Relations: Audiobooks

Relations: Audiobooks

(this news item posted on February.18.2006)

I would like to start recording Relations so that people can listen to it, and I'm asking for your help.

In October of 1994 I began writing Relations: book 1 - McEmpire. I had just written a book called the Autobiography of Alex Mead: How to Care About Humans which I wanted people to read and be inspired to think about how we could treat each other better. It had that effect on some of the people who read it, but it was available as an ebook only and most people would tell me that they were fans of books on paper and needed to hold a book in their hands to really get into it.

So I put some serious thought into what I wanted to write and commit to paper. I had been researching corporate malfeasance and the tactics and lies of their Public Relations firms for quite a while --reading some very detailed and academic books on the subject-- and I wondered if I could write a story, some fiction that could make all of these problems easily understood and spell out how horrible it all is for human beings and the interconnected web of life.

People who said that they would read a book of mine if I put it on paper were mostly true to their word; I sold a lot more copies of Relations book 1 than I sold of my autobiography eBook. But now I am encountering a new problem. There are so many people that tell me that they are interested in what I've written but they don't have any time to read any book at all.

So I want to record an audiobook. I want people to be able to listen to Relations driving in their car, or online, or in their MP3 player. As the people who've read the two books well know, there are more than 100 characters in these books. So I was really hoping to get a lot of voices in on this thing. I'd really like to take a lot of care in matching voices to characters and make this realistic fiction that much more realistic.

You wanna help? Let me know.

If you have a particular favorite character, especially minor characters, and you believe you sound like them or embody them, please let me know.

If you have an interest in reading but are unfamiliar with that characters and I know what you sound like, let me know.

If you are unfamiliar with the characters, there are free chapters of the book available on the internet at my website
http://www.AMProSoft.com/books

If I don't know what you sound like, feel free to record a voice message and email it to me.

And thank you to the people who have already volunteered to help out on this.

Peace & Love,
-Alex

Beer, Radio & Mutual of Omaha

Beer, Radio & Mutual of Omaha

(this news item posted on February.15.2006)

So, I was all set to get lots of website work done that I've owed everybody for ages... when I was suddenly beseiged by...

Powerful Distractions

Radio:
Two great new radio experiences have just sprung up. Seemingly out of nowhere, though they've both been around for quite some time.

fuuse.com had been without their live stream for quite a while. It's sort of a community and radio station for Unitarian Universalist young adults, so for months and months it's been a radio station without any radio station to it. But suddenly it's back, better than ever, and I've listened to much more of it than I've had time to.

Then, our local "community" type radio station has been taken over, sort of by us, and so now it is a 24 hour Progressive Talk format station with lots more awesome Pacifica programming and a lot of Air America talk show and such. I've listened to more of it than I've had time for.

Beer:
No, I haven't taken up drinking. My 30 years on the wagon continue. My roommate, however, an individual who agreed not to drink in the computer room (but often agrees to things with no intention of honoring his agreements) got bombed and passed out in the computer room. My Rage Aginst the Machine CD sitting in a pool of beer. Beer poured into the computer keyboard so that it no longer works and so that I lost a whole day off completely unable to do any computer work. And then also the carpet still smells like beer and probably will for some time to come making it hard to concentrate.

Yeah. So, that didn't help much.

Work:
And, of course, I've still been working long hours every day trying to get caught up to my out-of-control financial debt nightmare.

Did you ever used to watch Mutual of Omaha. You know, that old nature show where Jim used to get out and wrestle the aligator. I got to be the aligator yesterday at work.

Every once in a great while, some management type guy in a button down blue shirt will lead a tour through the warehouse. Usually work is endless hours of solitude in the back of a dark trailer, so it's really odd when people suddenly appear.

It's also really odd when people start talking about you in the 3rd person when you're right next to them. You begin to feel like an exhibit of sorts.

"See the way he throws those two tires at the same time. Those tires weigh 40 pounds a piece!" (he was mistaken, they were much lighter than that, but it sounded good)

"This particular one used to work in the Guard Shack. Working back here is probably a real step up for him." (Yeah, doubling your income can generally be viewed as a "step up", but a simple way to find out might be to ask him. He actually speaks English in addition to his tire throwing abilities.)

Okay, so now that I've gotten myself a new keyboard and a new day off from work and I've turned the radio off and written a journal entry I think I'm gonna actually get some work done. Wish me luck.

Your Very Own General Update...

(this news item posted on February.04.2006)

Hello people that read about my life.

Here's some stuff from it

1,000 Cows:
I've been talking about my 12 years of vegetarianism for the last three months probably. But as of now, it has been officially 12 years. 1994 to now. Wow.

I gave up red meat about 6 months before that, so the fast food fascists haven't had Alex Mead to kick around for an age. Nyah.

Hair today, Here tomorrow:
So I had this plan for my hair (pictured). I was gonna grow it out until Opus this year and then let somebody cut it and donate it to locks of love and have people take a million billion pictures of me (like the last couple guys to chop their hair off at Opus), but, well, um, I'm really starting to get attached to it. It's growing on me... erm... so to speak.

So, uh, nevermind that plan. I dunno if I'd have 12 surplus inches by August anyway.

Myoozak:
So, I saw my friend Eddie U, who I had not seen in a while, and he came over to the house and hung out and I played some of my old computer songs for him and I think I'm inspired to start composing stuff again. Just messing about so far, but I think I will at least make some old stuff available online, if not make a bunch of new stuff.

I came out with 3 casette tapes in the 90s. And I had a great idea for a 4th one. I think I might remaster and reissue some of the 1st three on CD and then actually bust out that 4th one after all. A lot of the music for it is still there... hibernating on my computer.

Hows the Writing?
I'm still managing not to be writing any books right now. I'm very proud of myself. I am in the research phase of my historical novel. "Research Phase" being a fancy term for spending hours at a time clicking around on the Wikipedia.

Putting Your Financial House in Order
Slowly but slowly I'm clawing my way out of debt and stuff. Having my lucrative tire throwing job is a big help.

The Love Life:
Has me loving life.


Ok, DONE!

Peace
-Alex