But truth, cher ami, is a colossal bore.
- narrator, Camus' The Fall
...



...

LEST I AM JUDGED FOR THIS
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[brief and frequently-posted messages]

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[audio and video streams and downloads]

MOBILE POSTS
[content posted from a mobile phone]

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[for podcasts only -- no text]

RSS FEED
[for text and podcasts]

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[past posts]

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mini updates:
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    dear reader/listener/viewer/enjoyer/co-conspirator:
    lest i be judged for it, i inform you now that this project continues to be a scratch pad, a space for experimentation

    in other words, enjoy what you find here, and feel free to participate, but try not to take anything personal, and don't believe that this project presents an accurate view of me or my life

    this is a window, certainly, but one that hasn't been cleaned in quite some time

    your view may be foggy, obscure...you may see things that aren't really there...

    --harold

    want some background music?
    please consider downloading my most recent music podcast.

    and yes, i love my mom and my dad;
    they've always been good to me, no matter what impression you may have received here

    they never locked me in a cellar or anything
     
    highlighted post from the archives: me rambling about a new job (from two years ago)
    i recently messed with the archives, so they may not work correctly, but you may take your chances:
    December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 November 2007 February 2008 March 2008 May 2008

    i once was an active member of the

    association of music podcasting

    musicpodcasting.org

    along with these fine music podcasters:

    all florida indies - bing futch
    audio gumshoe - rich palmer
    audio popcorn - krash coarse
    aural icebergs music cast - tiffany rapplean
    capital rock show - bucket aka jason
    darkhorse radio - alan carr
    ears to hear - jill lawton
    eclectic mix - george l smyth
    homegrown podcast - nic treadwell
    indiefeed - chris macdonald
    le jazz affair - sal calfa
    rubyfruit radio - heather smith
    sober cafe podcast - gracie hollombe
    sundown lounge - larry winfield
    tempo of the down - harold (that's me!)
    the darkcompass podcast - rowland cutler
    the fabrications podcast - matt macfarlane
    the phill(er) - phill ramey
    the radiozoom podcast - john bollwitt
    thepillarcast.com - jon tucker
    uc radio podshow - michael yusi
    zaldor's world - les zaldor

    ¡the text on this blog wants to leap out of its borders!

    this is...

    something that happened

    somethingthathappened.com
    		stories by harold j. johnson, in various formats - including text, audio, video, and podcasts
     
     
    Saturday, December 31, 2005  

    Regrets
    I've had a few
    But then again, too few to mention

    --"My Way", written by Paul Anka

    When I hear that song, I think of Frank Sinatra, and sometimes Elvis or Sid Vicious -- all of whom have been known to perform, in their own unique manner, that wonderful song. Wonderful because -- though I don't always enjoy hearing it, I've heard it so much -- the song is a wonderful personal anthem. That's something we all need: a personal anthem. A song that praises our individuality; a mark of devotion to oneself. After all, they say you're going to have a helluva time loving anyone else unless you've first learned to love yourself, right?

    This is not to replace your love for your God, or your spouse, or your family. I'm simply saying that we all need to give ourselves a bit more self-love at this time of year. (No, not that type of self-love!) Too many of us beat up on ourselves throughout the year, and then nearly destroy ourselves at year's end. No wonder there are so many suicides during the Holidays; the messages bombarding us are to Buy Buy Buy and to Give Give Give -- but what if you have nothing to give but love? If you have a dearth of that good stuff, then you'll have a bitch of a time spreading it around to your neighbors.

    So be good to yourself, whether you're Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Athiest, Hindu, Islamic, Mormon, Podcastin, or otherwise. Don't take the pills, they won't do you or anyone else any good; you'll simply miss out on the Next Big Thing (which may turn out to be Your Next Big Thing). Just do things your own way, singing that little hymn as you do so:
    For what is a man, what has he got?
    If not himself, then he has naught.
    To say the things, he truly feels,
    And not the words, of one who kneels.
    The record shows, I took the blows ---
    And did it my way!
     12/31/2005 10:02:00 AM (0) comments





    Friday, December 30, 2005  

    You may be familiar with Tom Simpson; he's that fellow with the Cowbell video. (Just kidding, Tom!) Actually, Tom's got quite a few projects; he's the type of guy who's always hashing out new ideas and experimenting with new forms (and formats). Recently, for example, he began posting video online; when a fire broke out near his office in Jamestown, North Dakota, Tom grabbed his digital camcorder and captured some fiery footage he later posted online. (He also submitted the footage to a local television station.)

