The Funeral Game

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is an entirely unique history podcast. Dan Carlin presents an element of world history in his own words and does two very original things. One is that he brings the history in an entirely oral style. He tells about it as if he is engaging in a one on one conversation with you, the listener, and tells what he knows about the subject at hand - in the latest edition: the succession of Alexander the Great.

The second very original element is that he shifts emphasis from handing the facts to his own interpretation of the facts and his own thoughts about it. This results in a story with the analysis with comparisons, evaluations and what-ifs built in. No other history podcast I know does this. It makes for an exciting, and very different podcast experience.

There is actually a third element that Dan Carlin adds. He tries to dramatize the cast with the help of sound effects. I think this element is still very much in the back ground. It has been developing over the past shows and, I expect, will become more and more profound in shows to come. It takes the podcast well beyond the experience of a history lecture.

Go and listen to the latest episode - The Macedonian soap opera - and enjoy what is called: The Funeral Game.

History Network - Peninsular war

Occasionally I listen to the history podcast of the History Network. By the name, one would expect a general history podcast, but in practice this is a podcast about military history. I am much less into military history, hence, the history network is not exactly my thing. The issues I listen to are the ones that have my general historic interest.

Thus it was with the latest show, 301, I listened again. This show is about the peninsular campaign; the battle between Napoleonic France and the English, the Spanish and the Portuguese on the Iberian peninsula. This was a rather long cast, 25 minutes. Usually the casts take between 10 and 20 minutes. They are well read and well written and I like the British accent, but here we run into, also, a relative weak point of the podcast.

First of all, it is one of those monologue podcasts that consist of somebody reading out loud an essay on the subject. Only on account of it being well written and well read, the podcast is still worthwhile, otherwise it would have been choked by this less than perfect approach of podcasting. Second, the British perspective makes it a bit one sided in the particular podcast about the Peninsular War. We hardly are informed about the French side.

All in all a reasonable podcast, but my recommendation only for those who are interested in military history.

TWN #89: Synonyms

The Word Nerds have made a new show, show number 89 it is. Howard (left) and Dave (below) Shepherd have a talk about synonyms.

The show is much inspired by both brothers' recent visit to Germany. Hence, the show is less about English synonyms and more about the difficulty of discerning the fine distinctions between synonyms in your second language -- German in particular. And about the difficulty finding the right synonym in German to an English specific.

Only by the end English synonyms are discussed as well as the inability to discern between those when there is talk of the rude word of the week. I think it helped me a lot, that I know German and I was on top of the examples that came on the table. I liked the show as usual. For anyone who wants to try the show, but is wondering whether to feel put off by the amount of German in the show, I say: do not be afraid. Even though German is the most featured foreign language, as the one most prominent foreign language the Shepherds master (there are more!), the show is first and foremost about English. I think I do not recall such emphasis on German ever before.

Thomas Dekker na een zwakke tijdrit

(Bron: NOS)

Thomas Dekker had uitgekeken naar de tijdrit in Albi, maar met een 27ste plek speelde hij geen rol van betekenis. Hij moest zelfs Michael Boogerd voor laten gaan, maar dat had een reden.

" Ik vertrok eigenlijk hartstikke goed (9de na 18 km), maar na 10 minuten kreeg ik last van mijn heup. De afdaling heb ik daarna rustig gereden. Mijn snelheid was toen nul, want ik had een stekende pijn in mijn heup. Jammer, want dit was eigenlijk een ideale tijdrit voor me, zeker met al die bochten", zei Dekker.

" Jammer ook van die regen", vervolgde Dekker. Wiggins is nu 2 minuten sneller. Onder droge omstandigheden versla ik hem altijd in lange tijdritten."

Ik heb nog geen algemeen klassement gezien, dus pas morgen, terwijl we door de Pyreneeen klimmen, kan ik daar meer over zeggen. (Update: hij staat 40e op 33 minuten en 1 seconde) Een erg belangwekkende plaats is het in ieder geval niet. Dekker rijdt nog en hij zal zijn krachten voor Rasmussen moeten aanwenden.

Rasmussen heeft de schade beperkt weten te houden en behoudt daardoor het geel. Ik denk echter, als hij niet gaat aanvallen in de komende drie etappes, dat hij volgende week bij de laatste tijdrit van de eerste plaats gestoten zal worden. Morgen is er al meteen een dag voor de aanval. Een buitencategorie berg als aankomst.

Main course with rice, minced meat and burnt eggplant

Tonight our sabbath meal consisted of rice, minced meat in a tomato sauce and eggplant burnt in the oven. Four to eight servings.

1) Eggplant
Cut the eggplant in two halves. Cover them with tin foil and burn them in the oven for at least 60 minutes at a temperature of 275 degrees.

2) Rice
1 table spoon olive oil
1 big onion
salt
white wine
1 clove of garlic
1 cup of brown rice

Cut the onion and stir fry it for 3 minutes in the oil at medium heat. Add some salt, the rice and keep stirring. Add half a glass of white wine and stir some more. Add two cups of water, cover and boil. When the rice boils add a whole clove of garlic. When the rice is done (after 20 to 30 minutes) stir the rice with a fork. The garlic will have gone soft and you can take it out or - what I prefer - mix it with the whole bowl of rice by stirring.

3) Minced meat in tomato sauce
500 gram minced meat
1 table spoon olive oil
2 tea spoons ground caraway
1 tea spoon ground cardamom
2 handful of fresh basil leaves
1 tea spoon fresh thyme
3 tea spoons fresh sage
4 zucchinis
2 green paprikas
1 dry red hot pepper
2 bay leaves
10 cloves of garlic
3 packages of tomato paste
salt
black pepper

Mix the meat with a pinch of salt, the caraway and the cardamom. Fry it in the pan with the oil. Add the red pepper and the bay leaves. Stir. Cut and add the zucchini and the paprika. Cut 5 cloves of garlic into fine slices and add to the meat. Then squeeze the other 5 and add also. When the zucchini is done, roughly cut the fresh leaves and add. Simmer for 5 minutes and add the tomato paste. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Take the eggplant out of the oven. Cut the halves in two quarts and serve on a plate next to the rice and the sauce.

SRR 100

The milestone, 100th, podcast of Shrinkrapradio is a conversation between the host Dr. David van Nuys and his friend, SRR listener and promoter Jerry Trumbule. What we find out here for the first time is how Jerry has pushed and guided Dr. Dave into starting, making and developing the Shrinkrapradio podcast. So, in addition to the incomparable Dr. Dave, kudos go to Jerry Trumbule for bringing us one of the best podcasts around.

For the new listener, show #100 is a great entry into the microcosm of SRR. The show delivers highlights from some of the best of the past 100 shows. This gives a fine insight in the palette that is to be discerned. From this show as a starting point, the new listener can go back and pick and choose old shows to listen to.

Jerry and Dave's discussion go over all the aspects of the show, but if at all there is something left to be desired it is that they would have given also some attention to the listener community. By means of a Frappr map and comment pages of each show, SRR has also built a kernel of faithful listeners and I am sure that their very existence has also contributed to the show. Some of them became interviewees, others have had their email questions attended to in the show and maybe most importantly, have given Dr. Dave the necessary backup and stimulants to keep up the good work. The great work.