fiftyfifty.me

Fiftyfifty. Me by You, Me, Us

My friend and I started fiftyfifty.me, a books and movies challenge starting January 2012.  The goal is to read 50 books and watch 50 movies in the calendar year.  Sure it sounds difficult but really, what isn't about life?  Already we have been receiving questions about rules and how people can participate.  This is our attempt to answer these queries and to introduce fiftyfifty.me to the world. Won't you join us? [12:02 min]

Reading Is Fundamental

Reading Is Fundamental by You, Me, Us

Soon, very soon, I will have the equipment to make podcasts from a distance. Until then, I'm still tied down to guests who can physically be next to me. Which means this episode will feature, wait for it, myself. In a new low for You, Me, Us, I explore the world of reading for public consumption and trying to transfer the energy of the printed word to speaking out loud. Actually, I explore nothing. I just read my stuff three times. Clearly this is a skill yet in progress, but thanks for listening. This piece is from a LitQuake reading I did last year and is also online at Thought Catalog. [14:25 min]

It's Not Uncomplicated

It's Not Uncomplicated by You, Me, Us

Originally this episode was about guys who are good at having platonic girl friends, but somehow it morphed into a melange of topics like what sorts of guy friends my friend and I are searching for. Bro-mances! We did return to touch upon the age old "can guys and girls be friends" topic, but approached it from a somewhat sideways manner. You know, like how all budding platonic friendships should begin. Or not. [34:03 min]

Enough About You, Now Me!

Enough About You, Now Me! by You, Me, Us

This episode runs a little long but I couldn't cut much because this topic was so timely and important.  If there's anything I want to tell the world in 2011 it's: "get over yourself."  As you'll hear, my guest and I wonder -- and complain -- about why some people are terrible and self-involved conversationalists. We're not talking about you, of course.  Cause you're amazing, just the way you are.  [28:55 min]

Teenage Dream

Teenage Dream by You, Me, Us

A returning guest comes to talk to us about her amended thoughts after starring in "Dating Age Is a Very Important Number." At the time of that first podcast, she was squarely of the opinion that dating younger was a huge mistake. Fast forward a few months later and not only did she do exactly that -- date younger -- but emerged with fresh insight into the May-December relationship. Listen in and then go prowling to go find a youngling of your very own! [22:21 min]

We're doubly excited because this episode was recorded with an actual external microphone. Please feel free to comment on how clear we sound.

Three's Company

Three's Company by You, Me Us

Friend rivalries is the theme of the year and what better way to start off a new season by bringing in some long awaited guests to co-host with me!  My tremendous friends here are experts in the art of friendship and podcasting and two of them just so happen to be best friends.  We get an intimate peek at the world of friend rivalries, both from the perspective of the person in the middle and from the so-called Queen Bee.  We also touch upon the gender divide in rivalries and what it takes to create, sustain, and grow a rivalry of your very own. [23:39 min]

Also feel free to read the blog post addressing this very same topic.

Season 1 is in the books

Season 1 of "You, Me, Us" was a grand success. Despite being limited by technology and the need to be physically sitting next to my participants, I managed to get quite a few conversations recorded and uploaded. From November 2009-2010, I made a total of forty podcasts, which pretty much achieved my goal of one per week. There were a lot of episodes about relationships and dating, a smattering of ones about life etiquette, a few talks about careers and the continuing search for them, and some each about movies, music, and television. I love having this time capsule of people to look back onto, and sometimes I just listen to them to hear my friends voices. Now if only I could get every friend to make a guest appearance! Some people are so mic shy, seriously...

So what about Season 2? I'm going to try to up my tech game and get an actual external mic -- I've been using my Macbook internal one, as you can tell. Additionally, I'd love to get a recording device that doesn't involve lugging around my laptop. It's been very hard to find a quiet space to conduct interviews when I'm running around a city. I need some mobile podcasting capability in my life. And maybe a dedicated studio.

I'd love to have a regular recurring guests, perhaps once a month, but that would involve figuring out how to use Skype or something and still keeping sound quality high decent. I'm also going to try to start an oral history of myself, as an additional project, inspired by Stephen Elliot's Rumpus series, although perhaps this podcast is already such a thing.

My review board gave me some great feedback on how to up my actual content game by including guest intros, shortening the episode lengths, and keeping the conversations directed and moving. I've already ditched the crappy opening music and made an intro bumper that will be nicer on people's ears, I hope.

I don't like to play favorites -- okay I absolutely do -- but here's a top five selection from Season 1. Thanks for listening, thanks for participating!

• Intellectual Douchebaggery
• Love is a Mixtape
• Help Me Help You
• Room for Dessert
• No Longer in Service

And a special podcast that was done by George and I after the Celtics' Game 5 victory in the 2010 Finals. We thought we were on the way to a championship and you can sense our giddiness throughout. Of course, three days later we were absolutely crushed as the Lakers beat them for the crown. I would have podcasted that post Game 7 reaction but it would have just been two hours of silence and crying.