BIG Audio Book Blow Out

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a place online where anybody could go and pick up an audio file or an audio article on any subject and simply press play and the audio article would start reading to you? You know, there are many online article submission web sites with written articles and would it be great if these online article web sites could also read to you? Recently, Mr. Ed Howes suggested that an online article directory would be a good thing for those who were blind or had limited sight.

You know Ed brings up a very good point. WHAT IF.Yah, I know, here I go again.What ifyou could click on an authors articles on an online article submission web site and press; “Read it to Me” and then after it was done, you could press “NEXT” and then have the computer read all 7555 articles of mine?

They would get one heck of an education that way? You could really learn a ton of information. And if they went to the section or Category perhaps they could have each category read out loud one by one. They could pick the NEXT article in that category for the author or NEXT article in the category, or SKIP. Heck, think how much you could learn that way? And it would not matter if you were Blind, partially sighted or even doing something else at the time you see?

It frees up the visual section of the brain, which uses 60% of your mind’s bandwidth. So you could just close your eyes and think. Wow, that would be an incredible accessibility tool for ALL HUMANKIND. No more digital divide, no more child left behind or a dolt for that matter. With current text to speech technologies perhaps it could even translated into a different language and we can reach all parts of the world. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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"Country music" is a term that means different things to different people. One fan’s country music may not sound at all like another’s.

Contemporary country music is one of the most popular genres on the radio. It is truly mainstream popular music, with an appeal that cuts across all demographics. Its mega-stars regularly fill the seats at the largest venues. Indeed, as someone has observed, country has replaced rock as the main face of American pop music.

Only slightly less noticeable is the surge of interest in what is called old-time music, a choice of material and style of playing that hearken back to the genre’s early days when it emerged from the hills and hollers of Appalachia, and other rural pockets of the American South, to claim a niche on the then-new medium of radio, as well as in the burgeoning recording industry of the 1920s and 30s. For an excellent crash course in the old-time music revival, give a listen to the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" album (the soundtrack to the movie of the same name).

Bluegrass music has a large and devoted following all its own. Bluegrass festivals and competitions are numerous throughout the United States and even in many other parts of the world.

Somewhere between the original old-time country music of the early 20th century, and contemporary country as it developed from about the 1970s or ’80s onward, you’ll find honky tonk–exemplified by the great Hank Williams–and the other pre-mainstream traditions and artists of the 1950s and ’60s. These gave way for a short time to "outlaw" country, associated with the likes of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.

Then, reaching way back, there are people who love playing the old recordings of the earliest country stars, such as Uncle Dave Macon and the Carter Family. And let’s not forget the cowboy singers who rode high in the saddle in the ’40s, and the Western swing bands, and …

"Country music" means all these things and more. It’s truly a diverse genre. We’re fortunate to live in an age when so much of country music–it’s rich legacy as well as its living embodiment in today’s performers–is readily accessible. One of the easiest ways to enjoy it is via the Internet.

The number of country radio stations with live streaming audio feeds has become uncountable. But here are a couple of suggestions:

To plug into the most important country music station of all time, go to the WSM Web site at www.wsmonline.com. This is the pioneering Nashville station that brought the Grand Ol’ Opry to America’s airwaves and established the careers of so many country stars over the course, literally, of decades. The WSM site provides a prominent "click to listen" button for picking up the live broadcast stream any time day night.

A more recent happy discovery is Classic Heartland, an online-only station headquartered in Branson, Missouri. Rather than try to describe what you’ll hear there, let the Web site tell it: "Classic Heartland features independently-produced programs by volunteers who love this music as much as you do. In between these programs is our unique blend of classic country, western, bluegrass and alternative country music."

A recent Sunday’s playlist included stirring country gospel, some old-time tunes played by contemporary artists, and a few genuine gold nuggets from the country music archives, including "North to Alaska" by Johnny Horton and "They’re Gonna’ Put Me In the Movies" as rendered by Buck Owens.

Classic Heartland Radio may be found at www.classicheartland.com.

But seeing as how everyone’s taste in country music is different, the best suggestion for finding the ideal countrified audio stream is to browse one of the directories of live radio stations on the Web. Outstanding is Mike’s Radio World, which categorizes 3,000+ stations by genre as well as location. One whole page is devoted to country music stations. You can start here: www.mikesradio.com

Stefan Smith is a radio and music junkie who writes on those and other subjects for the Solid Gold Info Writers Consortium. Recently, he has written an extensive review of new software that anyone can use to capture music audio streams from Internet radio broadcasts and break them up into individual mp3 song files–a legal way to download virtually free music. Read the review at: http://www.solid-gold.info/radio2mp3.html

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There are many people who love fiction, but can’t read. Maybe you’re one of them. Some people can’t read for a physical reason - because they’re blind or have bad eyesight, for example - while some find reading difficult or strenuous on a mental level, such as dyslexic people and children. If any of these descriptions fit you, then maybe you should try audio books.

Audio books are voice recordings of people reading books - they used to be called ‘books on tape’, but now they mostly come on CD or even over the Internet as mp3 files. They are a surprisingly versatile medium, allowing for everything from straight readings to radio drama-style productions of the books with actors and sound effects. Some are read by the author, which can be an interesting experience, especially for books of poetry, while others are read by celebrities.

The best thing about audio books is that it’s much less effort to listen than it is to read. You can do other things while you have the audio book on, much like listening to music, such as driving or household chores. Audio books on long car journeys can be relaxing both for you and for children as well, as there are few things children love as much as hearing stories.

However, one word of warning. You should avoid any audio books you might find on the web that have been automatically produced by computer. The standard of computerised reading is not yet up to scratch for most purposes, and that’s certainly the case for audio books - it’s like hearing a robot trying to tell a story. The tone of voice is all wrong, the stresses go in the wrong place, and there’s no sense of drama. It’s difficult to even listen to for a long time, never mind enjoy. Until technology leaps forward (it’ll probably take a few decades), stick to human-read audio books.

John Gibb is the owner of audio book guidance , For more information on audio books please check out http://www.audio-book-guidance3k.info

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