Listen to later

December Audio 2013

Holiday Happies

Audiobooks

later

A Christmas Carol - Read by Neil Gaiman

Words

books

Interesting Podcasts and Interviews

Background and poem text: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/07/17/billy-collins-reads-marginalia

POEM TEXT

Billy Collins reads "Marginalia"

Rachel Hirons is a playwright and screenwriter who studied drama and film at Kingston University. Her play 'When Women Wee' enjoyed a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011 and at Soho Theatre in May 2012, receiving rave reviews. Rachel's second play 'A Guide To Second Date Sex' sold out at the Edinburgh Festival in 2012 and transferred to another sell-out run at Soho theatre in London during March 2013. Rachel's screenplay adaptation of the play 'When Women Wee' into her debut feature film 'Powder Room' has been commissioned by Damian Jones Films and stars Sheridan Smith, Jaime Winstone, Oona Chaplin and Kate Nash.

Rachel is taking her third play 'Dirty Laundry' to the Edinburgh Festival 2013 at the Underbelly.  

Dirty Laundry
Underbelly, Cowgate
1st- 25th August
21:25 (1hour)
14+ (Occasional strong language and sexual references)

Working in a laundrette, local busy body Esther has a largely mundane existence. But not today... Voyeuring through the dirty laundry and lives of her colourful array of customers, Esther and her surprisingly resourceful sidekick, Tristan, become accidentally embroiled within the darkest, juiciest scandal their small town has ever known. Disappearances, suspicious characters and inescapable evidence points to one haunting conclusion and proves madness is closer to genius than ever imagined. Following two previous sell-out Underbelly shows, hit writer Rachel Hirons returns with a brand new comedy, directed by Kat Hoult. This is one not to be missed!

What the press have said about Rachel's previous plays:
'Rachel Hirons's script is as sweet as it is hilarious, smartly skewering the follies of modern mating while crafting a delicate and generous romcom at the same time.' **** Time Out

'...this is one of the funniest and most honest shows you're likely to see... brilliantly insightful'The Londonist

'...crafted perfectly and slickly, mixed with humour... consistently filthy and funny, though it never veers too far from the believable' ***** Across the Arts

'The audience laughs and cringes in equal measure' **** Fringereview.co.uk

'...an hour of tightly packed comedy... A Guide to Second Date Sex sits proudly alongside the cream of modern British comedy.' **** Whatsonstage.com

Image credit: Matt Writtle

-

Sara Shulman is the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL speaker on 'The Power of Funny', former Head of Comedy at UCLU Rare FM and produces the Humour Me Comedy Podcast. Sara is also a Classics Undergraduate at UCL and occasionally gigs on the comedy circuit.   
www.comedyblogedy.com   
www.twitter.com/comedyblog   
 http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxUCL-SARA-SHULMAN-The-power;search%3Asara%20shulman

Interview with Rachel Hirons (Humour Me Comedy Podcast)

In Britain, Growth of Urban Beekeeping May Be Hurting Bees

The cheapest of new technologies is bringing light into hundreds of thousands of homes in the developing world, with virtually zero environmental impact. Host Marco Werman reports on the "Moser lamp," which captures sunlight in a plastic bottle filled with water.

For the Developing World, Innovation on the Cheap: Light in a Bottle

Background and context: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/09/27/anais-nin-reads-from-diary/

Anaïs Nin reads from her famous diary (1966)

Puffin Audiobooks presents two volumes of beastly poetry by Roald Dahl, complete and unabridged and raucously read by Miriam Margolyes, Stephen Mangan, and Tamsin Greig.  The audiobook contains original music.

In Revolting Rhymes, you can think again if you thought you knew the stories of some of the most popular fairy tales. Here are six of the best known retold, with more than a twist or two, by the master of the comic and the blood-curdling.

Download the phizz-whizzing Roald Dahl Audiobooks App!
With fantastic features including free access to the first chapter of every title, in–app purchase to continue the story and the ability to stream the audiobooks, the Roald Dahl audiobooks app is available from the App Store on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.


