Week 10 in Learn 2.0

Although I had never really listened to podcasts before, I was certainly aware of them. Some of my favorite webcomics (like PvP) have podcasts, and my friends love the This Week in Tech podcast. It's kind of a misnomer, I suppose, calling everything a "podcast," when so many of the ones out there (like some of our own at OCLS) are actually "vidcasts," having picture as well as sound, but I digress. As for audiobooks, I have been a member of NetLibrary for a long time (often it was the only way to read librettos of operas for a class that I took). Although I don't prefer to listen to my books (written word all the way!), it's a useful resource for those long drives to and from work. Or at least it was, until my portable CD player was stolen from my glove compartment while I was at work. But now, with the new MP3 player that I will be receiving, I can use that (along with the tape adapter for my old-school car, which was thankfully left in the car) to listen to audiobooks and music!

As a personal recommendation, I would like to suggest this as an audiobook for people who aren't sure what they want to listen to. It's the abridged (which is a tragedy) downloadable audio version of World War Z by Max Brooks (son of Mel Brooks, but not known for humor). It's super interesting if you like zombie stories at all, and there are a ton of famous people who do the different voices (like Jurgen Prochnow, Alan Alda, Carl and Rob Reiner, Mark Hamill, Henry Rollins, and John Turturro). It's the kind of audiobook I can really get behind, because the premise of the book is that it's the transcription of several interviews with people from around the world about their experience surviving the Great Zombie War. It lends itself perfectly to an actual audio version, and I think it really enhances the whole experience to both read and listen to it.

I won't have a chance to do the Adventure activity for a while, since we're in the middle of moving and our computers/microphones aren't hooked up yet (or even the internet connection), but I look forward to it! In the meantime, I found this neat website PodSafe Audio, which is full of freely listenable Creative Commons protected music. One of my old professors is even up there. He's a local musician, and if you want to hear the songs he has available just search by artist name for "Barry Mauer." It doesn't really seem like it in the picture on the website, but in person he's a dead ringer for David Duchovny!