I've always been obsessed with time, so naturally I'm fascinated with stories of time travel or actual artifacts from the past. While I'm more accustomed to tangible artifacts like old coins or books or photographs, these recordings are definitely artifacts of the past, too. I clicked here to hear the Gettysburg Address eyewitness speak, but also found myself drawn into the "Cigar Stories" about "El Lector" who would read to the working people.
This piece was my "Lector" tonight. It occupied my mind while I performed the semi-mindless data entry portion of my overnight job. Thanks to the producers, and to this PRX site in general, which keeps me awake and thinking throughout the night.
Hi, I'm typing this from the front desk of the King & Prince Beach & Golf Resort on lovely St. Simons Island, Georgia. It's a few minutes after 5:00 AM on my shift as Night Auditor. I'm here until 7:00 AM.
I don't drink coffee but I do get plenty of caffeine from tea. My tea and listening to pieces like this on PRX are what get me through the night, when I'm not checking in late-arriving guests, sending Security to investigate noise complaints, or doing the Accounting spreadsheets. This is a 194-room upscale resort property with several buildings. By day, our staff levels probably range between 40-70 people. At night, the hotel staff shrinks to a mere two people: me and the Security officer. I'm the switchboard operator, the front desk clerk, and the nerve center of the hotel, and the Security guy is my eyes, arms, and legs, so to speak. Unfortunately we don't have an all-night Maintenance guy, so if a toilet backs up in the middle of the night, Security has to fetch a plunger. If something goes wrong with a guest's room, my only option is to move them to another one.
By around the midpoint of my shift (3:00 AM) most of the drunks have all passed out and things get quiet. Yes, even in upscale four- and five-star hotels you will still find plenty of drunks late at night. Probably just as many as you'd see in the low-end dives. Our drunks are dressed a little better and drive nicer cars, but they're just as obnoxious.
Unlike New York City, St. Simons Island as a whole doesn't have much nightlife. By midnight, almost everything is closed. It's just a few of us hotel folk who are working. Us, and the cops, and the people at the 24-hour Waffle House.
I actually like this shift. A few years ago I discovered that the independence/autonomy of third shift appealed to me. I get to work at my own pace, mostly. There's no overbearing bosses, incompetent or annoying coworkers, or office politics to deal with.
When the excrement hits the fan on overnight shift, it has the potential of getting very ugly, but fortunately I've never been robbed or had anything more dramatic than a fire alarm yet (and that one was a false alarm).
Mostly it's peaceful and relatively low-stress. I'm all about low stress. The mellower the better.
As mentioned herein, history taught in our classrooms is too often stale and dusty and overly preoccupied with dates. History presented this way is far more entertaining.
Had I gone through all that and been given crutches, I probably would have used one of them to smack the Tylenol Lady upside the head. (Maybe that's the real reason why they didn't give you any, huh?)
This four-part series struck just the right balance between informational commentary and actual music. I learned a little without getting bored, but also was able to have it on as a nonintrusive background while working.
I do love baroque music- when are you gonna do a JS Bach series? :-D
The previous comment was well reasoned and well stated, and I am sure it scores some valid points from a critical and technical standpoint, but I also found it a little bit harsh. I found the piece rather interesting, and didn't fall asleep, even though I was listening to it at 3:15 AM while working the overnight shift! Some of these radio pieces help keep me awake through the night.
As a man, I sometimes shy away from media involving "women's issues", fearing I'll be bored or out of touch. I'm a quite interested in history, though so the historical context of this piece dragged me in. It really made me think about what medieval women's lives must have really been like, which brought me outside my usual viewpoint not only from a gender standpoint, but from a distance of seven or eight centuries, too.
I think I'll actually give some of your other pieces a listen. The one about Queens Elizabeth and Victoria looked interesting...
Keep up the good work- I'm a Memory Palace fan, for sure!
I first heard you on the PRX channel of my XM radio, and these little pieces were some of the impetus that brought me online to the site. I work graveyard shift in a resort hotel as a night auditor, so these pieces keep my brain from turning to mush while I'm mindlessly typing numbers into boring spreadsheets. Yay for you, and thanks- keep 'em comin'!
Though my childhood was in the 1970s rather than the 1950s, I can recall friends of my parents who were sort of like Mike Butler: adults who were flawed but nonetheless beloved, and in their own way good role models of a sort.
