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Jeanne’s Podcast Pick is a weekly First Person Arts blog post that lets Jeanne, the Marketing Intern, share with you a recent story that has sparked her interest from the World Wide Interwebs. Please feel free to comment if you are moved to do so!
In a short, rather simple story from the podcast Whisper Cities, Sam Greenspan exposes The Communist Daughter, a Toronto bar that you may have otherwise never heard of. The story is brief but the use of descriptive words and live music recorded on site develops vivid imagery for the listener.
The Communist Daughter garnered in me a longing for an era and lifestyle that I have never known. It left me wanting to travel and explore and to practice my jazz singing. While listening I envisioned a romantic picture of a speakeasy where the company is close-friends and the instruments are passed around the room from one musician to the next.
I chose this podcast because it reminded me that sharing a simple short story can awaken the senses of a listener and create an opportunity for introspection. I hope that The Communists Daughter can awaken something in you.
My Pick of the Week: The Communist Daughter
Jeanne Lyons
Jeanne’s Podcast Pick is a weekly First Person Arts blog post that lets Jeanne, the Marketing Intern, share with you a recent story that has sparked her interest from the World Wide Interwebs. Please feel free to comment if you are moved to do so!
It is all too easy to become overly familiar with the sights and sounds we encounter day in and day out and to take their presence for granted. Familiarity and repetition can turn the intriguing into the mundane and may even prevent us from remembering to ask “why?”
99% Invisible is a podcast that challenges us to refresh the way we look at the world. Producer Roman Mars examines the tiny design elements of our man made environment and reveals that even the barely noticeable has a story to tell.
People like Hegberg and Mars can re-stimulate curiosity and intrigue and that is why I’d like to share this episode of 99% Invisible as my pick for the week!
My Pick of The Week: The Accidental Music of Imperfect Escalators
Jeanne Lyons
We all have them – Tales from times when things didn’t look likely; when chances seemed slim at best and all hope was hanging by a thread. At last night’s StorySlam we heard from ten storytellers who carried that thread and shared personal stories in response to the theme “Against the Odds.”
Death defying Donald told about how he miraculously brought a zombie dog back from the other side. Erin refused to give up her hopes of recovering her long lost hat – even if getting it back meant she’d have to snatch it off a stranger’s head. And Joli braved the bowels of a pink Chinatown Bus to dig for an abandoned burrito and a prized journal.
Our winning and Audience Favorite story came from beloved First Person Arts storyteller, Bernardo. Perhaps the odds were in Bernardo’s favor last night. As a frequent First Person Arts storyteller and two-time Grand Slam competitor, Bernardo’s candid spirit and storytelling prowess quickly won over the audience judges. Travel to Bogota, Columbia with Bernardo and witness how he turns a terrifying experience into a touching tale in the video of his winning performance below. Click here to see what our friends at Philebrity had to say about Bernardo’s story.
Winning Storyteller and Audience Favorite, Bernardo – “Against the Odds” StorySlam
Congratulations Bernardo! Stay tuned for more videos coming soon to the First Person Arts YouTube channel. Special thanks to all of our “Against the Odds” storytellers and to everyone who came out.
Join us for the next Slam:
Theme: The Ex-Files
Date: Tuesday, February 14
Location: World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut Street)
Time: Doors open at 7:30PM, Slam starts at 8:30PM
Price: $10, $8 for First Person Arts members
All-ages, $3 Yuengling draft specials
If you want to guarantee a table at the Slam, make a reservation with World Cafe Live! Call 215-222-1400 after 10:00 AM up until the Monday of the Slam.
-Becca Jennings
Jeanne’s Podcast Pick is a weekly First Person Arts blog post that lets Jeanne, the Marketing Intern, share with you a recent story that has sparked her interest from the World Wide Interwebs. Please feel free to comment if you are moved to do so!
My last week of college I barely slept a wink in order to complete a thesis paper for my capstone course: History of Anthropological Theory. I finish on the due date lying in my bed with my Hewlett-Packard laptop. Elated, I make a frantic dash to my roommate’s printer. Smack! I trip on the adapter wire and my HP crashes against the hardwood floor. The monitor instantly turns black and cracks that look like a spider web form on the screen. My eyes swell with tears.
The blue and silver HP served me well for four and a half years. It had countless pictures of friends and memories that I wanted to have for a lifetime. It had all of my favorite music! Mixes made for me by first loves and best friends. Smack. I thought it was done for.
The nerds of my family examined the device and diagnosed it as still useful! We hooked the laptop up to an old Gateway 2000 monitor that had been stashed away for 9 years and…voila! It was a brilliant setup: A giant off-white monitor with a convex screen sat on my used Ikea desk alongside the HP laptop that was now only useful as a hard-drive and a frame for homemade stickers.
