#jeremy

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #391: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Ofelas (Pathfinder, 1987)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #391: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Ofelas (Pathfinder, 1987)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-391/Podcast%20391.mp3

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1987 Norwegian film, Ofelas (English title = Pathfinder) which we watched as kids. It is quite hard to find now, as it is not streaming anywhere and to my knowledge, is out of print, at least in the US. Of course, you can go flying the Jolly Roger route, but if you like looking for physical media, you are in for a hunt, at least in the US. You may be able to find an old VHS copy (we originally watched it on VHS; our local library had it) on eBay at very high prices, but unless you have a multiregion DVD player, it’s pretty hard to get on DVD as well. Just before recording the intro, however, I looked again and found a region 0 DVD (playable anywhere) version of the film in Europe and snagged it. When I went to see if there others out there to post here, there were now no more listings! So that means these versions are out there, just hard to find.

Here are some clips, however.

This is the only film I have seen that features the Sami language (the people indigenous to parts of Scandinavia). I got interested in their culture some years back when researching dwellings for Logan and Aurora for The Thirteenth Hour sequels. I originally wanted to given them a house made out of the side of a hill but thought that would be highly unrealistic for two people with hand tools and zero heavy machinery. So I started looking at how indeigenous people created their habitations, and for a snowy envionment (as I expected Logan and Aurora’s island to be, far down in the southern hemispshere of their realm), I figured that if something worked for the Sami, who dealt with snow and ice for much of the year, it would work for my protagonists, too.

The Sami traditionally lived in, among other dwellings, circular yurts called goathi (in Northern Sami) which were wooden framed huts covered with sticks and other natural available materials, like earth. They’re basically like tepees used by Plains Native Americans. Because of the conical design, snow would slide off, and it would be (I would think) a bit easier to pile material on top in a more seamless way due to the absence of sharp angles. Also, if the earth started to meld with the dirt, and vegetation started to grow from it, you’d have basically what I originally was thinking about – a dwelling in an above ground hole (maybe like a Hobbit hole). You can see many examples (covered with skins and snow) in the film. While I imagine you’d get cold in the winter quickly if the heating source went out, the small quarters probably would warm up quickly. There’s even a clip of some of the villagers in the film sitting in a goati converted to make a sauna.

In this clip from the sparse and quite brutal into of the film, you can see steam coming out of the snow covered dwelling where the main character’s family lives.

In this scene, the main character, Aigin, gets some wisdom dropped on him from the local shaman/mystic/bear killer/village pathfinder, Raste, who serves as a kind of mentor to the hero. You can see some details in how the inside of the structure was constructed and probably insulated (with skins).

Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley. Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #385: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Gremlins (1984)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #385: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Gremlins (1984)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-385/Podcast%20385.mp3

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1985 film, Gremlins, as this year’s Christmas episode. It also will be the last episode of 2022 and a fun one to close out on. Oddly enough, this was our first time seeing the film, and we both got a kick out of the fact that the whole movie was essentially based around a furry creature obtained in one of the New York Chinatowns referred to as “mogwai.” I’m guessing this was supposed to be Cantonese, not a dialect I know, as it has quite a number of different sounds than Mandarin, which is more widely spoken. The characters are usually the same from one dialect to another, but there may be slight variations to try to get a closer sound to the original spoken language. After doing a little more digging, I found two possibilities for the characters – 魔鬼 (mo2 gui3 in Mandarin) or 魔怪 (mo2 guai4 in Mandarin), depending on who I talked to or where I looked – both general phrases that just generally mean “monster” or “demon.” It was interesting that Gizmo, as he would later be called, seemed to be referred to as “mogwai” as his given name also, kind of like referring to your pet dog as “dog.”

At any rate, neither here nor there; quite an enjoyable film in our opinion! A few notable scenes:

The kitchen scene where Mrs. Peltzer (Lorraine’s mom in Back to the Future!) goes medieval on a bunch of gremlins invading he kitchen.

There is a brief shot of a gremlin in pink legwarmers doing a backspin about 2.5 min into this clip where the delinquent gremlins are wreaking havoc on a local bar.

