This week, my brother and I are watching Hard Boiled (辣手神探), a 1992 Hong Kong action thriller directed by John Woo with Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Anthony Wong. It is one of the most famous examples of the “heroic bloodshed” genre of films (the 1986 Brandon Lee film, Legacy of Rage, that I discussed in episode 287, is an earlier example). Like the Hong Kong kung fu film industry, these films had similar themes but were generally set in modern times and involved less unarmed martial arts and more gunplay, often with a lot of slow motion diving, rolling, and shooting akimbo (one gun in each hand). Hard Boiled is one of the best examples, and you can actually watch the whole film online in the original Cantonese with English subtitles:
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!
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!
Happy new year, and welcome to 2023! This first episode of the new year is all about time. Though time exists independent of all of us and will go on and on regardless of whether we exist in it or not, it is a finite resource for us living creatures. I think of an expression (which I might be paraphrasing) that my mother, who studied economics in college sometimes used (one I thought was humorous due to the extravagance of the words) – “diminishing returns of marginal utilities.” If I’m getting this correct, the “marginal utility” part describes the satisfaction that one experiences by consuming one unit of something. While economists are usually referring to “utility” in terms of as a product, I think the concept applies to some nonpurchasable items as well, including time. In some cases, the more time you have, the less you value it; yet when you have less, it becomes more and more precious. Gaining even a bit more would yield a net positive marginal utility. But none of us, regardless of our station in life, can get more of it. We all have however much time we are given, and none of us know how much.
There is a quote from the novel “The Sheltering Sky” by Paul Bowles that is inscribed on Brandon Lee’s tombstone (it came up in one of his last, if not the last interview he did prior to his death) that is particularly poignant and gets at this idea:
“Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”
Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens echoed similar sentiments when it came to his own work in ways I think many artists will be able to relate to. In the podcast, I include a segment from one of Dave’s journals read by Billy Campbell from the documentary Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection.
When I was initially writing The Thirteenth Hour as a teenager, I think I was trying to put these idea into words in my own way. I suppose I had a different view of time since I was younger, but looking at it decades later, I think that is one of the underlying messages of the book – taking life by the reins and making the most of it, that the world can what you make of it if you believe in your dreams and don’t sit passively by, letting time pass you by.
Interestingly, the Buddhists have a slightly different take on this since they believe in do-overs. Life, from a Buddhist perspective, is about suffering, and escaping this cycle of birth and rebirth is to finally find peace (a.k.a. nirvana). But for those of us still in the world, there are some interesting insights in this drawing below of the samsara (wheel of life). There is a segment of the wheel below (the one with the animals in it) that is called, not surprisingly, the animal realm. The Buddhist view of non-human animals is that they are not as evolved, not as intelligent (human-centric, I know) and so creatures born into this part of the samsara earned their lot in life though past negative karmic action. I don’t know if I agree with that, but I think you can also use aspects of this as an analogy for parts of human existence. When we are in the animal realm, we are focused on survival – just getting through the day. But when we get a breather and have better resources, we can enter into the higher realms where we have increasing ability to reflect on our situation and focus on more than day to day needs. Times like the new year sometimes give us cause to stop, pause, and reflect on where we want to go. So in this episode, I not only reflect on some of the positives of the past year and some goals for the one to come.
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.
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!
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 …
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!
This week, my brother and I are watching the 1985fantasy 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!
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!
This week, my brother and I are watching the 1987 fantasy film, Lionheartstarring 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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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! We will be back with another look at another fine piece of cinema!
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!
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:
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! Look for more in part 2 next week!
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?
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?
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!
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.
5.) The movie that scared you the most as a kid?
6.) You have to live off of one food forever, what is it?
7.) Your clone, John Rambo, has to live off of one food forever. What is it?
8.) What’s your favorite fictional female character?
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.
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!
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!
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.
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?
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!
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?
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).
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.
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?
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).
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?
