25 avsnitt • Längd: 115 min • Veckovis: Söndag
A speculative fiction podcast by Jeff Richardson and friends, in which they dive deeply into the text of a variety of stories from all manner of different media.
The podcast The Great and Secret Knowledge is created by Jeff Richardson. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Here's part two of our wide-ranging discussion with Lois McMaster Bujold, author of the Vorkosigan Saga and the Five Gods series!
Possible show titles
Emo Gregor
Recommendations
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Links
polygraph tester who used his system on plants
Doctor Who episode: "The Giggle"
Sorcery and Cecilia: or The Enchanted Cooking Pot
Soleil's The Warrior's Apprentice
Vorkosigan Saga GURPS Sourcebook
Illuminati: The Game of Conspiracy
James H Schmitz - Telzey Amberdon
Cordwainer Smith - worlds of the Instrumentality
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen
Japanese guy busted for hiring multiple surrogate mothers
Swedish childrens' rights to access their biological parents
Legendary SF author, Lois McMaster Bujold, joins Sofia and Jeff to cover all manner of fascinating subjects, including the Vorkosigan Saga and the Five Gods series. You won't be disappointed! Stay tuned for Part 2!
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Possible show titles
Emo Gregor
Links
The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet
Pat Wrede "writers get different things for free"
On Strategy: The Vietnam War in Context
Roman story about Christian martyrs frozen on a lake
In this episode, James Lark returns to discuss chapters 11 thru 14 of Jonathan Stroud's fantasy masterpiece, The Amulet of Samarkand. In these chapters, we discuss Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, being handcuffed to your enemy, the election of popes, and more!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Recommendations
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016)
Possible Show Titles
A Noble Entity From Another Place
Unwillingly Entwined
Suppress the Fanboy
Obscene and Fetid and Fug
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James's podcast
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
James Lark
@worksoflark on Instagram and @jameslark on Twitter
Links
"Resurrection of the Daleks" - Doctor Who
Joe Ford, podcaster extraordinaire
genius loci from Dresden Files
Mills and Boone romance novels
the real Gladstone and Disraeli
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016)
Life, the Universe and Everything
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Extended Notes
Chapter 11
B is impressed that N is framing his master
N denies it
B explains how unusual it is to target your own master, especially so early in your education
B explains how apprenticeship is meant to work
"Since the days of the Median Magi, students have always lived alone in their mentors’ house—one master to one pupil, conducting their lessons with secrecy and stealth. From ziggurat to pyramid, from sacred oak to skyscraper, thousands of years pass and things don’t change."
B likes that the kid is so ambitious, willing to get his master killed
B hadnt heard of Underwood so he figured he was a lowlevel nobody. This suggests that B has been summoned in the past few decades (unless wizards have extra long lifespans)
"he had all the time-honored attributes that other humans associate with great and powerful magic: a mane of unkempt hair the color of tobacco ash, a long whitish beard that jutted outward like the prow of a ship, and a pair of particularly bristly eyebrows."
Martha is fully dressed and B is relieved. He must not like female nudity - that or hes not into older women
Underwood complains about the spider (B) to Martha
B goes to study, sees a pentacle on the door
B puts on a shield
the amulet sucks up the fire from the trap
he slips in and sees the study
he remarks that the security is pretty weak
he goes into the cabinet and is underwhelmed by the objects inside
he slides the amulet behind a bird token
B goes up stairs but stops when he sees Mrs U leading N down
N knows hes screwed because B is supposed to quietly stick near to him until summoned
U is so rude to N and his wife
B hears Nathaniels name!
B studies the boys appearance and manner
B capers to attract Ns attention
Underwood complains about the PM hanging with Makepeace, who writes misonformation into his plays
he thinks the PM should help the interior dept instead of socializing
U says N has done well enough to perform his first summoning
U thinks the boy is scared of summoning but its actually cuz N is tripping about B hearing his real name
the plan is to summon a natterjack impling or a mouler. B is unimpressed
Ns contact lenses have arrived
N hears a noise at the door
U disregards it
he wants N to bring a book of names
N clearly can tell B got his name
The boots were on the other eight feet now
Chapter 12
He complains about U not teaching him enough
he says how hes read all these books
N says its peaceful and he likes the statue. Who is it?
Its Gladstone!
he was a powerful PM
fought duel with Disraeli over a woman
he gets shirty about it and starts ranting about how good the govt is
she explains that some countries dont need magicians
he says she doesnt know anything because shes a commoner
she says commoners can be smart
he asks if she wanted to be a wizard
she says no and shes happy to be an art teacher
N is surprised she has other pupils
it makes me feel queasy
Mrs U blows in frantic
Apparently U wants him to meet some guests
Miss L thinks this is good news
U is daunted by the thought of meeting all these magicians
they dont look like magicians
N is underwhelmed
U is schmoozing
when he sees N he waves him over
meets three wizards
old tomato face
clammy doughboy
slickback big teeth aka simon lovelace
doughboy has a question
big teeth is super rude
N contradicts one of them
U sends him away
BT observes that hes not afraid of his elders
perhaps you dont think we're your betters?
