small WORLD podcast

Logan's Run LEGO Diorama

Today on the Small World we'll talk with Roger Snider of Ultra Rigs of the World. We'll talk about Dekotora and his project of photographing ultra rigs from around the world. The Dekotora (or Decotora or Art Trucks) is an abbreviation for "Decoration Truck" that describe a kind of loudly decorated truck most commonly found in Japan. These trucks are typically clad in neon or ultraviolet lights, flamboyant paints, and chrome and gold. These decorations can be found on both the cab and the trailer, and not only on the exterior but also in the interior. Roger first became interested in trucks while working on shooting photo stills for Doug Pray's documentary, Big Rig. This is an enhanced podcast so you will be able to see Roger's's photos of these amazing rigs on your MP3 player or browser. Songs heard on today's show: 01. Asleep at the Wheel with Leon Rausch "Truck Driver's Blues (feat. Willie Nelson)" 02. Kool Keith feat. KutMasta Kurt "Diesel Truckers Theme"

Hey, everybody, I've got a great show for you today! We're going to talk with Ian McDonald about his book, The Dervish House, that will be released in July through Pyr. The Dervish House combines Islamic mysticism, political and economic intrigue, a terrorist threat, and a nanotechnology with the potential to transform every human on the planet. The Dervish House takes place in Istanbul in 2027. The Dervish House is seven days, six characters, three interconnected story strands, one central common core—the eponymous dervish house, that pins all these players together in a weave of intrigue, conflict, drama, and a ticking clock of a thriller. Ian is a science fiction novelist who's themes include nanotechnology, postcyberpunk settings, and the impact of rapid social and technological change on non-Western societies. We'll also talk with Cory Doctorow about his latest novel, For the Win, a book about gamer kids all over the world who use multiplayer games to organize and fight back against abusive employers by forming a union. It's a wonderful book that I couldn't put down. Cory is a blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of Boing Boing, a blog and directory of wonderful things. You can download a free electronic copy of For the Win and Cory's other novels at his website but I encourage you to support Cory by purchasing at least one of his books at your local or online bookstore. Music featured on today's show: 01. Futuristic Sex Robot "WoW" [FREE DOWNLOAD] 02. Backini "Istanbul" [FREE DOWNLOAD] Next time on the small WORLD we'll talk with Corey Olsen, host of The Tolkien Professor Podcast. Corey is a professor at Washington College and a PhD in medieval literature and The Tolkien Professor Podcast has made me appreciate Tolkien in new ways. Even if you've never read The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings I think you'll enjoy The Tolkien Professor Podcast.

Today's show is unique for two reasons: I recorded it on location rather than over Skype in the small WORLD studios. Okay, that's not so unique but any excuse to get outside and get some sun is good enough for me. The other reason today's show is unique because my guest is Chris Gondek who is a net friend. We all have net friends these days but they are scattered across the country and across the globe that's rare that you'd ever meet any of them. So let me tell you about Chris. I moved to San Diego by way of Boston and like most transplants I try and keep touch with my hometown. Some people will read their hometown newspapers online or follow their hometown's sports team. Me? I listen to the MIT Press Podcast. I never attended MIT but I was a regular patron of the MIT Press Bookstore. It's a great place! Where else are you going to pick up the Autonomedia's Jubilee Saints calendar, a copy of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly and books like a collection of essays about sampling digital music and culture like DJ Spooky's Sound Unbound under one roof? The MIT Press Bookstore, that's where! So when I found out that the MIT Press Bookstore had launched a podcast I subscribed immediately. The MIT Press Podcast was a reflection of the bookstore. The podcast featured interviews with various authors and the Podcasts were eclectic and erudite. I was also impressed with the podcast's host, Chris Gondek. Chris asked insightful and interesting questions. More importantly, it was clear that he has actually read the books by the people he was interviewing. That is unbelievably rare and as a fellow interviewer I appreciated that. Later I started listening to a podcast called Twitterhood. I really enjoyed Twitterhood because the show feature informal and brief interviews with really interesting people like Guy Kawasaki and Jesse Thorn. I thought the host sounded familiar and when I sent out a request to be a guest I discovered that Twitterhood's host was none other than Chris Gondek, the MIT Press Podcast. The interview with Chris was fun but I had even more fun afterwards talking to him about the art of interviewing. I almost never get to talk shop so it was a blast to be able to compare notes with a fellow interviewer. When I found out that Chris was coming to visit San Diego I simply had to meet him! I also wanted to return the favor and interview him. Son enjoy today's show. And while you're at it, subscribe to Chris Gondek's main show, The Invisible Hand, where Chris interviews authors about business management books. See you next time when my guests will be authors Cory Doctorow and Ian McDonald. Until then, take care.

