OT: I was on NPR yesterday

[Mr MidFi]

I took part in a small segment that aired yesterday on NPR's "All Things Considered" show. They took about 4 or 5 "drops" from me on a piece about the death of a fellow member of one of my other online communities.

It's kind of surreal to hear yourself on a nationwide broadcast, eulogizing a guy you've never actually met. Anyway, it's only about 4-1/2 minutes long if you want to listen...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121757982

[Worf101]

I was driving back from Binghamton last night and HEARD you. You were talking about some regular on the Fodors (?) boards who went by some strange handle who'd been around for years then dropped off the face of the earth, litterally and figuratively. Very interesting piece. First time I'd considered "cyber death" as a "real" form of death.

Outstanding...

Worf

[ForeverAutumn]

That's very cool Mr. M. Sorry to hear about your friend though.

That kind of stuff worries me here. If one of us were to die, how would the others know?

I especially like the final comment. "His friends didn't have to meet him to know they loved him".

[Swish]

That's very cool Mr. M. Sorry to hear about your friend though.

That kind of stuff worries me here. If one of us were to die, how would the others know?

I especially like the final comment. "His friends didn't have to meet him to know they loved him".

I mean, perhaps one of the RR members who hasn't been posting is dead, but how would we know? I guess what I need to do is create a document or something so my wife/kids would know who to e-mail should that fate befall me at some point.

What a fun subject to discuss.

[Swish]

I took part in a small segment that aired yesterday on NPR's "All Things Considered" show. They took about 4 or 5 "drops" from me on a piece about the death of a fellow member of one of my other online communities.

It's kind of surreal to hear yourself on a nationwide broadcast, eulogizing a guy you've never actually met. Anyway, it's only about 4-1/2 minutes long if you want to listen...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121757982

...time. :) I did give a listen to that spot and it was pretty darned good and though-provoking as well.

One of the funniest things I ever heard was on this show was one day back in the early 90s I believe. The chairman of R.W. Grace at that time, although I can't recall his name, was speaking to some large indoor assembly in what was an anti-abortion type of speech. While I can't remember exactly what he said, it was something like this...'For any of you who would consider abortion, just remember that each of you were at one time a feces', obviously intending to say 'fetus'. You could hear muffled laughs in the background and the 'All Things Considered' host said 'but he didn't stop there'...and he didn't. "Your parents were feces, their parents were feces"...and on and on. Th e laughs in the crowd became much more obvious and I struggled to keep my car on the road as I was heading to my Rotary Club meeting at about 7:15 AM. I had tears in my eyes and my stomach hurt. Now that was funny.

Swishdaddy

[ForeverAutumn]

I mean, perhaps one of the RR members who hasn't been posting is dead, but how would we know? I guess what I need to do is create a document or something so my wife/kids would know who to e-mail should that fate befall me at some point.

What a fun subject to discuss.

Perhaps we should all put an amendent in our wills, along with our funeral instructions, on how to log in at RR and deliver the bad news. :(

[Mr MidFi]

In case anyone is curious... mine is the voice saying "the man, the myth, the legend" toward the beginning of the piece. I actually got more quotes in there than I thought I would.

I think it was a well-done piece, overall. It's an interesting concept... when the giddy, endless "Now" of the internet meets the ugly finality of real-world death. I didn't know the dead guy (Robespierre) very well, of course... but it could be said that we online regulars probably knew him in a way that some of his real-life friends and acquaintances didn't. Strange to ponder, really.

I have, in the past, tried to drag some of my fellow Fodorites over here to Rave Recs. Thereyet posts here from time to time, and Suki did for a little while too. But if anyone is interested in the subject of Travel, you could do worse than check out the Fodors Travel Talk forums. It's a big, active, vibrant community.

http://www.fodors.com/community/

But if you'd rather just look at cool pix of places I've been to, you can go here:

http://community.webshots.com/user/go_family

[Troy]

I'm pretty sure I said this about 12 years ago on this very message board: "Someday there are going to be books written on the e-mail / IM / message board phenomenon and how it changed human interaction." or something to that effect, anyway.