Roald Dahl: Revolting Rhymes & Dirty Beasts read by Stephen Mangan, Tamsin Greig & Miriam Margolyes

Australian journalist Jan Graham spent ten years in Vietnam covering the war. She told Siobhan McHugh about one especially traumatic memory, when she found herself playing surrogate wife to a dying GI. Excerpted from Minefields and Miniskirts, a 6 x 30mins documentary series about Australian women in the Vietnam war, broadcast on ABC Radio (Australia) 1993. Info: http://siobhanmchugh.org

The Hideous Intimacy of Death - encounter in the Vietnam War

Buy on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/DecentXmas

Crunch, Crunch…Crunch, Crunch…. What’s that on the roof? Is it a burglar or a vagrant? A vacuum salesman or a Sasquatch? Damn look, it’s Santa on his sleigh with Kraang and the faded Jeffree’s mascot tossing out Christmas dub plates for the entire land. I think it’s safe to say that here at Mad Decent we caught the christmas spirit hard this year.  We  went all out and had our biggest tunes remixed by the artists themselves xmas-style for your pleasure.  Laid out here are some serious  xmas re-imaginings from Diplo, DJ Snake, Gent & Jawns, Juyen Sebulba, Astronomar and Kennedy Jones.  Also on the original side of thing, Vjuan Allure gives us a vogued out reindeer stomper with “RUDE OFF 2013” and Mitch Murder unleashes a fireside roasted chestnut R&B ballad with help from Santell.

Juyen Sebulba
@juyensebulba
Facebook: https://facebook.com/juyensebulba
Twitter: http://twitter.com/JuyenSebulba

A Very Decent Christmas

SuperJam (Deck The Halls)

Buy on iTunes

Juyen Sebulba - SuperJam (Deck The Halls)

Buy on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/DecentXmas

Crunch, Crunch…Crunch, Crunch…. What’s that on the roof? Is it a burglar or a vagrant? A vacuum salesman or a Sasquatch? Damn look, it’s Santa on his sleigh with Kraang and the faded Jeffree’s mascot tossing out Christmas dub plates for the entire land. I think it’s safe to say that here at Mad Decent we caught the christmas spirit hard this year.  We  went all out and had our biggest tunes remixed by the artists themselves xmas-style for your pleasure.  Laid out here are some serious  xmas re-imaginings from Diplo, DJ Snake, Gent & Jawns, Juyen Sebulba, Astronomar and Kennedy Jones.  Also on the original side of thing, Vjuan Allure gives us a vogued out reindeer stomper with “RUDE OFF 2013” and Mitch Murder unleashes a fireside roasted chestnut R&B ballad with help from Santell.

Diplo
Soundcloud: @diplo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/diplo
Twitter: www.twitter.com/diplo

Frosty Bounce (feat. Angger Dimas & Nicky Da B)

Diplo - Frosty Bounce (feat. Angger Dimas & Nicky Da B)

Buy on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/DecentXmas

Crunch, Crunch…Crunch, Crunch…. What’s that on the roof? Is it a burglar or a vagrant? A vacuum salesman or a Sasquatch? Damn look, it’s Santa on his sleigh with Kraang and the faded Jeffree’s mascot tossing out Christmas dub plates for the entire land. I think it’s safe to say that here at Mad Decent we caught the christmas spirit hard this year.  We  went all out and had our biggest tunes remixed by the artists themselves xmas-style for your pleasure.  Laid out here are some serious  xmas re-imaginings from Diplo, DJ Snake, Gent & Jawns, Juyen Sebulba, Astronomar and Kennedy Jones.  Also on the original side of thing, Vjuan Allure gives us a vogued out reindeer stomper with “RUDE OFF 2013” and Mitch Murder unleashes a fireside roasted chestnut R&B ballad with help from Santell.

Vjuan Allure
Twitter: http://twitter.com/vjuanallure
@vjuan-allure
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vjuan.allure
Website: http://www.vjuanselitebeatz.com/

RUDE - OFF 2013

Vjuan Allure - RUDE - OFF 2013

Buy on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/DecentXmas

Crunch, Crunch…Crunch, Crunch…. What’s that on the roof? Is it a burglar or a vagrant? A vacuum salesman or a Sasquatch? Damn look, it’s Santa on his sleigh with Kraang and the faded Jeffree’s mascot tossing out Christmas dub plates for the entire land. I think it’s safe to say that here at Mad Decent we caught the christmas spirit hard this year.  We  went all out and had our biggest tunes remixed by the artists themselves xmas-style for your pleasure.  Laid out here are some serious  xmas re-imaginings from Diplo, DJ Snake, Gent & Jawns, Juyen Sebulba, Astronomar and Kennedy Jones.  Also on the original side of thing, Vjuan Allure gives us a vogued out reindeer stomper with “RUDE OFF 2013” and Mitch Murder unleashes a fireside roasted chestnut R&B ballad with help from Santell.

