Author: SeanTubbs

Posted on

An Interview with Poet Gregory Orr

Gregory Orr

Gregory Orr’s life could have been spent mired in tragedy. He shot and killed his brother during a hunting accident when he was 12. His mother died two years later when his family was on a missionary assignment in Haiti. To escape a sense of despair and anguish, Orr became involved in his late teens with the Civil Rights Movement and traveled from upstate New York to Mississippi in 1965 to serve as a volunteer. He was quickly imprisoned for breaking various laws
set up to deter protestors, and was subsequently beaten by police officers.

The University of Virginia poet often recalls these events in his poetry, but it wasn’t until 2002 that Orr wrote about the experiences in prose. That was in a memoir called The Blessing. Sean Tubbs spoke with Orr in his office last month for a conversation about his career, the difference between poetry and prose, and about the time he spent in Mississippi forty years ago this summer.



Posted on

About Wordcast Productions

Wordcast Logo

Wordcast Productions was formed in February of 2005 to help companies, non-profit organizations and individuals reach new audiences through podcasting.

Podcasting represents a major shift in how Americans consume radio and audio material. Wordcast can help you prepare your content for delivery across multiple digital platforms, including the iPod, the next generation of mobile phones, and digital radio.

The venture builds on the production skills and experience of President Sean Tubbs, a veteran of area public radio and creator of the Charlottesville Podcasting Network. The site launched in April 2005 as a public affairs website dedicated to expanding the public square through podcasts of local speeches, press conferences and other events that have previously not been available in local media.

Companies spend a lot of time and money organizing high profile events, and we offer an affordable way to capture these important occasions. Wordcast will help your institution gets its message out to the public, be it a conference, a speech, or a conference call.

Wordcast is available to record meetings, conference calls, interviews or any other type of message you’d like to target to a dedicated audience. We’ll help you with develop an idea for a podcast unique to your organization, record and produce it for you, and then we’ll take care of the hosting and recommend and implement suggestions for distribution.

Contact us at wordcast@gmail.com to get started.

Posted on

Wakeup Call: Does Charlottesville have enough water?

Does Central Virginia have enough water to quench the thirst of everyone who wants to live here? The community pulled together during the drought of 2002 to help conserve water, but will there be enough the next time weather patterns shift to deny rainfall? On the Sunday, August 14th edition of WNRN‘s Sunday Morning Wakeup Call, a panel of experts debate plans to increase storage capacity, and the prospects of more pipelines bringing more water in from surrounding communities. Guests include Morgan Butler from the Southern Environmental Law Center, Liz Palmer from the League of Women Voters and John Martin with the Friends of the Moormans River. The governmental perspective comes from Charlottesville Mayor David Brown.

Also on the show, Rick spends his five minute commentary on the contradictions and enigmas that face the modern world. Rick talks about President Bush’s decision to not attend military funerals, religious attitudes towards gays and lesbians, as well as how the passing of Peter Jennings should cause people to think twice about smoking.

This file is now offline…

Posted on

Wakeup Call: Free Legal Advice from Area Attorneys

On the August 7th edition of WNRN’s Sunday Morning, three area attorneys give up an hour of their free time to bring listeners legal advice.
Marshall Davidson is with the firm Davidson and Kitzmann and is a specialist in employment law and personal injury work. Tracy Hopper is with the law firm Tremblay and Smith and is a specialist in family law. Marshall Slayton is with the firm Boyle, Bain, Reback & Slayton and specializes in consumer and bankruptcy cases.

This file is now offline…

Posted on

Hear Virginia House candidates in their own words

Want to know more about the candidates standing for election to the Virginia House of Delegates this November? The Senior Statesmen of Virginia held a public forum at the Senior Center on August 10 in which several incumbents and challengers appeared. Not a debate, this hour and a half long event was a chance for the candidates to tell an assembled crowd at the Senior Center a little about themselves and why they deserve a vote. CPN volunteer Colin Campbell was on hand to record the event, which we present to you below.

This file is now offline – if you would like to hear it, please contact us

This presentation is an hour and a half long. It will start with an introduction from the Senior Statesmen, and then will feature presentations by the candidates in alphabetical order.

