The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #321: Welcome Actress Catherine Mary Stewart As We Discuss Samurai Cowboy and More

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #321: Welcome Actress Catherine Mary Stewart As We Discuss Samurai Cowboy and More

https://archive.org/download/podcast-321/Podcast%20321.mp3

This week, we are welcoming actress Catherine Mary Stewart to the show! 

You may know her from classic films such as Night of the Comet, The Last Starfighter, and Weekend at Bernie’s.  Although those are some of my favorite films of all time (and we do touch on aspects of some of those movies in this episode –  I mean, how could you not?), I thought it’d be fun to highlight an underrated gem that is hard to find but still very worth your time – 1994’s Samurai Cowboy.  Here’s the premise …

The film starts in Japan with Japanese subtitles.  We see legions of modern samurai (salarymen and women) commuting in jam-packed Tokyo subways …

Our hero, Yutaka Sato (singer Hiromi Go) and his best friend, Goro (J. Max Kirishima), work and party hard, though the stressful life of a modern business samurai is not what Yukata desires.  He longs to be a cowboy in the Wild West.  I thought Hiromi Go did a great job in a role that was part serious, part comedic.  He also gets to showcase his vocals by singing karaoke at least once as well as “Home on the Range.”

After tragedy makes it hard to stay in Japan, Yutaka decides to emigrate to the US and buys a Montana ranch sight unseen, hoping it will be the Ponderosa of his dreams.  Reality, however, is a bit harsher, just like the pile of cow caca that he is about to step in here.

It also doesn’t take long for the small-mindedness of the locals to make itself known (this was filmed at a time of a fair amount of fear/resentment at Japan in the West).  Yutaka does start to find non-bigoted allies, though.  He teams up with an semi-retired cowboy, Gabe (Robert Conrad of The Wild, Wild West TV show) and an American Indian artist, Jack Eagle Eye (Byron Chief-Moon), he sticks up for soon after getting to town.

It’s hard to capture breathtaking vistas like this on film and have it translate to the feeling of being there, but I thought they did a really nice job on the cinematography.  Maybe someone can chime in and correct me, but this landscape looks a lot like Glacier National Park to me.  The peak they refer to as the Indian Chief looking a lot like Grinnell Glacier. 

One of the non-bigoted locals that Yutaka befriends is a local veterinarian, Dr. Jessie Collins (our guest, Catherine Mary Stewart), who has the enviable job of riding around the country to get to the animals she rounds on.  Here she is dispatching a cow who isn’t doing so great while Yutaka slips on the snow since he doesn’t have boots fit for the weather.

What kind of Western would it be without six guns?  When Yutaka gets himself some clothes more appropriate for ranching, he spies a gaudy revolver in a case at the front of the store and can’t resist (though actually hitting anything is a different matter).

The beginnings of a romance start to blossom between our samurai cowboy and Jessie.  I have to hand it to the filmmakers – it was pretty unusual at the time for Asian males to ever get to be the romantic lead in a Western-made film.  The only person I can think of is Brandon Lee, who I talked about on here before.  I’m sure there were others, but I’m struggling to come up with ones made in the West at the time that were not martial arts themed films.  Of course, Yutaka, being Japanese, naturally has to know martial arts (which, to be fair, he uses to good effect at various points in the film), but stereotypes aside, in some ways it makes sense – he calls his ranch “The Dojo Ranch” since he views it as a place of focus and betterment and given the title, you kind of expect that the guy would be able take care of himself as any modern Samurai should, right?

Yutaka also recruits a black hip hop artist (Bradley Rapier) who gets stranded in town, offering him a job to help out on the Dojo Ranch, thus completing the team.

Together, Yutaka and company take on a corrupt local land developer, Colt Wingate (Matt McCoy) who wants Yutaka’s ranch for his own scorched earth plans.  Yutaka ain’t selling, though …

Despite Wingate’s attempt to make life difficult for Yutaka, he and his compatriots decide the best way to go forward is to actually do what Yutaka set out to be – a cowboy … meaning that he and his ranchers need to herd the Dojo Ranch cattle old school-style to a town some distance away to be sold, ensuring Yutaka will have enough money to not default on his ranch loan.  Of course, it wouldn’t be a Western if there weren’t a dramatic showdown at the end.  The way they handled it, though, I thought was nice.

