Our Sicilian family had taken us sightseeing this day and we were wandering around the small town of Pedara, Sicily, on Etna’s eastern flank. As usual, we were viewing a lot of church’s along the way and — being it was late July — there were weddings in nearly every one. As I entered the church — Basilica S. Caterina Alessandrini — the Ave Maria began, but this was unlike the typical organ or piano accompaniment. A full brass band was providing the music for this service and both there — and the singer — sounded amazing in the wonderful acoustics of the church.
No matter how much technology i have at hand, I always find myself falling back on my paper journal as a data gathering, thought-provoking and capturing, friend. Yes, I carry and iPhone, but there is something about writing things out longhand in a paper journal that makes you think more deeply and locks in the information more completely. Moleskeine journals are the sine quo non of paper journals. Their quality is high and they have been carried by artists and business people for generations. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, lines and more, including day-to-day calendars, travel journals and city guide.
My favorite is this large, lined journal. Right now I have a Lego Moleskeine waiting to be put into service as soon as I fill my current journals. I can’t wait!
While this item is a bit pricy for a holiday gift, it is an amazing device. I have used several of the Zoom recorders in the past, including the H1 and H2, but the Zoom H5 looks to be the recorder I have always wanted. If you have a podcaster, YouTuber, or other new media creator in your, extra special, gift list, this might just be the ticket to make them very, very happy.
Features:
Interchangeable input capsules that can be swapped out as easily as the lens of a camera
Six-track simultaneous recording
Four mic/line inputs with XLR/TRS combo connectors
Gain controls (real knobs!) and -20dB pads for each input
Phantom power for all main inputs: +12/+24/+48V
The addition of XLR connectors with Phantom power opens up large opportunities for high-quality remote recording outside your “studio” including interviews, live shows and more. The interchangeable capsules also provide a high amount of flexibility in how you might use the recorder.
I must admit that the Zoom H5 is definitely on my own personal wish list!
The ground-breaking Zoom H6 handheld recorder will change the way you think about portable recording. With interchangeable stereo X/Y and Middle-Side microphone capsules included, plus Shotgun and Dual XLR/TRS Combo input capsules available separately, the H6 is the ultimate chameleon of the audio world — and its advanced preamps make it the best-sounding one too. Whatever your application — live recording, professional film/video work, or broadcast ENG (electronic news gathering) — the H6 can handle it with ease. The H6 offers four main inputs (1-4), plus two additional inputs (L, R) that are derived from whichever capsule (X/Y, MS, Shotgun, or Dual XLR/TRS Combo) is plugged into the unit. The supplied XYH-6 X/Y capsule also provides a secondary input for connecting an external mic- or line-level signal via a stereo 1/8″ Mic/Line In mini phone jack. When a connection is made to that jack, signal from the X/Y microphones is muted. The H6 Line Out is an unbalanced stereo 1/8″ phone jack, located on the bottom of the H6, beneath the LCD display. It carries the analog stereo output signal, as determined by the H6’s internal mixer. The H6 USB port, located on the side panel to the right of the LCD display, provides a digital output of either a stereo mix or the six individual input signals, depending upon the setting of the “Audio Interface”function in the USB menu. In addition, the H6 provides a headphone output with a dedicated volume control, located on the side panel to the left of the LCD display. Connect your headphones to the stereo 1/8” mini phone jack for private monitoring of the stereo output signal. The H6 even has a built-in speaker, located on the underside of the unit, for fast monophonic monitoring of the recorded signal without the need to make any connections whatsoever. This speaker is automatically disconnected when connection is made to either the Line Out or Headphone output.
Another great USB microphone from Blue. Like the Blue Snowball microphone mentioned in earlier Gift Guides, this mic connects directly to the USB port on your computer — either Windows or Mac. The Yeti gives a full, rich sound and is compatible with all the typical New Media uses such as video conferencing, podcasting and recording voice or music. The Yeti is very popular with podcasters and live streamers and can often be seen in these productions. I think its classic styling, unlike the futuristic look of the Snowball make it more popular for video production. Its design harkens back to an earlier day of broadcasting.