I've enjoyed some of the Moth broadcasts, but never knew about its origins. Considering I'm sitting on St. Simons Island, Georgia, as I type this, it was all the more interesting to know it happened here.
I heard part of this piece on XM radio in the car, and it caused the proverbial "driveway moment", wherein one sits in the car longer than necessary to finish listening to a piece. It proved too long to complete in the driveway, however, so I later came here to find it and finish listening. As a former North Carolina resident, I can easily picture many of the places and people she mentions. I found this piece to be sad, eerie, and rather disturbing, but it definitely was gripping and candid, and for that I give it high marks.
As an aside, I too have grown fat since my NC days, though as a male I suppose it has a different social connotation. I have a very pretty young daughter who's been baton twirling since she was three years old, too. Maybe that's why this piece punched me in the gut.
Fortunately, the similarities end there. I consider this a cautionary tale.
An excellent and fascinating piece (and series, I would imagine, though I have only listened to two episodes so far). I wish there was more programming on public radio that pertains to history and archaeology like this.
I won't go through the trouble of writing a proper review, except to say how much I enjoyed this piece. Words like "evocative", "textured", and "fascinating" come to mind.
As a diehard Tull Fan of nearly thirty years, I couldn't rate this below five stars, now, could I? So how about six?
The music, of course, is familiar to me, as I own all thirty-some of the Tull Studio albums plus a few of the box sets and compilations.
I often listen to Tull's "Christmas Album" around this time of year as a a matter of personal tradition, and as an antidote to a lot of the smarmy, overplayed holiday fare on the airwaves. This time, it was a treat to hear Ian's dialogue and some backstory as well. You can bet I'll give it another two or three listens before the holiday season ends. Thanks!
These are entertaining little pieces, but this one has some timeline problems. According to this tale, in 1775, a man named Abel Upspur took a beautiful woman named Rachel to be his bride. 11 years later there is that commotion in the chicken house and she gets bitten by a fox. Then she gets rabies, dies, and is buried on Christmas day of ... 1749?
Comments by Rob Shinnick
Comment for "Lost & Found Sound: Hour One"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on June 12, 2010 at 05:21 AM | Permalink
Enjoyable & fascinating
I've always been obsessed with time, so naturally I'm fascinated with stories of time travel or actual artifacts from the past. While I'm more accustomed to tangible artifacts like old coins or books or photographs, these recordings are definitely artifacts of the past, too. I clicked here to hear the Gettysburg Address eyewitness speak, but also found myself drawn into the "Cigar Stories" about "El Lector" who would read to the working people.
This piece was my "Lector" tonight. It occupied my mind while I performed the semi-mindless data entry portion of my overnight job. Thanks to the producers, and to this PRX site in general, which keeps me awake and thinking throughout the night.
Comment for "RN Documentary: The Last Dutch Outpost - the Enduring Legacy of New Netherlands"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on June 12, 2010 at 02:30 AM | Permalink
I enjoyed it-
...particularly the bits about archaeological finds. An interesting documentary, as many of these in the RN series are.
Comment for "Spy Princess: Noor Inayat Khan"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on June 05, 2010 at 03:33 AM | Permalink
Fascinating
I will look for this book!
Comment for "Unquiet History 6"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on June 04, 2010 at 11:42 PM | Permalink
Interesting piece
Interesting piece, and series. Wish they were a bit longer.
Comment for "Working the Night Shift"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on May 29, 2010 at 05:27 AM | Permalink
Yep, I'm one of those vampire types, too
Hi, I'm typing this from the front desk of the King & Prince Beach & Golf Resort on lovely St. Simons Island, Georgia. It's a few minutes after 5:00 AM on my shift as Night Auditor. I'm here until 7:00 AM.
I don't drink coffee but I do get plenty of caffeine from tea. My tea and listening to pieces like this on PRX are what get me through the night, when I'm not checking in late-arriving guests, sending Security to investigate noise complaints, or doing the Accounting spreadsheets. This is a 194-room upscale resort property with several buildings. By day, our staff levels probably range between 40-70 people. At night, the hotel staff shrinks to a mere two people: me and the Security officer. I'm the switchboard operator, the front desk clerk, and the nerve center of the hotel, and the Security guy is my eyes, arms, and legs, so to speak. Unfortunately we don't have an all-night Maintenance guy, so if a toilet backs up in the middle of the night, Security has to fetch a plunger. If something goes wrong with a guest's room, my only option is to move them to another one.
