January themes

January first is here, and the MAD Book Challenge is officially up and running! From this day on, you may start the Book Challenge any day you wish! (Refer to the Book Challenge Rules for more information--link in the sidebar).

That means it's time to release the THEMES for the month of January. The first "week" of the year will begin today but end on Sunday the 11th of January, giving you a little extra time to get those first couple of books. However, from that point on, a week will go from Monday to the following Sunday (with the exclusion of the final week of the year, which will run from 28th December to 31st December--so keep in mind that you have a shortened week to read the last book of the year if you're starting on a day OTHER than Monday).

Keeping that in mind, here are the Themes for the first four weeks of the Book Challenge:

1. (Jan. 1 - Jan. 11) Book by a hot author
   ----[Definition of "hot" author has been extended to "cute"]
2. (Jan. 12 - Jan. 18) New book by an old favorite author
3. (Jan. 19 - Jan. 25) Humorous book
   ----[May be comedy, parody, satire]
4. (Jan. 26 - Feb. 1) Dinosaur(!) book
   ----["Dinosaur" book defined as a book where, if you remove dinosaurs from the story, the plot no longer makes sense]

Any and all questions can be emailed to me at themadpodcast@gmail.com. Just make sure to use the subject line "MAD Book Challenge" and I'll get back to you right away.

Vlogtacular

Time for the second MAJOR podcast announcement!!

Starting in the year of 2009 we will be doing our very own VLOG. You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/user/themadpodcast (there's also a link in the sidebar). There are five of us, and five week days, so we've assigned one day of the week to each MADer. Every week day one of us will post a vlog. The order is:

Monday: Staci
Tuesday: Sarita
Wednesday: Deborah
Thursday: Marshall
Friday: Sarah

Important Book Challenge news

I just made some important changes to the rules post about the Book Challenge. If you've already read the post and don't want to go searching through it to find the changes, here they are:

• Originally I said that any book over 1000 pages would count as two books. This has been changed to 800 pages, after I realized that, holy crap, books over 1000 pages do not exist.
• If you read the same book two times during the course of the year, it still only counts as one book toward the challenge. This is to prevent people from just rereading the Harry Potter series like eight times to win the challenge.

Remember, the Challenge begins TOMORROW!!! (If you want to start at the same time as me and the other MADers. You can technically start the challenge whenever you want, as long as you set the deadline exactly one year after the day you start. But still.)

So get those books together, because tomorrow I'll be announcing the themes for the month of January.

MAD Book Challenge

Remember how, a couple of posts ago, I told you that some very important announcements were coming up? Well, here it is: the mother of all announcements.

I'd like YOU to participate in a little program I've come up with, called the MAD BOOK CHALLENGE. Here's the essentials--in one year, we're going to read 52 books. That's one book a week.

Now, depending on how much of a reader you are, that may or may not sound difficult. So I've come up with a set of RULES AND REGULATIONS to make sure nobody cheats at the Challenge, and to give you an opportunity to prove your amazing reading skillz.

The Book Challenge will start on January 1st, 2009, but will continue indefinitely (meaning it won't end at the end of 2009--it starts over in 2010) and you can join at any time. You get exactly 52 weeks from the day you join up to read all 52 books. In order for a book to be counted toward the challenge, it must meet the following requirements:

1. It must be FICTIONAL, unless otherwise specified by the Challenge Leader (me).
2. It must be a minimum of 150 pages in length. However, use your judgement here: certain factors, like size of the text and difficulty of the reading make some books count more or less.
3. You must not be obligated to read the book for some other reason--for example, a book that you read for your English class does not count toward the Challenge, unless you read it a second time outside of class.

(NOTE: Any book over 800 pages will count as two books.)

Of the 52 books that you read for the challenge, AT LEAST TWENTY SIX must be books that you have never read before. This is all about expanding horizons, so you are NOT allowed to only do re-reads. If you read the same book twice over the course of the year, it still only counts as one book (meaning you can't just re-read the Harry Potter series over and over, for example).

You do NOT have to read one book per week--this is only recommended. I acknowledge that there will be some weeks when you don't have the time--so you only need to have 52 done by the end of the year. If that means you do most of your reading in the summer and hardly any in the school year, that's what works for you and you're still a winner.

By finishing all 52 books by the end of the year you gain the status of MAD READER. We're considering creating some kind of certificate or something (but that's it, I'm afraid. You're going to have to do this for the love of reading).

However, I am also going to offer some bonus stuff for those of you who find reading 52 books unchallenging. Every week (note that a "week" in the challenge starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday. This means that the first official "week" of the challenge, if you start on January 1st with me, will be 11 days long, and the final "week" will only be four. Make sure you schedule appropriately for this) I will announce a THEME. If you manage to read a book from each theme that I announce, you'll earn a special gold ribbon status as a MAD READER.

Each "week" I'll also be announcing opportunities for Bonus Points, sort of mini-challenges. Some Bonus Point opportunities that will be available year-round are the following:

1. For every new book (one that you haven't read before) that you read OVER the required 26, you get five bonus points.
2. For every books that you read OVER the required 52 (new or re-read regardless) you get 25 bonus points.
3. For every book that you read in another language, you get 50 bonus points. (Clarification: if you are bilingual, a book in your second language does not count. "Another language" here refers only to a language that you began studying seriously in middle or high school)
4. Those MADers who are participating in the Challenge will tell the title and author of the book they're reading each week. You get five bonus points each time you read one of the books a MADer is reading.

If, by the end of the year, you manage to not only read a book for each of the 52 themes, but also earn 1000 bonus points, you will achieve the sort of platinum level status of a MAD READER and my infinite respect.

