tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157808132024-03-12T22:58:49.124+00:00Mick's Amazing MegamixMick Bordet is a founding member of 'The Deserters' and is currently playing in 'The Lunacy Board'. This is a space for Mick's thoughts on what's happening in his musical life and the World in general.Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-59563524688472107692013-05-10T17:56:00.000+01:002013-05-10T18:01:52.090+01:00Still here?<div style="text-align: left;">
For some reason or other, I am still seeing several more visitors here than I would expect. If you are wondering why there have been no posts here for a while, there is a very simple answer: the blog has moved!
My latest news (stories, music, reviews, etc.) can all be found at <a href="http://mickbordet.com/" imageanchor="1">mickbordet.com.</a></div>
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I also co-produce and write for the Every Photo Tells... podcast, which is at <a href="http://everyphototells.com/" imageanchor="1">everyphototells.com</a><br />
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The Lunacy Board music can be downloaded at <a href="http://lunacyboard.com/" imageanchor="1">lunacyboard.com</a><br />
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Some Other Scotland is my podcast novel, still running over at <a href="http://someotherscotland.com/" imageanchor="1">someotherscotland.com</a><br />
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Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-66409285575067169642010-02-11T18:36:00.004+00:002010-02-11T19:16:41.036+00:00Doug Boucher - Buy the ticket, take the ride<a href="http://www.myspace.com/dougbouchermusic" title="Click to hear some of Doug's music on MySpace"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 170px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/S3RPWbX2nQI/AAAAAAAAAYw/5bHFj2Y74Zc/s400/doug.jpg" border="0" alt="Doug Boucher" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437057896866553090" /></a><p>I went to investigate the reason for one of my favourite bloggers' recent quiet spells today (he has changed blog host before and I suspected that was the reason) to be met with some tragic news. Doug died following an incident where he was tasered by police at a store for a minor misdemeanour. Anyone familiar with his writings (and they are usually not for the faint-hearted) would recognise the events leading up to his run-in with the law, as he had described numerous similar encounters, all good-natured and almost always resulting in someone (okay, usually a teenage redhead) being left feeling good about themselves.</p><p>The fact is that Doug lived the rock 'n' lifestyle to the best of his ability; not the drug-addled, constant partying mythology, but the real, gritty, struggling musician fighting for good, live music in the face of audiences who want to hear the same crap as they are spoon-fed on x-pop-idle-factor. It took him a while, but he did find a venue for his own blend of cover versions and original compositions that took a Zappa-esque delight in mixing the serious with the absurd.</p><p>As well as music, he loved writing, most often in a style influenced by Hunter S Thompson or H P Lovecraft. His occasionally posted recipes were always entertaining to read (and yes, his Gumbo recipe is pretty damn awesome), as were his tales of how he discovered certain bands and his explanations of his own bass and guitar-playing influences.</p><p>I can say with confidence, that it was Doug's blog and his dedication to music that helped get me back playing music regularly after a break of many years. It gave me great delight to hear his enthusiasm for the piece of music I constructed around his original solo bass tune, "Requiem", which then featured on our first album, <a href="http://www.lunacyboard.com/album1.html" >Eponymous Debut</a>.</p><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="400" height="100" ><param name="movie" value="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer.swf/track=3416998541/size=grande/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer.swf/track=3416998541/size=grande/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" width="300" height="100" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality=high allowScriptAccess=never allowNetworking=always wmode=transparent bgcolor=#FFFFFF ></embed><noembed><a href="http://lunacyboard.bandcamp.com/track/xenochronous-requiem-for-a-head-laying-in-a-field-in-butler">Xenochronous Requiem For A Head Laying In A Field In Butler by The Lunacy Board</a></noembed></object><p>I had hoped that I'd get to work with Doug again in the future on another project, but that was not to be. He leaves behind him two great achievements. Firstly a small, but thought-provoking and entertaining body of written and musical work and secondly his daughter Katie, his pride and joy, whom he taught to question everything and enjoy a good fart joke.</p><p>So long, Doug, keep on rocking!</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-62380396051002214612009-09-30T15:32:00.008+01:002009-09-30T15:55:33.183+01:00I Should Be Writing<a href="http://isbw.murlafferty.com/2009/09/24/guest-post-a-podcasters-guide-to-winging-it-by-mick-bordet/"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 100px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SsNsOFaHXwI/AAAAAAAAAVM/EFamebGdCtA/s400/isbw.gif" border="0" alt="I Should Be Writing" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387268568490925826" /></a><p>Mur Lafferty, author of "Playing for Keeps" and the "Heaven" podcast series amongst other things, has recently posted an article written by me on her "<a href="http://isbw.murlafferty.com/2009/09/24/guest-post-a-podcasters-guide-to-winging-it-by-mick-bordet/" title="Read the article">I Should Be Writing</a>" blog.</p><p>The blog is the companion to her regular podcast aimed at new and aspiring writers, one that has provided a great deal of help and inspiration to guide me on my way. The article deals with the particular challenges of writing an ongoing piece of interactive fiction like "<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="What is that?">Some Other Scotland</a>" and how I keep track of where it is going and ensuring it stays on course.</p><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1934861162?ie=UTF8&tag=micsamameg-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1934861162"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SsNwsxCxVxI/AAAAAAAAAVU/vd_RCe420G4/s400/514FH6-qiJL._SL160_.jpg" style="float:left;margin:10px;"></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=micsamameg-21&l=as2&o=2&a=1934861162" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important;margin:0px !important;" /><p>It is aimed at fellow writers, but if you are interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the SOS podcast, you might well find it interesting even if you're not a writer. Do take the time to check out Mur's own podcasts at the site; they are quite different to SOS, but you're sure to find something of interest.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-56688815657951320522009-09-29T15:56:00.005+01:002009-09-29T16:38:39.902+01:00Great Hites Catch-up<p>Somehow I have managed not to mention a whole truckload of things in the last month. Rather than off-load them all at once, I'll stick up a series of short posts to get back on course.</p><p>First of all, since I last posted, there have been another two stories posted to <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com" title="Go there now!">Great Hites</a>, both '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="SOS what?">Some Other Scotland</a>' spin-off tales.