Runester

Well, my diet is pretty much on a holiday hiatus. I haven’t binged or anything, but I’m not sticking super close either. Part of it is the desire to enjoy shared meals with others, from the office pizza party to the upcoming Christmas dinner with Lisa’s mom. The other part of it, is the odd ‘out of the normal routine’ these two weeks always elicit. In any case, I’ll probably have two or three “Christmas Pounds” to lose before I’m fully back on track.

In other news, I’ve going podcast crazy! I started with one or two RPG related podcasts, but now have been listening to a podcast about ‘real women’ from Leann, and to a couple of music podcasts. The music podcasts, especially “Well Made Music” reminds me of the college / indie music shows that used to be on 89X radio in Detroit - back when alternative music was actually alternative and not just another variation of pop. This music is totally different, but the sense of musical exploration, of being introduced to something that I’ve never heard before and to a whole music scene that is ‘not from here’ is certainly present. And, the host Neil, has a cool Scottish accent.

The only downside to this amazing wealth of resources and communities and podcasts available online is how easy it is to live in a bubble completely unique from anyone else around you. In other words, there are over a thousand people listening to “Fear the Boot” - but I’m the only one living in my area. The same goes for “Well Made Music” and probably some others. Some activities are funner to do in groups, but that’s hard when the ‘group’ you belong to is geographically dispersed around the world.

Interestingly enough, the “House of the Harping Monkey” has a virtual inn in the online world called “Second Life.” They’ve had meetings there and used that shared virtual space to meet listeners and fans whom they’ve never met in RL (real life). Is this the harbinger of things to come? Is this some indicator of trends that will continue or just a momentary fad that will fade when people ‘get serious’ and pull out of their virtual lives? Who knows? It just occurs to me that the pull of human hearts and human minds to form communities of interest and families of intention is stronger then geography.