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!
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?
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.
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:
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!
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).
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.
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).
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
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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, 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.
My brother (last on the show on episodes 179 and 180) joins me today for episode 200 as we discuss the Blade Runner movies. I missed it when it originally came out and didn’t watch it until I was in high school. Jeremy gave his reflections on watching the film as an elementary school aged child (probably too early to watch the film, honestly). Humanity, slavery, indentured servitude, the role of AI / can it be self aware, cyperpunk trappings rooted in urbanism and Asian stereotypes, etc – we do some #realtalk on the show.
Even though I have my issues with the movie, the ending scene of the original film is still a great piece of cinema:
The sequel pays homage to the above scene in an equally touching and visually moving sequence:
Click on the pictures below to find a copy of your own on Amazon.
By the way, if you enjoyed parts of the films where there were little shops with slices of analog life in a digital future, you should definitely check out the channel Strange Parts on Youtube for more footage (mostly Shenzen, China) of aspects of a Blade Runner-esque cityscape in real life.
For more aspects of the first movie in other forms, check out the soundtrack by Vangelis as well as a synthpop song by Gunship with an accompanying video done by Jason Tammemagi.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, 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.
Also check out a preview of a new album from Starfarer, who was on the show back in episode 143. Stay tuned for an upcoming t-shirt contest!
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
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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.
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.
Not long ago, my brother and I wrapped up the last installment in our second homebrew D and D roll20 campaign that my brother created based on The Thirteenth Hour. This one was quite different from our first – more traditional, I suppose, in that it took place in the wilderness, had monsters, and more fantasy elements, like barbarians, magic spells, faerie circles, and dragons. Unlike our first adventure, where our adventurers remained in the confines of a city and the enemies were more of the 2 legged human variety, this adventure also had a number of traditional D and D “monsters” (for lack of a better term). Our heroes even got to adopt one (a griffon), and it will be interesting to see what that means in the future. There was still a human element, though perhaps Stephen King described it best in writing about all the horror in just human nature that can exist below the surface in your typical small town (in this case, Aquaria, the sleepy hamlet that the heroes of The Thirteenth Hour, Logan and Aurora, come from).
Check out this blog post Jeremy wrote about this adventure to get a more behind the scenes look at what he was aiming for when writing it.
Click on the links below to watch all the episodes on youtube or just listen to the audio podcast style (most episodes run about 1.5-3 hrs).
Some of the creatures encountered on this mission – owlbears and griffons!
A scene from the final battle – sea serpent vs. mechanic dragon! (Basically like a Godzilla movie)
The town of Aquaria gets to know their barbarian neighbors in the Wild Lands and try to settle their differences.
Stay tuned for the next adventure in the land of Neva! There will undoubtedly be some throwbacks to the foes seen in our first adventure, which can be found here.
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Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
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.
My brother joins me on this trip into the past as we look at some of the computer games we grew up with (this week and last). I’ve written and talked about this before but have been meaning to have a longer discussion with my brother for a long time. We touched on a number of things that I hadn’t thought of in awhile, like some classic adventures games like the King’s Quest series last week as well as emulation and a number of other games we enjoyed but hadn’t thought of in awhile. Jeremy made a grid of some of his most influential games here but it too some thinking to come up with enough to fill a 3×3 grid. I did it, though! Here they are:
On Instagram, I’ll go through each one with a little blurb.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, 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.
Also check out a preview of a new album from Starfarer, who was on the show back in episode 143. Stay tuned for an upcoming t-shirt contest!
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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.
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.
