Last weekend, I received a pair of emails informing me of separate Parsec Award nominations. Unfortunately, due to a glitch in the emails, neither of them had the info of which projects and which categories. LOL. Long story short, I discovered, thanks to Kris Mayo, that the two Parsec nominations this year were for “Transistor Rodeo” and “Things I Learned This Week.”
This marks the second year in a row I’ve been twice-nominated for two different projects and I have to say that winning for “Number One with a Bullet” last year was a highlight for me. To those of you out there who have supported my work, I’m very humbled and thankful.
As it stands, given that the Parsec rules specify I submit a sample (all samples have to have been previously published before April 30, 2008) and Things I Learned This Week actually launched just 5 days before that, I only have one episode I can submit… the very-rough-around-the edges first one. Once nominated for a single year the show cannot be nominated again so I’m choosing to withdraw my nomination for TILTW this year in the hopes that it will be recognized again in the future and I can have better material to submit and have a better chance to win.
However, it’s full speed ahead for Transistor Rodeo. I submitted my sample yesterday so it’s now in the hands of the Parsec judges. There’s a lot of talented folks nominated with me this year so no matter how far TR goes in the race it will definitely be a dogfight for best novel length story.
And to those of you other Parsec nominees, congratulations!
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Hey, my 7thSon:OBSIDIAN story entitled “Nemesis” is now up at JCHutchins.net. It’s a two-parter so make sure you keep an eye out for part 2, coming soon!
OBSIDIAN is a project JC’s been cooking up since last year and I was really very honored to be among the authors chosen to be part of it. I’m hoping my story an event that takes place during the blackout will take you along on that magic ride. I know I had a total blast writing and recording it. I suppose I could tell you more about the story but what would be the fun in that?
Let’s just say some secrets are best left… buried.
I’m happy to announce that each new episode of Things I Learned This Week will now being featured on each one of the 350 US city websites over at icplaces.com.
According to Arthursen the Transistor Rodeo robots have started an offensive plan based upon their perception of their human encounters that now leads them to believe they’ve been attacked. What this also means, According to Arthursen, is that its probably just a matter of time before the military steps in to do something about these robots. And unfortunately that very same military has little or no idea that the energy core powering these robots is running on nuclear material. However, Cal clearly sees the recipe for disaster here and has taken off on Black Bart’s horse to do something about it. But first, he has to find the one robot with the capability to transmit data to the rest of them.
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The beauty of vacation is that it allows you to leave behind all the tiny little bits of bullshit behind so you can empty your head of the daily obligation of work, career, etc… and I have to tell you that I really needed it. I’ve been thinking about a few things lately, mostly concerning my writing and I felt like it came down to me making a few decisions on what comes next. I’m very excited to get back on the horse (so to speak) and finish Transistor Rodeo in the coming weeks and I’m super stoked about my story for J.C.’s OBSIDIAN collection. However, I think that after all that it’s come time for me to take a break from writing.
I’ve been churning out a lot of fiction over the past couple of years. A while back I did a rough count and came up with about 200K words that I’ve penned across several books in the course of about 18 months. Now, I’m starting to feel it.
A while back I made an announcement that I’d do a 3rd season of Shadow Falls entitled Shadow Falls: Book of Darkness. Unfortunately, this is going to have to be put off for a while or perhaps forever. Truth is that I’m really feeling overwhelmed by all of my other professional commitments including PCH and my new video show “Things I Learned This Week” and for the past three months I haven’t been in the right head to write horror fiction. Maybe it’s the desire to find more time for myself and my family, maybe I just need a long hiatus. What you’ve probably figured out by now is that Shadow Falls season 3 isn’t going to drop on July 4 like I originally promised. As it stands, I’m actually pretty satisfied with the way that Badlands left off. We’ll see… but for now, consider it shelved.
After hearing Arthursen’s crazy plan to use the robot’s apparent ability to elude capture as a way to sell his programming knowledge to the highest bidder, no matter what country that may be, Cal has escaped and is now on the run from the thug driver who carted him there and intends to drag him back and comply with the scientist’s wishes. But the situation may have slipped beyond any of their control as the robots have apparently shut Arthursen out of their system. Daisy, Dean and Lee however are trying to outrun the robots in the police cruiser Lee, um, borrowed and are nervously watching in the rear view mirror as the Calbot and his posee close the gap on their mechanical horses.
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If you’ve heard any of my audio podcasts from the last 2 1/2 years, you’ve heard the Heil PR40 in action. In fact, the PR40 has been my secret weapon once I discovered it. Truth be told, I don’t think I have a good “broadcast” voice at all. In fact, I’ve always hated the sound of my voice… until I heard it through a Heil PR-40. Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten a lot of really glowing compliments on my sound and that all starts at the microphone. What I really like about the PR40 is that, as far as dynamic microphones go (dynamic mics don’t require phantom or outside power and generate signal solely from the vibrations the diaphragm makes when you speak into it) the PR40 has a lot of life to it and, to my ears, sounds better than any condenser mic I’ve tried for my work. I can scream into the Heil PR40 or whisper into it and my voice doesn’t “fall apart”.
However, one of the best features of the Heil PR40 without a doubt has to be how extraordinarily well it rejects noise coming from the rear of the mic. Something in the way the Heil PR-40 capsule was designed allows it to almost completly reject sounds coming at it off-axis from behind, which helps a LOT when recording in non-recording studio environments like bedrooms, closets or basements. Now, I’m not just talking about washing machine, computer fan or neighbor-mowing-the-lawn noise ambient in your recording area (which it rejects amazingly well) but also reflections of your own voice bouncng off of walls and coming back at you. For example, if you’re recording in your spare bedroom, the walls directly in front and behind you will reflect the soundwaves your voice makes. When these soundwaves come off that wall in front of you they can be picked up by your microphone and, in essence, cancel out some of the original waves made by your voice (yes, they reflect at Mach 1, the speed of sound). This kind of phase cancellation can thin your sound but the Heil PR40 avoids this (and all reflections coming at it from behind) because of its brilliant off-axis sound rejection.
What’s also nice is that the Heil PR-40 has dual different sized mesh screens and an internal breath filter to help eliminate pops and plosives when speaking directly into the mic (and trust me, the Heil PR40 loves it when you get all “rock star” on it and have your lips right up to it for that intimate sound). One last thing that makes this a great podcast/broadcast mic is that the engineers at Heil have built the capusle with an internal hum-bucking coil that eliminates the kind of hum and noise that cheap microphones pick up when near computer monitors or lighting fixtures.
All in all, I could never live without my Heil PR-40. I have a bunch of other mics in my cabinet but this is my workhorse. I’m so paranoid of being without it in case something unforseen were to happen (I can’t imagine what, the Heil PR40 is built to withstand a bomb blast) I bought a second one. What’s also cool is that it comes in a really heavy duty and beautiful wooden and velveteen-lined storage box like it was a Faberge Egg or something. Sure, maybe $325 is a bit more than some of you want to spend on a mic but if you’re really serious about your sound you won’t find anything this good sounding at this price point. In fact, I think it would take buying something for at least a grand or more for me to retire the Heil PR40 from my setup and I’m not quite ready for that.
Plus, get this. The deal I saw at BSW today will get you the Heil PR40 spider shockmount for FREE. I paid $100 for mine and yes, there is a difference when you suspend your Heil PR-40 in a vibration-reducing shockmount instead of just clamping it straight to a stand or boom. So, yes, it’s a great deal on a great mic that will definitely improve your sound no matter what kind of recording you do.
July 19, 2008 
Posted in Blog, Things I Learned This Week 
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