The End of the End

I am generally quite happy with how our podcast out-turned. Our podcast process was much like a journey, like The Lord of the Rings, in that we began bothered and bewildered, visited dark and rank places to perform our research, and resurfaced with a large and evil burden lifted from us and most of our friends long gone. If I would change something about our podcast, if 'twere possible to travel back in time, I would tell the neighbours to stifle themselves, and try to get a good rest the night before. To anyone who is taking this class in the future, I have one piece of advice: bring a pen.

Thank the non-denominational Lord above!

I recorded this podcast with Jessica Catalli. We are emulating Lexicon Valley in content and form. The podcast explores principles of phonaesthetics and the inherent power of euphonious and cacophonous words in common vernacular and popular culture. 

Enjoy.

Record time

In my younger and more vulnerable years, I wanted to be a celebrated performing artist. That obviously didn't work out. Just look at what's occupying my Sunday afternoons. In those days I had a MacBook and a program on it called GarageBand that I used to record my cracking pre-pubescent voice. Now it seems fit to take that program off my digital shelf, maybe dust it, and use it to record this podcast. I didn't bother researching this software very much because I'm already quite familiar with it, and how to make something sound good and almost professional. I've never made a podcast with this software before, though this video shows that it's quite similar to recording music. What I have researched is microphones. I'm currently looking for a high quality microphone that I can buy and return after I'm finished with it. Suggestions are welcomed.

I don't like how I sound.

STRUCTURE

The structure of our podcast is, as our transcript suggests, non-standard. We've taken liberties and metaphors to a whole new level *wink*. We begin with a slow and typical introduction and build to our thesis of universal import, our purpose and podcast's place in the lives of our readers, reaching new highs of seismic activity. Radiation. Following this, a void, another void, cold chasms upon cold chasms of phonological wanderlust and burnt cigarette ends, all seemingly misguided work until we return to our purpose, and prove ours to be a podcast with true gravity. Upon surveying the landscape of our podcast, it seems that we've made it as a sort of compilation of other podcast formats, though it remains unlike any other podcast forms.

I'm guessing, uh, 21?

The Running of the Bools

Boolean logic is a research method that uses  such conjunctions as 'and', 'not', or, well, 'or' in conjunction with key terms that are being searched. For example, researching music devices from the 1950s, one may use the following Boolean search:

radios AND transistors
radios OR vinyl records
radios NOT CD players

Research can thus be refined and made more efficient through this sort of filtration process. Boolean logic allows for every combination in a series of research items to be explored more quickly.

I believe I still have much to learn in order to make effective use of Boolean logic, as I have yet to find it very helpful in my research for this assignment or others. I need both help and practice in order to use this method more effectively.

Boolean logic: it'll PULL-ya-in (?)

Here we come a-diggin'

So the research is begun. My partner and I have learned that what is necessary in researching this topic is not to learn about specific components, such as Coca-Cola’s use of phonaesthetic principles in advertising or detailed lists of euphonic and cacophonic words, but rather to inquire about more general subtopics, like thoroughly learning the meanings of phonaesthetics, euphony, and cacophony. Though this may seem counterintuitive, it is a necessary process in order for us to advance our research beyond the margins of mere definition. Put simply, we believe that thorough research of the broad will allow for a more inspired navigation of the specific.

Of course, any such topics as relating to linguistics provide myriad scholarly and popular sources, and so burden us with an overwhelming amount of potential paths. As for scholarly sources, we haven’t found any cohesive works (in most of these, phonaesthetics only is a sub-subtopic), though we have found specific people. JRR Tolkien is a recurring name in this field. He seems to have contributed a significant amount of research to modern phonaesthetics, and has set out simple principles to distinguish between euphonic and cacophonic words. We are looking to form full definitions, with appropriate examples, of our central terms: phonaesthetics, euphony, and cacophony. Informative popular sources include a Forbes article on influential words, and various online expanded dictionaries. See? We really are starting broadly.

Week 5: Topic Refinement

While formulating and presenting our podcast pitch, my partner and I became more aware of what our topic is, and its importance to our listeners. Through our need to present a podcast idea that listeners would not only find compelling, but useful as well, our subsequent research plan was modified in order to reflect our desire to make this show both entertaining and instructional. I think I'll find further use for this sort of "pitch" model in refining my thoughts on future writing projects. Since there is always an audience for a piece of writing, such a model will help purify my written work, allowing readers to find more purpose and gravity in what I write.

