January 1997 starts off to a slower start but eventually revs up some. This story covering different tales of justice from around the country (well, the world really).
Act one is about war crimes and Yugoslovia and it was just hard to follow for me. Eh...
Act two brings it up some, Scott Carrier reporting on a teen court in Tucson. The area teenagers figure out what their peers deserve as punishment for their crimes. They give surprisingly harsh and adult-like punishments, giving a view of how much these teenagers really are influenced by the adults in their lives. This was quite an interesting thing to hear from teens and gives me a little hope for those that come along in the future. I really dig this story- well done, Mr. Carrier.
Act three is all about an apology line that was set up for people to call in and do as it it suggests- make apologies. The tapes that were played were heartbreaking, particularly the tape from a 15 year old who had run away from home.
Not too shabby of a start to 1997...feels like the show was starting to hit its stride and I'm liking it...let's keep it going...only 13 years left to listen to!
Showing posts with label scott carrier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scott carrier. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Episode 45: Media Fringe
I have to say it- this episode is quite a who's-who of story contributors. Really dig this episode, too. Let me give you a run down of some of the best folks to be seen on this series: Sandra Tsing Loh, Scott Carrier, Sarah Vowell and Cheryl Trykv.
Sandra Tsing Loh talks about her beginnings in Dada and performance art and I have to say I want to hear more. This lady is just awesome and you can read more about her previous stories, particularly great ones about her dad here).
Scott Carrier brings a non-fiction story about his life as a commercial radio reporter who never seems to quite have the good luck to episode 45. I know I've given Scott Carrier a lot of crap, but I'll give it to him- I'm coming around to him. Finally. Like I've said, just don't go the fiction route- it just doesn't work for me (and clearly I am the main person you're writing for, eh? I mean this is just one blogging girl's opinions...you are probably a cool dude, Scott Carrier). Anyways, this piece I really dig and feel for the situations he keeps getting into..I have a feeling that would be how a lot of my reporting would wind up, with little kinks in the plans, if I was in that profession.
Oh, Sarah Vowell, how awesome are you....Ms. Vowell's got the third act, one that had me laughing out loud. I just love how this lady writes- she's intelligent, she's witty, she just has a way of saying things that no one else would have worded that way- and it makes so much sense (watch her on the Daily Show in 2009 to fully understand this). Also in this story and her previous appearance on TAL, she talks about music and expresses a true love for it. I'm pretty sure we'd be the best of friends if we ever met- this story about 'selling herself' to make mixtapes for other people confirms it. The hooker metaphor is just too funny as she walks the audience through the process of making a mix, from getting an idea of who the tape is for to how deep and romantic the tape should be. Of course, there's a great twist at the end of the piece that I'll save for you to listen to...try not to laugh too loud.
The show finishes up with Cheryl Trykv tell her story about her brush with fame and an aging actress in Palm Springs, along with a great visual of how sunburned one can get after riding a bike in the blazing sun in only a swimsuit on...descriptions that can warm you up on a cold November night.
So I may be a little biased when picking my favorite stories and all (I'll spare anymore Sarah Vowell fangirling in the future), but this episode is an example of how great stories just come together.
Sandra Tsing Loh talks about her beginnings in Dada and performance art and I have to say I want to hear more. This lady is just awesome and you can read more about her previous stories, particularly great ones about her dad here).
Scott Carrier brings a non-fiction story about his life as a commercial radio reporter who never seems to quite have the good luck to episode 45. I know I've given Scott Carrier a lot of crap, but I'll give it to him- I'm coming around to him. Finally. Like I've said, just don't go the fiction route- it just doesn't work for me (and clearly I am the main person you're writing for, eh? I mean this is just one blogging girl's opinions...you are probably a cool dude, Scott Carrier). Anyways, this piece I really dig and feel for the situations he keeps getting into..I have a feeling that would be how a lot of my reporting would wind up, with little kinks in the plans, if I was in that profession.
