Hi All,

John asked if I would say a few words about building the audio portion of a Soundslides production–from recording interviews, to logging tape, to finding free music online.  The resources below will help structure the talk.

• Voices from the Valley–For a few Samples…
• Sample Interview Schedule (shown in class)
• Creating Interview Questions
• Using the Marantz Recorders
• Doing Audio Interviews (from radio diaries)
• Logging Tape
• Editing Audio
• Tips for Soundslides
• Possible music for use in Soundlides

Hi All,

This entry will quickly walk you through creating a Soundslides presentation for your students.  The goal of this entry (and our short talk on Soundslides) is to get you to the place where you’re comfortable experimenting with Soundslides.

Here’s a sample Soundslides from Professor Dimmock

Now some steps…

1) Create a Powerpoint presentation and save slides as jpegs (Soundslides only works with jpegs)

2) Record mp3 file with your comments (you can record using recorders available in the department or on your computer using a free program called Audacity).  Here’s some how-tho info about the Marantz Recorders (just pay attention to the first section) and here’s a link to Audacity

3) Download Soundslides--demo version ok for now.

4) Learn more about how to create a Soundslides presentation.  I’ll discuss this in our meeting, but the links found here may also be of value.

5) Publish the Soundslides presentation–your public Mavdisk folder will work, or you can use a service called Dropbox.

Hi All,

As we prepare for speech two, I thought it might be a good idea to watch and discuss a few informative-oriented speeches.

• What is art

Hi All,

As we prepare for speech two, I thought it might be helpful to view a few informative-oriented speeches.

• What is art
• Causes of homelessness
• Night Terrors

test

I meet friends down at the Wagon Wheel sometimes three times a day. We don’t gossip, we just discuss things—the kids, what happened on the weekend, is everybody well and that.

*****

I started working at the American Legion in 1971.  People call me Mean Jean because I sell the gambling down there and sometimes I’m not too good giving out winners.  One guy, when he sees me, he’ll say, Hi Mean, and I don’t even hardly sell to him.

*****

My husband and I have been divorced over 30 years.  In 2003 he was walking right out here by the Legion with his companion of 25 years.  A car hit them.  She was killed and he was severely injured.  It was a hit and run.

*****

After his sixth fall at his own apartment, he landed in the nursing home for rehab.  His brother said, you’re not going back to that apartment, George.  But he’s deathly afraid of going into nursing homes again.  I knew there was no other place for him to go, so I said well, you can come up to the house, that’s what I said.  So he lives with me now.   A lot of people think I’m nuts for having him.  They think that because we’re divorced I’m not compelled to do this.  But he’s the father of my children and who else would do it?  The kids all work.  I’ve been able to do it.  It has been over a year since his last fall.

*****

I’m a lot stronger than people think.  When I had my double knee surgery.  I came in the room and the doctor said walk to the door.  So I did.  And he says, well, I can see you have a high tolerance for pain.  And I do.  I don’t go to the doctor every time I got a little pain.

*****

About two months ago my son and grandson got me a laptop computer.  I thought I’d never be able to work the thing, but I’m hooked.  It relaxes me.  I lift it up every night and look at the news, and I love playing Solitaire on there.  I’ve played over 1500 games.  I was very stupid at first, but now I’m starting to win quite a bit [laughs].

*****

To me the Wagon Wheel is just the greatest place in town.  It’s homey.  You know right away everybody’s going to greet you.  Kevin has a good clientele down there—a lot of us old buggers.

The Wagon Wheel is just a warm place to go.  It’s like an old shoe.   I meet down there with a coffee group that calls itself the Bullshippers.   We’re a very diverse group.  We’ve got a retired doctor, retired school teachers, a retired banker, a retired investment individual, and a retired dentist to name a few.  I enjoy listening to all the yack, yack, yack and trying to figure out what they said.

*****

I was born on the 18^th day of May of 1918—that makes me 92 years old. Even at 92 you can still do things, and people accept you as being 92.  They don’t expect too much of you.  I look around the congregation, and I’m the oldest one there but that doesn’t bother me any.

*****

My first wife, Wilda, died from cancer.   That’s the low spot in my life.  But that happens, everybody has happy times and sad times.  We were married 45 years.

*****

Doris and I met in a rather unique way.  I was at church one day, and I saw this man sitting back there by himself.  My first wife was at the hospital having an operation. so I was alone at church and went back to visit with this man.  I walked up and I said “I see you’re here alone too, my name is Meyer [spells it out] M.E.Y.E.R.”  He stood up and said, “well, my name is Beyer—B.E.Y.E.R.”   I found out that his wife Doris was in the same hospital as my wife.  The four of us visited later at the hospital and made a connection.  From that time on the two couples just bonded.   The four of us did a lot of things together.

*****

Doris Meyer enters conversation: His wife passed away the same year that my husband passed away.  Paul and I started going out for meals and drives. Most of the time he’d talk about things he and Wilda did during their marriage and I’d talk about my husband, whose name also happened to be Paul.  So it started out just sharing thoughts of our marriages and that was real good for us–to get over the grief in that way.  We never thought about it as a date.

*****

One day we met friends at a restaurant and they looked at us and said, “you two look like you want to get married.”  Then we were at T.G.I Fridays one day having noon lunch and the waitress came up and said…“you two look like lovebirds” so I guess we started thinking maybe there is something here.

*****

I was sitting on a chair in my apartment; it must have been after we had dinner.  He got down on his knee and said, “will you marry me?” I said “yes.”

*****

It was just one of those things that are made in heaven.  We both had been happy in our marriages, we both lost our spouses, and we had a good fit to know each other.  We saw more and more of each other and finally decided:  Why not get a better income tax [joint laughter].

*****

I’m sure glad the coffee group exists.  It’s wonderful for these fellows to get together—the camaraderie and having each other for support.  They’re just bullshippers.

Hi All,

Students in a Business and Professional Communication course I teach are proposing a new talk-oriented radio show to the local community radio station here in Mankato, Minnesota–KMSU.  The links below are designed to help students gain the background knowledge needed to do their assignment, but anybody might might these of interest…

• KMSU
• Definition of Community Radio
• Ampers–Independent Public Radio in Minnesota
• Atlantic Monthly article (featuring unique radio you can hear online)
• AIR (Association of Independents in Radio
• National Federation of Community Broadcasters
• Really Good Audio Storytelling

**Note:  Those of you exploring how to make a radio show, may find it useful to use something like “how to make a talk-oriented podcast” as search terms.  We are not making a podcast, but some of the lessons for creating a good podcast also apply to creating a good radio show.

John Biewen from Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies has just published a new book exploring the art of audio storytelling.  The edited book features contributions from some of the most important names in audio documentary.  Click the image to the left to read an interview with the author and get a look inside the book.

The February podcast presents two stories relating to Mankato’s Front Street.  First, a piece featuring Backlund’s Music, a Front Street fixture from the late 1940’s until 1975 and then a short piece featuring a coffee group from Front Street’s Wagon Wheel Cafe.

As always, the podcast first aired on KMSU’s “Minnesota Morning”–this month’s show featured guest host Jim Gullickson.