Daily Create 2/28/13: Pick a vowel. Write a one-paragraph story avoiding words that contain that vowel.

My vowel: O.

            Last week I purchased a brand new pet parakeet at the mall in my city. He is green and blue with white specks everywhere, and I named him Mikey. Mikey really likes to play and hates being in his cage, and he is even learning a few sentences! I believe by next year at this time Mikey will be able to repeat everything I say because he is that smart. I must watch what I say when I am near him as I can’t have him spilling secrets! This has been a really lame tale discussing an imaginary parakeet that I made up.

My initial reaction to Valentines Day 2013 after about 2 minutes was just… seriously? This guy is calculating his chances of finding a girlfriend? The more they went into the details about finding women that were in his preferred range made me feel really bad for the guy. But as I continued to listen, I realized it was a great opening for the rest of the show. It was pretty intriguing. (And here's a funny story and infographic I found last year about this kinda thing - only this guy doesn't think that having only one person left to pick from means there is no one out there for him, he thinks it means they are soul mates..)

This was kind of a cool show to be hearing, but not seeing. I loved that I got to imagine what these people looked like and how their stories played out just from listening to them talk. It was fun to picture them sitting in front of me telling the story, and not let a video ruin that for me.

The only problem I had with this radio show was that it was very long. At first it was easy to follow along and listen because it was funny and interesting. Halfway through the second act, I realized what was ultimately going to happen to Justin after falling in love with the undercover cop, and I got a little distracted and bored. And then that was followed about the story about the duck falling in love with the rock, which I hated! The way the author was reading it made me feel like I was in kindergarten and my teacher was reading a book, showing us all the pictures page by page. I’m sure that was all intentional and that other adults could have enjoyed this segment. But for me, it just didn’t seem to really go with the other stories. I’m glad it followed up with a segment that I enjoyed, because I think that would have ruined the whole show for me if not.

SO, overall, I think the show was pretty cool. I really liked that I was hearing different people tell the stories, but it always came back to the same person to continue the segments and maintain the continuity. I felt like the show was trying to relate to everyone and make a shared experience out of a day that many people don't see as such: you're either single or taken on Valentines day, and on that day the two groups can't be friends and have to complain incessantly about the other. But I'm pretty sure a majority of the people who listen to this show have experienced something similar at some point in their lives, so I think the the goal was accomplished. And from what I'm learning so far about audio/radio, it's has a lot to do with bringing people together and giving them something to have in common.