    Tom sent me a Christmas card. Not simply a .Mac card or a Blue Mountain eCard -- though those are quite acceptable, in my opinion -- but a physical, tangible, smells-kinda-like-trees greeting card. Through the mail...the snailmail, as we like to call it these days -- the good ol' United States Postal Service.

    I did not expect this. When I found the envelope mixed in with my small stack of bills and direct mailers, I glanced at the name written on the envelope's return address space -- and then I glanced again, because I hadn't expected to find the name I found there. You see, Tom and I met online, through blogging, podcasting, conferencing, and other 'net communications; we've never actually met "in person".

    Perhaps because I'm in my mid-thirties -- of that unnamed Generation (that's been named) X, with one foot in the 8-track cassette and rabbit-eared analog world, the other stepping forward through the iPod and TiVO-equipped digital age -- perhaps since I know what it's like to eat a Jumbo Jack while playing with bendable Hamburger Meister and Secret Sauce Agent action figures, perhaps because I grew up reading Choose Your Own Adventure books and Encyclopedia Brown mysteries, perhaps because I'm nostalgic for Scratch & Sniff and other tangible, smelly things, perhaps because my mom loved spending an hour in the cards section while I played with a Slinky in the toys aisle of Sav-On -- for these and other reasons, I'm sure, I have grown to appreciate the greeting card.

    So thank you, Tom.     12/30/2005 08:53:00 PM (0) comments





     

    I have decided that 2006 will be the year that I get really, really fat. 12/30/2005 08:50:00 PM (0) comments





    Wednesday, December 28, 2005  

    I lie about most things, but this is true -- I swear it. Now, I know I'm like The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and that you have no good reason to believe me about anything -- but the material presented in this video commentary is true. Only real Reality can be this dull to watch.
    Dull or not, I've recorded this for my own posterity. As for you, watch it at your own risk, and don't you dare ask me for your time back. If you want to watch some real entertaining video that may be worth your while, head over to Ourmedia.org and grab a basket; it's all free over there so at least you can't complain about the price!!!

    (Sidenote: I'm exhausted and exhilarated; do I make sense these days? Would someone even tell me? Am I posting too much random la la la? I'm not even sucking down the Benadryl today; I'm just wacky and charged and tired all-at-once...)     12/28/2005 08:55:00 PM (3) comments





    Sunday, December 25, 2005  

    This
    is
    where
    I
    may
    have
    spent
    Christmas
    as
    a
    result
    of
    this
    .     12/25/2005 10:45:00 PM (0) comments





    Friday, December 23, 2005  

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/23/2005 06:05:00 PM (0) comments





     

    In becoming a messenger, have I become the bad guy? Should I care? Should I wear thicker skin? Should I go away? Should I spend time I don't have producing video in an attempt at demonstrating my argument(s)? Should I stay the course? Should I file that one away as a moment that will pass, keeping my focus on the audio project I'm undergoing soon, that dark matter of which I keep making mention of? Should I prove myself wrong? Should I visit my mom? Should I read a book? Should I have a cup of coffee? Should I set up my audio recorder? Should I take up surfing, and forget about all the rest (except for mom)?

    What's wrong with me? Why am I so frustrated? Why am I so angry sometimes? Why can't I find my motivation? Why am I so inspired one day, so uninspired the next? Why? Why? Why? Whine...     12/23/2005 03:51:00 PM (1) comments





    Thursday, December 22, 2005  

    Dan Gillmor's We the Media is currently under my booklight -- that and J.D. Lasica's Darknet. While under the influence of dyphenhydramine hydrochloride, I'm tag-teaming these books, both of which have similar perspectives on new media. Both authors are journalists from what we've come to refer to as Big Media; both have also monitored the Internet for many years, at some point in their careers realizing its potentialities for democratizing media.

