Recently, I have begun to listen to podcasts*, specifically J. C. Hutchins' 7th Son story-line and its companion, OBSIDIAN and Mark Yoshimoto Nemkoff's Shadow Falls. I have found it to be MORE entertaining than television and movies. Let me explain.
I am 45 years old and have begun to notice that both the television shows and the movies of late have been . . . dull and seldom imaginative. Some movies, like "The Parent Trap", have been repeatedly re-vamped (1961, 1986, 1989, 1998, 2002, 2005). I have watched some movies where I have predicted 98% of each scene change (and that's WITHOUT having read the book from which many are written!) In essence, it's as if the ink has run out of the pens of so many writers!
I have begun enjoying the podcasts more than any television shows and movies I have recently seen. Seldom does a show or movie catch and pique my interest. I have found that, unlike shows and movies, reading books and listening to podcasts help to engage imagination and instill enjoyment.
Last year, Hutchins introduced a new concept of engaging in story-tellng which he has branded as "transmedia", where the reading audience of one of his books, Personal Effects: Dark Art, can actively engage in the story-line by looking up Websites and listening to voicemails relating to the story-line.
As 2010 approaches, I have begun to look forward to future audio-stories. Such artists as J. C. Hutchins and others like Mark Yoshimoto Nemkoff have demonstrated a rare talent in story-telling unlike any I have heard before. I look forward to being entertained by their future stories.
*Podcasts are "Web-based audio broadcasts via an RSS feed, accessed by subscription over the Internet" (Source: www.dictionary.com)
A peek into my mind, to hear the thoughts of a 40-something single male as he walks this planet called Earth.
John M. Kirton II
DISCLAIMER: This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own solely and not those of The Village Church, her ministers, pastors, administrators, staff, covenant members, regular attenders or visitors; my parents; my alma mater, Dallas Christian College, her administration, faculty, Board, alumni, or students, past, present and future; or my employer and fellow employees.
My Story
- John M. Kirton II
- I attended public school for two years and private school for the remainder of my education. After graduation, I attended Bible college in Dallas, Texas, for four and one-half years consecutively. Unfortunately, I failed a class and was unable to graduate with my class but God enabled me to re-take the course and I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Bible and minors in Youth Ministry and Biblical Languages in 1994. After failing the aforementioned course, I had continued attending a church but began to falter in my faith. It was during my second year after my Bible college years that I was introduced to the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), where I became a member and was involved for twelve years. It was not until my twelfth year that, after much prayer from my parents and closest friends, Greg Faure and Wayne Stiles, I became convinced that the ICOC was a religious sect. In June, 2000, I left the ICOC and became a covenant member of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX, in April, 2004.