</p><p><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/08/great-hites-66.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 66">GH Week 66</a> <em>"Wearing sunglasses in the early morning."</em></dt><dd><strong>Breakfast Hat</strong><em> [sos]</em><br />Sometimes people just don't want to be found. This is a short tale about what happens to Razer between wiping out the Empire State Building and finding himself in deep water.</dd><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/08/great-hites-67.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 67">GH Week 67</a> <em>"A man with a duck-headed cane is at the door."</em></dt><dd><strong>Hide and Seek</strong><em> [sos]</em><br />A detective is sent on a chase that can't end well. It is a longer tale set during the Second World War, giving the full story of the detective mentioned by Erica in Episode 16 of SOS and the previous attack on the 'Merk'.</dd></p><p>Since these are spin-off, they will both appear in the main SOS podcast feed in the future. </p><p>In addition to those, I recently included a 100-word story in the SOS feed that was to have been submitted to the 100 Word Stories podcast. It also gives more information about the first attack on the 'Merk' in a highly-condensed form.</p><p>There was also a bonus prompt for Great Hites recently for a 100-word story, written with a tight deadline, on the subject of "Spicy Mustard". Like "Kelvin's Last Message", this is set in the future of SOS and may never come to pass. I will post the link to this when it becomes available.</p><p>Finally, just a reminder that there is a link on the right of this page that will take you to all my short stories, headed "<a href="http://mickbordet.blogspot.com/2000/06/short-story-links.html">Mick's Short Stories</a>".</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-6259200780182545022009-08-31T22:30:00.000+01:002009-08-11T01:32:43.343+01:00Let's make a PodioRacket!<div style="float:right"><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/BTRPlayer.swf?file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2fPodioRacket%2fplay_list.xml%3Fitemcount%3D5&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=270&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="270" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></div><p>I'm doing a live chat and interview with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PodioRacket/2009/08/31/Mick-Bordet-Live-from-Scotland" title="Visit the PodioRacket website">PodioRacket</a>'s Rhonda Carpenter on Monday 31st August at 2:30 pm PST / 5:30pm EST / 10:30pm UK (BST) and there will be prizes:</p><ol><li>Name a character - we'll be taking suggestions for names of some of the new characters introduced in the last week or so of the podcast.</li><li>Call with a question or ask in the chatroom - the best one will receive a signed copy of the SOS short stories.</li><li>Twitter about the show to receive a free copy of the music from SOS.</li></ol><p>Full details of the competitions can be found at the BlogTalkRadio <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PodioRacket/2009/08/31/Mick-Bordet-Live-from-Scotland" title="Visit the PodioRacket website">PodioRacket</a> website.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-65180794941234070732009-07-29T12:36:00.006+01:002009-07-29T15:01:39.456+01:00Waltzing With Werewolves<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghetzu/3535994578/" title="Wolf - Click for CC attribution details"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SnBFlOBXriI/AAAAAAAAATs/nDA_AoidpLo/s400/GH63+Wolf.jpg" border="0" alt="Wolf" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363863661919579682" /></a><p>This week's <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-hites-63.html" title="Part one and text of stories">Great Hites</a> episode includes the biggest number of stories to date, with a number of new authors joining in and existing authors pulling out all the stops to make this a really good stepping-on point if you've never visited the site before.</p><p>The prompt for the stories was "Silver Bullets; the real reason that some cowboys carried them" and as you can imagine this has resulted in a number of werewolf-westerns as well as a few more unusual approaches. There are 12 stories in total, so Jeff has split it into 4 chunks, but it is all well worth a listen or two.</p><p>Two of the stories are mine: "<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-hites-63-file-2.html" title="Download part 2, including Waltzing with Werewolves">Waltzing with Werewolves</a>" is a 100 word love story set to music in a sort of spoken-song format, whilst "<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-hites-63-file-3.html" title="Download part 3, including Silver Solves The Dilemma">Silver Solves The Dilemma</a>" is a fairly traditional western tale, but with werewolves and a somewhat skewed moral code.</p><p>Incidentally, the introduction music for each part that Jeff talks over is the theremin solo from <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Mick+Bordet/_/The+Ballad+of+Rufus+Amos+Adams" title="Listen to the whole track">The Ballad of Rufus Amos Adams</a> - the country song I wrote some time ago for the Masters of Song Fu. Follow the link for the whole song.</p><p>Over on '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Catch up with SOS">Some Other Scotland</a>' this week, the action heads over the Atlantic to New York where the final scene shows how the influence of the story is reaching far beyond the shores of Scotland, with some devastating consequences. I was delighted to have Philip '<a href="http://norvalsoutlook.blogspot.com" title="Visit his website">NorvalJoe</a>' Carroll join me as the guest voice for Razer's American friend Kyle, who provides him with a place to lay low for a while. The two of us also concocted the creepy promo for Great Hites that you'll hear in the same episode, which was fun to put together.</p><h3>Live Interview and Chat</h3><p>Finally, I have been invited to do a live interview and call-in chat with <a href="http://www.podioracket.com">Podioracket.com</a> on BlogTalkRadio on the 10th of August. I will have more information about this shortly, but in the meantime, visit <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PodioRacket/2009/08/10/Mick-Bordet" title="Set a reminder">this link</a> to set an email reminder of when the show will be broadcast.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-43815138301626563272009-07-27T08:00:00.000+01:002009-07-27T15:27:50.253+01:00Take It Away!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hryckowian/2394265741" title="Piano Keys - click image for CC attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/Sm2uCYMUhDI/AAAAAAAAATc/vfTejJgzNJQ/s400/GH62+Keys.jpg" border="0" alt="Piano Keys" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363134087145227314" /></a><p>Over at Great Hites, my story "<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-hites-62.html" title="Download or read it">Take It Away</a>" has proved reasonably popular amongst the people who take the time to vote. It tells of a great pianist who returns to his old school, whereupon he sits down at the old wreck of a piano he last played in his youth. The music teacher who stands watching him is surprised by the result.</p><p>This coming week is going to see a bumper Great Hites episode, with 12 stories being included, no doubt due to the prompt being related to cowboys and werewolves. More details when the episode is posted online, but I wrote two stories for the prompt, one of which just so happened to also fit the prompt for 100 Word Stories this week, which was "The games we play". That means you'll be able to read and/or listen to one of my stories from next week's Great Hites in advance. It is called "<a href="http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/2009/07/weekly_challenge_170_the_games.html" title="Read or download 100WS #170">Waltzing with Werewolves</a>" and is in a spoken-song format with musical accompaniment.