N doesnt answer cuz hes confused
BT demands a quiz from N
U isnt protecting him at all
N answers all the questions right
Simon asks him about six words of direction
U objects because he shouldnt know that yet
N does it
men are impressed
SL says some rude shit and N claps back
calls him a sore loser
SL has demons attack the boy
everyone is staring at N
he looks to U who is mad at him instead of SL?
he leaves and goes upstairs
he runs into Mrs U
he asks her who the bigteeth guy is
she says its Simon Lovelace
repetition of You're capable of nothing. You're helpless. You're too weak to fight back
does James ever use this technique?
he goes to the workroom and grabs the box of mites
the party is breaking up, with wizards at the door.
N says the words and smashes the box with a hammer
the six mites go for the magicians
Simon bats his away
dough face falls down outside and gets a couple attacking his skin
old man barely reacts, sending his into the carpet, where Simon smashes it with his foot
U is shocked. He goes to doughface and deactivates the mites
N rushes to the schoolroom
Ms Lutyens is there
she realizes N is upset and goes to comfort him
SL uses magic to lift N into the air, tips him up butt first, and spanks him repeatedly until he loses all sense
hes stuck in his room for a month, punished severely. he hd no lessons and could only sit in his room and look out the window
he finds a pen and starts sketching the outside. then he begins intricately plotting his revenge
did you plot anything at age 10? seems unusual
Mrs U is forbidden from talking to him
when school starts again he learns that Ms Lutyens has been fired
chapter 13
he spends a lot of time in the garden, plotting revenge or reading books
he looks to the statue of Gladstone for inspiration, to keep his determination up
he plans to emulate Gladstone by punishing his enemies
N decides to come at Lovelace with sneakiness and trickery, not head on
N pretends to be reformed, wearing a meek and pliant mask
he controls his face just like a master liar/sociopath
he doesnt see U as his master anymore
Underwood not defending him made N lose all respect. A master should treat an apprentice like their child
why didnt U protect him? because hes a coward afraid of Lovelace's power
did you ever have a situation like that?
sacking Ms Lutyens was among U's worst crimes
N could not forgive U for this
Mrs U was his only light, but he couldnt be totally honest with her
he doesnt have his own lenses yet so he used the masters to summon an imp
he makes a polished bronze disc
he waits until the Us leave for a trip
he makes a circle and uses a bowl of rowan wood and hazel
he steps into his circle and begins
he starts his incantation and wishes he had some water
once you start you cant safely stop
a naked baby with yellow eyes and red lips appears
N confines it into the disc
N can now spy all over the place. he keeps the disc hidden under the roof tiles
first he spies on his masters office, but gives up after seeing how boring it is
he spies on Ms Lutyens and her pupil
N orders imp to spy on Lovelace. it balks at this given how powerful S is
this job its not impossible, just difficult
he sees SL typing on a computer
imp is getting bored, N orders him to stay
he says a word that causes the imp pain
he cant get too near in case Lovelaces defenses twig
this brings us to the introduction of the scary huge beardo
L is startled by the mans appearance, suggesting that the guy bypassed all his security. how does he do that?
L whips out a bunch of cash
Imp warns him that a watcher is on its way
N tells him to stay until the last second
L reaches out for his prize
Big Beardo gives him a small parcel, which he frantically unwraps
imp dips out but before he does N sees the amulet
hes being annoying but N demands to know what he saw and heard
L was super eager
Big Beardo says "the Amulet of Samarkand is yours, Lovelace."
six months pass while he prepares his plan. the imp cant get that close again
U is still slowrolling him, thinking hes too dull to teach new things
chapter 14
Bartimaeus decides to manifest as a human next time hes summoned
he decides to look like Ptolemy, a fourteen year old Egyptian boy. he thought it would inspire the boys jealousy and rivalry
B is stoked cuz he has a handle on the kid now
N goes to his circle
B appears in London gear
N tries to order B
Bs like give over, kid
N is losing his cool
Nathaniel goes for the Systemic Vise
Bartimaeus intones Nathaniel's name, followed by a counter-spell
the kid cancels the spell before it can rebound on him
Bartimaeus keeps flippin shit
B says he'll go back to his bag of tricks
the kid busts out the Stimulating Compass
B launches this one back and nearly kills the kid a second time
Bartimaeus is like careful your master will come up to see what youre doing
N isnt worried
he realizes that B learned his name and thats how he could counterspell
(but didnt he already show that he was anxious about it in the scene with the master about getting his name?)
N gets mad when B talks like a teen
he starts to get into a fighting stance, B follows his lead
Ptolemy was very similar in look to Nathaniel, though much better looking (I'm wondering if Bartimaeus's love for him is sexual as well as filial)
N ponders how he can break Bartimaeus without being countered
B hopes that he can exhaust the boy by making him angry
B finds out that N isnt working for anyone else, he's doing it on his own
B tells him some girl tried to take the amulet
N is intrigued, but charges on
he tells B about big beardo
about how he was covered in blood
he thinks Lovelace is up to some bad business
N starts to give B new orders but B explains how he has no leverage
he tells N that he could spill Ns name to friends and enemies
N decides to pull that move where you send multiple copies of the blackmail info to your attorney to be mailed to the media in the event of your death
it works!
