Today, we are again working on the start of a new music track, this time with the iOS app Auxy (laying down the backing percussion and some notes in the verses) as well as watching the Rocketeer cartoon episode number 16, one of my kids’ favorites. Some pictures from the episode …
I don’t know if this was written intentionally, but the part where Kit and Valerie go back and forth about stealing / borrowing a statue remind me of the part in the 1991 movie where Cliff and Peevy do the same thing (though the statue they “borrow” if of Charles Lindburgh, not the Rocketeer).
It’s hard to see in the above screenshot, but the dinero Kit and Tesh are holding in this scene has Rocketeer helmets on it where the Presidential head usually is 🙂
Lastly, about a year ago, there was a tragic explosion in Beirut, Lebanon (the country where half of Kit’s family comes from). Things had been bad for some time, but the explosion and COVID really have done a number on the people of Lebanon. Last year and recently, I made little posts on Twitter about it, mainly to raise awareness in a positive light (things on Twitter seem to have a habit of turning negative / political very quickly). As I mentioned there, although Kit’s obviously not a real person, if she were real, she would be trying to help in some way, and if it’s one thing the world needs more of right now, it’s more everyday people who embrace their inner “heart of a hero,” just like our friends, Cliff and Kit.
When I think of those sentiments, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from another high flying aviator, astronaut Ellison Onizuka (RIP).
“… the people who make this world run, whose lives can be termed successful, whose names will go down in the history books, are not the cynics, the critics, or the armchair quarterbacks.
They are the adventurists, the explorers, and doers of this world. When they see a wrong or problem, they do something about it. When they see a vacant place in our knowledge, they work to fill that void.
Rather than leaning back and criticizing how things are, they work to make things the way they should be. They are the aggressive, the self-starters, the innovative, and the imaginative of this world …
Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace then think of the new horizons that you can explore …
Make your life count – and the world will be a better place because you tried.”
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #311 and Like a Hood Ornament #35: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 15 with Production Coordinator Esther Gonzalez Murray
Today, Esther Gonzalez Murray rejoins the show (she was last on for episode 294) to watch and discuss one of her favorite episodes. Both of the segments that make up this episode are a lot of fun. The show has really hit its stride by this point, as just about all the characters and villains have been introduced at least once, so even though each episode is generally meant to stand alone, there is some collective sense of history at this point that is nice.
Some pictures from the episode … the first two involve a plot where the rocketpack is malfunctioning and gets captured by The Great Orsino (Cliff’s NY Adventure reference), who covers it for his stage act. His assistant Deany, takes control of it for a short time and uses it to do good, but, ever helpful, not before first helping Orsino try to fly it in circles by holding him down with a tether (reference from the film where Cliff and Oeevy try something similar with a Charles Lindbergh statue).
Thanks, Esther, for rejoining the show!
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Today, we’re taking a short break from toys and looking at the Rocketeer cartoon to discuss the Rocketeer’s sidearm, which we touched on last week at bit when looking at the clip in the 1991 film where he acquires a Mauser C96 pistol.
I always thought it was odd Cliff is often shown (in both movie stills and the original Dave Stevens comics) holding a gun despite holding one for less than a page in the comic and for only a few minutes in the film.
In this page of the original Rocketeer saga, what is shown is the Mauser select fire M172. You can tell by the 20 round extended magazine and the selector switch on the left hand side.
On this sketch done prior to inking and colors, you can see that the original idea was to draw something more akin to the older, more established Mauser C96 (usually chambered for the 7.63 mm x 25 round coming in an internal 10 round box magazine) – the one shown in the 1991 film and in most of the drawings that Dave Stevens did.
Regardless of which version of the pistol was intended, this episode touches on some history and aspects of handing and usage and what might Cliff might have had to think about had he used the Mauser pistol he is associated with more.
For background, I read about the pistol in question in this book (plus a number of other videos you can find on Youtube).
This picture shows the stripper clip method of loading – the main way the C96 would have been loaded since there was no detachable magazine, though on the M172, the bullets could have been loaded one at a time in the magazines also.
The Mauser pistols came with hollowed out wooden holsters that could serve as shoulder stocks as well as protecting the gun from damage or foul weather. The airsoft version I’m using below also a similar (but plastic) stock.
I’m using a gas blowback airsoft version of the select fire Mauser M712 (the one pictured in the original comic) made by the Taiwanese company WE. While the Rocketeer is often shown next to an American flag, you might think more Americana would have gone into the character design. But I think Dave Stevens intentionally picked something distinctive looking that fits with the aesthetics of the costume. The fact that Cliff does not “buy American” (so to speak) and use something like a Colt Peacemaker or a 1911 fits with the character in many ways, who is a compilation of a bunch of archetypes from the mid to late 1800s (the cavalry style leather jacket, jodhpurs, and riding boots) to the 1930s (the GeeBee and the art deco styling of the rocketpack and helmet). The intricate, well machined Mauser pistol falls solidly in between, a Victorian, already somewhat overengineered and steampunkish design by the late 1930s that was nonetheless still widely used not only by the Germans but by many other countries as well, especially China, where it even had its own nickname (盒子砲, literally “box gun,” named after the distinctive box magazine). Interestingly the Mauser M712 was apparently quite popular there pre-WW2, as an arms embargo prevented rifles and machine guns from being imported (apparently pistols that could become carbines with fully auto capacity was an adequate workaround).
There is a video segment to this podcast which can be found here:
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #306 and Like a Hood Ornament #33: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 14, Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of The Rocketeer (6/21/1991)
The day this episode releases will mark the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer. In celebration, I have a few special things for this episode, including a few accompanying video segments.
The first is the opening of the Diamond Select version of the Rocketeer figure:
The next segment is annotation of a short part in the film where the Rocketeer is caught in between G-men, gangsters, and Nazi storm troopers, eventually leading to those iconic scenes where he’s taking off by the American flag.
Although he is shown in both the comic (on covers mostly) and in pictures holding a Mauser C96 pistol, he never actually gets to use it in either the film or the original comic (more next week). This clip shows how he obtained it in the film:
This week, I’ll finish a little Rocketeer one screen game made with the app Pixicade. It will be a shooting game, since those are very easy to make the the built in physics engine the app has. Here is a preliminary drawing:
Now onto more family friendly things! Some pictures from the Rocketeer cartoon part of the episode:
Lastly, check out episode 43 of I Used to Like This One for a guest appearance I made on the show to discuss the 1991 film version of The Rocketeer for the 30th anniversary of the film.
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape – last week only! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m continuing to work on the new custom action figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour, this one made by a character from from the show PJ Masks that I had to fix. I’m also in the process of painting the Lego Friends Rocketeer. My progress so far:
Some pictures from the episode:
Lastly, check out episode 43 of I Used to Like This One for a guest appearance I made on the show to discuss the 1991 film version of The Rocketeer. Next week, it will be the 30th anniversary of his film!
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I started working on a new custom action figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour, this one made by a character from from the show PJ Masks that I had to fix anyway. I used Aves Apoxiesculpt clay to add to the base figure’s clothes to make them look more like what Logan wears in the book.
On the left, you can see some progress on the Lego Friends Rocketeer. Speaking of the Rocketeer, there is a Rocketeer game I alluded to in the episode you can download for your phone. More details here:
Lastly, check out episode 43 of I Used to Like This One for a guest appearance I made on the show to discuss the 1991 film version of The Rocketeer.
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I started working on a few of the action figure projects I mentioned the episode before last. I got a chance to do some of the preliminary clay sculpting. There is a little more to do, then some fine tuning with files and Dremels and such.
The figure on the left that currently looks like it’s wearing a diaper is from the show PJ Masks, which my kids occasionally will watch. If I can puff out the pants to resemble to baggy fatigue trousers Logan wears, sculpt in a belt – perhaps the yellow one Logan usually has on as part of his base uniform or the utility belt he is issued with lots out pouches and a sheath knife (more of a challenge but more interesting to sculpt those small details), puff out the sleeves of the arms a bit, then add a head than is not so disproportionately large, I’ll have another Logan custom.
On the right in the picture and in the video above, you can see some sculpting going on to make a Lego Friends figure look more like the Rocketeer.
The second part of the episode is watching The Rocketeer cartoon, episode 11, which is one of my favorites, as there is a toy Rocketeer in it!
Some pictures from the episode:
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m watching episode 10 of The Rocketeer cartoon and welcoming vocalist Tammy Infusino to the show (click on the picture below to go to her website).
Tammy did the vocals for many of the songs in the show, including the intro song, the suit up sequence, and a number of songs in the playlist below.
One of the songs Tammy sings, “A Beautiful View” comes up in the episode we are watching this week and also has a great visual to go with it. Check it out below!
Here are some of the other songs referenced in the podcast
Exchange – “Where the Truth Lies” (from the Prince Valiant cartoon intro)
Berlin – “Take My Breath Away” (from Top Gun)
Now that you’ve heard her belt out 80s style songs for The Rocketeer, check out Tammy’s original music on Spotify.
Here are some pics from episode 10, which has lots of great cloudscape shots.
Speaking of cloudscapes, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
Speaking of Thirteenth Hour music, join Logan on 5/29/21 at 10:30 PM on Facebook Live for a Thirteenth Hour concert! Mostly originals from Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, but also a number of covers of songs that inspired the music.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, I’m discussing a few upcoming custom action figure ideas (a few Rocketeer ones, another Logan one) coming this summer.
A few pictures:
This little lady from PJ Masks has a broken hip. But if I can fix it, I think I might be able to use the body to make a custom Logan figure, since the tunic is pretty similar.
I’ve slowly been collecting pieces to make a 3 3/4” Rocketeer custom figure as well as a Cliff and Jenny set (made of Lego Friends pieces and a few other accessories).
The second part of the episode is watching The Rocketeer cartoon, episode 9.
Some pictures from the episode:
There are lots of great interior shots of the Bulldog Cafe in this episode!
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live IG concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/15/21. When I figure out how to get it onto another platform, I’ll have another concert there as well.
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #300 – Special Anniversary Podcast Edition and Like a Hood Ornament #27: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 8 with My Daughter
Welcome to episode 300! This show has been going in some fashion since 2014 and continuously since early 2015 so in commemoration, I’v gathered together a few clips from past episodes and time when I’ve been guests of fellow podcasters discussing some aspects of The Thirteenth Hour.
We start off with a short clip from my first podcast in this format (since the first 15 had been just reading aloud from an earlier draft of The Thirteenth Hour pre-publication to try to catch errors). Here is the full episode:
Some years before, when I was living in New England, I was interviewed on his radio show, The Author’s Hour, fellow author Wayne Barber hosted me on his show. There’s an excerpt here about what The Thirteenth Hour is about and what so many of the things touched upon in this show have been about over the years. The full interview is here, back on episode 31 of the show:
Just one episode before, my brother, Jeremy, had just been on (my first guest!) to talk about the homebrew games we attempted to make in the 90s (which we circled back to in episode 298 with Ric and Paul). The full episode (#30) is below, but Jeremy comes on the show briefly today to talk about what he’s been up to. Find more of his writing over at https://pixelgrotto.tumblr.com/.
Our next guest for today, Adam from @mom_gave_them_away, who has been on the show a number of times before (see below for one of those times) comes on to share what he has been doing and what he is passionate about. One of the great things about the show (and the reason I’ve kept doing it these past 6 years) is that through it, I’ve met so many talented, creative people I probably wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
At the same time we recorded the show linked above (#220), we also recorded one for Adam’s show. I’ve included a clip in this episode (about Spacecamp and other 80s movies), and you can listen to the full episode on Spotify above or on his Patreon.
I picked flying scenes to represent so many aspects of The Thirteenth Hour since I think that is what so many of those 80s films and songs did in a way – it was escapism in the purest sense, and I think the idea of flying, or rather the freedom of the open air, has always been something that I have found attractive (probably one of the reasons I liked and still like the Rocketeer so much). I recently finished a painting of Logan and the Rocketeer zooming through a lilac purple cloudscape getting at exactly these images called “Wingmen.”
I just recorded for this episode a little video going of me opening a new Rocketeer action figure that recently came out. Man, what I would have given for something like this as a kid!
To do the next episode of The Rocketeer cartoon (#8), this week, my daughter joins for the whole segment. It was a happy little coincidence that in the first clip on this show (from episode #16), she was an infant, and here, she’s almost 7. It was a great thing to be able to do with her.
Some pictures from the episode:
Lastly, stay tuned for a concert involved Thirteenth Hour music, a custom Logan action figure, and Logan stories next week, 5/15/21 at 10:30 PM EST on Instagram Live @the13thhr.ost. It will look something like this:
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 7. As before, you can watch along with the episode as I go though it in real time.
Some pictures from the episode:
I also found a new Rocketeer podcast! Check out Rocketeer Radiofor more great Rocketeer info. I listened to all the episodes in like a day and am looking forward to the next one.
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 6. In this one, my daughter (who is dressed up like Kit for Halloween in the banner above) joins for the last few minutes at the end to talk about an episode where Kit goes chasing after her piggy bank.
Some pictures from the episode:
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 5. In this one, we meet a boy genius / mad scientist / dumpster diver by the name of Rolland, who fancies himself a metal clad character named Dr. Doodlebug as as well as a pilot-less plane still being beta tested named Ava.
Some pictures from the episode:
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 4. This episode is actually available for free on Youtube so even if you don’t have access to the full season, you can watch this one in full and follow along in real time as we watch it.
Some pictures from the episode:
Assistant Writer (a.k.a script coordinator) Dan Salgarolo joins today to talk about some behind the scenes insights into the creation of the show, the music, the animation, and much more. For example, on the “Songbird” episode above, Dan shared some insights into how studio execs thought it might be too complex of a story for young child to understand, and yes, though it does deal with some adult emotions (daredevil flier has a traumatic experience in the air, gets saved by the Rocketeer, but loses her nerve and doesn’t fly again until Kit and Tesh wheedle (i.e. bribe with pie) their way into her life.) I don’t think that kind of story is too complicated for kids to understand, since childhood is an array of dealing with things you don’t understand, are too complex for you to do, or that might scare you, but I get their concern about the part where May Songbird falls out of the sky. The upside is that we get to see a return of Cliff Secord! (The character animation in this episode and the first episode are the first time Cliff returns to the screen in almost 30 years). If you ever had any desire to be part of the writing department on a TV show or a movie, tune in to see what day to day operations look like. We also get to talk about the process of writing and what happens as ideas go from conception to their final forms. Thanks so much, Dan, for joining the show and look forward to talking to you again for a future episode!
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #294 and Like a Hood Ornament #22: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 3 with Production Coordinator Esther Gonzalez Murray
This week, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 3. As before, you can follow along in real time. This is my son’s favorite episode! The Rocketeer’s best friend, Tesh, gets a gear upgrade and ends up with a shiny trike he dubs the Sonic Flash. We also see a great art deco statue of the original Rocketeer.
In one part of the second episode, a plane Laurel and Harley (above) steal, looks remarkably like the Boeing P-26 (below).
I’m doing the first part of the episode solo, and then production coordinator Esther Gonzalez Murray joins me for the second half to discuss more on the making of the show. Unfortunately, there was a recording glitch during our interview where my mic was doing weird things, so in a lot of parts, I sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown even after a lot of post production editing. So, in the end, I cut most of those parts out so your ears don’t bleed. But – you don’t really need my occasional comments (you can hear me talk in like almost 300 podcast episodes, after all), since Esther’s insights and memories stand well enough alone. Thanks, Esther, for joining the show to offer your insights. Look forward to taking with you on future episodes! Learn more about her on Twitter.
Before I forget, at a few points the music and outro sequence get discussed. Here’s the outro – I could watch this sequence all day! I’ve talked about the first person point of view of flying into the clouds on this show quite a bit (like the cloudscape meditation video we made episode 290)
Also, one of the things Esther mentioned on the episode is a real life Bulldog Cafe (like in Dave Stevens’ comic and the 1991 film)in LA. See the Idle Hour Gallery for more info! Next time I’m in LA, sometime after this pandemic, I know where we are going … !
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, we’re continuing with going through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 2. As before, you can follow along in real time. In both parts of episode 2, the dogs steal the show.
I’m doing the first part of the episode solo, and then show writer Brian Hohlfeld joins me for the second half to discuss more about one of the episodes he wrote as well as more on the making of the show. Thanks, Brian, for joining the show to offer your insights. Look forward to taking with you on future episodes! Learn more about him on Twitter.
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week’s show starts a few month period where we’re going to go through the episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, starting with the first episode. There are a lot of great odes in this one for fans of both the 1991 movie and Dave Steves’ comic, so if you have the means to watch it (the series is on Disney Plus but also available for purchase or rent on Amazon).
This is all gearing up for two things – episode 300 of the show as well as the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer’s initial summer release this year! So I figured what better way to celebrate those milestones than trying to bring some attention to the cartoon, the most recent iteration of Dave Stevens’ creation. I hope that the more positive energy I (and other Rocketeer fans) throw at the flames (which, to be honest, are usually more like embers in the grand scheme of things for people to get excited about), the better.
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Today, we’re discussing the recent port of the game to the Nintendo Switch as well as the release of Massimiliano’s recent fantasy art book, Fragments of the Past. Most of this session was spent discussing the creative process. We’ll be discussing more about the book next week, so just a taste this episode.
There are many, many beautifully rendered painting in the book which we’ll explore more next episode.
By the way, if you haven’t gotten the chance to check out the 80s retro soundtrack for Nirvana Pilot Yume done by Retroxx, check it below or here:
Since we’re essentially talking about the nature of the creative process in this episode, I thought for this segment, I’d post a little on the circuitous path Dave Stevens’ creation, The Rocketeer, took flight, first on paper and, eventually, on screen. From the April ’91 edition of Comics Scene:
See you next week for Part 2!
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
On this week’s show, I had the opportunity to continue the discussion with Jim and Hal from the Rocketeer Minute podcast, which if you never heard of the Movies by Minute podcast movement (I hadn’t until stumbling upon their show), it’s where people dissect a movie, generally one minute at a time. Check out episode 249 for the first part of the conversation.
In the intro, I’m reading from a book I spent hours flipping through as a kid, The Smithsonian Book of Flightby Walter Boyne.
I always enjoyed the first third of the book since it was devoted to the pioneering and golden ages of aviation, that time when a garage tinker could put something together that – even if it might not ultimately fly – the dream was there, and it seemed attainable. So I’m reading from the introduction of the book on the Experimental Aircraft Association (at least, the 1987 iteration of the organization), Hal’s employer, since we’ll talked a bit about them last time and will be again at the end of the episode but also because making the goal of aviation attainable for everyday people captures the kind of hopeful spirit for a better tomorrow that The Rocketeer inspires.
The first aviation meet from 1910 …
To the yearly EAA gathering …
The barnstorming photo my daughter was commenting on at the start of the episode …
The “E” in EAA stands for experimental! Back to the roots of aviation.
We then continue talking about the idea of what makes for a rewatchable film. That was my regular pattern for a number of years as a kid (getting up early on Sundays, usually, to rewatch movies I’d already seen). Most of those films ended up being ones I’ve talked about in some fashion on this website or on the show, ones like Labyrinth, Real Genius, Karate Kid 3 (the only one I had), Some Kind of Wonderful, The Last Starfighter, and, of course, The Rocketeer).
If you enjoyed The Rocketeer, you may enjoy these films:
–Zone Troopers (also written by Paul DeMeo and Danny Bilson)
–Out There(also starring Bill Campbell, playing the same kind of earnest, down on his luck character to Cliff)
–The Brylcreem Boys (also starring Bill Campbell, playing the a downed flier similar to the sort of character you’d expect Cliff to be had he enlisted in WW2).
It was great to connect with Jim (of TVDads.com) and Hal (of the EAA) to discuss the making of their show. Here’s how to find out about their show and/or connect with them.
–The Final Mission by Chris Henry and Hal Bryan. From the EAA product page: “This book tells the powerful and personal stories of some of the people who have stepped back in time by taking a flight on the Experimental Aircraft Association’s restored B-17 bomber, Aluminum Overcast.” Just got mine and am looking forward to reading it!
This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks. Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!” The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!
Stay tuned for more Rocketeer talk next week! Stay safe!
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
On this week’s show, I had the opportunity to connect with Jim (of TVDads.com) and Hal (of the Experimental Aircraft Association) from the Rocketeer Minute podcast, which if you never heard of the Movies by Minute podcast movement (I hadn’t until stumbling upon their show), it’s where people dissect a movie, generally one minute at a time. So one minute of the movie = 1 episode. The 1991 Rocketeer film, based on the original comic by Dave Stevens, screenwritten by Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson, and directed by Joe Johnston, is 108 minutes long. But there are actually 116 Rocketeer Minute Podcasts if I counted right, making for over 60 hours of listening. That’s one hell of a DVD commentary! (Rocketeer fans have long had to deal with a dearth of any substantial extras on the official DVD releases of the film, but even if there had been a DVD commentary, the amount of material on the Rocketeer Minute podcast would be over 30 times whatever was on the disc!)
As mentioned, I found their show totally by accident. Ever since I learned about the internet in the mid 90s, I would occasionally type “Rocketeer” in whatever search engine was used at the time just to see what popped up. As I recall, there was really only one Rocketeer site in the mid 90s (when I first realized that the internet was someone more that those AOL Online floppy discs that used to come in the mail – we never had AOL Online, but for awhile, that’s what I thought this “internet” thing was). While there was never a ton of info online about the film and comics, there were always a few sites and fanart pictures on places like Deviantart. Earlier this fall, I was doing what I usually did, this time typing in “Rocketeer” in Twitter (which I only half understand), and lo and behold, something called The Rocketeer Minute popped up. (I’d looked around on iTunes in the past, back when I did episode 53 on my first rewatching of The Rocketeer since childhood and hadn’t found any podcasts devoted to the Rocketeer; turns out I was about a year too early.) I listened to the first few episodes that night and was hooked.
It took about a month and a half to listen to all the episodes, and like when I was a kid watching the film over and over again (more on this next week), I was kind of sad when it was all done! (I’ve come to wonder if that is the mark of any meaningful work of art – you miss it when it’s gone.) This was also around the time that the Disney Jr Rocketeer cartoon was released, allowing me to introduce my children to the Rocketeer. The timing of both made me realize there was so much I wanted to talk about when it came to The Rocketeer and also hammered home the realization that there were quite a few other Rocketeer fans out there lurking under the surface that might also like to be interested. And since so much of The Rocketeer influenced my writing of The Thirteenth Hour, I figured, why not just keep it as part of the same podcast as its own recurring segment:
Before we sign off for this week, I’ll leave you with this little spread of pictures from a 1991 issue of the kids’ magazine, Disney Adventures, which thanks to the magic of eBay, I was finally able to read ~thirty years after originally wanting to.
I totally remembering wanting the water rocket Rocketeer as a kid but never being able to find one.
Next week, we’ll talk a little bit more about the EAA, Hal’s employer, in the intro and during the episode. In the meantime, please check out The Rocketeer Minute’s Bulldog Cafe Facebook Group for more pictures and behind the scenes info from the movie as well as the episodes.
This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks. Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!” The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!
Stay tuned for more Rocketeer talk next week! Stay safe!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week, my brother Jeremy joins the show to discuss Dungeon Dragons alignments of characters in The Thirteenth Hour books and in The Rocketeer. Read more about Jeremy’s response about fantasy races and alignment here.
You can find these alignment charts around on the internet, and while some of those were probably done as fun or funny memes, the concept of figuring out a character’s alignment along good vs. evil, lawful vs. chaotic, and neutral vs. not helps to develop a character and make him or her more fleshed out and 3 dimensional in terms of psychological motivation, so it can be a useful tool for a writer, even if you’re not a DnD player.
Here are the ones we discussed as well as some unofficial archetypes (“knight, judge, etc”) I found for each online. You may disagree, as there’s a lot of subjectivity in what makes a character fit a certain alignment (Image made via this site: https://imgflip.com/memegenerator/73659174/Alignment-Chart), but that’s part of the fun of the discussion.
–Lawful Good – “The Knight” – like Jake, the unofficial leader of the Imperial Rangers in The Thirteenth Hour and Empty Hands. He is by-the-book, rule abiding, believes in the hierarchical structure of the military, and a stand up, straightforward guy who takes his job and unofficial leadership position seriously. Picture from Empty Hands.
–Lawful Neutral – “The Judge” – no picture from the book, but probably many of the Imperial Army soldiers might fall in this category. They are there to do a job, whether they agree with it or not. The Head General believes in maintaining the order and the rank hierarchy of the military. He believes in following protocol and in protecting his men and the military budget but is not above a little bribery from the King, who he does not especially respect but still follows (since its his job).
–Lawful Evil – “The Overlord” – King Darian is the narcissistic, spoiled monarch of Tartec that decides that he wants to live forever and creates a whole plan to send members of his military to the ends of the Earth so he can get what he wants. He wheedles, bribes, and complains his way into getting what he wants, and when that fails, he is not above threats and the wanton loss of life if it serves his own means. However, as the King, he does believe in law and order as a well a certain religious scrupulosity to serve social order. Picture from The Thirteenth Hour.
–Neutral Good – “The Hero” – Aurora is a kind, warm, good-hearted person who believes in following one’s dreams, even if they don’t necessarily align with societal norms. At the start of The Thirteenth Hour, she is a 19 year old, single female who never knew her parents (to her knowledge) and was raised in an orphanage, which provided a good chunk of stability and allowed her some shelter from societal norms for young women of her village (marriage, childbearing, homemaking – all of which she considers boring). Because of that or because she would have always been an independent thinker, ideas around what is expected, good, or bad, are somewhat subjective to her. Picture from The Thirteenth Hour.
–Neutral Neutral / True Neutral – “The Outsider” – there aren’t a lot of characters in The Thirteenth Hour that fit this alignment, though some of the animals in the story probably would fit, like sea serpents and dragons. They are separate from the whims and politics of mankind, and while they may attack, destroy, and kill, they are generally doing so since their territory has been invaded, the same way any animal might defend its turf. The dragon picture was from The Thirteenth Hour.
–Neutral Evil – “The Villain” – while the character Klax is a more sympathetic villain than he might have been, there’s no doubt he isn’t an especially nice person – he imprisons Logan and Aurora to fulfill his own desires, he is physically, verbally, and mentally abusive to both characters, and holds a long standing grudge against his biological brother, so the thirst for revenge, even at the expense to others, motivates a lot of his actions. Age has somewhat softened his resolve and hatred, and he does have some fairly well defined goals in mind, leading him to have some fairly liberal internal guidelines about what is acceptable vs. not. Picture from The Thirteenth Hour.
–Chaotic Good – “The Rebel” – while Logan could also fit in the neutral good category, he leans a little more heavily towards the chaotic side, since, like Aurora, societal norms and (some) laws seem subjective and relative to him. Like Aurora, he was raised mostly in an orphanage, which provided (ironically) a higher level of education that some of this peers, since both he and Aurora were never adopted. He spends what free time he has dreaming and thinking, and that, plus a naturally curious mind, means that to some degree, he marches to the beat of his own drummer. In Empty Hands, he aligns with the “void” element, suggesting that he tends to pull from the other elements (earth, water, wind, fire) intuitively and is not locked into one or another. Picture from The Thirteenth Hour.
–Chaotic Neutral – “The Nomad” – one of the Imperial Rangers in The Thirteenth Hour and Empty Hands, Aron, kind of fits this category. While he can have his moments (like when he comes up with a plan to row into the open water to distract an attacking sea serpent), he does not follow any particular vision or moral code for himself and tends to respond to whatever thought or urge passes through his mind. As a result, he is quite impulsive with a short attention span, so ideas (like the sea serpent plan), tend to fairly superficial. He enjoys gambling, though it’s a punishable felony in the military, but would probably do better if he could keep his pride in check. While naturally athletic, his fighting style has more flash than substance and can be unpredictable, which makes it hard for his teammates to be able to depend on him. Picture from Empty Hands.
–Chaotic Evil – “The Psychopath” – there really isn’t anyone in The Thirteenth Hour books that fit this alignment, as even Klax and Darian have their scruples.
Let’s try the same exercise with the characters from the Rocketeer universe.
This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks. Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!” The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!
–Lawful Good – “The Knight” – pictured is agent Fitch, a FBI agent working to recover the stolen rocketpack for Howard Hughes, its inventor in the film. I debated who would best fit this category but figured that the police and FBI agents involved were doing what they thought was right (recovering stolen property, upholding the law), and mainly were antagonists to Cliff because he was essentially stealing / borrowing someone else’s property and refusing to give it back. While they’re seen as foils to the hero in the film, they’re upholding what they feel are societal norms. While they could slap many more charges on Cliff, in the end, they don’t, making them decent enough folks in my book.
–Lawful Neutral – “The Judge” – I wasn’t sure who exactly to put there but figured that like the G-men, the German stormtroopers were also just doing a job. While the individual soldiers may not have agreed with the mission, the German WW2 agenda, or the Nazi party line, they were following orders from a superior. It wasn’t their job to question whether it was right or wrong, and if asked to fight, that’s what they were supposed to do. Although Germans are usually put in the villainous category in WW2 movies made in former Allied countries, there were probably plenty who were just fighting for their country like anybody else but just happened to be on the losing side of history, which is obviously subjective depends of who writes it. The aircrew of the German zeppelin could also fit this alignment.
–Lawful Evil – “The Overlord” – Eddie Valentine, the crime boss in the film tasked with the “snatch ‘n grab” job of retrieving the rocketpack for actor Neville Sinclair fits this alignment. While he operates on the wrong side of the law, he tries to run his syndicate as a businessman, with his arms in the operations of a swank LA nightclub, the South Seas Club, and seems to be fair to his men. We also find out at the end of the film he has his own personal code – “I may not earn an honest buck, but I’m 100% American. I don’t work for no two-bit Nazi.”
–Neutral Good – “The Hero” – Jenny Blake is an aspiring actress in the film (Betty was her name in the comic, where instead of an actress, she was a glamour model like her namesake, Bettie Page). Like Aurora, she is an independent thinker and can take care of herself, though doing so may put her at odds with the establishment and/or convention. Although it ultimately isn’t a successful ruse, she uses guile to lure Neville Sinclair close enough to knock him out by hitting him with a flower pot, enabling her to sneak into his secret room, try to call for help, and snatch the rocket plans that Lothar had stolen from Peevy. Not exactly the actions of the truly lawful, but certainly not the actions of someone in the story “to just do a lot of screaming” (to paraphrase something Aurora said).
–Neutral Neutral / True Neutral – “The Outsider” – Howard Hughes, the Cirrus X-3’s creator, marches to the beat of his own drummer but is beholden to no one but himself, as he has the funds, skills, and resources to be able to cooperate at his own discretion, as he mentions to the military brass at one point. While he helps Cliff, you get the sense he is doing so for his own reasons. He may lean toward the good category at times, given his natural scientific curiosity and mistrust of government intervention (“your gentlemen in Washington want to turn anything that flies into a weapon!”), leading him to be protective of those working under him. There is a character in the comic called Jonas (an ode to the Shadow) who seems quite similar.
–Neutral Evil – “The Villain” – Lothar in the film, Neville Sinclair’s giant of a henchman, while just doing a job, seems to have some sadistic methods (breaking people in half, twisting them into pretzels). He’s a bit different in the comic book, but in the film, he seems cruel, putting him in the evil category. If you have any doubt, look at his expression when he encounters Cliff and Jenny (both unarmed) on top the zeppelin. He whips out a switchblade and cackles as only a bona fide villain would. He is, however, operating for a paycheck, and I somehow doubt he would care one way or another about the rocketpack if not being paid.
–Chaotic Good – “The Rebel” – like Logan, Cliff, is an inherently good-hearted person who sometimes gets in trouble inadvertently or bumbles his way through things. He is more hot headed in the comic book than in the film, but even there, spends much of the film evading the law. You get the sense that while he might not naturally be the kind of person who deliberately chooses to be the hero, he doesn’t hesitate to put himself in the line of fire to help other people if the situation calls for it. You also get the sense that if you were in his shoes, you’d be feeling a lot like him. He was one of my main influences for creating Logan’s personality in The Thirteenth Hour.
–Chaotic Neutral – “The Nomad” – in the comic book, Lothar is somewhat of a tragic figure. While he serves as a villain, he is doing so out of revenge. He doesn’t hesitate to break the law in his relentless pursuit of people who he thinks were involved in a past crime which turned him against the world. However, he seems to act mostly out of his own independent, free will, even if misguided, making him quite different from the movie version of his personality.
–Chaotic Evil – “The Psychopath” – I debated giving Neville Sinclair this alignment, but his actions in the latter part of the movie show his truer colors, and not only does he break multiple laws and societal conventions, but he is pretty unpredictable, turning suddenly on people he formally allied with. Not to mention he drugs Jenny and tries to take advantage of her, making him one of *those* Hollywood guys. Definitely evil.
Agree or disagree? Comment below if you are so inclined!
Stay tuned for more Rocketeer talk next week! Stay safe!
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
Episode #247 – Collaboration with Jeremy Lesniak from Whistlekick on the Ladder Fight from Jackie Chan’s First Strike and Like a Hood Ornament 7 – Cliff Fights a Giant and Survives!
This week, Jeremy Lesniak from whistlekick.com rejoins the show as we do another fight scene analysis of the famous ladder scene from the film, First Strike. You can listen to a similar version of this episode on Jeremy’s show as episode 497.
It’s a great example of the use of everyday items that can be used as weapons of self defense. There’s a little scene in The Thirteenth Hour interlude, Empty Hands, that discusses this very idea:
After we’d finished for the day, I eyed the wall of weapons. Frankly, I wasn’t especially attached to any of them. Not the way Aron was to the sickles or Lance to the sword. In fact, the idea of cleaving someone open with a bladed weapon and seeing their tortured expression was nauseating. I’d grown up around bows, since they were tools to put meat on the table, and while the Army ones were nicer and more powerful than the rough ones people in my village had used, I didn’t think of them much differently than, say, rakes or fishing poles. The only one I’d taken any interest in was the sling, and that was only really because in order to use it, we had to go hunting for smooth stones to use as ammunition. The stones reminded me of one of my favorite pastimes as a child – skipping rocks over the water – though my accuracy was so horrendous that I might as well have thrown the damn things.
The only weapons exercise I actually enjoyed didn’t even involve weapons in the traditional sense. It was a weekly session jointly taught with the wizards where we were given random objects from daily life, like umbrellas, gardening rakes, toothbrushes, and in one case, potted plants. We then had to defend ourselves from a partner coming at us with a haymaker or an overhand sword strike (supposedly the two most common attacks we would be facing). You could use whatever orthodox unarmed or magical techniques you wanted to defend yourself … or you could think fast and come up with a creative way to jury rig the household item you were given for your defense. I was only fair with the unarmed stuff and horrible with magic, but coming up with a new way to use an ink bottle or a folding chair for self-defense was probably the only fun I had in our combat training. However, that was a very small part of the curriculum, and before long, it was back to more repetitive drills with the sword or spear.
Speaking of a long weapon like the spear, how would you use a ladder if that’s all you had? Would you spin it around, unfold it, throw it, etc? Interesting thing to thin about as you watch the clip. Speaking of which, let’s get to the clip! We’re watching this scene at 1/4 speed, starting at 3:17 (should load at that time by clicking on the link below). You can follow along in real time by clicking below:
This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks. Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!” The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!
This week’s Like a Hood Ornament section is also a fight scene analysis of a short altercation (plays not long after the .gif above) in the 1991 film … starting at 1:00 in. As before, the clip will be playing in the background with commentating occurring in real time. Cliff loses his weapon (in this case, a Mauser C96 pistol) and has to improvise – in this case, using his rocket pack to accelerate his flying tackle).
Stay tuned for more Rocketeer talk next week! Stay safe!
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week’s show is about the idea of the reluctant hero, an archetype in literature and film to describe an ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and as a result does things beyond what he or she could ever had imagined. We also talk about various definitions of the word “hero,” from the ancient Greek usage, to hero in terms of an idol, to a hero in terms of someone who does something selfless to help someone else, whether in the everyday or out of the ordinary sense.
I didn’t read this segment in the show, but here a chapter in The Thirteenth Hour which describes this idea where Logan, the main protagonist, first becomes a reluctant hero:
The day before the end of basic training, I went into town to find a shoe repair shop. A buckle on my left shoe had broken a few days ago and now, every time I stepped down with that foot, my heel would slide out of the shoe. It was getting annoying, but I’d finally managed to put together enough money to cover what I thought it’d cost. One gold piece came from a poker game where I’d gotten lucky, and the rest I’d gotten from picking pennies off the street, which is what you do when you don’t get paid.
I asked a man on one of the crowded streets for directions. When I got to the shop, there was a big sign that said, “CLOSED FOR REPAIRS, WILL REOPEN IN TWO WEEKS.”
“Figures,” I thought to myself. “Two weeks? Maybe there’s another shop in town.” I went back to kicking a stone and trying not to fling my boot off in the process as I wandered through the downtown merchant sector, considering what to do next.
So there I was, minding my own business when I heard an ear–piercing scream. I spun around, forgetting all about my shoe and the rock. Right in the middle of the dirt road lay an old man, struggling to get up. About ten yards away, barrelling down the road at full speed was a four horse carriage. The driver in front was shouting out commands to his horses, but they weren’t listening. There was a big crowd of people watching from the sidewalks. I saw the woman that had screamed; she was still screaming.
“Somebody do something!” Apparently, that didn’t include herself.
In fact, everyone stared around blankly, waiting for someone else to make the first move. A few people new to the scene made faces and hurried off.
“Do something!” she screamed over and over.
Aw, shit, people, the lady had a point. Though I had half a mind to throw something at her to get her to shut up, I pushed past the people on the edge and jumped into the middle of the road. The next few seconds seemed to be in slow motion. Unfortunately, in what was to become regular pattern until progressing to a more advanced stage of cognitive development, I didn’t think first before doing something idiotic.
At any rate, the man was sitting up, dazed. I don’t know how close the carriage was, but it couldn’t have been far, because as I dove at the old man, tackling him around the waist, a horse clipped the loose heel of my boot, the busted one, sending it spinning off into the gutter. We rolled to the other side of the road, missing the remaining hooves by a heartbeat.
I sat up and looked around. The old man looked all right as far as I could tell, just a little shaken. Suddenly what seemed like hundreds of faces crowded around us.
“Are you all right?”
“Bravest thing I ever saw.”
“Somebody call a doctor!”
“That was a pretty rough fall that old fella took, is he okay?”
I stood and bent over the old man. He was breathing, but his eyes were closed. He looked like he was in pain, but he didn’t utter a sound when I asked if he felt alright.
“What happened? What happened? I didn’t see,” someone yelled.
“Well, this old fella was walking across the street, he tripped, and he couldn’t get up … mebbe ’cause he’s so old. Anyway, doesn’t matter now ’cause that’s when the kid jumped in. Tackled him around the waist.”
“The kid’s a hero!” said someone else. They looked at me, expecting me to say something.
“Well …” As usual, words failed me.
“Now, don’t be modest, you’re a hero, son.”
Okay, if these people wanted me to be a hero, then what the hell. Heroes are entitled to certain privileges, like new boots. Any takers?
Just then, a man in a white coat pushed his way through the crowd saying, “It’s okay, I’m a doctor!” He bent over the old man, briefly examining him.
After he had finished, the man said, “Probably just a twisted ankle. No serious injuries I can see from here, but let’s get him on that stretcher. Watch his head, and keep his neck still. We’ll carry him to my office. It’s just a few blocks from here,” said the doctor.
“I don’t need no damn stretcher!” yelled the old man.
“Everybody goes on the stretcher,” the doctor said emphatically.
“Ah, go to hell! At least let me talk to the kid that saved my rear end! Hey kid! Come over here!”
I walked over.
“I just wanted to thank you. My name’s Wally. What’s yours?”
“Logan.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Logan. I’m been living in this stinking kingdom for eighty–five years, and now I guess I’ll be able to stay for a few more years, huh?”
Now was that a good thing?
“You know, kid, you got a real set of marbles to do something like that. Hell, I wouldn’t have done that even for me! But hey, no complaints, glad you did. I could use a kid like you. What do you do for a living?”
“I’m … a soldier, I guess, in training.”
“No kidding! That’s perfect. Meet me at this address tomorrow; you won’t regret it!” he said, handing me a little white card.
“What’s it for?”
“Let me put it to you this way. You ever see a magician?”
I said I had once.
“And did you like it?”
I said I’d enjoyed the show.
“But weren’t you disappointed when you discovered that he was a fake? I mean, that he wasn’t using real magic, just tricks?”
I said I was disappointed when he told us that there was no such thing as magic.
“Nonsense! The lousy bastard didn’t know what he was talking about! See, you have to understand, real magicians like to keep that a secret … until it’s needed! So, of course there’s magic. I’m really not supposed to be telling you that, but, what the hell, kid, you just saved my life.”
“How do you know about magic?”
The old man looked both ways suspiciously. Motioning for me to come closer, he said, almost in a whisper, “I’ll get to that in a minute. This is what I’m proposing. How would you like to learn some genuine, old–fashioned magic? No bull now. Just the real thing. And get paid for it!”
“Well, sure, I guess.”
“Alright. You like traveling? Seeing new places?”
“Well, I haven’t really done any, but I would like to.”
“Great! How about sports? You like running, climbing, jumping, fencing, things like that?”
“Um, yeah, they’re okay.”
“Would you like to be better at those games? You’ll get better in this job!”
“Sure … I guess. What is this job, anyway?”
“Yeah, so it’s all set then. Meet me tomorrow. I’ll see to it that an announcement is made tomorrow morning.”
Just then the doctor motioned to his assistant, who picked up the other end of the stretcher.
“Umm, that’s nice and all, but I live in the castle training grounds. It’s awfully hard for anyone from the outside to get inside there.”
“Oh, silly me! Did I mention that I am one of King Darian’s wizards? Well, that’s me. Wally the Wizard at your service. I’ll see you tomorrow!” he shouted as he was being carried away.
Wait a minute, I thought to myself. Something sounded fishy here. What was one of the King’s wizards doing outside the castle walls? They supposedly always stayed locked up in one of the remote wings of the castle. This one was an awfully smooth talker. I wondered if this had something to do with what those two knights were talking about; one of them had mentioned the King’s wizards. Something didn’t sound right. He never even told me what the job was. And …
“Wait!” I yelled. “What’s the catch?”
But the wizard was too far away to hear.
“Ah, shit,” I muttered to myself, finding my left boot wet and slime–covered in the gutter. I wiped it off on some grass and secured the loose buckle as best I could. It squished every time I stepped on it. Something wasn’t right, but like the proverbial stinking turd, I’d stepped right in it.
Well, I thought, kicking another stone the rest of the way back to the castle, on the bright side, at least I am walking away. Of all the ways to end up dead or in the hospital, getting trampled was not one I’ve ever wanted to experience.
This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks. Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!” The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!
I first learned of the term “reluctant hero” from an ad for The Rocketeer. Cliff is not motivated initially by much other than a desire to make some money and get in the good graces of his girlfriend, a rising starlet with an eye for the finer things in life (at least from Cliff’s perspective). There are lots of other great examples from cinema and literature.
One of my favorites is from the 1992 movie, Hero, with Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy Garcia, and Joan Cusak. The Dustin Hoffman character is a minor conman, if I recall right (I need to watch the movie again) who becomes a reluctant hero after he saves a bunch of people from a plane crash but can’t take credit for the act. I love this ending scene – both for its life lessons as well as its insight into human nature. As hinted above in The Thirteenth Hour passage, a lot of people don’t want to do heroic things, especially when eyes are on them. They might act when someone else initially steps in, but making that first step (like Logan does above or Bernie does in the scene below), takes a certain, well, heroic disregard for what other people think, and as social animals, that’s not always the easiest thing for humans to have.
Although I hadn’t seen Hero yet when I originally wrote The Thirteenth Hour, I had seen The Last Starfighter – many times, in fact – and the way Alex Rogan behaves through most of the movie is very much in keeping with the way of the reluctant hero (as well as one of the influences in the creation of Logan). Here’s when he’s first offered the chance to be a Starfighter:
Stay tuned for more Rocketeer gear talk next week! Stay safe!
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
In the first part of the show, I’m reading from a section of The Thirteenth Hour about what Aurora thought about her first experience flying on Lightning, Logan’s magical hoverboard.
We left for the Castle in the Water the next day. Logan showed me his air board called Lightning; it was somehow able to expand itself so I could fit on as well. Let’s just say it’s better if you suspend belief a little. I guess that’d be a fitting theme for the following section, indeed this whole story, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Getting on Lightning was one thing, but flying was something else entirely. There was only one foot strap for me, so I had to hold onto Logan. I think I would have anyway. I had never been more than twenty feet off the ground in my life. Logan said he was still getting the hang of it when Lightning beeped out something. Words appeared on some kind of window near her front. They said that I wouldn’t fall off because there was a protective shield around the board. I wasn’t so sure, and even to this day, a ride on Lightning makes me want to vomit.
I suppose flying was fun, in a white–knuckle–ride–by–the–seat–of–your–wet–pants sort of way, but I never really got the hang of it, even though Logan tried to show me how to pilot Lightning. It should have been easy – you rocked your body back and forth to go up or down and swayed your hips to turn – but I guess it just wasn’t my thing, and I nearly had a heart attack when I accidentally flipped us upside down.
The altitude was one thing, but the speed completely blew me away. Okay, I know, not funny. But really, if you can imagine being shrunk, tied to the head of an arrow, then fired in the air from one of those six foot war bows like the ones the King’s archers used, then you’ll have some idea what it felt like.
Flying that fast always made me nauseous. That first time, after an hour or two, I couldn’t take it anymore and told Logan to get Lightning to pull over to the coast (we were flying over water), where I threw up in some bushes. I collapsed onto my back, staring up at the sky, which, for some reason, kept spinning round and round. That’s how Logan found me. It all seemed very unladylike, and I guess I was looking very sheepish when I climbed back on Lightning, because Logan, who must have figured out what I was doing, asked if I were okay.
I grunted something. I guess I looked okay, so he grinned.
“I puked all over my uniform a few days ago, if that’s any consolation to you.”
It wasn’t, really, because we ended up having to stop two or three more times later on, but it made me laugh a little at the time.
[Logan] Yeah, I always did wonder where it all came from. It’s not like we had an overabundant food supply, that’s for sure. But she seemed to have a never ending supply of that stuff.
You know, who’s telling this section, you or me?
[Logan] Couldn’t help it.
Right. So, blah, blah, blah, whatever, I threw up a lot. Very funny. Anyway, after that, Lightning slowed down to a kind of cruising speed, which was really nice because it gave us a chance to actually see the landscape we were passing.
At the end of our first day out, we stopped on a deserted section of coastline to eat and sleep. We had used our pockets and a sack we found to stash food liberated from the Cordel marketplace, but neither of us were very hungry. You already know why I wasn’t, but I think it was pretty tough on Logan’s stomach, too. It had been a long day of travel for both of us, and our heads were still spinning as we lay them on the damp sand. I leaned over and told Logan that I was glad I could accompany him on his journey and apologized for slowing us down today. But I think he was falling asleep already, because he just smiled a little, as if to say, “forget it,” and patted me on the shoulder.
Another picture painted as the cover art for “Searching for Forever” (that would have fit in towards the end of the book with Logan and Aurora flying to the new home). Watch it being created below:
There’s an instrumental part to accompany the reading – the backing track of “Searching for Forever” – the 80s inspired ending credits song I envisioned as playing as the story ended. Both the instrumental and vocal versions can be found on the LP, Long Ago Not So Far Away, and below:
Speaking of music, I’ve been going through a number of acoustic guitar songs I used to play a lot when I was first learning how to play, since in this time of national quarantine, I try to do music time with my kids as a part of, you know, daddy daycare. I’ve picked out a few that are more hopeful and positive than the stuff songs are often written about (heartbreak, unrequited love, longing, substance use, and other important adult matters). Anyway, I’ve included one such song (“Flying Free” written by Don Besig) since it is about flying (whether figuratively or literally) free from the constraints that bind us to the earth (again, whether physical or mental).
That’s because today’s Rocketeer segment is also about flying!
Today marks the fourth Rocketeer segment as a part of the podcast. Below are a few previous episodes about the Rocketeer:
This week, we’re discussing this little documentary hosted by Bill Campbell that came out about the same time as the movie (and sadly, not available on any of the official Rocketeer releases). It is part history of flight documentary, part behind the scenes movie making, and part experiential journalism into different modes of flight (including actual rocketpacks).
Suffice to say, real life rocketpacks highlight the myriad limitations such a device would likely entail. But … that’s why we have stories 🙂
We also talked, among other things, about those vague Rocketeer sequel rumors. But, you know what? Even if it never happens, we got a cartoon to introduce a whole new generation to the Rocketeer and an epic rocketpack battle in The Mandalorian:
This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks. Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!” The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!
Stay tuned for more Rocketeer gear talk next week! Stay safe!
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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I finished one year ago, click on the link below to do so!
You can find more pictures and preview clips of “Arcade Days” on IG as well as this podcast’s FB page.
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
This week’s show is about clothing – Logan’s Imperial Ranger uniform in Empty Hands and The Thirteenth Hour as well as Cliff’s jacket in the Rocketeer segment (which inspired the way I drew Logan’s costume).
In the first part of the show, I’m reading from a section of The Thirteenth Hour interlude, Empty Hands, which describes what the Imperial Rangers wore for formal uniforms:
The morning of the Drawing was cool and crisp. The last vestiges of winter were still apparent, though you could get by without a coat if you were willing to be a little chilly. For the ceremony, we were supposed to wear our formal uniforms, which we started training in a few days prior. Unlike many things about the Imperial Army, a lot of thought had gone into Imperial Ranger gear, and although there were no surviving craftsmen who knew how to make Imperial Ranger boots, uniforms, and weapons, enough of the old training manuals had survived that the ones in the castle could learn. Compared to the stiff, uncomfortable uniforms the regular Army soldiers wore, the Ranger uniforms were fairly well designed. They were intended to be working uniforms and could look sharp if clean and pressed, but they had both functional and cosmetic purposes due to the Rangers’ multiple roles as soldier, explorer, bodyguard, and diplomat.
As our instructors had said, we did have to move a bit differently when fighting in our uniforms, though not as much as one might have thought. The pants and shirts were baggy and easy to move in, for instance, and the outer tunic that covered the shirt was flexible but offered protection since it was interwoven with a layer of fine-link chain-mail backed by suede to keep the links from embedding in a wound should the chain-mail break. It wasn’t as heavy as wearing a full chain-mail shirt, but it offered disguised protection from glancing strikes to the internal organs of the torso. It wouldn’t stop a point blank shot from a warbow, but then again, there’s a good chance standard plate armor wouldn’t, either.
All this flashed through my head as I raced to get ready that morning. Unlike most days, there had been no early morning conditioning session, so everyone had slept later. My bed was in the corner, and I must have continued sleeping as Blake, who had the top bunk, left with the others for breakfast. When I woke, the position of the sunlight shining in the window let me know immediately that I had overslept, and a glance at the clock in the corner confirmed it was 8:50, meaning I had exactly ten minutes to get to the field where the Drawing would be taking place. Cursing, I ran to the washroom, took care of my morning business, and rummaged through my locker, searching for a uniform that wasn’t crumpled or malodorous. I’d hung up my sweaty uniform in the washroom after yesterday’s practice, but someone must have knocked it over soon after, since now it lay in a crumpled, smelly heap on the floor. We had three each, but my other one smelled even worse, so it took some digging to get to my last one, which was still wrapped in the bag in which it had been issued to me. I raced out the door as soon as I had it on and ran the whole way to the field where the King would be addressing us for the formal commencement of the Drawing.
I was still late.
A concept sketch of the Imperial Rangers wearing the uniforms described above.
Another sketch of Logan flying through the air on Lightning wearing the uniform described above.
There’s a little instrumental part to accompany parts of the story where the Imperial Rangers have to march around (in the LP Long Ago Not So Far Away) that is playing in the background during part of the reading.
Speaking of music, I’ve been going through a number of acoustic guitar songs I used to play a lot when I was first learning how to play, since in this time of national quarantine, I try to do music time with my kids as a part of, you know, daddy daycare. I’ve picked out a few that are more hopeful and positive than the stuff songs are often written about (heartbreak, unrequited love, longing, substance use, and other important adult matters). Anyway, I’ve included one such song (“If We Hold On Together” from the 1988 cartoon, The Land Before Time), as it was co-written by James Horner, who also did the music for, yes, you guessed it, The Rocketeer.
Today’s Rocketeer segment is also about flying – the Rocketeer’s jacket!
Today marks the fourth Rocketeer segment as a part of the podcast. Below are a few previous episodes about the Rocketeer:
This week, we’re discussing Cliff’s jacket – the iconic leather jacket with the front bib making up the front. Although you can totally buy lots of replica jackets, the origin of the jacket is totally unknown to me. I have never exactly been able to find where Dave Stevens got the idea for it but have a few guesses about things he may have been influenced by or watched as a kid:
-Commander Cody serials (which you can totally watch on Youtube) – wears a leather jacket; note the similarities to the Rocketeer’s helmet and double barreled silver rocketpack.
-Westerns, like this shot of John Wayne in Horse Soldiers:
You can see a photo above of Dave Stevens on the right trying on a Rocketeer helmet wearing Cliff’s jacket (he used photos of himself as models for Cliff).
This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks. Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!” The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!
Stay tuned for more Rocketeer gear talk next week! Stay safe!
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