Oh, Sarah Vowell, how awesome are you....Ms. Vowell's got the third act, one that had me laughing out loud. I just love how this lady writes- she's intelligent, she's witty, she just has a way of saying things that no one else would have worded that way- and it makes so much sense (watch her on the Daily Show in 2009 to fully understand this). Also in this story and her previous appearance on TAL, she talks about music and expresses a true love for it. I'm pretty sure we'd be the best of friends if we ever met- this story about 'selling herself' to make mixtapes for other people confirms it. The hooker metaphor is just too funny as she walks the audience through the process of making a mix, from getting an idea of who the tape is for to how deep and romantic the tape should be. Of course, there's a great twist at the end of the piece that I'll save for you to listen to...try not to laugh too loud.
The show finishes up with Cheryl Trykv tell her story about her brush with fame and an aging actress in Palm Springs, along with a great visual of how sunburned one can get after riding a bike in the blazing sun in only a swimsuit on...descriptions that can warm you up on a cold November night.
So I may be a little biased when picking my favorite stories and all (I'll spare anymore Sarah Vowell fangirling in the future), but this episode is an example of how great stories just come together.
Episode 42: Get Over It!
Episode 42 is an episode I remember having heard before. How I recalled having already heard this take is quite an entertaining one, at that. Ira says the word "nipples" in this one and I remeber being so entertained by that first time around, when I heard it again this time, it clicked (for the record, he is talking about an ex trying on clothes and where they covered when he drops "nipples". I know, I'm 8 because I was so entertained by this).
Anyways, the first story is Ira talking about interactions with an ex girlfriend, eventually referencing Jesus coming back, from the point of view of Jewish folks. Just listen to it. I do have to say, though, Ira, don't go into fitting rooms with ex girlfriends, particularly those who are trying on tight and short clothes to show off to someone else.
Act two is a George Saunders story about a man who has a hard time getting over a death and act three is Scott Carrier on a quest to find out more about amnesia. He visits a hypnotists to try and get voluntarily put into the state but fails, eventually having the hypnotist have someone come in who claims to have had his mind temporarily emptied.
This time around, Ira's personal anecdote is the most entertaining story in the episode. Saunders' story is one that you have to pay close attention to or else you get completely lost and Carrier's is an interesting concept, particularly in how he seems so open to push boundaries in suggesting that he be put into having amnesia for entire day. Overall, it's an episode that is good, nothing more, nothing less.
Anyways, the first story is Ira talking about interactions with an ex girlfriend, eventually referencing Jesus coming back, from the point of view of Jewish folks. Just listen to it. I do have to say, though, Ira, don't go into fitting rooms with ex girlfriends, particularly those who are trying on tight and short clothes to show off to someone else.
Act two is a George Saunders story about a man who has a hard time getting over a death and act three is Scott Carrier on a quest to find out more about amnesia. He visits a hypnotists to try and get voluntarily put into the state but fails, eventually having the hypnotist have someone come in who claims to have had his mind temporarily emptied.
This time around, Ira's personal anecdote is the most entertaining story in the episode. Saunders' story is one that you have to pay close attention to or else you get completely lost and Carrier's is an interesting concept, particularly in how he seems so open to push boundaries in suggesting that he be put into having amnesia for entire day. Overall, it's an episode that is good, nothing more, nothing less.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Episode 40: Lessons
The name "Lessons" makes this episode one that sounds mysterious, and I have to say, it was a pretty good one that I didn't expect it from.
There's four acts this time around, starting off with a monologue from Spalding Gray, about learning how to ski. It starts off kind of slow, but once he gets the momentum building, the story is pretty funny and entertaining. I mean, clearly, all the great people of the world can snow ski, so clearly that warrants what one could call an obsession.