For a slightly different take on Gremlins, check out the episode from about 2 years ago on I Used to Like This One.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #377: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #377: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-377/Podcast%20377.mp3

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1985 film, Young Sherlock Holmes, which we had both seen as kids but not recently. This is probably both our favorite of the ones we have watched for this series of 80s fantasy films. This one has many fine elements that make it an enjoyable adventure movie, even if (or perhaps especially if) you’re not that familiar with Sherlock Holmes from the original books.

Jeremy and I do a little DnD style interactive adventure ourselves in the latter part of the episode. You can follow along by using the rule set depicted below. This was an attempt to come up with a more nuanced combat system with health, stamina, and combinations using an 8 sided die, so picked since the number 8 figures into a lot of Thirteenth Hour imagery, and I wanted to pilot a more advanced combat system for the Thirteenth Hour Patreon DnD campaigns here.

The 3 playable characters

The bad guy

Based on some ideas from the martial arts Sherlock supposedly practiced, bartitsu

Just using an eight sided die …

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #375: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Ladyhawke (1985)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #375: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Ladyhawke (1985)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-375/Podcast%20375.mp3

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1985 fantasy film, Ladyhawke, which we had both seen as kids but not since. I got the impression when rewatching it this time is that what they wanted to do is create a modern fairy tale.

They do have the elements. There’s a dark wolf …

…who transforms by day into a man in black who has a hawk …

… that transforms by night into a lady …

… and since they are never both wild animal or both human at the same time, they need some intervention in order to break the curse that keeps these star-crossed lovers apart. Their go-between comes in the form of an escaped convict / thief:

Don’t think too hard and enjoy it for what it is. There is a cool (probably impractical) double crossbow that the Rutger Hauer character uses that I have never seen elsewhere. That was one of the few things I remembered from the film.

Jeremy and I will be back next month to discuss the 80s fantasy film, this time in Victorian England – Young Sherlock Holmes!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #362: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Lionheart (1987)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #362: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Lionheart (1987)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-362/Podcast%20362.mp3

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1987 fantasy film, Lionheart starring Eric Stoltz and Gabriel Bryne. Not one I’d seen as a kid but I have a feeling that if I had seen it, I would have liked it and watched it over and over despite it being kind of dark and understated in parts. It has some very cool, unrepresentative-of-the-film box art, but despite that, if you’re interested in something a bit different than the usual hack and slash, give it a go if you can find it.

This film has a really nice score done by Jerry Goldsmith:

Jeremy and I will be back next month to discuss the 80s medieval film, Ladyhawke!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #358: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Heroic Trio (東方三俠, 1993)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #358: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Heroic Trio (東方三俠, 1993)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-358/Podcast%20358.mp3

This week, my brother and I are watching The Heroic Trio (東方三俠 – literally – “Eastern three heroes”), a 1993 film we first saw on cable TV as kids, around the time of the British / Hong Kong handover in 1997. Whatever network it was (TBS or TNT, I think) showed a bunch of Hong Kong films back to back during that 24 hour period (if I recall correctly). This was one we watched, and man, or man, what a weird one we sat through. I’m surprised that it was shown on network TV given some of the stuff that’s in it, but who knows, maybe no one had watched it beforehand. I recall hoping we’d catch one or two kung fu flicks, and though this one does have some high flying wire-fu martial arts, it’s hard to classify this film, since it has a lot of variety – noir, superhero, action, comedy, and horror, not to mention the particular feel of Hong Kong cinema at the time. Click on the coverart below to buy your own copy or check here where you can find it streaming.

If you really want to capture the spirit of Hong Kong cinema, you may want to see if you can find the film on VCD. VCD was a format that never really took off in the States, but in many parts of the world, like in Asia, where VHS had issues (humidity / heat and thin film aren’t a great combo), VCDs were a low cost alternative that was comparable in quality to VHS, especially in the days before DVDs and DVD players were widely available. Jeremy and I talk on the show about places in NYC where you used to be able to find tons of these discs, but they (probably) are much harder to come by now, though occasionally, you can find copies on eBay.

