Radio address for March 23, 2013. Running to work in the morning with a heavy bag on your shoulder, and stopping by the train station.

The ending section is one of the new chapters from the third and latest release of my book Noise of Creation, which came out last Sunday. You can also read the notes for this release on my website, or in the appendix at the back of the book itself.

Mention is made of Chuck Close, who is known for his large-scale portraits.

Mention is also made of my Alphasmart Neo writing machine. I like writing by hand, but the only weakness is that you have to re-type it into a computer if you’re ever going to use it. I thought about buying an iPad for focused writing, but finally found that a used Alphasmart would do everything I needed it to at a much lower price, and offer fewer distractions. They have a few on Amazon, but eBay seems to have better selection and prices at this time.

Music for this episode is Empty by Ray LaMontagne, Thursgood from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Cold Out There by Jon Hopkins.

Radio address for Saturday, March 16, 2013. We all spread out a little bit more with the passing of time and the coming of extra daylight. Mention is made of the novel Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell.

I talk facetiously for a bit about how horrible Daylight Savings Time is, meaning to make the point, of course, that it isn’t actually that bad. All things considered, and taking one thing with another, I’m in favour of it for many of the same reasons given in this blog post. But of course I can see how you might find it silly and annoying if you live further south where daylight isn’t as precious.

In connection with the theme of people spreading out over time, there’s a short essay I wrote at my website, called Tables. I thought of adapting it for this podcast but ended up not having to; give it a read if you haven’t already.

We’ll return to the normal cover art once the snow melts.

Music is The Princess and the Puddings by John Renbourn, Fading Glow and Small Memory by Jon Hopkins.

Well, we really coloured outside the lines with this one! Trixie and I sat down by the fire on Thursday evening to discuss our podcast and the survey results, and recorded an hour of audio, which I managed to cut down to 45 minutes.

The podcast might make a lot more sense if you read along with our notes on the survey results (PDF, 715kb).

You’ll probably be interested in this discussion only if you really have a personal attachment to myself or this podcast. You get to meet Trixie, and have a little behind-the-scenes look at how we think and talk about Howell Creek Radio.

This kind of episode is an indulgence, probably more fun for us to record than it is for most people to listen to. I only feel comfortable foisting this kind of thing upon you because because it’s rare (once in five years). Production-wise, it was a real learning experience compared to the way I normally podcast, and there are definitely things I’ll do differently next time to increase focus, sound quality and efficiency.

As regards the survey itself, I feel it was a success and I’m thankful for all your thoughts. Off the top of my head, here are my major take-aways:

• More episodes: I’ll be releasing consistently on Saturdays and announcing when I’ll be taking time off.
• Music: I didn’t mention this in the podcast, but I’ve already been thinking it would be good to start relying less on the music to lend interest to each episode. One response in particular confirmed for me that this was the way to go. I’ll definitely still be using music in a multi-layered fashion as I have been, but the selections will be shorter and take more of a back seat to the writing.
• Memberships: All past and future episodes will always be free to listen to – it seems I didn’t make that clear enough in the survey. The results still seem to confirm, though, that making some kind of donation mechanism available would be a good idea in the not-too-distant future. A print edition and a coffee mug are the most likely next steps, whenever I can get to them.

If you have any responses or thoughts about anything we talk about, let us know in the comments, we’ll be there to respond!

Radio address for Saturday, Mar 2, 2013. I discuss the possibilities and limitations inherent in becoming, and trying to remain, a landed proprietor. What’s it like to suddenly be the grown-up, welcoming guests into your home?

Don’t forget to fill out our short, anonymous listener survey. Trixie and I will be discussing the results next week by the fireplace, so if you have any insightful or constructive thoughts to add, you have a good chance of having them read “on the air” (anonymously of course).

Music was The Nest by Jose Gonzalez and the Lincoln soundtrack by John Williams.

Saw them gathering sticks from the ground
by the thicket while assembling a nest.
On alert for any lingering threats,
Building frantically without rest.

Radio address for Feb 23, 2013. Winter gets repetitive; it is a prison, a cave, a cocoon.

Mention is made of an article about cocooning’s “resurgence” in USA Today. Music is Homesick by Kings of Convenience, and Towards the Sun by Alexi Murdoch.

Don’t forget to add your responses to our short, sweet survey!

What appear to be houses are seen to be boats, on closer inspection. Taken by hugovk, Helsinki, Finland. (CC License)

Photo by Scott Mark (CC License)

Snow cave near Byron Glacier, Alaska. Photo by WideAngleWandering (CC License)