Howard Dully’s blog

Over the last few months I’ve been listening to podcasts during my morning and evening commutes. I’ve never been much of a podcast listener, but now that I have a 45 minute commute via BART train, I’ve turned into an avid listener, even an obsessed fan. I can’t leave home without my earphones, and if I do, I feel like I’ve wasted a precious morning that could have been spent enlightening my life.

I used to listen to the radio when I had a driving commute at a previous job, but this time I get to choose exactly which casts I want to listen to and in which order.

Lately I’ve been listening to Slate, NPR and a few others. Just so many of the segments are incredible. I actually feel rejuvinated when hearing a great piece that opens my eyes to larger world we live in. Most of the time I’m left intrigued.

So why is podcasting still a small niche in the total number of audio listeners? Well, logistics plays a big part. You need an mp3 player and, software to aggregate the casts. But more importantly you need time. Time to listen. No one actively turns on a radio to listens to news. Its a passive form of news consumption. You listen to it while doing something else, like driving or doing the dishes.

This question came up recently during a Knight multimedia workshop we were teaching at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Someone described podcasts as “radio without listeners” and my heart sank. How could this precious piece of daily enlightenment simply not exist in the lives of so many people. I suspect once cars become further integrated with iPod, this form of news consumption will become more and more widely used.

If you still don’t believe me, I challenge you to listen to the following cast and not be fully intrigued. It’s a piece from NPR’s Driveway Moments about a man trying to come to terms with a lobotomy he had when he was 12. I know, the topic sounds a bit weird, but this bit of audio is one of the most incredible pieces I’ve heard. The quick cross edits, the haunting voices, everything about it is so riveting I forget I’m listening to a news story. It’s 20 minutes long. You might not have the patience to listen to the whole thing sitting here on this blog (the reason why radio doesn’t work online), so remember you can always download the podcast.

Howard Dully\’s My Lobotomy piece from NPR\’s Driveway Moment

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Howard Dully dot com has arrived

nobody@vox.com(Howard Dully) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:32:13 -0700

http://www.howarddully.com/

try it out, give it some hits

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Oh, this was so interesting...

nobody@vox.com(Howard Dully) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:46:20 -0800

'''> >Freaky History Lesson
> >
>
> >Have a history teacher explain this

- if they can.
>
>
> >Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
>
> >John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
>
> >
>
> >Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
>
> >John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
>
> >
>
> >Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.
>
> >Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.
>
> >
>
> >Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
>
> >Both Presidents were shot in the head.
>
> >
>
> >Now it gets really weird.
>
> >
>
> >Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.
>
> >Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.
>
> >
>
> >Both were assassinated by Southerners.
>
> >Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.
>
> >
>
> >Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
>
> >Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
>
> >
>
> >John Wilkes Booth, who
>
> >assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
>
> >Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.
>
> >
>
> >Both assassins were known by their three names.
>
> >Both names are composed of fifteen letters.
>
> >
>
> >Now hang on to your seat.
>
> >
>
> >Lincoln was shot at the theater named 'Ford.'
>
> >Kennedy was shot in a car called ' Lincoln' made by 'Ford.'
>
> >
>
> >Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin ran and hid in a
>warehouse.
>
> >Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a
>
> >theater.
>
> >
>
> >Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
>
> >
>
> >And here's the kicker...
>
> >
>
> >A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland A week
>
> >before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.
>
> >
>
> >Creepy huh? Send this to as many people as you can, cause: Hey, this is
>
> >one history lesson people don't mind reading

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

His Lobotomy A Online Review

nobody@vox.com(Howard Dully) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:47:22 -0800

Thursday, February 14, 2008
His Lobotomy

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been reading this book by Howard Dully. Not long after I posted that blog, I was excited to see that I had a comment! The comment was from Dully himself! I thought it was a joke, but after checking out his site, it's totally legit. My own friends don't even comment here, but the author of the book I'm reading does??? Even if all he does is Google himself all day long, I thought it was pretty damn cool.

I finally finished the book last night. I say finally, but really, I read it in three days. It's just that any time I wasn't reading, I was wanting to. I've found myself a little obsessed with this story. And why? I was never lobotomized, I was never tortured by my step-mother, I never even had a step-mother, and I don't think anyone hated me as a child. But I think I resonated with the loneliness and insecurity the author always felt. No one ever told him that he was loved and I can relate to that. Even though I hear those words now, I don't remember ever hearing it as a kid. If I did, it obviously wasn't enough or not significant to me. I was a very quit child and no one really talked to me. My dad was at work and my mom was usually in bed, depressed, or working in her art studio. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't exactly neglected. I took dance lessons and had ponies and nice clothes. But I remember it was like pulling teeth to get my parents to attend my dance recitals and just do what all the other parents did for their children. I don't hold a grudge about any of that now, but as a kid, that was really confusing and hurtful. I spent a lot of time in my room, alone.

So after I finished the book I found the original NPR broadcast of which Dully's book is drawn from and listened to the 22 minute-long biography, and it's wonderful.

It's hard to imagine a time when a "medical" practice like this was normal. That no one really stood up for the victims of this procedure. Today there would be many organizations and gala's held to raise money for these people. There would be some fancy celebrity at the head of it all and one of those Lance Armstrong bracelets.

The book also made me think of my mother's brother. I never met him (though he was supposedly there at my birth), but he was diagnosed as a schizophrenic in his late teens and sent from the East Coast to live in a mental institution in Tacoma, where at 60-something, he is still living. I'm sure he is a ward of the state of Washington; a throw away. Could his problem(s) really have been that bad? It must have been sometime in the 1960's when he was sent there. What kept my grandparents from sending him to see Dr. Freeman, I wonder? Is it better to just lock someone up and throw away the key? No one spoke of him growing up. I think when my parents moved to Washington they might have tried to visit him once or twice. Maybe it was too painful.

Well, if Dully is reading this now, I would like him to know that his story really touched my heart. I know I'm not the only one. I know he's received tons of letters and e-mails telling him how brave he is. In an odd way, I almost feel proud of him. I guess I'm just happy to see that someone who endured so much has finally come full circle and has let go of the pain. I have a feeling he'll be on Oprah soon.
Posted by thecandyqueen at 9:09 AM
Labels: books, howard dully, lobotomy

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

My Lobotomy

nobody@vox.com(Howard Dully) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:33:18 -0800

Sunday, February 10, 2008

never really thought much about the subject of lobotomies...

i spend an hour traveling to work and back home Monday through Friday and enjoy listening to audio books rather than the radio or cds. i listen to all kinds of stuff - usually fiction romance, sci-fi or whatever else gets my attention at the library. i just finished listening to what i thought was fiction, but turned out to be a biography by Howard Dully called My Lobotomy. i don't think i'll ever use the term lobotomy to be funny again. i have been totally blown away by this book. this man describes his life from childhood to adulthood. he was given a lobotomy at the age of 12, because his step mother could not control him and his father was too complacent to object. the lobotomy did not "work" to the step mother's satisfaction so she talked his father in to giving him up as a ward of the state. it's amazing that this man turned out so well. he is in his 50s now and is doing well. i would love to meet him personally and just give him a hug. he worked with Sound Portraits on a documentary of his life which aired on NPR in Novemeber 2005. take a listen - it will take you out of your comfort zone and make you think a little.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5014080

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Vote which one you like let me know.

nobody@vox.com(Howard Dully) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:07:19 -0800

My Lobotomya

41CAslZXI0L._SS500_

The top is the US cover and the bottom is the UK cover which do you like best (and why) ?

Read and post comments | Send to a friend