TPN would like to advise that we are doing some important server maintenance on from Dec 31 – Jan 2 and our comments system will be down during that period. Regular access to podcasts and blog posts should not be affected during this time. Thanks for your patience!
I’m back from my vacation in hell with a suitable guest – horror novelist Joseph Nassise, author of the highly-acclaimed recent novel HERETIC.
I’m about two-thirds of the way through HERETIC and it’s a real page-turner, so I was very excited about getting Joe on the show. We chat about the novel, his approach to research and writing, the impact of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci on the religious thriller genre, the challenges with the horror genre, his appreciation of horror comics such as HELLBLAZER, and the opportunities the internet offer writers to promote their work.
For my sins, I’m taking my family to Bundaberg (map) for 8 days as of tomorrow. Bundy (as it’s known), population 58,000, is the home of Bundy Rum and Dr Death. It’s also the place where Belinda and I grew up and where my mother and her parents still live. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the temperature today in Bundy is 28.9 degrees Celsius (84 degrees F) with 59% relative humidity. Ugh. And my mother has no aircon. In addition, the food sucks, there isn’t a decent latte for 1000 miles, it’s redneck central and the Bundaberg Mayor was the Head Mistress at Kepnock High School when we went there… let’s just say that she never really liked me (I can still remember the look she gave me when, age 12, I told her I wouldn’t be attending religious education classes because I was a zen buddhist). The only thing that Bundy really has going for it is that it’s the beginning of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef, a fact which I’m sure Des, Bowie and Bear will appreciate. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be doing any diving though on this trip. I’ll be teaching my boys to fish and catch crabs (the kind you can eat) though, which will be a hoot. The best thing about Bundy is the view of it in my rear view mirror as I’m leaving it.
Anyway… enough of my complaining. I will be checking email, hopefully twice a day (first thing in the morning and last thing at night), assuming my mum hasn’t used all of her bandwidth this month, and will respond to email and comments as possible. The rest of the TPN’rs will still be doing shows though, so keep your aggregators burning.
My guest today is Cydni Tetro, Vice President of Product and Corporate Marketing, NextPage Inc.
Cydni was on the podcasting panel we did at BlogOn2005 in New York last October.
She has been using podcasts to add value to NextPage’s clients. In the interview we discuss her philosophy of how to best use podcasts as a marketing tool. There are still very few companies out there using podcasting well. NextPage is out in front of the pack.
NOW… while I’ve got your attention… can I ask a couple of favours?
1. Vote for G’DAY WORLD over at Podcast Alley. Just a little experiment we haven’t tried for a long while.
2. Don’t forget to subscribe to G’DAY WORLD! Don’t know how to subscribe? Read our guide here.
CENSORSHIP!
Is there a need or even a justification for censorship of adult material in 21st century Australia?
Today I caught up with a coffee and a chat with my mate Paul aka “Gonzo” from PolyEster Books.
PolyEster Books in Melbourne has been on a mission “TO PROVIDE THE FREAKIEST UNDERGROUND BOOKS, MAGAZINES, FILMS AND COMIX” for 20 years. In the process, the store, has become a Melbourne icon.
On the 16th November 2005, Polyester was raided and searched by several police officers with a search warrant. Several hundred videos and dvds – with an X-rating or deemed un-rated – were confiscated. While legal in Canberra and the Territories, X-rated material is considered illegal in Victoria. And while anyone over the age of 18 with a credit card can order this same material from international corporations like Amazon, a Melbourne businessman is facing (at best) serious fines and (at worst) even jail. His business could go under.
The issue here, as I see it, has nothing to do with porn.
As Helen Vnuk, a former editor of Australian Women’s Forum and author of Snatched: Sex and Censorship in Australia said in this well-written article in 2003:
The ease with which a banned film can be downloaded and viewed raises the question of censorship’s relevance in the age of the internet. But strangely enough, in the few years since Australians have had access to the net and been able to call up anything from Ken Park to The Anarchist’s Cookbook to farmyard porn, censorship guidelines in Australia have been tightened.
The same principle is at stake – that adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want – but while plenty of people are prepared to defend art-house films and books, few want to be seen defending X-rated videos and adult magazines – or, as they’re more effectively labelled by their opponents, filth and smut.
You can sign a petition to save PolyEster (even if you don’t live in Melbourne) here.