Weeks later on a hot summer day I came home from a run dripping with sweat. The door to my apartment is ajar and I feel a sinking feeling in my gut. The apartment has been trashed and robbed. I walk to my room and the Gateway 2000 monitor is standing proud but next to it is an empty space. My old school HP laptop with the cracked spider web screen that I had decoupaged with kittens and Johnny Depp photos is gone.
I received an A in my capstone course. I had emailed the thesis to myself several times before the smack and had saved it on dropbox and a zip drive. I never thought to back-up my memories, pictures or music. Out of all that was stolen, I was most upset to have lost those.
My story of woe is only a brief chapter in the life history of the HP. The story actually begins half-way around the world in Shenzhen, China where many of our gadgets are made. In a podcast from This American Life, Mike Daisey performs an excerpt from his one man show “The Agony and the Ecstacy of Steve Jobs” and shares in-depth insight into the working conditions of these gadget factories. Few of us will see these conditions first hand but most of us will have a connection to them through the products we buy and use.
My Pick of the Week: Mr Daisy and the Apple Factory
Jeanne Lyons
When your boyfriend’s life becomes a reality TV show, and women from all around the world are applying for a chance to snatch him off your arm, a girl can sense she’s up against some serious competition. Unfortunately, that was the reality of last night’s winning storyteller, Diana. Discover the key to lasting romance with Diana in the video of her winning performance below.
Congratulations Diana! And congratulations to Audience Favorite, Martha! Journey with Martha as she navigates her early career path playing the “expert.” Whatever you do, don’t disappoint Oprah.
Thanks to all of our “Daily Grind” storytellers and to everyone who came out to last night’s Slam. Stay tuned for more stories from all of our storytellers coming soon to our YouTube channel.
First Person Arts StorySlam, Theme: “Daily Grind,” Winning Storyteller, Diana
First Person Arts StorySlam, Theme: “Daily Grind,” Audience Favorite Storyteller, Martha
Next First Person Arts StorySlam:
Date: Tuesday, January 24
Theme: Against the Odds
Location: L’Etage (6th and Bainbridge Streets)
Doors at 7:30pm, Slam starts at 8:30pm
21+, $4 well drink specials
Jeanne’s Podcast Pick is a weekly First Person Arts blog post that lets Jeanne, the Marketing Intern, share with you a recent story that has sparked her interest from the World Wide Interwebs. Please feel free to comment if you are moved to do so!
I began watching the animated television version of the X-Men when I was kid to try to bond with my big brother and his cool friends. I was the little sister who wanted to play basketball as hard as the boys, to be entertained for hours by Golden Eye 007 (a James Bond themed video game) and to play fight with GI-Joe action figures on hands and knees in the dirt.
For the most part I endured these activities simply out of a desire to spend time with my big bro. However, the X-Men truly captured my interest and attention. I have been a fan ever since!
The story of the Mutants in the Marvel Comics X-Men series is an allegory representing the experience of various social and racial minorities in our own society. It is about characters (with rad mutations and special powers!) who are attempting to live in a world in which they do not quite fit and become marginalized.In this Radio Lab Podcast the X-Men allegory is reflected in real life when the question of categorizing the Marvel Comic toys as Dolls with human features or Action Figures with non-human features is confronted by the court of law.
My Pick of the Week: Mutant Rights on Radio Lab can be listened to and downloaded HERE
Jeanne Lyons
Happy New Year! Before we post 2012’s stories, let’s take a look back at some of 2011’s most watched videos from the First Person Arts YouTube channel.
#5 Janet, “Family Ties”
Buckle up and hit the road for a family trip with “Family Ties” Winner and Audience Favorite, Janet in our #5 most viewed story. After checking out her tale, you’ll be keeping on the sunny side with Janet all the way from St. Louis to Florida.
#4 Bernardo Strange Encounters
Tune into our #4 pick by Bernardo and follow the signs to experiencing how strange the everyday can be.
#3 Sarah, “The Ex-Files”
Load up your Uhaul and scavenge through the classified ads for a new home fitting for a recent divorcee in this our #3 most viewed story by Sarah. Oh, and be sure to steer clear of mobile homes rendered in brick where plumbing is irrelevant. But you probably knew that already.
#2 Marla, “Beasts”
Our #2 pick teaches us an important lesson about the economics of gravity. Skeptical about trickle down theory? Not in West Philadelphia. Check out the #2 most watched video by Marla and find out what crashes through her bathroom ceiling. (And no, it wasn’t a hallucination after not taking her anxiety meds for months.)
#1 Rodrick, “Do the Right Thing”
Unsurprisingly our #1 most viewed video of 2011 is a very special story that puts the “I do” in “Do the Right Thing.” Witness the first-ever First Person proposal in the video below.
-Becca Jennings
‘Tis the season to please the memoir fanatic in your life with a special gift. If you’re trying satisfy a storyteller or a story appreciator check out these holiday First Person Arts shopping picks!
Pick #1 First Person Arts StorySlam Six-Pack
Treat the StorySlam fan in your life to six Slam admissions at World Cafe Live and L’Etage for just $50! This pack can be used for multiple Slams over the 2011-2012 season or to bring a big group to one slam. Buy a Six Pack here.
Pick #2 An Evening with Ira Glass and the New Kings of Non-Fiction
So many great storytelling voices in one funny show! On this live recording you’ll hear from Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Orlean, and Chuck Klosterman. Each author shares a surprising incite into their life and life’s work. Give the commuter in your life a new CD for the road! Buy the recording for $10 here.
Pick #3 Mom: A Celebration of Mothers
How about treating mom to a book that celebrates her existence? This StoryCorps project presents the experience of American Moms from all walks of life and explores the meaning of family and the special bond between mother and child. Buy this gift for Mom here.
Pick #4 FOUND’s Seventh Heaven Holiday Pack
Oh boy, do I love Found Magazine and this gift pack is seriously sweet! Seven issues with over 700 pages of found items for $29 bucks. Dare I say, six issues for you and one for a friend!? Buy this sweet seven-pack here.
Pick #5 Minor Characters
This compelling memoir written by the friend and lover of Jack Kerouac paints a vivid picture of NYC in the 50’s and 60’s and the individuals who are recognized as the Beat Generation. A nice gift for the liberal arts student or aging hippie in your life. Buy the Joyce Johnson Memoir here.
Pick #6 Six Words About Work
Anyone, no matter how busy their work schedule, can spare a moment to read for pleasure if the stories are six-words long! The latest from SmithMag, Six Words About Work, has over 400 short (teeny-tiny!) stories that explore why people do what they do, lessons learned in the work place and tricks to navigate the professional world. Buy the book of mini stories here.
Pick #7 Six Word Game
The perfect way to develop a keen sense of six word story-telling! Your memoir fanatic will love the challenge of defining and deciphering famous people and places in exactly six words and the fun of competing with friends. Buy some fun in a box here.
Pick #8 When You Are Engulfed in Flames
This is an oldy but a goody! We all know someone who appreciates dark humor. Give the gift of a David Sedaris story collection in which he shares his fascination with dead bodies, his recollections on poor clothing choices and oh, so much more. Buy the gift of David Sedaris here
Pick #9 Blue Nights
Author of one of my favorite fictional works, Play it as it Lays, Joan Didion has written several gripping memoirs both in essay form and for the stage. In her new book Blue Nights, Didion shares her story of grappling with grief after the loss of her daughter. “We all survive more than we think we can.” -Didion
Buy this new memoir here.
Pick #10 100th Anniversary Mug
Quirky Mug- The gift that never fails! Have your favorite Documentary Art fanatic wake up each morning by sipping a cup of jo with Ira Glass and the future faces of This American Life! Story telling+warm beverage=happiness! Buy this quirky mug here.
-Jeanne (FPA Marketing Intern)
Last night we kicked off the 2011-2012 Slam season with ten audience storytellers who got into the spirit of the holidays with real life stories all inspired by the theme “Naughty or Nice.” Our winning story came from Marjorie, a first time StorySlammer whose story begins and ends with an image of hope: a naked man feeding her pie.
(It was cherry pie. Yeah…we asked.)
Marjorie’s story reminds us that when you’ve just witnessed your husband being taken away in handcuffs that jingle jangle jingle and you’re too sad to sing the blues, a naked man with a warm heart and a warm pie just might be right around your corner.
Congratulations to Majorie and last night’s Audience Favoite, Mega Matt! Don’t miss their winning performances in the videos below.
“Naughty or Nice” StorySlam. Storyteller, Majorie
“Naughty or Nice” StorySlam. Storyteller, Mega Matt
-Becca Jennings
A couple weeks ago, we asked you to share your sex questions and quandaries with the Stripped Stories gals in advance of their appearance at the First Person Festival this weekend. One lucky respondent asked a serious question and in addition to receiving some wisdom from Giulia and Margot, she also won free tickets to their show!
How can I convince a guy to let me use a strap-on on him?
We think honesty is the best policy, talk to him, share your feelings and desires and hear his feelings and desires. Maybe you can watch a porn where a strap-on is used so he can what it’s like. If he is not into the strap-on idea you have to respect that just as you would want him to respect your boundaries. Good luck!