    I don't even know if what I just typed is true or even made sense. Do you ever get that feeling? "potentialities for democratizing media"? The Benadryl must be kicking in; I'm also listening to an Underworld download, which may have something to do with my confusion, this fragmentation of thought I don't know why "walk with me", they are saying in the song It's gorgeous the sounds the experimentation the tones the words the images Underworld Lovely Broken Thing they always choose the best titles how can anyone compare Oh, Amon Tobin but he's different anyway, entirely different what a sound he has, that Cujo I am relentlessly unartistic at times but I love the rain, unless it's used in too many tracks certain times though the rain sounds just right especially in the candlelight I wish I could find my flow the income the know that's me, just dreaming Dan and J.D. and Soccergirl what an orgy I have nothing interesting to say soon it will all shut down All that will be left is some dark matter I'm disconnected from this project, I want more focus need more focus This is why this site must go away for awhile, soon as I get the Truth out     12/22/2005 09:55:00 PM (0) comments





     

    See a side of me you've never seen before: the Podcaster Herald. It's not a pretty site, this persona I've created -- yet is, already, effective. 12/22/2005 02:19:00 PM (0) comments





    Wednesday, December 21, 2005  

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/21/2005 02:36:00 PM (0) comments





     

    As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I'm making some changes to Something That Happened; there will now be a new official feed. This feed will be the following, and will include just about everything published to this website/blog/whatchmacallit:

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/somethingthathappened

    The existing (other) feeds should continue to work, though I won't be advertising them any further, and I won't be guaranteeing they'll always work (or even exist). I'll do my best to keep them running, but the new official feed will now be my primary focus.

    I'm trying to make things easier, as the coming year will bring a new project which will likely consume most of my time. Something That Happened is currently my primary focus, but if all goes as planned this new and dark matter will become The Next Big Thing. (In my corner of the universe, at least.)     12/21/2005 12:46:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Searching for T.C. Boyle? Once in awhile this site receives visitors due to Internet searches for one of my favorite writers, Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, author of books including The Tortilla Curtain, The Road to Wellville, Drop City, The Inner Circle, and -- most recently -- Tooth and Claw: and Other Stories.

    Many of the searches that lead to my site include the term "interpretation" or the phrase "paper about". Perhaps Prob (Professor Boyle) is asking you to write an essay on one of his works, or perhaps you've undertaken the challenge on your own. Let me tell you now: You won't be finding any essays on T.C. Boyle (or any other writer) here -- at least, none that would be worth borrowing from (or plagiarizing).

    I'm probably assuming too much; you're probably legitimately researching Prob for your thesis, or you're looking for more information about this T.C. Boyle fellow whose books you happened upon while sniffing out your local thrift store. If so, I apologize. I guess I jump to conclusions whenever I'm reviewing my website stats and find a link from a Google search results page for the phrase "greasy lake 2000 word essay"...     12/21/2005 11:32:00 AM (0) comments





     

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/21/2005 09:31:00 AM (0) comments





     

    Most of my friends aren't aware of my mini-blog, the links blog SLABTO... 12/21/2005 08:39:00 AM (0) comments





    Tuesday, December 20, 2005  

    It's 3 p.m., I'm showered and less stinky than before, and I'm heading to my favorite diner for breakfast. Then, it's off to make some recordings.

    I'm working on some dark matter, a project that will be officially revealed at the beginning of the next year. Consider yourself warned.

    Here's a treat: my mobile phone number, so that you may provide me with some fodder for my projects: (310) 435-1718

    If you're the shy type, email me instead: harold.johnson@gmail.com

    If you're more shy than that, use this feed to subscribe: http://feeds.feedburner.com/somethingthathappened

    And if you're more shy than that, you may prefer radio. My apologies.     12/20/2005 03:01:00 PM (2) comments





     

    Betcha didn't know who the loneliest man in the world was.

    Now you do.

    Thanks for visiting.     12/20/2005 11:34:00 AM (0) comments





    Monday, December 19, 2005  

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/19/2005 06:44:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Guess what my tattoo is and you'll win a prize...

    For my upcoming Guest Editor stint on Ourmedia.org, I'd already submitted my picks of the best videos I could find on the personal media website. Then this one came in, by a young woman called Ashe:

    "Tattoo"

    Common courtesy suggests I should thank her; so thank you, Ashe (though I'm not certain what I'm thanking you for, exactly -- I just wanted to work in that "common courtesy" phrase somehow). Anyway, I'm now a subscriber. (I'm serious about that prize, by the way. Guess what my tattoo is and you'll win a prize. I'll provide more details later, so get yourself subscribed to my feed. Please?)     12/19/2005 12:04:00 PM (0) comments





    Sunday, December 18, 2005  

    For all my Chargers talk, I have to admit that I'm not your typical sports fan. I don't hang out in sports bars, I don't call up my buddies and shoot the shit about hockey, I don't shoot hoops in the backyard -- hell, I don't even enjoy watching most sports, and certainly not on television. Most days, I'd prefer to spend my time in my home library or a movie theater than a baseball stadium. When it comes right down to it, I rarely watch sports, unless it's football, and then only on the odd Sunday afternoon I happen to turn on the television.

