New Podcast Fiction: Wunderkind!

For almost two years now I have officially been a podcaster as a co-host of the Cast of Dads podcast along with C.C. Chapman, Michael Sheehan, Brad Powell and Max Kalehoff.  While I love being one of the Cast of Dads, I have always wanted to try my hand at podcast fiction.  Finally, I have have dusted off something I've written that I think will lend itself well to the podcast medium, and I am announcing the launch of a new serialized podcast of an original comedy screenplay, "Wunderkind!"

I am very fortunate to consider many of the highly creative and innovative podcasters friends of mine, including Scott Sigler,  J.C. Hutchins, C.C. Chapman, Seth Harwood, Tee Morris and Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, all of whom have been great examples and an inspiration to me.  I've learned a great deal from listening to them, and have enjoyed countless hours of entertainment from them (along with tens of thousands of their other loyal fans).  They've set the podcast bar pretty high, and I am sure, especially at the beginning, my attempt may be a little rough around the edges, but I am excited to dive in with the story and look forward to honing my podcasting skills along the way.

"Wunderkind!" is an original screenplay I wrote a while back.  It is an inside Hollywood comedy about a young film buff who unexpectedly becomes the next Hollywood wunderkind.  I was inspired to turn it into a podcast after I listened to Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff's fantastic podcast reading of his screenplay "Number One with a Bullet" (affiliate link), the first podcast of a screenplay read in screenplay format.  Listening to Mark, it dawned on me that I, too, had some potential podcast fodder in the form of my screenplay "Wunderkind!"

I hope you'll consider listening to "Wunderkind!", and if you do, I would love getting your feedback.  You can learn more about "Wunderkind!" and listen to it at www.WunderkindPodcast.com, and you can also subscribe in iTunes.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Caught By Accident (Mash)

WOW. The Podcast & New Media Expo in Ontario, California was a great show. On the business side, I made some excellent contacts with Podcasters, Musicians and Companies who can leverage the Myxer Platform to create and share mobile content from their own stuff. In addition, as a longstanding Podcast listener (I was the guest, "Jeff The Listener" in show 100 of Podcast411.com), it was great to see good friends like Scott Sigler and meet many of my favorite podcasters including Dan Klass, Brian Ibbott, Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff, P.W. Fenton, Lance Anderson, Adam Curry, Anji Bee, Seth Harwood, Drew Domkus, Michael Butler, Rob Walch, CC Chapman and many, many more.

I also happened to be in the right place at the right time (the BAR at the Marriott at 1am!) to bear witness to one of the highlights of the event, and one of those "special moments" that will be talked about for a long, long time. If you were one of the 30 or so noisy drunks hanging by the pool, then you know we will all share a special "I was there..." bond for life. And if you missed it... well, watch the videos and listen to the show at www.accidenthash.com, and next time... don't be such a wuss and STAY OUT LATER!

TWITTER Made a Comic Strip Of Me!

Well, I must say, I am all a-twitter. The infamous "Comic Strip Blogger," A/K/A "CSB" caught wind of my "TWITTER Made A Monkey of Me!" post and turned me into a Comic Strip! (In case you are wondering, I am the monkey on the LEFT!)

TWITTER Made a Monkey of Me!!!

Well, perhaps I allowed Twitter to let me make a monkey of myself... And, as you will soon learn, this is not the first time I have been a monkey! It all started when I signed up for Twitter and began following and befriending folks I knew, including podcasters I admire and have communicated with...such as the proverbial prince of podcasting, the Podfather himself, Adam Curry (adamcurry in Twitterspeak). There was no reason for me to suspect that the "Twit" adamcurry was not the "real" Adam Curry. After all, his occasional Twitter posts ("Tweets"???) seemed to coincide with his UK home base time frame, and mentioned events, people and places that were consistent with things discussed daily on the DAILY SOURCE CODE (the same information ANYONE who listens to the show would have access to... DUH!) Hell, his Twitter icon was even the same "Podfather" graphic from the DSC (the same graphic image ANYONE can download with a 2-second Google Image search... DUH!) Did I mention I have a college degree from an esteemed Ivy League institution? DUH!

So, I believed I was "twittering along" with Adam and my other "real" Twitter friends, when I saw adamcurry's Twittered request "Can you mimic the sound of a Monkey? Call and leave your best monkey impersonation at..." and he listed the (publicly available -- DUH!) numbers for the DSC call-in line.

Well, I thought this was funny... and listened carefully to the next DSC show to see if there was any mention as to why Adam was looking for Monkey Sounds... Alas, no mention or hint as to what was up. But clever me, I figured Adam was cleverly experimenting with Twitter... to see what he could entice his minions to do... Far be it from me to ruin Adam's experiment. Besides, I had EXPERIENCE with MONKEY VOICES! During my illustrious film career, I co-wrote, co-produced and was the "VOICE OF THE MONKEY" in the TROMA Cult Classic, SGT. KABUKIMAN, NYPD! I give good monkey!

