The Dark Moose, referring to himself in third person notwithstanding, occasionally makes mistakes...

Like...all the time, but let's not dwell on it. But one in particular I feel I should point out.

Years ago I came down on the folks at SWEndirect because some of them wanted to start their own thread on the boards (this is long before we had blogs, which is really a great place to pimp their wares). I made the case that no one website should be promoted over all other fan sites - that is was unfair. The other side of that was that SWEndirect was a fan activity that transcends the normal fan site. It's not just a website, it's a show.

I stuck to my guns and said nope - it's a fan site. I'm older and perhaps, in some ways, wiser now. I'm not as limited as I once was in my interpretation of mod policy. I was gung ho then, but I see the bigger picture now.

SWEndirect.com is Star Wars Fan Radio, and one of the best and most successful examples of it. Every week, on Sundays usually in the evening (see website for times), they conduct interviews and online live discussions on a wide variety of Star Wars fan events and topics. And they never seem to run out of interesting things to say.

They've interviewed a long list of notable peeps:

NATHAN BUTLER

MIKE DODD

TROY DENNING

KAREN TRAVISS

JEFF CIOLETTI

DANIEL WALLACE

CHRIS GORE

MICHAEL STACKPOLE

MATTHEW STOVER

STEVE PERRY

JAY THOMPSON

ALBIN JOHNSON

MICHAEL REAVES

TREY STOKES

STEVEN BARNES

PAUL ENS

SEAN WILLIAMS

VORONICA WHITNEY-ROBINSON

PETER MAYHEW

LISA STEVENS

MIKE GALLO

STEVE SANSWEET

and that's not even all of them...

They're great shows to listen to - they're funny and insightful, and one of the best interactive experiences you can find in Star Wars fandom next to these boards and blogs.

It's great to actually hear people just like us discussing things we care about - new books, new games, new collector's series, fan club news, spoilers. They're knowledgeable and opinionated. It's a talk show, geared just for us.

All you need is a standard media player, such as Windows Media. Listen to the show live, and you get to simultaneously participate in an online chat with other fans from around the world - even with the hosts themselves as they take questions from the chat room. Even if you miss the live show, you can still download one after the fact. They have an archive dating back with years of great shows and good interviews.

So this is an official Dark Moose plug - give an ear or two to this thang. It's pretty good stuff. Try not to be distracted by the fake French they occasionally break into, though.

Seriously, listen to Sebastien and crew this next Sunday if you have a moment. Fan Audio is a new frontier, and one I think could take off to even greater heights. Shows like this already have a great headstart.

If you want to get the latest news in an entertaining format, and are tired of just reading it, try listening to it and even participating in it. It's a great alternative.

DM out


..

PS-
I expect payment in US Dollars or gasoline, not that funky Canadian money.