A Podcast A Week

Podcasts that YOU should subscribe to

2008-05-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

You haven't been getting weekly podcasts, and be sure that I know it. Someday soon you will be getting new reviews, but in the meantime, check this out. I endorse all the podcasts in THIS article.

Review 8: The Manners Cast

2008-02-14T16:35:00.000-08:00

Named for what I think is the theme of the show, The Manners Cast is an enjoyable show. The hosts, Trent Armstrong, Derek Norton, Colin Smith, Chris Yount, and Blair Thomas engage in entertaining conversation about everyday life and new age manners.

The reviewed episode revolved around a Valentines day theme. These fellows stand as proof that the male half of the breed are definitely more capable of thinking of feelings and relationships than they generality would care for us gals to know. They offer some valid Valentines day advice such as cooking dinner, shaving closely, and most importantly, not breaking up with valentine on the holiday in question.

The sound quality could use some improvement, but it is not a hindrance to show enjoyment. Everything said still comes across loud and clear which is really the important thing in something like a podcast.

I enjoyed this show and the hosts take on the issues at hand. I will be listening to more shows.

Episode 59 duration - 44:53
episode title: U R DMPD
URL: http://web.mac.com/pxlguy/iWeb/MannersCast.com/

Review 7: The Lost Podcast

2008-02-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

So it's the new season of Lost and I felt that I was being negligent by not hitting on a show that worships my favorite show.

Jay and Jack, the two fast talking hosts of this show, are even more dedicated to lost than I am. They do a fine job of breaking down the new episodes of Lost as they come out. I enjoyed the recap, breakdown of the episode, review of flashbacks/forwards, etc.

The hosts need to be careful that sometimes they get 'lost' talking to each other and fade out partial to full sentences that I can't hear. The crime might not be so severe if they weren't also fast talking. The combination left me feeling left out of the conversation part of the time.

While writing this, I wanted to link to their website, but the server appeared to be down. If you read this Jay and Jack, and it's fixed, just leave a comment and I'll fix the link. Instead I'll link you to the blogspot page.

All said, if you are a Lost fan, and I mean a true and obsessed fan, then I recommend listening to this show. You may soon see this show in the podcasts I subscribe to list.

Review 6: 65 Below

2008-02-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I must apologize to my modest readership. I have been unable to do reviews due to personal issues, but I assure you that I will try to pick up the pace until I am caught up.

I thought it would be nice to change up the format of podcasts I'm reviewing, so this week we are going to review a podio book. I found this book on podiobooks.com, all the downloads are free and 75% of your donations go directly to the author. A podio book is a book read in podcast form over several episodes. This appears to be an excellent outlet for aspiring authors that has the potential to gain them a strong fan base. You'll find, if you hunt for these books as I do, that there are MANY talented authors out there who simply haven't lucked onto a willing publisher yet.

65 below, by Basil Sands, is a chilling (figuratively and literally) story about a terrorist plot unfolding in Alaska. The idea is certainly believable and (though I've not finished the story yet) the story seems to be well structured. I also like that the target is not the usual major cities in the lower 48, I mean, if you've seen one car chase in Manhattan, you've seen them all. Also, blowing up sky scrapers in New York or San Francisco is SO yesterday.

Sands intro and outro music are interesting and appropriate, and I like that (unlike some other podio books) it doesn't suddenly and unexpectedly blow my eardrums out at the end of a chapter. The reading is clear and easy to understand. Sands has a pleasant voice, the sound quality is good, and there are no pops. The girl voices are less ridiculous sounding then what I've heard from some authors. There are times I think I could use a little more description to truly understand what is going on, specifically in the action scenes, but it hasn't taken away from my understanding of the story.

I highly recommend you listen to this book.

Visit the authors website here: http://www.basilsands.com/
Visit the podio books site: http://podiobooks.com/title/65-below
Listen to the promo here

Review 5: Clever Little Pod

2008-01-14T17:42:00.000-08:00

Episode: Christmas Special 2007

Length: 25:28

Host: Gary Dring

URL: http://www.cleverlittlepod.com/

Kudos to the cleverly named podcast. As I often find is the case, the podcasts I review are aptly named and this one is no exception. The host, Gary, has an amusing and *gasp* clean sense of humor. Who would have thought there were podcasters who did that? I'm not railing against the potty mouths, I swear like a trucker, I'm just saying the variety is a good thing.

This podcast is filled to the brim with cute, witty, and amusing skits delivered with energy and decent recording. The editing is smooth which always makes for comfortable listen. Break up the skits with a spattering of the better podsafe music and you'll find you're glad you decided to give the show a listen.

I found the home site a little confusing at first. All those boxes with numbers and no explanation. However, my click fetish quickly showed me that these little boxes took me to the show notes. I next found the original blog site from a link which let me know that Gary (is that really your name sir?) is from Birmingham, UK.

Congratulations Gary and Clever Little Pod, you made the subscription list.

Review 4: Skunk Smells Podcast

2008-01-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

Episode 82: Christmas Gifts

Length: 19:18

Host: Marcus Noble

URL: http://skunk.podshow.com/

Our first review of the year and we're celebrating with Marcus Noble and the Skunk Smells Podcast.

Let's start this thing proper by wishing Marcus a happy twenty-third birthday on January 3rd. Marcus seems to be your average American guy with one quality I admire. The ability to remember the mundane details of your day and talk about them. This is a quality that I lack. He works at staples and it seems (from the two shows I've listened to) that most of the 'skunk smells' stem from work.

