pod people

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pod casting is exploding into the knit-o-sphere; suddenly knitting podcasts are multiplying like stash and spreading out with the similar growth habit.

i would not even be aware of knitting podcasts if not for my (non-knitting) love. he’s such a technophile. see?

it’s all about brushed metal and clean lines. and i am SO not!

notice the egg timer there? yes, i do know about iCal; the egg timer just has a feel-good vibe for me. i work on the computer all day, but i don’t really find gadgets entertaining. and i DON’T have a desire to fiddle with them in my off-hours (shudder). i am especially clueless about what’s cutting-edge, and what’s NOT. and being on the cutting edge is a big part of the technophile lifestyle (i was gonna say technophilia, but it sounded kind of disease-ish . . .)

anyway, i wanted to buy david something nice for our 5th wedding anniversary last fall. it’s pretty impossible to surprise him with gifts of technology (gifts of technology? again, shudder), but i was pretty sure i could manage to get him a new iPod nano without screwing it up, and indeed, i did procure the goods.

which meant that i inherited this:

i didn’t know what to do with it, really, aside from putting audiobooks on it to listen to while i ride my bike on the trainer (yeah, right, lotsa THAT happening lately . . .).

i work at home, so i don’t have to ride the bus. and i always found it difficult to work with anything making noise in my ears. and then in december, david heard an interview with tara jon mannings one night on WBAI, which led him to some knitting podcasts and he put those on the iPod for me, and i was immediately hooked on this wonderful art form!
we have our own knitting VARIETY SHOWS!

if you haven’t yet explored this medium, get ye to a computer! you do not need an iPod or an MP3 player to enjoy this programming. click on the link for any of programs in my sidebar, go to their sites, and read about them/download them/subcribe in iTunes. go to this site (no iPod required) if you don’t know what i’m talking about and need a quickstart lesson. i PROMISE you will enjoy it.

when we looked into it some more, we found marie’s knitcast, daniela’s secret knitting, brenda’s cast-on, and rhonda’s knitting newscast programs. then around the first of the year, brenda went weekly, and whit’s about-time showed up, along with the fibercast. this past month saw the birth of brooklynne michelle’s the mosh knit, and christine’s pointy sticks, while we eagerly await musings of a peaceful knitter (due out tomorrow).

podcasts are produced by individuals, from their own point of view in their own part of the world. modern equipment enables the podcaster to produce a very hi-quality session with fairly lo-tech means; i am quite impressed by several podcasts produced using a laptop only; no external mike, mixing board, or add-ons. because they create within a worldwide community, podcasters have many extras available to them through a casual barter system. for instance, a podcaster can use music that is available for free, and by doing so, expands the music artist’s audience.

knitters who enjoy performing provide us with witty insight into human nature and our relationship to our materials and methods. the texture and depth of the programming is quickly becoming very high quality. it’s my opinion that the knitter’s extensive experience using lo-tech tools to produce magic gives us an edge in such things.

tomorrow, i will talk about individual programs a little bit. i would love it if, because of me, one or two people listened in to one this week (okay, who am i kidding; you two people who read this know who you are).

One thought on “pod people

  1. Hi!
    I have a pod but have never downloaded a podcast. Instead, I find it intereting to listen via the computer while I knit. Listened to pointy sticks as suggested. Looking forward to listening to additional ones.

    Must rest up for my knitting lesson..you know my teacher is so demanding and always makes us READ THE PATTERN! hahahahahaha!

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