Well, I went ahead and made a Radio Bastet Twitter page.  Use or ignore at your discretion.  http://twitter.com/radiobastet

Hey gang! It's not too early to start thinking about those holiday gifts (or just spoil yourself!)... Radio Bastet has partnered up with Conjure Oils to present Conjure Caravan! Visit the Souk today for scrumptious perfume oils named for vintage dancers, or slather yourself with the one and only Radio Bastet oil! You'll be the talk of the troupe! Enhance your dance today - you'll be glad you did!

Would you all like to see Radio Bastet on Twitter??

Hi everyone! Three big news items to tell you about today:

1. Archive shows #37 and 38 are now up and running at the podcast blog page. I did a new "generic" intro and closing that I'll be adding to all the shows that I lost the intro/closing files to (quite a few, I'm sorry to admit). Also, due to popular request, I've started indicating the length of each track on the playlists. I'll try to get show 39 up tomorrow. Enjoy, won't you?

2. Attention all New York CIty-area folks! You will not want to miss this! Vintage Bellydance - a stage play and performance harking back to the glamorous days of yore! Tailor-made for Radio Bastet listeners, I'd venture to say! It looks like it's one performance only, tomorrow night (I meant to get this posted earlier - sorry about that!!). I'm hoping if it's a hit, more performances will be forthcoming! If anyone gets a chance to see it, please give us a report if you can!

3. Amaya's American Belly Dance Legends DVD is finally out and WOW it is a stunner! Lots of rarely-seen vintage footage of some of Radio Bastet's favorites - Bert Balladine, Ibrahim Farrah, Aisha Ali, Dahlena, even Jamila Salimpour! You will love it - get yours today!

That's all for now! Hope you're shimmying your summer away!

Rachel Brice just left a comment on the Radio Bastet MySpace page calling me her "all time favorite podcaster"! Golly. I'm blushing.

Hey everyone! Long time no hear from. I apologize; life has been crazy for me lately.

First off, podcasts of archive shows 29, 30 and 31 are now up at the site for your listening and dancing pleasure. I hope you love them! http://radiobastet.libsyn.com/

Secondly, I was wondering if anyone would be interested if I started a Radio Bastet network community over at http://www.ning.com I'd kind of like to consolidate Radio Bastet's internet presences. (There's also a MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/vintagebellydancemusic ) Let me know what you think!

Love and shimmies,
Marisa~

Hey everyone! I want to apologize for the lengthy delay in getting the new shows up. I was very ill last month, and didn't get much of anything done at all. I'm finally feeling better, and felt one of the first things I needed to do was prepare some new podcasts. So archive shows 26, 27 and 28 are now up for your downloading pleasure. Enjoy and shimmy on!

Oh - and just because I'm feeling completely silly, if I were ever to do Radio Bastet live, it might look a little something like this:

Coming your way, heck - they're here already!

Hey my beautiful people! Your summer (or winter, as the case may be) just got a whole lot hotter - archive programs 23, 24 and 25 are now up at the Radio Bastet podcast blog page for your listening and shimmying delectation! Lots of good stuff this time (as, dare I say, always)!

( Featuring cuts from: )

I'm sure I don't need to tell you to get thee hence and SHIMMY ON!!!

Love,
Marisa~

Firstly, I want to apologize to all of you for the three-month span inbetween podcasts. The last three months have been pretty insane for me. My mother had two major surgeries, and I've been very preoccupied with her care. It looks like things are starting to settle down now, thankfully. Thank you so much for bearing with me! Radio Bastet listeners are the greatest people on earth!

OK - now for the good news. Three new archive ("new archive" - is that an oxymoron?) podcasts are now up at the site! Check 'em out today!

Also, I've done a slight redesign at the main site in anticipation of the BIG site redesign that should be happening later this year. I got really tired of the layout and the BLACK. I also took down the playlist and cover gallery pages for some much-needed sprucing up. Stay tuned for further developments!

Thanks again for your patience and your enthusiam - that's what keeps me going!

Shimmy on,
Marisa~

Conjure Caravan presents The Souk

Let the Conjure Caravan whisk you away to a land of lush textures,

jewel-tones, exotic rhythms, serpentine dancers and sultry fragrances inspired by the roots of American Tribal Style Belly Dance.

These seductive scents are sure to raq your world!

For more information, please visit The Souk - only at Conjure Oils

I am proud to have had a (very small) hand in helping create this new line! And I'm also happy to report that the Radio Bastet fragrance oil is now a permanent part of Conjure Oils! I do hope you'll check these out; these are some of the most luxurious scents Conjure has yet created, if I do say so myself....

Poll #1144408 Forum?
Open to: Friends, detailed results viewable to: Friends

Should I delete this community and create a forum at radiobastet.com?

This community isn't very active, nor is the Radio Bastet tribe over at Tribe.net (OK, maybe it's a bit more active than this one). I've been thinking of deleting both and just having some type of forum over at the regular site. What do you think? I'd really appreciate your input. Thanks so much, everyone!

Hey gang! The new documentary Underbelly, starring Radio Bastet fan Princess Farhana, will be coming out in March! Take a look!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that archive shows 11, 12 and 13 are now up at the Radio Bastet podcast blog page. Sorry for the delay; my temp job this summer sucked away all my free time!

Also, just wanted to repost this little tidbit, seeing as how the holidays are approaching....