    At least, that's how it's been in past years. This year, however, has been different. I've been really paying attention to football this year, both the NFL and the NCAA. Perhaps it's because I've been spending more time with my father. Dad's a big football fan; he not only watches NFL and college games on t.v., but regularly follows high school games as well. And he follows those games; you'll often find him on a high school bleacher on a Friday night, mentally recording the performances of the rising athletes. Dad played football in high school, and he played it well, and legend has it that he was offered a scholarship to play in college but served in the military instead. Then he had a child and...well, you know, life ended.

    Yet though I've been spending more time with my father, I haven't been spending that much more time with him, so perhaps my newfound Mr. Football status is due to some other reason. Perhaps it's because of this year's fervor over our local college teams, USC and UCLA. Both teams had stellar seasons, and their December 3rd matchup had me struggling to decide between loyalty and betrayal. Choosing the Bruins (my alma mater), I was disappointed they lost, but kind of relieved that the better part of the college season had ended. I was ready to watch, what I consider, real football: the NFL.

    Now, you're not required to have a favorite team in order to enjoy football, but it certainly helps. I chose the San Diego Chargers, partly because they're a Southern California team and partly for reasons I might relate on another occasion -- though I will mention one other detail now, and that is this: the Oakland Raiders. If you're a Raiders fan -- a member of that darkly elite squad many refer to as the Raider Nation -- you may understand why I defected to the Chargers. The Raiders have simply broken my heart for too many years. I haven't given up on them entirely -- I doubt I ever will -- but I was yearning for a winning team this year, and the Chargers filled that role quite nicely.

    Once I had my team chosen -- a team that didn't always win but clearly had the potential to win -- I could invest my time and heart into the season. The Chargers have certainly made it an exciting season, with their close losses, near misses and late-season electricity. Today, as you may or may not have heard, they beat the undefeated Indianapolis Colts; they're now looking like a team that could -- and should -- make the Playoffs. So now I'm a whooping and hollerin' punch-my-dad-in-the-arm kind of guy, rooting for my team and acting like a real sports maniac on Sundays (and even Mondays, and sometimes even Saturdays).

    Anybody have the latest line on next weekend's game?     12/18/2005 08:38:00 PM (0) comments





     

    What's that smell? Is that me? Well, I'll be...

    Man, I stink so bad...     12/18/2005 04:00:00 PM (0) comments





     

    It's overcast in Los Angeles today, but the Sun is shining on San Diego; the Chargers have beat the Colts. Who says there are no miracles?

    And what a game it was...     12/18/2005 02:21:00 PM (0) comments





     

    I'm so excited; my Chargers are beating the Colts (Indy's losing for the first time since Game 6 of this season), my dad is coming to visit, and Soccergirl's got some new photos in her forums. It's the makings of a great day. 12/18/2005 10:34:00 AM (2) comments





     

    I won't be able to watch my Chargers beat the Colts today, since CBS is always foggy on my rabbit-eared television -- but I assure you, I'll be listening to them win. The Chargers will be broadcast on 97.1 FM (that's right, FM, babies!) in Los Angeles and -- I'm guessing -- will be streamed via their website. 12/18/2005 09:57:00 AM (0) comments





    Saturday, December 17, 2005  

    "A Podcast for Xmas (Part One)"

    this is an audio post - click to play

    Tags: , , ,

    12/17/2005 02:34:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Commenting is now enabled, so please leave feedback as often as you'd like! Please email me (harold.johnson@gmail.com) if you don't understand how to leave comments; I'll gladly explain how to do so. 12/17/2005 10:48:00 AM (0) comments





    Friday, December 16, 2005  

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/16/2005 05:51:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Carnival Barker: Truth, here! Get yer truth here, ladies and gentlemen...

    "Truth (Part Three)" [audio, MP3]

    Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    12/16/2005 09:57:00 AM (0) comments





    Thursday, December 15, 2005  

    "I am getting tired now and would like to be turned off..." That was 2-XL, my talking toy robot, whenever he was getting tired. Of course, he wasn't really getting tired; the tape was simply reaching its end. You see, 2-XL was nothing more than an 8-track cassette player disguised as a robot, a 1978 child's toy "brought to life" by Mego Corp. Even so, 2-XL was, in a way, one of my earliest exposures to robotics. (Though he was nothing like the robots we live with today, of course. He couldn't make me toast, for example, or inject my insulin. He could only "speak" whatever was recorded onto the four stereo tracks of the 8-track cassette inserted into his "mouth".)