</p><p>Some major changes are afoot in the world of '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Visit SOS">Some Other Scotland</a>' later this week, with something that will force the plot out into the public view in a rather impressive fashion. I'm keen to get another interlude episode out this week as well, so keep an eye on the website.</p><p>Finally, I have had some great support from <a href="http://www.sethharwood.com" title="Visit Seth's website">Seth Harwood</a>, author of "Jack Wakes Up", following his appearance on the live <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PodioRacket" title="Download the interview or tune in for the next one">Podioracket</a> talk show. He has very kindly played the promo for SOS on the latest episode of his "Hot Tub" podcast, side-by-side with one for Arlene Radasky's book "<a href="http://www.radasky.com" title="Find out more about The Fox">The Fox</a>". Arlene has been a strong supporter of SOS from early in the life of the podcast and I'll be talking a little about her book in the next Interlude episode.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-12649847982821323022009-07-22T01:45:00.000+01:002009-07-22T12:48:48.721+01:00The Cave and Podiobooks<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scotland_Inchnadamph_Bone_Caves.jpg" title="Inchnadamph Bone Caves - Click image for CC attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SmbwnTBaCFI/AAAAAAAAATU/gJh8XhHkIc8/s400/GH61+Inchnadamph_Bone_Caves.jpg" border="0" alt="Caves" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361236964342892626" /></a><p>My latest short story to appear at 'Great Hites' is called "<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-hites-61.html" title="Read or download it">The Cave</a>". It is another short spin-off from 'Some Other Scotland', taking us back to the events (thousands of years ago) that set in motion much of what is taking place with Harald and Razer in the story at the moment. Remember the seemingly innocuous comment about cloning polar bears back in episode 8? Well, this story returns to that topic. The events mentioned here will be covered in SOS, though from a different perspective. This story is subtitled "part 1", as there is more to tell about what happened in the cave...</p><p>The short stories will be taking a break from linking to SOS for a couple of weeks, covering different topics for a while. I don't want to go overboard with SOS and make you all sick of it!</p><h3>Podiobooks</h3><p>Welcome to new visitors coming here from <a href="http://www.podiobooks.com/title/some-other-scotland" title="Visit the podiobooks version">Podiobooks.com</a>. The version of the story on podiobooks does not include the news items or the extras I include in the main podcast feed, the spin-offs and Interludes, just the story itself. I was delighted to gain over 100 new listeners within the first three days live at podiobooks, putting SOS into their top ten for this month, alongside some of the big names in podcast fiction. If you are enjoying the story on podiobooks, please do take the time to rate the podcast and leave a comment, as well as stopping by the main SOS website to vote in the poll. Follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/SOScotland" title="Follow us">@SOScotland</a> on Twitter to be notified of news, poll postings and new episodes.</p><p>Finally, I was interviewed recently about SOS by Rhonda Carpenter of <a href="http://www.podioracket.com" title="Visit the Podioracket website">Podioracket</a>, a podcast that covers everything new in the world of podcast fiction and features interviews with authors, news, competitions and promotional details of new books. If you are enjoying SOS or Great Hites, I would recommend paying them a visit for lots of ideas for what to listen to. I'll put up a direct link to the interview when that episode comes out.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-57155251487790548612009-07-10T23:17:00.006+01:002009-07-11T22:47:01.820+01:00Dandelions Of Memory<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/Sle-uEZEiHI/AAAAAAAAASc/787BiS-JLEU/s1600-h/10-07-09_2012_blimp.jpg"><img style="margin:10px;width: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/Sle-uEZEiHI/AAAAAAAAASc/787BiS-JLEU/s400/10-07-09_2012_blimp.jpg" border="0" alt="Airship? Not exactly."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356959980442650738" /></a></p><p>No, it's not a UFO or an airship - it's the blimp flying over T in the Park, just down the road.</p><p>This week's Great Hites story is ready and waiting to be read and/or downloaded. It is called "<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-hites-60.html" title="Read the story and vote!">Dandelions Of Memory</a>" and is another '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="More about the podcast">Some Other Scotland</a>' tie-in, probably the most direct so far, featuring Erica at the airport before heading off towards Skara Brae. Go and have a listen and don't forget to vote for your favourite!</p><p>My <a href="http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/2009/07/weekly_challenge_168_shrouded_1.html" title="Read some 100 word stories">100 Word Story</a> last week had the most votes (thank you to all who enjoyed it enough to vote for it), so I got to choose the topic for this week, which is "Shrouded in mist". I had no great plan for the topic, it is simply what I saw when I looked out the window at the time. However, it did result in me writing the shortest SOS spin-off so far. I've had something of a Harald special for this week of writing and both that story and my next Great Hites story give a little more background to him, tying into him being the focus of the latest SOS episode.</p><p>There is a new episode of 'Some Other Scotland' ready for download, the topic this week being 'Ghost'. Please have a listen and don't forget to vote for the future plot twist! On the SOS site you'll find a couple of audio promos for the podcast, set to some Song Fu tracks from the past. If you have a podcast or can use them in any way - please do! Let me know what you do with them, too.</p><p>Finally, I have just had confirmation that SOS will soon (17th July) be available at <a href="http://www.podiobooks.com" title="Check out lots of podiobooks">Podiobooks.com</a> - probably the best online source of free podcast stories, with all sorts of things available there, including several that have gone on to become published novels. They are very focused on the story, so the version of SOS that will appear at podiobooks will lack the news items and any other chat from me, having <strong>only</strong> the story itself. Note that subscribing to the podcast there will not include 'Interlude' or 'Spin-off' episodes which can only be downloaded from the main SOS site, but if you want to hear them you can still just download those individual episodes.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-76452048662210882052009-07-02T10:15:00.005+01:002009-07-02T10:55:41.739+01:00Gruelling Schedule<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazytales562/2848280442/" title="Gruel - Click here for CC attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/Skx8KH8xY2I/AAAAAAAAASE/vNZlOCPKM7c/s400/GH59+100Gruel.jpg" border="0" alt="Gruel" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353790570411156322" /></a><p>It has been a busy week for writing, with a new episode of '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Visit Some Other Scotland">Some Other Scotland</a>' and two new short stories.