Late Podcasts

I don´t like this. The first sign of the impending death of a podcast is irregularity in release. Currently I have a couple of shows that have been quite punctual in their schedule in the past but have now been absent in the last weeks.
These are:
Answer Bitch - Last release was on the 12th nov.
Hollywood.com - Last release was on the 18th nov.
KCRW´s Film Reviews - Last release was on the 18th nov.
Suicide Girls - Last release was on the 11th Nov.

Now there can be some technical reasons why these podcasts have chosen to abandon their schedule, but most often these are the last breaths of podcasts that have lost their reason for being.

eMacCast

This show is informative. That we cannot deny. Apple users and aficionados can get their regular fix of news and speculations along with tips and advice on Apple matters.

That being said... the show manages to be completely non-exciting and without any amount of flair or entertainment. The presenter sounds like a depressed Lurch on Valium. He maintains a flat intonation in his hour long monologue and this would be unbearable if not for one thing. The show is segmented into chapters which are easily accessible through a drop down menu in iTunes. That way the user can jump to the segment that particularly interests him.

Despite the faults, the show contains valuable up-to-date information. Recommended for Apple users, others need not apply.

Answers with BC

Answers with Bayless Conley Podcast. Each week BC speaks to millions of people all over the world through his radio and video broadcasts but now he has added the podcast option to his arsenal. Who is BC? He is a pretty cool guy, passionate, energetic and speaks with streetsmarts. He is certainly not your normal preacher IMO and for those who wonder about god or just need some inspiration, energy or life advice then this podcast is a great choice. I am not a religious person but this guy can certainly inspire me. The podcasts are varied and sometimes he is focues on the holy book and sometimes he is more focused on everyday issues and speaking from his own experience prior to becoming a believer.

Plueballs

Two funny guys, brother I guess created this crasy funny podcast. They have over 5000 subscribers, they are rough, talk dirty and make real (or fake?) reference to their own strange acts and experiences. Listening to their podcasts make you feel like you have a few more wacky geeky friends then you already have. If your looking for some funny stuff, these guys can provide you with a nice option, just beware if your a sensitive person who gets easily offended.

Deleted from my Subscription list

I have decided to pull the plug on the Naked Scientist.
The quality of the podcast is still good but the non-interesting topics and the irritatingly inane telephone callers became tedious listening after a while.

Furthermore the show is far too long for easy listening - dedicating a whole hour for discussions on hookworms or whether bees see color, is fruitless and just mind numbing.

Tiki Bar

There is something refreshing about Tiki Bar TV.
While most other podcasters aim to be informative and sometimes entertaining, Tiki Bar TV aims lower and somehow manages to be better for it. It is genuinely funny.

The show revolves around a strange cast that every month do their best to give you a new cocktail recipe - yes, this is a funny show with alcohol recipes. Brilliant.
The long time bar regular Lala, a buxom gorgeous bar wench, has now become somewhat of a geek celebrity.

Every month a small crisis arises at the bar, which can of course only be averted with a timely and delicious cocktail. Now, I don´t know but it seems to me that the cocktails are suspiciously rich in their alcohol content. You would have to be a formidable drinker to be able to keep a clear head... but the show would probably become even funnier.

The production is quite good, especially graphically. The use of special effects is quite advanced and it is apparent that everybody is having a good time.

Download and enjoy.

Top Ten November

I´m always on the lookout for new podcasts, something that can earn its place in my iPod. I have downloaded some new ones and will offer more reviews in the coming days. I might even re-visit the older podcasts and see if they have improved or changed in any way.
Of the 40 or so podcasts I subscribe to now - these are the ten most listened to.

1. Slate Podcast
2. Cinecast
3. Ebert & Roeper
4. Suicide Girls
5. Answer Bitch
6. 1UP.com
7. Diggnation
8. dl.tv
9. KCRW Left, Right and Center
10. KITKAST

I have a feeling this list will change every week and will keep you updated.

1up.com Game review Podcast

Something strange happened to the initial Gamespot.com podcast. They started out strong, did some reviews and discussed game features on their initial podcasts but then suddenly went silent.

Another game review competitor seems to have taken up the slack and has even taken the extra step to make a very good looking game review podcast.
1up.com is a crew of dedicated and professional gamers who, in addition to maintaining a very slick site, have managed to produce short review shows - only 1 or 2 games per show - but they manage to wrap the reviews in small vignettes of their life in the office. The shows usually start with one of their employees having a discussion with Microsoft on the phone, arguing about something and then walk to another cubicle where he starts a discussion about some publication date or... whatever. All very Tarantinoesque.

The reviews themselves are very good and they cut in actual movies from the games themselves, thus giving us a much better feel for the action. Right now they are very Xbox oriented due to the impending release date but apparently they have interest in all consoles and handhelds. Nobody should feel ignored.

The shows are good, funny and well produced but one cannot help thinking that keeping up this rapid pace of release (once or twice per week) must be taxing for otherwise busy executives.

Venture Voice

Thinking about starting a company? Or just improving the one you own or work for then head over to Venture Voice. The shows are focused on young startups, techie focused with a great interview with people like Jason Fried from 37 signals.

4 stars out of 5.