Here are a few clips – a trailer, another fan made one set to the intro song sung by Anita Mui, one of the leads, and a clips of one of crazy fight scenes from the film.

Jeremy and I will be back next month to discuss the 80s medieval film, Lionheart! Perhaps in the future we’ll do more Hong Kong cinema of the era.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #353: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Mazes and Monsters (1982)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #353: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Mazes and Monsters (1982)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-353/Podcast%20353.mp3

This week, Jeremy and I are tackling the 1982 TV movie, Mazes and Monsters! This was a movie (based on a novel by Rona Jaffe) released in the midst of the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons as well as the public fear/backlash of the Satanic panic and all that. Not surprisingly, it’s a bit of a shlock fest, but we have a surprisingly nuanced discussion on a variety of topics related to the film, role playing games and adjacent activities, distant parents, 80s social panics, steam tunnels, and more. You can watch the film for free on Tubi (click on the VHS cover below to watch)

Ironically, the showing of this TV movie was sponsored by Proctor and Gamble, who acquired the stomach discomfort drug Pepto Bismo also in 1982!

The main cast of Mazes and Monsters with their characters and game paraphernalia. Below, the article about the book the film is based on from the 7/1983 issue of Dragon magazine is below.

dragon1 dragon2

There are a few things that are notably positive about the film that I think deserve some mention. I liked the scene where two of the characters are painting their miniatures. I liked the fact they had game notebooks. Then there’s the interesting subject of gender, which has an interesting history in DnD.

I think it was notable that the story actually included a female character at all, and she took a more active role in the story (the fact the book was written by a woman may have had something to do with it). Glacia (Kate Finch) was the party’s only fighter, which I think is notable since Dungeons and Dragons was still fairly overtly unbalanced in its gender roles. At the time of the filming of this game, DnD was still in its first edition, where female characters of different races had lower stats (e.g. lower strength) and the game was generally written using only male pronouns (e.g. “fighting men”). Although the female : male player ratio is more even today (about 60% male : 40 % female), it was apparently much more male dominated at the time (estimated around 10 % female in one source I found).

As we talk about in the episode, DnD drew heavily from earlier (more male dominated) historical wargames, so it’s interesting to hear what female players of the time thought of it (here’s a interview with RPG pioneer Jean Wells, the first woman hired by TSR). However, my main exposure to DnD as a kid in the 80s came not from the actual game but from TSR’s Endless Quest books, many of whom were written by a woman, Rose Estes, a TSR employee who, like many other women of the time, was frustrated at the male centric nature of the game and the play – centered around stats, dungeon crawls, and combat – which she felt took away from the telling of a cohesive story.

So I think it is admirable that this film gave the fighter class role to a woman, who, though she does feature in a requisite love triangle, is not passive in her involvement in the main story. She seems to be the only one for most of the film that actually owns a car, and the movie does not relegate her to passenger status in favor of having one of the male characters drive it. Again, perhaps the film was just staying true to the original source material, but in that case, good on them for not changing it.

Also, as mentioned in the episode, my interpretation of the film’s ending differed from most of thoughts found in the reviews I read at the time or since. As much as the game was depicted as an experience potentially blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, I thought they also seemed to be saying that this was a way, separate from the world of distant adults, where four lonely young adults could connect with each other. Such is the power of make believe (normally relegated to the word of children), even, in the end, cutting through psychosis. When I saw it, the ending seemed to be saying that while aspects of day to day adult reality can be drab, disconnected, and limiting, it doesn’t have to be that way as long as there is still a human connection that binds people together.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #349: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Highlander (1986) Part 2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #349: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Highlander (1986) Part 2

https://archive.org/download/podcast-349/Podcast%20349.mp3

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about the 80s movie, Highlander. You can listen to the first part of this episode here and, if you have not seen the film, you can actually watch the entire film for free on Tubi as well as some sequels, like the director’s cut version of the sequel, the animated series, and the TV show, which a kind soul also uploaded to Youtube). After the conversation with Jeremy is done, I pop back in for a bit to give a few thoughts on the sequel and the cartoon.