Act two is a Scott Carrier story (yes, the same Scott Carrier I said was kind of strange in an earlier episode) and this one- surprise surprise- didn't seem so strange to me! This one was a real life account of his 3 year old learning how to swim from Mr. Switzer, a man I recalled hearing a story about this past summer on NPR, talking about running his swimming school and how he is such a legend (you can check out that story on NPR- I suggest it, it's a pretty interesting little tale). Knowing the background of Mr. Switzer and his school, this story was much more interesting, seeing it from another point of view than what a lot of the NPR story was- all from the parent's point of view this time, as opposed to the point of view of the teacher in summer 2010 (and, yes, Mr. Carrier is not creepy at all this time around. I like you doing non-fiction, sir!).
Act three is about a potato gun and how all the guys who saw it in the owner's neighborhood wanted to make one. Moving on...
Act four finishes out the show with some found tapes (well, vinyl actually) that tells how, in detail, for men to have an affair, the "proper" way. One notable idea of that being that you never try to make up an excuse if you're caught out in public with someone who is not your wife. Hopefully it didn't sell too many copies, but it was quite entertaining listening to it in 2010, as it was recorded in the 60's-70's.
40 down now...if we can just avoid further stories about potato guns, I would be thrilled.
There's four acts this time around, starting off with a monologue from Spalding Gray, about learning how to ski. It starts off kind of slow, but once he gets the momentum building, the story is pretty funny and entertaining. I mean, clearly, all the great people of the world can snow ski, so clearly that warrants what one could call an obsession.
Act two is a Scott Carrier story (yes, the same Scott Carrier I said was kind of strange in an earlier episode) and this one- surprise surprise- didn't seem so strange to me! This one was a real life account of his 3 year old learning how to swim from Mr. Switzer, a man I recalled hearing a story about this past summer on NPR, talking about running his swimming school and how he is such a legend (you can check out that story on NPR- I suggest it, it's a pretty interesting little tale). Knowing the background of Mr. Switzer and his school, this story was much more interesting, seeing it from another point of view than what a lot of the NPR story was- all from the parent's point of view this time, as opposed to the point of view of the teacher in summer 2010 (and, yes, Mr. Carrier is not creepy at all this time around. I like you doing non-fiction, sir!).
Act three is about a potato gun and how all the guys who saw it in the owner's neighborhood wanted to make one. Moving on...
Act four finishes out the show with some found tapes (well, vinyl actually) that tells how, in detail, for men to have an affair, the "proper" way. One notable idea of that being that you never try to make up an excuse if you're caught out in public with someone who is not your wife. Hopefully it didn't sell too many copies, but it was quite entertaining listening to it in 2010, as it was recorded in the 60's-70's.
40 down now...if we can just avoid further stories about potato guns, I would be thrilled.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Episode 37: The Job That Takes Over Your Life
Episode 37 takes a look at jobs that become more of a lifestyle change than a 9-5. The stories share the tales of a "commune" that is formed by a college troupe that put on the show "Hair", Scott Carrier (that antelope guy that keeps popping up throughout episodes) talking about quitting a job and giving psychological tests to people, the explosion that took place in 1944 near San Fransisco and those who were affected by it. There's also a short piece, "Orientation",giving the mundane and everyday truths of office work, particularly the first day.
Act one, Scott Carrier's story is a rather strange one, as is most of his stories that I've been coming across (you can hear him in episodes 12 and 35). The point of view that Carrier brings to all of these stories come off as a bit strange, working as a medical tester who has to randomly find people to test (on the road all over the state, might I add). He's also seen elsewhere chasing antelopes, literally, and putting out strange little haikus. Dear sir, I know you try and you are talented, but somehow your work just throws me for such a curve I don't know what to do with it.
Act two is the story about the acting group that puts on "Hair" and lives a communal lifestyle. The way they talk about their situation and their relationships with each other truly bring to mind interviews and video I have heard/seen from the 60's, except in this story, the way the actors lay it on so thick make me wonder how long the story really is and wish for it to be over soon.
