Author: SeanTubbs

Posted on

The Many Faces of Jane Eyre

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Charlotte Bronte, the author who gave millions of school children something to read with the publication of Jane Eyre. The novel is one of the most common in the English language, and the Rare Book School is honoring Bronte with a look at the ubiquitous nature of this classic in a special exhibit in the Rotunda called Eyre Apparent, which features a look at the depth at which the novel has penetrated pop culture, and to show that there’s much more to a book than its text.

Barbara Heritage is curator of collections at the Rare Book School. I met her recently at Alderman Library while she was putting the exhibit together and asked her to describe a shelf containing much in the way of Eyre paraphrenalia.



Audio Player

Posted on

Wake-Up Call: Elderly Issues this Christmas

What will you do for the elderly this Christmas season? That’s one of the topics on this week’s installment of WNRN’s Sunday Morning Wake-up Call. Jeanne McCusker of Home Instead Senior Care joins Rick Moore for this hour-long look at issues facing senior citizens. Did you know that fifty percent of those in nursing homes will not have a visitor over the holidays?

This file is now offline…

Subscribe to this podcast!

Do you have iTunes, version 4.9 or above? If so, then click here to add the Wake-Up Call podcast to your music library. This will allow you to download every episode through iTunes. Or consider odeo.com to search through thousands of podcasts from all over the world.



Posted on

Jim Duncan’s Real Estate Podcasts

What’s the best new way to sample the Central Virginia real estate market? Podcasting, of course! Jim Duncan has hired Flying Dog Media and Wordcast Productions to produce enhanced podcasts of properties he is currently marketing. Read about it on his site or subscribe to his podcast feed using iTunes .

Jim Bain is responsible for turning these audio podcasts into enhanced podcasts. Jim writes:

These podcast aren’t just audio, they are “enhanced” podcasts. Enhanced podcast include photos synchronized with the audio and are viewable iTunes. Checkout the lower left-hand corner as the podcast plays and you’ll see the image change. Resize the left column for optimal viewing. Real estate marketing will never be the same!

Posted on

ScholarOne Speeds Up the World of Academic Publication

Advances in science and technology seem to becoming faster and faster. That may be in part because of the work of a Central Virginia company that helps speed up the peer review process. Sean Tubbs recently visited ScholarOne, a provider of Web-based solutions for the academic publishing industry.

Do you have iTunes, version 4.9 or above? If so, then click here to add the entire CPN feed to your music library. This will allow you to download everything posted here into your iTunes folder. Listen on your computer, or take CPN with you on the road.



Audio Player

Posted on

Wake-Up Call: Car Repair Questions

Radio is certainly a magical thing. Where else can you call up experts to for free advice? On the November 27 episode of the WNRN’s Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call, Rick Moore talks with Rusty Cempre of Jim Price Hyundai-Isuzu and Steve Bullock from Jim Price Chevrolet. Listeners phoned the station with questions about what’s wrong with their car. Find out what they said in this podcast!

This file is now offline…

Subscribe to this podcast!

Do you have iTunes, version 4.9 or above? If so, then click here to add the Wake-Up Call podcast to your music library. This will allow you to download every episode through iTunes. Or consider odeo.com to search through thousands of podcasts from all over the world.



Posted on

Thanksgiving Story from Doctor Greg Gelburd

One thing we could perhaps all be mindful of this Thanksgiving is the work of the many doctors, nurses and other public servants who respond to the country’s disasters. Doctor Greg Gelburd was part of the Starlight Express bus company’s trip to the Gulf Coast for its Katrina relief initiative. I spoke with him yesterday in his practice, and he told me turned to writing to help deal with his emotions upon returning home.

Dr. Gelburd talks at the end of this report about the work of Building Goodness. Please consider donating to this very worthwhile cause.



Audio Player

Posted on

Are blogs changing business? A VPTC panel discussion

What is a blog, and why should businesses care? On November 17th, the Virginia Piedmont Technology Council convened a panel discussion to explore the issue called ‘Casting for Customers: How Blogs, Podcasting and RSS Feeds are Changing Business Communications. I sat on the panel, along with Waldo Jaquith of cvillenews.com and cvilleblogs.com, Edward Cossette of Explore Learning and Michael Prichard of Willowtree Interactive. Jerry MacLean of PERCC Research moderated the discussion.

Michael has posted a primer on his blog about the event.

Do you blog? If so, I’d appreciate a trackback or comment to hear your views and to see who else is out there.

Audio Player

Posted on

Local politicos weigh in on Wal-Mart Watch

This week, the group Wal-Mart Watch is drawing attention to their campaign to challenge the nation’s largest company and retailer to change its ways of doing business. The group accuses the Arkansas-based Wal-Mart of short-changing its employees and for wreaking havoc on local communities. Wal-Mart Watch’s Higher Expectations Week coincides with Robert Grunwald’s new documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices, which is being screened in cities across the country, including Charlottesville.

They’re also holding town meetings with local activists opposed to what they see as the cultural hegemony of Wal-Mart. In Charlottesville, around forty people showed up to listen to local political figures talk about the company. City Councilwoman Kendra Hamilton moderates, with comments from Former Charlottesville City Councilwoman Meredith Richards, Outgoing Delegate Mitch Van Yahres, and Joe Szakos of the Virginia Organizing Project.

00:00 – 02:00 – Introduction from moderator Kendra Hamilton
02:00 – 07:26 – Meredith Richards on the history of Wal-Mart
07:26 – 15:47 – Outgoing Delegate Mitch Van Yahres on workers’ rights in Virginia.
15:47 – 24:10 – Joe Szakos on Wal-Mart’s affect on Virginia communities
24:10 – 33:22 – Question 1 – Is Wal-Mart Watch a campaign to unionize Wal-Mart? Richards answers.
33:22 – 39:43 – Question 2 – If it doesn’t make capitalistic sense for Wal-Mart to offer health benefits, why should they?
39:43 – 46:38 – Question 3 – What role do local governments play in approving new stores and distribution centers?
46:38 – 54:32 – Question 4- If Wal-Mart is such a bad employer, why do 1.2 million Americans workers there?
54:32 – 1:03:55 Question 5 – What about the millions of Americans who rely on Wal-Mart for affordable goods and groceries?
1:03:55 – 1:12:37 Question 6 – Why are you supporting the Wal-Mart Watch campaign by appearing on this panel?



Audio Player

Posted on

Blog Panel This Thursday

I’m speaking on a VPTC panel this upcoming Thursday lunchtime at the Omni. It’s $30 for VPTC members, $40 for non-members. Here’s the blurb:

When the Web exploded on the scene in the 1990s, it changed everything. Suddenly, anyone with a computer and modem could disseminate information to a mass audience. Mainstream media conglomerates were put head-to-head with the little guy.

Now, weblogs, or blogs for short, are having the same effect, but with a new twist. Simply put, blogs are websites, but they can connect to each other. So, someone posts an article on their blog. Other bloggers see it, and link to it on their blogs. Or they comment on it, and link to that. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds provide an easy way for people to subscribe to content they want to keep up with.

Now, there’s a whole lot of people and ideas networked together. There’s a name for this new networkGuv,!vDjkjthe blogosphereGuv,!vDjkjand ideas can travel very, very quickly to a very large audience.

Podcasting is taking audio and video content in new directions, enabling anyone with inexpensive equipment to become a broadcaster. Using RSS, listeners can subscribe to and download content on demand to either a computer or portable device. Users can now access content when it’s convenient for them, rather than having to attempt to catch their favorite shows when they were originally presented.

A recent study by comScore Media Matrix shows these startling statistics:

* 50 million U.S. Internet users visited blog sites in the first quarter of 2005. That is roughly 30% of all U.S. Internet users and 1 in 6 of the total U.S. population.
* Five hosting services for blogs each had more than 5 million unique visitors in that period,and four individual blogs had more than 1 million visitors each.
* Compared to the average Internet user, blog readers are significantly more likely to live in wealthier households, be younger and connect to the Web on high-speed connections.
* Blog readers also visit nearly twice as many web pages as the Internet average, and they are much more likely to shop online.

Blogs are fundamentally changing the way companies are marketing their products and services. Come and learn how your business can benefit by using these new tools.

On November 17, a panel of experts will define and discuss exactly what these new tools are, how they are changing the way companies interact with their customers, and present some fascinating scenarios describing what’s happening in the blogosphere right now.

The panel includes:

Moderator: Jerry MacLean – PERCC Research

Sean Tubbs, Charlottesville Podcasting Network
Waldo Jaquith, CVilleBlogs and CVilleNews
Edward Cossette, ExploreLearning
Michael Prichard – Willowtree Interactive

Audio Player

Posted on

Wake-Up Call: The Ethics of Advertising and Marketing

How do we know for sure that advertisements in newspapers and in broadcast are accurate and not misleading? On this week’s installment of WNRN’s Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call, a panel discussion on the role marketing plays in business competition. Guests include Hawes Spencer of the Hook, Pamela Peterson of Sammy’s Snacks, and Pam Fitzgerald with the Ivy Group.

This file is now offline…

Subscribe to the podcast!

Do you have iTunes, version 4.9 or above? If so, then click here to add the Wake-Up Call podcast to your music library. This will allow you to download every episode through iTunes. Or consider odeo.com to search through thousands of podcasts from all over the world.




Posted on

Sorensen training Virginia’s next leaders

Now that the election is over, attention in Richmond will now turn towards starting the next chapter in Virginia’s political history. For the past dozen years, the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership has been giving staffers and elected officials detailed courses on how to be civil while navigating the ins and outs of the capitol. Each year, 35 people from around the state are chosen by the non-partisan Sorensen to attend a ten-month program on becoming a political leader for Virginia.

Audio Player

Posted on

91 Seconds on Film: Ben Nuckols reviews Jarhead

Jarhead, the film adaptation of the book by former U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford, is reviewed in this week’s installment of WNRN’s 91 Seconds on Film.

NEW: Do you have iTunes, version 4.9 or above? If so, then click here to make sure you get every edition of 91 Seconds on Film delivered to your music library and iPod. Subscribe for free once you get into the music store.