Like last week, I thought I’d post some period specific articles on Japanese swords since the movie cites their history and borrows from the mythos even though it’s superficial. This article comes from the June 1980 issue of Black Belt magazine and talks more about the swordmaker Masamune, who is cited in the film:

As much as folks rag on the sequel (and for good reason – just don’t take it too seriously), I have to say, I really like this quote, the bits with Sean Connery, and the bagpipes in the background. RIP, Sir Connery / Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez and Godspeed!

And check out the music in the intro of the animated series. Always loved the electric guitar lead mixed with the symphonic backing track. I think I only watched the show a few times as a kid and had no clue what was going on (since I hadn’t seen the movie yet, not that it matters; they’re only tangentially connected), but after poking around on Youtube, I found this clip of the ending theme. I don’t remember it at all, but it sounds a bit like The Thirteenth Hour theme in a different key, which is maybe why I like it). Love the guitar there. Possible unconscious reference?

It was really nice to be able to share this little slice of the 80s with my brother, since he not only did he remember a lot more than I did, but he’s one of the few people who knows the influence films like this, however obscure, had on the writing on The Thirteenth Hour books (more next week). Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley. Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show! For those on Patreon, stay tuned for a bit for you guys!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #348: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Highlander (1986) Part 1

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #348: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Highlander (1986) Part 1

https://archive.org/download/podcast-348/Podcast%20348.mp3

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about the 80s movie, Highlander. This was a film I watched in high school I believe for a history class report on 1980s movies, and I recall watching the cartoon series probably a few years earlier. While there are quite a few sequels and associated properties (like a TV show), this is probably the best of them, highlighted by a great soundtrack done by Queen with a score by Michael Kamen. (You can actually watch the entire film for free on Tubi as well as some sequels, like the director’s cut version of the sequel, the animated series, and the TV show, which a kind soul also uploaded to Youtube).

The film starts in quite dramatic fashion:

It was interesting watching this film in over 20 years. This clip is one of the few parts I actually remember.

This week and next, I’ll post some period specific articles on Japanese swords since the movie cites their history and borrows from the mythos even though it’s superficial. This article comes from a 1982 martial arts magazine:

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #347: March/April 2022 Question and Answer Session

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #347: March/April 2022 Question and Answer Session

https://archive.org/download/podcast-347/Podcast%20347.mp3

This week, we have out last question and answer session!

My brother, Jeremy, who will be on soon to discuss the film Highlander, returns this month with these questions:

1) Do you have any preference between the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and if so, why do you think that’s the case? I’m asking because some people are strictly in favor of one versus the other, and then there are those who hate traditional “elves and orcs” fantasy but really love Star Wars, which is basically “wizards in space.

2) The villain of The Thirteenth Hour, Klax, underwent quite a few changes in all of the novel’s drafts, moving from a fairly 2D bad guy to somewhat sympathetic in the final product. What makes a memorable villain in your opinion and who are some of your favorite bad guys?

Why I'd like to be … Tim Curry in Legend | Movies | The Guardian

3) What are some of your favorite fantasy creatures? The Thirteenth Hour has dragons and unicorns but not too many other fantastical beasts – are there some creatures that you’re interested in featuring in later books?

These next five comes from frequent show guest Adam from @mom_gave_them_away, who was just on the show for episodes 340–341 on Rambo/First Blood.

4.) I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about your favorite superhero. Let hear one for Marvel, DC and an independent publisher.

Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider, Vol. 1: Back in the Hood by Peter David

Nightwing Admits He Failed as Robin (But Tim Drake Didn't)

5.) The movie that scared you the most as a kid?

6.) You have to live off of one food forever, what is it?

Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Chicken Flavor, 12 ct, 8 Ounce (Pack of 12)

7.) Your clone, John Rambo, has to live off of one food forever. What is it?

8.) What’s your favorite fictional female character?

