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Week in Review | Always Listening

Posted by
| February 10, 2013

This week involved a GREAT DEAL of listening.

Videos.

Sound effects.

Sounds around me.

The sound of my voice.

The sound of a story from my point of view.

Sound.

Sound.

Sound.

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Watching the Ira Glass and Jad Adumrad videos made me think of things in a new light.  I happen to love Ira glass and “This American Life” so it was fun hearing his take on how and why stories ‘work’, and how they don’t.

I loved how he discussed the way we were TAUGHT to tell stories, versus they way a story tells itself.  His example was right on, as students (especially when we are younger, a.k.a. before college) we are taught a time line for a story.

Introduction

Information.

Climax.

Conclusion.

It’s all very neat and orderly really.  maybe it just makes it easier for the teacher to read and process so many papers?  It really is a disservice to students.  Not everything fits into a box perfectly.

The questions a participant in a story experiences during a story seem even more important than how it happens.  The hook, or what reels the reader/viewer in is super important to the success of a story.

Jad Abumrad’s take on storytelling left me wanting to paint pictures through words more effectively.  “Co-imagining” as he puts it is an awesome way people connect with one another.

The intimacy of an effective story brings people together, makes them think and helps them possibly understand humanity, society, and simply each other better.

The next video I watched by Abumrad discussed “the radical uncertainty that’s a core part of any creative process that really pushes the envelope. You’re entering unknown territory, and working without a map”

I LOVE this approach to describe what it feels like to GIVE of yourself in a story; raw, intimate, and hard to do.  <—That’s my experience at least.  The HOW behind the radio show happened is something I think many of us can relate to.  Excited beginning, feelings of failure, uncertainty and even elation.  Storytelling gives us all of those things, and gives us perspective on those things as well.

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First, I LUUURVE. Fred Armisen.  He and Ira Glass as a combo kinda made me giddy.

The stories I listened to:

Doppelgangers

Getting Away With It

What Doesn’t Kill You

Each of these stories involve segments that make up one big stories from shorter stories.  Combinations of word, sound, and intrigue make each of these exciting to listen to.  One of the segments TOTALLY Grossed me out.  Go.  Listen, if you haven’t already.

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I also listened to some ds106 radio.

Based on my schedule I had a hard time finding LIVE shows.  I believe everything I listened to was recorded.  I lie, I did NOT hear  a live show.  BUT!  That doesn’t mean I gave up on the assignment.  I listened to a few hours of radio, everything from A story about Rupert Murdoch,

murdoch

to a techno-y story, that I never really figured out, to some interesting jazzy with spoken word business, to a story within a trippy layered track that truly gave me a headache, I did NOT make it to the end.  Sorry.  I’m sure it is someones bag, just not mine.

I also listened to this (screen shot below) The Children of Sodom and Gomorrah Show.  Tres, tres interesting.

CoSG

And what I’ll call an ‘EDU-Mashup’

I like  the idea of user generated content and I look forward to getting to listen to something live and interact via twitter hopefully.

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This week I also got to make my first radio bumper (can’t wait to hear that on ds106 radio!!) and I really loved this project.  It may have taken a lot of time, but it was super fun!

I also made a audio story.  that’s it, no words, sounds only.  This was really fun, I think you could almost ‘write’ a whole book this way.

I never even considered doing a project like this, but I really enjoyed it.  I remember my sister wanting to be a Foley artist…now I can see the appeal.

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My Daily Creates were really fun too!

I did:

Create an acrostic poem that includes item of clothing that you’re currently wearing.

Re-title a movie poster to make it more accurate.

Create some kind of pattern of things on your desk right now.

You can see them all here. 

I love opening the daily create page and seeing whats in store.  It’s nice to have a direction sometimes, and a really open ended one.

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The comment groups are going pretty well.  One of the biggest thing I am finding is folks are having a hard time navigating the theme I am using on the site.  I have made some adjustments, but happen to really like the ambiguity of the site.  I am considering changing it, but I’m not sure if I will.  I have darkened some of the colors, and made the hyperlinks a lot darker to help hopefully.

It is really nice to hear what other people think of what I am doing, and continue to love the interaction between author and viewer.  Every comment is a learning experience and every comment is a way to connect on a deeper level.  Every comment is also a re-assurance that what I am doing matters. (even if for just a moment)

Twitter has been a great thing too.  Participating with folks  that aren’t in my comment group has been fun.

I’d like to read EVERY post each of us does, but alas this hasn’t happened the past two weeks.

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In the end I’m pretty sure everything is going okay.   One suggestion to the blog was to add an arrow or something pointing to the comment button.  I like this solution but am unsure how to do this.

Suggestions?  So TOTALLY open to help with this!

I really want to take a minute and share a few seconds I had with a friend the other day.

B: How is school going?

Me: I can’t even begin to describe the level of overwhel-ment I have been having lately.

B: Uhh…Oh…

Me:  Now this isn’t the worst thing ever, in fact one of my classes is the most awesome class I have EVER. TAKEN. EVER.

 

Thank you.  Alan, and everyone.

 

 

 

 

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