I completely agree with Mr. Lunatic.
That said, I think Steve and crew could stop here if they wanted to and feel that they have accomplished something truly impressive.
I happened across Escape Pod about episode 30ish, and thought to myself "Wow! This guy has either got to have some serious backing or this won't last very long." Why? Because Mr. Eley managed to consistently deliver good stories that were professionally narrated and edited with commentary at the beginning or end. Every week.
And it just kept happening. I found out there was no serious backing from Mevio, ZDNet, Revision3, CBS, NBC, or even serious advertising. It just kept happening for YEARS.
Most of the time people get excited about something like podcasting and they do it for a little while until the novelty wears off and they decide to go back to doing the things that people normally do. Like working, eating, sleeping, walking their dog, playing with their kids, hanging out with friends, paying bills, etc. Normal stuff.
Not in this case. As such, it has become my favorite podcast among many, and one of the few I donate money to on a yearly basis.
Which is why I'm shocked when people point out editing errors, production problems, have serious criticisms of the stories, or otherwise critique the show. And Mr. Eley takes this seriously and fixes the issues in the sound and asks for feedback on stories. As if this were a real job and we were his bosses. Which we aren't.
In short, I would like to thank Mr. Eley for his MONUMENTAL effort delivering amazing stories to my iPod every week for the last few years and hope he continues (but he doesn't have to).
I'd also like to thank the folks that have released the flash fiction pieces over the last couple of weeks. It adds five minutes of awesomeness to my day
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