So, I will (obviously) be participating in the Challenge, and I know for certain that Marshall and Sarah will. I think Deborah and Sarita are going to give it a try, as well. I want as many people as possible to get involved in this project, so invite your friends!

And start preparing a stack of books to read for 2009, so that you'll be ready when the Challenge begins at midnight on New Year's.

Good luck!

[If at any point during the challenge you have a question about the rules & regulations, make sure you e-mail me at themadpodcast@gmail.com for clarification. Just put the words "MAD Book Challenge" in the subject line and I'll take care of it as soon as possible. Thanks!]

Newsflash

So, if you're one of the like, two people on the entire planet who haven't seen the new Twilight movie, I should inform you of the following:

1. The guy who played Jacob in the movie is an actor named Taylor Lautner.
2. Taylor Lautner did a really good job as Jacob.
3. Taylor Lautner is not tall enough to play Jacob as he appears in the following books (he grows a whole bunch between books 1 and 2)
4. They're considering recasting the role. So they can get a taller guy.

I would give a lengthy explanation of the MADers' opinions about this whole situation, but I think the following g-chat between Sarah and myself, shortly after the news was announced, pretty much clears it up:

Sarah: READ MY EMAIL I AM SO PISSED

I AM EVEN GOING THROUGH THE STAGES OF GRIEF

me: ha i literally just read it yeah, that kind of sucks

Sarah: OMGOGOMGOGMOGMMG

me: i mean, can they even do that?

Sarah: I WANT TO KILL SOMEONE

MUST HAVE BLOOD

AHHHH

me: ...it seems like replacing him would not work

haha must have blood

Sarah: I

me: smirk

Sarah: WONTSEE IT

me: oh, yes you will

Sarah: (hahaha, no pun intended)

NO I WONT

I WILL NOT SEE IT IF THEY REPLACE HIM

me: well, I will see it anyway. i'll be annoyed, but i'll see it

Sarah: HE IS A SEXY SEXY MAN AND HE DESERVES WIRK

WELL YOU ARENT GOING WITH ME

WORK*

me: haha actually, i'd be more confused than anything. there's no reason why they can't keep taylor lautner on

Sarah: HE DOEST FIT THEIR EFFING CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

SARAH IS PISSED

me: but i mean, the only reason he doesn't fit the description is like height wise and they can fake that i mean... can't they just make taylor lautner work out a lot and then stand him oon some crates?

Sarah: HE HAD EFFING CHEST MUSCLES

NICE ONES

(AND THEY HAD ROSE STAND ON CRATES, WHY NOT HIM)

DIES

me: the books make it seem like he grows a million feet or something, but bella actually asks how tall he is and he's really only like six four or something

Sarah: I KNOW

me: so it's not like he has to be eight feet tall or anything

Sarah: I KNOW

me: they need to take a step back and reconsider

personally, i can't see them changing actors. i doubt they want the kind of negative feedback they're going to get from fans because they're GOING to get negative feedback

people liked him

Sarah: I HATE CHANGING ACTORS

me: it really doesn't work

Sarah: AND HE IS FANTABULOUS

me: once you get an actor you have to commit- it would be worse for the movie to have him suddenly change completely than for him to be a few inches too short

Sarah: I KNKNKNNNOOOOWWWW

me: and you're right, i could - well, not really, but i'd at least be a bit more understanding if he was a bad actor in the film. the fact that he did a good job just makes this whole thing ridiculous - they're only changing actors because of a physical description? and at that, something that can be fixed easily enough?

Sarah: YES I AM SO PISSED THEY CANT DO IT , ITS STUPID AND IDIOTIC

me: I actually wonder whether or not this is only some kind of publicity stunt? Because I can't see them seriously considering this

It doesn't make sense

Sarah: I HOPE SO CAUSE AS I SAID<>

me: Personally, I'm not going to get too mad unless we hear official word that they're definitely going to change actors. Until then, I wouldn't be surprised if this was all a publicity stunt

entertainment weekly?

Sarah: IM PISSED NOW

and idk

me: hm

Sarah: I HAVE TO BE I CARE TOO MUCH HE IS HOT

me: and a good actor

Sarah: AND FREAKING PERFECT FOR THE ROLE HE PLAYED IT SO WELL

me: he did

ah, well. as long as they don't switch out jackson rathbone

The only thing that might need some explanation is when Sarah mentions "They made Rose stand on creates". She's referring to the actress who played Rosalie in the movie--she was too short, so they made her stand on crates and wear HUGE heels and stuff.

Aaand we're back

Today is December 1st - which means that NaNoWriMo is officially over.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, NaNoWriMo is a program during the month of November where you attempt to write 50,000 words in only 30 days (incidentally, I recommend this for anyone even vaguely interested in writing. To say the least, it is a real experience). I've been participating in NaNo for years, and this year was no different.

The problem with NaNo is that it kind of consumes your life, and so I apologize for the lack of blogging this past month, which Deborah pointed out in the last post - I was busy writing. (As a matter of interest, I will shamelessly brag to anyone who will listen that I managed 101,046 words, making me pwntastic).

But now that NaNo is over and December is here, things should get moving again pretty quickly. I'll be on the blog a bit more, for one. Also, for those of you who haven't checked your iTunes, Episode 7 (the one about Dr Horrible) was just released, so get to listening! And as always, send us your listener feedback.

We are planning on recording Episode Eight - about the musical 1776 (which is about the declaration of independence - I mean, come on. Awesome) sometime this weekend, and that will be edited and out within a week or two of recording, depending on how crazy school gets.

And check this out - you can expect super ginormous LOADS of bonus stuff coming from the MAD Podcast very shortly. Let's just say we're going to give you guys one heck of a Christmas present - we have several very important announcements to make.