My brother joins me on this trip into the past as we look at some of the computer games we grew up with. I’ve written and talked about this before but have been meaning to have a longer discussion with my brother for a long time. We touched on a number of things that I hadn’t thought of in awhile, like some classic adventures games like the King’s Quest series. Here are a few screenshots I found from the game, King’s Quest 6, the first one we were able to play through fully, and the one we remembered most fondly. My brother and I distinctly recall being blown away by the graphics at the time:
King’s Quest 6 had a full CD-quality ballad on the disc that played during the ending credits, “Girl in the Tower,” a very 80s/90s love ballad with verses done in piano, an electric guitar solo, sappy lyrics (in other words, all the qualities for a stellar song in my mind). If you click on the picture above, you can listen to the whole song with scenes compiled from KQ5 and KQ6. Apparently, the song was reused in parts of updated King’s Quest adventures:
The final fight Alexander has in King’s Quest 6. I distinctly recall at one point when he gets tired, he says something like, “Zounds, this sword weighs a ton!”
Some pictures associated from other games mentioned in the episode that I photographed from old Nintendo Power issues and box cover art.
If you haven’t checked out “Arcade Days,” the song and video Jeff Finley, Brent Simon, and I have been working on the past year, 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.
Also check out a preview of a new album from Starfarer, who was on the show back in episode 143. Stay tuned for an upcoming t-shirt contest!
Lastly, the podcast is now on Spotify! Check it out.
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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.
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.
Catch the latest updates of the homebrew roll20 campaign my brother created based on The Thirteenth Hour. In this episodes, our heroes replenish their supplies and get some new gear while not only avoiding getting taken prisoner by a group of barbarians but then forming a kind of friendship with them. In addition, there is the taming of wild horses found in the Wild Lands, a barbaric part of the world filled with savage humans and wilder beasts.
You can watch episode 8 by clicking on the title picture above.
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Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
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.
Catch the latest updates of the homebrew roll20 campaign my brother created based on The Thirteenth Hour. In these two episodes, our heroes chase a group of men who kidnapped orphans and may just be selling them and have to jump into a fairy circle that transports them to the Wild Lands, a barbaric part of the world filled with savage humans and wilder beasts. Lester and Claudia both almost die in combat several times – good thing they thought to bring emergency rations!
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.
Catch the latest update of the homebrew roll20 campaign my brother created based on The Thirteenth Hour. In this episode, Lester and his crew infiltrate the now creepy Aquarian orphanage and do battle with otherworldly shapeshifters!
Jeremy based the shapeshifters on this passage in The Thirteenth Hour:
You can watch the entire campaign here:
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Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
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.
Catch the latest update of the home brew roll20 campaign my brother created based on The Thirteenth Hour. In this episode, Lester pulls an all nighter with two wizards to try to get to the bottom of the ghostly business baiting Aquaria. He ends up being able to communicate with the dead! Bet he didn’t bet on that when he took on this case.
In the course of the episode, there were choices about whether to go to sleep or stay up to investigate (involving sneaking around in and out of peoples’ rooms like a total creeper, kind of like in the game The Last Express, discussed here.
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.
My brother and I recently stated a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. Today’s episode on the show as well as part of the campaign involves the wizards in The Thirteenth Hour. There are three in the book, and there was a guest appearance during the last D and D campaign as well (The Case of the Almost Assassination). I read from a few sections of The Thirteenth Hour that describe the wizards and discuss some of their influences.
Basically, I envisioned the wizards as being a combination of the following:
Burgess Meredith from the Rocky movies, the Batman TV series, and Grumpier Old Men
Speaking of which, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matheau as Grumpy Old Men
Dan O’Herlihy as Grig and Robert Preston as Centauri from The Last Starfighter
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
My brother recently bought the game Soul Caliber 6 and was playing around with the character creator, which is quite robust. He ended up creating a number of characters from The Thirteenth Hour (the main protagonists Logan and Aurora as well as one of the antagonists, a wizard swordsman in black armor named Klax – their battle from the book is re-enacted below).
I was pretty blown away seeing the screenshots – just like The Thirteenth Hour had been turned into a game. Jeremy also created characters for Lester and Claudia, the protagonists of our current Dungeons and Dragons campaigns and recorded some CPU controlled mock battles of the characters squaring off against each other to show case each one’s unique fighting style.
