Category: General

Podcaster (not me) Fired for Podcasting

Rich Pav 1 Comment

Nate from the Nate and Di Show got fired for acting like an immature moron in church and podcasting it. This was posted by Di in the Podcasting News Forum last week:

Apparently, folks here in the bible belt do not appreciate our strange sense of humor. Our trip to church on episode 5 apparently caused quite a stir in his office. Without warning, Nate was summarily released from his job today because someone we trusted at his company sent his boss a link to the site earlier this week. Nate was told our behavior on the show does not reflect the company “image”… even though we do it in our free time, not at work, and we never even mentioned where he worked. Anyhow, he was offered a severance package, so he really can’t discuss the details about the company, but we will hopefully survive for awhile, at least until he finds a new job. Most of our shows are just plain goofy, nothing to get that offended about(we think), but some people are so uptight down here that it’s ridiculous.

I wouldn’t be surprised if in order to receive the severance package he had to give up the right to sue the company. No doubt he was scared stiff when the shit hit the fan and wasn’t thinking straight.

Our House is a Very Very Very Fine House.

Rich Pav 2 Comments

Click and drag on the image to scroll around. If you’re saying, “What image?” then you need to install Java. Go ahead. It’s good for you.

That’s the back of our house. The house on the other side of the “street” with all the shrubbery in front of it is my father in law’s house.

I made this with very little effort and no practice. That’s why it’s kinda crappy. I simply stood in one spot and “painted” the scene with my Sony Clie’s 160×120 pixel video camera; no tripod, no nuthin’, I simply filmed everywhere. I downloaded the MPEG-4 movie to my PC and exported about three frames a second to JPEG using QuickTime. Then I pointed AutoStitch at the directory full of images. It did the rest.

There are ways to create higher quality panoramas, but they take lots of time, effort and an investment in hardware. But for what I want to do–take a quick immersive snapshot so listeners can get a clearer image of what they’re hearing–I’m happy with it. Take a look here for some stunningly beautiful hi-res panoramas of Japan.

You can see most of the path I took on the walk from the door to the rice field full of frogs. The door’s in front of you. Pan left. I walked up the alley then turned right. The rice field is right behind the white truck parked in the driveway of grandpa’s house.

What you hears is what you gets.

Rich Pav 3 Comments

Just saw this quote on Podcast Alley about me:

He may not be the most professional, most dedicated, nor the most Japanophilic…but he fills the nice (sic) for those who want to know about life in Japan. 🙂

Yep, that’s me! 🙂 Always looking out for #187 in the rankings. If by some fluke I start getting too popular, I’ll return things to normal by putting out a few shows of armpit farts and making schloppy noises with my mouth.

“Are you a Japanese citizen?”

Rich Pav 3 Comments

I get asked this a lot from both foreigners and Japanese. No, I’m still American. But theoretically, I could become a Japanese citizen:

By law, aliens with 5 years of continuous residence are eligible for naturalization and citizenship rights, including the right to vote; however, in practice, most eligible aliens choose not to apply for citizenship, partly due to fears that their cultural identity would be lost. Obstacles to naturalization included broad discretion available to adjudicating officers and great emphasis on Japanese-language ability. Naturalization procedures also required an extensive background check, including inquiries into the applicant’s economic status and assimilation into society. Koreans were given the option of adopting a Japanese surname. The Government defended its naturalization procedures as necessary to ensure the smooth assimilation of foreigners into society. Alien permanent residents may live abroad for up to 4 or 5 years without losing their right to permanent residence in the country.

Even if I were to renounce my American citizenship for Japanese citizenship, I’d still be a foreigner. It’s not like America where anyone can not only become an American but also be accepted as one. In Japan, if you’re not Japanese, you’re not Japanese.

Being married makes me a husband. Having two sons makes me a father. Living in Japan makes me a foreigner. So it doesn’t bother me being treated as such. On the contrary, as a privileged white guy, it’s good to be able to see the world from the perspective of a minority. I gave up bitching about it years ago.

Correction

Rich Pav 1 Comment

Remember the Japanese techno/technical track I used for background music a few episodes back? (The one I hobbled together after the accidental vodka overdose.) No wonder I couldn’t find anything about the artist. I had his name wrong. it’s Momoyo The LIZARD, not Motokado. (A guy I used to work with was named Motokado. And he looked nothing like a lizard.) The best way to track him down (“him” meaning Momoyo, not Motokado) is to use Google.

Just don’t mention to him that I used his music without permission, ’cause you’re all just as guilty as I am now. If I go to jail, so do you. Remember that.

And now for something completely different

Rich Pav

Here’s a story from Iraq you’ve never heard. A friend of mine who’s there just told it to me.

I was talking to some guys from a British Army detachment, and they said early on in the war, while the Brits were securing the Iran/Iraq border near Basra, an American man with a large backpack walked up to them and asked them for directions. The Brits were incredulous. “You do know there’s a war on?”

“No, I’ve been backpacking across Asia now for three years.” the American said, “What’s going on?”

The Brits said they had no choice but to take him as a prisoner of war until his identity could be established. Turned out, he was just some schmuck hiking across Asia. The Iranian border guards must have known there was a war going on, but they didn’t tell this guy anything.

Thanks for the votes!

Rich Pav 1 Comment

I don’t mind not being in the top (whatever) podcasts at Podcast Alley, but I just want to say thanks to those who voted for me there. It was a very nice gesture. I’m doing this simply for the challenge and to amuse myself, my family and my friends–not for fortune or fame–so I really appreciate the votes.

I’m very happy for Father Roderick who does the Catholic Insider podcast which skyrocketed to #1 this month. He does a great job and deserves to be there. It makes him very happy to receive votes, so if you like what he does please vote for him.

Here are some other podcasts I think you should check out:

  • Behind the Scenes – if you’re curious about the technical aspects of podcasting.
  • Earthcore – A serialized audio book. I’m totally addicted.
  • How To Do Stuff – You gotta listen to the episode where he got his ass hair waxed.
  • Dailysonic – Totally, totally underrated. My favorite podcast to listen to while I’m stuck doing something mind-numbing at work; it keeps my brain busy.

There are many podcasters who put a lot of importance in their rank. To me, the messages I receive here from listeners matter much, much more. I really do appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. (Unless you’re a blog spammer, in which case you can kind of like go f*** yourself.)