Keep an eye on this blog, because I'm going to make the first of those announcements here very shortly. It's kind of long, though, and I have to get confirmation from the other MADers that we want to post about it now - but it should be out by the end of the week.

And... I'm not saying anything, but you might just see a Bonus episode of the show sometime in the near future. A very special Bonus episode.

The Assumed Disappearance of the MADers

It's November 22nd.
Our last episode was released October 26th.
Our last blog post was posted 2 days afterwards.
We probably look like we're gone.
...
Oops.

We're still here! It's just been incredibly busy this past month for all of us. Episode 7 IS recorded, but editing isn't finished yet. We've also watched 1776 together and we plan on recording ASAP after episode 8 is released.

Here's what you can expect for the upcoming episodes:
Episode 7: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog
Episode 8: 1776 (the movie)
Episode 9: The Series of Unfortunate Events: Books versus Movie
Episode 10: Ingrid Michaelson's "Be OK"
Episode 11: Paper Towns by John Green

This schedule is still mildly tentative, and I may have mixed up the discussion topics for Episodes 9 and 10. We also don't know if we want to do something special for Episode 10 since it's, you know, our 10th episode. So keep an eye out for that, and Episode 7 should be out soon!

-Deborah

I remembered

On Episode Six I talked about a show that "reminded me of an adult version of the Power Rangers". I couldn't remember the name and nobody had any idea what I was talking about, but I was just on iTunes and I saw an ad for it, and remembered the name.

It's called "Legend of the Seeker" and it's based on the "The Sword of Truth" books by Terry Goodkind, apparently (which, frankly, came as a surprise). Here's its link on imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844653/
Also, if you go onto iTunes right now (I'm not sure how long they'll have this up) you can click on the little ad for it in the top left hand corner and download two behind-the-scenes featurettes on the show for free. I'm downloading them now, but, obviously, I haven't watched them yet so I can't tell you if they're any good. If they are I'll probably watch the show and give you guys an update.

Another thing I mentioned on Episode Six was the show "Crusoe" and how I couldn't watch it because I don't have cable. Well, it turns out it's not on cable, and with the assistance of hulu.com I was able to catch up on the episodes already released. It is kind of freaking epic--I mean, PIRATES, come on. For what it's worth, I recommend it.


*Also take note: There is a new poll out. Go vote!

Poll Results

The results of our special Birthday Poll are in, and, by a landslide, our listeners say that Marshall is "Fantastically Awesome".

In a tie for second place were "Super Awesome" and "Incredibly Awesome".

Congratulations, Marshall, on being so... fantastical.

Oops. Wrong names.

Episode 6 was released tonight! Yay!

This post is so I can correct myself from what I said on the show.

1) When I'm talking about the 3rd Season of Heroes, I definitely meant Mohinder and Maya. Not Monica. That would have been an even bigger plot jump if that happened with Monica.
2) Jason Taylor's Quick Step was awesome. I mean, his Fox Trot was too, but the Quick Step was amazing.

Just wanted to clear those up :)

-Deborah

VIOLINS!!!

Hey all! Deborah posting. So today in French class, we played a type of musical chairs to prepare for our Subjunctive quiz tomorrow. It wasn't real musical chairs; each desk had a card with a number and a phrase, and we had to change the verb into its subjunctive form. So basically, we walked around and found a desk to sit in to conjugate the given verb once the music stopped.

My teacher played French music for us, and it was surprisingly good. So we were walking around the room and the music was playing. Then, a song with an orchestral twist came on. My head whipped to the CD player. Yay orchestral music! Then, 30 seconds into the song....AN AWESOME VIOLIN SOLO CAME ON!!! YAY!!! It took all the control I had to not scream "VIOLINS!!!!!!!" Thankfully, I succeeded, because that would have been a tad awkward. But the violins made me quite happy :)

EDIT: And, for no one who gets this post, just listen to Episode 3.

Ask the MADers: Birthdays!

When is your birthday?

Sorry for not answering the question until now, but I had to wait because...

TODAY IS MARSHALL'S BIRTHDAY!!!

Yaaaaaaay! Balloons! Party blowers! CAKE! Ah, where are emoticons when you need them? Happy birthday, Marshall! I'm super-excited for the first birthday on the show (and you should be too. You can send Marshall a happy-birthday message to themadpodcast@gmail.com) and everyone here at the MAD Podcast Studio wishes her an AWESOME DAY.

As for the rest of us, Sarah's birthday comes next (January 11th), and then me (April 10th). Deborah is after me, followed by our youngest member, Sarita--both have late spring/early summer birthdays.

Marshall's been my best friend since fourth grade and I can officially say that she is even cooler in real life than she is on the show. Yay Marshall!! Everyone e-mail in and tell her how cool she is! Go, do it now!!

Dave is Batman (OMG)

Yay! It's time to announce the listener challenge winner for Episode Four's listener challenge. Episode Five: A Dynamic Duo is out now (be sure to download it for free from iTunes or our official website at http://themadpodcast.libsyn.com) and the winner has been announced: the ever-fantastical Dave! The first listener to email in to the show, Dave is also the lord of listener challenges so far. He continues his dominance with the following entry:

hey maders

so about the listener challenge... um fate does not want me to complete this one it seems. I seem to be lacking in the batman costume department and dressing up as the Joker would have involved asking my mom for lipstick and... well thats not a conversation id like to have... and beyond that theres no one really cool to dress up as, is there?

so being a big believer in the A for effort philosophy i used my mad paint skillz (dont have photoshop sorry) and created the masterpeice wich is attached. im pretty sure da vinci would have had a tear of pride in his eye.

the picture is a flawless representation of dave as batman. im exactly that muscular in real life, too. And I was really impressive and managed to draw the cast on the right arm. Ive had about a million people tell me im lucky to have broken my left arm, but im left handed so it kind of sucks anyway.

and then my hotmail acount wouldnt let me attach the stupid picture and i was like, No. The mad podcast is counting on me and my poor paint skills. I must find a way. So this is the acount i use for college stuff. yeah. Um i realize this is completely not a good entry but i tried!

kudos from maryland
dave

The following picture was attached:

So, congratulations Dave on another awesome listener challenge victory! Remember, everyone, that the Listener Challenge for Episode Five (the one you should be currently working on) is to create your own Ask the Listener segment. (See the post labeled "Ask the MADers" for further clarification.)