And it wouldn’t be a Western without a few sunset vistas like this.  Breathtaking!

Unfortunately, although I’d highly recommend finding this movie to watch yourself, it’s not the easiest thing to do, even if you go the bootleg path.  Thankfully, eBay is your friend in this arena.

If you are unable to find a copy of the film or don’t have a VHS player to play it on, you can still get a sense of what the movie is like with the clips we discussed in the podcast.  As mentioned, you can actually watch them as well.  Please excuse the video quality, however, since the video is coming courtesy of the Zoom call I recorded, so it won’t be quite as smooth as it were playing in real time.  However, you’ll at least have some visuals for the commentary in case you want to watch along with the podcast.  

 

 

I interspersed the Samurai Cowboy movie clips with a little 6 question quiz we had fun playing that touches on some bits from The Thirteenth Hour and classics like The Last Starfighter and Night of the Comet that Catherine was in.  There are a few questions where it helps to have visuals, which you can find them in the compilation below: 

 

If you’re a Patreon member, you’ll find some “extended scenes,” so to speak, in the latest Patreon podcast episode (#10). 

Thanks to Catherine Mary Stewart for joining the show!  Learn more about her on:

–IMDB (how I found Samurai Cowboy!)

–Instagram

–Twitter

–Facebook

–Cameo

Lastly, since it’s now the month of October, I think I should get on that sequel to The Last Rocketeer I wrote last year mashing up The Last Starfighter and The Rocketeer (two of my favorite things!).  The story ends in a very Halloween specific way, so now that Halloween is approaching, I figure that if Cliff Secord from The Rocketeer and Centauri from The Last Starfighter are good, then adding someone who may or may not be Dracula must be better.  Is there a way Alex and Maggie from The Last Starfighter can make a cameo, too?  Hmm … looking forward to writing it!

Thanks for tuning in!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #309: Welcome Lance Guest to Discuss The Wizard of Loneliness Part 2 + Bonus Lea Thompson Segment

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #309: Welcome Lance Guest to Discuss The Wizard of Loneliness Part 2 + Bonus Lea Thompson Segment

https://archive.org/download/podcast-309/Podcast%20309.mp3

As with last week, I’m joined by actor Lance Guest (The Last Starfighter, Jaws 4, Halloween 2) to talk more about his favorite project, the 1988 film, The Wizard of Loneliness.  We wrap up talking about the film and also touch a bit on some other aspects of his life, including music and on a 2001 Disney Channel film Lance was in featuring a juvenile chimpanzee, The Jennie Project. 

If you missed the first part of the interview, you can find it here as well as catch a video segment that gives you visuals for the video clips we’re watching and commenting on together: 

Here’s a little clip from David Letterman where Lance (who is portraying Johnny Cash) performs with his bandmates in the show Million Dollar Quartet.

There isn’t much out there on The Jennie Project, but here’s a little promo clip that I vaguely remember playing on The Disney Channel.  Interestingly enough, the movie itself is not on Disney+ last time I checked, though you can find it to buy on Youtube or as a part of Amazon Prime (again, like The Wizard of Loneliness, only if you have a subscription).  I don’t think it was ever released on DVD, though someone uploaded it here (you may have to sort through the three links to the right to find one that works, though; beware of popups). 

Speaking of not having much out there on Youtube, The Wizard of Loneliness has very little there.  There is a nice trailer, though, as well as a snippet someone uploaded on a scene with Sybil Oler (Lea Thompson) and Duffy Kahler (Dylan Baker).  The scene is very close to how it occurs in the novel of the same name by John Nichols, which was written in 1966.     

Above is the cover of the novel, which, interestingly, features two different scenes from the film and merges them together in and outside the Oler house.  Unless I’m wrong and this was a deleted scene, not sure why they did that and didn’t just use the movie poster/VHS coverart made for the film (a portion below), though it’s a nice image that works well enough.  

Anyhow, thanks to the support of the fine folks on The Thirteenth Hour Arts Patreon, I reached out to Lea Thompson on Cameo to ask about her work on The Wizard of Loneliness and if the novel was helpful in portraying Sybil.  I think she is a more complicated character in the film than she is in the book since they merged an additional character (that of the town librarian, Marty) into the on-screen version of Sybil. 