Today on the small WORLD we'll talk with Tara Hunt, the author of The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business. Unless you've read Cory Doctorow's novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, then you have no idea what Whuffie is. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom takes place in a post-scarcity world: energy is not just cheap, it's free, and all the necessities of life are also free for the taking. In the novel, Cory imagines that will all our basic needs met that a reputation-based currency emerges, and your worth as person is not measured by money or possessions but how valuable you are to society. Your value could be measured by how nice you are or if you are helpful to other people. Your value might also be determined on how much of a team player you are or how much of a team leader you might be. Each person's value goes up and down and that value can be tracked through their Whuffie, which is a general measurement of their overall reputation. Right about the same time I was reading Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom I was also re-reading Bruce Sterling's novel, Distraction. Hey, some people will watch movies or television shows repeatedly, I read books I like repeatedly. Any, while Distraction is similar to Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom in that there is also a reputation-based economy Distraction is different in that Bruce imagines a world where the US economy is in the toilet. nearly everyone in the country is broke and once again a reputation-based currency emerges. Like a lot of people, I wanted to see a world where something like Whuffie could exist. The thing is, we've always lived in a reputation-based economy in one way or another. The only difference is now we're using tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to express the values of authenticity, trust and engagement, not just in business but in our community, both in the physical world and the online world. And Tara Hunt explores these ideas n her book, The Whuffie Factor. To quote Tom Kelley, co founder of IDEO and author of The Ten Faces of Innovation, "Social capital may be the most powerful currency of the twenty-first century, and this book is a guide to its care and feeding. Bursting with energy and enthusiasm, Tara Hunt shows us how to win friends and influence people in a Web 2.0 world." Speaking of social networks, you can find me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/smallworld. We're going to close out today's show with a track by MC Lars and YTCracker called "Facebook," which is perfect for today's show.

On today's show we're going to talk with Rob Gokee, author of In the Belly of the Fail Whale: How Twitter Changed My Life in One Year. But before we do I want to apologize for getting this week's show out so late. I do freelance web design and social media strategies and thankfully work has been picking up. In fact, I'm almost at the point where I have too much work coming in. Unfortunately, I've been so busy that I wasn't able to get the show out on it's regular schedule. On top of that, last week I caught a cold which laid me up. I'm over the worst of it but I still have a lingering cough. Check this out: last night I was I crouching by my desk trying to organize my various computer cables when I was hit with a coughing fit. I lost my balance and smacked my head against my desk. While I was flailing about I also mashed my hand against my desk and somehow managed to twist my ankle. I'm pretty banged up and I have a lump on my forehead the size if a ping pong ball. Anyway, that's why the show is late. I hate to release shows late but it happens from time to time. I've made arrangements with Alterati's Joseph Matheny to pull a show out of the vault the next time I'm running behind but hopefully that won't happen to frequently. But let's get back to today's show! As I mentioned, our guest is Rob Gokee and we're going to talk about his book, In the Belly of the Fail Whale: How Twitter Changed My Life in One Year. I know at some point that Twitter is going to be as commonplace as instant messengers but right now Twitter is still a pretty exciting place to be and it certainly has changed my life. I've been following Rob on Twitter for over a year now and when he published In the Belly of the Fail Whale I wanted to have him on the Small World because first of all, he's one of the friends I've made on Twitter and second of all, I wanted to find out how Twitter changed his life. In the Belly of the Fail Whale is a great read and is very funny even when Rob is revealing some very painful part of his life. You can follow Rob on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robgokeemusic. You can find me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/smallworld Rob Gokee "Terrace in the Rain

