Saturday 16 February 2008

Thursday 14 February 2008

Oops he did it again!!

Mark Hunter, host of The Tartanpodcast, Mark My Words and other podcasts mentioned in the previous posting has recorded Tartanpodcast 112!!!!!!!!!!

Download it and all the other great episodes Mark has produced from the link in the last post!

Great to have it back Mark!

Sunday 10 February 2008

Since I already wrote this...Part 1

I posted this on someone elses comment section (http://www.gadzooki.com/) and thought, hold on... I've already written this, I might as well use it on my own blog... so here it is...

In response to the question of what podcasts to we listen to, here is my reply:

Hey Jim!
I too have let podcasts take over my life. As a postal worker, processing mail, I listen to podcasts for over 8 hours a day!! Because of this, I need a variety of ‘casts, and I really prefer ones which are 30 min or less, to keep the pace up. I also tend to prefer the “homemade” podcasts, where “real” people like me seem to be having fun podcasting. It gives me hope for my future podcast. Here are some I’ve found in the last 3 years that I’ve been listening to podcasts:

Podcastpaul and This Week in London are a great mix of music, friendly chat and the occasional holiday in a caravan. Paul Nicholls and Paul Parkinson are mates in real life, and have both had their families involved in some of their shows. Janet Parkinson (Geek Girl on The Flashing 12 Podcast) is so genuine, you'd like them to move in next door. Love these guys, and hope to meet them and their families someday.
Comedy
Bell’s In the Batfry with John Bell www.thebatfry.com This is great family friendly skit comedy. Listen from the beginning of show One.

Podiobooks

Playing For Keeps- by Mur Lafferty (@mightymur on Twitter) A wonderfully read tale of a Third Waver trying to lead a “normal” life in a world filled with super heros and villains. http://www.playingforkeepsnovel.com/

Billibub Baddings and the Singing Sword - by Tee Morris www.teemorris.com, author of Podcasting for Dummies.

Music

The Tartanpodcast with Mark Hunter. www.tartanpodcast.libsyn.com Within the Tartanpodcast feed are the Sleepy Sunday shows, Mellow Monday shows and some spotlight shows. Great independent bands from Scotland such as Finniston, Amplifico and Hollow Horse, just to name a few. Mark also has some “talking” podcasts under his “Mark My Words,” www.tartanstories.com . Mark has moved on to doing podcasts for the Association for International Cancer Research, which are very informative and cover a different type of cancer each podcast.

Three from Leith with Grant Mason…

Talk
Old Time Radio Shows
Adventures of Inspector Maigret
Old Time Radio Detectives
Old Time Radio Mysteries

Videos
I just discovered the Ask a Ninja podcast which is brilliant, clever and short… must be seen to be understood.

the next post has more from this

Thursday 7 February 2008

A Visit to Tubac

Have you discovered the jewel in the Arizona desert that is Tubac? No? Well, why not? Tubac, Arizona, is one of my favorite places to wander through when I'm in Arizona visiting my mother. Located alongside I-19, the Interstate highway which leads Tucsonians and hundreds of thousands of touristas to the Mexican border town of Nogales, Tubac is easy to find, but difficult to leave. Nestled in the sagebrush of the Santa Cruz River Valle, Tubac is the oldest European settlement in Arizona. History buffs will love it for that reason alone, but if weren't enough, there are enough shops and restaurants to satisfy any desire.



(Photos above shamelessly borrowed from www.tubacarizona.com site. Please visit this site for an indepth history of Tubac).

If you love to shop for western clothes, furnishings, pottery or jewelry, this is the place. There is a shop just for southwestern spices, and others which specialize in ironworks like these in the video below. On my last trip to Tubac, I found beautiful ceramic house numbers with a wrought iron holder to mount on my house. I could have chosen from a dozen or so styles, and several sizes, which didn't make the decision very easy!

My brother was on a quest for a certain type of bowl, sort of like a mortar bowl, which is used to make guacamole in. One particular shop knew what he wanted, but didn't have it. She was, however, visiting her own mother in Nogales that evening, and promised to bring one back with her if we could come back the next day. We did and she did. Mission accomplished! (As an aside, I got my house numbers from her too.)


You don't want to shop? How about eating? With several restaurants and cafes to choose from, taste authentic foods from the area. There are also museums in Tubac and the nearby area, including the "Chili" museum just south of Tubac (past the giant chicken restaurant shown in a previous blog).

The Tumacacori Mission is across the street from the Chili museum, and was founded in 1691, though the standing Mission was built in the early 1800's. Be sure to take your National Park's passport for a stamp commemorating your visit!!

Nogales?? What? You never made it? Oh well, it will be there the next time... if you can drive by Tubac without stopping.