In both book and film, Sybil had a short relationship with Duffy, bore their child out of wedlock, married, then lost her husband in WW2.  But in the novel, the relationship with Duffy is portrayed as a not very serious adolescent fling, and Sybil’s husband’s death happens during a few brief paragraphs of exposition.  We don’t really see it as actively as we do in the film. 

In the book, the town librarian, Marty, is a lonely figure that finds a kind of awkward connection with Wendall over books and photography.  It’s hinted that there is a kind of mutual attraction there, though I don’t think it was meant to be sexual in nature (more just two lonely souls finding solace in their mutual misery).  However, I’m guessing the filmmakers probably felt it best to avoid material that would lead to questions about the age difference between Wendall and Marty, especially if the attraction – however platonic – was to someone of the same sex.  In the movie, you kind of get the sense that Wendall has a crush on his aunt (which, to be fair, is also kind of weird), but maybe they felt that was preferable to the former.   

In the book, it really is the whole community that helps Wendall come out of his shell, whereas in the film, though the family and community role is definitely there, it seemed like they were going for Sybil becoming kind of a surrogate mother figure for Wendall (even hinted at in the cover art below).  In any event, both versions are good, and it was great to get Lea Thompson’s take on the film.  Look for more on the novel in the last part of the podcast.

 

Thanks to Lance and Lea for providing the guest spots for this episode and for the Patrons and all the listeners for their support.

In the coming weeks, we’ll get back to more 30th anniversary Rocketeer celebrating.  We still have a handful of Rocketeer cartoon episodes to discuss as well as a number of other guests and other fun activities in the works.

I know we didn’t talk much about The Last Starfighter here, but if you look for The Last Starfighter group on Facebook, you can find many more interviews and pictures from the film, including all those speculations about sequels and so forth.   (Just with like The Rocketeer, I will believe it when I see it! 🙂

Speaking of those two properties, if you every wondered what might have happened just prior to The Last Starfighter, should our hapless hero Cliff Secord (a.k.a. the Rocketeer) live to 1983, check out the shenanigans and misadventures that follow in the fanfic short story, “The Last Rocketeer”!  

What would happen if The Rocketeer collided with The Last Starfighter? What would happen if Cliff Secord, our hapless hero from the 1991 film and the Dave Stevens comic from the 80s really did live in the 80s? Say, 1983? He’d be about 71. What if Centauri, the fast-talking game creator from the 1984 film, recruited Cliff for a special mission? What if, knowing Cliff’s luck, it all went bad? Will he reluctantly don his antiquated rocketpack and helmet for one last flight? Will his jodhpurs even fit after all these years? Read on and find out as world collide! Cliff’s back may not take the strain, but at least you can do so from the comfort of your favorite chair!

Thanks for tuning in!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #308: Welcome Lance Guest to Discuss The Wizard of Loneliness Part 1

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #308: Welcome Lance Guest to Discuss The Wizard of Loneliness Part 1

https://archive.org/download/podcast-308/Podcast%20308.mp3

Today, I’m joined by actor Lance Guest (who you may know as the lead character, Alex Rogan, of one of my favorite films, The Last Starfighter) to talk about his favorite project, the 1988 film, The Wizard of Loneliness.  It was a pleasure and an honor to talk with him about this bittersweet, slice-of-life film that I saw once as a child but didn’t quite understand at the time.  I wanted to see what it was like viewing it as an adult and am really glad I gave it a second chance!  This first part of the podcast will focus mostly on the film, and next week, we’ll talk about some aspects of the film’s enchanting score and some of Lance’s other projects as well as the book The Wizard of Loneliness was based on (after our conversation, I figured I should go and track down a copy of the novel to see if it answered some questions I still had about the film – the movie and the novel are really quite similar in some ways, though there are some key differences that we’ll talk about next week).  

A few screencaps from the film (I don’t think this movie was ever released on DVD; I ended up finding a copy on eBay and digitizing it).  Here is Lance’s character – auto mechanic John T Oler.

John T lives with his elderly parents and older sister in a large, rural Vermont home.  He takes the main character, Wendall (played by Lukas Haas), under his wing and tries to help him discover some aspects of his childhood, like playing baseball and lighting fireworks on the Fourth of July. 