His message this episode, to appreciate everything that you have, is remarkably astute for someone his age. My guess is that he is either advanced for his age or has had misfortune strike his life early.

Nice show, give it a listen.

Review 3: Our Big Dumb Mouth

2007-12-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

Episode: Beard Mother
Length: 50:45
Starring: two nameless guys
URL: http://ourbigdumbmouth.libsyn.com

And this week, our third review and last review of the year, I'm going to talk about a well named podcast. The good points? Strong voices (if slightly similar and occasionally difficult to discern one from the other). One of our unnamed friends has a catchy amusing laugh. I can't tell you who...because they failed to identify themselves.

Subject matter: I don't really know. I guess they just talk about their days. One fellow must live in Ohio, or Pittsburgh, I can't really be sure. Oh wait, do I hear a third voice? I don't know who that is either.

It seems that the edgy stuff that is being said is only being said to impress each other.

Ok, back to trying to talk subject matter. They're ripping on the bus driver. Is some one in love with Chuck Norris? I can't tell. Obsessed definitely. I approve, every podcast needs its pointless obsession to set them apart from the rest. Ommigosh, they just managed to talk about a bus ride between Cleveland and Pittsburgh for 18 minutes! WTF...ok, but they do go over some zombie attack issues. GSG guy would approve.

2007 lists: beard bands (no links on the site to their lists)

Ok, I'm sorry, I really didn't think I'd do this, but I can't listen to this show the whole way through. I'm absolutely certain that there is an audience out there for this show, but I can never belong to it. What I'm going to do is list out a few qualifications, if you say yes to three or more of these questions, then try listening to the show.

1) Are you a psycho fan of Chuck Norris?
2) Do you think beer is one of the major food groups?
3) Have you picked your teeth at the dinner table?
4) Do you scratch your balls in public? (If you don't have balls you are auto disqualified)
5) Are you enrolled in a sports fantasy league?

Review 2: Blissfully Ignorant Podcast

2007-12-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

Blissfully Ignorant Podcast

41: Mosoltov

Lenghth: 46:16

Starring: Max Bowman and Kryssa Bush

Url: blissfullyignorantpodcast.com

Diggs: 22

This week I bring you the Blissfully Ignorant Podcast, a show I found on podcastalley. At the time I’m writing this it is ranked 117. Certainly this is a respectable ranking when you consider that almost 40,000 podcasts are listed on podcastalley.

It is apparent from the banter between the hosts that they are college aged. (They are also dating) Even if there hadn’t been discussion of terms, you can tell by listening to them talk. Don’t mistake that for an insult, heck, it’s probably a good thing since the majority of podcast patrons are young. What I am saying is that for their age, the show is not bad. What would be interesting would be to listen to these two in a talk show five years from now when school is behind them and they have had some time in the world. A properly matured version of Max and Kryssa would make a very interesting listen.

One thing I would suggest to improve the show would be more scripting for Max. His voice is strong and clear, unfortunately it is littered with too many ‘uhs’. Kryssa has no ‘uh’ issues and as the show moves on she improves. At the beginning she was talking too fast and running words together but this was not a problem through the entire show.

The website (blissfullyignorantpodcast.com) is very simple. Most casual listeners could do without the main website and would find the blog page (blissfullyignorantpodcast.blogspot.com) more useful. This is where they list the links to all the stories and subjects discussed in the show. There is also the itunes link if you want to subscribe.

To conclude, I would recommend giving the show a listen. It will certainly appeal to a broad set of people. Besides, what does it hurt to try one new show? You can always unsubscribe. Again not making my list of subscriptions, but I repeat, this shouldn’t be taken as a non recommendation. After all, I only have so many hours in a day to listen to talk shows.

Review 1: Atomic Suburbia

2007-12-18T17:10:00.000-08:00

Episode reviewed: 27
Duration: 31:09
Genre: Uncertain
URL: http://www.poddog.ca/suburbia/
Host: Daryl Cognito

The first podcast for review was found on Podcast Pickle. Atomic Suburbia can be found under the top 100 podcasts. The host of the show, Daryl Cognito, (Canadian) speaks out against purchasing hybrid cars in this episode. I can't say I agree with his logic (or lack of) on the subject. Kudos to Daryl for sharing a couple of prerecorded arguments against his opinion.

Halfway through the podcast a single song is played. I'm not really a fan of music in the middle of a podcast, but at least the music was good and pertinent to the days subject. Aside from the middle music, I can find no notable fault with the editing or format of the show.

An excellent job is done of maintaining the website in regard to information. Links are provided for all the pertinent objects or subjects mentioned. Also, there are several links to make purchasing the music from the show simple.

All of this said, Atomic Suburbia will not be making the list of podcasts I subscribe to. The reason is more personal preference than anything else. Daryl's tone of voice does not appeal to me. It's not like I have a perfect voice myself, trust me...I'm annoying as all get out. But with so many great podcasts already on my list, it will take a truly outstanding show modify things.

A Beginning

2007-12-17T14:10:00.001-08:00

Today will mark the beginning of a personal experiment. There are thousands, probably millions of podcasts out there just waiting for an audience. Some only need to be discovered to be great. My goal will be to listen and review (I hope objectively) a new podcast every week. I am myself a fan of podcasts and hobby podcaster. I personally listen to a number of podcasts amounting to about 8 hours a day, or just enough to get me through work. I've decided, why not try to expand my podcast base, and help other podcasters out as well. So enjoy this blog, I'll search out my first random podcast tonight to listen to and review tomorrow....good day to you!