Blogger Unite: Free Iran

Guest Post by Adam at Igneous Quill

"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same" (Romans 13:3 KJV).

Several years ago in an online discussion list about political activism for Christians, Romans 13 was cited. It invariably comes up any time Christians talk about their role in politics, often as a method used by some to cut conversation short. The standard interpretation of this passage runs along the lines of saying that disciples of Jesus should stay out of politics entirely, and especially should never oppose those in power. In the discussion I mentioned above, this strategy for stifling useful thought failed. Someone mentioned that this passage was obviously a profoundly "tongue-in-cheek" statement on the part of the apostle Paul. It is readily obvious that the government and authorities of his day were profoundly corrupt and did not truly uphold justice. if anything, this is an indictment of fallen government, and a mandate for responsible and just government. It took me a while to see the point, but it's right.

The "Good News" that the Christian faith proclaimed originally, before the gnostics came along with their individualized, private faith, and before Constantine's family made the church the State's pet, was that the crucified and resurrected Jesus of Nazareth is the true Messiah of Israel and the Lord of the nations. As such, he and his reign were far superior to any earthly reign. He is to be obeyed now, and earthly authorities are called not to create theocracies, but to practice and encourage justice.

"Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing [that is] not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:8-9).

It's been nearly 2000 years since this message began to be proclaimed, and I see only pockets of God's peace and justice on earth. Recently I've read books by and about people who, though not espousing any particular faith, are working to build schools and libraries around the world so that hundreds of thousands of children will have the opportunity to learn and rise out of the difficult circumstances into which they were born. The work of these people is truly admirable, as is the work done by people of faith -- Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and others -- to feed the hungry, cloth the naked and give shelter to the homeless. These efforts are vitally necessary to the well-being of people around the world and also terribly unequal to the task.

Governments are systems created by humans, and according to the Christian understanding of our species, we are fallen. This means that we have fallen short, individually and collectively, of the high calling we received as image-bearers of God. That we are sinful can be seen in far-off wars and in the domestic disputes in our own homes. Children are abused, the rights of minorities are trampled on and supposedly democratic governments engage in torture under the guise of defending freedom. We are sick.

Iran recently held elections for the office of prime minister. This is a farce. That nation is truly governed by a Shia Muslim theocracy combined with much of the trappings of a republic. The prime minster, for all intents and purposes, is a mere figurehead of authority. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the true decision maker, together with a body of Islamic clergy that backs him.

Peaceful protests in Iran have come to violence as the government, clearly unsettled by the threat to its power, has acted to suppress peaceful protesters. Although I have no idea who really won the election, and it's entirely possible that there were some protesters who were less than peaceful, the violence, terror and bloodshed unleashed on the people of Iran is unacceptable.

Disciples of Jesus have the assurance of resurrection to give us support and courage as we face non-violently, the corrupt powers and authorities of this world.

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15).

The heart of the Christian faith beats with a strongly subversive message of justice, one that drives those who have ears to hear and eyes to see to speak truth to power. I don't know what comparable resources Shia Muslims and others of minority faiths in Iran might have to draw on, but all who believe that human rights are more than a fiction we've created for convenience sake must hope, pray and act for the free choice of Iranians in how they'll be governed. If the form of government is to be in some way religious in nature...so be it. Let that decision be made peacefully through the polls, and let the outcome not be to the detriment or restriction of freedoms of dissenters. Freedom for Iran doesn't mean that it must abandon its culture, traditions and long-held beliefs in favor of Western-style secular government. What it would mean would be the dream of good people everywhere: a land abiding in peace and living in accordance with the precepts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:13-14).

Jesus, through his cross, exposed the weakness of fallen human government. The last, greatest weapon of the tyrant is death. The powers that were did their worst, succeeding only in exposing their own shame. The death of protesters like Neda have a similar impact, demonstrating the fragility and failure of oppressive regimes.

For the freedom of Iran, and all nations.

You get what you pay for.

While using an open source OS, my network, including the Internet stopped working.

So I check the Internet on another computer. Here's the answer:

"Download this file to the computer that cannot access the network..."

Said file was 2.5 GIG! Won't fit on a cd and I don't have a thumb drive that size.

Guess it's hosed.

Dealing With Depression - The Reality of the Abyss

On my family blog, I've mentioned depression a few times. I may have mentioned it here too, but in either case, it's been a long time.

I've kind of stopped talking about it because I got tired of helpful advice in getting over it. That, and other health issues have kind of taken the spotlight. The truth is that it's still very much an issue in my life and probably always will be. At the moment, it's something that is under control, but it's something that is there and I have to be aware of it. I have to keep it under control.

As such, I feel compelled to finally just lay this all out here. My experiences, my frustrations, and all that stuff.

A Disclaimer.

I am not a doctor. I am not an expert. All I have to share is my experiences. That being said, I do have a lot of years of experience. I think I've had to deal with depression since before they called it "depression". My parents sent me to a counselor when I was 12 because of it. Since then, I've read a lot, I've talked to a lot of doctors and therapists and councellors, so I know some stuff. But I am not an expert and what I share here shouldn't be taken as "Dr. Allen says so".

What it is and what it ain't.

It's important to understand what depression is and what it isn't. Depression is not sadness. It's not "the blues". Sadness is a normal emotion. God programmed sadness into us as part of our emotional makeup. Sadness is a good thing to feel. When you lose a loved one or hear about a tragic event on TV, sad is the RIGHT thing to feel. Sadness allows you to work out and process what happened, to work through stages that help you put the loss or tragedy into the fabric of your life and then move on. Sad is good. It's a process, and as a process, it's also temporary. Sadness may be a PART of how some people experience depression, but it is not the thing itself.

