In case my normal delivery was too energetic for you, here's me half-asleep, telling you about some big news for the podcast. The excitement is palpable.

A normal person with podcast-related announcements would probably work them in at the end of a regular episode in just a couple of minutes. Clearly I am not a normal person. This is something we all need to come to grips with. Acceptance is the final step on the road to recovery.

If you'd rather not listen to my silliness, here's the short version:

My new smartphone recorder app works much better so I can record on the road more easily

This podcast is now on Stitcher radio. I encourage you to try listening on the Stitcher app (sort of) and leave me a two-star review, because my expectations are realistic.

(I was right, by the way. This was fun to edit)

Next time: another round of Adventures in Social Awkwardness. Look forward to that.

I needed something short to close out this month's upload limit, so you get to enjoy some more outtakes. Or not enjoy them if you so choose. More exciting things should be coming in July: that one commentary I've been working on, stuff to do with my upcoming Twilight Zone road trip, more new and exciting verbal crutches, so on so forth...

 

Music:

"Mining by Moonlight"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

If you hadn't gathered by now, I'm quite a fan of this silly morning radio show with a dumb name, but I don't take it so seriously that I expect everyone to love it. However, this call from an angry listener lit a fire under my seat, so I decided to record a quick rant about finicky people who can't understand humo(u)r, the uncomfortable comedy of Louis C.K., and that one radio host who killed a rabbit on the air (which was not funny in any way so please don't flip out on me).

Timestamps of note:

00:36 - Shane in Maine speaks his mind on the Free Beer & Hot Wings Show

02:25 - My reactions

Check out the guys at FreeBeerAndHotWings.com

And here's that Louis C.K. monologue in case you're curious.

--

Music featured in this episode:

"Avant Jazz"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

So, this was pretty exciting. This past Friday, which was a great-looking Friday I'm sure, I got to talk to the guys from my favorite morning radio show. That is to say, the only morning radio show I listen to. To quote the great Jimmy Pardo, "Radio's dead, fellas." Nevertheless, they're all really great guys and were fun to talk to, in spite of my awkwardness.

Also, I almost didn't notice at the time, but I caught a nice Free Beer word scramble there. In his defense, I confuse "couch" and "refrigerator" all the time. No wonder my milk spoils so fast.

Timestamps of note:

00:00 - Introduction

01:35 - Another introduction

03:30 - Eric Zane

05:39 - Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels

07:47 - Chris "Hot Wings" Michaels

09:29 - Parting Thoughts

Check out their show at FreeBeerAndHotWings.com

#DoWhateverYouWant

 

Music featured in this episode:

"Avant Jazz"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

There will probably be more of these soon. They won't all be about talking to girls, but they'll probably all involve failing to interact effectively with other humans.

Beyond that, I really need to get other people back on this show to talk about stuff. I'm getting sick of just listening to myself. In the meantime, you can probably expect another pre-written commentary from me later this month.

And since we're plugging New Century yet again, here are some links for you:

Digital Drift Offical Site: http://www.digitaldrift.co.uk

The New Century series: http://www.digitaldrift.co.uk/downloads/new-century/

Tiger's Eye - Episode 1: http://www.digitaldrift.co.uk/2015/05/tigers-eye-episode-1/

(You can also just search for New Century on iTunes)

We're going to take a walk down memory lane. This brief anecdote from college is just a sample of what you can expect next time. There is a lot more awkwardness where this came from, trust me.

Also, we cap off the month with another promotional trailer for the excellent audio drama podcast New Century, because apparently I still haven't drilled it into your heads yet that you need to be listening to it. What's your deal anyway? You hate clever and engaging fiction or something?

You can find New Century on iTunes. Here are some helpful links for you as well:

Digital Drift Offical Site: http://www.digitaldrift.co.uk

New Century episode list: http://www.digitaldrift.co.uk/downloads/new-century/

(If you're new, start from the first episode of Secret Rooms, then go back to the Cartographer's Handbook to learn more about the world, or jump into a whole new story with Tiger's Eye)

In order to warm up my vocal chords a bit before recording, I've taken to just rambling like a crazy person for a few minutes prior to starting. I keep recording on the off chance something mildly amusing happens. This seems like something mildly amusing.

Before starting my first take for Adventures in Social Awkwardness (look forward to that first episode soon), I began idly speculating about my lack of confidence in my own voice a bit, and then this happened.

I thought this would be a fun and easy way to test out my shiny new microphone. I actually got this book sometime late 2014 and have barely read any of it yet, but I have already gotten a good deal of enjoyment out of its mere existence in my life. Hopefully I'm able to pass on some small amount of that enjoyment to you, dear listener.

Timestamps of note: 

00:00 - Introduction, update about the new mic 

01:10 - Some background about the book

14:45 - Undramatic readings of the inside cover, prologue, and chapter 1, with my own commentary peppered in

This was a pretty fun departure from whatever I usually do here, so if you'd like to hear more of this, or can think of other things you'd like to hear read in my dorky monotone, please do let me know.

Oh, and I almost forgot, but here's that Cracked article I mentioned: The Best (Worst) Fantasy & Science Fiction Book Covers

--

ORCA was written by Arthur Herzog.

A Kangaroo book. Published by Pocket Books, New York. Copyright 1977.

 

Backing music in this episode:

"Avant Jazz", "Epic Unease", "One of Them"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Yes, it's another outtakes / blooper reel episode.

There is an actual complete monologue to go with this eventually, but the original audio was of such lousy quality I figured it would be better to just wait until I get my new microphone setup, and maybe wait for a day when my respiratory passages aren't under constant assault from phlegm and various other oral fluids.

In the meantime, here are some mildly amusing outtakes from my first two attempts at recording this monologue segment, way back in August of 2014. There's a lot of gratuitous swearing, salivary noise, and a few unnecessary tangents.

Enjoy?

This is the second and final discussion 'cast from the summer of 2014. I ask Jess a few stupid questions which prompt some fairly interesting discussion of the nature of humor and the medium of comedy. There are a lot of somewhat inside jokes, which will hopefully translate for you, but if they don't I guess we can call it an experiment in the subjective nature of humor. At least she finds me funny.

Also, it's back to the noisy coffee shop, and we were basically sitting right under a speaker, so that's not great.

I kept the intro bit short and sweet. The actual conversation starts around the one minute mark. Enjoy.

Pause for dramatic effect.

...

 

(Transition music by Alice in Chains)