By around the midpoint of my shift (3:00 AM) most of the drunks have all passed out and things get quiet. Yes, even in upscale four- and five-star hotels you will still find plenty of drunks late at night. Probably just as many as you'd see in the low-end dives. Our drunks are dressed a little better and drive nicer cars, but they're just as obnoxious.
Unlike New York City, St. Simons Island as a whole doesn't have much nightlife. By midnight, almost everything is closed. It's just a few of us hotel folk who are working. Us, and the cops, and the people at the 24-hour Waffle House.
I actually like this shift. A few years ago I discovered that the independence/autonomy of third shift appealed to me. I get to work at my own pace, mostly. There's no overbearing bosses, incompetent or annoying coworkers, or office politics to deal with.
When the excrement hits the fan on overnight shift, it has the potential of getting very ugly, but fortunately I've never been robbed or had anything more dramatic than a fire alarm yet (and that one was a false alarm).
Mostly it's peaceful and relatively low-stress. I'm all about low stress. The mellower the better.
Thanks for an interesting radio piece.
Comment for "Great American Scandals"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on May 27, 2010 at 12:47 AM | Permalink
Fun and informative at the same time
As mentioned herein, history taught in our classrooms is too often stale and dusty and overly preoccupied with dates. History presented this way is far more entertaining.
Comment for "Tales From The Uninsured"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on May 26, 2010 at 03:54 AM | Permalink
Wow, that was heavy, man.
Had I gone through all that and been given crutches, I probably would have used one of them to smack the Tylenol Lady upside the head. (Maybe that's the real reason why they didn't give you any, huh?)
Comment for "War Vets"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on May 22, 2010 at 04:40 AM | Permalink
Wow
Very stirring- this piece packs a lot of punch.
Comment for "Between Civil War and Civil Rights -6: Rosewood Reborn (1923 --"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on May 02, 2010 at 03:47 AM | Permalink
Memorable
This was a pretty haunting piece. The music added greatly to the feeling of the story.
Comment for "Vivaldi For All Seasons: Program Four"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on February 23, 2010 at 05:19 AM | Permalink
Thanks
This four-part series struck just the right balance between informational commentary and actual music. I learned a little without getting bored, but also was able to have it on as a nonintrusive background while working.
I do love baroque music- when are you gonna do a JS Bach series? :-D
Comment for "RN Documentary: Adrift in Sri Lanka"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on February 21, 2010 at 03:16 AM | Permalink
I thought it was pretty good.
The previous comment was well reasoned and well stated, and I am sure it scores some valid points from a critical and technical standpoint, but I also found it a little bit harsh. I found the piece rather interesting, and didn't fall asleep, even though I was listening to it at 3:15 AM while working the overnight shift! Some of these radio pieces help keep me awake through the night.
Comment for "What's the Word? Medieval Women"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on February 20, 2010 at 03:50 AM | Permalink
Fascinating
As a man, I sometimes shy away from media involving "women's issues", fearing I'll be bored or out of touch. I'm a quite interested in history, though so the historical context of this piece dragged me in. It really made me think about what medieval women's lives must have really been like, which brought me outside my usual viewpoint not only from a gender standpoint, but from a distance of seven or eight centuries, too.
I think I'll actually give some of your other pieces a listen. The one about Queens Elizabeth and Victoria looked interesting...
Comment for "I Have Not Yet Begun to Rot"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on February 07, 2010 at 03:16 AM | Permalink
Great stuff, as usual.
Keep up the good work- I'm a Memory Palace fan, for sure!
I first heard you on the PRX channel of my XM radio, and these little pieces were some of the impetus that brought me online to the site. I work graveyard shift in a resort hotel as a night auditor, so these pieces keep my brain from turning to mush while I'm mindlessly typing numbers into boring spreadsheets. Yay for you, and thanks- keep 'em comin'!
Comment for "Aaron Kelly's Bones"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on January 16, 2010 at 01:37 AM | Permalink
Fun stuff!
Loved it!!! :-)
Comment for "Before Jamestown: The Lost Colonies" (deleted)
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 19, 2009 at 06:24 AM
Interesting and well done (deleted)
Thanks for an interesting historical piece.
Comment for "Any Day Now"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 19, 2009 at 05:18 AM | Permalink
Enjoyed it
As a part-time amateur treasure hunter (of the land-based variety), I enjoyed this piece. Thanks.