Our refined show idea:
We will explore the ways that corporations and individuals use principles of phonaesthetics to influence the emotions of their intended audiences.

Life's a Pitch

Michael Pietrobon, W14, Pitching

As research progresses to the point of presentation, it has become necessary to learn how to present research. I’ve learned enough about my topic for now, but to adequately express the research that my partner and I have conducted, it is necessary to organize our goal for this podcast and our manner of getting there. I’ve learned much about how to conduct a brief but informative pitch from the following webpages:

Businessweek-The Perfect (Elevator) Pitch:

Know your audience: It is necessary to know your audience, and ensure that

your information is presented in an engaging manner, despite the audience’s

general interest (or disinterest) in the topic.

Always be prepared: As interaction with the audience is necessary for a successful pitch, a presenter must be prepared for any (reasonable) queries that may arise during a presentation.

CBC-Radio Pitch Guide:

Identity: Pitches function much like formal introductions among people who’ve

never met. Presenters must introduce their project and their purpose from the start of a presentation, and carry that message throughout their presentation. What I gather from this is that the audience must trust you with the information you want to give them, that you have a passion for your work and the integrity to conduct it ethically.

Purpose: Closely tied to identity, the podcast’s purpose gives weight to its message. Information may be interesting to an audience, but without connections to common issues, a podcast will seem like nothing more than an amusing tweet.

BBC Academy-The killer pitch - pitching tips:

Brevity is the soul of wit: Any pitch should simply GET TO THE POINT!

Listeners will become disinterested as soon as the pitch gets too long.

Don’t be didactic: There is some special eloquence in the ability to inform an audience without making them feel as if they are being taught something. Listeners should be excited for the final consummation of research and insight that your pitch will successfully prelude.

Seems easy enough, right?

Michael Pietrobon, W14, Topic Selection

After researching many of the suggested podcasts and performing my own research on possible podcast topics, my partner and I have learned that it is necessary to find a topic and model that will be an almost inexhaustible source of new information. This doesn't mean that a broad topic should be chosen, but rather one that is dynamic— a topic that has both compelling developments and a rich history. The two podcasts we're most interested in, based on these criteria, are Under the Influence and Lexicon Valley. Fascinated by the power of persuasion and the life of language, we decided to combine these as a model for our podcast. We will therefore research and speak about the power of language as a method of persuasion, and how language can be affected by powerful groups. Language has been used as a tool of oppressors for millennia, and a podcast that combines facts about persuasion and linguistic history will have much purpose for professional writers, making them more conscious of the origins of the language they speak, and perhaps how they can use it most effectively.

We would like to emulate Lexicon Valley's use of anecdotes and of course compelling peer-reviewed research with our podcast. "Under the Influence" will be imitated for its relaxed method of communicating rather jarring topics. A combination of these topics will provide a very deep and well-researched podcast to listeners.

Michael Pietrobon, W14, Introductions

My name is Michael. I am a second-year English and Professional Writing major in the Book Publishing stream. I am interested in poetry, fiction, grammar, and linguistics. I have always found research to be a necessary procedure that finds a way to slow a writer's creative process. However, I enjoying researching my interests on my own time, outside of what is required for school. I want to learn how to research efficiently, to know how to determine the quality of a source within seconds of opening it.

I have never used RefWorks or Zotero, but have heard of them in my first-year classes. Zotero seems like the sort of software I would use because of its simplicity and speed, though I have yet to feel the need to use these sorts of programs.

Like everyone, I perform research on nearly every topic that I encounter. I frequently research foreign languages and writing systems, movies and musicians I enjoy, and criticism on books I've read. I am also interested in social issues concerning economic equality in the developed world and gender equality.

I have no experience in radio or podcasting, though in high school I made an audio recording of a scene from Man of La Mancha with some classmates. I have experience using Garageband and Adobe Audition for recording. The only way in which I feel intimidated about this podcast is in finding compelling content that can be supported by thorough research and interviews.

Some of the podcasts seem interesting, and many seem very opposite to my interests. I've known Grammar Girl for a while now, though I don't enjoy their overly simplistic style. I find Lexicon Valley to be the most compelling of all the listed podcasts, as it resonates perfectly my interests in linguistics and usage. It's an inexhaustible topic that has more added to it each day.