So, while driving on I-95, Twittering in traffic, I decided to call into the DSC comment line and give Adam a taste of my "professional" monkey voice. Yes, alone in my car (thankfully with the windows up) I hit DSC in my speed dial and let loose a wild barrage of primate prose worthy of any jungle. Feeling a bit awkward, but oddly proud of my contribution to the cause, I looked forward to hearing Adam perhaps play my monkey call in the next DSC...

Several DSC's later, no mention of Monkeys... Until, alas, in DSC #578, Adam admits that someone has been impersonating him in TWITTER! (Although Twitter adamcurry had also admitted this in a Tweet, I remained unconvinced -- read, IN DENIAL -- until I heard it on the "air" from the Podfather himself).

So, I was duped by a dupe! The fake adamcurry had faked me into faking a monkey! Aside from a bit of embarrassment (and curiously wondering what the REAL Adam Curry must have thought upon hearing my monkey message), I have survived. I am now truly a TWIT, literally and figuratively. That said, I am not discouraged and am sure I will continue to monkey around with Twitter!

Buy ANCESTOR April 1!

FULL DISCLOSURE: THIS POST IS ACTUALLY A SHAMELESS PLUG FOR SCOTT SIGLER'S ANCESTOR... AVAILABLE IN PRINT APRIL 1 ON AMAZON.COM...

As an early adopter (not to be confused with a "frequent" adopter like Angelina Jolie) I jumped on the Podcasting bandwagon headfirst in early 2005... as a listener. I started with Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, and before long I had added Coverville, The Dawn and Drew Show and The Rock And Roll Geek Show to my listening list... Then I read an article about a guy who was going to release the first "Podcast Only" novel... A novel idea at best! That guy was Scott Sigler and that novel was EARTHCORE. I subscribed to the show's feed the very first day the first episode was released. WOW! Scott's story and storytelling was first class, and the intimacy of podcasting, combined with the weekly serialization, made EARTHCORE more exciting and more compelling than any "audiobook" I had listened to before. I was sucked in by the Silverbugs... the Rocktopi Rocked... and in my book (and his) Sigler ruled! I thought DAMN this guy is talented, and DAMN this book would make a good movie... So I emailed Scott, and got an email back, which led to phone calls, more emails, more phone calls and today I consider Scott a great friend. Since then I have worked with Scott to help pitch EARTHCORE and ANCESTOR to various entertainment contacts from my illustrious past, and we have shared many creative ideas (earning me the proud status of a "MASTAPIMP" -- and if you are a Sigler fan, you know what that means!). It has been a highlight of my podcast "listener" career to get to know Scott and watch his talent (and audience) grow like mindless blood-sucking maggots on an oozing, puss-filled gaping, gouged out bite of human (or sub-human) flesh...

So, if you are among the uninitiated, what are you waiting for??? Listen to Scott's prolific output of premium podcast fiction: EARTHCORE, ANCESTOR, INFECTION and THE ROOKIE. And if the printed page is your thing, get your hands on a copy of EARTHCORE, and on APRIL 1, 2007, help Scott make indy publishing history by driving ANCESTOR to the top of the AMAZON.COM charts. Did I say BUY ANCESTOR APRIL 1?

Fat Blogging vs. PHAT Blogging

So, I am a podcasting addict... I listen to and/or watch more than 60 podcasts on a regular basis... (more on that soon in a separate post...). I have been listening to and watching Jason Calacanis' podcast and I thought I would "weigh in" on the recent attention he has drawn to "fat blogging" or publicly posting one's personal trials and tribulations with the passing or piling on of pounds (a.k.a. DIETING!). As far as I can tell, fat folks have been bloating their blogs with exercise exposition for ages, but somehow, in Jason's inimitable way, he has drawn some attention to the concept and has successfully "branded" the idea (even placing the trademark moniker, "TM" next to the FatBlogging name... as Jason is the consummate entrepreneur, I suspect that in this case the "TM" may stand for "To Monetize!")

In any event, here is my personal take on the crusade against calories. As someone who's childhood was spent shopping for pants in the "HUSKY" section of the store, I have always been an enlisted soldier in the "Battle of the Bulge." For the past 16 years I have been a Vegetarian (strict, but not Vegan -- I do have some dairy, mostly in the form of cheese). Despite my healthy eating habits, I remained the antithesis of the classic skinny Vegetarian stereotype. As the self-imposed "World's Chubbiest Vegetarian" I proudly told people (when they stared at my belly in horror upon learning that I was a veggie), "hey, there's no meat or fish in cookies and ice cream!!!"

That said, I am currently on a "GETTING SHIT DONE" roll, and in that spirit, I have lost 16 pounds so far this year, and am within reach of hitting a 15 year low weight! How? EXERCISE, EATING WELL, and MANAGING MY METABOLISM. In the spirit of FatBlogging, I will write a separate post dealing with my specific thoughts on the process (at least the process that seems to be working for me... )

Meanwhile, what about PHAT BLOGGING! (or, PhatBloggingTM). Forget weight loss, let's blog about getting PHAT!

• Write about how you saved up for your custom gold GRILLS and post pictures of your shiny smile!
• Write about how you took out a second mortgage to pay for the RIMS on your ESCALADE!
• Shoelaces? We don't need no stinkin' shoelaces!

Forget about losing weight... get PHAT!

Now that's PHATBLOGGING!!!