My wife and I attended a "house party" organized by the Obama campaign, one of 4,000 such events held across the country this past weekend.  Ours was held at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and featured an introductory talk by Marshall Ganz.  

 

My college friend Ben Beach, editor of The Wilderness Society's Wilderness Magazine, never misses a Harvard-Yale football game and always holds a tailgate barbecue before the game.  In this podcast Ben talks about the hard-to-define pleasure he gets from this regularity, and he and I remember the most famous Harvard-Yale game in the 125-year history of the classic, 1968's version which ended in a 29-29 tie.  The podcast contains audio clips from Ben and his wife Carol's 36th consecutive barbecue this year, and also some audio from a showing at a local movie theatre of "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29," a new documentary out about the game.  I highly recommend the movie, which The New Yorker calls "a fascinating feat of cultural archeology."

My wife Darlene, a quilter, today helped me think through the talk I'll give this weekend in Billings, Montana, about Internet technology and the arts.  She looks for tools that help her do things, not a lot of personality and ego.  Good advice for this podcaster! (She's also looking for a good video podcast about quilting, so please leave her any tips in the comments.)

The workshops are being presented by the Montana Arts Council. Previous sessions were held in Great Falls and Missoula.

Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon. It's from their Glacier Journey CD.

Phone comments: 206-666-2713
Email: PodChronicles@gmail.com

We've seen a lot of Barack Obama here in Colorado in recent weeks. But Sunday's event was the biggest anywhere in the country so far -- well over 100,000 people at Civic Center Park. This episode is a soundscape of the rally and ends with Darlene making yet another phone call in search of volunteers to help get out the vote in this crucial battleground state. 

Click here for a video of the last few minutes of Obama's speech. And here's a touching video of an elderly volunteer who had a chance to meet the candidate in Boulder.

Interviews at the Cambridge Boat Club on October 14, 2008, with four leaders of the Head of the Charles Regatta, a massive rowing event on the Charles River in Cambridge this coming weekend.  You'll hear from Pete Peterson, the chief referree/umpire; John Romain, cochair manager of the Starting Line; Tom Martin, treasurer, and Mark Bober, cochair of emergency services.

The regatta takes place this coming weekend - don't miss it if you're anywhere close to Cambridge!

Barack Obama this week returned to Colorado for a speech at Mountain Range High School in Westminster.  My wife and I arrived at the school at about 5 a.m., which put us in line for a seat upgrade at the last minute and a terrific view of the candidate.  His arrival in the arena was delayed by late-breaking events in Washington, D.C., where the House of Representatives shocked everyone by defeating the financial bailout package. 

Click here for video of the speech.  Click here for text.

This episode of m podcast comprises excerpts from Barack Obama's speech September 16, 2008 at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.  I was there with a friend of ours, Tish, from Wyoming, who had an exciting moment at the end of the event.  Also included are reactions to the talk by some of those in attendance, including myself.

The New York Times coverage of the Golden speech is here.  Full video of the speech is here. Daily Kos has text of advance copy of speech, which Obama followed very closely.

For an intelligent analysis of Obama's economic philosophy, I recommend this piece published August 20, 2008 in the New York Times Magazine by David Leonhardt.  Click here for an audio podcast interview with the author.

Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

I welcome your comments at 206-666-274 or PodChronicles@gmail.com.

Albert Maruggi, my well-connected Republican Twitter friend who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, has great insights into the convention going on in his hometown this week.  Albert was a key GOP staffer when Dan Quayle was chosen as Bush I's VP, so his memories are good preparation for tonight's big speech by Gov. Sarah Palin.  In this telephone interview today, he also tells why watching Palin is a NASCAR experience.

You can listen to our other "Utterzly Political" conversations here or here.

The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun," composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon.  It’s from their excellent Glacier Journey CD.

Chris Lopez, communications director for the 2008 Denver Host Committee,
took time out of a VERY busy day today to preview what's ahead in
Denver once the Democratic National Convention gets under way this
weekend.  He seemed remarkably serene, and he was optimistic that the
convention's protests will be peaceful and full of the good energy of
democracy.  Me too!

UPDATE: I forgot to include the following links mentioned by Chris in the podcast:

The Presidential Experience

Click here for information on Convention events at the Denver Convention Center in the mornings.

Dialog:City

Cinemocracy

2008 Rocky Mountain Roundtables

Interview on August 19, 2008 with Chris Lopez - .mp3 version.

This is the mp3 version of this week's Audio Pod Chronicles interview with Jeff Cutler.

Writer and podcaster Jeff Cutler was one of the only Boston Media Makers without a device feeding him information from the Internet at our meeting on Sunday, August 3, 2008, at Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain.  It turns out his laptop was in the shop.   This prompted him to lead a lively discussion among the 22 of us at the meeting about how much we depend on being connected at all times to the Internet.  