The timing couldn’t have been better, since this week’s episode is on the unarmed fighting style Logan learns and uses in The Thirteenth Hour. It’s never really described in great detail in the book, but I intended it to be a system utilizing the naturally hard parts of the body (e.g. knees, elbows, heels of the foot), like you see in muaythai combined with a relatively low center of gravity and an emphasis on economy of movement and stability while still allowing for agility (kind of like what you see in ninjutsu). I spent some time in the book describing the acrobatic exercises the Rangers had to learn, though the emphasis really was on improving body awareness, learning how to fall, roll, and recover from a loss of balance as well as conquer fear. Although Logan uses a wall flip at one point to save himself from turning into a mess smeared on a castle wall, I didn’t anticipate these would be techniques the Rangers would employ in combat (unlike what martial arts movies usually portray). Same with the higher and jumping kicking techniques of martial arts legend … again, although Logan does a spinning hook kick at one point to good effect, it was more because the opening was there and ripe for the taking than anything. It goes along with the philosophy that what you learn should always be more than what you actually might need to use, since (in life and) in fighting, we rarely rise to the occasion – we fall back on something much rougher than what we learned (which will hopefully still be enough).
I envisioned he probably would have done more techniques along the lines of these less flashy strikes, like screenshots from Jeremy’s video showing a lead side punch and a scooping kick to block or intercept an incoming leg:
You can watching the whole narrated video here:
Jeremy’s YouTube channel also has links to all of our D and D videos for your listening/watching pleasure.
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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
My brother and I recently stated a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. Whereas last adventure (The Case of the Almost Assassination) was set within the confines of a city, this one that Jeremy created takes places in the small country hamlet that the protagonists of The Thirteenth Hour, Logan and Aurora, grew up in, Aquaria. In this episode, I continue to set the stage for the exploration of Aquaria by reading a few snippets from The Thirteenth Hour that describe this sleepy little town.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
My brother and I recently stated a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. Whereas last adventure (The Case of the Almost Assassination) was set within the confines of a city, this one that Jeremy created takes places in the small country hamlet that the protagonists of The Thirteenth Hour, Logan and Aurora, grew up in, Aquaria. In this episode, I set the stage to the start of the adventure by reading a few background excerpts from The Thirteenth Hour that introduces the “ghost” in question, the former headmistress of the orphanage where Logan and Aurora grew up and the surrogate mother and guardian to them and many other generations of Aquarian orphans.
Here’s a picture of our heroes – on the right is the level at which they’re beginning this latest adventure.
Watch/listen to the fist episode here:
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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
lf you’ve been following along here, you might be aware that my brother and I have been involved in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. It’s a bit of a steampunk mystery set in a fantasy world, if you can imagine that, and it’s drawing to a climax. We recorded the next chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure recently, which you can watch below. In this episode, our heroes infiltrate a party in the fancy part of town, and our protagonist, Lester, goes in drag as an old lady with a touch of the dementia.
Lester as himself (top) and as his geriatric gender-flipped alter-ego, Ms. Nan Leslie.
It’s a bit easier for Lester’s assistant, Claudia, who lets her hair down and doffs her usual duds for formal dress:
The episode was cut short about two hours in due to technical issues, right in the middle of a battle when our heroes get ambushed in the midst of their snooping – we’ll pick up there next time!
And, by the way, if you listen closely at around 1:00 and 7:20 min into the episode, you may catch Nan Leslie going on about her younger years, where she was “showed the ways of the world” by a certain mysterious character she remembered as “The Scissorwulf!” Could it be the same masked hero in the furry loincloth?
Maybe so! There are worlds beyond worlds, and to allude to Stephen King (from The Dark Tower books), sometimes they collide … learn more about the Scissorwulf through his creator, Chad Derdowski, who was last on the show on episode 119.
