Keeping tabs on American Culture
There are times that I could completely forget I'm in a foreign country. Sunday mornings are some of those times. I've developed ritual of listening to radio programs on Sunday mornings. Sometimes I'll even make myself pancakes as I'm listening.
I became hooked on the Public Radio show This American Life a few years ago and I haven't missed an episode since. I likewise am a devoted listener of Car Talk, Wait, Wait…Don't Tell Me; and to a lesser degree, The Next Big Thing. Since only Car Talk is broadcast here I have harnessed the power of the Internet to make listening to these fine programs possible.
I was so devoted to This American Life that I had purchased an annual subscription through Audible.com. But for the other programs I've found another solution.
Audio Hijack is a great piece of software that essentially works as a TiVo for streaming audio. These shows are aired in the States on Saturday morning, which is late Saturday night or early Saturday morning here. Audio Hijack automatically opens an NPR stations audio stream, records it and dumps it into iTunes. When I wake up on Sunday morning there are a fresh batch of shows for my listening pleasure. This has worked so well that I've started to record All Things Considered in the mornings (afternoon in the States) and listen to it on my way to work or when I have a little spare time.
Television presents a little more of a problem, but BitTorrent has revolutionized this area in the past year or two…on the cusp of legality. I just hope that broadcasters will catch on to the fact that there are some of us that are willing to pay to watch quality entertainment. People pay to get HBO only to watch one series. Why not allow people to subscribe to Lost or The Amazing Race for $50/year?
Movies are easy…in more ways than one. First, almost every major Hollywood movies opens here a couple of weeks after it does in the States. They're also in English…just subtitled in Korean. Secondly, there's a burgeoning bootleg DVD business here. I was on my way to see Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith a few weeks ago and as I was walking toward the theatre I came across a bootleg DVD vendor that was showing the movie at his cart. Cost: 5,000 Won ($5). This is where Hollywood is losing money, not on illegal downloads.
And if all else fails…There's always Netflix.
I became hooked on the Public Radio show This American Life a few years ago and I haven't missed an episode since. I likewise am a devoted listener of Car Talk, Wait, Wait…Don't Tell Me; and to a lesser degree, The Next Big Thing. Since only Car Talk is broadcast here I have harnessed the power of the Internet to make listening to these fine programs possible.
I was so devoted to This American Life that I had purchased an annual subscription through Audible.com. But for the other programs I've found another solution.
Audio Hijack is a great piece of software that essentially works as a TiVo for streaming audio. These shows are aired in the States on Saturday morning, which is late Saturday night or early Saturday morning here. Audio Hijack automatically opens an NPR stations audio stream, records it and dumps it into iTunes. When I wake up on Sunday morning there are a fresh batch of shows for my listening pleasure. This has worked so well that I've started to record All Things Considered in the mornings (afternoon in the States) and listen to it on my way to work or when I have a little spare time.
Television presents a little more of a problem, but BitTorrent has revolutionized this area in the past year or two…on the cusp of legality. I just hope that broadcasters will catch on to the fact that there are some of us that are willing to pay to watch quality entertainment. People pay to get HBO only to watch one series. Why not allow people to subscribe to Lost or The Amazing Race for $50/year?
Movies are easy…in more ways than one. First, almost every major Hollywood movies opens here a couple of weeks after it does in the States. They're also in English…just subtitled in Korean. Secondly, there's a burgeoning bootleg DVD business here. I was on my way to see Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith a few weeks ago and as I was walking toward the theatre I came across a bootleg DVD vendor that was showing the movie at his cart. Cost: 5,000 Won ($5). This is where Hollywood is losing money, not on illegal downloads.
And if all else fails…There's always Netflix.
posted by tcw1138 at 8:36 AM
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