Jawbone: The First 60: Episode 2

Episode is more of the same from the Pilot, where we discuss our impending home inspection, except now, we have two mics and some production values.  Keep in mind it is less than 24 hours than we did the last show.  When we first started podcasting, Nora and I were doing 3 shows a week!  We were young and crazy and out of control.  This is getting closer to where we ended up, but we are still battling all kinds of audio issues on our end.  Nora sounds a little drunk because she still hasn't learned how to combat the audio delay by pulling one earphone off your ear.

I hope you are enjoying these.  If you are please let us know!  BTW, Nora and I will still be recording new shows.  This is just an extra for longtime fans of our show.

Cheers!

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Jawbone: The First 60 Episodes: Episode 1: Pilot

Over the past few days, I've been randomly  listening to old episodes of Jawbone.  I've been recording a lot of new stuff for Geek A Week, so occasionally, my computer will start playing an old episode and I'll have it on in the back as I'm working.  What strikes me the most about these old shows is that I barely remember recording them, so it's been like having the listener experience.  They've been fun to listen to, so I went back to the archives and realized that the first 60 episodes are nowhere to be found.  One of our listeners actually alerted me to this while at DragonCon this past year and asked if I would ever make those public again.

So I've decided to do just that.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting, in order, the first 60 episodes of Jawbone Radio.  I figured it's worth putting them up so people can hear our humble beginnings.  Not only that, but these first 60 episodes are an archive of how Nora and I fumbled our way into podcasting.  There are discussions about us hitting the front page of our local newspaper, how our story was syndicated across the country and how the BBC picked us as a top podcast to listen to (still unbelievable to me).  There are also audio experiments where I would back up my gear when I would go on business trips and Nora and I would record remotely.  There are live audio soundscapes and all kinds of really fun experiments that Nora and I don't get a chance to do anymore.

So without further ado, here is Episode 1 of Jawbone Radio originally published February 10, 2005.

Enjoy!

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Jawbone #300: The 300

It's Show 300 folks!  We've got voicemails, stories about traveling and chat about Sister Wives. Enjoy the show and onward to the next 100 shows!  Thanks for listening and if you enjoy it, subscribe!

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Preparation for Show 300

Nora and I are one show away from Show 300 and we'd like you to be a part of it!  Right now, it looks like we'll be recording this show sometime next week.  So if you'd like to leave a voicemail for us or create a produced piece for us to play, we are all for it!  You can leave us a voicemail at 216-496-GEEK.  Or you can email us a produced piece of audio at monsterbymail at gmail dot com.

Hopefully we get a lot of really cool messages to play!  Looking forward to hearing what you guys come up with.

SHOW 300!

Jawbone #299: A Flavorless Paste

On this episode of Jawbone Radio, show 299, (one away from 300!) Kevin Kelly, reporter from Westlife joins us to follow up on the progress of our Kickstarter, our friend Rebecca talks to us about her strange naming rituals, and Nora finds out you shouldn't call people elderly.

Also! We are soliciting our listeners for e-mails, voicemails and other great stuff for our 300th show. What do you want to hear? Any special guests? Let us know by leaving us a comment of calling our voicemail line: 216.236.GEEK.

Thanks for listening and please subscribe if you dig us!

SHOW NOTES:
Westlife


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Jawbone #298: Winging It

It's our first show of the new year - and also our 12th show - just two shows away from 300!  We wrap up Mama's Little Christmas, get sort of deep in our introspection of the holidays, chat about FitBit and let  everyone know more about my new Kickstarter project! Listen in and if you like the show, subscribe!

SHOW NOTES:

Michael Bay Meltdown

My FitBit
Geek A Week: Year Five Two

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Geek A Week: Year Five Two Kickstarter is Launched!

Nora and I are planning on recording a show this evening.  We'll see how that goes.  But in the meantime, consider backing my new Geek A Week Kickstarter. Here's the link to the project.

Here's a little chart to see how I'm doing. I've got a ways to go!

Jawbone #297: Calling Mr. Chrikaju

On this episode of Jawbone Radio (the last of our  10 shows funded through Kickstarter)  we talk about  Mama's Little Christmas, we hear from Richard from Savannah, and talk about Matoken and the secret of Mr. Pajomasi Chrikaju. Thanks for listening and we'll return in 2014!

SHOW NOTES:
Programmers Vs. Developers

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Jawbone #296: Waterbeds and Walnuts

On this episode of Jawbone Radio, Nora and I talk about Amazon drones delivering your items. What we want and don't want for the holidays also listen in to hear our questions to you, the audience! Thanks for listening!  This is our 9th show in our slated 10 shows.  Should we do more? Let us know in the comments!

