Follow Friday and getting the podcast plan together

So getting fixed up for the interview with Andy Lewin next weekend. Hoping that if it all comes together we will likely be having our first face to face Podfling Radio show AND it will be with the new Roland recorder which sounds awesome by the way, as if I haven't said that enough this is only the beginnig.

My only concern is for the other 5 shows. We're on a postponed schedule due to lack of interviews in the timely manner that we hoped. That's the difficulty with having a very specific show topic constraint and format. We hope to keep the motion running by putting together a non-stop spin off podcast "Over&Out" which will debut within the next couple of weeks. It won't be a weekly, but more of a wheneverly and will run on either side of the Podfling Radio broadcasts for as long as there are interviews.

Over and out will be open to any topic, so the possabilities of grabbing interviews will be inexhaustible. The resources are getting better too, and maybe my hosting skills will improve.

FOLLOW FRIDAY: Twitter has a great tradition on Friday's where people put on their tweets a mention to those people who are worthy of a follow that particular week. It's an outreach which is missing from other social networks, but it is something I want to adopt for this blog. So without further ado...

Check out the Mighty Mighty Variety Show with Melissa Burk and Robyn Sweetroll Ramsey! This is a show you can find tonight infact on the http://www.sharkradionetwork.com/ at 9pm EST. That's 2am for the likes of those in the U.K. but fun to wait up for. Also, get to know them and follow their show, get locations for their podcasts by following http://www.facebook.com/#!/mightyvarietyshow

There you go. Thank you Follow Friday!

It is Friday the 4th November...

and it's the day before "Guy Fawkes Night" which is exciting for several reasons:

1) It's a day where everybody has fireworks. It's our 4th of July, although we celeberate the capture of Guy Fawkes who attempted to blow up the houses of parliamant with dynamite - and failed. So what do we do? we create an effigy of Guy Fawkes and burn him on a huge bon fire. (if you think about it, it's very Wicker Man) - although I get the feeling not a lot of people really understand why they must remember the 5th of November. Again, the day is blurred with pullutants, such as fireworks, toffee apples and anarchy.

- saying that, it is very quiet the day before the 5th, so people behave differently here. They wait until the day and then go nuts, which is how it is supposed to be. In the Netherlands, kids set off fireworks from September until February, and often in the street, under cars, and some like to deafen cyclists who cycle under bridges where the sound of a firerocket is amplified. Wear ear plugs if you're cycling in the Netherlands at this time of year, or you will suffer. I also remember seeing children as little as 5 running around with fire crackers and full on fireworks, some even engaging a faulty rocket, picking it up post lighting and handing it to their friends... and that was just on the build up to New Year.

B) With Bonfires all around, I will hopefully enjoy a cigar and a glass of wine with my wife. Our first fireworks together as a married couple. Last year we stood on the garden of the apartment and watched somebody who had a car load of fireworks burn his money. That's the way to go. I've never bought a firework in my life. Since the year 2000, people have really gone over the top, but that's all a part of the fun.

3) We have a family visit this weekend, a cat adoption house inspection tonight and soon after the fireworks have all died out, we will have two new kittens to look forward to.

I have no picture tie in this time, but I did see this a couple of weeks ago and had to laugh. Peanuts always cracked me up!

Insomnia Raincheck? What is that?

It's a curious title. It does have an explanation. back in Boston College (that's Boston, England - not to be confused with MS) I wrote a terrible, aweful, nasty, unfunny, crudely written sitcom called "Curing Insomnia." I decided to not write any more Curing Insomnia, and so put it on the back burner. (I realise now, I should have left the back burner burning. I'm sure one day I will put the sitcom pilot on here for all to read... and cry, and generally wish they had the half hour they would spend reading it back.

At the same time, I was not sleeping very much. I didn't have insomnia, but as it was a relatively new term, I believed I did. I was simply going through the late teenage phase of - I'm old enough to do whatever I want now. I don't have to go to sleep if I don't want to?

It didn't take long for me realise I could sleep, and very well thank you very much. I decided to put my insomnia on hold.

Two accounts of putting insomnia in some form up for a raincheck. When I decided I wanted to write my own magazine at 18, guess what name I went for? Yes, you guessed it, "Insomnia Raincheck." I had toyed with being even more surreal, playing with the dream like imagery of "Green Boats and Doorframes". Not a lot of people "got me" when I was a teen, so I thought 'Might as well live up to my reputation for being strange and unpredictable. That's what I always aimed to be. Different and somewhat unique.

So I had to find a name for the blog. StephenRadford was already taken. I don't like seeing my name on everything anyway. I reached back to the dungeons of my memory and there it was: Insomnia Raincheck - the title of the blog from which I will report all the happenings of my life.

Below, by the way is the new image for the website. Now that I have dispensed with the long scrolling news thing, I've opted for a simple, hover over the image and reveal the latest deliverables. Notice the new addition? Yes, the sister show to Podfling Radio has a logo, keeping it within the family in terms of design. Looking forward to its launch.



PODFLING RADIO NEWS: Unlike Podfling Radio, Over&Out will have a quiet launch, and thereafter, new podcasts will appear whenever they are made. There won't be a 6 episode limit this time. It's a case of (have a show, get it done and get it out.) - Podfling Radio will however continue, but not likely until the early months of 2012. The music season takes a lot of preparation and getting interviews hasn't been easy so far.

Here we are...

Finally, I can update all the happenings of stephenradford.com in the one place. Outstandng thought. Who would have believed that I wouls set up a blog. It's not that I don't like them, but more the case that there are so many ones I want to read out there, I just wouldn't know where to start.

I can't pretend also that you don't all have lives, so being brief is the order of business. If I'm going to write an article, it will be posted here as a link, and most likely be present on the website. Much easier.

Hey, oh, and would you believe it. I got my Roland digital recorder in the mail today! Very excited. I can't wait to record interviews, audio journals, you name it, it will be used prolifically and also... professionally. I even got a fluffy muff for it too! Exciting!

So, the website has had a little change. No more scrolling news and updates. If it's new, you will know about it here and on social. If it's interesting to specific people I will tag you. Don't be afraid... tagging is harmless!

Right Jenn?

Okay, so I have no pictures, video or audio to share. Just check out the website at http://www.stephenradford.com/ and please, feel free to comment. I have no idea what you people think most of the time.

NEWS: This weekend we should have two kittens joining the adventures of life here in Middleton. Yep. we've adopted two black kittens, and we can't wait to go get them and bring them home.

MORE NEWS: The Over&Out Podcast will be coming soon. Had the first interview. Hope to have many more with Matt as he appears to have many interests.

Oh by the way, if you happen to be asked if you want to do a podcast, if you don't have it already, get skype! trust me: free computer to computer conversations work best.

That's all for now. (so much for being brief.) adios!