Depression is also not transitory. It not something you feel for a while, then go do something and feel better, and then go back to being depressed. One of the defining characteristics of depression is that it's THERE. It's like a weight that you are carrying around. You CAN do other things, but the weight is always there.

So what is it? That's not an easy question to answer because different people would describe it in different ways. But many people who suffer with true depression would agree on one thing, it's like someone or something took away all your ability to find joy in anything. You may not feel sad, but you certainly aren't happy. There's nothing that MAKES you happy. Things that used to make you happy seem pointless now. There could come a point where you are just crippled because you don't see a point to doing ANYTHING.

My experience is that it's like this hole. No, bigger than a hole, it's an abyss. Huge, gaping, black. It's this... nothing. I feel nothing, but a big aching impossible to cross nothing. I think this is the kind of depression that people feel when it pushes them to suicide. When it was untreated, my depression was the complete inabilty to feel anything. Not happy, not sad, not mad, nothing. It was impossible to do anything becasue it wasn't even numbness that I felt, it was just... nothing. I think people attempt suicide in an attempt to feel SOMETHING.

Causes and types.

People will disagree with me on what I have to say here. And that's ok. Again, I'm speaking from my experience and what I've learned along the way and not from any sort of training or formal education.

There are many causes of depression, but they all break down into two main categories. Environmental causes and Physiological causes.

Loss, stress, living conditions, the actions of people around you, even geographic location and pollution - these are all potential environmental causes of depression. These things that can affect you physically as well as emotionally to cause you to be depressed. This is what most people, councellors, and others think of when they talk about depression.

Doctors, however, have another definition. While there is no medical test for depression, the theory is that a chemical imbalance in the brain causes things to "misfire". The theory is supported by the fact that in some cases when medication is applied, and no other treatment is used, depression gets better.

The problem is that there is no way to determine whether an individual's depression is caused by environmental causes or physical causes or some combination of the two until they try to do something about it.

There are also two general types. Short term and long term. Left untreated, some people are able to overcome depression by just "riding it out" others seem to be stuck with it. That being said, I feel treatment in every case is NECESSARY! But it's important to recognize that there is a type that people can completely over come with no treatment and never have depression again. I honestly feel that some who claim to have been "healed" of depression without any treatment had this type.

What to do.

If you are reading this and you, or more likely someone you know, is suffering from depression, GET TREATMENT STARTED NOW!

Some of you may be saying. "I'm a Christian, we should let God do it." I'm telling you, as a brother in Christ, don't be an idiot. By all means, call upon your church, pray, rely on God, but GET TREATMENT TOO. God may choose to fully heal you of your depression, He may not. He may be waiting for you to take the first step by consulting someone here on Earth whom He will work through.

Some would say to call a doctor or phsychiatrist immediately. If things are to the point where you are thinking of taking your life, then yes, please, do so. Better yet, don't call, get in the car and go there now. To the emergency room if you have to. Don't wait. Not even to finish reading this. Go. Now.

However, I would strongly suggest starting with a non-medical approach. Partially because it's not healthy to start taking medication that you don't really need, but mostly because the medication is expensive and some can be habit forming.

Get in contact with a counselor. Just someone to talk to who knows about depression. Unlike a phsychiatrist, a counselor cannot prescribe medication and will help you figure out some ways to start recovery without it.

Next, look at your environment. Are you under a lot of stress? Your job? Has something changed lately that may be the cause of your depression? What can you change? I'm not talking about whether you should or shouldn't change, but can you? You might argue that you can't change your job because you need the money or some other reason, but when it comes to your health and well being, what is more important?

If environmental issues don't seem to be the cause, then talk to your doctor. Your doctory might, and probably will, refer you to a phsyciatrist, which is great. Get with them right away. If your depression is from medical causes, then medication DOES help. However, unlike what the pharmaceutical companies would have you beleive, medication should be the last resort and not the end-all be-all. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR, let him/her decide what is best, don't self-diagnose. There are many different medications out there, some might help a little, some a lot. Others might have dangerous side effects. Ignore the commercials! There is no quick fix, so don't expect one. Finding the right medication may take time.

In the meantime, find something you like. Anything. The worst part of depression is that it steals everything from you. Everything. It takes away everything you love. If you can find something, no matter how small, that gives you a little joy, then indulge in it. Ok, not anything. Obviously, there are things that you should avoid, like alcohol and drugs and porn and so on. But if there is something that makes you feel something, then go with it. Especially if it helps you connect with people.

Back in the day, one thing that helped me at the beginning of my therapy was chat rooms. The Internet was still young then and just about the only way to get online was AOL. I discovered chat rooms and spent a lot of time just talking about random stuff with random people. I don't remember getting into any heavy conversations, but at least there were people on the other end of the screen and it helped.

And, as much as I talk about people giving bad advice in church, going to church helped me. Not the bad advice, but for me the act of worship and learning from the sermons helped. In fact, I will go so far as to say that it was a turning point and has made a big difference in everything that followed.

What NOT to do.

This is really what I wanted to talk about. I want to talk some to those who are suffering from depression, and some to those trying to help those who are depressed.

If you are depressed, or think you may be depressed, DO NOT IGNORE IT. It's hard to tell if you are depressed, because it can come upon you so slowly that you don't realize that's what's happened. Listen to those around you. If they think you need help, don't delay. Don't feel like you can do it on your own or that God will fix you. Get help. Now.

If you are depressed, understand that you are not alone, but also know that your depression may not be like others. Some will tell you that they've over come it and you should too. Others will tell you that you might have to deal with it your whole life. That's them. Understand that your experience may or may not be like theirs. You may be able to over come it permanently, you may go through cylces where sometimes you need treatment and other times you don't, or you may have to be on some kind of treatment your whole life. No matter what, it's ok. Don't let anyone tell you how it HAS to be and that something is wrong with you if their experience doesn't match yours.

