#Justin

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #255: Welcome Bboy / MC / Professor Raphael Xavier!

Episode #255: Welcome Bboy / MC / Professor Raphael Xavier!

https://archive.org/download/podcast-255/Podcast%20255.mp3

On this week’s show, I’m pleased to welcome Raphael Xavier, a breakdancer and emcee who got his start in 1983 and has been around to see these aspects of hip hop come, go, return, and evolve over the past 30+ years.

RaphaelXavier

He is also a professor at Princeton University, where he teaches a history of hip hop class as well as one that provides an introduction to breaking.  My co-host today is not only my friend but former roommate, training partner, and fellow breaker / Princeton alum, Justin Liang (last on the show on episodes 47 and 48).  We were both blown away that not only is hip hop being taught at our former alma mater, there are actual classes on how to break.  ABSOLUTELY MIND BLOWING.

XaviereBreakdancingClass_0031-people-page

We covered so many topics in this conversation, including a lot of things that, while not part of dance, are important life skills to keep in mind for creative people – transforming pain into insight and then power, not giving up, having a direction in life as well as daily practice, how the creative process changes over time and with age, the past and future of the dance, and – for all the high school and college graduates who didn’t get a keynote speaker at a formal ceremony speech this spring – there’s even one in this interview for you.

Check out the following links for info:

-Agency Website: https://www.pentacle.org/blog/artist/raphael-xavier/

-Benefit Performance (1/30/20, about 33 min into the clip): https://vimeo.com/388609182

-Ignite Philly talk on breaking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRbibaOxAW4

-A Conversation with Urban Artistry (5/30/20 – thanks to my friend, breaking professor, and bboy Taylor Lomba) for posting this clip): https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=541382093407459&id=493753445299&_rdr
-Find Raph on IG and Facebook
-By the way, the clip we were discussing at ~2:05:00 you can watch below on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BN3GwSZgNg7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Thanks, Raph, for joining Justin and me for this interview!

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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.  

empty hands ep cover_edited-2.jpg

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!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #170: Musical Interlude – Making A Wedding Song

Episode #170: Musical Interlude – Making A Wedding Song

https://archive.org/download/Podcast170_201811/Podcast%20170.mp3

This past weekend, one of the early guests on this show (listen to parts 1 and 2 way back on episodes 47 and 48) and a good friend of mine, Justin, got married. About a year ago, before I knew of his plans, I said that I’d write him and his future wife a song as a wedding present. Well, fast forward about a year. When Justin told me the news, I figured it was time to make good on my promise.

There’s an expression, credited to Hans Christian Andersen, that goes “where words fails, music speaks.” Although it may seem odd given that the written and spoken word is key to what I do here and how I make my living, I don’t consider myself a terribly articulate person. But with a song, I figured I could put into words everything I wanted to convey to the bride and groom and let the music fill in the gaps.

Today’s episode is on the creation of this song. Although the actual version I ended up singing at the reception (with just an acoustic guitar) was quite different from this synthesizer rendition, the one showcased on this episode was how I originally intended the song to sound.  Well, that’s kind of true. I initially heard it in my head as a Celtic tune with a much faster tempo like something the Pogues, Mumford and Sons, or the Dropkick Murphys might play, but given that I don’t play the banjo, fiddle, or bagpipes, the only aspect of that that remained was part of the instrumental break, which was done with a penny whistle. The rest of the solo was done with an electric guitar as an ode to the groom, who plays the guitar and was one of the first people to encourage me to learn how to play that instrument.

Congrats to the bride and groom on the start of the official life together!

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

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!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #48: Guest Conversation with Justin Part 2

Episode #47: My Friend Justin Joins the Show Part 2 – Diets, Fitness, Food Envy, Body For Life, Protein, and a Supreme Amount of GI Distress

https://archive.org/download/13thHrEps16On/Podcast%2048%20Justin%202.mp3

Last week (ep. #47), my friend Justin joined the show for a discussion on gymnastics, martial arts, and breakdancing.  He returns this week for more fitness talk. Here’s some of what we discuss this week:

-Fad diets such as Whole 30, the Cookie Diet, and Paleo – how hard it is to eat out on these diets and the level of food envy/fixation that go with them

–Aside: While this recipe is probably not kosher according to most of these diets, it is good and relatively carb free, mainly consisting of a spaghetti squash, cheese, onions, and a few other basic ingredients:

  • 1 cube vegetable bouillon
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black olives, chopped
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
    • 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
    • 2 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
    • 1 tablespoon dried basil

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with a thin layer of cooking spray. Place squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet.

Bake squash 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife can be easily inserted. Remove from oven, and cool.

