In one ear and out the other?

Learn French by Podcast? I don't see how it could possibly work any less well than any of the other ways I've tried to learn a foreign language. And it wasn't wasted time really, since even if I'm still functionally uni-linugal, I can rock some crossword puzzles and occasionally figure out what I'm ordering at a French restaurant without having to say something like, "now what exactly are 'poissons?'"

So, I'm a "fan" of podcasts, but not so much a consumer of podcasts. That is, I've listened to some, and in one case even helped mount and "produce" one. But I've never been motivated enough or organized enough to actually have my itunes and my ipod conspire together to produce an ongoing body of work for me to listen to. So I still do podcasts the old fashioned way, by going to the site and getting the one I want and listening to it. I'll call it an area for future growth and leave it at that for now.

As for that podcast I helped produce? That would be the newly launched series of podcasts from the Louisville Free Public Library. Only one entry now, but more coming soon. Details? You can find those at iTunes, or here: http://www.lfpl.org/podcasts/authorseries.xml

(17)

Interesting? Maybe I hope not.

I had a professor on my thesis committee who used to "encourage" us never to describe anything as "interesting." He called that particular adjective a "non-word" that doesn't really describe whatever you're talking about. So his direction was to actually decide what it was you wanted to say, and say that instead. Over time I came to believe he was completely right about that. With that in mind, here's an interesting book that you can download from Netlibrary.com and listen to, in only 7 hours and 34 minutes. Well, you can download it and listen to it if you have an LFPL library card and an mp3 player (or, I suppose, a computer would do too.)

Interesting?

Eternal Chalice: the Grail in Literature and Legend
Modern Scholar; Unabridged.
by Potkay, Monica Brzezinski.
Publication: Prince Frederick, MD, [Boulder, Colo Recorded Books, 2007.
Subject: Grail.
Grail--Legends.
Grail in motion pictures.
Audiobooks.
Downloadable audio books.
Language: English
Duration: 7 Hours 34 Minutes
Product ID: 186125
EISBN: 9781429457613
ISBN: 9781428116764
File Size: 155 MB (CD Quality)

(16)

An interesting video? Yeah!

The "100% accurate" Louisville Youth Orchestra opening for My Morning Jacket at the Yum! Center on October 29, 2010. (15)

(15)

A Couple of Nice RSS feeds

If you want to keep track of new DVDs that have been added to the Library's collection, there's an RSS feed for that. You can find the RSS feed here. So, I added that to my Google reader feeds. There's a great selection of discs that includes Criterion collection movies, documentaries and PBS-type shows.

I also added a feed to the Library Renewal site. If you haven't gotten to know it, you might want to give it a look. Library Renewal is a group of library supporters, workers, and activists who are fostering dialogue about changes in the publishing industry and the effects of those changes on libraries. Their site is at www.libraryrenewal.org.

(13 & 14)

Round Up

Lucky photo of a ride at the Kentucky State Fair. ISO 100, f3.2, .25sec, 9mm.