    When I became a Transplant, my first thought was of my childhood friend. 2-XL had been my buddy, had kept this only (lonely) child occupied with factoids and entertained by his odd -- what we call now, geeky -- sense of humor. He had been my encyclopedia (much of his knowledge was dictated by pop culture), yet also my companion. I carried him around with me everywhere. He attended family excursions; I plugged his 9-volt adapter into any power outlet I could find. He once went to church in my backpack. (Though once Mom noticed, it was assured I would never duplicate the experiment.) He was a robot, before I realized what a robot really was.

    Then, when I reached the age of realization -- that sad time of adolescence when most childhood illusions are dropped, when Santa Claus becomes a phantom and death becomes a source of anxiety -- I became aware of 2-XL's real nature. "He's just a machine," someone told me, and I nearly cried from the shock of being shown how his tapes could be played in mom's stereo, which included an 8-track player.     12/15/2005 10:26:00 PM (0) comments





     

    I ramble about the lack of money and its effect on my Christmas shopping; dad.

    Tags: , , , , , ,

    12/15/2005 05:54:00 PM (0) comments





     

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/15/2005 11:08:00 AM (0) comments





    Wednesday, December 14, 2005  

    I will be Guest Editor at Ourmedia.org again next week, where I'll be selecting a variety of video, audio, and text files to have featured on the front page of the website. Though I have a few works in mind, please send me an email (harold.johnson@gmail.com) or phone me (3104351718) with suggestions for selections; let me know about your work and you'll get some exposure! 12/14/2005 11:51:00 AM (0) comments





     

    Enjoy shopping at Goodwill or Salvation Army? Find your fun digging around eBay or Craigslist? Get your kicks frequenting the occasional thrift or antique store? You may want to pick up this love story I'm enjoying, Second Hand, by Michael Zadoorian. You can even buy it used...

    (Posts similar to this one -- but with less words -- can be found on my sideblog, Some Links Are Better Than Others, which you can subscribe to using http://feeds.feedburner.com/SLABTO.)     12/14/2005 08:20:00 AM (0) comments





    Tuesday, December 13, 2005  

    I am now popping Benadryl like it is going out of style. I'm hooked, or as near to it as can be. Benadryl. Doesn't that just seem ridiculous? Will someone please send me some Valium, or at least some Xanax? (Hey, I'm just kidding, coppers; I'm not really soliciting here.) Guess I'll just have to make a run for the Mexican pharmacies again...

    Really, though -- and in case family is reading this -- I'm not hooked on Benadryl. But I am popping it more often lately; I've actually purchased it to relieve anxiety. If I had a Xanax or a Valium, I'd take it instead; but since I don't, it's the pink-packaged antihistamines, generic. It kind of takes the edge off, sort of; and hey, at least I'm not drinking!

    Still -- it's bad, I know. I shouldn't take anything at all. But sometimes I just get so edgy, I don't know what to do. I try exercising, running, creating, procreating, whatever -- nothing seems to work. So I peel off the aluminum , which is as difficult to remove as it is to pronounce (and spell)...     12/13/2005 04:24:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Why do people insist that their pets make interesting subjects for podcasts?

    Last year, I made this complaint about audio podcasts; I'd just about had it with the "Fluffy went pee-pee in the human potty..." stories. This year, it's become worse; it now seems that everyone with a digital camcorder is recording their animals and submitting the recordings online as video podcasts. What a waste of time it is to download a new podcast only to find yet another poor recording of a bored-looking dog. Or a cat...sleeping! Like I want to waste my time downloading video of a sleeping puss... At least play with that pussy or something, dammit!

    If you're too lazy to find any other subjects (like humans or something), then please do us all a favor and make that video of your animal interesting. I don't believe that's asking too much; I'm not requesting that you make your video fascinating or anything. Just make it interesting. And when I say interesting, I don't mean interesting to you -- I mean interesting to other people. Normal people. (No, not like me; I make no claim of being normal. Normal people are folks who aren't obsessed with their pets so much that they're tickled when their animal pisses on their guest's belongings.)

