Well for a few lines, at least!

I submitted some audio for a few bit parts a while back and had some fun doing it, but hadn’t heard anything since. It was a very pleasant surprise when I heard my own voice on the latest episode. Thanks Chris, if you’re reading!

I know things are a bit quiet over here lately, but feel free to go listen to me in Chapter 13 – Making the Cut – I’m Lindy.

This week’s Podcast of the Week is, rather bizarrely, a twofer. It’s a shared podcast – half the time it’s The Now Show, the other half it is The News Quiz – just to keep you on your toes. It all depends on which season is currently running.

Either way, it’s an excellent podcast to subscribe to if you want to see what the best of Radio 4 Comedy has to offer.

The Now Show portion of the podcast is hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, and has a stand-up comedy format based on the current affairs of the week. It’s amusing, but I do find that it can be a little variable, depending on the particular guest comics that week. It has a tendency to try a little too hard. However, when it’s good, it’s very very good so still well worth the listen.

At the moment, however, we are being graced with The News Quiz. Hosted by Sandi Toksvig, it’s ostensively a quiz show where panelists have to guess the current news story given some rather cryptic clues. In practise, scoring is completely arbitrary and it’s just an excuse for the very best of cutting wit and irreverent humour. Add to that, unintentionally funny press cuttings from around the country read in a completely deadpan voice by Radio 4 newsreaders and you pretty much have the perfect comedy show.

WARNING: do not attempt to listen on a personal mp3 player while travelling on public transport. Other passengers will think you completely utterly insane as you burst into hysterical laughter every few minutes.

The podcast is released weekly (on a Friday, funnily enough, as you may have guessed from the title) and is around half an hour long.

Starting WoW is a fairly new podcast, designed to take you through the early days of learning to play World of Warcraft (for those who have been living in a cave these last few years, WoW is a massive multi-player online role-playing game or MMORPG).

It’s hosted by Cian Mac Mahon, a podcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. He talks about many aspects of the game experienced by a newbie player such as character classes, common jargon, and what to look for in a guild, just to name a few recent topics.

One of the most helpful episodes for me, was a discussion on plugins/addons for WoW where he recommended two in particular (QuestHelper and Auctioneer) – neither of which I would do without now.

If you’re not a brand new player of WoW, it’s probably still worth listening to as Cian promises to cover material suitable for more experienced players as the series continues. The episodes are short and accessible (around 10 minutes long) so won’t interrupt your play time too much either.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a podcast of the week, so without further ado, I would like to introduce you to one that has really inspired me recently.

I Should Be Writing is a podcast by the very talented Mur Lafferty.

Its tagline is “the podcast for wanna-be fiction writers, by a wanna-be fiction writer” but to be honest, it doesn’t feel like it comes from a wanna-be. While she may still strive for a few more acceptance slips for her fiction writing, she has an impressive amount of non-fiction credits to her name, so she is certainly no stranger to the profession.

Mur is professional, disciplined but above all comes across as friendly and approachable.

The format of the show includes personal commentary on how she is doing with her goals – we get to share her ups and downs of the submission/rejection cycle. Then she has a specific topic to discuss such as the basics of submitting a story, which writing advice to follow and editing. It finishes with listener feedback and questions.

As a bonus, every few weeks Mur has an interview with a published author to bring another viewpoint in to the topics recently discussed.

Mur comes across as intelligent, witty but most of all supportive. If you’re looking for a little writerly solidarity, or just have an interest in any part of the creative writing process, then this podcast is for you. Most of all, it’s just great as both an inspiration and guilt trip because YOU SHOULD BE WRITING!

Each episode varies in length around the 30 minutes to an hour mark and is released fortnightly… ish.

One day, I’m going to be an organised person.

I aspire to be efficient and methodical.

Some of my readers may be surprised by this as on the surface I seem to plan things very well, but those who know me better will know how much more I enjoy the planning and the list-making rather than the actual follow through.

So the Get-It-Done Guy – Quick and Dirty Tips podcast suits me rather well. It’s a short weekly podcast – only around five minutes long – so you should be able to find the time to fit it in somewhere.

The host, Stever Robbins, has a beautiful dry sense of humour with perfect comic timing – he presents a quick dose of wisdom in an effortless and captivating way. At the end, I always find myself more motivated and thinking of ways to apply the tip to my own life.

Recent topics have been: asking yourself “why” you are doing what you are doing, how to take great notes, how to say “no” to overcommitting, filing across multiple media so you can actually find stuff again, and how to motivate your employees to be more productive.

Yes, it is business orientated but at the same time the advice is broad enough that it can be applied across many life areas – and even if one topic isn’t directly relevant, he’s funny enough that the podcast is still worth listening to.

I am going to be breaking a self-imposed rule here. Normally for my podcast of the week slot, I try and strive for variety and not have two similar genre podcasts in a row.

However, I have just discovered this podcast and have been so utterly blown away by its quality that I just have to share right now.

So for those who aren’t interested in science fiction and fantasy fiction, I’ll have something different for you next week – thank you for your patience.

This is a series of short stories, but all taking place in a single cohesive world – Metamor City.

