BYBS: The Drabblecast

Copyright (c) by Norm Sherman/drabblecast.org

Yes, another podcast site.  From the site description:

To hear the latest and greatest in Strange Stories, by Strange Authors, for Strange Listeners (such as yourself), visit the Drabblecast at www.drabblecast.org.

The description is actually pretty accurate - the stories are just plain weird.  Not really all sci-fi like Escape Pod or Clarksworld, not really horror like Pseudopod, and not really all fantasy like Podcastle or Beneath Ceaseless Skies.  The stories tend towards science fiction, fantasy and horror (especially Lovecraftian horror), but beyond that are not really linked to any particular genre.

Like some other fiction podcast sites, Drabblecast tends to have one narrator, Norm Sherman, but he is quite good, and he also tends to inject sound effects and music into the stories.  A good example of this is "Go Beep," a story about a mind-controlling TV segment by Aliya Whiteley: the "Go Beep" song is sung by Norm, but has a weird, other-worldly quality.

Also notable is that the podcast has "chapters" --- kind of like tracks on a CD --- so you can skip to the story or whatever you are interested in.  Finally, each episode seems to get a unique image.  For example, here is the one for "Go Beep:"

Copyright (c) by Lizanna Herd

All-in-all an excellent podcast. Check it out.

BYBS: Beneath Ceaseless Skies

©2008 - 2010 Firkin Press, unless otherwise noted, All rights reserved.
Image from the current issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

Quoting their "About..." link

Beneath Ceaseless Skies (ISSN 1946-1046) is a SFWA-qualifying, pro-rate online magazine dedicated to publishing the best in literary adventure fantasy. 


Beneath Ceaseless Skies is an online is a combination of podcast and print short story site.  They do mostly fantasy stories, akin to Podcastle, except that they are not exclusively a podcast magazine.  Some of my favorite stories from the site include:

• Prashkina's Fire by Vylar Kaftan - a story about a priestess of a fallen god.
• Remembering Light by Marie Brennan - a story about an ongoing, entropic place called driftwood.
• The Tinyman and Caroline by Sarah L. Edwards - a story in the basic adventure fiction genre.

Another candidate to put on your iPod.

BYBS: This Week in Virology

I guess it says something about me that I listen to a podcast about viruses for fun.

You can find them on iTunes, by going to twiv.tv or by clicking on the image.

Some of the things that i find interesting about this podcast include:

• Insight into the world of virology.
• Interesting tibits of information about viruses.
• The friendly banter between the hosts.

Maybe listening to this show is equivalent of watching the weather channel for other people.  Perhaps the subject matter is interesting in and of itself.  Or could it be that I'm just trying to be one of the survivors of the next zombie producing plague?

I really don't know why I listen to this podcast, but I do.  For those who worry that it wont be interesting except to biologists and their ilk, I am not exactly well educated in that area, but I still manage to understand some of what they talk about.

So if you find yourself with a long commute, train ride, etc. here's another use for your time.

BYBS: Big Brain Book

Cover of the book, (c) Gary Lynch and Richard Granger 2008, published by PALGRAVE MCMILLAN 2009

This is a book about the evolution of the human brain.  The book has some pretty interesting ideas.  For example:

• What if there were no particular evolutionary pressure towards intelligence?
• What if the brain structures that are needed for intelligence were there all along?
• What if there were another, more intelligent species along side Homo Sapiens Sapiens that died out?

If you are interested, there is a good podcast from one of the authors that can be at the brain science podcast:

http://docartemis.com/brainsciencepodcast/2008/10/48-lynch/ 

I found the book to be difficult to grasp at times, so I created another blog that contains my take on what the authors were trying to say.  You can find it here:

http://bigbrainbook.blogspot.com/

Have a good weekend and happy reading.