Pongo!

Deborah here. I meant to send a picture of my dog to Staci so she could post it, but I forgot. So, thank goodness she made me an author, I'm posting a picture to make up for passing on my middle name.

Best. Dog. Ever.

Now yes, about 5,000 people are going to contradict me and say, "No my dog is the best dog ever!", but seriously. Look at that face.

Favorite color, Middle name, Pets

It's the first Ask the MADers response post! Thanks to Dave (of course) for sending in the following questions.

What's your favorite color?

Deborah: "Light blue has been my favorite color since...ever, but now I'm getting a bit tired of it. So now it's moved to light/medium green. And kind of purple. And also light orange.
Staci: Blue or green, the debate has been going on for years and I'm no closer to telling you which is my favorite.
Marshall: Yellow.
Sarah: ALL, but purple if she has to chose.
Sarita: Green, definitely.

What's your middle name?

Deborah: "I don't particularly like my middle name, so...pass?"
Staci: Margaret
Marshall: Claire
Sarah: Elizabeth
Sarita: "My middle names are Elizabeth and Mangalam."

Do you have any pets?

Deborah: "Pongo! (Australian Shepherd/Spitz mix.)"
Staci: Tuxedo kitty (yay) named Reagan, a guinea pig named Vinny, assorted fish.
Marshall: Beagapoo (Beagle/poodle) named Scoop, two cats named Boris and Stormy Llewelyn [This is Staci's experimental spelling of Llewelyn. It may not be correct] and several goldfish
Sarah: "Mischief, a mix with border collie, and like 30 fish (in my super large 300 gallon aquarium)"
Sarita: "Boots, a dog, a Labrador Retriever mix (maybe with hound?) and some fish( their names change randomly)"

Remember to leave us your questions in the comments!

Skype Us!

Good news: we've opened up yet another way of communicating with the MAD Podcast hosts. You can now Skype the username themadpodcast and leave us a message.

Another piece of unrelated news: The Ask the MADers segment is still going to be running, but unfortunately I'm still trying to collect the info from all our MADers. Right now I just need to find out Marshall's favorite color (sorry, I keep forgetting to ask) and then I'll post a response. Remember, we encourage listeners to start their own Ask the Listeners segments on their own blogs!

Ask the MADers

Bells are ringing and choirs are singing, there's a brand new bonus feature coming to this Behind-the-Scenes Blog!!

I'm introducing the 'Ask the MADers' feature to this blog. If you have a question for the MADers - any question at all (within reason and appropriate, obviously) - just post it in the comments and we'll all give you our answer. Favorite color? Favorite movie? Want our opinion on something? Ask away.

Comments are enabled so that anyone, even if they don't have a blog, can post, so don't worry if you're not a blogger.

Also, we'd really love to see a MAD Podcast community out there on blogger - so if you do have a blog and you're a MAD Podcast fan, answer the questions right along with us.

You can ask a question for a specific MADer, or to all of us.

Start asking those questions!

Listener Challenge....Kind-Of Winner

Hey everyone! Deborah updating again. Now that episode 4 has been released, we can now announce episode 3's Listener Challenge...Attempter? The challenge was to send in what song the intro to "Reign of Love" sounded like, and we didn't exactly have a clear winner. The best one, however, was Dave from Maryland's entry. He wrote:

Ummm...I'm not sure. Deborah mentioned something about 'Notting Hill' when she was talking about it in the episode so I actually went on youtube and searched the songs from the soundtrack...but none of the songs sound much like Reign of Love, sorry."

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, Dave youtubed all the songs from Notting Hill to see if they sound like the song. So, although he didn't come up with a song, it was pretty awesome that he did that. So Dave, I dub you the Listener Challenge Attempt Winner...thing.

Remember, episode 4's Challenge is to dress up as a character from the Dark Knight, take a picture, and email it to us. Or to just email us. Or to spread the word about our podcast. Lots of options for everyone! Our email address is themadpodcast@gmail.com. So just open up your email, type in that address, and write to us!

-Deborah


EDIT FROM STACI:
It should be mentioned that Dave also added:

"but i DID listen to the full song, the coldplay one, to try and see if it reminded ME of anything but it doesnt. um... does it help if i think that he sounds a lot like dave matthews in the song?"

Which is a good attempt at guessing what Deborah was thinking. Good job Dave! And, as Deborah said, everybody else remember to email in their own submissions!

Among other problems

Soooo....

I was just nipping over here to put up a quick post (seeing as recording for Episode Four is now complete) when I realized that Deborah had aleady done it! Wooohooo! Heavens above, I knew it was a good idea to add more writers to the blogging team!

You may be wondering, however, why I - I, the obsessive blogger - wasn't there to make this post the moment it was necessary. Why I didn't write it on the day of the recording (Saturday, as it so happens).

Yeah, about that.

We finally recorded the show, but it comes with a snag. We got Sarah back (hooray), but, just in time for recording, I caught a reaaally bad stomach virus and there was NO way I could record. Never fear, our other four fabulous hosts and their dazzling immune systems were there to save the day, and our Dark Knight episode will be coming out soon - sans-Staci and thereby minus a lot of interruptions and rambling (sorry about that).