Bill Farmer, The Voice of Disney’s Goofy, Talks about “A Career in Voiceover”
Douglas sits down with Bill Farmer, voice actor for Disney’s Goofy and many other well-known animated characters. We talk about a career in voiceover, how to build it, how to sustain it and career potential of becoming a voice actor today.
Fellow Friends in Tech member, Kreg Steppe started the first Dog Days of Podcasting Challenge in 2012, as a way to kickstart his own podcasting efforts. I missed that announcement, but I am jumping on board for this years challenge and you should too! What a great way to try out new styles, new shows, new ideas and generally get your podcasting feet moving!
Essentially, it is a challenge to do a podcast for 30 days in a row.
In 2012 Kreg Steppe was looking to give himself a little push in regards to recording his own personal podcast since he wasn’t recording it very often. That turned into a challenge for himself to record a show everyday for 30 days believing that after 30 days it would turn into a habit. Once it was mentioned to Chuck Tomasi he took the challenge too and they decided it would be a great idea to record starting 30 days before Dragon*Con, culminating with the last episode where they would record it together when they saw each other there.
Turns out there were some of our friends that also wanted to get in on the action and took the challenge too. So it grew into a challenge 7 of us took.
This year we are inviting more podcasters to get in on the action. Keep in mind, it’s a fun challenge, and you will not be shamed (too much) if you don’t record every 30 day. It is kind of like the way Drew Carey describes “Whose line is it anyway?”. A fun game were we earn points, but the points don’t matter.
What matters is that we all have fun recording and listening to each other.
Start Date: July 30th, 2013
End Date: August 30th, 2013
Rules: Podcast Once a day for 30 days. Show length is up to you. Most vary from 3 – 5 Min.
I’ll be posting my daily shows here during the challenge, but I will also be including my usual podcast selection as part of the 30 days, so you should see podcasts on careers, new media, gardening, technology and more!
I have a lot of interests, as most of you already know. Therefore, I have a lot of different blogs, events, and groups in my portfolio of online engagements. I also try to make myself available wherever people want to converse. This means that each of my interests usually has multiple presences on the Internet.
Here is a list of almost all of the ways you can talk with me and learn about what is happening in my life and work. You don’t need to, nor should you, try to subscribe to all of them. That would only lead to you seeing multiple copies of the same information. Rather, pick and choose whatever ways you would like to consume my “content.” If you are a heavy Facbeook user, you might want to join my pages there. Is Google+ catching your fancy? I have a home over there, too. Maybe email is your thing? No problem, almost all of my content can be emailed directly to your Inbox.
My goal is to make my content available in whatever way makes the most sense to you. It also means you can contact me and converse with me on your favorite online services. This list is also broken down by interest. If you want to see everything I post and share, the first section is where you can find it. This will contain information from all my areas of interest including events, careers, gardening, technology and my organizations.
Maybe, though, you are only interested in my gardening information. You can narrow your reading to my gardening blog or Facebook page. The same applies for careers, technology and my organizations. Select whatever is most interesting, and valuable, to you.
Thank you for supporting me, my blogs and podcasts and my organization over the years! I look forward to talking with you — and sharing more with you — in 2013.
All my interests and personal information as well as my Food-related blogging
The latest version of WordPress press, 3.5, has just been released. Following my usual WordPress Wednesday, it’s time to look at your blogs, update your plugins and try out the new 3.5.
For a complete list of new features and other changes, visit the WordPress Codex.
A few of the changes…
New Media Manager
Beautiful interface: A streamlined, all-new experience
Create galleries faster with drag-and-drop reordering, inline caption editing, and simplified controls
Insert multiple images at once with Shift/Ctrl+click
New Default Theme – Twenty Twelve
Simple, flexible, elegant
Mobile-first, responsive design
Gorgeous Open Sans typeface
Uses the latest Theme Features
Admin Enhancements
New Welcome Screen
Retina-Ready (HiDPI) Admin
Hide Link Manager for new installs
Better accessibility for screenreaders, touch devices, and keyboard users
More polish on admin screens, including a new color picker
New Media producer (and fellow Ohio transplant) Mat Luschek is looking for work and you would be lucky to have him. Mat was recently laid off from his position as Online Media Producer for NBC Bay Area in San Francisco and would like to find a New Media position in the Bay Area, Los Angeles Area, Seattle, WA or Portland, Oregon.