</p><p>Over at <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/greathites-59.html" title="Read or download it">Great Hites episode 59</a> you will find "Kelvin's Last Message", a tale of two UFO hunters trying to follow a pattern of sightings and ending up getting more than they bargained for. The prompt this week was "It is verboten", which had me struggling for a while until I remembered that 'verbo' is a word that appears on my mobile phone's predictive text when I try to type in 'tesco' <em>(the biggest supermarket chain in the UK, for those unfamiliar with it)</em>. Upon further investigation, I found that the keys used to spell 'ten' could also spell UFO and the idea came from that. I like the idea that so much can change at the delicate interface between man and machine.</p><p>Although I didn't set out to create another spin-off from SOS this week, this <em>could</em> be read as one, given what we know about unusual flying contraptions in that world. It is open-ended enough that it could foreshadow what is coming in SOS, but don't hold your breath - the story changes tack every week, so anything is possible.</p><p>The <a href="http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/2009/06/weekly_challenge_166_a_bucket_1.html" title="Read and download the stories">100 Word Podcast</a> features my story "Gruel", taking the run of animal-related diseases we're in the midst of and extrapolating a little, where eating meat becomes a game of chance with more serious consequences.</p><p>Don't forget to vote for your favourite stories at both GH and 100WS!</p><p>The first of the Great Hites Anthology episodes will be coming out fairly soon, so I have done a couple of short promo recordings to (hopefully) help Jeff reach a wider audience. One was just me chatting, whilst the other was a collaborative effort with <a href="http://www.norvalsoutlook.blogspot.com/" title="Visit his site">Norval Joe</a>, another Great Hites regular, and was really quite fun to do. I'll certainly be including it within the SOS feed as well as linking to it from here once Jeff is ready to launch.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-61810960669118418542009-06-25T13:01:00.005+01:002009-07-02T10:16:29.213+01:00Therapy Session<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmap/3347103390/" title="Therapy - click image for CC attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SkNpep9dEQI/AAAAAAAAAR0/gwf2Xr_epYs/s400/GH58+Therapy.jpg" border="0" alt="Alternative Therapy" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351236757626884354" /></a><p>Great Hites episode 58 is ready to view and <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/greathites-58.html" title="Visit Great Hites now">download</a> now. My story this week is more of a short character study than previous entries have been, dealing with a single woman struggling to come to terms with bereavement despite her familiarity with helping others do so.</p><p>Although it is a stand-alone story, it is set in the '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Visit 'Some Other Scotland'">Some Other Scotland</a>' world and features Sarah Fullarton, a minor character we last saw back in episode 2 of SOS. It takes place at her home shortly before the events of SOS.</p><p>The latest prompt at Great Hites is "arriving at the airport", probably the most open-ended prompt for several weeks, and will almost certainly end up being related to SOS as well.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-15402271743003128152009-06-19T11:08:00.004+01:002009-06-19T11:36:26.823+01:00Running Shoes<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dawvon/2628707870/" title="Feet - Click image for CC Attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SjtpkPot2oI/AAAAAAAAARk/Y0yR-uTPzvY/s400/GH57+Feet.png" border="0" alt="Feet" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348985053826112130" /></a><p>There is a new episode of <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/great-hites-57_16.html" title="Read or download it">Great Hites</a> with an impressive seven stories this week, all inspired by the prompt "Running Shoes". Mine takes place in a not-too-distant future where there is a ban on footwear, a seemingly innocuous and silly law to pass, but one which has major implications. The tale provides the viewpoint of one person who's life has been turned upside-down from the day of the announcement.</p><p>I must give a big "Thank you!" to everyone who voted for my last two stories at GH, in particular for "Signal", which has been one of my personal favourites since I started submitting to Jeff's site. The three 'winning' stories will be appearing at some point in the future within a special anthology edition of 'Great Hites'.</p><p>I have just completed another story for the site, this time based on a minor character from 'Some Other Scotland' - more on that when it surfaces.Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-21981183189660941932009-06-12T12:04:00.004+01:002009-06-12T12:28:01.722+01:00Ida the Fossil<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragnarsingsaas/3576402839/" title="Ida Fossil - Click for CC attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;;width: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SjI2SLhE_RI/AAAAAAAAARc/Z1OrgerF0Rs/s400/GH56+Fossil+Ida.jpg" border="0" alt="Ida Fossil" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346395393599274258" /></a><p>There's another of my short stories available to read or download and listen to over at <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/great-hites-56.html" title="Visit Great Hites">Great Hites</a> this week.</p><p>This one sets up a tale of lost love, interplanetary travel and homecoming around the recently discovered primate fossil, claimed by many to be the 'missing link'. Does it seem like I have a thing for ancient, advanced civilisations? You might think so.</p><p>There is some very subtle sci-fi background music in this latest tale. It comes courtesy of The Lunacy Board, and is called "Japan In A Trashcan". You'll find it on our third album, the entirely instrumental <a href="http://www.lunacyboard.com/album3.html" title="Go and buy it now!">Stockholm</a>, which is available to buy on CD or as a digital download. Follow the link for most information about the album, a couple of samples of other tracks and an order form.</p><p>There's also a new episode of '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Download it now!">Some Other Scotland</a>' ready for download. There seems to be a link between Charles' letter and another letter written to William Wallace - interesting, since around 400 years separates them. We also learn a bit more about the object <a href="http://www.twitter.com/RazerGL" title="Follow the street poet on Twitter">Razer</a> found in the underground tunnel.</p><h3>Vote!</h3><p>The Euro elections may have passed, but there's still plenty to vote for. Both 'Great Hites' and 'Some Other Scotland' feature polls that affect future episodes - if you are enjoying either of these podcasts, please take the time to vote and make your choice count!