Today's guest on the Small World is singer/songwriter Michael Hayes. I met Michael back when we both worked in the design team producing presentations for an investment company. Looking back, that team was the best group of people I've ever worked with. We were a tight knit group not only because each person's strengths made up for another person's weaknesses but because we all really liked each other and hung out with each other outside of work. As you might imagine, because we were the design team we were all very creative people. Some of us were DJs, some of us were actors and some of us, like Michael, were musicians. Since then we've gone different directions with our lives and careers and moved to different locations around the country and around the globe. Michael has been in several bands such as the Vinyl Skyway and Lemonpeeler and released several albums and recently put out a 22 song retrospective album called Diamonds Down the Drain. When I found out about Michael's retrospective album I wanted to have him on the show not just as an excuse to catch up with him but also because the idea of a retrospective album intrigued me. A retrospective album by its very nature means looking back on his career as a musician and acts as a kind of summation of who he is as an artist today. And, of course, Michael's past is going to inform his future in many different ways. Like most musicians Michael has a day job. He's also a husband and a father of two children. How does that influence how he sees the world and by extension, the songs he writes? And on a personal note I wanted to talk to Michael about his experiences because as I get older I can't help but reflect on my own life. What have I done? Where am I going? What is the meaning of my life? These are universal questions we all ask ourselves at various points in our lives. Neither of us have any answers but it's good to talk about these things. It was great to talk with Michael and I know you will enjoy his music. See you in two weeks! Songs featured on today's show are: 01. "Hangin' On" 02. "Rich Blood" 03. "Symphony"

Steampunk

Happy New Year! I hope you had fun bringing in 2010 because 2009 sure was a bitch, wasn't it? For today's New Year edition of the Small World I was going to do a segment on Steampunk. The show was going to feature an interview with Bruce Sterling, who along with William Gibson, pushed Steampunk into the mainstream with their novel, The Difference Engine. We were also going to talk with David Simkins, one of the writers and executive producers of the Syfy channel's Warehouse 13 and also talk to Steampunk Tales Evelyn Kriete. Unfortunately, what with the holidays and work I wasn't able to get around to editing all of those interviews. My fault, really. I could have easily done a show just featuring one of those people but no, I have to turn it into a grand project! My apologies but I will have the Steampunk segment ready for you in two weeks. In the meantime, I'm going to repodcast one of shows I produce called solipsistic NATION. On solipsistic NATION I play the best of all genres of electronic music and I often interview musicians and music labels and other people from the electronic music community. If NPR did a show about electronic music I imagine it would sound exactly like solipsistic NATION. I'm quite proud of the show. I took everything I learned from producing the Small World and applied it to solipsistic NATION. What's cool is now I'm taking everything I've learned from producing solipsistic NATION to the Small World. The show from solipsistic NATION you're going to hear today was actually released October 16th of 2009 and features interviews with Amy Grill, director of Speaking in Code, Paul Owens, director of Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet, Hannes Stöhr, director of Berlin Calling, Katyá Guseva, editor of Big Up Magazine, Graham St. John, editor of Dancecult and Fernando Fonseca, founder of Public Spaces Lab. As I said, I'm proud of solipsistic NATION and I'm particularly proud of this episode. If you like what you hear then why don't you go to solipsisticnation.com and subscribe to the show. This week on solipsistic NATION I interview John and Paul Healy from Somatic Responses and play music from one of their live sets. Okay, enough out of me. Here's the show show. I hope you like it!

