There are 319 posts filed in Micro.Blog (this is page 3 of 32).
Putin invades Crimea (2014)
Putin invades Ukraine (2022)
Trump orders strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats (2025)
Trump kidnaps Maduro and his wife from Venezuela (2026) (see also CNN liveblog for 1/3/2025 and CSPAN coverage of Trump press conference on 1/3/2025 from Mar-A-Lago)
EmacsConf had their 2025 online conference in early December 2025, and I am listening to conference presentations from their YouTube playlist. I thought that the presentation “Zettelkasten for regular Emacs hackers” was a good one. The presenter, Christian Tietze, one of the people behind zettelkasten.de, talked about some zettelkasten principles, and used the Denote package in Emacs for creating new “notes” in Emacs. In addition to the 25 minute talk, he did a Q&A session for almost an hour and a half, which was very illuminating about his zettelkasten process/skills. I have embedded the videos for the talk and the Q&A session in this post – enjoy!
Currently reading: Raven Rock: The Story of The US Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself – While The Rest of Us Die, by Garrett M. Graff (found this after watching A House of Dynamite on Netflix).
Well, well, well….my last chapter on this topic was written almost one year ago (one year ago tomorrow!)! Why bring this up again? Reason: a recent article from TheVerge.com on the name “podcast”, and a rationale for why this should be dropped (“end the use of the word “podcast””). Some pull quotes:
“But in 2025, with almost every major podcast now having a video component, the definition of the word “podcast” has become pretty meaningless.”
“So in 2026, instead of trying to define what a podcast is, I think we need to stop using the word altogether. “Podcast” is becoming an outdated or even a potentially cringe internet relic, similar to how the phrase “web series” faded from use online.”
Ah – I see where this person is coming from. As mentioned in chapter 64, many audio programs that are being created now are really videos. Also, instead of using the above pay-walled link about defining a podcast, we need to turn to this definition by Dave Winer:
“A podcast is a series of digital media files made available over the open web through an RSS feed with enclosures. Podcasts usually are audio, but you can distribute any media object this way.”
Here is a clear definition of a podcast. Admittedly, it is a “technology-based” definition (need to use a RSS feed to distribute the content), but still, a good, clear definition. For videos, go ahead and call them “videos” or “shows”. For audio that is controlled via apps and not using RSS, those media creations should use some other word (I suggested “appcast” back in 2019).
My final beef – is this “genre” of article needed or wanted? Audio programs are branching into video programs – so what? Podcasts and the creation of podcasts (podcasting) will continue, because no one can stop people from creating or publishing podcasts. Some quotes from Dave Winer on why podcasting is not dominated by a single company (although some might think Apple Podcasts dominates podcasting):
“There is no gatekeeper that can turn down your podcast, make you not cover topics they don’t want covered or use language or images they don’t think are acceptable, or compete with them.”
“Why is podcasting still open after over 20 years? Drumroll please. The answer: there are enough users who understand how it is supposed to work. They expect to be able to listen to any podcast anywhere they want.”
As long as the above two statements are true, there will be podcasts, along with shows, appcasts, or other names for media content that people want to consume using various tools/apps/web sites. I end with a quote of my own:
However, I think the thing to do is to make great things and find ways to innovate. Let’s get out there and compete people – come on!
Happy New Year! I spent time on Portland Protest News today, getting caught up, will have more to say here tomorrow…
A few days ago, I wrote a post about podcasts as criticism (like literary criticism), and received a generous comment from Alan Levine, who I linked to in the post. He gave several other examples of media where the media in question was used to comment/critique an example of that media, and I appreciated reading his response/feedback. I agreed with his examples, and wanted to mention it here.
Thanks to WordPress sending a pingback on the original post by Alan Levine, Alan was aware I posted something that linked to his post. Since I allow comments on my site, Alan was able to reach out and offer his thoughts. It did not bother me – in fact, I enjoyed it! I also did not worry that some of the “flow” of interest from my five regular readers might be usurped by Alan Levine. I hope to hear from more people in 2026. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I know this is a little after the Christmas holiday, but still within the Christmas season. When I took over directing a company choir a long time ago, I went to the music store to pick out some octavos for a Christmas program. One of the ones I selected was “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin. When I opened to the first page, what to my wondering eyes did appear, but the following words…
The sun is shining, the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway
There’s never been such a day
In Beverly Hills, L.A.