Click on the image below to watch:
Infiltrating this high class party to find out the murky dealings of the hired help requires forging an invitation …
In the midst of a battle …
And if you enjoy other retro 80s things, one of the first tracks I did for Long Ago, Not So Far Away, “I’ll Fly Away,” recently got a 12″ Remix. Listen here and catch the video below:
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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
lf you’ve been following along here, you might be aware that my brother and I have been involved in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. It’s a bit of a steampunk mystery set in a fantasy world, if you can imagine that, and it’s drawing to a climax. We recorded the last chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure recently. This grand finale clocked in at over three hours and was the culmination of a three month campaign and over 20 hours of footage in the youtube videos of the playthroughs, which you can watch below. In this episode, our heroes solve the mystery of who nearly assassinated King Darian IV and wrap things up as best they can. There’s still some unfinished business between our hero, Lester, and the main villain of this campaign, which is sure to haunt him some time in the future. For now, though, the bad guys are behind bars, and Lester and Claudia get a short respite prior to embarking on their next case in the Aquarian countryside.
Here are links to all the episodes. Click on the pictures to be taken to the show notes, which has pictures, details about the episode, and a link to the Youtube video:
And here are the links to the grand finale! Watch the episode on youtube by clicking on the picture below. They last 20 minutes or so is also the last 20 minutes of this show, where my brother and I go behind the scenes to discuss the experience.
The big battle at the end. The grey circles represent a smokescreen that Lester shot out from his crossbow as a distraction. There is at least one scene where the words, “¿Quien es tu padre?” make a random appearance and a few other where Arnold’s line in Kindergarten Cop also make a cameo (“Who is your Daddy, and what does he do?”). Yeah, there are some Daddy issues that some of the characters have in this campaign. Nobody’s perfect!
You can see a brief preview of the next adventure at the very end.
The two main characters, Lester and Claudia, gained a lot of experience during this adventure (and found some cool gear).
By the way, this campaign references two short stories in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. King Darian (as an older, wiser man) reflects on nearly losing his head in this story:
And the Shadow in the Moonlight spell, referenced many times during this story, has its own self titled novelette which can be read for free on the Kindle (in the US) and on Smashwords (worldwide).
And if you enjoy other retro 80s things like D and D, one of the first tracks I did for Long Ago, Not So Far Away, “I’ll Fly Away,” recently got a 12″ Remix. Listen here and catch the video below:
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
lf you’ve been following along here, you might be aware that my brother and I have been involved in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. It’s a bit of a steampunk mystery set in a fantasy world, if you can imagine that, and it’s drawing to a climax. We recorded the next chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure recently, which you can watch below. In this episode, our heroes infiltrate a party in the fancy part of town, and our protagonist, Lester, goes in drag as an old lady with a touch of the dementia.
Lester as himself (top) and as his geriatric gender-flipped alter-ego, Ms. Nan Leslie.
It’s a bit easier for Lester’s assistant, Claudia, who lets her hair down and doffs her usual duds for formal dress:
The episode was cut short about two hours in due to technical issues, right in the middle of a battle when our heroes get ambushed in the midst of their snooping – we’ll pick up there next time!
And, by the way, if you listen closely at around 1:00 and 7:20 min into the episode, you may catch Nan Leslie going on about her younger years, where she was “showed the ways of the world” by a certain mysterious character she remembered as “The Scissorwulf!” Could it be the same masked hero in the furry loincloth?
Maybe so! There are worlds beyond worlds, and to allude to Stephen King (from The Dark Tower books), sometimes they collide … learn more about the Scissorwulf through his creator, Chad Derdowski, who was last on the show on episode 119.
