WFHB FireHouse Broadcasting

Patrick played numerous excerpts from early audio recordings dating back to pre-civil war days. It was a fun program largely because of Partrick's enthusiasm and sense of humor. One of the ideas that I take with me from this program is the idea that Edison was by no means out there himself experimenting with audio recording.

Another idea is that people struggle down dead-end streets looking for ways to make use of emerging technologies. This was clearly demonstrated by the recording that was not designed to be listened to; it was designed to be seen. The experimental mechanism drew wave forms that the designer assumed people could learn to "read" and appreciate. From our perspective today, it seems like a naive assumption, but it may well be that anyone capable of "reading" and appreciating a musical score might also be capable of doing the same with a waveform output.

I had a brief chat with Tristra before the Mongolian program started. She is one of these people who make you feel old and sedentary because of her enthusiasm. You ask a simple question about Mongolia and she explodes, eyes sparkling with answers and tidbits that whet your appetite for more.

Some pleasant surprises for me was learning how grounded the Mongolian nomads (herders) are with a sense of place. To the degree that Scott Russell Sanders holds sway here in Indiana, we have something in common with Mongolian nomads. It was also interesting to learn that Tserenchunt, raised in a herder family, learned to ride horses at the age of six.

And finally, my sense of the geography of that area is pitiful. I imaged that Mongolia was way up there in the frigid zone and extremely mountainous. After looking Mongolia up in my 1986 World Atlas, I see that it’s not like that at all. It’s bound by China on the southern, eastern, and western borders, and by Russia (Siberia) on the north. It has some mountains but not nearly as many as China and there are large expanses of what looks like planes – not at all as forbidding as the image I had before meeting these delightful Interchange guests.

For information about visiting Mongolia, visit their tourism web site: http://www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn/

Or visit the Tibetan/Mongolian Buddhist Culture Center web site: http://www.tibetancc.com/info/index.asp

Interchange Team,
We now have a forum for commenting on program content. I hope to generate listener interest and listener participation in
Interchange by encouraging listeners to read and comment on blog
entries. The Site is now open to for the world to read but we won't
start publicizing it until June.