Created by Chris Lester, it’s a world where magic and technology co-evolved together, and magic is getting stronger. It’s a dark and gothic universe with a futuristic twist – think Buffyverse/Angel meets Batman meets Torchwood.

The calibre of writing and characterization is top notch, and the production quality is excellent. At the time of writing, they are on episode 10 but I thoroughly recommend you start from the very beginning and work your way through, as you learn more about the world as you become immersed in it.

The very first episode, while simply narrated, is an excellent introduction and it certainly held my curiosity by the end of it. However, episode 2 was gripping from start to finish and from that point on I was completely and utterly addicted. By episode 4, the series has a full cast (rather than just simply narrated by one person) and makes full use of sound effects and music to totally immerse you in the story telling.

If nothing else, I highly recommend listening to their promo (Morgan) as it gives you a chance to get a feel for the series. I should stress that the series often has very mature content and is not suitable for children.

I hope you become as addicted as I have.

When I was younger, and had much more free time than I do now, I used to love reading Science Fiction anthologies. There’s something about the SF short story – bite-sized views of unknown and exotic worlds – that just hits the imagination’s sweet spot. However, these days I don’t get as much time to read, and when I do it’s usually “proper” novels.

On my wandering through the online universe, I discovered the Escape Pod podcast. It solves all my problems in one swoop – I get a SF hit without having to “make” time… I can listen while cooking, cleaning or in the car. The short story format means that I don’t have to remember a previous episode or catch up to what’s happened previously, I can just dive right in.

So what of the stories themselves?

Some are pure enjoyable escapism. Some make you stop and think – what would it be like if you could travel back in time or if we invented a true artificial intelligence? Some echo problems humanity has at this present moment in the real world, but just from a different perspective.

All of the stories I have listened to have been thoroughly enjoyable and captivating – not bad for absolutely free!

Escape Pod is released weekly, and is approximately half an hour long.

I reviewed the following podcast over on Fotonomy Blog back in December, but I know that not all my readers follow that blog as well, so no harm in a repeat.

This podcast is suitable for anyone who is interested in photography – whether they have the latest DSLR or are just trying to learn how to use their point and shoot more effectively.

The hosts are Scott Sherman and Michael Stein, who are keen to stress that they’re not pros, just enthusiastic amateurs, but that said they really know their stuff. Most importantly, they have “real lives” and families – so they have similar limits on disposable income for their hobby as I do – a huge change from some photography podcasts I’ve listened to where it appears the host owns half a camera shop of equipment!

The format of the show is often a general chat and discussion at the start, such as answering questions from listeners, discussing situations the hosts have found themselves in or talking about current photography news. Then there is usually an interview of some kind, and periodically there is a photo contest combining a theme and a technique.

Recent topics that they’ve covered are: getting the most out of portrait photography, organising your photo directories, taking low-light pictures, Scott Kelby’s 7 point system for Photoshop, and Law for Photographers.

There is always something fresh and interesting in this podcast, and I have learned so much in just the short time I’ve been listening. Highly recommended.

I have been taken to task by two separate individuals for neglecting my “Podcast of the Week” for a while. I’m thinking iPods were popular presents this Christmas!

Either way, my apologies to those of you whose iTunes podcast directory is looking a little empty. I shall do my best to remedy the situation immediately.

This podcast is not really aimed at my demographic. My hard-core gaming days are a long distant memory, and even then I was a PC gamer not a console gamer.

The humour is juvenile, puerile and probably a lot of other things ending in ‘ile’. The hosts mainly play Xbox 360, which I do not own. They think Wiis are crap, which I do own. Most of the reviews seem to be for first person shooters which I generally can’t stand.

But damn, it’s good!

I’m laughing pretty solidly for the whole half hour. The interactions between the hosts are fantastic, and I really recommend listening to several episodes before you make up your mind because you miss so many of the in jokes otherwise. The parodies are perfect, the discussions on current gaming news are a riot. It feels like a particularly great night out at the pub with my gaming buddies.

It almost makes me want to go out and buy an Xbox to join them on one of their Gamer’s Nights.

Except I’d get pwned.

Badly.

Remember my battle with tangled wires last month? Well Dom put me on to an episode of GeekBrief.TV and I’ve been addicted ever since.

The thing that makes this video podcast so easy to get into is that it really is brief – each episode is only around 5 minutes long. This is probably just as well, as it’s frequently updated: every other day (approximately … sometimes there’s a slightly bigger gap, sometimes a new one next day) and I just wouldn’t get anything done otherwise.

I normally don’t watch video podcasts as I have a first generation nano which doesn’t have video – but this show is good enough to make me take time out to sit at the computer and watch it.

The theme is tech news, but presented in a fun, geeky, zany way. Cali is a great presenter with a bubbly, energetic personality. Her enthusiasm is catching.

If I had a pound after every time I’ve got to the end of a show thinking “wow, HOW cool is that?!” then I’d have… [calculates how many episodes I've seen over the month I've been watching]… about £25.

I mean, who wouldn’t want a multi-card reader that looks like a mini toaster in their stocking? I know I would…

If you’re in any way interested in the geeky side of life, then this show will leave you with a smile on your face. Oh, and watch out for the out-takes at the end of the credits – great fun.