SHOW SPONSOR:
Below The Deep
Below The Deep Etsy Store

Listeners!  Use the code JAWBONERADIO and take 20% off your entire order through December 31st!


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Jawbone #295: Earl The Black Friday Elf

On this episode of Jawbone Radio, Nora and I talk about lining up for Black Friday 10 days early, our anniversary getaway, Waze, Foursquare and my assist with the dental hygienist.  Have you ever had the dental hygienist make you hold the suction for him/her?  Call in and tell us your stories!  216-236-GEEK!

LINKS:
Shoppers Already Lining Up for Black Friday

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Jawbone #294: One Rib

Our wrap-up of Halloween. Trick or treating as a 43 year old man. Bathroom attendants. Monica from New Jersey. Extreme Cheapskates. Let us know you like the show by sending us a voicemail or leaving us a comment! And if you like the show, please subscribe!


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Jawbone #293: We're Busy People!

On this episode of Jawbone Radio, we talk about our busy lives. Post Sandy wrap up - one year later. The Power Nap Pillow. Bathroom attendants. Write us and let us know why you should be the fourth wheel on our 20th anniversary romantic getaway. Thanks for listening and subscribe if you like!

SHOW SPONSOR:
Marian Call
Music: "Paper and Pen" from the her upcoming album "Sketchbook"

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Jawbone #292: The Gallery Show

Nora and I discuss my throat cancer. Banksy in NYC. The Physics of Friendship. Real or Dream?  Man claims to be descendent of sasquatch. Enjoy!

SHOW SPONSOR:
My Online Store


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Jawbone #291: Breaking Sad

"Goodbye Walt" illustrated by me

On this episode of Jawbone Radio, Nora and I are late to the game and talk about the end of the best show on TV, Breaking Bad and how Nora reminds me of Skyler. The second screen experience. The worst way to see a movie ever.  Nora and I decide to do a comic book together and Nora does not like Pixar. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe using the RSS feed below!

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Jawbone #290: Goiter Hoader

On tonight's episode of Jawbone Radio, we welcome back to the Nobby Annex our good friend, Neil. We talk about digging ditches, dogs in compost, what's in Neil's refrigerator and goiter hoarders. LISTEN IN NOW and SUBSCRIBE if you dig the show.

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Jawbone #289: Curing Death & Witches Wheels

On this episode of Jawbone, Nora and I talk about extending human life, the Northhampton Clown and my weird experience on the Cedar Point Witches Wheel. Also, we have voicemails! Woo-hoo!

SHOW LINKS:
Calico - Extending Human Life
The NorthHampton Clown | Facebook Page

Coulrophobia
Cedar Points Witches Wheel

VISIT THIS KICKSTARTER:
Mission G.E.E.K. - Support it and help me create art for their travelog!

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Jawbone #288: It Was A Robot

On this Friday night episode of Jawbone Radio, we talk about ghostly smells, concave buildings and more about being the parents of college aged kids. We also have a sponsor! Amy Robinson Voice Overs! Check out the link to her site below:

SHOW SPONSOR:
Amy Robinson Voice Overs

SHOW LINKS:
FryScraper

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Jawbone #287: Once Upon A Podcast...

Nora and I return for a new show, our first in over two years! Tonight, we talk about what has transpired since we took our hiatus to get everyone up to date, we chat cosplaying and also share some new fairy tales that have been unearthed.

MUSIC:

The Pride of Erie PA: (I Know Your Kind Of) Hate Me

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My DragonCon 2013 Schedule

DragonCon, the annual geek con is almost upon us again.  This will be my FIFTH year in attendance (!) and this year, I feel a little bit better prepared for it.  I'm going to be on a few panels talking about what I've been working on and also imparting some information I've picked up along the way as an artist and podcaster.  I'm also going to be a presenter at this year's Parsec Awards, which will be my first time doing anything like that!

If you're going, try to make it one of the panels I'm on and say hi.  I'd love to see you there!

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Title: Podcast Track Kick Off!
Description: The Podcast track kicks off the weekend with a talented panel of podcasters discussing the state of podcasting and beyond.
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: 203 - Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

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Title: The Art of the Interview
Description: A panel discussion with veteran podcasters discussing their methods for securing and interviewing guests on their podcasts.
Time: Sat 01:00 pm Location: 203 - Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

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Title: Comics Coast To Coast LIVE
Description: Brian Dunaway talks with the creators of TenState, an action-packed comic series by writer Tom Merritt of TWiT & artist Len Peralta of Geek A Week.
Time: Sat 07:00 pm Location: 203 - Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

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Title: Super Powered Revenge Christmas: A New Graphic Novel
Description: Bill Corbett and Len Peralta talk about the making of the new epic Christmas comic book.
Time: Sun 04:00 pm Location: Hyatt Regency V (Length: 1 Hour)

I'll also be doing sketches during the whole weekend and selling Geek A Week cards, and signed copies of the books "There's A Zombie In My Treehouse" (with Ken Plume and John  Robinson) and "Silly Rhymes for Belligerent Children" (by Trace Beaulieu).