To those of you who have dealt with depression: Please, please, please do not assume that because you have overcome it that you have somehow figured out The Cure. By all means, share your experiences because you might help someone else, but don't you dare tell someone "well, just do this and this and this and you'll be cured, if not, then you didn't do it right". I am sick to death of podcasts and talk shows and books from people claiming they've got The Answer. "Throw away your pills and read this book", "Go to my church", "Imagine yourself cured" and on and on and on. Maybe one of these will work for you but THEY WON'T WORK FOR EVERYONE ALL THE TIME! DO NOT ASSUME THEY WILL! Also, make sure you know what you're talking about. Don't act like you're an expert on depression when you never really had it. If you were "depressed" but when you stopped working 80 hours a week you felt better, you weren't depressed, you were tired. If you were "depressed" but you stopped eating gluten and felt better, you weren't depressed, you had a food allergy.

To those of you who have never dealt with depression: to help someone you know, learn about it. Whatever you do, don't just tell someone to "get over it" or "think happy thoughts". Positive thinking can improve your mood, but to someone deep in depression, telling them to think happy thoughts is like telling someone who has no arms to do push-ups. It's like telling someone born blind to imagine the color red. Please, please, please whatever you do, don't say "don't worry, be happy". That's just about the most insensitive thing you can do to someone who is really depressed.

Another really bad thing someone can do, and this may be the worst of all: Christians telling other Christians they have no right to be depressed because "real" Christians have "joy" and "victory and Jesus" and have "overcome" and if you're depressed, you must not be a "real" Christian. This is the
worst thing anyone can do to their Christian brother or sister. If someone has said this to you, I am so sorry. Please, don't listen to them. God loves you. Jesus died for you. None of that has changed just because you are depressed. Maybe others have overcome depression with prayer and fully relying on God. Good for them. That doesn't mean that's what God wants of you. Rely on God, of course. Pray, absolutely. But don't feel like you're doing something wrong just because you're depressed. It's very possible your body is sick through no fault of you or your faith. Please, ignore those who tell you otherwise.

My Story.

So maybe it's time to share my story. As I've said, my experiences are just that, and they don't make me an expert, but I do feel they make me knowlegable.

I said before that my parents sent me to a counselor when I was 12. Back then, people didn't talk about depression a lot, at least not as a medical condition. I had written a note to my girlfriend telling her that I wanted to die. I don't really remember writing it, or exactly what it said, but I do remember feeling that way. It's like the moment I mentioned puberty, something changed and I've been dealing with it ever since.

I remember only vaguely visiting this counselor. I think he gave up on me too soon, or he really didn't know what he was doing because it was only a few sessions. Most of the time I just sat through without saying anything.

Hindsight being perfect - or at least clearer, I think what was happening was that puberty had changed something in me that started a process that would eventually lead to full blown medical depression. Through my teenage years, though, it would only take me to "the edge" and environmental factors would push me over the edge from time to time. I don't remember being perpetually depressed, I do remember finding joy at one time or another, but it was a roller coaster.

My early 20s were the same way, but imagine the highs of the roller coaster getting smaller and the dips getting lower. I would be angry and violent without knowing why. My theory now is that the anger was the last thing I was able to feel, so I relished it a little and allowed it to come out a lot.

It was in my late 20s that depression finally, completely, claimed me. I don't remember much about that time. I do remember the hospital after a suicide attempt. I don't remember how long I was there, but it was the first time that someone suggested that there might be medical reasons for feeling the way I did and not just me not dealing with reality very well. I started taking medication.

As I mentioned before, I found a little joy on the Internet, and I started going to church. I credit all three, the meds, connecting with people, and church, with kick starting my recovery. Especially church. I can't pin-point any one thing that I learned or anything like that, there was just something about what was becoming a part of my life because of church.

That was roughly 15 years ago or so. I don't remember precisely. I think that's part of my depression experience is that I can't remember some of these things very well. Some things I remember very well, but the specifics associated with the deepest emotional lows just didn't stick. I was so depressed my memory functions were shut down.

So now I'm taking meds. I was under the care of a phsyciatrist that had taken my case while I was at the hospital. I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember that a few weeks into it , it was like a light switch turned on and I was feeling better.

Over the next 5 years and onward I would have times when I felt I had gotten better so I tried to stop taking medication. This is how I found, definitively, that I can't be off the meds. Probably never. Also, with the on/off nature of the meds, my doctor also took the opportunity to try other meds as they became available. Originally, Prozac was just about the only thing out there, but later there was Wellbutrin, Zoloft, and I don't know what else.

Which brings us to the present. I am still taking medication and I'm ok with the fact that I may never be able to be off of them. I am at a point where medication is really all I need and I don't need ongoing therapy. I'm not saying I won't EVER need therapy again, but the whole object of therapy is to give you the tools to deal with things on your own and I feel that right now I am good in that department.

Over the years I've heard it all. I had a good, well meaning, friend tell me he had overcome depression with "happy thoughts". I've had so many people in the church tell me that I didn't have a medical problem, I had a spiritual one. Now, I'm not denying that there may be a spiritual element to depression, but to assume that I was demon-posessed and therefore not a true Christian and really needed to be re-baptized - that just about turned me off the church forever. But I just learned to accept it - or at least bite my tongue - as the words of someone who really didn't understand.

Is my experience like yours? Probably not. And that doesn't make mine right and yours wrong and vice versa. It took me a while to learn that.

For a while I worked at a bookstore and had the opportunity to read many books on depression and the "right" way to overcome it. At first, I got angry, because none of them seemed to be describing the kind of depression I had. And most of them started with the advice to "throw away your pills". I'm not saying they were wrong, I just had to learn that they were coming from a different experience than mine. Which also made me angry because so many people would pick up these books thinking they were getting top-shelf advice and would instead be getting, for them, bad advice.

