Getting Better Acquainted

In GBA 55 we get better acquainted with my Dad (again).

Journey with my dad and me from Stansted Airport to my front door as we return from the trip to Germany that we were going on in : http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-3-dad-1

In this conversation we trace the technological developments Dad's experienced in his 88 years of life, along the way we talk about his relationship to computers and the internet, seeing the moon landing, cameramen and films, Citizen Kane, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rupert Murdoch, computer games and more!

Dad doesn't really plug anything.

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 55 we get better acquainted with my Dad (again).

Journey with my dad and me from Stansted Airport to my front door as we return from the trip to Germany that we were going on in : http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-3-dad-1

In this conversation we trace the technological developments Dad's experienced in his 88 years of life, along the way we talk about his relationship to computers and the internet, seeing the moon landing, cameramen and films, Citizen Kane, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rupert Murdoch, computer games and more!

Dad doesn't really plug anything.

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

This is the second of 2 GBA Extras that are coming out today.

They are connected thematically so be sure to check out the first one: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-partition

I tell the story of how my family came to get a dog.

This one is a story I told at the Spark London open mic which is held Upstairs @ The Ritzy in Brixton. The Spark has its own podcast that is around the same length as this episode. They release them very regularly and they feature people telling true stories live on stage. Find them on iTunes, Stitcher or MixCloud: http://www.mixcloud.com/sparklondon/

http://www.sparklondon.com/

The next Spark London open mic:

Is on Monday 21st May 2012 at 7:30pm

The theme is: Winning

The Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton Oval, Brixton Oval, London, SW2 1JG

You just turn up and pay what you like. You watch people tell there stories and if you want to tell yours then you put your name down and get up on the stage!

The next curated Spark London night is:

6th June 2012 at 7:30pm

Theme: Life saver

Venue: Canal Cafe Theatre, Little Venice, London, W2 6ND, UK - Website - map

Box office: 020 7289 6054 / http://www.canalcafetheatre.com/

I have been recording conversations for GBA with people I've met through Spark London. I have some really great ones that haven't aired yet too that will be coming out over the next year. They will be added to this playlist: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/spark-londoners/

This is the second of 2 GBA Extras that are coming out today.

They are connected thematically so be sure to check out the first one: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-partition

I tell the story of how my family came to get a dog.

This one is a story I told at the Spark London open mic which is held Upstairs @ The Ritzy in Brixton. The Spark has its own podcast that is around the same length as this episode. They release them very regularly and they feature people telling true stories live on stage. Find them on iTunes, Stitcher or MixCloud: http://www.mixcloud.com/sparklondon/

http://www.sparklondon.com/

The next Spark London open mic:

Is on Monday 21st May 2012 at 7:30pm

The theme is: Winning

The Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton Oval, Brixton Oval, London, SW2 1JG

You just turn up and pay what you like. You watch people tell there stories and if you want to tell yours then you put your name down and get up on the stage!

The next curated Spark London night is:

6th June 2012 at 7:30pm

Theme: Life saver

Venue: Canal Cafe Theatre, Little Venice, London, W2 6ND, UK - Website - map

Box office: 020 7289 6054 / http://www.canalcafetheatre.com/

I have been recording conversations for GBA with people I've met through Spark London. I have some really great ones that haven't aired yet too that will be coming out over the next year. They will be added to this playlist: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/spark-londoners/

This is the first of two GBA Extra's coming out today.

The Partition is an extended and developed version of the recent GBA submission to the Third Coast International Audio Festival ShortDocs Challenge2012: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/grey-areas

In it we get a little better acquainted with my Dad: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes/

We also get better acquainted with Sam, who is no longer with us.

And we get better acquainted with me as we find out more about my childhood.

Next wednesday's episode will be the second full length episode devoted to Dad, as we discuss technology and change on a return journey from Germany to the UK that we made over a year ago.

Later today in the GBA Extra "Out of the Window" we'll hear more about how Sam came to join the family.

This is the first of two GBA Extra's coming out today.

The Partition is an extended and developed version of the recent GBA submission to the Third Coast International Audio Festival ShortDocs Challenge2012: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/grey-areas

In it we get a little better acquainted with my Dad: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes/

We also get better acquainted with Sam, who is no longer with us.

And we get better acquainted with me as we find out more about my childhood.

Next wednesday's episode will be the second full length episode devoted to Dad, as we discuss technology and change on a return journey from Germany to the UK that we made over a year ago.

Later today in the GBA Extra "Out of the Window" we'll hear more about how Sam came to join the family.

This is the first of two GBA Extra's coming out today.

The Partition is an extended and developed version of the recent GBA submission to the Third Coast International Audio Festival ShortDocs Challenge2012: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/grey-areas

In it we get a little better acquainted with my Dad: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes/

We also get better acquainted with Sam, who is no longer with us.

And we get better acquainted with me as we find out more about my childhood.

Next wednesday's episode will be the second full length episode devoted to Dad, as we discuss technology and change on a return journey from Germany to the UK that we made over a year ago.

Later today in the GBA Extra "Out of the Window" we'll hear more about how Sam came to join the family.

This is the second of 2 GBA Extras that are coming out today.

They are connected thematically so be sure to check out the first one: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-partition

I tell the story of how my family came to get a dog.

This one is a story I told at the Spark London open mic which is held Upstairs @ The Ritzy in Brixton. The Spark has its own podcast that is around the same length as this episode. They release them very regularly and they feature people telling true stories live on stage. Find them on iTunes, Stitcher or MixCloud: http://www.mixcloud.com/sparklondon/

http://www.sparklondon.com/

The next Spark London open mic:

Is on Monday 21st May 2012 at 7:30pm

The theme is: Winning

The Ritzy Picturehouse, Brixton Oval, Brixton Oval, London, SW2 1JG

You just turn up and pay what you like. You watch people tell there stories and if you want to tell yours then you put your name down and get up on the stage!

