I finally started my long talked about audio podcast.  It is called Rhetoric Nation which is the name I picked last year when I was going to launch the cast as an all politics talk show.  However I have been a bit sour on the political front this last six months and I wanted to broaden the scope of the show to all things interesting to me.   I kept the name for two reasons, one I like it and the other I own the domain for two years.

So what can you expect to hear on this podcast?  Me and me and a lot more of me.  It will cover my views and opinions on a wide range of topics.  I am hoping to have guests join me and listeners participate  as the show progresses.

The show will record live on Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific on my tinychat channel – www.tinychat.com/jimkirks please join me so you can heckle me live.  Check the rhetoricnation.com site for upcoming topics.  You will be able to listen/download the show on Mondays on the main site and through iTunes.

Please take a listen to the first show and tell me what you think.  I know, I talk a lot.

http://www.rhetoricnation.com

Chris Baker joins the cool kids on Seesmic. Still hunting for his mic his first couple of post have been silent. Fortunately he has other means to capture his brilliance. Just look at that shot! Nice walk color also. Welcome Tophertron!

It is a new year and that can only mean one thing. Time to stop doing one of the many bad things you started doing last year, make a couple hundred lists and promise yourself that you will stay away from your crazy Aunt June. That last part of course can be replaced by anything, like chocolate, booze, kids, jim kirks, McDonald’s, lard or whatever you have decided to stave off in 2008. The new year for most, me included, means turning over a new leaf, or making it appear as though you have or are trying to.

In this new year for me I am seeking a new direction. I am taking 2008 to find a new source of income. In the last month of 2007 I spun most of my client base and put my business on the rocks. I am looking for new opportunity in this great big world of ours. I have spent the last couple of weeks putting the feelers out, contacting the people close to me and hunting for new ideas for what is next. I know that I need some time away from the tech field. It has burnt me out to the point where the gray in my hair is scaring small children. Where this leaves me as of right now? Jobless and a bit on the poor side. But the plussed out way the negatives for now and I have lost the desire to kill someone every time the phone rings. I am optimistic that I will come upon something good/positive/exciting/challenging in the next few weeks. Otherwise maybe just a greater at Wal-Mart?

Podcasting is still going to play an important role in my life in 08. Chuck and I have committed to another year of both shows and have started work on a few side projects. I know we both would love the chance to work with other podcasters in the field and still dream of making a dollar off our passion. Dreams!

Finally, drop me a line and let me know what you have planned for the new year. Leave me a comment or send an email my way. Would love to hear what is in store for you!

Happy New Year!!

Yesterday I posted my first picture to Flickr in nearly three weeks. This is the first step back for me to my social media world. Over the last couple of weeks Flickr is the one service that I have really missedl. I love the ability to post a picture directly to the web so that everyone can see my them instantly.  Over the last year I have found this ability to document my life with pictures really fulfilling.

So how was nearly three weeks away from social networking and how has it effected me? These are two questions I have been asking myself over the last couple of days. To tell you the truth, I am not sure if I have answer to either yet. I do know that after the first couple of days the need to be a apart of twitter, seesmic and the rest faded. I still plan a post later on this week to talk about how it effected my everyday and what has changed since the start. For now though, I want to give everyone a heads up that I will be returning X-mas eve day with a bunch of video, mostly seemic. I am going to turn the Twitter back on that day also.

Thanks to everyone that stayed in touch while I was disconnected.

Yesterday I attempted to remove myself from my computer and my phone. These two things tie me into my world in more ways than one. I belong to and I am apart of many different social networking sites. Twitter and the new Seesmic keep me in touch and up to date with most of my friends from around the globe. These two sites along with Facebook and the every evil Myspace also keep me socially connected. It has become increasingly apparent that I have a small addiction to these new web 2.0 social networking sites. I am not going to say that this addiction has been all bad, it just has consumed me to the point where some of my focus is a bit off.

My experiment yesterday, 24 hours with no tech, has given me some clarity into my minor addiction. It has brought me to this conclusion. It is time to remove myself from this world for awhile and focus back in on the things that matter to me. Which is to say, my business and my current podcasting projects. I also need to spend more time here in the Real World with the people in my life. I am not saying that I am done or that I will never come back, I just think it is time for me to take a long break.

I will still be blogging and I will continue to do the weekly podcasts. Please drop me an email or a phone call and keep me up to date with what you are doing.

Today is my fathers 23 birthday. He is a man of great worth and wisdom and I would not be the man I am today without him.  He continues to give me the support and the love I need to get through this crazy thing we called life.  As he would say, “giving me tools for my toolbox”  We have been through the thick and thin and yet he still has all of his hair.  So Pop,  Happy Birthday and drinks are on me, this time. May the year a  head be as good and maybe even better than the year that has past.

Chuck our friend Eve and I just spent the last 8 hours filming two Clip Shows and a Cinema Psychic. It was the perfect end to a roller coaster week. Happy we are done with it and I am looking forward to the week ahead.

This week we go to Phoenix to attend the first annual Podcamp AZ which is being held in Tempe on Saturday the 3rd. Chuck and I are really excited and I cant wait to get the next couple of days done so we can meet up with old friends in the PHX and enjoy some great food.

What does the week, or the three days before jetting off to Phoenix hold. Work and a quite a lot of it. Chuck and I set a schedule last week that included producing both shows and extra content for the next two weeks. This allowed us to take the week off while in Phoenix, which is great! This leads to a big crunch right before we leave that combined with my “work a day job” brings the stress! Someone said to me last week, “you could skip a week” I laughed. Chuck has yet to miss a week since we started the Psychic and we are quickly approaching a year. It is always hectic and sometimes rushed but I enjoy the race to the finish.