Also, I am tired of people telling me that The Bible has all the advice for overcoming depression. Now, don't get me wrong, I do believe the Bible. I believe it's the word of God. I do beleive it has much to teach us about life. However, what I have issue with is people reading into it what is not really there. When talking about depression, I think there are things to learn from the stories in the Bible, but I don't think there are cures. Some will say "look!" here's Job. He was depressed, and he got over it! Look! here's King David! His baby died and he was depressed and he got over it. And so on. There are good lessons to be learned from those stories, but I don't think the point of those lessons is overcoming depression. Again, I don't find any examples of depression in the Bible that match what my experience with it.

My sincere feeling is that God gave us doctors and he gave them wisdom and knowlege. Consult the Bible, sure, but go see your doctor.

--

If you or someone you know is having feelings or depression or suicide, get help now. This is not something you should listen to the advice of anyone else, not even me, except that you should go see a counselor or a doctor. Now. Don't expect a fast cure. Trust those who sincerely want to help you, but don't depend on their advice. Trust your own instincts and when something works, don't second guess it, just accept it and feel better.

Another GIMP thing

Another thing I put together with Gimp.



It's a little cartoony, I think. But it's drawn, not rendered. I think my Gimp lessons are coming along well...

Creating a Podcast Episode With Audacity

Note, this is an edit of a previous version of this post. I got lazy toward the end of writing the original and started to feel bad about it. Here's a better version that I hope is genuinely helpful.
_______________________________

In my previous two posts I covered the basics of podcasting, and gave a step by step for creating a podcast. In this post I will discuss using the recording tool Audacity to create a professional sounding episode for your audio podcast.

NOTE: Like any art form, making a good podcast takes PATIENCE and PRACTICE. Also, you need good source material. These steps will show you how to make a podcast file, but to make a GOOD podcast file will take some skill. Practice. Listen to your finished product before sending it out. It will take some work to produce a professionuality result.
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Now, I am not going to rehash what Audacity is or how to install it or anything like that. I'm going to assume you're here because you know what it does and why you want to use it. Just go here, get it, install it, and we'll go from there. (Please be sure you have the latest, greatest version - 1.3.7. If not, you won't have all the features needed for this tutorial.)

I'm also going to assume that you know what it is you want in your podcast. For this example we'll go through recording a file then mixing multiple files. We'll start by recording the main part of the program, then we'll mix in some lead in music and some "lead out" music". Finally, we'll save the file as an MP3. At which point it's ready to go!

So let's get started.

Check your hardware.
To record a file, you need a source. If you can pipe the sound into your computer, you can use Audacity to digitize it. For our example we'll use a microphone. Whatever your source, you'll need to hook it up and make sure it's working. Consult your hardware's documentation to make sure you have it set up properly.

Set your source.
Start Audacity. To record from your source, you need to tell the program which source to use. From the window menu choose "Edit" then "Preferences". The Preferences window will open. In the menu on the left hand side choose "Audio I/O". On the right hand side is a section headed "Recording". Use the drop-down menu next to Device to choose your microphone. For "Channels" choose "1 (Mono)" - unless you have a stereo mic. Click "OK".

Start recording.
Now, assuming your hardware is set up right, you are ready to record. In the main window of the program you will see controls that look like the same controls you see on your VCR and remote controls and just about everything. The arrow button is "play", the square button is "stop", the red circle is "record", the double vertical lines are "pause".

To record what you're going to say, just click the red circle and start talking into your mic. If you need to pause, click the pause button. When you're done recording, click the stop button. It really is that simple.

Save your work.
At this point, you'll want to save what you've recorded. Since we are going to take your voice and mix it with some other files, we're going to save it as an Audacity project file. Click "File" and "Save Project". You may get a window saying "You're about to save as an Audacity file" or something like that. You can just click "Ok" because it is. The save window will come up. Name your file and save it where you can find it. I suggest the Desktop.

Add some music.
Now the fun begins.

Pick some music you want to use as your lead in. For this example, use anything, but your finished project should be your own music (you wrote it and you own it) or something that is in the public domain (everyone owns it). You can find some at Archive.org.

In the program choose "File" and "Open". Find the file you want to use and click "OK". This should open a second Audacity window. Your original audio should still be open in the first window.

Unless you want a long lead-in, you won't need the whole song. So, your first task is to select the part of the song you want to use. For this example, we'll choose the first 20 seconds of the song.

Just like editing a text file, you can just select, cut and paste. The Audacity window has a timeline across the top. Click on the "image" of the audio at about the 20 second mark and drag your cursor to the left to the beginning of the file. Choose "Edit" then "Copy".

Switch back to your first file, the one you recorded with your microphone. On the window menu choose "Tracks", then "Add New", then "Stereo Track". (Assuming the song you copied from was in stereo. You can just choose "Audio Track" if it wasn't.) In the main window you should see multiple tracks now, one with your recorded sound, the other is currently empty.

Make sure the new track you just created is selected by clicking on it. Then, in the main windows menu, choose "Edit" and "Paste". You should now see two tracks in your main window.

If you click the play button you will hear both tracks playing. If you were to save it now, this is what your podcast would sound like. But this is probably not what you want it to sound like.

Try to do the same to add "lead out" music. Don't worry about the placement of it right now, we will get to that. Just select your music and paste it into your main window. If all goes right you should have three tracks, your opening music, your closing music, and you spoken word.

Timing.
Now we need to get everything arranged correctly. Unless you want a long lead in and a long lead out(for lack of a better term), you won't want the music to be outside of your spoken word, you will want part of it to overlap. The first thing we want to do is arrange everything in our window so we can see what were doing. Let's move your lead in music to the top and have your spoken word right underneath. (We won't worry about the closing music right now.)