I was born in 1960 and over the course of my life, I never wrote. I was ok at it in high school, when I applied myself, but never needed the skill in real life. Never wrote letters or other types of correspondence. I never knew anyone else that did, either. Amateurs creating with the written word was culturally dead my entire life. An anachronism. Until the internet, when suddenly everybody writes. It's so different now than it was 20 years ago.

[dean_martin]

I'm pretty sure I said this about 12 years ago on this very message board: "Someday there are going to be books written on the e-mail / IM / message board phenomenon and how it changed human interaction." or something to that effect, anyway.

I was born in 1960 and over the course of my life, I never wrote. I was ok at it in high school, when I applied myself, but never needed the skill in real life. Never wrote letters or other types of correspondence. I never knew anyone else that did, either. Amateurs creating with the written word was culturally dead my entire life. An anachronism. Until the internet, when suddenly everybody writes. It's so different now than it was 20 years ago.

I considered you a "man of letters", Troy. It's odd that we study the personal letters of literary "giants" of the past and of Biblical characters like Paul, but at some point in literary history the letter became (or is becoming) obsolete.

I compose multiple writings every day. All words are carefully chosen and all correspondence, etc. is proofed before it goes out. The hardest training point with staff is that everything that goes out of the office must be perfect when they've been told or have heard all their lives that no one is perfect.

HOWEVER, writing on message boards is freedom. Unless it's a serious discussion, I don't check spelling, punctuation, etc. It borders on stream-of-consciousness at times which can be cathartic. But once it's out there...

[Troy]

I considered you a "man of letters", Troy. It's odd that we study the personal letters of literary "giants" of the past and of Biblical characters like Paul, but at some point in literary history the letter became (or is becoming) obsolete.

I compose multiple writings every day. All words are carefully chosen and all correspondence, etc. is proofed before it goes out. The hardest training point with staff is that everything that goes out of the office must be perfect when they've been told or have heard all their lives that no one is perfect.

HOWEVER, writing on message boards is freedom. Unless it's a serious discussion, I don't check spelling, punctuation, etc. It borders on stream-of-consciousness at times which can be cathartic. But once it's out there...

Yeah, in the last 10 years I've written 2 books and contributed essays to 4 more. I attribute this new-found ability to write a direct byproduct of posting on message boards, as truly bizarre as that sounds . . .

[Worf101]

Yeah, in the last 10 years I've written 2 books and contributed essays to 4 more. I attribute this new-found ability to write a direct byproduct of posting on message boards, as truly bizarre as that sounds . . .
That IS truly fascinating. I always assumed that the net "dumbed down" writers, made them lazy and complacent... I never thought that, much like Harry Potter Books with getting kids to read, the net could lead some to "find" their writing voice. Excellent thought and interesting concept.

Worf

[manlystanley]

I took part in a small segment that aired yesterday on NPR's "All Things Considered" show. They took about 4 or 5 "drops" from me on a piece about the death of a fellow member of one of my other online communities.

It's kind of surreal to hear yourself on a nationwide broadcast, eulogizing a guy you've never actually met. Anyway, it's only about 4-1/2 minutes long if you want to listen...



Fascinating.. I heard that segment. Had no idea it was you.. Also, sorry about the loss of your acquantance.

I used to work with a technical writer who was at one time a reporter on NPR (forgot her name). When she went into our company for an interview her future boss said: "I can't believe that I listened to you on the radio on the way into work today...and now I'm interviewing you for a job!"

Best Regards,
Stan

[thekid]

MrM- Kind of a cool to be on the radio but I am sure you would have wanted it be for other reasons. My sympathies.

Swish

I mean, perhaps one of the RR members who hasn't been posting is dead, but how would we know?

You will know when I am gone when the wire services pick up a story about how thrift stores suddenly find that they have not sold a cheap pair of speakers in months...... :D