Don't get too used to it. I'll be back next episode, when we'll be discussing Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, and oh-what-an-episode-it-will-be.

Oo, by the way -- I've heard good things about this Dark Knight episode.


------------------
EDIT: Erm, by the way... Whenever it says "posted by toss the apple" on the bottom of a post, that's referring to Deborah. I know she said it in the post, but just in case you were wondering...

Audacity Troubles

Hi all, this is Deborah updating. You probably noticed on our last episode that my end was staticy. That, my friends, was due to Audacity (our recording program). My microphone would be off and it would record static. I have no idea how it started, since it was perfect the first two shows. Then suddenly, you can't stop the white noise. We recorded yesterday (hooray!!!) and my voice was accompanied by, of course, static. Talk about frustration. I decided to uninstall my Audacity and reinstall it after I sent my files to Sarita. Files sent, I uninstalled it then put it back on. I tried recording with my microphone off to see if it still recorded static.

It did.

*Insert frustrated scream here*

So I tried restarting my computer and recording. Still static. Then I start to play around with it, searching in the dinky little help menu and exploring different effects. Then I see a switch called "Output level". I move the little slidy thingy (despite running a podcast, I'm not good with computer terms) and try recording,

Eureka! The static was gone!

Then I try recording my voice. My voice did not record.

Now before you say "You forgot to turn your microphone on, dummy!" let me just say that I am not that slow. My voice did not record while my microhone was on.

Shoot.

Cue the beginnings of panic mode. I move the little slidy thingy up and down again. I move it to its original position. I move it to the opposite end of its original position. Still no voice is being recorded.

Then I remember, when I first downloaded Audacity, it had the recording device set as my nonexistent Microsoft Default Device. I rush to the menu and click on "Preferences." There, right in the middle of the screen, is the recording device setting, set as the nonexistent default. I turn it to my mic. I press record.

My voice recorded.

Without static.

Whoooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, that's all :)

Deborah

Pitiful attempt to make up for delays

What with all the horrendous delays and mishaps going on around the MAD Podcast studios, I thought I'd post a little bit of bonus content to help tide you over. The following is a Skype chat between Deborah and myself about the show. Keeping in with the oh-crap-delays theme, we're trying to figure out when to record:


Deborah: do you know if we're recording today?

Staci C: i hope not b/c if so i probably can't

Deborah: I don't think anyone can...
I *might* be able to, Sarita probably can't, and I haven't heard from Sarah or Marshall
so...another delay

Staci C: yay

Deborah: whooooo
*cough*

Staci C: sigh. oh well

Deborah: yeah
maybe we could do like, a really quick recording during a school day?
that wouldn't be great quality, though
and, you know, homework

Staci C: ermmm... maybe. i doubt it. this week i'm doing two HUGE lab write-ups

Deborah: ick
I have writer's block for my research paper, hence my availability to talk
and I can't find any legit sources with enough information

Staci C: im trying to do calculus

Deborah: ew
okay, let's aim for this friday to record, and we'll split up the editing and try to have it out by Sunday
and put emphasis on "try"

Staci C: good luck on friday, sarah's got marching band

Deborah: GAH
is it like, every single friday?

Staci C: for like ages yeah

Deborah: gahhhhhhhh
okay, i have to go back to writing
we'll discuss this with the group tomorrow


See what I mean? Loooooadds of delays.

Oh, sweet rantfest

I have a word for you. A word that describes the MAD Podcast's current situation. It's a fun word. Can you guess the word?

DELAYS.

Holy freaking crap, it is HARD to read "The Crucible", study Calculus, write up a lab report and record a podcast at the same time. I do not recommend that you try it.

School is slowly eating our souls (well, I suppose I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure the other MADers would agree) and Sarah can't reach for her microphone without the marching band people kidnapping her, so finding time to record is veeeerry difficult right now. Don't worry; this IS just a delay, I promise -- even if it's like the third delay in a row. We will find the time to get this show out, it's just going to take a while. Let us say that the world is OUT TO GET US. It is not our fault. Some external force is clearly trying to stop us.

I'll stop complaining now, I guess. I just wanted to let you all know what was going on (even if that's pretty much nothing). We can't thank you enough for being patient with us while we try to get the ball rolling. Remember -- this is all new to us. We haven't had to juggle the podcast and school before, so it's going to take us a while to work out a system, but things should smooth out sooner or later.

We apologize for the delays!

Nyeagh. Delays?

As you will know if you listened to Episode Three, "Viva la Violin," the next piece of media we will be discussing on the show will be the movie, "The Dark Knight". On the show, we also mentioned that this podcast will be bi-weekly -- which means that that episode is due out this weekend, right?

Well, school just started back up for all of the MADers and, up to the neck in essays and tests as we are, we've been having a bit of trouble fitting the podcast in. Don't worry - I'm not here to tell you that we'll be making it a monthly podcast. The bi-weekly shedule should still be in place, but you'll have to give us a few weeks to get back into the rhythm of school work and work out how to fit the podcast around that.

The five of us all went to see the movie together on Monday. That was the earliest we could schedule it, since we've all been so busy lately - and that means that the earliest we can RECORD will be this weekend. But of course, it takes hours to send audio files to Sarita, and then she has to edit. So... Don't be surprised if things are a little delayed this week.

The good news is that I can guarantee that this time we WILL be discussing what we said we'd discuss! Also, remember to start reading "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer while you're waiting, as that will be the topic of Episode Five.

New authors!

Great news on the blogging front, everyone: I am no longer the only author for this Behind-the-Scenes blog!

