It started years ago, when I spent hours online, talking with my pals when we were unable to converse in person. At the conclusion of our extended text conversations on MSN Messenger, I would save the transcripts as notepad files. Not for any nefarious reasons, mind you. I was never searching for dirt on my friends. I wasn't looking to stow away any potential blackmail material. Not that there ever was any. The real reason why I saved those conversations was because I tend to have a difficult time remembering any given conversation. I am able to remember a great many things, but a nice long talk with one of my friends isn't on that list.
Sometimes I would re-read those old dialogues for sheer entertainment value. We tend to say a lot of funny things when we chat. Not necessarily funny to other people, but that's not the point. Mostly, I use these conversations as a journal, of sorts. As time passes, they can be a valuable tool, for they illustrate the evolution of a friendship. Good times, bad times, bored-out-of-my-fucking-skull times... it's all there.
Eventually, I moved beyond text when I purchased a micro-cassette recorder. There was a period of time, around 3 or 4 years, when my friends and I would frequent our local Denny's for late night coffee and cigarette-fueled conversations. So I started bringing along the cassette recorder, taping our deranged early morning get-togethers. Not in secret. No, I would just place the device on the table in full view. My friends intially thought this was weird, but knowing I'm a weird dude, they took it in stride. 4 years ago, I misplaced my cassette recorder, shrugged and moved on.
In the last few years, my cousin Ky has been coming over to my house to hang out late at night with alarming frequency. So one day last year, I just decided to start taping our bizarre conversations once again, in this new digital age. And in October, I thought it might be a nice goof just to edit down one of these incredibly long, rambling talks into a Halloween-themed podcast, and post it on the web. I doubted anybody would ever listen to it, and I didn't really care either way. I just figured it wouldn't hurt to try something different.
And after the first podcast, I decided to keep going with it, posting new bite-sized chunks of strange on a semi-regular basis. Apparently some people actually do listen to this shit, because I have received feedback from time to time, occassionally in my blog's comments section, and in the odd e-mail. In the dozen or so e-mails I have received, most have been surprisingly positive. Initial feedback suggested that the podcasts were perhaps too long, and the first was over 30 minutes in length. So now I keep them between 8 and 12 minutes long, to prevent excessive boredom.
Aside from that, most of the feedback is in regards to specific points raised in the podcasts. Small statements here and there. For instance, after I posted the last podcast someone left a comment saying "I think I know which lady you're talking about on that beauty show. She does look like fucking doctor Giggle!" That's about it. I do appreciate the feedback, every weird comment and every odd e-mail. It shows that some people actually take the time not only to listen to this drivel, but to actually respond. That means I must be doing something right.
It certainly isn't in the construction of the actual podcasts. There's never any real theme to our conversations. We never get together specifically to talk about one particular subject, and by the time I actually post one of our heavily edited dialogues, any "current events" talk is woefully out of date. I suppose perhaps our semi-coherent rambling is actually funny to one or two folks out there, and Ky and I both thank you for listening.
That long string of words finally brings me to the point of this post. Several days ago I received an e-mail requesting a new podcast. That flabbergasted me. Some anonymous Joe or Jane was actually demanding more of this? As I am a well-known man of the people, it is my sacred duty to provide you, Dear Imaginary Listener, with a brand-new installment of The Podcast Of Lies. Because YOU demanded it!
In this episode, entitled The Elder Manatee Podcast, I am joined, as always by my dear cousin Ky. Together, we discuss the latest in limb reattachment surgery, Mallrats star Jeremy London's nightmarish weekend of drug-fueled depravity, roving street gangs of bloodthirsty Inuits, manatees, and our family heritage. Your mind will be blown when the horrible truth of Jedediah Heuer is revealed!
Enjoy it, anonymous fan!
P.S. - A review of The Adjustment Bureau is coming eventually. I guess. I'm feeling rather despondent today. My copy of Dragon Age II arrived in the mail yesterday, and I was incredibly excited to get started. So I switch on my Xbox 360 this morning, only to have my dreams shattered by the dreaded Red Ring Of Death. So that sucks. Also, my Xbox's warranty has expired. That also sucks.
First World Problems!
Okay, that was actually kind of hilarious. I don't know why, but I laughed my ass off.
ReplyDeleteYour Xbox committed suicide because you're a creepy asshole.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right.
ReplyDelete