When I was a kid, the cold war was still in full swing. I saw a commercial on TV one day that scared the crap out of me. It showed a nuclear weapon blowing up. So my mom wrote to her uncle and asked him to send as much information as he could about nuclear […]
blog
Anti-deportation video game story on The World
The World is running my story on a video game called ICED today. ICED stands for I Can End Deportation. The game was released a few weeks go by Breakthrough, a non-profit immigration and human rights advocacy group. Players choose one of five characters, listen to their stories, and then wander through a 3D version […]
Want to know what the Olympus LS-10 sounds like?
Philip Graitcer got an Olympus LS-10 digital audio recorder this morning and put it through the paces with fellow radio producer Henry Howard. You can find an MP3 file on Henry Howard’s web site that should give you a pretty good idea of how the recorder sounds with a variety of mics including EV RE-50 […]
The trouble with comic books: The waiting is the hardest part
When we were kids, my brother and I were addicted to Elfquest comics. We didn’t really know much about comics in general, but at a time when the WaldenBooks and B. Dalton stores in our local mall didn’t have comic book sections, they had a handful of graphic novels including the first few Elfquest books. […]
Olympus LS-10 audio samples
Online retailer StartStop has posted some audio samples recorded with an Olympus LS-10. These are the first samples I’ve heard from the recorders, and StartStop was kind enough to post stereo WAV files instead of MP3 files. So the recordings reflect real world conditions. Overall, the recordings show that the internal mics are pretty sensitive […]
More Marantz PMD620 audio samples
The folks at Wingfield Audio have posted a few more audio samples recorded with the Marantz PMD620 digital audio recorder. It’s not clear whether they were using the internal stereo microphones or a plug-in mic, but what is clear is that this tiny recorder is capable of making some excellent recordings. These aren’t the first […]
Farewell downtown Brooklyn
And just like that, the trial ends. The case was dismissed this morning, due to lack of evidence and a bunch of other technical, legal reasons that I can’t go into because… well, because I don’t know. The interesting thing about hanging out in a courtroom as a juror and not a journalist is that […]
Getting to know Downtown Brooklyn
If you haven’t noticed, posting’s been a bit light around here lately. I got called for jury duty this week. And while I can’t discuss any details of the trial, here are a few things I’ve learned this week: Jury duty in New York begins with a 30 minute video which begins with a scene […]
What I learned from my month of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer
About a month ago I decided to weather the writer’s strike by pulling out my collection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. I have the full set, with all 7 seasons on DVD. I bought them one at a time although I’ve now discovered that you can buy a 40 disc box set with all […]
Olympus LS-10 begins shipping
Olympus has begun shipping its LS-10 digital audio recorder. While Olympus is best known for consumer level digital voice recorders, the LS-10 appears to be aimed at the same prosumer market as the Zoom H2 or Sony PCM-D50. It has high quality internal mics, records WAV or MP3 audio, and can handle 24-bit/96KHz resolutions. So […]
Angry Journalists let out steam at AngryJournalist.com
Most working journalists I know wouldn’t be happy doing anything else for a living. But that doesn’t mean they’re happy with their jobs. Journalism doesn’t pay well, there are always office politics, and we could all make a lot more money working in PR. So it should come as no surprise that you can find […]
Note to Cablevision: $60 is not cheaper than $50
I’ve been a Cablevision customer since moving to Brooklyn last May. Not only is Cablevision the only cable television service in my neighborhood, but it’s the only high speed internet provider. So we signed up for Cablevision’s Optimum Online cable modem and we’ve been quite happy with it. But we don’t get our television service […]
Freelance Switch survey: Freelancers are happier
I’ve been a freelance writer and journalist for about a year and a half now. I really thought I was just going to do it for a few months and then look for a full time job, but somewhere along the road I realized I really enjoy working for myself and unless a terrific opportunity […]
Hearing Voices reviews the Fostex FR-2LE
After researching and spending some time with a handful of digital audio recorders a few months back, I decided to buy a Sony PCM-D50. But my second choice would have been a Fostex FR2-LE, and in some areas, the Fostex recorder clearly outshines my trusty D50. It has XLR inputs, multiple mic inputs, phantom power, […]