That's right, I'm not the only MADer to have a blogspot account. Marshall and Deborah will be joining me here on the blog. I've just added them as authors, so all three of us can now post.

Vampire... elephants!

Now that Episode Three has been released, you all know the identity of our Listener Challenge WINNER from last week! That's right, listener Dave of Maryland has won the first ever MAD Podcast Listener Challenge. The following was his entry:

i think that the vampires should turn into snakes, becaue theyre way cooler than bats but still have fangs. (though in reality i actualy really like the glow-in-the-dark thing that you were talking about on teh show. thats original and funny and a subtly glowing vampire would actually be kind of cool looking. cooler than Sir Skin-Like-Diamonds, anyway)

Im banking on the fact that youve only done a couple episodes so you probably dont have many listeners. with any luck i win by default. ha! i beat the system!

However, I personally prefer something he mentioned earlier in his email, discussing the sparkling vampire debate:

like, he could have turned into an elephant in a blaze of fireworks

Congratulations Dave for winning the Listener Challenge. Remember that this week's Listener Challenge is to figure out what Deborah was talking about concerning the beginning of Reign of Love and how it apparently reminds her of a movie.

Good luck on the Listener Challenge, and thanks for listening!

Numero freakin' TRES, baby!

That's right! Break out your party hats and your confetti, people, because Episode Three of the MAD Podcast was released onto iTunes earlier today.

Episode Three: Viva la Violin features awesome discussion on Coldplay's latest album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, a song spotlight on Viva la Vida, and a spectacular BRAND NEW SEGMENT - a fantabulous commentary of the music video for Viva la Vida!

This episode was extremely fun to record. We got it done in record time - if you consider that Episode One took about seven hours to record, Episode Two took about three hours to record, and this episode took about one and a half hours, it looks like we're on a roll! Splitting our recording time in half with each new episode, we're becoming much better at churning out the audio without churning out the technical drama.

Speaking of technical stuff, I've just finished listening to the final, edited version of Episode Three, and I'm happy to say that our spectacular editor, Sarita, has really laid the smack-down on those audio problems. Expect this episode to sound much more crisp and professional, with each of the podcasters' audio at the same loudness. Yay! Sarita = awesome.

We certainly didn't reign in the fun on this episode, either. There's lots of joking around (but hopefully not excessively so. Remember, we rely on feedback from you listeners to help us gauge how much is too much and how much is just good fun! Tell us your thoughts at themadpodcast@gmail.com). There's also lots of... well, violins. Listen and you'll see what I mean. Deborah = awesome, too.

Thanks for listening!

Tantalizing hints!

I've decided to give you a little hint concerning the upcoming Episode Three of the MAD Podcast. Since I can't talk too much here about the actual show, I'll be releasing the outline that Deborah created for the show, instead. Here it is:

Viva la Vida Planning

1. Introduction to the Episode by Someone: Because "--------------", this is episode three for The MAD Podcast, DATE, discussing Coldplay's newest album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.

2. Theme music

3. Name intro (Staci>Sarita>Marshall>Deborah)

4. Main Discussion

-how we liked it/ what we thought

-run through the songs (beats/melodies/etc)

-compare to other works by Coldplay

-top of the charts

-coldplay's first album to reach #1 in UK and US

-contrasts

5. [Super secret new segment that will undoubtedly blow everyone's mind]

6. Spotlight segment: Viva la Vida

7. Next two discussions: Dark Knight>Breaking Dawn

8. Contact information

-themadpodcast@gmail.com

-new official website

-blogspot transitions to bonus-features blog

9. Outro

10. Bloopers (if any)

Obviously I've edited out the name and description of our special new segment. (Actually, the new segment wasn't planned - it was a spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment type thing.)

I'd also like to point out how hillarious it is that Deborah added the words "if any" after "bloopers."

Haha.

Trust me, there are bloopers in this episode.

We've been working VERY hard

I was rummaging through my inbox and a bunch of old Skype chats recently. The idea was that I would find a bunch of examples of us trying to plan the podcast, and make a post showing some of those so that you would really appreciate us. Unfortunately I was sidetracked by a lot of OTHER Skype chats, mostly between Deborah and myself, which are extremely strange and hillarious. We'd be talking about the podcast, and then suddenly... Well, the stress gets to us all. Here's a sampler of some of our more random comments (all taken from Skype chats between Deborah and I), out of context and for your reading pleasure.


Staci: i meean, do you even FOLD a washcloth?
Deborah: small dishes are usually folded in half once
Staci: really? or are you making this up?
Staci: i just fold at random
Staci: im gonna try and make like, a paper crane out of this next one

Deborah: my sister was dating Remus Lupin
Deborah: teenage lupin
Deborah: but my mom's car also had this funky sheild thing
Staci: werewolf protectors
Staci: is that an optional feature on cars or does it come with?

Deborah: but then she said "if you really want to make me feel better, you can draw me a picture of a rabbit and a wolf"

Staci: were there zombies?

Staci: you laugh, then you make a discovery
Staci: ha-ah!
Staci: its like, ha, that's funny - but ah! i forgot to turn the stove off!
Deborah: it's a double sided laugh
Staci: it's a laugh in a parallel universe

Deborah: no, i was dressed up sort of like a princess

Deborah: and I say "well, I was offered a modeling job, but I turned it down because it was the same day as my cousin's birthday party"

Deborah: "hello Staci, you would make a great Walmart sales person!"

Staci: I think i may have claimed him as my ninja

Deborah: Oh yeah?
Deborah: well my guy will...
Deborah: ...get drunk

Staci: so I'll be able to work in rocket powered unicycles

Deborah: UNICORNS
Staci: YES

Deborah: okay, so moving off the topic of sprinklers momentarily...