B gives in and agrees to continue working
In this episode, Sofia B returns to talk about chapters 6 and 7 of Lois McMaster Bujold's science fiction masterpiece, The Vor Game, featuring our favorite young hero, Miles Vorkosigan!
The Vor Game, Chapters 6 and 7 with Sofia B
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
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James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
Interference (an 8th Doctor novel)
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
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Links
Extended Notes
its autumn in Vorbarr Sultana
earth import trees
"Miles glimpsed one such tree. An Earth maple, with carnelian leaves and a silver-gray trunk, across the street. Then the door closed. Miles held that tree before his mind’s eye, trying to memorize it, just in case he never saw it again."
hes taken upstairs in impsec to see the boss, Simon Illyan
Overhult is unsure about leaving Miles alone with Simon
Simon is unconcerned
Miles looks like absolute shit
Simon looks him over
it gives Miles some deja vu
this is an easter egg for those whove read the warriors apprentice
People fear Illyan, but a lot of that is the office
hes been in the job20 years
screwed up during the soltoxin attack
illyan is only afraid of Miles's mom
apparently because of "vivid first impressions"
impressions plural?
Miles used to call him Uncle Simon. now its sir
Simon looks utterly exhausted
"them. The facts appear to be mutating every forty minutes, like bacteria. I don’t suppose you could have picked some more public way to self-destruct? Attempted to assassinate the Emperor with your pocketknife during the Birthday Review, say, or raped a sheep in the Great Square during rush hour?”"
he doesnt understand how Miles could have betrayed his father like this
Miles doesnt think he really did
Count V and aide walk in
Miles is jealous of how brilliant respected tall and handsome Jole is (Vs aide)
"Jole was even worse than Ivan, who while darkly handsome had never been accused of brilliance."
Simon turns off recording equipment
his father hugs him - its quite touching
Miles explains the incident
CV is fiddling with a light pen
Miles is annoyed by this
CV must notice his reaction because he puts it away
this shows he is cognizant of his actions and doesnt want to annoy his subordinates (or his son)
what a contrast with Metzov
CV is furious that Metzov dragooned trainees for the firing squad
"General Metzov, by your account,” said Admiral Vorkosigan, “dragged a platoon of eighteen-year-olds into what came within a hair of being a mass torture-murder.”
Miles nodded in memory. His body still twinged with assorted agonies.
“For that sin, there is no hole deep enough to hide him from my wrath. Metzov will be taken care of, all right.”"
Miles explains that half the techs were Greekies
Illyan is stunned to see that Metzov had no concern for the fallout
Miles says he thought itd be a problem, but he wasnt conscious of it until after the fact
but that doesnt stop him from spinning
"It . . . occurred to me, that if I died with them, at least it would be crystal clear that it hadn’t been some plot of your government or the Vor oligarchy. So that if I lived, I won, and if I died, I won too. Or at least served. Strategy, of sorts.”"
Miles asks if he'll be charged with treason
Illyan says no, but mentions its the second time...
he plans to hide M until it blows over
Miles asks for mercy for the mutineers, since they were in it together
CV explains that if he lets them off, Miles's career will be ruined
"Miles exhaled, a long breath. “In a weird sense, they were my men. Do it. Kill the charges.”
“Will you resign your commission, then?” demanded Illyan. He looked sick.
Miles felt sick, nauseous and cold. “I will.”"
Illyan asks how Miles knew about Metzovs actions during the Komarr revolt
M explains that he and Ivan did it
hes annoyed that Ivan didnt tell Illyan
Miles is trippin so he sits down cross legged
his dad thinks about helping but doesnt
he recommends they fast-penta Ahn
Miles explains how he and Ivan did the research
CV almost laughs
"Airtight security, you said,” murmured Count Vorkosigan, unsuccessfully suppressing a wheezing laugh. “The most expensive yet devised. Proof against the cleverest viruses, the most sophisticated eavesdropping equipment. And two ensigns waft right through it?”
Goaded, Illyan snapped, “I didn’t promise it was idiot-proof!”"
Illyan is so over Miles's bullshit
"This, on top of your earlier escapade with those damned mercenaries, on top of it all—house arrest isn’t enough. I won’t sleep through the night till I have you locked in a cell with your hands tied behind your back.”"
CV proposes that Illyan bring Miles into ImpSec
Illyan realizes no one will have Miles but himself
"None that I could, in honor, lean on to take him. Excepting yourself. I have always”— Count Vorkosigan flashed a peculiar grin—“leaned on you, Simon.”"
they plan to hide him - true exile but not disgrace
"Security can use his talents. Security more than any other department needs his talents.”