SpaceCampUSA on Twitter: "Happy Birthday to @LeaKThompson! Or as we know her, Kathryn Fairly. #SpaceCamp https://t.co/QoouDE1Eh5" / Twitter

Find more of Adam’s work on the interwebs at ACtoydesign and his shop of original resin toys. He does a number of podcasts as well – I Have Spoken (a Star Wars podcast), Death by Podcast (a vintage horror podcast), and You like Toys (a Patreon exclusive podcast about toys and nostalgia).

Thanks, everyone, for your contributions! It was a good time these past three months as an experiment to how user generated questions would go. Patreon members – stay tuned for more of these for the Patreon exclusive episodes in the future or to ask questions for the main podcast.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #345: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Legend (1985/1986) Part 2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #345: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Legend (1985/1986) Part 2

https://archive.org/download/podcast-345/Podcast%20345.mp3

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about the 80s movie, Legend in the second of a two part series (part one is here). As mentioned, depending on which part of the world you were in, it had different release dates (1985 in Europe, 1986 in the US) and different soundtracks and cuts, making for different viewing experiences. In this podcast, we focused on the 1986 US theatrical release with a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream and the 2002 director’s cut (more similar to the original 1985 European release) with the soundtrack done by Jerry Goldsmith.

When I was a kid watching the US release, I wasn’t really a fan of the ending song (“Loved by the Sun”), since I just wanted to listen to the backing melody (which is mostly synth and is the “Unicorn Theme” refrain) but watching it this time, I was struck by how this ending scene really caps off the whole movie. It’s basically a music video inside a film that’s 70% music video already (speaking for the US release), and what was running through my head was, “Now that’s how you end a movie! (especially an 80s movie).” While the director’s cut version is probably cinematically the better ending and makes a bit more sense (well, sort of), I couldn’t help wishing for the emotional swells of the vocals, keyboards, and synthesizers of the Tangerine Dream / US version. Check it out:

Jeremy had much the same thought. It was really nice to be able to share this little slice of the 80s with my brother, since he was not really old enough to get into it when I was into the film. Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley. Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show! Look for more in part 2 next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #344: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Legend (1985/1986) Part 1

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #344: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About Legend (1985/1986) Part 1

https://archive.org/download/podcast-344/Podcast%20344.mp3

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about the 80s movie, Legend. Depending on which part of the world you were in , it had different release dates (1985 in Europe, 1986 in the US) and different soundtracks and cuts, making for different viewing experiences. In this podcast, we focused on the 1986 US theatrical release with a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream and the 2002 director’s cut (more similar to the original 1985 European release) with the soundtrack done by Jerry Goldsmith.

Watching this film again for the first time since I was a teenager, I was struck by how much I liked the Tangerine Dream score in the US release, something I really noticed when watching the director’s cut version of the film. Before I was able to find the soundtrack, I recall trying to tape record parts of the soundtrack off the TV as a kid. Unfortunately, as was often the case, not all parts of the score were included on the official release. For example, this scene has a variation of “The Unicorn Theme” that was on the official soundtrack, if I recall. Listening to those home-made recordings through the years helped provide inspiration for what would later become the sound behind The Thirteenth Hour soundtrack.

It was really nice to be able to share this little slice of the 80s with my brother, since he was not really old enough to get into it when I was into the film. Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley. Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show! Look for more in part 2 next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #342: February 2022 Question and Answer Session

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #42: February 2022 Question and Answer Session

https://archive.org/download/podcast-342/Podcast%20342.mp3

This week, I’ve got a few quick updates and will be digging into the second set of questions that came in. I really appreciate all the thoughtful questions!

Before we begin, I have finally finished the Lego Rocketeer including their boxes. Now just need to list them and get them ready for auction for two charity organizations in Dave Stevens’ name.

My brother, Jeremy, who was just on for episode 337 to discuss The Black Cauldron and who will be on soon to discuss the film Legend, returns this month with these questions:

1) What was it about films like The Neverending Story that resonated with you as a child and served as fuel for the style of ’80s fantasy that The Thirteenth Hour represents? In your mind, what do you think is stylistically different about ’80s fantasy films as opposed to the stuff that came after? (like The Lord of the Rings movies or modern day shows like The Witcher).