On the track in the main window, on the left side you will see an X, DON'T GET AHEAD OF ME! If you click the X it will delete the track. Next to that you might see a name. To the right of that is an arrow pointing down. If you click that, it gives you some options. One is "move track up" and another is "move track down". Depending on where things are in you program, either move your music up and your spoken word down, or vice versa until your lead in music is above your spoken word.

The next thing is to move your spoken word a few seconds so the music can play by itself. Unless you already have a pause at the start of your spoken word track, you will need to move the entire track a few seconds to make room for the music. We're going to do the same thing with the lead out music later on, so learn this anyway.

To do this accurately, you might want to zoom in. On the right hand side of the main window you will see two magnifying glasses, if you click the one with the plus, you will see that your timeline gets longer. It "spreads out" the time so you can see more detail in the audio. Zoom in as much as you need to be able to see 5 seconds pretty clearly. You might need to use the scroll bar at the bottom of the window to move back to the beginning of the project.

Now, click on your spoken word track to make sure it's selected. In the menu you will see a tool that looks like two points on a compass. This is the move tool. We're going to select that, then click and drag your spoken word track. You're going to move it to the right until you have 5 seconds worth of "nothing" at the start.

If you wish, you can do the same with your lead out music now. Only, instead of 5 seconds, you are going to move it out until 5 seconds worth of music in past the end of the spoken word track. Use the scroll bar at the bottom to move the view to the left.

Now here is the fun part. Assuming you still have your music above your spoken word, we are now going to automatically lower the music so it blends with the words. Click on your lead in music to select it, then from the window menu choose "Edit", "Move Cursor", then "To Track Start". Now choose "Edit", "Select" and then "Cursor to end". Your music should now be highlighted.

The tool we're going to use is called "Auto Duck" (As in the music will "duck under" the spoken word.) Choose "Effects" and "Auto Duck". You will see a graph with a "u" in the middle. If you click the dot at the base of the "u" and drag it, you will change the volume of the background music. Click Ok. Try playing your podcast. Is the music quiet enough? If not, choose "undo" and lower the bottom of the graph the next time you try it.

Try doing the same with your lead out music. Move it so it's just above your spoken track, select it, then use auto duck again.

Making the finished product.
Everything will combine into one file when you export your project as an MP3. If you are using the Windows version of Audacity, you can "File" and "Export as MP3". Save your file where you can find it.

If you are using the Linux version, things are a little more tricky. Follow the directions for your particular linux distribution to install "Lame". Back in Audacity you can choose "File" and Export". This will pop up a window asking you to edit the "metadata". You can just click "OK". Name your file, choose where to save it, then toward the bottom of the windows choose "mp3" as the file type.

That's it! Upload your MP3 to where you need it for your podcast.

This is a very basic tutorial for beginners. The main this to remember is PATIENCE and PRATICE. When you get the results you want and are ready for more, there are many great tutorials for Audacity out there that wil show you the hard stuff. There are all kinds of special effects and mixing tools to get professional results. Work on it. Try different things. No matter what, it's not going to be perfect the first few times. Audacity, like everything else on your computer is a tool, not a mold. Put in the work and you'll get good.

Have fun!

Podcasting - step by step by step.

So, you want to be a podcaster. But you have absolutely no idea how to get started. Well, take heart, because you're in the right place. In this post I will tell you how to start broadcasting your podcast love throughout the universe.

However, while this article will show you how to do it, it doesn't mean you can automatically do it WELL. Like anything, patience and practice will go a long way toward producing a quality podcast.

First, a disclaimer. I am not a podcaster. I don't do podcasts for a living or anything like that. I am a tech guy, though, and I have spent many years building and supporting hardware and software systems, so I know how to take something apart to see how it works. That's what I've done here, I've taken it apart to see how it works and now I'm sharing what I've found.

Also, regarding the software and services mentioned here: I endorse them simply because they are the simplest to use. There may be, and probably are, better options out there for long term use. However, for the beginner these are the best I've found. I am not affiliated with any of them and they didn't pay me anything to mention them.

So, here we go!


Step One.
Have something worth podcasting.

You might think this is a no-brainer, but think for a sec. Do I really have something that I need to share? And if I need to share it, has someone already beaten me to it? Check the iTunes directory. Search on every term related to your topic. If you find a podcast on your topic, check it out. Is it any good? Can you do better? If you don't think you can, then don't. Try something else. If you're creating a podcast just to share with your friends and family, then go ahead. But if you're looking to share your podcast with the world, make sure your content is unique and worth investing the time.

Is your topic something you're passionate about? And even then, is it something you can make program after program about? If you're just going to make just one or two programs, then why bother with a podcast? If it's something you think is worth producing many episodes, then podcast it.

Also, think about how you are going to present your information. Can you do it in a way that people will find entertaining? Will someone besides you like it?

Another thing to consider: Is what you're sharing yours? Do you own it? It is possible to share music and video , but you shouldn't do so unless it's yours. Piracy is illegal. Your podcast should consist of content that is yours. (Or, public domain, which means everyone owns it.)

The best podcasts are well organized, concise, and fun. Write an outline of what you want in your podcast. If it's your voice, make some notes on what you will say. If it's music, decide what order you will put the songs in. If it's video, edit it well.

You should also consider how long your podcast is going to be. Some are only a few minutes, others are an hour or longer. Consider your audience. Will they bother with your podcast if it's long? If it's too short, will they remember it well enough to share it and talk about it?

Step Two.
Have a way to get your information onto your hard drive.

You've got your topic, you've made some notes, decided on what is in and what is out, and you're ready to go. So how do you get your voice, music, whatever onto your computer? Simple. Record it or upload it.