“To see the obvious?”
“And the less obvious. Many officers may be trusted with the Emperor’s life. Rather fewer with his honor.”"
CV suggests Miles go to infirmary
he asks about Kyril Island
"The climate was ferocious, the terrain was lethal, a third of the population including my immediate superior was dead drunk most of the time. The average IQ equaled the mean temperature in degrees cee, there wasn’t a woman for five hundred kilometers in any direction, and the base commander was a homicidal psychotic. Other than that, it was lovely.”"
Miles is surprised to learn CV once commanded the base
"How’d you like it?”
“I can’t remember much. I was drunk most of the time. Everybody finds their own way of dealing with Camp Permafrost. I might say, you did rather better than I."
Miles has one more question
"Miles looked up at his father. “Did I do the right thing, sir? Last night?”
“Yes,” said the Count simply. “A right thing. Perhaps not the best of all possible right things. Three days from now you may think of a cleverer tactic, but you were the man on the ground at the time. I try not to second-guess my field commanders.”
Miles’s heart rose in his aching chest for the first time since he’d left Kyril Island. He nodded, satisfied."
Miles goes downstairs to infirmary
the surgeon seems awed by CV
Miles knows the real CV, the one who came home for lunch every day to spend quality time with his son
"Only Miles knew the interior view of those hours, how the big man in the green uniform would bolt a sandwich in five minutes and then spend the next hour and a half down on the floor with his son who could not walk, playing, talking, reading aloud."
when Miles didnt want to do PT, CV would spur him forward
"'You are Vor. You must not frighten your liege people with this show of uncontrol, Lord Miles.”"
M realizes that with CV in his life, no wonder he wasnt awed by Metzov
He's treated for five days in the infirmary then released
"Why can't I go home?" Miles complained to his mother on her next visit. "Nobody's telling me anything. If I'm not under arrest, why can't I take home leave? If I am under arrest, why aren't the doors locked? I feel like I'm in limbo."
"Countess Cordelia Vorkosigan vented an unladylike snort. "You are in limbo, kiddo."
we get a great description of Lady Vorkosigan
he thinks about how she was a captain on an astronomical survey, an explorer, brave
she moves through Barrayaran society with aplomb
"It was the casual fearlessness, Miles decided, that made his mother so unsettling."
Miles complains about not being let out.
Lady V explains the fallout
annoying bit of unnecessary exposition: "Think of it as a funny reservist." She would know this already
Metzov is getting booted by with no court martial.
Miles is still in limbo tho
the plan is for the Barrayaran militaristss to settle down before letting him out
"It all seems so unreal." He hunched back into his pillow. "I only wanted to serve."
She suggests that he could up Vorness and see the galaxy
he counters with why don't you do that?
"Ah." She smiled bleakly at the touche. "Some people's needs are more compelling than guns."
turns out the Count cant come see him to make it look like he's angry
unnecessary exposition: the thing about Aral's high hopes in Miles around his congenital injuries. clearly they both have talked about this already
"Miles sighed glumly. "I want something to do. I want my clothes back."
Ivan doesnt want Miles's limbo stuck on him (like a button on the episode)
Chapter 7
Miles is led to his protected witnesses apartment
he thinks about being a political nonperson
"Was it possible life in limbo was having a chameleon effect, rendering him translucent?"
he has all his stuff from Kyril Island
he looks around. ordinary stuff
there must be bugs all over
Miles didn't have any neighbors
he wanders around but gets gently directed back to his area
he thinks about rappeling down the outside
Miles gets enough food tokens for a month and shudders
He cleans all his stuff and gets dressed
he pretends he's in a cabin on a starship
Someone comes to his door
its a guard, scanning for whatnot
in comes a man, the emperor gregor vor barra
Miles gestures him to sit
asks if Emperor has bugs running
he says he asked for none but who knows with Illyan
Emperor has wine, the private reserve "elegant anesthesia"
Gregor cant stay too long, but they have time to pound a couple bottles
he references Cordelia's religion - what is it?
Mom put Gregor up to it, even provided the wine
calls it ambrosia
made me wish i could still drink wine
Miles thinks about growing up with Gregor, tho he was five years older than Miles Ivan and Elena
Gregor gives sympathy about Miles's military career
he complains about his dull service
he talks about their forebears, how active they were militarily
Miles says they were flung into situations
Mad Yuri killed most of CVs family
Gregors melancholy, Miles wonders if he's thinking about how bad his father was, or if he even knew the truth about Serg's evil
"Nobody who'd known Serg talked about him, Count Vorkosigan least of all. Miles had met one of Serg's victims. Miles hoped Gregor never would."