Act three is the story of a ship that blew up near San Fransisco and the workers on board who were affected by the incident. They speak about when the explosion occurred, along with the results of the blast. Of course the story was put on trial to charge the people in charge of the incident and this is what some of the men who were there say really happened, not just what was reported.
Act four rounds out the show with the piece "Orientation". Recently entering the work world, more so related to the office world than the retail world (finally!), I can relate to the rundown of people and their jobs in the office and how things run. This concept of 'this is how it is and it's how it will be' seems to be all around us, just waiting to be reinforced for those who don't know the order of things.
Of course, that brings to mind the thought of who is going to shake up that world and actually make it different, for more than just a moment.
Act one, Scott Carrier's story is a rather strange one, as is most of his stories that I've been coming across (you can hear him in episodes 12 and 35). The point of view that Carrier brings to all of these stories come off as a bit strange, working as a medical tester who has to randomly find people to test (on the road all over the state, might I add). He's also seen elsewhere chasing antelopes, literally, and putting out strange little haikus. Dear sir, I know you try and you are talented, but somehow your work just throws me for such a curve I don't know what to do with it.
Act two is the story about the acting group that puts on "Hair" and lives a communal lifestyle. The way they talk about their situation and their relationships with each other truly bring to mind interviews and video I have heard/seen from the 60's, except in this story, the way the actors lay it on so thick make me wonder how long the story really is and wish for it to be over soon.
Act three is the story of a ship that blew up near San Fransisco and the workers on board who were affected by the incident. They speak about when the explosion occurred, along with the results of the blast. Of course the story was put on trial to charge the people in charge of the incident and this is what some of the men who were there say really happened, not just what was reported.
Act four rounds out the show with the piece "Orientation". Recently entering the work world, more so related to the office world than the retail world (finally!), I can relate to the rundown of people and their jobs in the office and how things run. This concept of 'this is how it is and it's how it will be' seems to be all around us, just waiting to be reinforced for those who don't know the order of things.
Of course, that brings to mind the thought of who is going to shake up that world and actually make it different, for more than just a moment.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Episode 35: Fall Clearance Sale
Ira and crew had a good idea with this one- no real theme to the episode, just random stories.
They were all pretty good ( including short stories by Scott Carrier, who wrote the story about running after antelopes in an earlier episode, comments on zooaphilia (yeah, that could get awkward...) and about a guitarist and how he learned to play), but Mr. Sedaris managed to steal the show, in my opinion.
David Sedaris reads a story from his book "Naked" about spending time at a nudist camp (they don't call them colonies anymore, the staff explains to him), and he even gets his sister Amy in on the act, as she voices the female characters throughout. I have read a bit of Sedaris' work and find myself laughing often, but there is just something about being able to put his reading voice to the stories on the page that just makes them that touch more entertaining. All I have to say is I can't wait to get to the "Very Sedaris Christmas" episodes down the road- and I'll leave you with the reading suggestion of "Holiday on Ice", if only to read his thoughts on working at Macy's as a elf for a holiday season.
I'm aware that just got rambling, but David Sedaris is the real deal- trust me on that one.
They were all pretty good ( including short stories by Scott Carrier, who wrote the story about running after antelopes in an earlier episode, comments on zooaphilia (yeah, that could get awkward...) and about a guitarist and how he learned to play), but Mr. Sedaris managed to steal the show, in my opinion.
David Sedaris reads a story from his book "Naked" about spending time at a nudist camp (they don't call them colonies anymore, the staff explains to him), and he even gets his sister Amy in on the act, as she voices the female characters throughout. I have read a bit of Sedaris' work and find myself laughing often, but there is just something about being able to put his reading voice to the stories on the page that just makes them that touch more entertaining. All I have to say is I can't wait to get to the "Very Sedaris Christmas" episodes down the road- and I'll leave you with the reading suggestion of "Holiday on Ice", if only to read his thoughts on working at Macy's as a elf for a holiday season.
I'm aware that just got rambling, but David Sedaris is the real deal- trust me on that one.
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