Speaking of which, there’s a really fun little scene that ties in with Independence Day, which is why I tried to time this episode to the US’ birthday this week.  It was really interesting to learn that this part of the film was actually filmed in the late fall!

As a former New Englander, this was one of my favorite scenes in the film, a motorcycle ride through the country throwing the beautiful Vermont countryside. 

There is a video segment to this podcast which can be found here that gives you visuals for the video clips we’re watching together: 

If you’d like to watch the film in full, there are not that many places you can find it, unfortunately.  But if you are a member of Amazon Prime, you can find it streaming there.  Otherwise, you may want to look on eBay, as I did, to see if you can find an old VHS copy (though they tend to go for somewhat high prices).  If you are lucky, you might be able to find one in your local Goodwill or Salvation Army for a fraction of the cost.

We’ll talk more about the characters in the novel next week, but in the book, John T was much more bitter and depressed.  Lance played him in a less aggressive, angry way (in fact, he reminded me a little of what Alex Rogan might have been like a few years after The Last Starfighter).

If, by chance, you’re interested in what might have happened just prior to The Last Starfighter, should our hapless hero Cliff Secord (a.k.a. the Rocketeer) live to 1983, check out the shenanigans and misadventures that follow in the fanfic short story, “The Last Rocketeer”!  

What would happen if The Rocketeer collided with The Last Starfighter? What would happen if Cliff Secord, our hapless hero from the 1991 film and the Dave Stevens comic from the 80s really did live in the 80s? Say, 1983? He’d be about 71. What if Centauri, the fast-talking game creator from the 1984 film, recruited Cliff for a special mission? What if, knowing Cliff’s luck, it all went bad? Will he reluctantly don his antiquated rocketpack and helmet for one last flight? Will his jodhpurs even fit after all these years? Read on and find out as world collide! Cliff’s back may not take the strain, but at least you can do so from the comfort of your favorite chair!

Stay tuned for more next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #261: Musical Interlude – The Making of “Once Upon a Dream” and Like a Hood Ornament 16: The Last Rocketeer and Kit Secord Rocketpack Updates

Episode #261: Musical Interlude – The Making of “Once Upon a Dream” and Like a Hood Ornament 16: The Last Rocketeer and Kit Secord Rocketpack Updates

https://archive.org/download/podcast-261/Podcast%20261.mp3

This week, I’m working on the title track from the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP, Once Upon a Dream.  I have the keyboard riffs and the lyrics mostly done and am now trying to figure out how they go together.  I’ve recorded a bare bones version here with just the vocals and the piano chords, which is how many of these songs start.  In the coming week’s, I’ll be refining the skeleton of the song as I figure out how the different riffs work into the song, where the backing beat will come in, how the solo will sound, etc.

In the Like a Hood Ornament segment, I’m talking a bit about how my kids and I have been working on a costume paper mache rocketpack for my daughter for Halloween (she’d like to be Kit Secord from the cartoon, who you can see at the bottom of these images below).

We still have to figure out how to attach straps, and I’m wondering if it might be fun to figure out how to light up the engines and/or attach the little banks of purple LEDs on the bottom that this version of the pack has.  Maybe we’ll make an electrical switch wired to the gloves, like in the movie.

Also, the next segment of the fanfic short story, “The Last Rocketeer,” describing a team-up between Centauri from The Last Starfighter and a 71 year-old Cliff Secord who has long since given up being the Rocketeer (but secretly wants one last flight) is up.

You can read the first chapter on Wattpad here: https://www.wattpad.com/919346978-the-last-rocketeer-1-in-which-cliff-finds-a

Here’s part 2: https://www.wattpad.com/926948946-the-last-rocketeer-2-nighttime-visitors

And here’s the section I was reading from in episode 260: https://www.wattpad.com/930869004-the-last-rocketeer-3-into-the-depths-of-hell

The first part of Chapter 4 is here: https://www.wattpad.com/934519790-the-last-rocketeer-4-in-which-the-proverbial

More coming next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #260 and Like a Hood Ornament 15: Reading from Chapter 3 of the Last Rocketeer

Episode #260 and Like a Hood Ornament 15: Reading from Chapter 3 of the Last Rocketeer

https://archive.org/download/podcast-260/Podcast%20260.mp3

This week, I’m reading from the next installment of the fanfic short story, “The Last Rocketeer,” describing a team-up between Centauri from The Last Starfighter and a 71 year-old Cliff Secord who has long since given up being the Rocketeer (but secretly wants one last flight).  He gets his chance in this tale!  But as usual with Cliff, it all goes south!  Find out what happens this week as the defecation starts to hit the proverbial ventilation!