Miles asks about Gregor's birthday
Gregor says folks are all trying to get him to marry
Miles is like go for it dude, have a son and settle all this schemery
Gregors like you could be one of the schemers
Miles is like have you seen me? bro i look wack. get married have kids
Gregor ponders running away
Miles does not like where this is going
Gregor asks about the chinese emperor who swept up somewhere
Miles is like no dude youre Vor, you cant wander off
Miles tries to distract by playing tacti-go even though he doesn't want to
Gregor tries to beat Miles. Miles goes easy on him, but not too obviously. Gregors having fun
they drink more
"I don't think I've beaten you at this since you were fourteen," sighed Gregor, concealing secret satisfaction at the low point spread of that last round. "You should be an officer, dammit"
Miles explains that the game isnt analogous to real battle. Miles likes it for not being so chaotic
Gregors like wtf why did they send you there, mentions the time Miles commanded a space fleet
Miles is like chill dude thats a secret
also he didnt prove he could obey, only command
Gregor says he doesnt know why Illyan didnt do more with them
he likes that Miles brought them secretly into Barrayar's service
Miles thinks Illyan took the deal to keep them from working for Barrayar's enemies
explains their size and function
Miles sort of tells the story of sneaking in and tricking them all into serving him
he thinks about how wild it was
hes not fond of heights? how has this not come up
Gregor ass ghow Kyril Island compared to battle with the Dendarii?
"Oh, there were certain parallels," Miles admitted. "Both were jobs I wasn't trained for, both were potentially lethal, I got out of both by my skin - lost some skin. The Dendarii episode was....worse."
Miles should have put on tunes, the silence is oppressive
Miles asks Gregor to get him out
Gregor admits that he feels compelled to do what Illyan and Vorkosigan suggest he do
Illyan wants him kept out of sight so thats that
"How much time? Dammit, if I don't get something to do soon, I'm going to be the first case of human spontaneous combustion recorded on vid."
they still havent proven that that is a thing, hilarious
Miles is way drunk now, says they're treating him like a mascot
Gregor knocks over a stack of chips
"Being a mascot isn't bad work, if you can get it." He promises to talk to Illyan about it
Miles gets a job! He's administrative assistant to the guard commander for the building
he's there a month and so over it
he wonders if he'll get out before Winterfair
another month
he starts to watch every training vid in the library
gets halfway before being called to Illyan's office
There he meets his superior, Captain Ungari
specialist in military evaluation
Illyan surprises Miles to report any news on the Dendarii Mercenaries
he only got a bday message from Elena
Simon puts up a holodisplay of wormholes, tells Miles to evaluate the scenario
Miles proves he's got the goods to analyze the data and complete an assessment
this also introduces us to the locations the story will be taking us, a bit of table setting
that ends in a reminder of whats up with Cetaganda
Simon explains their focus
"Wormhole strategy. The devil’s cat’s cradle,” Illyan muttered editorially. He squinted at his glowing schematic. “Four players, one game-board. It ought to be simple. . . ."
theres an arms race developing in the Hegen Hub, planetary governments hiring mercs and building armed jump stations and the like
the Dendarii have been contracted by Aslund to cover while they build a station
we learn that the Dendarii have changed their name back to the Osserin Fleet
Vervain hired someone called Randall's Rangers
Illyan moves on to Cetaganda
he suggests that Pol might react badly to learning Barrayar and the Dendarii have a link
they might turn to Cetaganda
Illyan wants information
"Illyan, generally, wanted information with the same passion that a strung-out juba freak craved a spike. He turned now to Ungari. “So what do you think, Captain? Will he do?”"
"He’s more physically conspicuous than I’d realized.”
“As camouflage, that’s not necessarily a disadvantage. In his company you ought to be nearly invisible. The stalking goat and the hunter.”"
turns out CV thinks they should send Miles out to ascertain info on the Dendarii and the situation in general
asks if Miles could be Naismith again
"To activate that suppressed persona again . . . It wasn’t just a part, Illyan. “I could play Naismith again, sure. It’s stopping playing Naismith that scares me.”"
Miles is freaking out inside but keeping cool
Illyan sends him out to be on hand if they need him to take control of the Dendarii
money to bribe them away from the Hub
Hell be Naismith, keeping it cool
"You will, of course, obey Captain Ungari’s orders. That goes without saying.” Illyan’s direct stare was chill as a Kyril Island midnight.
Miles smiled dutifully, to show he took the hint. I’ll be good, sir—let me off-planet! From ghost to goat—was this a promotion."
Dean Eaton is back and ready to go! This second half was somewhat less hilarious only because the film itself was less so and we seemed to be sapped of energy because of it. But don't worry! We made it work! As always, we knuckled down and made ourselves presentable because damnit we're professionals and that's just how we do it. End of.
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Dean's livestream
Jeff's podcasts/livestreams
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Possible show titles
Daft Cows
A Wizard Did It
Something Said at an Orgy
Tempting Fate
[Jeff: we didn't say this but it struck me funny so I put it here] A Concept of a Planet
Making a Movie is Hard
Recommendations
Interior China - Jimmy O Yang
Til Death Do Us Til Blart
Altered Carbon
Omniversal Escapades
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Dean Eaton
@geekusdean on the various socials\
Links
Tupac hologram
Tim Curry quits acting
The Simpsons
Lucy Lawless: "A wizard did it"
The MCU
Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings
Captain America: Civil War
Spiderman: Far From Home
Creed
Evil Dead
Bruce Campbell
Ronnie Chang
Chloe Bennett
Extended Notes
Atun the turtle knows why he's going near a star
no one else knows
the octavo is taking action, its pedestal is shaped like discworld and tilts to move the turtle
rincewind falls - and doesnt die!
shot of wizards tower why?