Turn Up Ye Merry Gentlemen

Gent & Jawns - Turn Up Ye Merry Gentlemen

Neil Gaiman reads from the only surviving "prompt copy" – Dickens's own performance script – of "A Christmas Carol." Background, context, and some curious factoids here: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/12/23/neil-gaiman-reads-charles-dickens-a-christmas-carol

Neil Gaiman reads Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol"

Performed by Richmond Hoxie

When The Unbearable Lightness of Being was first published in English, it was hailed as "a work of the boldest mastery, originality, and richness" by critic Elizabeth Hardwick and named one of the best books of 1984 by the New York Times Book Review. It went on to win the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction and quickly became an international bestseller. Twenty years later, the novel has established itself as a modern classic. To commemorate the anniversary of its first English-language publication, HarperCollins is proud to offer a special hardcover edition.
A young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing; one of his mistresses and her humbly faithful lover -- these are the two couples whose story is told in this masterful novel.
Controlled by day, Tereza's jealousy awakens by night, transformed into ineffably sad death-dreams, while Tomas, a successful surgeon, alternates loving devotion to the dependent Tereza with the ardent pursuit of other women. Sabina, an independent, free-spirited artist, lives her life as a series of betrayals -- of parents, husband, country, love itself -- whereas her lover, the intellectual Franz, loses all because of his earnest goodness and fidelity.
In a world in which lives are shaped by irrevocable choices and by fortuitous events, a world in which everything occurs but once, existence seems to lose its substance, its weight. Hence we feel, says the novelist, "the unbearable lightness of being" -- not only as the consequence of our private acts but also in the public sphere, and the two inevitably intertwine.
This magnificent novel encompasses the extremes of comedy and tragedy, and embraces, it seems, all aspects of human existence. It juxtaposes geographically distant places (Prague, Geneva, Paris, Thailand, the United States, a forlorn Bohemian village); brilliant and playful reflections (on "eternal return," on kitsch, on man and animals -- Tomas and Tereza have a beloved doe named Karenin); and a variety of styles (from the farcical to the elegiac) to take its place as perhaps the major achievement of one of the world's truly great writers.

The Unbearable Lightness Of Being by Milan Kundera

2015 Audie Finalist: Autobiography/Memoir and Narration by Author Categories

READ BY ALAN CUMMING

In his unique and engaging voice, the acclaimed actor of stage and screen shares the emotional story of his complicated relationship with his father and the deeply buried family secrets that shaped his life and career.

A beloved star of stage, television, and film—“one of the most fun people in show business” (Time magazine)—Alan Cumming is a successful artist whose diversity and fearlessness is unparalleled. His success masks a painful childhood growing up under the heavy rule of an emotionally and physically abusive father—a relationship that tormented him long into adulthood.

When television producers in the UK approached him to appear on a popular celebrity genealogy show in 2010, Alan enthusiastically agreed. He hoped the show would solve a family mystery involving his maternal grandfather, a celebrated WWII hero who disappeared in the Far East. But as the truth of his family ancestors revealed itself, Alan learned far more than he bargained for about himself, his past, and his own father.

With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as a film, television, and theater star. At times suspenseful, deeply moving, and wickedly funny, Not My Father’s Son will make readers laugh even as it breaks their hearts.

NOT MY FATHER'S SON by Alan Cumming

Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, and Stuart Duncan talk with Music Designer, Janica Quach, about their album, Goat Rodeo Sessions. 

Visit Mood's site: http://www.moodmedia.com
Read Mood's blog: http://blog.moodmedia.com
Like Mood on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/moodmedia
Follow Mood on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/moodmedia


Goat Rodeo Sessions (Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, and Stuart Duncan) Interview

An exclusive recording for Brain Pickings. Background and transcript: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/04/09/ode-to-the-book-pablo-neruda-tom-obedlam/

"Ode to the Book" by Pablo Neruda, read by Tom O'Bedlam

Broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds, Weds June 12, 2013, superannuated theatre and film veteran Dora Dale discusses her life, and chooses some of her favourite tunes

Dora One on One

The tune I made back in 2002 with Iain Banks, one of the most amazing, creative, wonderful, human humans to have ever lived on this or any other world. Love and respect to a total genius. 
Iain Banks 15 Feb 1954 - 9 June 2013.

Chris Coco feat Iain Banks - Dreaming

THE 2009 PHILIPPA PEARCE MEMORIAL LECTURE was given by Michael Rosen (Children’s Laureate 2007-2009). It was entitled What is children’s poetry for?: towards a new, but child-specific, ‘Apologie for Poetrie’ (Sir Philip Sidney, 1595).

Neil Gaiman reads Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol"

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