Koops on Pizza Beer Revolution

This week i am one of the featured guests on the excellent Pizza Beer Revolution podcast!  I speak with the hosts of PBR Mike Pullano, Chris Ippolito and Joe Maffei, about Aussie beer, kangaroos and that sonofabitch Chris Christie...

 

Check out PBR at their website:

 

www.pizzabeerrevolution.com

 

or iTunes:

 

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/pizza-beer-revolution/id721320983?mt=2

 

and also on Youtube!

Check out this episode!

#14 Ed Wyatt

A conversation with sports journalist, commentator, writer, producer - Jesus!  Is there nothing Ed Wyatt DOESN'T do? 

 

Recorded at the Palace Hotel in South Melbourne, with some of the sounds of the Australian Grand Prix in the background, my conversation with Ed spans his growing up in Portland, cutting his teeth on comedy in Seattle, and his journey to Australia.  Currently working with SEN Sports Radio in Melbourne, Ed is also known for his hosting Superbowls on Channel 10, and is the voice of football (the round version) for home Victory and Heart games in the so-called "Sporting Capital of the World"...

Check out this episode!

#13 Tha Mike Pilot

Tha Mike Pilot is the co-host of The Mediocre Show (America's longest running independent podcast), is also the co-creator, host and producer of the comedy/science podcast Obviously Oblivious, and co-host of the greatest Star Wars podcast in the galaxy:  Full of Sith.

Take my word for it - Mike is a stand-out kind of guy, and this conversation was a real serious pleasure.  Be sure to check out the links below for more info!

www.fullofsith.com

www.thamike.com

www.mediocreshow.com

www.obviouslyoblivious.com

@fullofsith

@thamike

Check out this episode!

#12 The Music

Starting from the 1970s, and weaving through all the way to my current tastes and influences, I take a look at the music that has shaped me and worked deep into my psyche.  This is about as general a summary possible - in this program I barely touch on my interest in classical music, and make only passing reference to the musicals my mother listened to that I too so loved.  There was always music playing in my house when I was a young boy, and even now, with three young children of my own, I love nothing more than when my kids ask about the music I play, or make requests of their own.

Pop a bottle, slip on some headphones and enjoy.

*I've tried to keep the bit-rate as high as possible in the compression process, to better serve and honour the original music included herein...


@attaxas
@KoopsPodcast
@ElColossoband

#11 Mike Pullano

In this episode I chat with Mike Pullano, one of the co-hosts of my favourite podcast Pizza Beer Revolution. Mike is a teacher, with a background in TV production, as well as being involved in one of his great passions - ice hockey - as host of the New York Rangers' Blueshirt Buzz. I first connected to Mike via social media, as an unashamed fanboy of the brilliant PBR podcast. The thing that really hit me about his show was how much it was like listening to my own friends - such similar interests and sense of humour! Frightening! Maybe it's a New Jersey thing, but it's wonderful to hear so much irony and self-deprecating humour in the American vernacular - PBR goes a long way towards dispelling the myth that Americans 'don't get' irony.

 So, you know what to do. Grab a couple of bottles of your favourite beer, kick back, and crank that smartphone to 11!

Who wants to play 'Top or Bottom'?

pizzabeerrevolution.com

@MPullano

@PizzaBeerRevolution

koopspodcast.libsyn.com

When a new government comes to power brandishing mandates like a machete, few consider the effect a slash in foreign aid can have. With no immediate – or at least easily identifiable – fiscal return to the nation’s economy, foreign aid makes for an easy target. In this conversation with Lisa Renkin, an International Health Specialist and Fellow with the Burnet Institute, we look at the efforts being undertaken by this Australian NGO in the fight against HIV in China, and explore some of the benefits that come with such working relationships.

The End of Podcasting

If I see one more article making the kind of ridiculous assertion as the title above I'm going to scream. There are comments aplenty about the imminent demise of podcasting (especially the audio-only format), along with the often valid criticism of production values and length of episodes, utilising emerging technologies, refining of subject matter and presentation. Regardless of what side of the fence one sits on, the fact is podcasting remains a developing and exciting medium - for both the producer and the consumer. 

Recently, the American media strategist and commentator Mark Ramsey wrote a very interesting article on this topic, although his piece was somewhat less doomsdayish than my title would suggest. He points out a series of current shortcomings that are near-universal in the podcasting community. As hard as some of his argument may sound, Ramsey can't be faulted for his reasoning and approach. Let me summarise: 

• podcasts generally are too long 
• they are too loose with direction and focus 
• statistics are vague and unreliable
• only branded (think ex-radio show) podcasts are easily accessible
• it's too difficult to find new good productions. 

Keeping in mind that Ramsey is coming at this thing from the professional media angle, he's pretty much spot on. Podcasts are usually too long - especially if you are used to hearing short, slickly-edited radio shows filled with snappy sound bites hosted by aspiring comedians. And yes, sometimes you can't help but wonder about the point in some podcasts. Very much like a lot of conversations generally, isn't it? Stats and accessibility are big issues, I admit. Unfortunately, for the most part, this side of the art is out of the hands of the podcasters themselves - good metadata will only take you so far. The science of statistics is already murky at best, and only a fool would rely on stats provided by hosts and accept its complete veracity. I liken the current podcasting climate as being similar to the music industry a couple of decades ago. New bands were discovered through word-of-mouth, occasionally from the radio, always via a peer group. So too does it work with podcasts. If we only ever rely on iTunes to tell us what's worth listening to then we are stuck with ad-heavy, commercial monetised shows featuring the latest and greatest in repackaged radio productions, and pop philosophy. There's nothing like, however, stumbling across a bit of gold, and usually any brief search unveils a sweet little gem or two. But here's the clincher - you have to want to actively explore the possibilities yourself.