"did i just leave the world only to fall back on it again?"
2:30 "is that me, or is it getting bigger?"
protestors mobbing against wizards
"wizards out, wizards out!"
TC puts on big hat, getting inducted
"one small step for a wizard into the unseen, one giant leap for the unseen university"
TC is pretty chill about the unrest
"i propose that we perform the rite of Ashkente"
barbarian soldier types
theyre talking pillaging
one eyed guest whose name is legend explains his secret of longevity
"hot water, good dentistry, and soft lavatory paper"
big chest has toilet paper he uses to lure the one eyed guy
is he smoking weed?
he has a horse
back at the tower, Ashkente rite takes place
death shows up
"i was at a party, you know"
TC asks why the red star is getting bigger
its because the turtle is moving towards it
the octavo needs the eighth spell which is why it turned to grab rincewind
all spells must be said together at solstice or many worlds will die
where is rincewind?
"in the forest of skund, rimward of the ramtop mountains, feeling very sorry for himself"
death thinks the party will go downhill at midnight
trymon talks to the orangutan librarian
"whoever says all the spells when the disc is in danger will gain ultimate power...to save the world. Yes, and that."
Trymon tells Horace not to tell anyone else about this secret. He gives H a banana. He says rincewind must not die until they get him back and empty his head
Tourist shows up. RW doesnt want him to haunt him
turns out hes still alive and dangling from a tree
"the turtle must have caught us somewhere?" why? who knows
where are we? tourist sees a stonehenge
Trymon says get rw alive to save the world
old one eye sees the chest open show the gold and keep moving
2f and rw are seeing nature sscrifice thing
sex and violence usually at the same time
2f sees the cult coming, they hide
old one eye and chest arrive
about the chest:
"hes very loyal. if loyaltys what you need in a suitcase"
theyre going to sacrifice hottie
2f steps in to disrupt the party
old one eye moves in, grabs rw, demands info
"his name is 2f and hes not from these parts"
old one eye wants the chest
star is getting bigger
"you ever done this sort of thing before? rushed into a temple, killed the priest, got the gold, and saved the girl? not in too many words no. you do it like this."
one eye rushes in
rw encourages 2f to go, he rescues hottie instead. shes not that into it. she didnt eff for eight years so she could be with moon goddess and they messed it up
rw gets kncoed out, one eye stabs priest
rw is dreaming, weird visuals he hs a very important task
"its not even a flesh wound"
girl wont let then rescue her. one eye disagrees
"dont just lie there you daft cow, help me up"
the seven spells want him to come back and return the eighth. he mustnt let the wrong wizards get his spell
he must bring it back at the solstice. hes mad at them for ruining his life. he will be a real wizard again if he turns over the spell
2f wants to stay for the druid rite but rw tells him the solstice festival is best in Ankh Morpork
he wants to see the temple at bel shamharoth. where no one has returned alive
the river snarl runs right past it on our way to the celebrations at ankh morpork
they do their bro handshake
wizards attack, they hide in sacrifical altar
rince and tourist make it to a sacrificial pyre and the wizards are outside telling him theyve come for him
RW: "even by wizard standard, trymon is a nasty piece of work"
"if that star is an omen, were all going to die. how about the death star?"
they roll out action hero style, wizards stormtrooper shoot them until one goes right for rw. 2f takes the shot
back to the protest
trymon dumps some piss on the lead organizer
wizards havent been able to find rincewind
one eye kills a guy
rw drags knocked out 2f, props him up
who saved them? cohen the barbarian
hottie is way into it
its him but hes gotten super old
hottie: "Bards still sing songs about you. I never get anyroyalties."
80 years in the business and what do i have to show for it? 100 recipes for soup
hes bemoaning being too old to get respect
rw has a cough
2f isnt exactly dead, hes just gone
a necromancer
"whats neck romance?" "no necromancy is talking to the dead"
rw doesnt believe ittarot cards, 1st is the star
four of elephants
ace of turtles
death
"is he really dead?"
lady makes a sort of medicine. he needs to drink it
rw drinks
he freezes and leaves his body
where am i going?
weird black and white death zone, hourglasses of rw and 2f
rw arrives in driveway of big house
he looks for 2f
sees a big pendulum blade
2f is watching it
"where are we exactly?"