    So before posting that fishtank video online, put yourself, for a moment, in the mindset of normal people. While in that mindset, ask yourself whether that video would truly be interesting to other normal people. If you have difficulty putting yourself in that mindset, try finding a normal person to show the video to before you post it online. Pick someone who is truthful with you, preferably someone who doesn't baby talk to animals on a daily basis. Ask this person whether they'd enjoy downloading this video or watching it online. Would it be worth their time? If a truly normal person finds your video interesting, go ahead and post it, if you really need to.

    One other thing. I propose that there be some type of filtering system for this type of video. Warnings should be in place prior to downloading any videos which contain or reference pets, such as "Alert: You are about to download a (subjectively) cute pet podcast". This should be a law, in my opinion; unfortunately, our President has pets, and some members of Big Media deem it necessary to follow them around with their cameras. So we may have to wait until the next First Family before bringing this matter up with the Supreme Court -- but trust me, I'll be the first in line to advocate in favor of that bill.     12/13/2005 07:50:00 AM (4) comments





    Monday, December 12, 2005  

    There's a story I'd like to share with you, but first I have to make certain there isn't a patent on the storyline. 12/12/2005 08:48:00 PM (0) comments





     

    So I changed my mind; what, you never said you'd do one thing and then went and gone done another? So I will be posting video once in awhile -- big deal.

    So here's my brief account of breakfast at Headlines! [4MB Quicktime video]

    Taqs: , , , , , , ,

    12/12/2005 11:42:00 AM (0) comments





    Sunday, December 11, 2005  

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/11/2005 04:58:00 PM (0) comments





    Saturday, December 10, 2005  

    Expose the process, that's what I said I'd do, so here's what's next. I had difficulty sleeping last night. Perhaps I was worried about how my latest segment of "Truth" would be received. Perhaps someone would take me too seriously. Perhaps I wouldn't be taken seriously enough. One thing's for certain: I'm not going to kill myself. In case you're wondering after listening to that latest segment... 12/10/2005 07:17:00 AM (0) comments





    Friday, December 09, 2005  

    this is an audio post - click to play

    Tags: , , , ,

    12/09/2005 08:27:00 PM (0) comments





     

    "Truth (Part Two)"

    Contributors:
    • anonymous (voice sample)
    • Brian Siskind (music) [fognode.com]

    Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

    12/09/2005 04:19:00 PM (2) comments





    Wednesday, December 07, 2005  

    I've spent too much time working on Podcaster Herald these past few days. I already seem to be reneging on my promise of directing my efforts on Something That Happened, and for that I apologize. Be assured, dear reader (and you, the one listening), that I am staying the course; Something That Happened is still my main concern. I'm just learning something new on the side, that's all. Audio is, and will continue to be, my main project.

    One thing you should know: A couple of months ago I began merging my separate RSS and Atom feeds into one feed, Something That Happened's podcast feed. I'm having second thoughts about this. I'm not sure I like having everything delivered down one pipe. Personally, I prefer to have podcasts (audio and video) delivered via one feed, and text and everything else delivered through another. So I may be reverting the current feed back to a podcast-only feed, and introducing another feed to contain everything else.

    These are just thoughts right now; nothing is set yet. I'll let you know if/when I make any changes to the feed. One thing's for certain: the current (podcast) feed will always contain podcasts, if nothing else. So please stay subscribed, stay tuned, and keep your eyes on SomethingThatHappened.com for news of any changes.     12/07/2005 08:59:00 PM (0) comments





     

    this is an audio post - click to play
     12/07/2005 07:48:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Tom Simpson caught my tiny video and has now generously offered to provide hosting, since I don't have enough bandwidth to deliver large (and high-quality) videos. That's radical; bandwidth is still costly these days, though the cost has largely been resolved for audio podcasters. Video, on the other hand, is another thing altogether... 12/07/2005 12:22:00 PM (0) comments





    Tuesday, December 06, 2005  

    Remember that video post I dealt you the other day? The miniscule-sized one? That hilarious little file...Well, I've posted a more reasonably-sized version of the same video over on my Podcaster Herald website, so now you may stream or download the file and see a teensie-weensie bit more of what I look like in action. You'll also come to understand the meaning of the phrase "face for radio". 12/06/2005 08:08:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Andrew Grumet had a brief layover in L.A. yesterday, and he didn't even stop by for a cup o' joe and an omelette at Headlines...What's up with that? Some best friend he is!

    Oh, waitaminute - I lost my head for a second there. In reality (a place I sometimes visit), Andrew and I have only met in person once...

