When I started this blog in October 2009 I had no real plan. I had a title, an urge to cast my thoughts adrift on the waves of aether that compose the internet. At the back of my mind there was also some half-formed notion that, perhaps, The Omphaloskeptic would teach me enough about blogging, force me to write enough that, eventually, I’d find a more specific way of expressing myself in some other forum. I think that time has finally come.
Those of you who have continued to visit regularly will know that over recent weeks and months my stream of posts has run dry. That’s not because I’m not writing though; if anything I’m writing more. This just isn’t the proper space for what I’ve been working on. I don’t have the energy or the inclination to write for this blog so, for the foreseeable future I’m going to put it in the same box where Schrodinger stuffed his poor cat. Only time and the opening of the box will determine whether or not this thing is dead. Thanks to all of you who have visited and commented. I hope you’ll eventually follow me to what I’ll be doing instead.
So what is going to take this blog’s place? Well, sometime in the coming months I’ll be going live with a new site and a feed for a podcast that will involve me reading pieces of my original short fiction. At the moment I’ve got enough material to last for a good while, but I don’t have the know-how to produce a professional podcast. I’m working on that and, I hope, I’ll be able to start the ball rolling within the next two to three months. Please be patient; I suspect I’m facing a steeper learning curve that I anticipate and I will start to make my recordings available once I’ve got all my ducks in a row. For now I need to do things like design a site, register a domain name, find a host, choose a microphone, learn how to add the theme being written for me to the episodes etc. . .
I expect that the the next time I speak from this pulpit it will be to provide some more concrete details and dates and to check on how dead this cat really is . . .
Happy navel gazing everyone!
’)
June 21st, 2011 at 09:29
Sorry for replying so late to this – somehow this post got lost in my rather unruly RSS reader. While it is a real shame to see this place shut up shop I’m certainly very excited by the sound of future developments. I do a bit of podcasting in my job, so happy to help where I can with any tips or advice. If you haven’t already, download Audacity (it’s free) and give it a go. It should cover most of your audio editing needs…
Oh, and good luck!
June 21st, 2011 at 14:46
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the wishes of good luck and for offering tips; you may come to regret the latter. At the moment I’m still trying to sort out things like registering a domain name, choosing a host and, perhaps most importantly, selecting a microphone. Oh yeah, I’m doing a bit of writing as well . . .
As for editing software I’m aware of audacity and its prevalence but was thinking about using Garage Band. As far as I can work it out it does everything audacity does and a little bit more. Would you recommend against this?
See, there I go looking for help already.
M
June 21st, 2011 at 15:11
Feel free to ask whatever and I’ll see if I can help!
In terms of editing software, I’d say go with whatever you’re comfortable with. I think Audacity is fine for voice recording. The only issue is that it can crash from time to time, but only if you try and do to much at once with it. I haven’t used Garage Band myself, but I haven’t heard a bad word about it.
I would say the choice of microphone, and if appropriate, recording equipment is the most important part. No matter what the editing software, there is only so much you can do with a poor recording. However, a great recording should make editing very straightforward.
I look forward to hearing updates!