"were sort of informally dead"
rw drags him out
death says
"i so seldom have company"
"ive never been in deaths door before"
they run down the drive
death rides up with a scythe
hottie wakes up rw
2f hugs rincewind for saving his life
"the horse people are very suspicious"
picture guy paints whats really there, rw didnt like what he saw
back at the wizards, trymon burned a magical chair. he goes over the agenda
rw is item 1
star is item 2
trymon sent a hero to find rincewind
wizards find that ridiculous
a heroine named Herrena is coming to grab rincewind
cohen says horse people have decided to give the team mounts and horses to get to the river
rincewind decides to split with cohen
cohen doesnt know how to deal with sincerit
rincewind explains how 2f always focuses on the positive wherever they go
cohen likes his eyes
"they can see for 50 years"
cohen agrees to travel with 2f, hottie comes with
"in case Cohen needs anything rubbed"
star even bigger, 2f asks if theyll be burnt up, rw doesnt know
rw says hottie has taken a shine to cohen
cohen says hes 87
2f says "who could possibly attack us now?"
Herrena continues to follow
big vistas and generic music
near the troll bone mountains
2f tells cohen about dentures
Herrena knocks out the crew and brings them to a big rock cave
2f and rw argue because the ladies ruin rincewinds cunning lie
old troll mountain - really old trolls turn to stone
fire is going to upset him because theyre all standing on his tongue
troll waking up is a real nightmare
rw and 2f are still tied, runningish
troll moves in their direction
boys fall down
wait how does sun work if discworld is freely moving through space?
rw tells 2f what he really thinks
the goons are back and have the boys
cut to clamoring peasants outside university
destroy false wizards!
the trouble is the archchancellor just isnt a team player
lesser wizards plot to kill the AC
theyll do it all together
they do a trap with a banana component
looks like AC got covered by drywall yogurt
he escapes!
then has a growly freakout
they bang a gong to get the ferryman ove
its foggy
ferryman is hooded
"youre not the usual ferryman"
Herrena orders men to grab Cohen
he pops out and demolishes everyone
Rws fight is so dumb
he gets knocked out twice then bonked by the chest
2f is cheering on the fight
cohen hurts his back
Herrena preps to stab
hottie cracks her on the head with a stick
hottie and cohen are getting married
rw thinks its a bit odd
wonders how cohen will have the stamina
cohen agrees with the concern, but he thought rw was talking about her
octavo is itchy
AC growls some more
AC is pissed about hero not getting rw
so hes going to consult the octavo
"we have gone beyond wisdom"
aint that right
hottie is bethann
people are going bugfuck
rw asks why
guy says disc is going to hit the star
the spell speaks thru rw and says the star is life not death
cohen gets trolls teeth dentures
Bethan his betrothed
he wants a wedding dress and a steak
rw and 2f come across rubes burning magic books
people decide to slowly advance on rw
AC enters octavo room
orders wizards to unlock the chain
rw tries to do magic, but cant
2f hypes him up
guy says all the magics gone
rw does a wind spell that pokes a guy
then rw faints
"I have a wizard!"
luggage returns and breaks up the mob
wizards get the chain off
AC grabs the book and heads to the great hall, locking the other wizards inside the room
the star has other worlds around it
2f called them spots
rw says no, but doesnt have a name for them, knows theyre things floating around the star
he just jacked someones fur off their stand and they didnt even react
they get to the lower cellars
we hear wizards shouting
upstairs AC is climbing up
RW goes to the octavo room door and sees that its the other wizards
the masters of wizardry are in there
rincewind tries to open door but the guy says he doesnt have the magic for it
rw tries to prove him wrong
blue magic floats out and turns the lock
door opens
the wizards fill him in
people are screaming so the wizards go to check it out
are demons coming through? guy says no but worse
2f runs madly into the tower
he just jacked a guys sword no problem
rw has to follow
2f: "this is an adventure, isnt it?"
book comes down
octavo is done
2f picks it up
RW takes it and goes up top
he says im not crazy and then talks to himself
AC greets him and welcomes him to enter
his eyes are green flames briefly
"the 8th spell, give it to me"
AC tries to kill Rincewind but the big book blocks the shot
chimp librarian climbs tower
"these statues look like wizards. "they are the wizards! there are? they were."
2f is looking for sword
rw tries to crush AC with book
then falls down
ac falls on a banana peel and the spell hits him in the mouth, turns him to stone
rw is inside the book
rw is actually hanging off the stone
rw drops
cohen grabs him
death is annoyed again
rw returns the spells to the book
isnt all this magic exciting?
cohen isnt impressed, he likes stage magic
book floats up and vanishes
suddenly worlds move towards the disc
theyre all new turtles with discs!
theyre itty bitty
"thats 2flower, he just appreciates beautiy in his own way"
sleepy Atun looks kinda suss
theres a turtle flying up over the sunset
why only 8 and not hundreds like actual turtles
magical octavo drops and lands in the luggage
it wouldnt tell 2flower where it had put it
poor Trymon fell over and broke
2flower is going home
rw is upset
"you havent really been anywhere until you get back home"
Cohen and Bethan got hitched
he stole the dress for her
they go to do their homey shake
rw hugs him instead
it feels like the end of a summer love affair
the tourist knows he'll never come this way again
if he goes again he'll go somewhere else
i wish he wasnt so closed off a character
the patrician!
he peers out of his litter, confirms that 2f is leaving, and bows his head
the luggage arrives to assist rw
he doesnt want it but eventually caves
Cohen and Bethan wave as the ship floats along the pier
the real ship and dock would be all shouting, instead its all serene
the scientists from the start do a joke and thats it
its all a question of perspective?