Jeff is a thoughtful guy who is on what he calls a one-year "Writing Sabbatical" during which he is aiming at a new phase of his career that will involve more commentary and opinion writing.  

He uses his podcast, "Bowl of Cheese" in an effective and unusual way as a supplement to his blog of the same name.  All in all, Jeff Cutler is doing creative, original work in the new media space, and it's always good to connect with him, even when he's unplugged!  I think you'll enjoy this profile of a writer from Hingham, Mass.,  who is using new media to full advantage.  

Music for my podcast is “Going to the Sun” composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon.  It’s from their excellent Glacier Journey CD .

Photo of Jeff and me is by Steve Garfield of SteveGarfield.com .

I’d love to hear your feedback on this topic or any other. You can leave a voice comment at 206-666-2713 or you can send me an email to PodChronicles@gmail.com or leave a comment here.

NOTE: If you are a Kindle owner or merely intrigued,  I hope you will check out my new weekly podcast, The Kindle Chronicles, uploaded each Friday.  It's also available for free subscription at the iTunes Store.

mp3 version of today's Audio Pod Chronicles, "PodCampers Pick Podcasts."

At PodCamp Boston 3 this past weekend, I asked 12 happy campers to identify their favorite podcasts.  Here is what they came up with:

Sarah Vela - Push My Follow, You Look Nice Today.
Chris Cavallari - Nature Stories, Little Bit of Nonsense.
Robert Blatt - Let's Go Out Tonight, twentyhood
Doug Haslam - For Immediate Release, Inside PR, 10th Wonder
Amrita Chandra - Ricky Gervais
David Fisher - Diggnation, The Totally Rad Show
Bill Wilder - Hanselminutes, What What Don't Tell Me, Grammar Girl
David Beaudoin - Push My Follow, Get It Done Guy
C.C. Chapman - Six Pixels of Separation, Scott Sigler's Nocturnal, Steve Garfield
Steve Garfield - Epic Fu, Moblogic.tv, C.C. Chapman
Joyce Bettencourt - Managing the Gray, Accident Hash, Running Man Radio, AC Radio

Dan Patterson (Creepy Sleepy podcast) - The Brookhaven Chronicles, On the Media, Slate Political Gabfest, Buzz Out Loud, This Week in Tech,  In Over Your Head

 

mp3 version of Episode 62, A dilly of a Denver Police Commander.

Denver Police Commander Debra Dillly heads District 6, the core downtown area.  On July 8, 2008 she addressed a meeting of homeowners from three downtown condominium buildings, including the one I live in. She gave the best overview I've heard so far of what it's really going to be like in my neighborhood August 25-28 when the Democratic National Convention comes to town.  Now I will how to tell Obama's motorcade from President Carter's, how regular police work will be handled, the effect of the convention on Denver's homeless population, and what NOT to do if I get tear-gassed.

Note: The audio calls this episode 61, but in fact it's number 62.  Credit the error to sleep deprivation.

mp3 version of Episode 61, Breakfast of Videos.

Social Media Breakfast 8, hosted by Bryan Person and Bob Collins June 24, 2008 at Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge, Mass., was all about video.  An audience of nearly 100 heard excellent presentations from Larry Lawfer of YourStorys.com and Jeff Glasson of PerkettPR.com and two other presentations excerpted in this episode of the Audio Pod Chronicles.  Those two were by recent Emerson College students Ben Grossman and Emily Belyea, who created a winning video-based proposal to resuscitate AOL's AIM social media programs, and Rob Lane, founder and CEO of Overlay.tv , who is making videos interactive. 

It was impossible to listen to all four presentations and not sense the energy in Internet video, and the creativity.  I came right home and started playing with Overlay.tv and can't wait to do more.

MP3 version of this week's podcast.

On June 10, 2008, the day after Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 3G, I attended a meeting of the Boston PDA User Group (BOSPDAUG) at MIT, where the next iPhone was Topic Number One among the developers and users in attendance. After the meeting, I interviewed the group's founder, Al Willis, who spoke about the iPhone in China, Apple's stock price, and when I'll be able to sync my Getting Things Done (GTD) lists between my Mac and my iPhone.  (Answer: soon!)

Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

I visited the Libertarian Party national convention this past weekend in Denver.  On Sunday night I spoke with Bob Sullentrup, who the next morning was reelected national party secretary.  On Monday I returned in time to catch one of the candidates for national chair, Ernest Hancock, and in the hallways I spoke with several delegates who freely expressed their love of freedom, small government and low taxes. I found it invigorating to be among people who hold their beliefs so passionately.  It was a refreshing break from the never-ending horserace between my candidate, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, with John McCain waiting in the wings. 

The full video of my interview with Bob Sullentrup is available here.

A terrific group effort by arts organizations attending the Marketing Tune-Up workshop in Great Falls, Montana. Thank you all!