Meanwhile, spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking spray. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, basil, bouillon cube, and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until you have a medium thick sauce.

Remove squash strands with a fork, reserving the shells. Layer each half with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until shells are full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.

–The Latte Factor

–Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (definitely worth a watch, if just for some of the inspiration stories in the film)

–Nomnompaleo – recommended by Justin for good Paleo recipes

-Justin’s long term plan – the blue food diet – why eat blue and purple foods?

-A walk down memory lane – Justin, Sherwood, Tim, and I go down to protein shake avenue and leave with GI distress.  In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have gone with the bootleg brand.

–Bill Phillips and the Body for Life transformation experiment in college – my brother loved listening to Bill Phillips’ tape nightly for a time

–Epic bars – an example of trendy, overpriced meat bars.  Want a homebrew example?  Learn how to make your own pemican.

-Justin’s take-away message: keep learning; keep trying new things.  It’s never too late to reinvigorate an old hobby or pick up a new one.  Fine words to end on.

Check out Justin’s blog (https://dietisa4letterwordblog.wordpress.com/) for a humorous and honest look at fad diets and other thoughts on health and fitness.

As always, thanks for listening!

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  • QR code email signup Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
  • Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books.
  • 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!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #47: Guest Conversation with Justin Part 1

Episode #47: My Friend Justin Joins the Show Part 1 – Gymnastics, Breakdancing, Martial Arts, Learning New Skills, and Not Giving Up

https://archive.org/download/13thHrEps16On/Podcast%2047%20Justin%201.mp3

Get ready for a massive interview spaced out over the next two weeks!  One of my best friends from college joins me for a walk down memory lane as we reminiscence about the years we spent training in gymnastics, breakdancing, and martial arts.  If you have any interest in those topics, you’ll likely find something of interest in this week’s episode.  Some of the topics covered:

-Trying to learn breakdancing by watching old, grainy VHS tapes of pioneer bboys like Crumbs, Ivan, and Storm

-There was only one or two digital video clips we had access to in the beginning (no Youtube).  We watched this unnamed guy doing windmills in his garage countless times and must have dissected it hundreds more – whoever you are, late 90s windmill guy, we are grateful.
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-The bboy crew Justin and started with two other college friends, Sherwood and Tim, Sympoh, is still around and continues to amaze us.

-The freeform aspect of hip-hop/beaking vs. the emphasis on doing things a certain set way in gymnastics and many martial arts

-How doing gymnastics is involved in learning your limits and conquering fear, applicable to other aspects of life (i.e. “there are no dumb gymnasts” per my high school coach)

-How to reconcile the “stay tight in the air” philosophy of gymnastics with the “relax in the air” philosophy of martial arts (we don’t actually resolve this, but it’s an interesting contrast)

-If you were two college kids who wanted to be ninjas, what do you do?

-How we found ninjitsu training

-You can still buy this grappling hook online (though you may not want to)

SZCO Supplies Grappling Hook with Cord

This series of explanatory ninjitsu books by Stephen K. Hayes were the ones I recall most vividly from childhood 

-Unlike in our childhoods, you can now easily find ninjitsu books by Stephen K. Hayes and his teacher, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumu, on Amazon.  The man who taught Justin and I years ago, Jack Hoban, now has training videos, referenced here.

-We spend a fair amount of time touching on the process of learning new skills, e.g.:

-What’s the Dunning Kruger effect?

-What’s the Feldenkrais method?  And how can slow, deliberate movements done with good form in optimal conditions counterintuitively help learn new skills faster?

-We debate whether innovation can/should be taught from the get go or should fundamentals be stressed first

-The beginner’s journey – even as a “master,” hopefully you are still continuing to learn (symbolized by the journey from white belt to black back to white again as the outer coloring of the belt gets frayed with time).

-The importance of not giving up too early – fitting given the meaning of the characters for ninja (忍者 – “one who endures” in Chinese)

-We discuss how martial arts and these other skills have shaped us as people.

There was a natural breaking point here, so I’ve split the interview into two parts for ease of listening.  Justin will return next week with more discussion on fitness and healthy eating.  In the meantime, check out his blog at

 https://dietisa4letterwordblog.wordpress.com/

In other news, since Instagram changed the amount of video they will allow to 60 seconds, I’ve been trying to distill songs that influenced the soundtrack and writing of The Thirteenth Hour down to 1 min in synthesized form.  There are also a few snippets from the soundtrack itself there – all at the Instagram account of @the13thhr.ost.

-E.g.: The Thirteenth Hour Theme, heard in the intro and outro of these podcasts

As always, thanks for listening

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  • QR code email signup Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
  • Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books.
  • 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!