</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-64794533162636714702009-06-08T12:03:00.002+01:002009-06-08T12:25:58.207+01:00The Robot Band<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/johl/2835464823/" title="Robot Band - Click image for CC Attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SizxX3X2kVI/AAAAAAAAARE/_8R56rBFoDU/s320/GH55+robotband.jpg" border="0" alt="Robot Band" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344912250085216594" /></a><p>There's another story from me, now ready at <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/greathites-55.html" title="Let me hear/read it">Great Hites</a>. This one is musical in nature, after a fashion, and puts a bit of a spin on the question "What kind of band would you hire if money was no object?"</p><p>I've been doing quite a lot of behind-the-scenes work on "<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Sorry, what?">Some Other Scotland</a>" this week, which should hopefully allow me to forge on with the story with out interruption. I now have a massive chart with all the character details, who they have interacted with, who they will meet in the future (subject to change, of course) and a rough idea of where the next 5 or 6 episodes are heading. Now I just need to get writing.</p><p>Finally, I've been giving some thought to promotion of the podcast. It has been reasonably low key to date, partly because I wanted to be sure it could work and that people would actually want to listen to the ongoing story. Now that I know this to be the case, I'm ready to start pushing it out a bit more. I have a few ideas so far, so will probably pick the best of them and plan around doing something in line with the 13th episode (i.e. 1/4 of the way through the story).</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-47819279240163560562009-06-01T18:03:00.000+01:002009-06-01T18:03:00.368+01:00Fido<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kjunstorm/3285668639/" title="Chihuahua - Click for CC Attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SiPuAJHXZHI/AAAAAAAAAQk/fQjcWxVhe28/s320/GH54+Chihuahua.jpg" border="0" alt="Chihuahua" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342375269205763186" /></a><p>Another week - another episode of <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-hites-54.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 54">Great Hites</a> - this one is very short, and you'll either love it or hate it. It's about a little dog that rescues a group of shipwreck survivors.</p><p>After this, I have another couple of short stories headed towards Great Hites. I have been intending to put it aside for a while to focus on <a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="More about SOS">Some Other Scotland</a>, but Jeff does insist on putting up prompts that keep the stories coming. The one I have just completed is my favourite since 'To The Clouds', but I have yet to finish recording it.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-19893736848185947142009-05-26T00:22:00.004+01:002009-05-26T00:37:56.543+01:00Elvis Lives!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/royal_broil/2847906308/" title="Elvis Tour Bus - Click image for CC attribution"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width:200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/ShsrBjSgzZI/AAAAAAAAAQc/u3TrUIm1fQM/s400/EvlisBus.jpg" border="0" alt="Elvis Tour Bus - Click image for CC attribution" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339909088830606738" /></a><p>Yet more podcast short fiction from the Bordet pen. This one is a very short tale for the "<a href="http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/2009/05/weekly_challenge_161_elvis_dri_1.html" title="Read or download it">100 Word Stories</a>" podcast. It was based on the prompt "Elvis drives a bus" and goes somewhere along the road of trying to explain just how that could happen.</p><p>Obviously, it takes place in some other reality. It isn't the 'Some Other Scotland' world, though there is some common ground. It's based on Elvis' Scottish roots, it's fun and it only takes seconds to read. Alternatively, download the whole podcast and enjoy a barrage of stories with roughly the same theme, albeit with very different approaches.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-58039978790218085542009-05-22T23:28:00.005+01:002009-05-23T00:10:23.318+01:00A Busy Theremin Week<img src="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e313/MickBordet/blogstuff/10synths/epro.jpg" title="Theremin" style="width:200px;float:right;" /><p>Three bits of theremin-related news popped up this week:</p><h5>Don't Mind Me</h5><p>My short fictional tale of the effects of excessive theremin-playing is now available at <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-hites-53.html" title="Read or listen to it">Great Hites</a> for you to read or to listen to as part of the podcast. The advantage of the podcast is that, not only do you get to hear my dulcet tones reading it (oh deep joy), but it is backed by some reasonably subtle theremin effects, hopefully adding to the atmosphere. It's a fair bit less serious than my last GH story, but I'm quite happy with it. Whilst you're there, check out the other stories and vote for your favourite.</p><h5>The Beat Frequency Theremin Method</h5><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/Shcv1sOV7VI/AAAAAAAAAQU/ITl2bAz-dMM/s320/beatfreq_cd.jpg" title="Beat Frequency" style="width:200px;float:right;" /><p>Experimental thereminist and Lunacy Board collaborator, Gordon Charlton (a.k.a. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/beatfrequencyuk" title="Beat Frequency at Myspace">Beat Frequency</a>) has released a rather special double package that incorporates both his treatise on experimental theremin playing, "The Beat Frequency Theremin Method", and his debut solo album "The Chordless Chord" for the bargain price of only £8. The book is an interesting read for anyone interested in making electronic music, or in the experimental process, and not just budding theremin players. The order form is available on his <a href="http://beat-frequency.blogspot.com/2009/05/buy-beat-frequency-method.html" title="Order it now!">blog</a> along with video clips and an online preview of the book.</p><h5>Hands Off 2009</h5><p>It really doesn't seem like two years since the last Hands Off event, but here we are. This time round there are no workshops and no concert, with the event being a completely different beast. The aim this time is to use the combined theremin might of those attending (around only 20 in total - a select bunch), along with whatever additional noise-making equipment we can get hold of, to craft an album within two days. I believe the idea will be to split into smaller groups to work on pieces, recording them as we go, before picking the best to go together on an album. Given that the Lunacy Board managed to pull of an album in a single day, I don't think this is an impossible task and wouldn't be surprised if we got a double CD out of it. Time will tell. What will be interesting is the mix of people attending, from instrument builders and experimentalists through to classical theremin players - it is certain to feature lots of strange and unusual stuff. I'm looking forward to this, but it's not until the end of August, so the wait begins here...</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-90460854773647245722009-05-18T19:55:00.012+01:002009-07-02T11:07:22.387+01:00Wearing my pen out<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com" title="Lots more short fiction at Great Hites..."><img style="margin: 10px; float: right; width: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/Sf75un-zVTI/AAAAAAAAAPk/LDpTxdWXe30/s400/hites.jpg" alt="Great Hites" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331973588254938418" border="0"></a><p>You'll no doubt have seen my previous posts about a couple of my short stories that have been included on the '<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com" title="Lots of short fiction at Great Hites...">Great Hites</a>' podcast. There is a section for voting on the site and I'm pleased to say that my first two efforts both came in first place on the list, so I must be doing something right.