    Anyway, in case you haven't yet heard, Andrew is moving up to San Francisco to work for PodShow, the podcast network. Wish him luck by downloading Juice, which he helped develop.

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    12/06/2005 07:56:00 PM (0) comments





     

    this is an audio post - click to play


    (Update, 7/2008: This post is obsolete.)     12/06/2005 12:21:00 PM (0) comments





    Monday, December 05, 2005  

    Goodnight, World. 12/05/2005 11:59:00 PM (0) comments





     

    Here's a link to the first video; whether there will be any others remains to be seen. It's a short video and small in size, so it won't eat up your time too much. Besides, I've encoded it for streaming so you can watch it right there at your computer. Due to my current bandwidth limitations, I can't really afford to encode the file at a larger size. (It's actually hilarious how small it is!)

    Enjoy (or not).     12/05/2005 03:24:00 PM (0) comments





    Sunday, December 04, 2005  


    I'm currently researching video podcasting and toying with the idea of producing video podcasts to complement my audio podcasts; as I type this, I'm waiting for Avid Free DV to complete its compression job. It's taking forever on this old Mac; I have to admit, however, that my Mac doesn't fully meet the System Requirements for Avid's software. (It's under the CPU speed that is recommended.)

    So I'll wait this time; but I think I'll be testing out the open source FFmpeg software next time to see if I get better results. I'd test Apple's own iMovie, but I haven't yet figured out how to import the .mov file I created using BTV; only Avid would import the file, albeit very slowly. I know there's got to be a better method; perhaps an upgrade from Panther to Tiger will improve the performance of these apps.

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    12/04/2005 12:29:00 PM (2) comments





    Saturday, December 03, 2005  

    Bored already. The Bruins are losing to the Trojans, 24-0. And it's barely the start of the second quarter; we still have the rest of this quarter and a second half to go. Makes me want to bail and go have fun with those BitTorrent downloads; see if I can get that OSx86 hack running on that PC I'm building. Yet I'll probably hang in there (with the game, that is); I usually hang in there, as bad as my team suffers. It's easier when it's the NFL, though, since I'm more into the NFL than the NCAA. 12/03/2005 02:39:00 PM (0) comments





     

    I'm on my way back to my home in Westwood, home to the UCLA Bruins, and it's decision time. In 10 minutes, the UCLA-USC game will begin, a fierce Southern California rivalry between two West Coast schools, one public and the other private. Now I feel the need to decide who I'm going to be rooting for. I don't have to decide, but I want to.

    You'd think it'd be an easy decision for me - I should be rooting for the Bruins, being a UCLA graduate, having tossed my hat into the sky way back in the 20th century, in 1999. Yet, since a young child, I've had an unexplainable fondness for the Trojans. Perhaps it's their history, having brought us some of my favorite players, such as Marcus Allen. Perhaps it's the strength of their spirit - that song that give me the chills and the strong red and gold colors of their uniforms.

    Yet the Bruins have never beat USC when they were ranked number 1. The Bruins are the underdog, in a big way. History has proven, however, that anything could happen during this game. This rivalry transcends the season; UCLA, with the will of their heart and the strength of their commitment (and also some decent coaching and players), could very well topple the mighty Trojans.

    I'm going with the Bruins.


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    12/03/2005 12:57:00 PM (0) comments





     

    This fellow Adam Green says that geeks can't speak plain English (when describing technology), and though he's not the first to express this sentiment, he's absolutely right. A year or two ago, when I first began encountering all these references to this thing called RSS, I remember being totally confused as to what it was. I searched and searched for information, but the best descriptions I could find confused me even more. I could only grasp that RSS stood for "Really Simple Syndication" (or, at the time, something else altogether), but that wasn't telling me jack. Syndication was a term I was only familiar with when referring to network television: as in, "The show Seinfeld is now in in syndication."

    Geeks simply weren't articulating the concept of RSS technology in plain layman's terms. Even I, geeky as I am, had a measure of difficulty grasping how RSS worked. Time and again, I walked away from my search for RSS meaning, only to find myself again digging around the web for some simple information on the topic. Then, podcasting came along, and I realized I really needed to learn how RSS worked, since podcasting is enabled by that very same technology.