Cancelled Shows

Pulling the plug on some things is a bittersweet experience. Sometimes you just know that there is potential but for your own sake, you need to let go.
This week I decided to get rid of the following shows:

1. Mayo Clinic - Medical Edge.

This was one of those "snippet" shows. Once in a while you downloaded a minute long podcast filled with such good medical advice as "Exercise is good" and "Make sure you get enough sleep". I honestly subscribed to the podcast in the hopes of getting a really cutting edge medical info, this was after all the prestigious Mayo Clinic, but got instead the medical equivalent of Yentas-R-Us.

2. Agent Xenon.
This was a video podcast - one of the first ones. Apparently a group of video-enthusiasts banded together to make decent, funny, sometimes absurd videos.
The podcast was actually good but proved to be somewhat empty - downloading tons of megabytes for some frat-humour jokes got old very fast. I, as a member of the audience, have graduated to shows with actual content.

I should be writing

I should be writing is an endearing podcast dedicated to the constant struggle between man and his writing utensil.

A professional writer - Mur Lafferty, who has several RPG books under her belt along with countless magazine articles - takes it upon herself to guide us through the process of writing, submitting and, hopefully, getting published.
Along the way she teaches us about the nemesis of all writers, procrastination and writer´s block, along with the best way to deal with rejection, analysing your writing etc...

She seems to have a lot to say about her profession and while some of her advice may not be relevant to all, she certainly is enthusiastic and obviously loves what she does. Her podcasting skills are considerable and the show is of tolerable length, 20 minutes or so.

Ebert and Roeper - Movie Review

We all know that the podcasting world is awash with inferior shows, amateurs and people more interested in saying something rather than having something interesting to say.
Therefore it is always great to find actual professional media personalities who are using this new medium to channel their existing shows.
Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper in their movie review radio show are good examples of this trend.
Ebert is famous as the grouchy part of the Siskel and Ebert show (another movie review show) and now he is reworking his magic with a new partner. Roeper and Ebert are both movie reviewers for the Chicago Sun Times and also produce this radioshow which is run on more than 200 stations across USA. And now they have taken the show international through podcasting.

They are knowledgable and don´t waste any time on useless or idle talk in between segments. The reviews are fast paced and you never get to the point where you just want to shout at the presenters to hurry up and get on with it (a pet peeve of mine). They occasionally disagree on movies and when that happens they defend their position with eloquence and wit. A fun show in all and a good way to spend 24 minutes or so.

SuicideGirls - Dating and sex

First of all, this is an actual radio show in San Francisco, which explains why the production is of such a high quality and the show itself absolutely faultless in its construction.

Getting that out of the way, the SuicideGirls are a group of young goth women who have banded (bonded) together and have a large forum on the net where they exchange pictures, advice and hints and tips.

Which is mainly what the show is all about. The presenters are 25ish young ambi-sexual women who go by the handles Missy and Bee. Missy is the shy voice of reason, while Bee is the more impulsive one. Both have voices that drip with sensuality and surprisingly, empathy. You wouldn´t expect young goths to be so in tune with relationship problems and how they present their advice to their listeners is nothing short of masterful. Listeners call in with all sorts of sexual and dating dilemmas and the girls are quite down-to-earth and sometimes blunt. They have no hesitation in blasting a chauvinist (I pulled the girl up by her ears) or to expose a female user in a relationship (she is playing you).

In between calls they ponder the various aspects of relationships (Rebound sex - good or bad?, Dealing with Ex-sex etc..) and play their own selection of esoteric music.
I honestly didn´t expect to like the show so much but I highly recommend it now to anyone with an open mind.

http://suicidegirls.com/

Kitkast - Sexually oriented Video Blog

Kitkast must be filling a large hole in the market. This is the first sexually oriented video podcast that I have come across. I would be surprised if the show didn´t become a top ten listing within the week.

Kitkast is run by the cute-ish ex-stripper Ms. Kitka who seems to enjoy hosting the show dressed in lingerie... ah, heck, we all enjoy watching that. Ms. Kitka presents the show in a very frank, perky manner and comes across as a very likable gal who just likes the sex industry and wants us to share in her enthusiasm.
She divides the show into several parts, news from the sex industry, interviews and then quirky news. The news items are rather tame and are not really sex-industry related. There are no announcements of the next big thing in porn, the latest reviews of porn films etc... Instead we get vague net-sex related headlines. The interviews are mostly the most interesting part of the show, especially when she meets online amateur stars who are surprisingly eloquent in the interviews - but direct us to their websites which are fairly hardcore. It reveals something of my own prejudice that I was so surprised. The sex industry is obviously becoming more mainstream.

The show is not lengthy nor boring but there is something wrong with the production. The picture quality is fuzzy and the sound quality is not clear. If she would clear up those faults and maybe tone down the lengthy 50's style introductionary bits, this show would be a landmark in the video podcasting world.

Podcast Cancellation

I have cancelled my subscription to the following shows:



Kathy Griffin: My life on the D-list. Poor Kathy tried to jump on the podcast wagon rather early in the process but was plagued by bad production (she seemed to be talking in a huge echo-y room) and frankly from a very low entertainment value. I hoped she would get a grip on the show but she broadcast her last show on the 8th of September. I waited... but no more.


Queer Eye Hip Tips: As a final sign that the Queer Eye phenomenon has jumped the shark - they seem to have given up on their podcast. The show was in itself not bad, they used 2-3 minutes to give us self-boosting tips on lifestyle and clothes, but apparently they don´t have that much to say as they gave up on their 11th show. This is a valuable lesson to other podcasters - don´t start a show unless you are confident you can keep up with the content demand, week after week.