My dear friend apocalypso23, aka Vajra at Conjure Oils ("Fine Fragrances Magickal and Mundane"), has created a very special perfume oil inspired by the exotic music and heady bellydance magic of Radio Bastet! Red Egyptian musk, attar of roses, amber, vanilla, patchouli and champa comprise this seductive blend that will have you shimmying and swaying the night away!

This fragrance is not part of the regular Conjure Oils line; Vajra will "conjure it up" especially for you when you request the Radio Bastet fragrance oil! Please find ordering information here. Samples are $3 each (there are sampler specials, check 'em out!); full bottles are available in either 5ml ($15) or 10ml ($25) sizes.

Also, check out the Conjure Oils LJ community at conjureoils!

Thank you, everyone, and trust me when I say that you won't be disappointed with this fragrance - it is YUMMY!!!

Many thanks and Happy Holidays!!!

Saw this on www.youtube.com and loved the music and troupe.
If you know the music/artist and the dance troupe, please post.
Thanx!
Valna

Hey gang, here's some really great news (better than new shows finally being posted?? Well, not quite...)!

My dear friend Vajra at Conjure Oils ("Fine Fragrances Magickal and Mundane") has created a very special perfume oil inspired by the exotic music and heady bellydance magic of Radio Bastet! Red Egyptian musk, attar of roses, amber, vanilla, patchouli and champa comprise this seductive blend that will have you shimmying and swaying the night away!

This fragrance is not part of the regular Conjure Oils line; Vajra will "conjure it up" especially for you when you request the Radio Bastet fragrance oil! Please find ordering information here. Samples are $3 each (there are sampler specials, check 'em out!); full bottles are available in either 5ml ($15) or 10ml ($25)sizes.

Also please check out the Conjure Oils LJ community at conjureoils! Thank you, everyone, and trust me when I say that you won't be disappointed with this fragrance - it is YUMMY!!!

(I'm going to get at least one show up tonight!! Off I go!!)

I can't believe I just now heard about this; my sincerest apologies!

Serena Wilson, dancer and teacher, passed away June 24.

Peaceful rest, Serena. We miss you already.

If you're a member there, add me won't you? I plan on adding one tune from every LP featured on the show to this playlist. Enjoy!

(I'm working on getting new podcasts up, have no fear!)

OK gang. I've thought, meditated, ruminated, contemplated, and even prayed about this. Here is how it's going to be.

1. I am not going back to the old streaming format. Podcasts have become the preferred format for presenting audio programs on the internet. They are relatively easy to put together, and they are completely downloadable by the listener to carry around on their iPod or burn onto a CD. There is no reason to be afraid of or intimidated by podcasts. A podcast is essentially nothing more than a big mp3 file. You can stream it, or you can download it. Ideally, you should subscribe to your favorite podcasts. The beauty of subscribing is that the most recent episodes are automatically downloaded when you visit that podcast's RSS feed or other podcast directory, such as iTunes, Podcast Pickle, Odeo, etc.

I would say the feedback I've gotten from my listeners on which format they prefer has been pretty much split down the middle. So, I'm making a command decision here and sticking with the podcasts.

2. Several listeners have suggested I indicate time stamps for each song on the playlists. Since a podcast is one big mp3 file, there's no way to tell for sure what track is playing when while you're listening. I've thought about this long and hard, and I've decided against it. Why?

a) Each program is a little over one (1) hour in length. There are approximately 13-15 tracks in each program. It really shouldn't be too difficult to figure out which tune is playing when, with the playlist as your guide. The playlist for each show can be found in three (3) different places: on the podcast blog page, on the Playlists page at the main site, and embedded within the ID tags of the actual podcast file.

b) It's an extra step that I just don't feel like making, frankly. I've started putting the length of each tune in the playlist, which I admit is something I should have been doing all along. That, coupled with the relative shortness of each show and the easy availability of the playlists, should make things a bit easier, I'm hoping.

3. I will keep putting up archive shows as I'm able, and I hope to get a new show out soon. However, my life is just about to get a whole lot busier. I'm taking on new religious and career training commitments that are going to be taking up a lot of my free time. So please bear with me on that particular front.

I think that's it for now! I apologize if I've disappointed some of you, but I think I've made the best decision, all things considered. Take good care and as always, I enjoy hearing from you!

Easter blessings,
Marisa~

OK gang, I need your help! Thanks!

Poll #928960 Podcast or streaming?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Should Radio Bastet continue podcasting or go back to the old streaming format?

Once again I am way behind in posting new programs, and I apologize once again. I have been so busy with other things going on that I haven't found much time to work on programs. So, here is what I propose to do.

I will post 2 archive shows every other Sunday or so. I'm going to start at the beginning. Archive shows 1 and 2 are now up and ready on the podcast blog page. Whenever I get the time, I will put together a new show and post that as well, leave that up for at least a couple weeks and try to get another one together.

I have also had several folks let me know that they miss being able to tell exactly what song is playing when, as you could in the old streaming mp3 format. I appreciated that feature too, but with podcasting as it is now there's no way to do that. I wish I could do podcasts and streaming, but I just don't have the server space. I will continue podcasting for now until enough people let me know that they would prefer I go back to the old streaming format.

Thanks for all your enthusiasm and support! I appreciate your feedback too!