Comment for "My Lobotomy"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 17, 2009 at 01:43 AM | Permalink
Wow. Powerful.
I can see why this one caused a stir. It punched me in the gut. The somber, contemplative piano music fit well, too.
Comment for "The Sunshine Hotel"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 17, 2009 at 01:08 AM | Permalink
Excellent
Gritty and fascinating. I can't help but wonder what became of Charlie, though.
Comment for "Blue Collar Babysitter"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 17, 2009 at 12:01 AM | Permalink
Nice nostalgic piece
Though my childhood was in the 1970s rather than the 1950s, I can recall friends of my parents who were sort of like Mike Butler: adults who were flawed but nonetheless beloved, and in their own way good role models of a sort.
Comment for "The History of Moth Storytelling"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 15, 2009 at 11:47 PM | Permalink
Interesting
I've enjoyed some of the Moth broadcasts, but never knew about its origins. Considering I'm sitting on St. Simons Island, Georgia, as I type this, it was all the more interesting to know it happened here.
Comment for "Invisible Ink: Confessions of a Child Beauty Queen"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 11, 2009 at 12:46 AM | Permalink
Vaguely disturbing, yet compelling
I heard part of this piece on XM radio in the car, and it caused the proverbial "driveway moment", wherein one sits in the car longer than necessary to finish listening to a piece. It proved too long to complete in the driveway, however, so I later came here to find it and finish listening. As a former North Carolina resident, I can easily picture many of the places and people she mentions. I found this piece to be sad, eerie, and rather disturbing, but it definitely was gripping and candid, and for that I give it high marks.
As an aside, I too have grown fat since my NC days, though as a male I suppose it has a different social connotation. I have a very pretty young daughter who's been baton twirling since she was three years old, too. Maybe that's why this piece punched me in the gut.
Fortunately, the similarities end there. I consider this a cautionary tale.
Comment for "Episode 1. "Then I'll Be Free To Travel Home""
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 07, 2009 at 03:40 AM | Permalink
Excellent!
An excellent and fascinating piece (and series, I would imagine, though I have only listened to two episodes so far). I wish there was more programming on public radio that pertains to history and archaeology like this.
Comment for "Unquiet Graves"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 07, 2009 at 01:30 AM | Permalink
Excellent
I won't go through the trouble of writing a proper review, except to say how much I enjoyed this piece. Words like "evocative", "textured", and "fascinating" come to mind.
Comment for "A Jethro Tull Christmas With Ian Anderson"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on December 05, 2009 at 03:06 AM | Permalink
* * * * * * Six stars!
As a diehard Tull Fan of nearly thirty years, I couldn't rate this below five stars, now, could I? So how about six?
The music, of course, is familiar to me, as I own all thirty-some of the Tull Studio albums plus a few of the box sets and compilations.
I often listen to Tull's "Christmas Album" around this time of year as a a matter of personal tradition, and as an antidote to a lot of the smarmy, overplayed holiday fare on the airwaves. This time, it was a treat to hear Ian's dialogue and some backstory as well. You can bet I'll give it another two or three listens before the holiday season ends. Thanks!
Comment for "Bloody Milestone"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on November 29, 2009 at 03:24 AM | Permalink
Whoops- double post. PS...
Oh yeah... spelling error in the title, too. This story involves a MILLstone, not a "milestone", as it says in the title!
But overall these little pieces are fun, as I mentioned.
Comment for "Bloody Milestone"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on November 29, 2009 at 03:14 AM | Permalink
Huh?
These are entertaining little pieces, but this one has some timeline problems. According to this tale, in 1775, a man named Abel Upspur took a beautiful woman named Rachel to be his bride. 11 years later there is that commotion in the chicken house and she gets bitten by a fox. Then she gets rabies, dies, and is buried on Christmas day of ... 1749?
Comment for "TALES FROM THE GREAT WAR - Episode 4"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on November 27, 2009 at 11:50 PM | Permalink
Great stuff
Great- I just wish there had been more. The four-minute segments seemed so short! These sort of historical programs are my favorite.
Comment for "Jay Ipson: The Original Survivor, Part 2"
Rob Shinnick
Posted on October 30, 2009 at 05:42 AM | Permalink
Excellent
A very moving story, well told, with great atmospheric music.