Looking forward to it!

Br/Ba

I've been posting these everywhere. I love Breaking Bad and I am happy it's back, yet sad to see it go.  I did this drawing of Walt which is available in my online store.

I also did this drawing of Jesse. Ten minutes.  I'll probably do more as the season rolls along.

Doing Some HouseCleaning

In case you missed it, our Kickstarter project made it's goal. I say this with a little less than 24 hours to go, but all signs point to yes which means Nora and I will be recording a litany of new shows!



In order to prepare for that, I did the first major upgrade of the site in close to five years.  I cleaned up the links and pretty much got the place ready for a new slew of content.

Nora and I are extremely excited to open up the mics and do this show again.  I didn't realize how much we've missed it until we actually funded.  Now I'm all giddy with excitement.

Jawbone Radio is coming back folks. For now. Spread the good  news.

Jawbone Plead Cast

Nora and I return for a short show to talk about our Kickstarter project. Our first show in over two years. Hoo-wee. Welcome back.

Download here.

Jawbone Radio: Season X Kickstarter Has Launched!

If you were to ask anyone about our show, they would tell you we podfaded a while ago.  I never saw it as that.  We were merely taking a break.

But things got busy, we had more kids and it got tougher and tougher to do the show.

So I'm trying to reboot it through my old friend, Kickstarter. If we get funded, Nora and I will do 10 new shows.  (That's about all I could convince Nora to do at this point.) We are also committed to doing a special show for backers or personalized shows for special backers.  

I don't know if it will happen or not. But I guess I'll give it the old college try,

If you'd like to back us and get us back in front of the mics, you can go here.  Thanks for all your support. Hope to talk to you soon.

Len

The Non-Committal Gift Certificate

So last night, I made a comment on Twitter, half-jokingly, that I was going to create a gift certificate that allowed people to give people the promise of a gift without actually giving them a gift. (It sounds more cold-hearted than it actually is.) This came about from me thinking about Black Friday this weekend and all the sales and madness that goes along with it.  Firstly, I'm flabbergasted that this is happening again - and so soon!  (Didn't this just happen last year? Sheesh!) Secondly, I find it hard to believe that, given the current state of the economy, that there are people rushing out to spend all this money on expensive gifts. Money that a lot of people simply don't have.  (At least the people around me don't have it. I don't know about where you're standing.) The very thought of having to shop for my wife and family this Christmas curls my hair, not because I don't love them and I don't want to supply them all with lavish presents, but I simply cannot afford to do that.

So I got to thinking, what if I gave my wife a gift certificate? I would love to take her on a weekend trip to Chicago, but realistically, this goal is out of reach financially.  Given my graphic designer chops, I was going to make a gift certificate or a raincheck to give her on Christmas day, Then I started thinking, what would this certificate say?  How about this, I thought:  "Hey, honey. Let's go to Chicago. Or something."  That's romantic, right? I felt like I was back in college and picking up my date on a bike.  Maybe my wife could stand next to me as I rode the bike to the airport to get on the imaginary plane that I booked.  Yeah, that's not working.

So, I mulled it over and with a little brainstorming help from my friend. musician Marian Call (one of the most hard-working people I know and someone who always has brilliant marketing ideas), we coined the phrase "Non Committal Gift Certificates."  I spent the afternoon laying the certificate out and you can now download THIS FREE VERSION of the certificate:

It features a cute little drawing of a bunny riding a scooter because A) who doesn't want to see that? B) It is pretty awesome and C) It's the only thing I could think of on a short timeline, 

So, go ahead and pass the certificate along, print it out and give it to as many people as you choose.  Hopefully it will be taken in the same tongue in cheek way it was intended and - in a perfect world - the recipient will be handing you his or her own copy of the NCGC. 

And because I do design and illustration for a living, I've decided to add a customizable version to my online store.  For just $10, you can have me draw something fun and personalized in the "Bunny Area".  This way, for a nominal fee, you can actually hand someone a custom drawn piece of art instead of a pre-made PDF.  This option is perfect for the people on your list who will not get a huge hilarious kick out of the message of the NCGC.

So, please consider this my early holiday gift to you all.  With any luck, the economy will start turning around and Christmas will be saved!!  But in the meantime, we have this option.

