Podcast Reaches 2,000 Downloads

I set up a podcast on Dec. 3rd and it now has had 2,108 files downloaded by 964 unique IP addresses. That kind of freaks me out, but I like it. I wish I were more skilled at making videos and such because I like to try to give people a glimpse of the neighborhood through my eyes. I need to buy a new video camera (I was borrowing my friend's and she decided that she wanted it back to record silly things like her grandkids) and I want to get a portable digital audio recorder.

This Saturday, we are hosting an Open Mic at our house for local kids. The idea is that they have to focus on something positive about the neighborhood or some kind of positive message for young people. I'm not sure how many kids will come, but I'm expecting anywhere from 10 to 50. Seriously. I've noticed that these kinds of events are really unpredictable. Either way, it should be fodder for some new podcast entries hopefully.

I'm hoping to do some podcasts about the local Puerto Rican baseball team that has it's homefield in our "front yard", Hunting Park. I thought it would be cool to do condensed games like the ones you can get on MLB.com. Also, it would be interesting to capture the local culture that surrounds those games - great music, tasty food, and lots of cheap beer. Kind of a mini-paradise for me! I like to stand behind home plate and heckle the opposing pitchers and argue with calls. I think the team sees me as their official crazy white guy. One of my favorite things about living here is that in the summer I can watch baseball from my porch almost every Saturday. Did you know that teams come from Puerto Rico and Chicago (also, NYC, NJ, DE, and others) to play right here and that at one time this field was home to an actual minor league professional team? I bet you didn't. Pretty cool, right?

In other news, I am still trying to get consistent with the HPCA daily Bible reading podcast which features students from my neighborhood Christian school (pre-k through 8th grade) reading short Bible passages from The Message. I need to get a routine set where the teachers know when I'm coming and I don't disturb the learning process in their classes. I feel like I'm intruding sometimes, so I want to set up appointments. I set it up with the 8th grade teacher, Jose, to let me come in and record tomorrow morning, so this week should be full of new files. I'm hoping to train a couple of the kids on the how-to's of podcasting so that they can learn to do it all themselves. Hopefully, I can find an interested student tomorow! I think that kind of thing is actually really important. What if one of them gets really into this kind of stuff and makes a career of it? If I were an 8th grader and someone taught me about podcasting, I would think I just found the new sliced bread. Heck, I'm 28 and I sort of feel that way. It's really cool to know that almost 1,000 people have watched a video about our little neighborhood. I hope they liked it!

Finally, I found a podcast yesterday that I think is brilliant. This girl has some kind of genius that makes me laugh. Check her out for yourself: Welcome To Amyville

p.s. - If you haven't downloaded this file of Jesus, Lover of My Soul as sung by our friend Eric, you should do so now. It's really good. My favorite song of '05. Beats laid down by DJ Essence, who is so cool he brings the temperature down a few degrees just by stepping into a room. Okay, I don't know why I said that. He's a good DJ, that's all.