You can read the first chapter on Wattpad here: https://www.wattpad.com/919346978-the-last-rocketeer-1-in-which-cliff-finds-a

Here’s part 2: https://www.wattpad.com/926948946-the-last-rocketeer-2-nighttime-visitors

And here’s the section I was reading from today: https://www.wattpad.com/930869004-the-last-rocketeer-3-into-the-depths-of-hell

Stay tuned for Chapter 4!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #259: Isolation, Multiculturalism, and Finding Your Place in the World and Like a Hood Ornament 14: Writing the Last Rocketeer Part 2

Episode #259: Isolation, Multiculturalism, and Finding Your Place in the World and Like a Hood Ornament 14: Writing the Last Rocketeer Part 2

https://archive.org/download/podcast-259/Podcast%20259.mp3

This week, I’m talking about some ideas why the main characters in The Thirteenth Hour decide to leave the society they have grown up in and try to make their own place in the world.  I couldn’t have articulated the various reasons why that idea was compelling at the time, but over the last few years, it’s made more sense in terms of my family background, the way people in our society typically respond to racial ambiguity, idealistic (often unrealistic) American ideals, and a certain teenage optimism of my own.

In the Like a Hood Ornament section, I’m tying these ideas to the loneliness and isolation the elderly Cliff Secord experiences in the story.

You can read the first chapter on Wattpad here: https://www.wattpad.com/919346978-the-last-rocketeer-1-in-which-cliff-finds-a

Here’s part 2: https://www.wattpad.com/926948946-the-last-rocketeer-2-nighttime-visitors

Some pictures from this chapter.  These, by the way, all started life as quick sketches and watercolors done with my kids during our quarantine home schooling sessions. So, I don’t spend a ton of time on them but (maybe because of that) they’ve been fun to do!

Stay tuned for Chapter 3!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #258 and Like a Hood Ornament 13: What if Cliff Secord from The Rocketeer Were Alive in 1983 and Ends Up in The Last Starfighter?

Episode #258 and Like a Hood Ornament 13: What if Cliff Secord from The Rocketeer Were Alive in 1983 and Ends Up in The Last Starfighter?

https://archive.org/download/podcast-258/Podcast%20258.mp3

This week, I’m talking about a short story I’m writing for fun called “The Last Rocketeer.”

Here’s the premise:

Cliff Secord was a pilot who stumbled upon an experimental rocketpack and became a high flying reluctant hero, The Rocketeer.

That was in 1938.  But now it’s 1983.

Retirement is no longer an option.  The fate of the universe hangs in the balance! 

I got the idea from my daughter, who asked if we could tweak some of the lyrics of the song, “Superman” by Five for Fighting to be from the perspective of the Rocketeer.

I initially wasn’t sure it would work but the more I thought of it, the more I liked the idea of an older, jaded, Cliff Secord worn out physically and mentally by years of tough landings, crashes, altercations, and other traumatic events.  So I tweaked the lyrics a bit to fit that idea, recorded here:

I also really liked the idea of the bitter older man still grappling with his past.  The film The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot is a great example of such a character – a man with a violent past trying to make sense of what he did decades later.  Mike from the book It by Stephen King had a similar feel, so much so that I used Mike as a model for another character, Alfred, in The Thirteenth Hour sequel.

Since I had to figure out a way to work the 80s in,  I figured what would happen if Cliff runs into Centauri from The Last Starfighter? What if Cliff were recruited to help Centauri and in the process, you know, save the world?  Ahem – the universe!

You can read the first chapter on Wattpad here: https://www.wattpad.com/919346978-the-last-rocketeer-1-in-which-cliff-finds-a

Stay tuned for Chapter 2!

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There are now Thirteenth Hour toys!  If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.