On May 13, 2008 I gave a talk on podcasting at the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. Just as we were getting started, my host Beth Dunn of the Foundation spotted smoke coming out of an electrical outlet.  Thus began an even more exciting evening than the one we'd planned.  A Delicious list of tags for the talk is here.

Thanks to Beth's quick working of her local network, she found alternate space for my presentation at the Cape Cod Community College.  The MacBook Air was not playing nicely with the college's AV system, so as the audience made its way into the new venue, I quickly transfered my presentation to the trusty MacBook Pro I brought along as a backup.

Chris Lopez, communications director for the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee, spoke with me two days ago about preparations for the Democratic National Convention August 25-28 in Denver.  He's got a big job, coordinating an expected 15,000 or so journalists who will cover what he calls the Superbowl of Politics.  Our conversation provided an intriguing look inside the massive effort going on here in Denver to get ready for an historic event.

 I'm going to travel light to the islands for a break in my podcasting and other Internet life.  We'll be on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, until April 25th.

This is the mp3 version of Episode 56, Pianocaster Mario Ajero.

Mario Ajero is Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Coordinator of Class Piano at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. He also hosts The Piano Podcast. He was in Denver this week for the Music Teachers National Association conference, which gave us a chance to meet for the first time in person after two years of knowing each other on the Internet.  In this interview, he talks about how he uses technology to advance the role of music in people's lives, especially related to the piano. He also describes a beta evaluation he's doing for a new product making it possible to teach piano via the Internet.  After the interview, Mario took me to a performance by famed pianist Lang Lang at Trinity Methodist Church, which was incredibly great.

I first came across Mario's music when I was looking for something to go with this video podcast from Maine nearly two years ago, and I returned to him again for this one.

Music for this episode is Mario playing Robert Schumann's Piano Novellette in D Major, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network.

Republican Albert Maruggi, founder of Provident Partners and host of the Marketing Edge podcast, and Democrat Kesler Woodward, a renowned painter friend of mine from Fairbanks, Alaska, responded to my Twitter invitation today and gave their takes on Barack Obama's speech yesterday on race relations.  

Albert mentioned the New Communications Forum April 22-25, 2008 at The Vineyard Creek Inn & Spa in Sonoma County, CA.

Check out Kes's art and accounts of his creative process here.

I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave an audio comment at 206-339-4717. Or e-mail me at PodChronicles@gmail.com.

Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

My wife and I drove from Denver to the Panhandle of Texas to help out with the Obama campaign. This episode contains interviews at the watch party last night and some observations of where things stand the morning after. We leave as soon as I get this podcast finished for the long ride home.

Video evangelist Steve Garfield met me this morning at Sweet Finnish at 761 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, where each month for the past two years he has hosted Boston Media Makers in a back room filled with fascinating media creators, artists, and gadget freaks who have a chance to meet and share enthusiasms and info. BMM meets the first Sunday of the month at 10 a.m. for two hours.  In this interview, Steve remembers how he first got into blogging, then video blogging, a genre he pretty much invented, and now live mobile "storycasting."   Steve shows how a playful, experimental, happy engagement with new technology can yield results far beyond a mere effort to "monetize" internet innovation.  He does talk about the nuts and bolts of moving toward making a living in this space, as well as what he's learning right now about the new frontier of mobile live broadcasting.    

The music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

Last night I participated in a Democratic caucus in Denver as a Precinct Captain for Barack Obama. This podcast contains interviews with fellow caucus goers and the general sounds of a very full school auditorium My precinct, 521, went 60-40 for Obama, and Colorado gave Obama a tidy 67% share of the caucus votes. Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD. Further information at http://earthpassage.com/glacier.htm

This is an audio portrait of The Phoenix Concept, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility for homeless men.  Contributions may be sent to The Phoenix Concept, 2162 Lawrence St., Denver, CO 80205. The phone number is 303-293-3620.

Music for my podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig, and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

Please feel free to send your feedback to PodChronicles@gmail.com or leave a comment here on the show notes page.

Jerome (Jerry) Lau of Construction Support Services, Inc., in Centennial, Colorado, has spent 50 years developing expertise in hydromechanics.  Jerry has never written a poem about water, but the depth of his understanding of the topic struck me as similar to the level of attention an artist must devote to his or her subject in order to succeed.  He recently finished a water-leak study of our building, and this morning he spoke with me about his work.  The power of his expertise means he doesn't have to advertise or market the services he and his partner provide.  His customers find him by word of mouth (and the occasional podcast). If you'd like to contact him,  email me at PodChronicles@gmail.com.

Music for the podcast is "Going to the Sun" composed and performed by Montana musicians Christine Dickinson, Janet Haarvig and Matthew Lyon, from their Glacier Journey CD.

mp3 version