more of this, less of that

venturing gingerly into pod-cast land

July 28, 2008

OUR NEW TASK IS TO EXPLORE PODCASTS and suddenly I feel like that incomprehensible girl on Little Britain who says,”Yeah, but, no, but, yeah, but…”

I have these sensitive ears. You know, one of those people who carry ear plugs with them everywhere and flinch and drop at sounds that others ignore? OK, here is a telling anecdote:

In the hall, I stand and wince: “What is that tiny horrible high-pitched whine?”  A class walks by in a line. Every student but one is smiling and whispering; they are happily on their way to lunch (not a decibel-delightful place for me!). I ask the small boy who is covering his ears and frowning to stop and talk to me for a minute. “Hey, Joe, do you hear something?” “Yes, Mrs Techman, it’s a horrible kind of buzz.” Together we wait for the distracting line to leave and then we trace the sound to a closet nearby. The next day, a work crew comes to fix the vibrating and half-detached pipes. They cheerfully ask me how I knew repairs were needed, since it wasn’t making any noise!

So, Thing 2: podcasts.  Bravely, I dipped into podcast alley, but nuh-uh (channeling my inner southerner), no way I’m taking a chance on any unannotated podcast. (It could be a voice that makes me run screaming.) Then, I take the high road, yes, good old Radio Free Finland. Nordic Design is the topic; the interviewer’s voice is tolerable, I speak English and I like Finland; let’s give it a go. Yikes, the humming and hawing guest is picking carefully through his Russian mind for English words and not finding them fast enough for me. And then he talks about the importance of “rood”, and I think, “I’ve got enough rudeness in my life, thank you” and click off just as I figure out he is saying “wood”.

It’s time to use my librarian brain to find and evaluate some good sources. I’ll report back to you.

P.S. image courtesy of Sergeant McCauley (nukeit1), Flickr.

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