aficionado, I should really test out some other options. In the interim of starting this blog post and finishing it (which I hope to do soon) I set out to find some other podcasters. I sat at my google homepage for more than 3 minutes (o.k. it was more like 2) thinking about who exactly to google and for what podcast? I really had no idea.
To help with my search, I decided to start from the beginning: what is podcasting? Podcasting (check it is symbol to the right in purple)
is a broadcast, that is downloadable from the Internet, and then can be played on a portable device. I then realized that I really don't listen to "broadcasts" in general. Sure I listen to music, but not to a particular talk show host. My parents are actually the ones who fall into the talk show host audience (my mom listens to Joan Hamburg and my dad listens to Howard Stern). Basically, my realization is that if I am going to cross over to the podcasting audience, I need to talk to other podcast listeners and find out who is a "must-listen." I googled "recommended podcasts," and then I x'd out before the results appeared (I just had a bad feeling about the idea of searching for recommended podcasts, as if the were restaurants).I feel like this post was a refreshing switch up. I didn't have to write about anything in particular, but wrote about my thoughts and feelings on podcasting. Although as I finish this post, I have this nagging feeling that I really should have talked about Ira Glass and "This American Life" a tad bit more (since I did "dedicate" this post to him) but my thoughts just flowed some place else as I began typing away. I also have this uncomfortable feeling about not writing about "Plan B" because I really genuinely liked the broadcast, and I didn't let you fellow bloggers why! One more reason why I feel uncomfortable about my lack of writing on "Plan B" is because I took over 2 pages of notes on the over 50 minute broadcast!!!
Perhaps, those 2 pages deserve their own post?.... After thinking, well that just doesn't seem very natural and hence it should remain absent from the blogosphere.
Question: Blogging is back, but is it here to stay?
Answer: Until the end of the semester it is!
image citations:
1. www.lca.org.mt/userfiles/image/calendar.jpg
2. http://alloveralbany.com
3. htttp://i.i.com
4. www.studiodaily.com
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI had quite the same experience as you! I thoroughly enjoyed Plan B from this American Life. I too, took a few pages of notes on the different segments, and I think this is because I actually enjoyed listening to it.
I went through the same thinking pattern as you, but I actually decided to write on Plan B. But as you said, you listen to the same music over and over, why not give broadcast a try? I think listening to podcasts could be a good change, but I also wondered WHAT exactly would I listen to? I think that if we explore the web, or itunes, we could find something that may interest us to expand our brains; give us food for thought! The convenience, which is what I think podcast are all about, is another factor you mentioned that I also enjoy.
The tone of your post was easy to relate to, seeing as my experience was quite the same. Although I am more structured in my post because that's what I'm used to, I feel you did a great job incorporating your own experience and thought into this post.
-Dayna