If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:

Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #257: Musical Interlude – Recording Vocals and Layered Synths for “The Last Dance”

Episode #257: Musical Interlude – Recording Vocals and Layered Synths for “The Last Dance”

https://archive.org/download/podcast-257/Podcast%20257.mp3

On this week’s show, I’m continuing the recording process to a song I started a number of months ago, “The Last Dance,” last discussed on episodes 223, 224, 225, and 256.

We’re discussing the recording of the vocals as well as additional synth tracks, like a simple instrumental solo.

Speaking of which, I added a voiceover to a track that I recently finished, “The Land of Dreams” (see below for the video or here for the audio track) to make the animations match up with the part of the The Thirteenth Hour the track accompanies.

 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCh6wtpFHFG/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

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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.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #246 and Like a Hood Ornament 6 – The Reluctant Hero

Episode #246 and Like a Hood Ornament 6 – The Reluctant Hero

https://archive.org/download/podcast-246/Podcast%20246.mp3

This week’s show is about the idea of the reluctant hero, an archetype in literature and film to describe an ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and as a result does things beyond what he or she could ever had imagined.  We also talk about various definitions of the word “hero,” from the ancient Greek usage, to hero in terms of an idol, to a hero in terms of someone who does something selfless to help someone else, whether in the everyday or out of the ordinary sense.

I didn’t read this segment in the show, but here a chapter in The Thirteenth Hour which describes this idea where Logan, the main protagonist, first becomes a reluctant hero:

The day before the end of basic training, I went into town to find a shoe repair shop.  A buckle on my left shoe had broken a few days ago and now, every time I stepped down with that foot, my heel would slide out of the shoe.  It was getting annoying, but I’d finally managed to put together enough money to cover what I thought it’d cost.  One gold piece came from a poker game where I’d gotten lucky, and the rest I’d gotten from picking pennies off the street, which is what you do when you don’t get paid.

I asked a man on one of the crowded streets for directions. When I got to the shop, there was a big sign that said, “CLOSED FOR REPAIRS, WILL REOPEN IN TWO WEEKS.”

“Figures,” I thought to myself.  “Two weeks?  Maybe there’s another shop in town.”  I went back to kicking a stone and trying not to fling my boot off in the process as I wandered through the downtown merchant sector, considering what to do next. 

So there I was, minding my own business when I heard an ear–piercing scream.  I spun around, forgetting all about my shoe and the rock.  Right in the middle of the dirt road lay an old man, struggling to get up.  About ten yards away, barrelling down the road at full speed was a four horse carriage.  The driver in front was shouting out commands to his horses, but they weren’t listening.  There was a big crowd of people watching from the sidewalks.  I saw the woman that had screamed; she was still screaming. 

“Somebody do something!”  Apparently, that didn’t include herself. 

In fact, everyone stared around blankly, waiting for someone else to make the first move.  A few people new to the scene made faces and hurried off. 

“Do something!” she screamed over and over.

Aw, shit, people, the lady had a point. Though I had half a mind to throw something at her to get her to shut up, I pushed past the people on the edge and jumped into the middle of the road.  The next few seconds seemed to be in slow motion.  Unfortunately, in what was to become regular pattern until progressing to a more advanced stage of cognitive development, I didn’t think first before doing something idiotic. 

At any rate, the man was sitting up, dazed.  I don’t know how close the carriage was, but it couldn’t have been far, because as I dove at the old man, tackling him around the waist, a horse clipped the loose heel of my boot, the busted one, sending it spinning off into the gutter.  We rolled to the other side of the road, missing the remaining hooves by a heartbeat.

I sat up and looked around.  The old man looked all right as far as I could tell, just a little shaken.  Suddenly what seemed like hundreds of faces crowded around us.

“Are you all right?”

“Bravest thing I ever saw.”

“Somebody call a doctor!”

“That was a pretty rough fall that old fella took, is he okay?”

I stood and bent over the old man.  He was breathing, but his eyes were closed.  He looked like he was in pain, but he didn’t utter a sound when I asked if he felt alright. 

 “What happened?  What happened?  I didn’t see,” someone yelled.

“Well, this old fella was walking across the street, he tripped, and he couldn’t get up … mebbe ’cause he’s so old.  Anyway, doesn’t matter now ’cause that’s when the kid jumped in. Tackled him around the waist.”

“The kid’s a hero!” said someone else.  They looked at me, expecting me to say something.