Mat is knowledgeable about the new media (and mainstream media) world and would be a great addition to any team looking to increase and improve their New Media presence. He is a writer, producer, host and also technically savvy in the New Media tools required for such a position. He is also an experienced and artistic photographer.
Combine these skills with his natural inventiveness and outgoing personality and you have someone who can address your New Media needs in many different ways.
Find out more about Mat via his LinkedIn profile and then drop him an email or give him a call. It could be the best thing you’ve done for your show, startup or established company in a long time!
These versatile, flexible tripods are in the kits of many photographers and new media creators. Using a tripod is one way to make all your photos and video look tremendously better, so it only makes since to take one with you when you go out to shoot. The GoriallaPod series has flexible legs that can be used like a traditional tripod, but also wrapped around other surfaces, like handrails, seatbacks and more to put your camera where you need it most.
Most podcasters need some sort of desktop microphone stand for their work. Full-sized mic stands don’t work really well if you are recording at your desk, like I do. I highlighted some microphone boom arms earlier in the gift guide, but I wanted to link to a couple of desktop stands for those that are looking for a different setup.
With interests in both art and business, it seems only natural to combine them in my mind. “Art & Fear” addresses the all-to-common issues with creating art and I believe there are a lot of parallels to any career. Most art is about overcoming fear and it is the same with your career. You need to work through the fear in order to create something wonderful, not matter what you do.
Creativity is an important part of every podcast and new media project, so for the next few days I am going to focus on some of my favorite creativity books. Aha! is all about freeing up your thinking and allowing yourself to think and act creatively. Too often we restrict and confine our own thinking just when we need to be coming up with new, wild, crazy (and sometimes extremely useful) new ideas.
Creating a monthly, weekly or even daily podcast requires you to generate an amazing amount of raw ideas to insure you have enough topics, thoughts and content to fuel your show. Developing your creativity will be an important part of insuring your show continues for many years to come.
“Aha! is a joyful, upbeat survey of ideas for enhancing creativity. Jordan Ayan’s enthusiasm is hard to resist, and every reader will find personally suitable strategies. Aha! is an inspiring yet practical guidebook for freeing the creative spirit.” –Betty Edwards, author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
I humbly present my own Kindle eBooks as today’s addition to the 2012 Gift Guide. I hope that you find them interesting gift possibilities for your friends, family and, maybe even, yourself.
My books run the gamut from social media to careers and now, to gardening. You don’t need a Kindle to read these eBooks, as Kindle books are readable on nearly any computer, tablet or smartphone platform and even in your web browser. You can download a sample of each book for free and Amazon Prime members can “borrow” the entire book for free as part of their membership.
For a long time now, Zoom has produced a wide product line of recorders which are nearly perfect for podcasters and other New media producers. Whether you go with the entry-level Zoom H1 or up the product line to the Zoom H4, you will find high quality recording capabilities with a wide variety of options in mounting, microphones and file formats. All record to some form of SD card for expandable and replaceable storage so recording everything from an hour long interview to short scenes for your next film are quick and easy.
Want to learn how to maximize social media? When to do it, what words to use, who to tweet at? Look no further than Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design and Engineering of Contagious Ideas. Social media master Dan Zarrella has amassed years of experience helping people negotiate the often mystical place of social media marketing. Now, he has condensed those well-tried ideas into this concise and conversational book. Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness demystifies and deconstructs how social media works, who it benefits and why we all depend upon it to help our good ideas spread.
![Sound Seeing: A Wedding in Pedara, Sicily 2016 [Audio]](http://welchwrite.com/cip/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/basilica-s-caterina-alessandrina.jpg)
