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Podcasting

Large podcast icon

Note: I find it slow and expensive to make these recordings, so they will surely be very rare, at least in the beginning. Moreover, I removed the RSS feed for now (2007-November-10).

1) What is podcasting?

Basically, podcasting is a complicated word to say "listening to people on your MP3 player".

Somebody records some blah-blah on audio files (normally in MP3 format). You download these files with your computer, and you listen to them, either directly on your computer, or by first transfering them to your digital MP3 player (a little battery-powerd gadget with headphones, which costs less than 50$ for the entry-level models, which by the way are vastly sufficient).

If you want to be even higher-tech, you download specialized software (like Juice, RSSOwl, iTunes, etc). Then you subscribe to an RSS feed. Basically, this RSS feed is a little file that talks to your software to tell it: "Hey there, a new recording is now available! Come and download it!" In other words, it automates a bit the process to get the recordings. But it's not essential.

2) How can I use this podcasting?

Well, of course, you first need to get an audio file player, as well as a computer with an Internet connection! (If you don't have high-speed Internet connection, you'll probably be better off just asking me to mail you a CD with those audio files.) Then you subscribe to the RSS feeds that interest you.

You can also manually select and download the recordings by consulting the pages for the Religion, Philosophy and Politics sections. To download the audio file, you right-clic on the button tagged with [MP3], then choose the "Save As..." menu item.

3) 001 - General Introduction To Stefan's Politically Incorrect Podcasts!

[MP3 - 001]

3.1) Introduction

Good day. My name is Stefan Jetchick, and you are listening to the general introduction for my "Politically Incorrect Podcasts"!

In this general introduction, I'll try to explain why you should listen to these podcasts, where they will take you, and what obstacles you might need to overcome while listening to them.

Before we start, two things. First, I am always eager to fix my mistakes and to improve my products, so if you have any comments, you'll find my contact information on www.inquisition.ca, or www.jesus-eucharistie.org.

Secondly, these podcasts are politically incorrect, so of course we have to start with a prayer! So if you're listening to this podcast in a public place, make sure your earphones are well screwed into your ears and the volume is down, stare straight ahead, and try to look innocent! We wouldn't want bystanders to find out what is going on! ;-)

3.2) Why listen to these podcasts?

We all seek happiness. That is our goal. The only reason you got out of bed this morning, is because you judged that staying in bed was going to draw you away from happiness, probably because you'd get fired if you didn't go to work! That is also why you looked both ways before crossing the street: you judged that you'be be closer to happiness if you weren't scattered in little pieces all over the asphalt!

As you can see, one of the most important skills you need, in order to be happy, is to be able to judge, to choose a good course of action instead of bad one. But like a real judge, in order to choose well, you need to hear all sides of the story. This is where the "political incorrectness" of these podcasts comes into play.

One of the goals of these podcasts is to show you another side of the story, a side you probably don't hear about in the news or at work, or even in many churches. That is why these podcasts don't talk about sports, or novels, or celebrities. These podcasts concentrate on three of the most politically incorrect topics these days: Philosophy, Politics, and Catholicism.

If you want to take my word for it, then believe me: if you make an honest effort, you will be able to gradually see light and peace reflecting on the newly polished facets of your mind, and you will be drawn to the divine Source of this Light.

But then, if you don't want to take my word for it, you can just download these podcasts and see for yourself!

3.3) Where are these podcasts going to take you?

Ideally, I would now give you a roadmap, so you would know exactly where we are going to go. This is difficult for several reasons. One of them is that I don't have a way to control which podcasts you will listen to, and in what order. Secondly, I'm still developing my web site, so I can't give you a map of areas that haven't been discovered yet! Nevertheless, I can tell you some of the scenic points we will certainly visit, for each of the three sections of Philosophy, Politics and Catholicism.

In Philosophy, the media would like you to believe that God is dead, that Philosophy isn't a science, and that truth doesn't even exist. I like to test those assumptions, using good old Logic. Another way of putting it is that I try to be a good disciple of Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas.

In Politics, the culture of entertainment we live in tries to convince us that the "democratic bus" has a really dirty steering wheel, so we should keep our hands off it. I think on the contrary we must be more politically involved. Another popular idea I don't like is "Legal Positivism", the idea that all laws are man-made, such that if we voted that Jews were sub-human, it would be OK to exterminate them. On the contrary, I defend Natural Law, the only stable foundation for our rights.

In Catholicism, I basically fight against the hypocrisy of so-called "Catholics" who despise the teachings of the Catholic Church, but who don't have the honesty of changing churches. Also, I have a lot of fun comparing the official teachings of the Catholic Church, with what anti-clericals claim She teaches.

Those are some of the scenic points. Now, if you want more details about the itinerary, visit the web site. You will notice that many articles are tagged with the acronym "MP3", as well as a number between 001 and 999. (Note: on 2011-Oct-07, I removed those numbers because this podcast project has been suspended for so long.) Such a tag means the article is part of this trip. Moreover, there is some meaning to the numbers:

- Between 1 and 30: these are articles I consider essential for understanding the rest. I recommend you download them first, and listen to them in increasing order. For the other articles you can pick and choose, but not for these.

- Between 100 and 299: this is the "Philosophy Section".

- Between 300 and 499: the "Politics Section".

- Between 500 and 699: the "Catholicism Section".

3.4) What obstacles should you be warned of?

I can think of at least three obstacles to your enjoyment of these podcasts. The first obstacle is technical, in other words, all the problems that would be solved, if I had a bigger budget! I would buy a recording studio, hire many professional actors with exquisite voices and impeccable pronounciations, as well as a sound-effects technician, musicians, singers, etc.

The second obstacle is my absence of serious degrees and official mandates. All I have is a little B.A. in Philosophy, whereas I would need three Ph.D.s. Also, the local Catholic Bishop might now even know I exist, so he can't have given me a mandate to do what I'm doing! (Same for the Pope.)

The final obstacle is the simplest, but unfortunately, also the biggest. Think about it: if you want your customers to come back for more, you have to please your customers! Except, the service I offer is to tell people the things they don't want to hear! I'm here to try to help you shape up your life, which means I'm going to have to point out some, well, some less than perfect things that maybe need some fixing in your life? Maybe? In other words, sorry, but sometimes I will have to be personally politically incorrect.

3.5) Conclusion

It is said that if the Virgin Mary told us all of our sins and defects, she would do it so sweetly that it wouldn't hurt us. So a fitting conclusion is the "Ave Regina Coelorum". (And speaking of sins, I beg forgiveness to the monks for stealing this song. I'll try to get a public-domain version for next time.)

Until we meet again, pray, think carefully, and do your duty!

[Ave Regina Coelorum Marian antiphon]

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