Month: February 2012

The Penultimate Truth about Philip K. Dick – an excellent video documentary on Philip K. Dick

SFFaudio News

Ray Nelson, who we talk to on the next SFFaudio Podcast, is in this excellent documentary entitled The Penultimate Truth About Philip K. Dick.

It’s well worth watching, especially the first few parts, which deal with Dick’s early career. There’s also an intriguing mention of Dick’s first published story – presumably lost – that was published in a newspaper. Let’s find that!

Part 1 of 9:

Part 2 of 9 (includes discussion of Roog):

Part 3 of 9:

Part 4 of 9:

Part 5 of 9:

Part 6 of 9:

Part 7 of 9:

Part 8 of 9:

Part 9 of 9:

Posted by Jesse Willis

A mystery record from the future as advertized in Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine in the 1970s

SFFaudio News

Lately I’ve been paging through dozens and dozens of magazines from the 1960s and 1970s. Several issues of Fantasy & Science Fiction from the mid-70s include a mysterious ad for a record from the future. Here’s a scan from the Fantasy & Science Fiction March 1975 issue:

The Record

Here is the complete text:

RECORDS – TAPES
On February 11, 1969, a record was found on a
New York City elevator. It purports to have
been recorded some 100 to 150 years from now.
Copies may be purchased for $3.00. Send to:
THE RECORD. Box 3011. New York. N.Y. 10008.

I’m wondering … does anybody have a copy of this record from the future? Did you send away for it? I suspect it is public domain, as it hasn’t been created yet therefore it can’t have been copyrighted yet. If you do have a copy of the record, please send me an MP3 of it’s contents along with a scan or photograph of any packaging and labeling. Also, if it turns out that I am the one who recorded it, sometime in the future, I’ll need to start working on my time machine immediately.

Update:

Here’s part of the recording…

And here are some photos of the LP and it’s packaging:
Cover
Disc
Sleeve

A transcript is available as scanned from a “1973 issue of Radical Software magazine (Vol. II Nr 3) contains a partial (inaccurate and rather poorly comprehended) transcript of a little over half of this recording, as well as a letter from Mr. Gesner declaring this recording to be a part of the public domain”: |PDF|

[Thanks Gregg!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Commentary: Where do you listen to audiobooks and podcasts?

SFFaudio Commentary

Where do you listen to audiobooks and podcasts?

I listen to a lot of novel length audiobooks while walking.

Pitt River Dyke, British Columbia

I listen to audiobooks when walking to work, from work, or walking a dog.

Short stories are for folding laundry, cooking or loading and unloading a dishwasher.

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time with Melvyn BraggCBC Radio One - IdeasEntitled Opinions (about life and literature)

Depending on the length of the trip I either listen to audiobooks or podcasts while driving. Short podcasts are no good for long drives. So for longer drives I listen to BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, CBC Radio One’s Ideas, or WKZU’s Entitled Opinions.

TVO Search Engine with Jesse Brown - Audio PodcastCBC Radio - SparkFreakonomics

There are a few podcasts I consistently like to hear only on weekday mornings, like TVO’s Search Engine, CBC’s Spark, and WNYC’s Freakonomics. They somehow just seem to set the right tone – and that tone just doesn’t work for me in the evenings.

The Memory Palace with Nate DiMeoToday In Canadian HistoryEli Glasner On Film

Some podcasts, like The Memory Palace, Today In Canadian History, and Eli Glasner On Film are so short I reserve them almost exclusively for walking to or from a car.

TriangulationGweekFresh Ink

At the gym, while pumping iron, I tend to listen to interview podcasts like TWiT’s Triangulation, or Boing Boing’s Gweek. On the stationary bike I watch G4’s Fresh Ink because that’s a video podcast.

BrokenSea Audio Presents: OTR Swag CastRadio Drama RevivalDecoder Ring TheatreI listen to audio drama almost exclusively in the evening. OTR Swag Cast, Radio Drama Revival, and Decoder Ring Theatre, are turned on in the minutes before I go to sleep.

Forgotten ClassicsUvula AudioNew Books In Public PolicyI listen to a couple of shows, Forgotten Classics and Science News Update, almost exclusively while getting dressed or clipping fingernails and toenails. I also listen to podcasts while in the bathroom – and that’s where my big pet peeve with podcasts comes most to a head – too many are just too quiet.

While brushing my teeth and when showering you need a decent volume to overcome the white noise of running water. I can’t listen to New Books In Public Policy in the bathroom, it’s volume is just way too low.

Where do you listen? And what do you listen to there?

Posted by Jesse Willis