Monday, October 20: The Scribbler
JUMPIN’ JACK FLASH?
by James Lincoln Warren
As promised, here is the recording of Criminal Brief‘s panel, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” — the title was a mystery to us all, although someone opined that maybe it was a reference to “flash” fiction, which wasn’t even discussed — at Bouchercon 2008 in Baltimore.
It’s almost an hour long, so you might want to listen to it by stages.
I apologize for the poor quality of the recording, although it actually came out better than I feared it might. (Remember, it’s Melodie’s husband Bones who is the audio genius, not me.) The constant feedback was not my fault — it was a result of the acoustics in the room and the microphone and speaker settings. Angela, Steve, and I came out much more clearly than Linda, Leigh, Melodie, and John, mostly because the recorder was on our side of the table. Some of the recording may at first seem unintelligible, but please be patient — if you pay close attention, you can usually pick out the words that are being spoken. Leigh’s opening anecdote, for example, is very difficult to make out above the feedback, but ’tis a tale well worth hearing, so listen with great care.
As you listen, the Dramatis Personnae make their appearances in the following order:
- Linda Landrigan, Our Fearless Moderator
- James Lincoln Warren (with a brief interruption from Melodie)
- Angela Zeman
- Steve Steinbock
- Leigh Lundin
- Melodie Johnson Howe
- John M. Floyd
After that, it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out who is speaking, since we each have distinct voices, although it is difficult at times to tell exactly what is being said. If you have any questions with regard to who was talking or what was being said, I’ll try to answer them. If you don’t want to post your questions publicly, you can send them using this form.
I hope you find the panel worth listening to.
- The photograph depicts Czechoslovakian broadcasters recording a radio play sometime during the Cold War for Radio Free Europe, “with assistance from U.S. Army personnel.” The soldiers look like a “live studio audience” to me. [↩]
Thank you very much for posting this recording – it’s great to put voices to the faces, and to hear the discussion!
Maybe it’s just me, but I watched for eight minutes and saw nothing but a fireworks display. Does the Bouchercon video come on eventually?
Dick – Sorry, it’s just an audio recording. But if you squint at your computer screen and look at our pictures on the left-hand side, you may see our mouths move.
There are a few nice videos located at the Bouchercon website, at dub-dub-dub dot charmedtodeath dot com. In the first one, Hardcase Crime founder Charles Ardai interviews Lawrence Block, and another is a series of plaudits and thank-yous to Block. Two other videos are interviews with other guests of honor, including John Harvey.
JLW,
Thanks so much. I know I’ll enjoy listening to the panel discussion. (We arrived at B’con after your session was completed.)
Steve,
Thanks for the info re:videos on the B’con site.
Terrie
I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to listen to the tape, but thanks for putting it up. Speaking of being behind, I just got around to reading the November issue of AHMM, and James, I much enjoyed your story about “The Warcoombe Witch.” Very clever and well written.
Thenk yew veddy much.
Wow this is nice! It even plays through my mono speaker pretty damn well! (I’m listening right now and enjoying it immensely!) Oh, and James, my much-delayed applause for “The Warcoombe Witch” I didn’t see the ending coming!!
I’ve listened to the first third, so far.
We done good! And didn’t Linda do well!!!