Happy Holidays!

"You Know You Can Hire Me, Right?"

This post is from October of 2012.  Some of this is old news, but the gist of it still rings true.  I'll update it occassionally when I have something new to share. Just consider this your bible for working with me.

--

I've been pretty busy over the past few months working on Geek A Week stuff, a full-fledged graphic novel and helping out with paintings for a upcoming documentary.  Let's not forget that I became a new dad (again!) back in May by welcoming new new son, Julian.  Because of that, I've had my head down diligently doing the work that needed to be done.  I'm at point now where the smoke is more or less cleared, I'm waiting for a pretty big project to fire up.  The other day I went to look at my roster of projects and I realize - DOH! I need some stuff to work on!

This has happened frequently to me in my freelance career and I always try to stave off going into full freakout mode. I've been pretty good managing my anxiety, but this morning, I realized that I need some projects to get me through this rough spot.

Because I've been pretty busy, I've been going to Twitter and shouting into the feed like some sort of bazaar shop owner.  Everyone seems to be yelling all at once over there and not a whole lot of people are listening.  The 140 character thing isn't helping much either.  I've got so much to say, so I figured a long form, old-school blog post would be more appropriate.

So, here's the deal:  I am currently, ACTIVELY looking for commission work.  Here are a few ways you can commission me and help a brother out:

Geek A Week 4.0:  Earlier this month, I launched a Kickstarter for Season 4 of Geek A Week. As of this writing, I'm about 65% funded, which is great!  But I still have some ways to get funded,  Not only that, but I am also trying to create a Fan Only Set made up of 8 geeked out fans.  That reward level is at the $399 which is definitely a premium price. But you do get to be added to the official Geek A Week site and you get interviewed and a bunch of copies of your own card,  I don't this for everyone, so it is pretty special.  Anyway, check it out - it might make a great holiday gift for someone on your nice list. (EDIT:  This Kickstarter is now over.  But you can still order Geek A Week cards at my online store!) I'll also be a part of other Kickstarters or do my own from time to time, Check back to see what I'm involved in.

General Commission work:  While we're on the subject of the holidays, now would be a PERFECT time to engage me for a commission for Christmas and the holidays. I offer a few different flavors of commissions...

FlipFace: My avatar creation service is still up and running and I can make you a custom avatar for your social media needs. Prices are as low as $10 for a black and white avatar up to $20 for a zombie-fied avatar.  I can also do custom work for the holidays as well.  Check it out!

Caricatures at Live Events:  I just recently started doing live events where I'll draw fun black and white or color caricatures for you and your friends. I'm calling it Flipface Live!  I can do straight ahead caricatures or even zombie caricatures. I'll even travel for an additional fee. You can hire me here, here or here. Or of course, you can also hire me privately.

Monster By Mail:  My 5 year old monster creation site is currently wrapping up it's stint with guest artist Sunday Williams.  Although the site says otherwise, Sunday is currently not working on the monsters, but another talented artist, Mike Peterson is.  We're in the process of switching things up, but you can still hire me to draw up a 4 x6 original piece of monster art.  If you'd like to request me, just mention it in your special instructions when ordering.

50 vs. 50:  There are still some Hero and Villain slots available in this project.  I mentioned earlier this month that if you order a Hero or Villain from me in October, you get a free monster print with your order. This is still valid up until October 31, so keep that in ind when ordering,  (Currently, the heroes are winning the battle -which basically means there are more villains left to order than heroes. So follow your heart and order accordingly.)

Geekimals: In the tradition of some of my other commission-based products, I just started up one called Geekimals, where I can draw geeky portraits of your pets for a few schillings.  I also offer greeting cards and UComics branded Geekimals (personalized comic pages written by the amazing Jessica Mills and drawn by me.)  They're pretty fun and every pet owner should have one!

Other Commission Work: Let it be known that I can draw custom pieces as birthday, Christmas or other special occasions.  I can do geeky pinups, or I can draw your D&D character - just flip through this site to check out stuff I've done.  Fun!

Larger Scale Work-For Hire:  I suppose I should put this out there as well.  I am available to work on book illustrations, board and card games, spot illustrations - pretty much anything.  My costs vary from project to project, so we'll probably have to trade e-mails to work that all out,  but please know I will entertain all serious inquiries.

And of course, if you're scared of contacting me and would just like to buy some of my products, you can always visit my online store, where you'll find some of the products I mentioned above and other fun stuff!

Phew. Hopefully  this will help stoke the fires and before you know it, I'll once again have my head buried deep in too much work. My wife and I thank you and most of all, my immense family thanks you.

Huzzah!