“Well …”  As usual, words failed me.

“Now, don’t be modest, you’re a hero, son.”

Okay, if these people wanted me to be a hero, then what the hell.  Heroes are entitled to certain privileges, like new boots.  Any takers?

Just then, a man in a white coat pushed his way through the crowd saying, “It’s okay, I’m a doctor!”  He bent over the old man, briefly examining him.

After he had finished, the man said, “Probably just a twisted ankle.  No serious injuries I can see from here, but let’s get him on that stretcher.  Watch his head, and keep his neck still.  We’ll carry him to my office.  It’s just a few blocks from here,” said the doctor.

“I don’t need no damn stretcher!” yelled the old man.

“Everybody goes on the stretcher,” the doctor said emphatically.

“Ah, go to hell!  At least let me talk to the kid that saved my rear end!  Hey kid!  Come over here!”

I walked over.

“I just wanted to thank you.  My name’s Wally.  What’s yours?”

“Logan.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Logan.  I’m been living in this stinking kingdom for eighty–five years, and now I guess I’ll be able to stay for a few more years, huh?”

Now was that a good thing?

“You know, kid, you got a real set of marbles to do something like that.  Hell, I wouldn’t have done that even for me!  But hey, no complaints, glad you did.  I could use a kid like you.  What do you do for a living?”

“I’m … a soldier, I guess, in training.”

“No kidding!  That’s perfect.  Meet me at this address tomorrow; you won’t regret it!” he said, handing me a little white card.

“What’s it for?”

“Let me put it to you this way.  You ever see a magician?”

I said I had once.

“And did you like it?”

I said I’d enjoyed the show.

“But weren’t you disappointed when you discovered that he was a fake?  I mean, that he wasn’t using real magic, just tricks?”

I said I was disappointed when he told us that there was no such thing as magic.

“Nonsense!  The lousy bastard didn’t know what he was talking about!  See, you have to understand, real magicians like to keep that a secret … until it’s needed!  So, of course there’s magic.  I’m really not supposed to be telling you that, but, what the hell, kid, you just saved my life.”

“How do you know about magic?”

The old man looked both ways suspiciously.  Motioning for me to come closer, he said, almost in a whisper, “I’ll get to that in a minute.  This is what I’m proposing.  How would you like to learn some genuine, old–fashioned magic?  No bull now.  Just the real thing.  And get paid for it!”

“Well, sure, I guess.”

“Alright.  You like traveling?  Seeing new places?”

“Well, I haven’t really done any, but I would like to.”

“Great!  How about sports?  You like running, climbing, jumping, fencing, things like that?”

“Um, yeah, they’re okay.”

“Would you like to be better at those games?  You’ll get better in this job!”

“Sure … I guess.  What is this job, anyway?”

“Yeah, so it’s all set then.  Meet me tomorrow.  I’ll see to it that an announcement is made tomorrow morning.”

Just then the doctor motioned to his assistant, who picked up the other end of the stretcher.

“Umm, that’s nice and all, but I live in the castle training grounds.  It’s awfully hard for anyone from the outside to get inside there.”

“Oh, silly me!  Did I mention that I am one of King Darian’s wizards?  Well, that’s me.  Wally the Wizard at your service.  I’ll see you tomorrow!” he shouted as he was being carried away.

Wait a minute, I thought to myself.  Something sounded fishy here.  What was one of the King’s wizards doing outside the castle walls?  They supposedly always stayed locked up in one of the remote wings of the castle.  This one was an awfully smooth talker.  I wondered if this had something to do with what those two knights were talking about; one of them had mentioned the King’s wizards.  Something didn’t sound right.  He never even told me what the job was.  And …

“Wait!” I yelled. “What’s the catch?”

But the wizard was too far away to hear.

“Ah, shit,” I muttered to myself, finding my left boot wet and slime–covered in the gutter.  I wiped it off on some grass and secured the loose buckle as best I could.  It squished every time I stepped on it.  Something wasn’t right, but like the proverbial stinking turd, I’d stepped right in it.

Well, I thought, kicking another stone the rest of the way back to the castle, on the bright side, at least I am walking away.  Of all the ways to end up dead or in the hospital, getting trampled was not one I’ve ever wanted to experience. 