Staci: I find it amazing that you can get addicted to VIRTUAL margaritas
Deborah: don't make me put you into virtual AAA
Deborah: *AA, I mean
Staci: ha, i looked at that and i immediately thought, batteries!
Staci: which is clearly a sign of my impending insanity


I wonder if this kind of thing is the reason why it's taken us so long to get the show out.

Oh yeah! Update to end all updates!

This picture was taken on August 18th, 2008:

Well, actually I scanned my dry-erase board, and it's kind of crooked but I really don't want to have to scan it again.

There are two things that you will notice about this dry erase board. The first is the giant, demonic red number seven. That was the number of days until school started as of yesterday (I'm running a Countdown to Doom. I have four dry erase boards in my room, one on each wall, and they are all currently bearing horned number sixes, which is actually a bit disturbing.)

The other thing you will notice is the little reminder I wrote to myself, in my horrendous handwriting.

WE RECORDED YESTERDAY!!!!

If you went and checked out our new official website at http://themadpodcast.libsyn.com/ (I've just put a link to it in the sidebar as well), you already know that because of last minute problems we changed the subject of this show's discussion from "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" by Mark Haddon to Coldplay's new album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. (Don't worry, the TCIOTDITNT episode will appear some time in the future) The episode should be released later this week (weekend, possibly Friday). I'm sending my audio files to Sarita as I write this post.

The episode will be shorter than our usual ones, and certainly shorter than our Special Edition Twilight podcast. However, we did manage to get in some pretty good discussion. Aside from the main discussion, you'll also be listening to a Spotlight segment, plus you'll be introduced to a brand new segment! It's so awesome I don't want to spoil it here, but after the episode is released I might talk more about it. There's also a new Listener Challenge.

Now that you've got all the good news, here's the downside: this week we're missing one of our fabulous co-hosts. Sarah has been abducted by marching band and won't be appearing on this episode. However, she WILL be coming back soon, so don't worry!

And as if all of that wasn't enough of a huge update, we've also decided officially on the topic of our next two shows. Episode Four will discuss "The Dark Knight" (the new Batman movie) and Episode Five will discuss "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer, as a followup to our Twilight Special Edition (beware: spoilers will abound!) There was a whole lot of confusion about what we were going to discuss after Episodes One and Two, hence all the last minute changes, but this time we've got things more securely under control and you should be able to count on Episodes Four and Five being on those topics.

The winner of last episode's Listener Challenge has been decided. We forgot to mention it on the show, but each episode we'll anounce the winner (we did remember to do that part, at least!), and then we will post their entry on both this site and the official libsyn site (link in the sidebar). However, since Episode Three hasn't come out yet I'll hold up on posting the entry... When the episode is released, we'll reveal the name of the winner on both sites and post the entry for all to see.

Phew! How was that for an update? I'll get back to you with some recording stories and behind-the-scenes bonus features; right now I'm trying to decide how much to reveal here before the episode is released. I'll probably come back with some tantalizing hints, for now. Until then,

-Staci

New Official Website

The new, Official MAD Podcast website is up and running! Check it out now at http://themadpodcast.libsyn.com.

This spiffy new website allows us to host our podcast so we can get it out to all our listeners. Unfortunately, it means some bad news for the good old blogspot website.

Essentially, this is how it's going to work: the official site will be used for hosting the show and posting important show updates. That is, release dates of future episodes, recording schedules so you know what media we'll be discussing, and any important information that you, as our listeners, need to know. (Remember that we'll run through all this information on the show itself, as well.) Where does that leave this website, however?

As of today, this site will be morphing into a sort of Behind-the-Scenes, Bonus Features blog. I'll be posting all kinds of bonus material right here on the blog - so this site won't be going anywhere any time soon. The listener poll will also stick around, so don't forget to vote in that.

Thanks for staying with us through all the crazy last-minute changes! And remember, if you don't want to sift through all the bonus features for your information, you can go check out our new, official website at http://themadpodcast.libsyn.com for all your important news updates!

MADers on the move: yay!

Brace yourselves, listeners: you are about to be smacked in the proverbial face with a truck-load of awesome.

Today we recorded!

The plan, of course, was to record both the Prince Caspian episode and our special extended-edition Twilight episode, and then spend the rest of the week editing them so we could get both out before August 2nd. Unfortunately, we were faced with literally every possible technical difficulty on the planet, and - needless to say - that didn't happen.

However, we successfully recorded ALL of the audio for our premiere, Prince Caspian episode. As I write this my audio is being sent to our fabulous podcaster and super awesome editor, Sarita. Deborah's has already been sent, and, against all odds, things are getting done!

We recorded for about seven and a half hours today just to get the hour and a half of Prince Caspian audio, so we're all kind of drained. We also managed to record a 20 minute rant fest about our technical difficulties, which you can look for in an upcoming mini-episode. Since our priority is to get Caspian and Twilight out, the minisode won't come out until afterward, but it's pretty funny. Keep in mind that we were VERY frustrated.

More good news: recording for the extended, special edition Twilight episode is scheduled for 9 o'clock tomorrow morning, so we should be able to have that episode out before Breaking Dawn is released. Hooray!

Ack, my throat is really sore from seven hours of recording.

Hurrah, movement!

You will be happy to hear that, finally, things are getting done!

Sarita and Sarah are both back from vacation, which means that recording is made possible. Last minute planning is underway, and literally minutes ago Deborah and I were constructing an outline for our first main discussion.

Marshall needs to get her mic fixed and Deborah and Sarita are going to watch "Prince Caspian" again as a refresher, but recording is scheduled for Friday. We're going to do a recording marathon and record the first two episodes.

