I didn't plan to put non-Beck posts here ever. My recent progress on finalizing posts is not what I had hoped, so I wanted to briefly comment on that.
When I transcribe, I pause the DVR every few seconds and type as fast as I can, phrase by phrase. This takes about 3-4 hours, depending on that day's typing speed, mental acuity, and the wordiness of the show. (I've looked for other sites that do transcriptions, but thus far I've not had any luck. Honestly, I found that incredibly surprising. I can't be the only one doing this! Seriously.) Sometimes I get distracted (or need to google something for spelling) and add a few links during this phase, too. Interview and audience shows tend to be less meaty than some of Beck's other shows, yet they are more cumbersome to type. Ah well.
I start the transcriptions at squalor scholar, and sometimes I add in "editor's notes" with some personal comments. Then I move the text over here (and remove my comments, so it can be a straight-text document).
After that, when that specific episode gets uploaded to youtube, I go through and catch screengrabs to help illustrate the episode, then add them to the post. I also find links -- for research and fun. That was my original aim for this blog -- provide text of the program with pictures to make it interactive and links to promote research for "believers" and evidence for "cynics".
I find the relevance, evidence, importance, and pure research of Beck's shows to be emotionally and cognitively stunning. I wish I had started watching Beck sooner than I did, and I wish the cynics would allow themselves to be exposed to Beck prior to yapping their traps against him. I suppose I hoped that this blog might have the potential to affect potential viewers from both sides of the aisle. I dunno. The world is at a tipping point, and I guess I thought this blog might be a small way to add a stone on the good side of the scales, so to speak.
There were two fabulous episodes at the end of May/ beginning of June that I really wanted to get down. Originally, my plan was to do those two (which I did), then back up and transcribe some of the more recent "pinnacle" episodes that I recalled, such as the first time Beck chalkboarded about caliphates. (Ya know, the episode the media creamed him for, when he talked about Russia taking over Australia.)
I changed my mind, though. I decided to focus on the current episodes, and then in July (*sigh*) back up to focus on older episodes.
I would have great difficulty doing this work if I didn't have DVR access. The irony is that my current location (deep northwoods in Wisconsin) has a satellite connection. (The folks on the other side of the lake get regular internet. The wires just haven't extended this far yet! Heh.) With the satellite internet, the packages are charged per amount you upload/download. And that's not just what you permanently up/download, that includes every byte that comes in and out of your computer. I'm on the largest package available, but it's still not enough to do what I want to do.
Luckily, (A) I'm a night owl, and (B) there is a window in the middle of the night when up/download rates do not apply. When I'm working on blogging Beck, I usually wait until 1:00 a.m. to start doing stuff with youtube and images. But if I feel tired enough to sleep, I take advantage and push the Beck work to the next night.
So, on days when it's rainy and I have no interest in interacting with the world outside my windows, I transcribe during the day, take a dinner and catch-up-on-other-news break, then do research at night 'til it's 1:00 and I can really work.
At first, this seemed to be a decent routine, but I slipped a little more and a little more. Plus, ya know, there's the sadness and anxiety of knowing that June 30th is so soon.
[Note: For most of the summer I will be constrained by the satellite internet connection. Since all of my work with older episodes will be from youtube videos, this will affect the timeliness of that progress. When I return to Madison full time in the Fall, I'll finally be back on regular internet, woo!]
SO. ALL OF THAT... was to let ya know my plans for the next week. The meatiest meat for recent episodes tend to be the first twenty minutes, and I will be focusing on getting that up quickly for each episode, plus whatever else I can manage. Then, after June 30th (*sigh*), I'll back up to polish what I've already done -- and then back up to do some older episodes, too.
Perhaps I should have the title of posts be "Rough Draft" or "To Be Cont'd" until they are entirely done? I dunno. You tell me if you have preferences.
Again, I intend to rarely post anything here other than transcripts or directly-related Beck materials. (In fact, I may eventually move this post over to my other blog, squalor scholar.) There is, however, a good chance that I blubber a personal post here on the night of June 30th. 'Cause, y'know, sigh...