</p><p>To celebrate the podcast's first year of existence and to secure a wider audience, Jeff (top man and head of the 'secret council of three') has recently announced that future poll winning entries at Great Hites will be eligible for inclusion in the forthcoming <a href="http://talkinghites.blogspot.com/2009/05/it-is-offical.html" title="Official Announcement">Great Hites Anthology</a> <em>(name to be confirmed - Jeff is still looking for suggestions) </em>. This 'Greatest Hites' will be available through <a href="http://www.podiobooks.com" title="Podiobooks.com">podiobooks.com</a>, which has a fairly large audience. I'm delighted to say that, as the 'winning' story in the anniversary week, "To The Clouds" will be the first tale in the anthology. Since writing that, I have submitted another two stories, so this seems like a good time to provide a quick summary of recent writings.</p><h3>Update</h3><p><strong>I have created a page with links to all my online writings that I will update regularly. It is linked from the front page of this blog and can be found <a href="http://mickbordet.blogspot.com/2000/06/short-story-links.html">here</a>.</strong></p><h3>Great Hites - Short Stories</h3><p><dl><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-hites-51.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 51">GH Week 51</a> <em>"Anthropomorphism"</em></dt><dd><strong>Gregory and Friends</strong><br />What can you do to squeeze the last drop of earning potential from something? Anthropomorphise it!</dd><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-hites-52.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 52">GH Week 52</a> <em>"It has been a year, what have I done with myself?"</em></dt><dd><strong>To The Clouds</strong><br />One man's view of the historic R34 airship crossing of the Atlantic.</dd><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-hites-53.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 53">GH Week 53</a> <em>"My mind has been going places without me lately."</em></dt><dd><strong>Don't Mind Me</strong><br />The theremin is a mysterious-sounding instrument, but does it affect more than just sound waves?</dd><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-hites-54.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 54">GH Week 54</a> <em>"A pound of flesh"</em></dt><dd><strong>Fido</strong><br />A touching tale of man's best friend.</dd><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/greathites-55.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 55">GH Week 55</a> <em>"Robots, they are all robots!"</em></dt><dd><strong>The Robot Band</strong><br />If money was no object, what would the band be like?</dd><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/great-hites-56.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 56">GH Week 56</a> <em>"Missing link primate likely to stir debate."</em></dt><dd><strong>Signal</strong><br />A tragic loss sends Maart miles from home, but his return years later holds some surprises in store.</dd><dt><a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/06/great-hites-57_16.html" title="Read and download Great Hites episode 57">GH Week 57</a> <em>"Running Shoes"</em></dt><dd><strong>Running Shoes</strong><br />A seemingly minor change to the law has major implications. A barefoot world.</dd></dl></p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-90349477567484402782009-05-11T00:30:00.001+01:002009-05-11T00:46:19.224+01:00"To The Clouds" - A life changed by the R34 Airship<img style="float:right; margin:10px;width:200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SgFZANjgkXI/AAAAAAAAAPs/ff0Yt0SFu_U/s400/r34_small.jpg" border="0" alt="R34 at Mineola" title="R34 at Mineola" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332641293956845938" /><p>Life can take you on interesting detours.</p><p>I sat down a couple of nights ago to write the next episode of '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com">Some Other Scotland</a>', only to find myself some time later digging through the internet for every scrap of information I could find about the R34 - the first aircraft to make a return Atlantic crossing. Why? It all ties in with the first 'spin-off' story from SOS, and I was checking some facts from the past before including them in the main podcast so that I wouldn't end up contradicting myself when I come to writing the off-shoot. It seemed like a logical course of action.</p><p>What I ended up with, in conjunction with the latest prompt from <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com" title="Listen to Great Hites">Great Hites</a>, was a short stand-alone story providing background for the main character of that story. It is, in effect, a spin-off from the spin-off.</p><p>This new story tells the tale of one year in the life of a rigger on the R34 airship, which was based at East Fortune, not far from North Berwick. As it stands, there is no direct link with the podcast story, but the forthcoming special episode will tie the two together.</p><p>Pay a visit to Great Hites' <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-hites-52.html" title="To The Clouds" >latest episode</a> to read the story or listen to me reading it, along with a number of other short tales read by their authors. Great Hites celebrates a year or podcasting short fiction this week, so drop by and show your support!</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-10303334982065663172009-05-08T01:00:00.001+01:002009-05-08T09:57:51.947+01:00Things to be done and things not<a href="http://nutsontheroad.net/vivalafry/" title="Sign up!"><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SgPu_ahX-fI/AAAAAAAAAP8/13RrAAdJOQ0/s320/vivafry.png" border="0" alt="Viva La Fry" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333369156955273714" /></a><p>First of all, I've signed up to do a song for the '<a href="http://nutsontheroad.net/vivalafry/" title="Learn more">Viva la Fry</a>' project. Click on the link for more details of what it is. I have no idea what to do for this, but my inclination is to keep it very simple, maybe just uke and vocal. No deadline has been set, other than ASAP, which is pretty non-specific. They're still looking for participants, so if you're interested in going head-to-head with Coldplay, take a look.</p><p>If you'd like a bigger challenge, there is still time (until Monday) to sign on for the next edition of '<a href="http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2009/05/04/masters-of-song-fu-4-sign-up/" title="MoSF">Masters of Song Fu</a>'. Having done a few now, I can recommend the experience as a way to develop your songwriting chops and getting some useful feedback about your songs. I'm sitting this one out to concentrate on other things, but will be following along as spectator.</p><p>Finally for now, I have submitted another short story to the <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com" title="Free short stories">Great Hites</a> podcast. My first one seems to have been well-received, so the new one may appear within the next few days. More details if and when it does, but it is a more serious story which feeds into '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com">Some Other Scotland</a>'. If you haven't heard (or read) the first one - have a look at the site - you can subscribe to the whole podcast or just read the individual stories if you prefer.