But it’s December the twenty-forth
And I am longing to be up North….
Then the words everyone knows….
I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…..
This was in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s, so no Internet around to check on this, but I always remembered as a “fun fact”. Later, I saw the movie “White Christmas”, and thought “I am going to hear those words now”…but no….
This year, I learned that the song first premiered in film in the movie “Holiday Inn”. I searched for a clip with the performance…but no….
Finally, I found an article where the author stumbled onto this “fun fact” and managed to find a recording of a 1968 TV performance where Bing Crosby (yes, Mr. “White Christmas” himself) sang the original words.
Merry Christmas everyone!
While catching up on podcast listening during the Christmas holidays, I listened to the Radio Open Source episode “A Thousand Years of Capitalism“, hosted by Christopher Lydon with guest Sven Beckert, history professor at Harvard University. The episode was a discussion of Beckert’s latest work, “Capitalism: A Global History”. I thought the discussion was excellent, and I found it interesting that he pegs the “start” of capitalism as an economic system to merchant businesses in Aden around 1000 AD (a city in now-named Yemen). These businesses financed trade expeditions to bring goods back, sell them, and re-invest the profits into more expeditions. Later, this practice expanded to Europe, then other countries, but this was the start.
The next interesting item to me was how the Industrial Revolution was the start of investing capital in means of production (factories, equipment, etc.), moving away from the financier-led capitalism, and how it was difficult to convince people to work in factories. They were used to working for themselves or in small groups (peasants/serfs) for a local leader. Another “step-up” in the growth of capitalism was the use of slavery, and how Europeans invested in plantations in the US, which used large amounts of slave labor. I was not aware that plantations arose from foreign investment. Also, Beckert mentioned that the island of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea was populated by slaves and ran large sugar plantations.
The final part of the episode discussed the impact that capitalism has had on the world economy, and the possibility of developing other economic systems. Overall, this was a very good episode, well worth listening to again.
I think that many podcasts are basically commentary (see just about any political podcast where the host interviews someone on current events, no need to provide links here…). However, I think there is a growing list of podcasts that provide criticism/critiques of podcasts, similar in some ways to general media criticism or literary criticism. Recently, I listened to the first episode of a podcast (the Phongraph Podcast) which analyzed the very first episode of the show that became “This American Life“. The hosts talked about specific parts of the episode, how they thought the parts worked or didn’t work, or how they liked/didn’t like certain parts of the episode. The hosts admitted that they worked in radio, and had wanted to create stories in the manner that This American Life evolved into over its history. I listened to this podcast based on a post by Alan Levine who heard about it on another podcast (his post is titled “A Podcast about Podcasting Recommended by a Podcaster on a Podcast”). Interestingly, the podcast stopped in 2019, then resumed in 2024, broadening its scope to a range of podcasts other than This American Life.
I was aware of other “fan” podcasts about other podcasts, and “official” podcasts about podcasts, but this was the first one I had ever heard. I was also intrigued how technical it got (analyzing production techniques). Finally, it was amusing that a podcast was used as the medium for analyzing a podcast. For most other media criticism, the analysis occurs in written form. I don’t think there are many examples of radio broadcasts analyzing radio shows, or television broadcasts analyzing television shows. Dave Winer had some thoughts on “official” podcasts today, which I agree with: “There has to be at least a possibility that they will say something critical, or funny, irreverent, even inconsiderate things, and not are not 100% self-promotion”.
My last thoughts on this topic: I will not be listening to more of the Phonograph Podcast, as I would like to spend my time listening to actual podcasts, where people are sharing their thoughts/conversation/knowledge, as opposed to analysis of production techniques or deficiencies in story or plot.
Congratulations to Frank McPherson on his retirement! Keep those reports on the Chicago Cubs coming!
