Giorraíonn beirt bóthar means "Two people shorten the road". This blog features streamed fables, folktales, and lies as told by storyteller John David Hickey (aka Hobbes).
I'm blogging this here so that I can find it later easily, but I love what this guy does with the Star Wars prequels. Focusing on Anakin over all three movies was a huge mistake and made the stories suck in a colossal way.
Also, teenage Anakin was a dick from beginning to end, so when he made the transition to the Dark Side, there's no feeling of tragedy or loss. The animated series The Clone Wars dealt with this transition much better than the movies ever did.
Take a look at how BelatedMedia rewrites the first two prequels and you'll see brilliant storytelling at work.
I haven't been telling too many tales lately, so I don't have new stories to post on the blog. But I do have a few shows coming up in 2011, so I might have the opportunity to record some new stories. I've been spending the rest of my time trying to learn new stories.
I will be telling tales on February 11th in NDG at Casa Maura along with Sarah Comrie and Jack Nissenson. The performance costs $40 and includes a full meal (bring your own wine). Seating is limited to 45 people, so please contact Casa Maura and reserve your tickets today!
Tales from House of Maura
Friday, February 11th 2011
Casa Maura (6290 Somerled, NDG)
7pm - 10pm
(514) 482-0777 Facebook Event page
Back in October 2010, I told a couple of tales at a fundraiser in Atwater Library and to my amazement and great pleasure, it was videotaped! The person who shot the performance provided me with the videos and I was able to upload it to my YouTube channel. Enjoy!
This past Christmas, there were more than a few books by Ivan Coyote being wrapped and unwrapped by a twinkling tree in our houses. I picked up a CD from Ivan last November when I saw her at the Ottawa Storytelling Festival and I've been playing it for many of my friends. I need to pick up her other CDs too.
These two YouTube videos have Ivan telling a story that I heard her tell at McGill University in Montreal in 2009 (although this specific performance was in San Francisco). I have this story in one of the books I got for Christmas, but I have no recordings of it. I hope you enjoy it.
Do I sound like a fan? You bet I am, but there's something dangerous about listening or reading too much Ivan. You'd think as a storyteller myself, enjoying Ivan's work would inspire me to continue developing as a teller. Part of me wants to produce more shows, write more books, record more CDs, and just perform more often.
But instead, the opposite happens. The small, insecure part of my artistic self sees someone as great as Ivan E. Coyote and wants to just give it all up. What if I never get that good?
It's silliness, of course, and I beat down that voice and go back to working on become that good someday. There are a few things I need to work on: I need to write my own stories (both folktales and personal, anecdotal stories), I need to promote myself more, and I need to develop a show that has more to offer than just straight telling (I'm working on that already with Shayne by adding more music to the telling).
The SweLL Company has put a clip on YouTube that features Ivan (see below). I like it's format and theatrical aspects, so I need to develop something similar for my own stories. I'm imagining a dark stage with a couple of spotlights for me and the musicians, with a backdrop of animated images that suit the story. I can see a few artistic mediums flowing together there.
I finally figured out how my iTunes feed works! There were a couple of important lines missing from the XML file, but after much searching, I found the errors, fixed them, and another story turned up on my iTunes page. Huzzah!
Right now, I have Truth & Story and Love & Madness available for free download. I may charge a fee for future tracks, but I haven't decided.
So visit my iTunes podcast and become a subscriber! Feel free to pass my iTunes page to anyone you think might enjoy my stories!
I've recorded a new promotional spot to, oddly, promote this podcast. You can download this MP3 and use it in your podcast, your website, or your radio show. Please let me know if you intend to use this promo spot just so I can link back to your show.
My thanks to my friend Shayne Gryn for providing the music for this promo. Here it is:
John David Hickey has been telling tales across Canada since 1996. He is based in Montreal (Quebec), Canada and performs in cafes, pubs, and schools to the delight of many.
To be able to listen to the stories on this site, you need to download and install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. You can get it by visiting the Adobe site.
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