Music Monday was a regular feature on the Small World where each week I'd interview a musician and feature three of their tracks of their choice. Since relaunching the Small World on Alterati I've wanted to return to that segment but was uncertain how to do it now that the Small World is a bi-monthly show. I still haven't resolved this problem but I decided to move forward anyway. Today on the Small World our guest is Natalia Paruz who plays such novelty musical instruments as the musical saw, pitched Austrian cowbells, handbells, the glass harp, theremin and more. Natalia has performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, with the Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Air Moroccan Symphony Orchestra and at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall with PDQ Bach composer Peter Schickele and with the Little Orchestra Society. In 2007 she debuted as a musical saw soloist Carnegie Hall and in 2008 marked her Madison Square Garden debut. Natalia also performs in more modest locations on the streets and the subways of New York City Natalia has recently released Hark! An Angel Sings with arrangements by composer and husband Scott R. Munson and with Christmas just around the corner I thought she'd be a perfect guest to have on today's Small World. Happy holidays! 01. Natalia Paruz "Jingle Cowbells" Austrian Cowbells with orchestra 02. Natalia Paruz "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" Musical saw and piano 03. Natalia Paruz "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" Musical saw with orchestra/ethnic instruments As always, you can reach me at smallworldpodcast@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/smallworld

We live in a world that increasingly resembles the science fiction stories of our youth. For example, nearly all of us have mobile phones that are wery much like the communicators that appeared in the Star Trek television series in the late 60s. But in fact, our mobile phones are not mobile phones. They are hand-held computers that we can watch movies on or surf the web or check our email that also happens to be a phone. The world we live in is pretty amazing and is rapidly changing in astonishing and unexpected ways thanks to our advancing technology. But if we are living in a world that seems straight out of a science fiction novel, then how is our current technology changing science fiction? We'll explore that question on today's Small World. We'll talk with Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing fame and author of his recent book, Makers, about eReaders and digital rights managemment. We'll also talk with Annalee Newitz, the editor-in-chief of the io9, a blog focuses on science fiction and futurism, about how we'll get our media tomorrow. J.C. Hutchins, the author and podcaster of 7th Son, will talk about the changing role of publishers and content creators. Steve Eley, the founder of the Escape Pod science fiction short story podcast, will talk about the possible demise of science fiction magazines. The incidental music heard on today's show comes to us by way of the Soulphonic Soundsystem. We heard Soulphonic Soundsystem's "Motanica," "Catalina Sunset," "Mr. Sparkle," "The Ambassador" and "Nutmeg." As always, you can reach me at smallworldpodcast@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/smallworld

On the last edition of the small WORLD I announced that the small WORLD had found a new home on Alterati. But what is Alterati? That's the topic of today's show. Our guest on today's show is Joseph Matheny, the founder of Alterati. Joseph has been on the small WORLD twice before: once to talk about The Incunabula Papers: Ong's Hat and once to talk about Grey Lodge. Joseph has also worked for Adobe. Joseph has also written and contributed to many books and magazine articles, is involved in theater, television, film and video and will soon be launching Hukilau. We'll learn all about Joseph and more on today's show. Stay stuned! As always, you can reach me at smallworldpodcast@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/smallworld