If you don't know how to upload something to your computer, then you need more help than I am able to provide. Maybe a good beginner's course at your local community college is in order. We will discuss recording.

To record, you're going to need hardware. Most computers do not come with built in hardware for recording, and even if they did, you will probably need something better than what you've got. If you're going to record your voice, get a good microphone. Not just A microphone, a GOOD one. If your podcast becomes popular, you'll want to invest in a professional quality microphone with a "pop" screen, but for now, you can get a good one at Radio Shack.

You'll probably want one that plugs into the USB port on your computer, since this is the easiest way to get your voice onto your hard drive. If you have other audio sources that you'd like to record on your computer, check with your local retailer for ways to connect your audio to your computer. There are many players available that have a USB connector that will allow you to quickly convert your records, tapes, and other audio to digital. Once you have your device(s), follow its documentation to set it up properly and have it working before proceeding.

Step Three.
Recording.

Now you need something that will take your voice, or other audio that you input with your hardware, and create a file out of it. You may also want to combine voice and music to create transitions and so forth. You need a recorder. Just like the cassette recorders of yester-year, a digital recorder will capture your voice or music or whatever and digitize it for you.

There are many good programs that turn your computer into a digital recorder. One of the best is Audacity. Simple enough for the beginner, it offers enough features to do some pretty cool stuff. And the price is right: free. With Audacity, creating a digital audio file is as simple as starting the program, pushing the big red record button, inputting your audio, pushing the stop button, and saving the file. You can create an MP3 directly from the program and have it ready to upload in minutes. You can also take music or any other audio you can get into your computer and mix it produce really professionally sounding programs.

In the process of writing this I realized that it may be useful to give a tutorial on creating a good podcast with Audacity. Something with lead-in and maybe background music.... something more than just "play this, stop, play this, stop", something professional sounding. I will write about that in my next blog post, but knowing HOW to do it and DOING IT RIGHT are two different things. You will want to review and re-review your work to get the result you want. Patience and practice will get you a lot further than a tutorial. But look for that in my next post.

Whether you use Audacity or some other recording program, the object is to create a file from your audio. Think of the file as a virtual CD (or tape, if you're old enough to remember those!). Ideally, you'll want to make an MP3 file, since this is the best format for podcasts. If your program doesn't allow you to save it as an MP3, do a search for ways to create an MP3 from the file type you have.

Step Four.
Uploading.

Now you have your MP3. Your podcast episode is done. Great. Now to make it available to the world.

This is where things get tricky. It's important not only to have your podcast file
available, but to have it available in the right way. There are many free services, such as Windows Sky Drive, that allow you to store and share your files. And they're great. But they are not practical for doing podcasts. Why? The issue is the difference between accessing your files DIRECTLY and INDIRECTLY.

It's not always easy to know when you are accessing a file directly online and when you are "going through channels". However, normally, you can tell by looking at the URL, the address of the file you are accessing. If you click on a link and your browser takes you to an address that looks like this:

http://www.myfilehome.com/importantfile.mp3

Then you are most likely accessing it directly. "myfilehome.com" being the name of the server and "importantfile.mp3" being the file you are accessing. However, if you click on a link and your browser takes you to an address that looks like this:

http://bbx5qw.bay.livefilestore.com/y1phci9G0DRpHt0nSIpUGQXjJmuVkZjaf1o_ZTgKEYC1E2Cb_qndG_h_ngP2Qs7F0898cshmdoRSg61sRXNBP04JA/improtantfile.mp3

then, apart from being an address that is nearly impossible to remember, this file is being accessed INdirectly. In this case, the bbx5qw is a key that is fed to the directory "bay" on the server "livefilestore.com". The long impossible string is a virtual folder, possibly created just for you, used only to serve up a copy of the file and not give you access to the file itself. Other servers do things differently (and this may not be the way this particular address works, but I have seen others done this way. It's just an example.) but the real goal is to shield the direct address of the file to protect it from those who might try to hack their way into the server.

So while free services are great as a way to back up your files online, they are not practical at all for podcasting. You will need a place to access your files directly. The absolute BEST way to do this is to pay for web hosting. If you get serious about podcasting, you will definitely want to do this. However, just starting out, this may not be practical for you. Later, I will talk about a service called "Podbean" that will help you with this step and other steps as well.

Also, you may try using "archive.org", they allow you to store your file and access it directly. However, the intent behind archive.org is to collect "open source" audio and video so you shouldn't upload anything that isn't 100% your work and you should expect others to access it and use it.

In any case, you need to have a permanent direct link to your file. For beginning podcasters, I strongly suggest just using Podbean. It's free and helps you circumvent many problems you will encounter trying to do it yourself.

Step Five.
Feeding your file.

Now that your podcast file is home, you need to feed it. No, not like you feed your dog. You are going to FEED it TO people. This is very simple to do, but not so simple if you want to do it yourself.

Podcasting utilizes a form of RSS. RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". RSS is everywhere. If you are reading this blog, you are utilizing RSS. It would take forever to explain every possible use of RSS, so let me just cover the basics and how it relates to podcasting.

In simplest terms, RSS involves a "container" and the stuff inside the container. Think of it like a picture frame and the ability to change the picture any time you want. Then, add 20 million cameras all pointing at your frame that are broadcasting your picture to other frames all over the world. When you change your picture, it changes in all the other frames at the same time. The owners of those frames don't have to get a copy of your picture to update theirs because they have direct access to yours.

A podcast, then, is like a wall of frames. Each frames contains a different episode of your podcast. The cameras are pointing at the whole wall and let users access each picture, one at a time.

Kinda cool, right? You can also think of podcasts as TV channels. Each channel offers their own programs, which would be your episodes. The difference is, you don't have to wait for one program to end before going to the next one, or, likewise, you can go back to a previous one that you liked without losing the new one.