This little animated .gif is, of course, from the point in the movie where the Rocketeer, not above a little self conscious vanity, asks how he looks.  Peevy, not above a little blunt honesty, says “Like a hood ornament!”  The Rocketeer blasts off for the first time, Peevy gets blown backwards into the hangar, and I get a name for this part of the podcast!

I first learned of the term “reluctant hero” from an ad for The Rocketeer.  Cliff is not motivated initially by much other than a desire to make some money and get in the good graces of his girlfriend, a rising starlet with an eye for the finer things in life (at least from Cliff’s perspective).  There are lots of other great examples from cinema and literature.

One of my favorites is from the 1992 movie, Hero, with Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, Andy Garcia, and Joan Cusak.  The Dustin Hoffman character is a minor conman, if I recall right (I need to watch the movie again) who becomes a reluctant hero after he saves a bunch of people from a plane crash but can’t take credit for the act.   I love this ending scene – both for its life lessons as well as its insight into human nature.  As hinted above in The Thirteenth Hour passage, a lot of people don’t want to do heroic things, especially when eyes are on them.  They might act when someone else initially steps in, but making that first step (like Logan does above or Bernie does in the scene below), takes a certain, well, heroic disregard for what other people think, and as social animals, that’s not always the easiest thing for humans to have.

Although I hadn’t seen Hero yet when I originally wrote The Thirteenth Hour, I had seen The Last Starfighter – many times, in fact – and the way Alex Rogan behaves through most of the movie is very much in keeping with the way of the reluctant hero (as well as one of the influences in the creation of Logan).  Here’s when he’s first offered the chance to be a Starfighter:

Stay tuned for more Rocketeer gear talk next week!  Stay safe!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

 

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.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #240: Adam from ACToyDesign Returns to Talk Toys Part 3

Episode #240: Adam from ACToyDesign Returns to Talk Toys Part 3

https://archive.org/download/podcast240_202003/Podcast%20240.mp3

Generally, I eschew any and all current events, especially anything that could be political in any way.  However, if you’re reading this, you’re undoubtedly aware of the global pandemic.  Everyone can do your part!  This is not just a you thing, not a me thing, this is an everyone thing.  This is a perfect time to stay in, read that book you’ve been meaning to get to, binge watch your favorite show, or rewatch some old movies.  The things you wanted to do aren’t going anywhere, but you gotta be around to enjoy them later.  Be safe!  Next week, we’ll talk about what happens if you want to work out while confined inside a little room (kinda like Logan was in The Thirteenth Hour …)

And now, in the spirit of escapism, let’s talk toys!

This week, we have another special episode – Adam from ACToyDesign and the IG account @mom_gave_them_away returns for the second part of his followup since his last appearance in October to discuss toys and toy making!  Look for part 1 and 2 as well as Adam’s appearance on our two shows (1and 2) on Terminator films 2-6!

We had a whole discussion on the nature of heroes and how supposedly straight laced ones, like Captain America, reflect a kind of hero that can be great for kids to have as role models.

Check out Adam’s show on the many roles of Willow‘s Warwick Davis.  Willow did have a short lived toy line, but many 80s movies did not, for whatever reason.  In this episode, we talk about toy lines that we wish would have been made (or ones we might work on making out of resin some time in the future).  Like …

Batteries Not Included

Short Circuits 1 & 2

Speaking of Short Circuit, check out this absurdist video by El DeBarge for “Who’s Johnny?” Absolutely classic!

The Last Starfighter – why there were no ships or more widespread video games (I think there might have been one?  There is a fan made game that looks just like the one in the film you can find here, though.) made from this film, the world will never know.  Adam did, however, find these prototype figures by Galoob that, had they seen the light of day, would have been amazing!

Howard the Duck

The Flight of the Navigator

Check out ACToyDesign on Patreon.

If you enjoy Star Wars, check out his new show, I Have Spoken!

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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.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #169: The Wizards of The Thirteenth Hour and The Case of the Grandmotherly Ghost 3

Episode #169: The Wizards of The Thirteenth Hour and The Case of the Grandmotherly Ghost 3

https://archive.org/download/Podcast169_201811/Podcast%20169.mp3

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

Merlin from Sword in the Stone

Watch/listen to the next episode here:

https://youtu.be/z1mmasEPrw8

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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.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!