The next curated Spark London night is:

6th June 2012 at 7:30pm

Theme: Life saver

Venue: Canal Cafe Theatre, Little Venice, London, W2 6ND, UK - Website - map

Box office: 020 7289 6054 / http://www.canalcafetheatre.com/

I have been recording conversations for GBA with people I've met through Spark London. I have some really great ones that haven't aired yet too that will be coming out over the next year. They will be added to this playlist: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/spark-londoners/

This is the first of two GBA Extra's coming out today.

The Partition is an extended and developed version of the recent GBA submission to the Third Coast International Audio Festival ShortDocs Challenge2012: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/grey-areas

In it we get a little better acquainted with my Dad: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/sets/the-dad-episodes/

We also get better acquainted with Sam, who is no longer with us.

And we get better acquainted with me as we find out more about my childhood.

Next wednesday's episode will be the second full length episode devoted to Dad, as we discuss technology and change on a return journey from Germany to the UK that we made over a year ago.

Later today in the GBA Extra "Out of the Window" we'll hear more about how Sam came to join the family.

Because making it took up all my editing time this week today we have a GBA Extra in place of the usual episode.

It's 15 minute montage of extracts that represent the 2011 output of Getting Better Acquainted. It in no way is a best of, so many wonderful moments and people were cut for reasons of time, it is designed to communicate how the show is different from what you might hear on the radio.

Because it's short it gives you time to catch up on episodes you might have missed.

There will be 2 more GBA Extra's on Friday to make up for the lack of full length episode this week. Below is the "Commendation Document" and the Track List that went with the nomination.

***

Commendation document:

Dave Pickering / Getting Better Acquainted

SRA nominated writer Dave Pickering produces the weekly podcast Getting Better Acquainted. This nomination is a series of extracts from the first 36 episodes of the show, selected to illustrate the range of topics and types of conversations he’s captured.

Each week, Dave gets better acquainted with someone he knows. It’s an autobiography through personal connections, an oral history snapshot of a group of interconnected people and a series of startlingly intimate conversations about what it is to be human. It’s like eavesdropping on a scene late in a party where two people are really getting to know each other. There are lots of shows about famous people; this is a show about the rest of us.

GBA takes advantage of the internet, not just as a way to distribute material, but as an interactive experience offering listeners the opportunity to explore playlists out of sequence.

The episodes are carefully edited for flow, pace and clarity while maintaining the illusion of real time. They are hyper-realism; microphones being moved or planes flying overhead remind us that this moment actually happened. The rough-and-ready nature of the recording is integral to the show as it aims to go where microphones rarely go.

***

Track Listing:

Dave Pickering / Getting Better Acquainted

0.00: Episode theme (episodes usually begin with a cold open, which is a short highlight from within the episode, followed by this theme.)

0.21: Opening of http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-29-matt: Matt works for a religious charity and he went to university with Dave. Recorded in a snatch of time at a mutual friends wedding.

0.38: An extract from the opening of http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-24-mum-1: Dave’s Mum answers “How did you meet me?” recorded in her bird filled back garden.

0.42: An extract from opening of http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-35-tony: Dave talks to his brother Tony. This episode has been one of the series most popular episodes and was selected by SoundCloud for their SoundCloud Voices blog.

1.04: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-26-angela: Dave’s school friend Angela describes what she “does now”. This episode was recorded next to the River Taff in Cardiff in one of Dave’s GBA Road Trips back to where he grew up.

1.13: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-6-george: Dave’s ex bandmate George describes what he “does now.”

1.22 An extract from opening of Episode 35 with Dave’s brother Tony.

1.42: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-23-jessica: Dave’s nieces’ best friend Jessica describes what she does now.

2.12: Opening of http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-16-owain: Dave and his close school friend Owain begin the show and set the scene of where their conversation takes place.

3.10: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-7-aisha-and-abdel: New media start up acquaintances Aisha and Abdel speak to Dave over breakfast at the flat where they live and work.

3.41: Another extract from Episode 6 with George.

3.56: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-33-eric: Dave asks Eric who made documentary and drama for the BBC for years and is a writer about the digital age. Eric is a close friend of his fathers.

4.33: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-19-louise: Dave talks to his university friend Louise about her trip to Togo.

5.54: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-4-liz: Dave’s friend Liz talks about the death of her mother.

6.56: Another extract from episode 16: Owain talks about when he went to Eastern Europe for a Gastric Bypass to reduce his obesity.

7.54: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-13-richard-tyrone-jones: One of a series of episodes devoted to the Edinburgh and Camden Fringes. Performance Poet Richard Tyrone Jones talks about the heart condition that forms the basis of his show Richard Tyrone Jones has a Big Heart. Dave met RTJ once at a party.

8.06: An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-2-elspeth: Dave’s university friend Elspeth talks when she was working in a shop and one of the customers died.

8.55 Another extract from Episode 6: Dave and Liz share a moment.

9.10 Another extract from Episode 29: Matt talks about his faith.

9.46 An extract from Episode 3: Recorded in the Wetherspoons at Stanstead Airport on a trip to visit family in Germany. Dave talks to his Dad about his experiences in WW2.

10.53 An extract from http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-18-sam: After a conversation with Dave’s ex work colleague Sam about having a premature baby at a young age, nearly running away with a man from the Dominican Republic as a teenager and witnessing domestic violence through her childhood, Dave wraps up the conversation.

12.22 Another extract from Episode 33: Eric answers the standard closing question of “Do you have anything to plug?”

13.55 The outro from Episode 19.

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!