Simple enough, right? So what is the mechanism behind this? For RSS to work, your frame, or wall of frames, is an .xml file. XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. In some ways it is similar to HTML, which is what makes up web pages, but in other ways, it's completely different.

If you are interesting in learning XML, there are many great tutorials online. It's not important to know it to produce a podcast. All that is important is that you have an XML file that defines your podcast. You can either try to write one yourself, which is possible, but hard to get exactly right, or you can have one written for you.


This brings us again to Podbean. Besides hosting your file, Podbean will also produce your feed file automatically. Alternately, you can use Blogger, the service I use for this blog, to create a podcast. For details on how to do that, CLICK HERE. A third option is to have the file created for you and then put it online somewhere. (The same rules apply as with your audio file, it needs to be accessed directly, not indirectly.) You can use this site to create your XML file that will define your podcast and present your first episode. The file will then need to be edited for each episode after that. As an appendix to this blog post, I will include an example of an XML file for a podcast and you will be able to see what you might be able to do to add more episodes.

Step Six.
Share your podcast.

You've recorded an awesome first episode, you've uploaded it, you've created an RSS feed file to define your podcast, and you've got that set up somewhere. Now what? Well, basically, you're done. At this point, you have a podcast. Congratulations. The End.

Just kidding. What you want to do now is share your podcast with the world. You do this by sharing the link to your RSS feed file. People then take that link and plug it into their podcast software (iTunes or equivalent), and start downloading your episodes.

The easiest way to do this is to get your podcast into the iTunes directory. To do this, follow the directions HERE. I haven't done this, but my understanding is you need to have a few episodes under your belt before iTunes will get it set up for you.

Otherwise, just give people the link to your RSS feed file. People can then manually add your podcast to their iTunes or other program. Every program is different, and, indeed, different versions of iTunes are different. Check your program's help file for details on how to manually add a feed.

If you are using Podbean, they will set up a link to your podcast on your podcast management page that, when clicked, will open iTunes and add your podcast. If you are using Blogger, simply use the link to your blog plus "/feeds/posts/default", as in "http://forgivenlikedavid.blogspot.com/feeeds/posts/default".

There are places online to share your podcasts as well. Podcast Alley, something something...... Some of these have ranking systems that help you get your podcast out there.
---------------

That's it! It does take a little technical know-how to do it, but with some patience and a little effort, you can get your podcast out there for the world to hear!

Appendix 1.
An XML RSS feed file.

Here is a feed file and it's parts. To create your own, edit the blue parts. The red are parts that are important as is and should not be changed. The black parts are the descriptors and are not part of the file.

<rss version="2.0"> (Defines the file as RSS.)
<channel> (Opens the "channel" section of this file.)
<title>Podcast Title (This is the name of your podcast "channel")</title>
<link>http://www.websiteforpodcast.com (If you have a blog or other website for your podcast, put it here. If you use Podbean, put your Podbean address here.)</link>
<description>This is the coolest podcast ever. (Describe your podcast here. Be concise, but descriptive. iTunes and other directories will display this. It's your chance to say what this is all about.)</description>
<docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs> (I'm not sure why you need this, but you do, so just don't touch it.)
<language>English (This is the language your podcast is in, even if your website and this file are in another language.) </language>
<copyright>Copyright ©2009 Most Awesome Stuff (This can be whatever you want. It's your chance to claim it as your own.)</copyright>
<category>Podcasting (What best describes your podcast? Music? Tech? This can be whatever you want.)</category>
<image> (Opens the image section of this file. This is where you define the image that will appear in iTunes and on iPods.)
<url>http://www.websiteforpodcast.com/logo.jpg (This is any image you want. Just be sure you have a direct URL.)</url>
<title>Title of the image (I know, makes no sense, but you need it.)</title>
<link>http://www.websiteforpodcast.com (Your website again. I know...) </link>
<width>300 (Width of your image in pixels. 300 is best for iTunes.)</width>
<height>300 (Height of you image in pixels. 300 is best for iTunes.)</height>
</image> (Closes the image section of this file.)
(These 'tags' are necessary when submitting to iTunes.)
<itunes:author>Your Name (Or the name of your company or whatever you want.)</itunes:author>
<itunes:subtitle>Subtitle of your podcast. (Very short, but whatever you want.)</itunes:subtitle>
<itunes:summary>This is the coolest podcast ever. (Just like the description above.)</itunes:summary>
<itunes:keywords>podcast cool groovy gnarly (Any one word categories that might define your podcast. Put in as many as you want, separated by spaces.) </itunes:keywords>
<itunes:explicit>no (Or 'yes' if your podcast uses "R" or highter rated language or covers "R" or higher rated topics.)</itunes:explicit>
<itunes:image href="http://www.websiteforpodcast.com/logo.jpg (Same as the image URL above)"/>
<itunes:owner> (Opens the "owner" section.)
<itunes:name>Your Name (Same as "author" above.)</itunes:name>
<itunes:email>youremail@yourdomain.com (Your email address so the iTunes people know where to reach you.)</itunes:email>
</itunes:owner> (Closes the owner section.)
<itunes:category text="Podcast">
<itunes:category text="Coolness">
(Put as many of these in as you like. These are the categories the iTunes people might list your podcast is. You can use the same words you used for keywords if you want.)