Hello! I’m back! Yep, after nearly two years the Small World is back in action. We just heard an excerpt from The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast (http://www.hppodcraft.com), which is actually an excerpt from H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, The Picture in the House. Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer are the host of the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast and we’ll talk with them shortly. But before we talk with Chris and Chad I’m going to very quickly bring you up to speed with what I’ve been up to. Back in late 2007 the Small World website was hacked. Hacked so badly that I had to nuke the entire database and start from scratch. That really took the wind out of my sails because starting from scratch meant updating the site with 496 shows. And to be completely honest, I was more than a little burnt out. I had produced nearly 500 shows and the workload was taking it’s tole on me. I had to arrange the interview. do the interviews and then produce three shows a week. And remember, this is a labor of love, not a paying gig. So when my site was hacked it was the final straw. Since then I’ve been producing a show called Solipsistic Nation, where I play the best of all genres of electronic music. Along with playing great music I also interview people from the electronic music community: musicians, record labels, festival organizers, etc. If NPR produced had an electronic music show then it would sound a lot like Solipsistic Nation. Producing Solipsistic Nation is a lot of fun but I’ve always had that itch ti interview people about things that fascinate me that have nothing to do with electronic music. When Joe Matheny suggested that I archive the Small World on Alterati I thought it would be a perfect time to re-launch the Small World on a twice a month basis, which is a workload I can handle. You’re probably asking yourself: what the hell is Alterati? Alterati is like a word that you don’t know the exact definition of but you know what it means. Rather than try to explain Alterati to you right now, we’ll talk to Joseph Matheny, Alterati’s founder, on the next show and have him explain it. So… let’s get to today’s show. As I mentioned, our guests are Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer. Chris and Chad produce the H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast and H.P. Lovecraft was a science fiction slash horror writer who died in 1937. You may or may not know Lovecraft but his writings have had an amazing impact on popular culture: from movies and comics like Hellboy to bands like Metallica and Black Sabbath. He’s also had a profound impact on writers like Stephen King, Jorge Luis Borges and Neil Gaiman. The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast treats the work of Lovecraft with a deft touch. Each week features excerpts from one of Lovecraft’s stories accompanied with insightful and often hilarious commentary from Chris and Chad. Today’s incidental music was provided by Veil of Thorns with the track “The Reflection” from their album, Necrofuturist. You can hear more of their Necrofuturistic music at http://www.veilofthorns.com We’re going to keep with the funnier side of H.P. Lovecraft and close the show with a bit from Smart Bomb Radio with “Cthulhu Is My Co-pilot” and Tom Smith’s “Cthulhu Fthagn.” Smart Bomb Radio can be found at http://www.myspace.com/smartbombradio and Tom Smith can be found at http://www.tomsmithonline.com You can reach me at smallworldpodcast@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/smallworld

Long-time listeners of the Small World know that I've only done a handful shows in the last few months. The Small World website was hacked by some kids in Turkey a while back and no matter what i did they kept hacking back into the site. That was a headache but on top of that, the Small World website acts as a kind of calling card when I invite people to be guests on the show. By viewing the website they can get an idea of the kind of show I produce as well as getting a sense of the history of the Small World. Without the website people take me less seriously and so it's difficult to get guest to appear on the show. Earlier this month I made the deciion to nuke the website and build it up from scratch, which was painful to do because I lost over two and half years of entries into the Small World database. But in the end I had to do it because the database was crrupted and that's what allowed the hackers to keeping getting into the website. I'll have things back in hand in January and I want to thank oyu for being patient and remaining subscribed to the Small World. In the meantime, I wanted to put out one more show until that happens and today we're going to listen to the music of the Varimezov Bulgarian Ensemble. I saw the Ensemble Saturday evening while attending the2007 Yuletide Celebration at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angelese with my friend Leah. Ever since I first met Leah she's been raving about the Museum so when she invite me to attend the celebration I jumped at the opportunity. While I was there I had the pleasure of listening to the music of the Varimezov Bulgarian Ensemble and I recorded a few of their songs on my iRiver. The audio isn't great but it's good enough that it captures the spirit of their performance.

A journalist who's written obituaries of Princess Di and Johnny Cash, Johnson counts herself among the obit obsessed, one who subsists on the "tiny pieces of cultural flotsam to profound illuminations of history" gathered from obits from around the world, which she reads online daily—sometimes for hours. Her quirky, accessible book starts at the Sixth Great Obituary Writers' International Conference, where she meets others like herself. Johnson explores this written form like a scholar, delving into the differences between British and American obits, as well as regional differences within this country; she visits Chuck Strum, the New York Times' obituary editor, but also highlights lesser-known papers that offer top-notch obits; she reaffirms life as much as she talks about death. Johnson handles her offbeat topic with an appropriate level of humor, while still respecting the gravity of mortality—traits she admires in the best obit writers, who have "empathy and detachment; sensitivity and bluntness." The book claims that obits "contain the most creative writing in journalism" and that we are currently in the golden age of the obituary. We are also nearing the end of newspapers as we know them, Johnson observes, and so "it seems right that their obits are flourishing."