2) The Thirteenth Hour straddles a lot of genres and defies classification – you could call it a fantasy/young adult book, but that doesn’t quite hit the mark. What are some of the restrictions and quirks of these genres that bothered you as a kid and still bother you as an adult? (i.e.: the tendency for fantasy series to be long multi-book affairs that get a little drunk on their own worldbuilding and politics; the fact that most YA books have to fit within the mold established by Harry Potter or The Hunger Games to survive)

3) Did you ever envision The Thirteenth Hour as a comic? In a perfect world, what would a comic adaptation of the story look like in your eyes? Would you go for a long running series that expands on the mythology that you wrote, or maybe a big one-shot a la Dave Steven’s Rocketeer work that’s self-contained?

These first five comes from frequent show guest Adam from @mom_gave_them_away, who was just on the show for episodes 340–341 on Rambo/First Blood.

4.) Favorite Gene Wilder role, not necessarily favorite movie?

5.) Favorite toy line as a kid?

6.) Within that favorite toy line, what’s your favorite figure?

7.) Can you nail down your favorite year of the 80s?

8.) Did you take piano lessons, and if so, do you remember your first lesson?

Two of my favorite GI Joe figures – Lady Jaye and Snake Eyes from the GI Joe 80s cartoon.

I don’t a lot of the toys from my youth currently with me, but have found a few in later years. The little blue Prius from Japan is there representing Micro Machines and the Japanese import that was my first GoBot. The blue robot is a GoBot that was my favorite as a kid, and the Air Raider pilot (which was one of the ones I had as kid), represents all the smaller size figures I liked playing with as a child.

Thanks, everyone, for your contributions! It was a good time. We’ll do it again next month (for the episode to be released on 3/28/22). If you have questions, feel free to email me them at writejoshuablum@gmail.com.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #338: January 2022 Question and Answer Session

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #338: January 2022 Question and Answer Session

https://archive.org/download/podcast-338/Podcast%20338.mp3

This week, I’ve got a few quick updates and will be digging into the questions y’all sent. I really appreciate all the thoughtful questions!

These first five comes from frequent show guest Adam from @mom_gave_them_away:

1.) What’s your favorite 80s toy line of all time?

2.) What’s your favorite contemporary toy line of all time?

3.) If you could change one thing about The Rocketeer movie, what would it be?

4.) If there was a new Rocketeer movie, who would you like to see in the cast? Excluding the obvious choice of The Rock for the lead role.

5.) How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

My brother, Jeremy, who was just on for episode 337 to discuss The Black Cauldron, returns to drop the next question set:

6.) In a perfect world, if you had to pick just one, would you rather see The Thirteenth Hour visualized as a big budget movie akin to the 80s flicks that inspired you, a long-running cartoon series with one of those badass intros with dudes singing, or a retro video game like the one you tried to make way back in the day?

7.) I know that The Thirteenth Hour Book 2 has been on hiatus for a bit; has the general story changed at all due to side projects you’ve been engaged in? On that note, has the trajectory of characters like Logan, Aurora and the Wayfarer changed at all after everything that you’ve experienced the last two years as a dad raising kids in this crazy new Covid world we live in?

8.) Now that you’re a fully fledged custom toymaker, are there any other projects you want to embark upon with the characters from the book? Making Thirteenth Hour dioramas? The World of The Thirteenth Hour Guide Book? A new short story?

Wrapping us up for the first Thirteenth Hour podcast Q & A is one of my favorite people in the world, Doug Bernon:

9.) If Howard and Beverly had a child, what do you think their kid would look and be like?

10.) How do you think Logan and Aurora would have handled a pandemic?

11.) Cliff Secord’s helmet is already pretty magnificent. If you were designing one for yourself today, what would it look like?

12.) What role did the movie The Rocketeer play in your life as a kid? Is that the backstory for Logan and Aurora and The Thirteenth Hour?