(only campaign websites are listed below)
Delegate Watkins Abbitt, Jr (Independent incumbent running in the 59th District)
Delegate Rob Bell (Republican incumbent in the 58th District)
David Cox (Democratic challenger for the 24th District)
Peter deFur (Democratic challenger for the 56th District)
Steve Koleszar (Democratic challenger for the 58th District)
Delegate Steve Landes (Republican incumbent for the 25th District
Tom McCrystal (Republican challenger for the 57th District)
David Toscano (Democratic challenger for the 57th District)

Other area legislators were invited by the Senior Statesmen, but many could not attend due to prior engagements. After the introductions, the candidates answered questions from moderator Mitch Van Yahres.

Posted on

Audio in the Lynchburg News and Advance

One of the things we’re convinced about is that newspapers can use podcasting to begin venturing into areas that have traditionally been left to radio and television. The Roanoke Times, for instance, is producing several podcasts weekly, and last week, it was announced that the New York Times has jumped on the trend.

The Lynchburg News and Advance, the sister paper of the Daily Progress, has recently begun offering audio clips in stories on its website. The sound is recorded by staff photographer David Duncan, a photojournalist who has contributed a couple of soundscapes to CPN. Several years ago, David began recording the subjects he photographed. He began exhibiting his work on the walls of an architectural firm in downtown Lynchburg, and a hobby became a new way to tell stories. Now, he’s managed to convince his superiors to let him post his interviews and soundscapes to their website.

David is currently working on a series called Virginia Talkers which we hope to debut in the coming weeks. But, in the mean-time, take a listen to his work in a companion piece to a story in the August 7 News and Advance about one of the world’s most interesting instruments – the bagpipe. David speaks with JoAnn Scott, a bagpipe instructor from Forest.

Or take a listen to his August 1 piece on the Virginia Department of Transportation’s efforts to restore the South Fork of the Rockfish River near Wintergreen.

Posted on

Local counselor talks about Carl Jung

this is Len WorleyLen Worley

The world recently celebrated the 130th birthday of Carl Jung, and in Charlottesville, counselor Len Worley gave a talk in his downtown office about the Swiss psychiatrist. Worley has been a transpersonal psychologist for 24 years, and has a special interest in dreams. He also gives annual talks on Jung’s birthday, including this one that examines the four-year crisis after Jung broke with Sigmund Freud, his colleague and contemporary.

This talk from July 22, 2005 was recorded by CPN volunteer James Weissman. Worley produced a handout for those who attended, which is available here

This file is now off-line. If you would like to hear it, please contact us…

Posted on

WNRN Wakeup Call: A look at the Piedmont Supervised Visitation Center

Who looks after a child’s interest when separating parents fight over custody? A group of concerned citizens in Central Virginia has formed something called the Piedmont Supervised Visitation Center to be a voice for the children involved in these situations. On this week’s installment of WNRN’s Sunday Morning Wakeup Call, Rick Moore talks with PSVC board members Kim Higgins, Pamela Johnson and Becky Weybright about plans to build the Center in Charlottesville.

Also on the show, Rick reads excerpts from e-mails written by a soldier stationed in Iraq.

This file is now offline. If you would like to hear it, please contact us at 434-295-6609 or e-mail us at seantubbs(at)gmail.com…

Posted on

WNRN’s Wakeup Call: UVa Men’s Soccer coach, George Gelnovatch

On this week’s edition of WNRN’s Sunday Morning Wakeup Call, Rick Moore speaks with UVa soccer coach George Gelnovatch about how he came to the University as a student, and how Bruce Arena coaxed him into taking over as head coach. Gelnovatch discusses absurd eligibility rules, how soccer has changed in the last two decades, and competing with more popular sports.

Also, on the show, Rick speaks with a local Domino’s Pizza manager about a special event the store is having today (Sunday, July 24) to support a local child in need. The company is donating half of its sales today from its four Charlottesville stores to help pay for the medical bills of Mason, an area boy who is suffering from a rare form of cancer.

This file is now offline. If you would like to hear it, please contact us at 434-295-6609 or e-mail us at seantubbs(at)gmail.com…

Posted on

WNRN’s Wakeup Call: Community Roundtable

This week on WNRN’s Sunday Morning Wakeup Call, a community roundtable on current events. Yes, it’s the week where host Rick Moore collects area citizens, gathers them around a microphone, and gets their opinion on issues facing Central Virginia. In the studio are Isabel Stanton, a graduate student at UVA and a DJ at WNRN, and Thalia Miller, who says she “plays a lot of golf.” Among the issues discussed: Albemarle County banning panhandling in the medians and intersections, Charlottesville dropping from the #1 place to live to the #90 slot, and local thoughts on the recent terrorist bombings in London.

This file is now offline. If you would like to hear it, please contact us at seantubbs(at)gmail.com…