This week is also the celebration of that pagan holiday, Halloween. Over the last couple of years I have paired down my excitement over this time of year. I know I have written a couple times as to why, but I think this year might just be different. I have been thinking that maybe my head is been in the wrong hole which has lead to my removal of feeling and or overall excitement in the holidays that I once loved. This year I would like you to know, I am back. Which is to say, I will be dressed as a masked murder, watching scary movies and handing out candy to the kids this Wednesday night. You should stop by and say “boo!”

This weekend is done. I spent the whole week waiting for it to get here and in a blink of an eye here it is Monday. Why is it when you want the time to slow it speeds up and the reverse for when you just want it to be over. Spent quite a bit of time this weekend soul searching. I want to report, I might be a little more screwed that I had originally thought. I guess time will tell.

One last thing, I spent last night at a Halloween party. I dressed as Geek Guy of Clip Show fame. Chuck and his lady friend were along for the ride with a couple of their friends. For the most part I spent the night solo talking to randoms about any number of things. Quite a few friendly people and it turned out to be a decent party all and all. It is the first party I have been to in, well I cant remember when? Got me thinking about the parties we use to throw and how much fun we all had. Maybe it is time for another party. I guess what i might be saying is, New Years 2007?

If you are going to be in Phoenix this week. Drop me a line. Lets get together and have a drink or two. If you are not, why not? We could have a drink and talk new media. Fun times!

I spent the better part of my day today, talking. I know that might sound crazy, because we all talk all day long. I guess that is true. Though, I was not just talking to talk. (That is a lot of talk?) I had some meaningful conversations that got me to thinking. Jim thinking, equals dangerous.

Over the last year I have been hitting around in my head some ideas for a political type podcast. I am a passionate person. I was quoting my father right there. He was saying some really nice things about me at our lunch. It is always good to hear these kinds of things from the man that raised you. Anyway, it made me think that I need to take this passion I have for politics and harness it into something constructive.

Those of you who know me, know that when it comes to the politico, I can sometimes become a bit of a blow hard. Which is to say, I can go on and on and on until someone gets up and leaves or falls asleep. The later is always funny. Politics has always been something I love to talk about with people. I especially love hearing new ideas from both left, right and far right. So given my love for politics and my knowledge of the podcasting world you would think I could have figured something out? Not the case.

Then it came to me. I think the problem is that I have been over thinking the whole idea. What are two things I have always wanted to do? No not that Chuck, that is your dream and a sick one at that you pervert. Wait i guess there are a lot more than two, I would have to include singing in that list. Ok so there are many things I want to do. Two of them, I have talked about in the past, my love for politics and my love for my own voice (come on you like to hear it too). Are you seeing the logical progression of this? No?

So the whole time I have been thinking about doing some kind of video project. Which is crazy as Chuck and I are already over burdened each week with our current shows. Another video podcast would surely kill us or lead to one of us killing the other. As that thought went through my head, while chomping on a chip, I thought why not just do a weekly audio call in show. I already have the technology in place. It is easy to produce. I can put almost the whole thing together by myself. Leaving Chuck to do whatever it is he does when he is not slaving away on our other shows. The end game, I think I would really enjoy it! Even if my Mother was the only caller and or listener.

I am going to put some more thought to this in the next couple of days. I know there are like a million of these things on the Internet already. I am not looking to stand out and or make some kind of political statement. I just miss good mind numbing political conversation. I have been saying for years this is the constant that seems to be lacking in my life. Maybe this is the easy solution?

What you think? Leave me a comment.

It became aware to me over the weekend that I was going to need to get out town. I am lucky at this moment in time as I have very little pressing responsibility. I can do my work from just about anywhere in the world. However, I am at this point in my existence not the kind of guy who can take you to all the best clubs in the NYC. So my travel budget is somewhat limited. That and I am suppose to travel to both Boston and Phoenix in the next couple of weeks. Which leaves me in somewhat of a money crunch. So, Denver is were I ended up. For a couple of reasons. One being, my younger brother is currently residing here and is lonely for some older brother love. The other, I am sure we will get at later.

I know you are thinking right now, wait, didnt this guy just come back from some time away. You are right, I spent a week in California. Who am I kidding almost two weeks. Now if there is anything that week taught me, and you, if you were paying attention. Time away from your every day helps to keep your head from become mush. Or at best it helps you to maintain a fresh look at the things going on around you. Justifying and rationalizing should be a Jim Kirks past time.

Hey, now I dont want you to think I have come to Denver for nothing more than time away from the super exciting COS lifestyle. Where the big city can be a lure for the younger crowd, men of my age and stature. Age and stature, really full of it in that last sentence. Ok seriously there is a podcast get together tomorrow that I and the 2 other people that have signed up on meetup.com will be attending. Should be interesting at best or at least a way to pass the time. That time between.

I think there is more, but I don’t know what. It has been a long time since I didn’t have a point, not writing about robots and or linking to some obscene youtube clip.

Ok so, where do you go when you want to get away on the cheap for a short time? You know when you need to either clear the old head or add so much haze and cloud you cant see out.

Was outside talking on the phone when I saw this cool cloud. Unfortunately I missed it at its peak. Sorry for the shake, hard to hold my phone and the camera at the same time.