Feeling better and better about the reading

I listed to one of my fave podcasts, the Nerdist (ridiculously funny, pretty much NSFW), last night, and the guest was Jonathan Coulten, a musician. Coulten was a computer programmer who, in 2005ish, decided he was unhappy with his current job and quit to make music. He jumped on the podcast ship long before it was the luxury yacht it is today and started a project of writing and releasing a song a week. Stuff happened (I was listening to this late late at night) and now he's famous, or at least able to make a living with his music.
Now, I'm old enough to remember having to wait for your favorite song to come on the radio. I used to listen to the Top 9 at 9, a blank cassette in the boom box, finger hovering over the record button as I hoped to hear and capture my favorite song. I made mixed tapes, for crying out loud.
What this podcast has helped illustrate is the progression of media transitioning from plain ol' media to new media as described in Manovich. The shift in the creation of new media objects, changes in distribution norms, etc.
Back to the podcast -- the format for the show is a conversation between host Chris Hardwick and guests, who are mostly comedians and comedic actors and actresses. The conversations are by turns awesomely nerdy and sort of academic, particularly when the talk turns away from poop jokes (of which there are plenty, alas) to the creative process and the process of becoming professional comedians/actors/etc. In one of the first episodes, Hardwick talks with Drew Carey. In addition to a fascinating discourse on Second Life, which I wanted to talk about with Manovich and Variability Tuesday but couldn't figure out how to tie it in, to being on the Johnny Carson show. Now, I am too young to remember Carson as anything other than a pop culture reference, but Carey described being called over to the couch after a set on the Tonight Show and how being anointed by Carson literally changed his life overnight. Compare this to the rise of Bo Burnham as we discussed in class, and the shift from old to new becomes even more clear to me.
Anyway, if nothing else, check out Nerdist. Free podcasts on iTunes and really funny, despite the poop jokes. And because I can't get away from books totally....for National Literacy Month, a comic:

If you need a timesuck, you've got to go through these comics: Savage Chickens.