The main purpose of the post is to test the recently installed podcasting plugin. But, why waste the post on only a test?

The test audio I’ve chosen to use is from a Stephen Graham Jones reading at the 2006 AWP Conference in Austin, TX. So to make this post more than just a test, I’ll use the following embarrassing anecdote, involving how I acquired this audio, as a testament to the fanboy connections that can be made at an AWP Conference.

When wandering the bookfair at the Austin conference, I passed by the University of Nebraska Press table, shocked to see Stephen Graham Jones just sitting around. I suppose in my head I thought the man’s reputation warranted a healthy mob at all times. I introduced myself, telling Mr. Jones that I was a member of The Velvet (www.welcometothevelvet.com), a reader/writer community of which Mr. Jones is a key member.

We got on well, so I went with him to his reading, where he asked that I record it for him. Afterwards, we went to a panel at which he and Craig Clevenger (another The Velvet fulcrum) were presenting. Meeting both of these guys should have been enough to render me speechless. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. When striving for conversation with Craig, I said that “Will” told me about the panel. For those of you in the know, Will, as in Will Christopher Baer, is both a notorious recluse and friend of Craig Clevenger, so naturally Craig was interested in my connection to the man. Nerves got the best of me; when I said “Will” I meant “Stephen.” It must have been the three-name thing that tripped me. As I sheepishly backed away from any further conversation, Craig asked what my name was on The Velvet. All I could spit was “ThirstyGerbil.”

To further the embarrassment, I had, at that time, been only a lurker at The Velvet. Meaning: sans a legitimate account. I spent the rest of the conference tracking down a computer so as to create an account. I found one in the lobby/front desk/continental breakfast nook of a scary motel.

I think, if you track back to my first post at The Velvet, I complain about my original account being deleted, or such bullcrap, in an attempt to fool people into thinking I had been around for a while.

The moral of the story: sometimes lying is okay. Just be willing to fight to make that lie truth.

 3/9/2006 - A Reading by Faculty of Texas Tech: Author Stephen Graham Jones reads his story "Tis the Season" at the 2006 AWP Conference in Austin, TX (USA) [1:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download