<item> (Opens an 'item' section of this file. NOTE: The 'channel section is still open, do not close it until the end. Also, you will need one 'item' section for every episode of your podcast that is available for download.)
<title>Episode 1: The awesomeness of podcasting. (This can be anything you wish.)</title>
<link>http://www.websiteforpodcast.com/episode1.mp3 (The web link for your episode.)</link>
<description>The description of your podcast episode. (Whatever you wish, but just for the episode, not the channel.)</description>
<author>Your Name or Email (Or the name or email of whoever made this episode if you have others doing it.)</author>
<pubDate>Sun, 27 Nov 2005 18:17:32 -0800 (It doesn't have to be this precise, but this sets the date you made this episode.)</pubDate>
<category>Podcast (yes, you have to set it for the episode, too.)</category>

This next tag is the big one. You have to have it right or nothing will work.

<enclosure url="http://www.websiteforpodcast.com/episode1.mp3 (This is the direct URL of your podcast file. It MUST be a direct link and not indirect.)" length="110039585 (Length, in bytes, of the file)" type="audio/mpeg (Normally, for an audio podcast, you'd leave this. If it's video, put in 'video/MP4'.)">

Just like the 'channel' section, you have to do it all again for iTunes.

<itunes:author>Your Name</itunes:author>
<itunes:subtitle>Most awesome podcast ever.</itunes:subtitle>
<itunes:summary>We talk about how awesome we are.</itunes:summary>
<itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit>
<itunes:duration>11:00 (in minutes)</itunes:duration>
</item> (Closes the item section. Remember, to add another episode, you need another item section.)
</channel> (Closes the channel section. All the item sections should be before this.)
</rss> (Closes the file.)

Save your file as an .xml file. Upload it anywere you have a direct URL. Share that direct URL to give people access to your podcast.

Appendix 2.
About Podbean.

http://www.podbean.com

I endorse this service only because it's the simplest I've found for the beginning podcaster. I don't use it myself, except for what little experimenting I've done with it, neither am I affiliated with them in any way. There may be other services out there, but this is simply the first, simplest tool I've found.

To get started with Podbean you will need to create an account. Their basic service is free, but for more advanced options you will need to pay. Their free level seems ok, but once your podcast starts increasing in popularity, you will run out of bandwidth. Don't commit to the paid service until you're sure you can maintain it.

For more information, go to podbean.com.


*All images, though found on public websites such as Flickr et al., are copyright of their respective owners and are used under "Fair Use" laws in the United States. If you are the owner of any of these images and do not want them used, please contact the author.

Podcasting - so amazingly fracking easy I couldn't believe it

My obsession du'jour is podcasts. I knew a little about how they worked, having looked it up way back when they first gained popularity, but I'd never tried to DO one to learn all the guts and gears.

At the most basic level, a podcast needs only a few things to work.

First is the 'thing' you want to podcast. This is usually an MP3 file (audio) or an MP4 file (video). Since most podcasts go through iTunes and these are the two file types that iTunes likes, I don't know if any other file types will work since I couldn't find any examples. But these two are excellent containers for information, so it doesn't really matter. Once you have the file, it needs to live somewhere, so you'll need to upload it somewhere to the Internet.

One note on that: it's vital to have a direct link to the file you want to podcast. Some services, like YouTube let you put the files on their servers, but they do not offer a direct link to the file. If you are able to download it at all, you might be offered a virtual link. The main difference is, a virtual link can and probably will change and does not work well for permanent linking. A direct link will not. It's hard to explain it without going into some great detail. Basically, if you're not paying for a file server service, you probably don't have a place to upload your files where you can directly link to them. There are exceptions and I will mention one below.

Second is a feed file. This is an XML file that defines your podcast (think "channel"), and the individual files you are offering (think "programs"). You can write your own, but there's a lot of information you'll need to gather and put in the right format for podcast readers to recognize.

Which brings me to the last thing you'll need, a podcast reader. The most famous of these is iTunes. (The term "podcast" comes from product iTunes was designed for, the iPod.) But there are other programs out there that allow you to use podcasts. What these programs do is read the feed file, recognize any "programs" in the "channel" and download them for you to use. The best ones will notice programs you've already used and delete them for you and make sure you don't download them again.

So, for example, you have an audio file named "pointlessramblings.mp3". (There are many programs you can use to create an MP3, just search for "audio recording software". You'll also need a microphone if you want to record your voice.) And say you want to broadcast it as "Really Important Information" on a podcast you'll name "Things In My Brain". You've already uploaded the file and you know where it is. In your feed file you're going to tell it the name of your "channel" and the name and location of your "program". You're going to put the feed file somewhere on the web as well. It can be in the same place as your mp3, but it doesn't have to be, it just needs to be in some place a podcast reader can "see" it. Then, everyone who wants to "tune in" to your podcast just needs to tell their podcast reader where your feed file is.

iTunes also gives you the ability to add your podcast to their directory. Think of it like iTunes has a TV Guide of all podcast channels, but you can tune in to any channel from there. I don't know what the rules are for getting your podcast listed, but it's not automatic. For other podcasts you have to know the web address of the feed file (the "channel" file, not the "program" channel). Every podcast reader is different, so consult your program's help for how to do this.

Easy, right? Well, OK, I didn't give you very great detail, but the basics are really easy! Now, let's make it even easier.

You can turn your Blogger blog into a podcast machine. You still need to have a "home" for your files, but you can link those files into your blog post, then use the feed from you blog as your "channel". I won't rehash all that here, you can follow these directions if you'd like to try.

But there's an even easier way! I have a couple of friends who do podcasts and they suggested Podbean.com. There are probably other services that do the same thing, but I haven't investigated them. Podbean lets you upload your file, automatically creates your feed file, and gives you the information to plug into a podcast reader. Bing. Bam. Boom. Done. Granted, the free service at Podbean does have limitations, but it's a good place to start for a newbie. Their paid services are reasonable and flexible and are good enough to please the professional podcaster.

So, that's it! Everything you ever wanted to know about podcasting! Wait... what? No it's not? OK then. In my next post I will give you a step by step in making your own podcast.