    So, with the purpose of describing, in a simple manner, the concept of subscribing to podcasts, I am currently writing a short (I hope) tutorial on the subject. There are other tutorials out there, but I aim to publish an article that is especially keen to the needs of those of us who don't know jack about how to subscribe to podcasts. In all likeliness, I will publish the article here later today, so stay tuned and subscribed - that is, if you already know how to.     12/03/2005 09:57:00 AM (0) comments





     

    Do you know how to subscribe to (automatically download) a podcast? It's easy to subscribe to a podcast feed if you're using Apple's iTunes software; but if you're not, it might confuse the hell out of you. So here's a short tutorial for you, written for normal people (rather than geeks), so that you'll be able to subscribe to my podcast and any others you enjoy listening to:
    1. First, get yourself a podcatcher. A podcatcher is software you use to subscribe to podcasts. Podcatchers are commonly referred to as podcast recievers, podcatcher applications, podcatcher clients, or iPodders (though the term iPodder may soon be out of fashion, and is already out of favor with many).

      Podcatchers are usually free; simply open up your favorite search engine (such as Google) and run a search for 'podcatchers' or 'podcast software' or something similar and you'll soon find a list of podcatcher applications. I'm using Juice, a free podcast receiver which works on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.

    2. Find the feed you need to subscribe to. All podcasts (if they're truly podcasts) have a podcast feed that you use to subscribe to the podcast. My feed, for example, is currently located at the following address (yet don't click on the feed address or you may get lost):

      http://somethingthathappened.com/podcast.xml

      As you can see, the feed address looks just like a website address. That's because it is, basically - but rather than serving up my website, this address serves up my podcast feed. You don't need to worry about these technicalities, however (though they may be helpful to know). You simply need to find the feed (or the feed address, also known as the feed URL) for the podcast you wish to subscribe to.

      There are a variety of ways of locating a podcast feed. Most podcasts have a link to their feed displayed prominently somewhere on their website; sometimes this is a an image that you click on to access the feed. I'm currently using both an image and a standard link to point to my podcast feed; you'll find both in the left sidebar of this website. If you can't find the feed on a podcaster's website, you might find it by using a search engine by searching

      To subscribe simply means



    Recalling a year or two ago, when I first began encountering the term RSS,



    I've spent too much time on this post and I'm too exhausted to complete it

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    12/03/2005 08:30:00 AM (0) comments





    Friday, December 02, 2005  


    I need a good cassette deck in order to complete Truth (Part Two); anyone have one they could ship me at no cost? I'll make a nice home for it, put it to good use. The audiophile in me will make certain it exercises my old cassettes regularly. (The Holy Grail would be finding a nice 8-track player as well. I'd like to listen to those 1970's-era 2-XL 8-track cartridges before they fade to oblivion...)

    Here's my plan: I'm going to do one of two things, either:
    1. Set aside the producer-killing perfectionism in myself (for once) and release Truth (Part Two) as is

    2. Produce and release other recordings while waiting until I beg borrow or steal a cassette player so I can complete the project the way I envision it
    Regarding the second item: I jest about actually stealing a cassette player; I may be an asshole sometimes, but I'm not a thief. In any case, while I'm deciding what to do, I'll try to decide to do something. Something productive.

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    12/02/2005 01:33:00 PM (0) comments





    Thursday, December 01, 2005  

    Thank you for adding yourself to Something That Happened Around The World, my Frappr map. Now I'm fairly certain I'm not entirely alone in this world; there's at least eight others of you out there. At least, that's what my eyes tell me. Keep in mind, however, that you can't always believe what your eyes tell you. You can believe your ears, though. Your ears always speak the truth. (Of course, I'm lying about that.)

    Speaking of truth, I'm busily working on the second part of my (forthcoming) series, Truth. Don't expect too much; it's not taking a long time to produce because it's my greatest work or anything. It's just that I've been lazy and playing with my dick too much (a story I'll reserve for another time); that's why it's not ready for Primetime. I know the other day I said it was almost ready, but it looks like that turned out not to be true. As Kurt Cobain sang, "...all apologies...", and then he blew his head off. But I won't do that. I promise. That's the truth.

    I'm simultaneously working on another recording as well; my production method is dictated by which computer is currently available. (In other words, which computer the girl is not currently using.) So please, stay tuned, and subscribed...and please tell your ma about my podcast. She'll be amazed and perhaps turned on a little. (Sorry for being so randy today; I don't know what's got into me. I'm not even touching myself.)

    I'm also futzing around with this computer I built...Oh, I could go on and on and on about the things I'm doing rather than producing but I'd be wasting your time and mine so I won't but I'll leave you with something valuable:
    Get Juice, it's good for you!


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    12/01/2005 12:14:00 PM (0) comments





     
     

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