Click on the image below to watch:
Infiltrating this high class party to find out the murky dealings of the hired help requires forging an invitation …
In the midst of a battle …
And if you enjoy other retro 80s things, one of the first tracks I did for Long Ago, Not So Far Away, “I’ll Fly Away,” recently got a 12″ Remix. Listen here and catch the video below:
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
lf you’ve been following along here, you might be aware that my brother and I have been involved in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. It’s a bit of a steampunk mystery set in a fantasy world, if you can imagine that. We recorded the next chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure recently, which you can watch below. In this episode, our heroes pick up from the cliffhanger ambush we ended with last time in episode 7 and start off was an epic graveyard battle that nearly kills them… Find out how it goes by clicking on the picture below:
And if you enjoy other retro 80s things, one of the first tracks I did for Long Ago, Not So Far Away, “I’ll Fly Away,” recently got a 12″ Remix. Listen here and catch the video below:
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
lf you’ve been following along here, you might be aware that my brother and I have been involved in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. It’s a bit of a steampunk mystery set in a fantasy world, if you can imagine that. We recorded the next chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure yesterday, which you can watch below. In this episode, our heroes continue investigating leads in a fancy part of town and leave with the suspicious impression that all is not as rosy and gilded as one might guess, come up with disguises (Lester decides to explore his feminine side), and the defecation hits ventilation when our heroes get ambushed in a graveyard, where the episode ends on a cliffhanger. Catch the next episode here by clicking on the picture below:
Sketches of the disguises our heroes plan as they cook up alter egos to help them sneak into a fancy dress ball they’re not invited to – in the name of solving the case, of course.
The scene of the mansion where the ball will take place (by day) – what will it look like at night?
In addition, one of the first tracks I did for Long Ago, Not So Far Away, “I’ll Fly Away,” recently got a 12″ Remix. Listen here and catch the video below:
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
lf you’ve been following along here, you might be aware that my brother and I have been involved in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. It’s a bit of a steampunk mystery set in a fantasy world, if you can imagine that. We recorded the next chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure recently, which you can watch below. In this episode, our heroes (below) get back to more traditional detective work by following up on some leads they generated in the underground (literally and figuratively) of the city. Some episode highlights – happy time for an old man, a parental reunion in the dreamworld interrupted by the chiming of the Thirteenth Hour, and the reappearance of The Shadow in the Moonlight spell. Catch the next episode here by clicking on the picture below:
Our heroes confer with William the Wizard, one of the three elderly mages from The Thirteenth Hour.
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
lf you’ve been following along here, you might be aware that my brother and I have been involved in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that he created set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. It’s a bit of a steampunk mystery set in a fantasy world, if you can imagine that. We recorded the next chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure recently, which you can watch below. In this episode, our heroes (below) infiltrate a secret society that has connections to the criminal underbelly in the Capital City of Tartec. Can they do it without ending up with smashed noggins or gutted intestines? Will they finally make it out of the stinking sewers? Catch the next episode here by clicking on the picture below:
Will these tools be helpful in the future adventures (assuming you can make it out alive)?
And if you enjoy other retro 80s things made new decades later, check out the synthwave tunes of Starfarer, coming tomorrow!
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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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, I’m making a little graphic in Photoshop for a future promo flier. I’m using the Logan figure we made and painted a few episodes ago as well as a plastic castle from the movie Frozen (which my daughter must have watched now at least a half dozen times).
I’m using a pre-rendered background (the one I made for the cover of the EP Between Two Worlds). Here’s the image with Logan and the castle inserted in it. But they look a little weird floating there just as they are, don’t they?
So I smooth out the images and softened the edges.
With a few more highlights using multiple layers superimposed on top of another.
Also, my brother and I recorded the next chapter in our Roll20 D and D adventure set in the world of The Thirteenth Hour. This week’s more of a traditional dungeon crawl though the snake and trap infested sewers below the Capital City of Tartec. Like any good serialized adventure, it ends on a cliffhanger just as our heroes get out of the clutches of death (a sewer crocodile, to be exact) and into the frying pan. Catch the next episode here by clicking on the picture below:
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Awayis 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.
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.
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