You can find out more about Doug Bernon in the pages of Cruising World Magazine (he and his wife have sailed all around the world) and through pictures of bread at https://www.instagram.com/wellbredloafing/

Thanks, everyone, for your contributions! It was a blast. We’ll do it again next month (for the episode to be released on 2/28/22). If you have questions, feel free to email me them at writejoshuablum@gmail.com.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #337: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #337: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About The Black Cauldron (1985)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-337/Podcast%20337.mp3

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about the 1985 Disney film, The Black Cauldron. The film is loosely based on the first two books in the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, a series I was sort of introduced to as a kid when I bought The Black Cauldron book in a school book fair since it had the cover of the movie, like this one:

The film poster usage for the cover of the novel is a bit misleading since the majority of the plot to the film is actually from the first book in the series, The Book of Three, which I was unaware of at the time. So, it’s not surprising it didn’t make much sense. However, we did have this Scholastic comic adaptation of the film which we found at a yard sale and read many times in childhood:

You can find copies on eBay periodically (click on the picture above to search):

Here’s the theatrical trailer and some screencaps:

The film had to be cut for length and content. Here is the first in a series of videos that has deleted scenes from the film:

As a part of discussing the film, we also discuss a bit on the computer game made by Sierra. Some screenshots:

A full playthrough:

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #328: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About DnD and Red Sonja (1985)

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #328: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, as We Talk About DnD and Red Sonja (1985)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-328/Podcast%20328.mp3

This week, my brother, Jeremy, rejoins the show to talk about movie we watched a fair amount as a kid, 1985’s Red Sonja. Neither of us had seen it in decades and we honestly weren’t expecting much, but I asked Jeremy if he’d want to join me in rewatching it given all the experience he’s had the last few years with tabletop role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. From what I had recalled, it seemed like an example of those games in live action, and I was curious to see what he thought. Suffice to say, Jeremy did a deep dive and more than delivered, which you can hear if you check out the episode. I had always operated under the assumption that 1986’s Howard the Duck was the first real Marvel comic book movie, but you could make a case for Red Sonja, which was under license by Marvel at the time, though there’s no mention of it in the credits from what I recall. Click on the picture below to watch:

If watching the whole film is not your bag, check out this 8 min compilation of some great lines plus the trailer. You’ll get the basic gist of the film and perhaps learn a thing or two, like why it’s important to not grip your hilt too tight (important life skill courtesy of Red Sonja that is generalizable beyond sword play, though I’m not exactly sure how).

In toymaking news, I’ve been working on all these Beverlys! There is also a connection to our 1985 film above. A year after, we would, of course, see the film version of Beverly Switzler, another lead heroine, but one of a considerably less violent nature, the one depicted in the figurine above. Her costume in the film was equally impractical as Red Sonja’s but a lot less revealing than that of Red Sonja’s. There’s another connection, though. The very first issue of Howard the Duck featured a vaguely Red Sonja like character (it’s Beverly, though it’s presented kind of as a dream) in a parody of a Conan / DnD story. There’s even an appearance of everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood webslinger for some off-the-wall reason (the original comics were pretty bonkers).

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #300 – Special Anniversary Podcast Edition and Like a Hood Ornament #27: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 8 with My Daughter

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #300 – Special Anniversary Podcast Edition and Like a Hood Ornament #27: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 8 with My Daughter

https://archive.org/download/podcast-300/Podcast%20300.mp3

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:

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #16: The Thirteenth Hour Podcast Returns!

We recently had Paul and Ric from the Classic Gamers Guild on the show to talk about the making of their pixelart adventure game, though in Jan of 2020, I was actually a guest on their show to discuss The Rocketeer (of course). I have included a little segment that talks about the age of the show at that time and what it is about. You can listen to their full episode here: https://www.cggpodcast.com/e/water-cooler-4/

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:

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #31: Special Edition – Radio Interview from 2/16/16

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/.

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #30: Homebrew Video Games with My Bro

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.

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #220: An In-Person Conversation with Adam from AC Toy Design / @mom_gave_them_away

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!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joshua Blum 📘🎨 #Author #Artist (@the13thhr)

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:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🌄 Joshua Blum 🌌 (@the13thhr.ost)

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.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
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.
Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify. Join the mailing list for a digital free copy. You can also get it on CD or tape.
Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: