Category / Bat Segundo

by Edward Champion

Elizabeth Crane at the LBC

This week, at the LBC site, you’ll find the gang discussing Elizabeth Crane‘s All This Heavenly Glory. And for Segundo listeners, there’s a podcast interview with Ms. Crane and C. Max Magee.

And speaking of forthcoming podcasts, The Bat Segundo Show #19 is taking more time than expected to finish, in large part because one of the microphones malfunctioned, resulting in severe audio defects. I’m working on this as time permits and hope to get it finished soon.

Fortunately, Show #20 didn’t feature any severe technical issues (save a battery that went kaput, strangely enough at the same table at the same hotel the last time this happened) and is perhaps the funniest 25 minutes we think we’ve ever recorded. The guest remains top secret. But you’re going to love this show.

by Edward Champion

Segundo Update

Here’s the deal: I’ve got four more shows to cut for the LBC, two more shows I’m prepping on top of the LBC, and entirely new material with which to frame the LBC-related interviews. There are more author interviews scheduled in February than I think I’ve ever done within a month. And I’m also going to be giving away copies of books (in large part because, in at least one case, I bought a copy to read because the review copy came too late), but you’ll have to listen to the podcasts to find out how to get them!

So expect an avalanche of podcasting activity here in the next few weeks.

by Edward Champion

LBC Podcasts

Over at the LBC, the first of five podcasts can now be downloaded and listened to. Each podcast will be available for download early Monday morning over the next five weeks. (For regular Bat Segundo feed subscribers, these podcasts will eventually be available through entirely new shows at the main Segundo site.)

The first LBC podcast features author Ander Monson and a brief introductory interview with nominator Sam Jones.

by Edward Champion

The Bat Segundo Show #17

Author: Mark Ames

Condition of Mr. Segundo: Relaxed and possibly malingering.

Subjects Discussed: Falling asleep during interviews, online terror threats, myspace.com, language as a source of enslavement, using linguistics to prove a thesis, the similarities between slavery and MBA management theory, the advantages of being both an expatriate and anthropologist, Hunter S. Thompson, conformity, rage murders, Columbine, the torture of high school, on being “strange” in American society, reaching out to the fringe, Stalin, September 11th, compassion, the American people vs. the American government, Katrina, nice people, Nat Turner, happiness and sickness in terrible situations, Kelly Bennnett and Al Deguzman, finks as heroes, Linda Tripp, Judith Miller, the framework of inner-city riots, the “let’s move on” mentality, zero tolerance, “bowling,” filing grievances, Ward Cleaver as metaphor, the film Office Space as propaganda, the opportunism of Morgan Spurlock and Eric Schlosser, preaching to the converted, Kuntsler’s The Long Emergency, on writing a polemic without a conclusion, Edward Limonov, the National Bolshevik Party, the Black Panther Party Platform, the advantages of Russian expat journalism, Rep. Henry Bonillo’s threats, the current state of American journalism, prudishness, whores, William T. Vollmann, the evil of Chuck Klosterman, Ames’ response to Klosterman’s claims at Zulkey, Klosterman’s revisionism, and co-opting the “loser” mentality.

Listen: Play in new window | Download

by Edward Champion

The Chair Update

We are pleased to report that the chair that was wounded during the course of engineering The Bat Segundo Show #16 has been replaced. (We had sentimental attachments for that chair, but it had a solid six year run and it was probably due for a replacement anyway.) The new chair is a large and quite comfy leather chair that we almost fell asleep on yesterday evening. Further, this chair has a five year warranty and reliable casters to boot. In short, the upshot here is that the chair’s comfort and durability (to say nothing of its easy assembly) will likely fuel us for quite some time. (To give you a sense of how nifty this chair is, when you stand up, the cushion emits a noticable whoosh, as if to suggest that it’s had your bottom’s interest at heart all along. How many chairs have the courtesy to do that?) So expect a new Segundo podcast (or two) in the week. We assure you that these are some pretty exciting interviews. Also, Mr. Segundo has been located and he will explain his disappearance in Segundo #17.

Further, we cannot say enough good things about Rupert Thompson’s Divided Thompson, which kept us up until 3:30 AM the other night. While we’re not yet finished with it (though close!), we’re thinking that it might have made our Top 10 List had we read it earlier in the year. If you like your dystopian spec-fic novels sprinkled with goofball humor (we’re talking surfing and pole vaulting, peeps!) and a strange obsession with curlicue imagery, then we whole-heartedly recommend it.

We’ve also dug our claws into Black Swan Green and will have some things to say about that in the emerging week (though, to be perfectly clear, not a review!). Our immediate impression is that this so-called “departure” is probably the right thing for our man, David Mitchell, although we’ll say more once we’ve reached the apex.