We have officially made a decision concerning how we will be discussing the "Twilight" series. As August 2nd is just around the corner, we are going to release a Special Edition, super-long episode discussing "Twilight", "New Moon" and "Eclipse", with speculation for the upcoming "Breaking Dawn". With any luck, we will be able to edit and release this episode around the same time as our premiere "Prince Caspian" episode is released.

This, obviously, causes significant changes to the previously released recording schedule. We are still unsure what the next couple of episodes will discuss; however, "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay is still on our list of discussion topics, as well as "The Curious Incident..."

Once a more definitive recording schedule is created I will be sure to post it here.

Thanks again for your cooperation!

Opinion Poll added

As you can see, a poll has been added to the sidebar on the blog.

Hopefully this will be a more efficient way of getting listener feedback about some general questions the MADers have than asking everyone to email in. Currently we are debating how we should discuss the Twilight series on the show - whether as three individual episodes one after another or a single marathon-length episode discussing all three. We're also interested in whether listeners want a show with speculation on the upcoming novel "Breaking Dawn".

Please vote!

The (tentative) plan

Although I currently don't have any more news about release dates for any of the first episodes, I do have a bit of news.

The following is a (subject to change) list of the first few episodes and what media they will discuss:

1 - Film - "The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian"
2 - Book - "Twilight" (Stephenie Meyer)
3 - Book - "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" (Mark Haddon)
4 - Book - "New Moon" (Stephenie Meyer)
5 - Music (album) - "Viva la Vida" (Coldplay)
6 - Book - "Eclipse" (Stephenie Meyer)

This list is so tentative I loathe even releasing it. However, excluding the album from Coldplay (which is only on there because we realized we had four books in a row and wanted to mix it up a bit), I can pretty much assure you that all of the things on the list WILL be discussed in the first few episodes of the MAD Podcast, so it's advisable that you watch/read/listen to those now.

Concerning the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer: normally we would try to space these books out more, but we would like to be able to release episodes on all three of the books before "Breaking Dawn" comes out in August. However, that hardly seems likely considering the time crunch. The MADers are considering alternative options, and you will be notified on both the show and the blog when we decide how we intend to discuss the series.

We ask you to bear with us as we work out our recording schedule. The second a release date becomes available I will notify you on the blog.

Sluggish

The MADers have been experiencing severe problems in recording.

Essentially, Sarita is on holiday in Conneticut and can't record. Sarah's entire summer is spent either visiting family in Michigan and heaven-only-knows-where-else, or at band camp. My uncle is visiting from Scotland and he's taken my room, which means I'm locked out of my recording studio.

The idea of the MAD Podcast has been up in the air for a very long time now. Planning started months ago, and we've recorded what is technically our first episode, discussing the movie "Across the Universe". But we recorded before we were really ready, and we experienced so many problems editing and transfering audio files that before we could really finish the episode, the school year was ending and Exams were upon us.

In the panicked haze of studying and the joyous celebrations that followed thereafter, the podcast was put on the back burner. We simply could not handle the MAD Podcast, not when we were so busy. So we laughed and shrugged it off and told ourselves that once summer came, we would have all the time in the world.

We'd forgotten about vacations.

Sarah, for one, is probably busier in the summer than in the school year - she's running all over the country visiting family and going to band camp. Sarita also goes on vacation, and I just got back from St Augustine, Florida. We thought that homework was bad for keeping us away from the podcast - but at least during the school year we're all in one place.

The work being done on the podcast currently is sparse. I've got the blog up and running, though the website is still under construction. We've decided not to release the "Across the Universe" episode, and we'll be saving it as a bonus feature for later. A lot of planning has been done about segments and how the discussion will be set up, and we've all gone out and watched "Prince Caspian", which will be the subject of our first episode, together. We've all read the first four books that the show will discuss. Nonetheless, no recording has been done.

The problem is that, since it's the first episode, we really need everyone to be on the show. After that, it won't matter if a few of us can't always make it to record, but it's important that we're all there in the beginning, to introduce ourselves. And because of this, we're having trouble.

So, to summarize the mood in the MAD Podcast Recording Studio: SLUGGISH.

Welcome to the MAD Podcast blog

My name is Staci, and I, along with my friends Sarita, Sarah, Marshall and Deborah, am a host of the soon-to-premiere literary podcast, the MAD Podcast.

The MAD (or Media Analysis and Discussion) Podcast is an audio show that focuses on analyzation, critique, and general discussion of all forms of media. The MADers will be discussing books, movies, plays, music, articles, other podcasts, blogs, websites, youtube videos and more. Each week we select a specific piece of media to analyze. Listeners are encouraged to read, watch, or listen to the media we will discuss, and a list of future discussion topics will be made available on both the blog and the website.

The MAD Podcast is recorded in several segments, including:
-intro
-news (with Deborah)
-ask the MADers
-spoiler warning
-plot synopsis (with Staci)
-main discussion
-first impressions
-plot/characters/setting/etc.
-final impressions & ratings
-character spotlight
-trivia
-outro

The MADers also encourage listeners to send in questions, suggestions, and rebuttals to the MAD Podcast e-mail at themadpodcast@gmail.com. Listeners can point out errors in past shows, voice their opinions on previous discussions, and make suggestions for segments or ways to improve the show. Listeners may also suggest books, movies, or other forms of media for the MADers to discuss.

Welcome to the MAD Podcast blog, where I will post news and status updates about the show, as well as recording anecdotes. You can also check the MAD Podcast website for more information.

Although the MAD Podcast website is not currently up and running, listeners will be notified on both the show and the blog the moment it is up.

Thank you for visiting the MAD Podcast blog!

-Staci