To those who would claim to see the end, I would ask that they not lose sight of the fact that podcasting at it's essence is DIY - a bit punky, a bit seat-of-the-pants. It's meant to be. Yes, it can be slick, utilising good production values, staying focused and entirely on topic, even sticking to a script, but that's not what people love about it. Whether it's a 10 minute short, or a three-and-half-hour-plus behemoth, if it's uncensored, not controlled, an honest conversation, and true to the podcaster's ideals, someone, somewhere will love it. 

podcast: koopspodcast.libsyn.com + somewhere in iTunes 

twitter: (at)koopspodcast 

email: koopspodcast(at)gmail.com

The Koops Podcast - Update

I'm very pleased to announce that the Koops Podcast is finally syndicated on Libsyn and iTunes.  You can find the podcast at Libsyn at:

koopspodcast.libsyn.com

The  podcast can be found in iTunes in the podcast section of the iTunes store.

The home base of koopspodcast.com is still operational, and will continue as per normal.

Below is the latest episode of the podcast - an interview with Ben Longley and Jarrad Dawson, discussing fitness, general training practices, UFC and martial arts, and a whole host of other topics...

A New Perspective on Podcasting

Or, rather, my take on the whole podcasting bandwagon. 

Check out  my podcast at The Koops Podcast.  Interviews, conversation, but no rants - pinky promise.

koopspodcast.com

Pressing Ahead

A mid-life career change can do wonders for the spirit, or so I'm told.  After 20+ years of being single-minded about earning a living from my art (and never truly being able to), I have kicked in one dream and refocused and reinvented myself based on another.  For all of those non-believers out there, perhaps I am living proof of the reality of evolution.  Well, I'd like to think so, anyway.


Music was my mistress for such a long time.  And perhaps like all mistresses, the demands became very expensive on the soul and the back pocket with little or no reward (on said soul and back pocket).  For so many years I gave myself to my art, wholly, but that bitch gave me nothing but pain and frustration in return.  I endured crises of confidence, the various spats that occur between collaborative artists, the listlessness of goals half-achieved, the despair of apathy in others.  Combine career hell with the occasional personal-life tribulation and shit goes from bad to worse real quick.

At the crux of it all, I was hit so very hard by clinical depression.  I was a hairs-breadth from the worst possible solution.  Medication, counselling, some decent support from my GP, self-examination - all helped get me through to the next phase (nothing is ever cured, or at least truly resolved).  One of the things that make life so difficult/magical/astounding/cruel/wondrous/horrible/rewarding is that it is an open-ended question, with no answers, no obvious path, no enlightenment.  Perhaps awareness of this is the real enlightenment, and for me, the real appeal of Zen.  "Awareness of nothing is the awareness of something", or, when you think you know something, you actually know nothing.  That kind of koanistic riddle.

Meh.

I'm not normally this crazy-looking.  Honest.

It's a daily proposition.  Depression sucks.  Duh!  The part of me that can't be told (the biggest part of me!) wants to say, "Harden the fuck up, princess!"  But one of the other parts (hiding in the shadows of the corners, somewhere) is whispering, "Allow it."  There's a lesson in there somewhere...

A disclaimer:  I have always been a subscriber to the idea that depression is perhaps overdiagnosed, and even an illness of convenience, for some.  Honestly?  I still hold to that idea.  I can't help but think that it is an easy out for some folks.  Is that a lack of empathy and understanding on my part?  Hmmm.  Once this scourge hit me I was fully aware that something was seriously fucked up.  Something that was in fact very much outside of my normal scope of functioning.  I was in a very serious mental and emotional rut, and no amount of positive reinforcement and meditation was getting me out of it.  Exercise - normally my reliable and perfect panacea - did nothing to help.  Once I had taken the step (just over 12 months ago, now) to get to the doctor and turn into a bawling, blabbering lump of mewling manhood, and then be prescribed antidepressant medication, the change was like night and day.  Not overnight, of course, but very damned near close to it.  I can personally vouch for the effectiveness of selective serotoninreuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).  These things worked in a way that is very difficult to describe.  Medication saved my life.

And so, after going through this rebirthing experience (difficult, painful, transcendent), I'm pressing ahead.

I have my career change well underway, and so far it seems to be a near-raging success.  I am working as a personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach after studying and training in the requisite fields.  My martial arts background has been a valuable feather in the proverbial cap of life, which is sooooo ironic after the treatment I experienced at my old club.  I thank my old instructor for that one!

Life is still difficult at times (as it is for anyone, of course), but I feel slightly better equipped for the bumps and pitfalls.  I haven't been on medication for 6 weeks.  This is interesting in that I have had some very down times in this period, but I've been able to deal with shit without falling down into the chasm.  I think this bodes well.

What was that?  You need a kickass trainer?  Well why don't you check out my website?

www.fitnessfunctions.org