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-91097433377856790732009-05-06T09:45:00.003+01:002009-05-06T10:05:46.188+01:00Music for Podcasting<p>One thing I have found since starting the podcast is that sometimes I just can't synthesise or recreate a sound effect to my satisfaction - that's what full-time sound designers are paid the big bucks for (assuming they ARE paid big bucks, that is). There's a wealth of stuff out on the internet, some free and some very expensive, with little assistance in distinguishing between the two. My preference is to go with Creative Commons music where I don't have something of my own that will fit the bill, but often the stuff I want to use has a non-commercial or no-derivatives licence. There are quite a few sites offering <a href="http://www.audiobank.fm" title="Audiobank.fm royalty-free music">royalty free music</a>, but most of the ones I came across were either needlessly complex, hideously expensive or only offered music on CD or DVD.</p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9s5Yp0kReE" title="Demo of Audiobank's facilities">Audiobank.fm</a> seems to be a little different, with easy to navigate categories, a pretty wide variety - not just piles of electronic breakbeats - and per-track pricing, meaning that if my podcast only needs one short snippet of polka, then that's all I pay for. Prices are around the $10 mark - high in comparison to most online music shops, but quite reasonable for a lifetime of royalty-free commercial use. They also do their own <a href="http://garagedrums.audiobank.fm/" title="Reason drum kit">Reason drum kit</a> with a range of 15 different kit styles using 24 bit samples.</p><p>Certainly worth a look if you're on the look-out for jingles for your podcast.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-72444248396294720102009-05-04T15:19:00.003+01:002009-05-04T15:34:50.164+01:00Great Hites<a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com" title="Lots more short fiction at Great Hites..."><img style="float:right; margin:10px;width:200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/Sf75un-zVTI/AAAAAAAAAPk/LDpTxdWXe30/s400/hites.jpg" border="0" alt="Great Hites" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331973588254938418" /></a><p>The short story I mentioned in the last post has appeared in Episode 51 of the <a href="http://greathites.blogspot.com" title="Lots more short fiction at Great Hites...">Great Hites podcast</a> which features short stories based on a common weekly theme. I have enjoyed several of the stories featured over the last few weeks that I've been following it, and the prompt for the latest week, "Anthropomorphism", inspired me to pen a short tale of (perhaps) the world's first marketing department.</p><p>It has been a nice little departure from the ongoing saga of twists and turns at <a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Hear the SOS podcast">Some Other Scotland</a>, light-hearted with a tang of cynicism. Next week is the first anniversary of Great Hites, so I hope to submit something to that episode too, though that will depend on whether I get this week's SOS completed in time.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-55666193695880107232009-05-01T11:53:00.004+01:002009-05-01T12:31:19.503+01:00Masters of Song Fu - Hanging up that hat<p>For the first time since it started, 'Masters of Song Fu' has been won by a challenger - well done Molly! They have already announced the date for sign-up for the next round, but I think I'm going to take a rest from the Fu for a while.</p><p>I need to devote more time to the <a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="Let me hear the story">Some Other Scotland</a> podcast for a while, as Song Fu deadlines meant that podcast episodes have slipped back. I have a special non-story episode coming up soon (after episode 10 launches) that will deal with some questions I've had about the story. That has yet to be recorded, so please feel free to send questions and/or feedback to me at <em>mickbordet {at} gmail {dot} com</em> and I can reply on the podcast.</p><p>When the podcast started, I hoped to be able to expand the world with a few spin-off stories giving some background to certain characters or events - short tales that would stand on their own as well as giving more depth to the main story. I have come up with a rough plan for the first of these, though it has turned out to be a bit more ambitious than originally planned because it will be more of an audio drama than the main podcast. More news on that as I settle the thing down in a script.</p><p>I've also completed a short story for possible inclusion on another podcast, so details of that will follow if it comes into being. If it doesn't I may just post it here instead.</p><p>All of this writing and podcasting activity does NOT mean that the music has been abandoned, though. There are a couple of possible guest appearances in the pipeline, a Lunacy Board session of some sort is long overdue and I have a few half-completed songs still kicking around from the FAWM challenge that need to be finished off. At some point soon I'll also revisit the Song Fu material I have amassed and combine it into an album, though there are some parts to be re-recorded with the luxury of no deadline, as the originals make me cringe in several places. Finally, I have a top secret plan for a podcast-related musical piece that will surface at some point and, who knows, maybe one of these days I'll get round to sorting out the pile of Dunoon songs.</p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-21901459791498670142009-04-23T11:00:00.006+01:002009-04-23T11:05:58.722+01:00Brokeback Cowboy<p>The latest to come out of the Roy Harper stable is not his long-awaited next studio album, but this little film. It's a joke you're probably familiar with, but it's so well-presented that I couldn't help but smile. I'd love to see Roy do more of this sort of thing (once he's finished that elusive album).</p><object width="100%" ><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F5XBIcZemSU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F5XBIcZemSU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="100%" height="350" ></embed></object>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15780813.post-6441192627335782122009-04-22T10:46:00.011+01:002009-04-22T16:30:42.877+01:00Masters of Song Fu - "#onedayintwitter"<a href="http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2009/04/22/song-fu-3-final-challenge-voting/" title="Vote now!"><img style="margin: 10px; float: right; width: 75px; height: 75px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JWjrIxmNoc0/SY-PYeP6HoI/AAAAAAAAAMo/3IkujsBCMhs/s320/songfusm.jpg" alt="Song Fu Logo" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300612937037782658" border="0"></a><p>Another 'Masters of Song Fu' comes to a close with the final voting round posted today and it's been fun. The format of the competition has changed significantly from the first time I entered, with all contestants staying in until the final round and letting us enjoy a much bigger collection of new songs. 'Shadow' entries for the final have also been encouraged, so my latest song can be found at <a href="http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2009/04/22/song-fu-3-final-challenge-voting/" title="Let's hear #onedayintwitter">quickstopentertainment.com</a>, even though I didn't make the final as a competitor.</p><p>As for the outcome, taking a look at the last set of vote <a href="http://www.lunacyboard.com/songfu/" title="View the results">results</a>, I placed 12th out of 22, so just in the lower half - not exactly a shining star, but not too bad against some strong competition, and substantially better than the showing in the first Song Fu I tried. It's interesting to see that several other people with lower scores in the first round (Jutze, Insane Ian and especially Edric) went on to pull substantially more votes in the following rounds, as I did.