Thanks for reading. :)
When I transcribe, I pause the DVR every few seconds and type as fast as I can, phrase by phrase. This takes about 3-4 hours, depending on that day's typing speed, mental acuity, and the wordiness of the show. (I've looked for other sites that do transcriptions, but thus far I've not had any luck. Honestly, I found that incredibly surprising. I can't be the only one doing this! Seriously.) Sometimes I get distracted (or need to google something for spelling) and add a few links during this phase, too. Interview and audience shows tend to be less meaty than some of Beck's other shows, yet they are more cumbersome to type. Ah well.
I start the transcriptions at squalor scholar, and sometimes I add in "editor's notes" with some personal comments. Then I move the text over here (and remove my comments, so it can be a straight-text document).
After that, when that specific episode gets uploaded to youtube, I go through and catch screengrabs to help illustrate the episode, then add them to the post. I also find links -- for research and fun. That was my original aim for this blog -- provide text of the program with pictures to make it interactive and links to promote research for "believers" and evidence for "cynics".
I find the relevance, evidence, importance, and pure research of Beck's shows to be emotionally and cognitively stunning. I wish I had started watching Beck sooner than I did, and I wish the cynics would allow themselves to be exposed to Beck prior to yapping their traps against him. I suppose I hoped that this blog might have the potential to affect potential viewers from both sides of the aisle. I dunno. The world is at a tipping point, and I guess I thought this blog might be a small way to add a stone on the good side of the scales, so to speak.
There were two fabulous episodes at the end of May/ beginning of June that I really wanted to get down. Originally, my plan was to do those two (which I did), then back up and transcribe some of the more recent "pinnacle" episodes that I recalled, such as the first time Beck chalkboarded about caliphates. (Ya know, the episode the media creamed him for, when he talked about Russia taking over Australia.)
I changed my mind, though. I decided to focus on the current episodes, and then in July (*sigh*) back up to focus on older episodes.
I would have great difficulty doing this work if I didn't have DVR access. The irony is that my current location (deep northwoods in Wisconsin) has a satellite connection. (The folks on the other side of the lake get regular internet. The wires just haven't extended this far yet! Heh.) With the satellite internet, the packages are charged per amount you upload/download. And that's not just what you permanently up/download, that includes every byte that comes in and out of your computer. I'm on the largest package available, but it's still not enough to do what I want to do.
Luckily, (A) I'm a night owl, and (B) there is a window in the middle of the night when up/download rates do not apply. When I'm working on blogging Beck, I usually wait until 1:00 a.m. to start doing stuff with youtube and images. But if I feel tired enough to sleep, I take advantage and push the Beck work to the next night.
So, on days when it's rainy and I have no interest in interacting with the world outside my windows, I transcribe during the day, take a dinner and catch-up-on-other-news break, then do research at night 'til it's 1:00 and I can really work.
At first, this seemed to be a decent routine, but I slipped a little more and a little more. Plus, ya know, there's the sadness and anxiety of knowing that June 30th is so soon.
[Note: For most of the summer I will be constrained by the satellite internet connection. Since all of my work with older episodes will be from youtube videos, this will affect the timeliness of that progress. When I return to Madison full time in the Fall, I'll finally be back on regular internet, woo!]
SO. ALL OF THAT... was to let ya know my plans for the next week. The meatiest meat for recent episodes tend to be the first twenty minutes, and I will be focusing on getting that up quickly for each episode, plus whatever else I can manage. Then, after June 30th (*sigh*), I'll back up to polish what I've already done -- and then back up to do some older episodes, too.
Perhaps I should have the title of posts be "Rough Draft" or "To Be Cont'd" until they are entirely done? I dunno. You tell me if you have preferences.
Again, I intend to rarely post anything here other than transcripts or directly-related Beck materials. (In fact, I may eventually move this post over to my other blog, squalor scholar.) There is, however, a good chance that I blubber a personal post here on the night of June 30th. 'Cause, y'know, sigh...
Thanks for reading. :)
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