</p><p>I think I'll probably take a break from Song Fu after this - there's just too much other stuff to do at the moment, both on the '<a href="http://someotherscotland.blogspot.com" title="More about the podcast">Some Other Scotland</a>' podcast and other musical ideas I've had simmering slowly for a while. I'll be pulling all the songs together shortly to make them easier to download in one go.</p><h3>#onedayintwitter</h3><p>The challenge:</p><blockquote>FRANKENSONG. For this fourth and final challenge, you must craft a composition that contains AT LEAST THREE (3) distinctly different songs within your final song, but which fit together into a cohesive whole. By distinct, I mean both tempo and style.</blockquote><p>I struggled with this for a while, looking for three or four things that could be grouped together, yet remain unique in their own right. It finally struck me whilst looking for something on Twitter that it could be used for the song - indeed it could form the cohesive entity around a group of otherwise unrelated topics. I used the twitter search facility to find 'trending topics' and came up with four I thought I could write unique songs about that would fit under the heading "One Day In Twitter" - these were merely the most popular topics at the time I looked: <dl><dt><a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%22Susan+Boyle%22+OR+%23susanboyle" title="People STILL tweeting about Ms Boyle">#susanboyle</a></dt><dd>Despite everything from <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1854591177?ie=UTF8&tag=micsamameg-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1854591177">Cyrano de Bergerac</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=micsamameg-21&l=as2&o=2&a=1854591177" width="0" height="0" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;padding:0px;" /> to <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00005RDQF?ie=UTF8&tag=micsamameg-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B00005RDQF">Shallow Hal</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.co.uk/e/ir?t=micsamameg-21&l=as2&o=2&a=B00005RDQF" width="0" height="0" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;padding:0px;" /> suggesting otherwise, it's apparently been a common belief that you need to be beautiful to sing/act/dance/etc. Like some warped version of a fairytale (with Cowell, Morgan and Holden as fairy godmothers?) the World has suddenly woken up to discover that ugly people can have talent. Welcome to the party, guys. The fact is that ugly people probably make <strong>better</strong> artists because they don't get handed their career on a plate because some sleazebag wants to get them on his casting couch (or whatever the equivalent is for musicians). The music business took a massive detour thanks to MTV, resulting in the rise of the drop-dead-gorgeous-but-musically-bland artists we've been subjected to for so many years now, but maybe this will signal to them that there is something beyond airbrushed beauty.<br /> I jest.<br /> Of course they won't, despite the fact they're wishing they had a tenth of the sales that Ms Boyle has had YouTube views.</dd><dt><a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%22Ashton+Kutcher%22+OR+%23ashtonkutcher" title="Who hell he?">#ashtonkutcher</a></dt><dd>He entered a race with CNN to get to one million twitter followers first. He had at least one company offering prizes to people who signed up - shame on you EA. How desperate for fame and adoration do you have to be to post pictures of your wife's arse on the internet just to get more people to sign up to receive your inane drivel? Apparently he's an actor. I may have already seen one of his films - I don't know - but I do know that if I hear his name associated with a film in the future, I'll probably be a little less inclined to want to see it.</dd><dt><a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23queryfail+OR+%23queryday" title="Authors and agents get hot and bothered...">#queryfail/#queryday</a></dt><dd>Literary agents opened themselves up to questions and provided insight into why they knock back many book pitches. Some writers praise them for being open and honest, appreciating the feedback, learning from the experience and maybe going on to produce a pitch for their own book that may get them noticed one day. Others throw their toys out the pram, rant on about what the agents should be doing for <strong>them</strong>, complain about even the most common-sense of advice and end up looking like unprofessional prima-donna numpties who will doubtless be avoided by every agent on the planet.</dd><dt><a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23badscifi" title="Science Fiction that's not very good">#badscifi</a></dt><dd>Twitter is full of little internet memes like this - change a word in a well-known science fiction title (book or film) to make it a little less inspiring. As with all these things, some work better than others.</dd></dl><p>I wrote a verse for each topic and recorded a mini-song in a suitable style - mock-operatic for #susanboyle, emo rock for #ashtonkutcher, wistful waltz for #queryfail and robotic electronica for #badscifi. They are bound together not just by being twitter hot topics, but by the same chorus lyrics (the words stay the same, but the music is different each time) as well as some instrumental overlaps and a theme from the start that reappears later on. I had intended to feature a theremin part at the beginning and end, but ran out of time to practice it - hopefully I will get around to this and release a version which includes it. The whole thing is rounded off with a title that both describes what the song is about and serves as a <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23onedayintwitter" title="What'cha mean?">hashtag</a> for searching twitter.</p><p><blockquote><pre><h3>#onedayintwitter</h3>[Operatic/Musical Style]<br />There are thousands of less than beautiful people<br />With voices to make a nightingale proud<br />But thanks to Mandy and Piers and Cowell<br />There's one who won't throw in the towel<br />Please step forwards Susan Boyle, <br />That YouTube clip will help you always<br />Stand out from the crowd.<br /><br />[CHORUS]<br />Tweet tweet tweet tweet<br />tweet tweet tweet tweet<br />What'ya twittering on about?<br />Tweet tweet tweet tweet<br />tweet tweet tweet tweet<br />What's this twitter thing all about?<br /> <br />[Waltz style]<br />Authors harassing agents in a bid for Rowling fame<br />Queryfail sparked off the "he said, she said" game<br />But queryday has showed how much common sense is lacking<br />In some people sending manuscripts in the hope of getting backing<br /><br /><em>* CHORUS *</em><br /><br />[Emo rock]<br />How needy is the boy who craves a thousand, thousand followers<br />Desperate to outnumber the avid newscast swallowers<br />I'd never heard of Ashton Kutcher till his name came up on twitter<br />But will a million followers and Demi's arse stop his career going down the shitter?<br /><br /><em>* CHORUS *</em><br /><br />[Tangerine Dream Style - robot voice]<br />Making up names to substandard shows<br />Twitter hive mind, borg-like complies<br />Avon visits a corner shop in "Blake's 7-Eleven"<br />Art from the chronosynclastic infundibulum in "The Sirens of Titian"<br />Noddy's looking for Replicants in "Slade Runner"<br />All available on #badscifi<br /><br /><em>* CHORUS *</em><br /></pre></blockquote></p>Mick Bordethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04919223839718611887noreply@blogger.com0