James Lark is back and we're talking music teaching, conducting, the trials of poor Nathaniel, and the struggles of being a budding wizard with a cowardly master.
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James's podcast
Music
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Possible show titles
An Untidy Sheaf
Spread That Wadge
Everyone Can Be an Alexander
Recommendations
Coda: The Final Conflict (Big Finish Audio)
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
James Lark
@James Lark on Twitter, @worksoflark on Instagram
Links
blind waiters in dark restaurant
Stenhammer's 2nd Piano Concerto
music before the age of mechanical reproduction
is Milton speculative fiction?
Ministers Questions thing from UK Parliament
Oxford and Cambridge debating societies
The Twilight Zone "To Serve Man"
Homosexuality decriminalized in Isle of Man in 1992
Just War (A Bernice Summerfield book)
Extended Notes
Chapter 7
9
B leaves the square looking for a good alley. he really wants to toss the amulet but he cant without putting himself more in Ns power
10
2 footnote - because a master forcing his djinn to attack another resulted in a massive explosion in Baghdad, now magicians choose not to pit djinn directly against each other
"Cities get me down, almost as if I am underground. London is particularly bad—cold, gray, heavy with odors and rain.
It makes me long for the south, for the deserts and the blank blue sky."
he finds a dry alcove and takes a seat
11
he ponders the situation
"At dawn I would hand over the Amulet and escape this sorry mess for good.
Except for my business with the boy. He’d pay for it, big time. You didn’t reduce Bartimaeus of Uruk to dossing in a West End back alley and expect to get away with it. First I’d find out his name, then—"
booted feet show up at the end of the alley. who is it? he wonders if the police sniffed him out or the orbs found him
12
the kids from t square
five boys, one commanding girl
black leather jacket and flared pants
13
one of the boys senses B
girl orders them to subdue him
three big boys go to town on him
B tries a mini-detonation but it doesnt hurt anyone
he tries another and it sets off a bunch of car alarms
"I repeated the effect with greater emphasis. Car alarms in the next street started ringing. This time, I confess, I expected to be left in the charcoally grip of three charred corpses."
boys keep holding on, unharmed
14
girl says she wants the amulet
B guesses she's thirteen, with a strong authoritative voice
she calls him a cretin and he doesnt clap back
"You don’t really know who I am, do you?” I made it sound damn casual, with a side helping of menace. “You’re not a magician.”
“Too right I’m not.”
He starts to flex his mighty voice
15
"Would a magician do so well against your wickedness?”
She had a point there."
magicians would stay away, and if they didnt theyd need imps and djinn to defeat him
he's too tired to do a full demo
he offers to assist her (Jesus tempted by the devil)
16
"To my disappointment, the girl clamped her hands over her ears. “Don’t give me your weasel words, demon!” she said. “I won’t be tempted.”
he explains that he could bring the night police down on them
"Don’t be naïve,” I said. “Think about it. You’re trying to rob me of a very powerful object. It belongs to a terrible magician. If you so much as touch it, he’ll find you and nail your skin to his door.""
he was getting to her, making her reconsider
17
she reaches for the chain
he turns into a Nile crocodile and scares off the boys, then wacks the boys with his tail
18
right as a boy throws a silver object, B turns into a fox and slips away. the sphere buries itself into the wall
B runs and jumps into a bin, narrowly avoiding the police
19
some commotion happens and the fox waits, listening
Chapter 8
1
We learn about Ns master Arthur Underwood and his wife
tall Georgian house in Highgate
Underwood didnt want an apprentice but apparently its mandatory
one day the ministry of employment assigns him one
2
this place has a real Brazil feel to it
Arthur comes to the clerks desk, finds out he'll be signing forns and meeting the boy
boy is 5, very bright
"a wodge of paper"?
3
turns out his parents bolted, barely said anything
his birth records will destroyed
our first glimpse of Nathaniel
"He passed down a series of silent corridors and through a heavy, paneled door to a brightly painted room that had been filled with toys for the entertainment of unhappy children. There, between a grimacing rocking horse and a plastic wizard doll wearing a comedy conical hat, he found a small pale-faced boy. It had been crying in the recent past, but had now fortunately desisted."
4
Underwood tells him who he is then takes him to his car
he tried to talk to N but no dice
we meet Mrs Martha Underwood. shes amazing, so sweet and kind
5
Martha puts her arm around N and convinces him to share the secret of his birth name
6
Martha expresses her concern for Nathaniel and disapproval of the system of apprenticeship
"think it’s disgraceful, ripping a child from his home so young.”
“That’s how it’s always been done, Martha. Apprentices have to come from somewhere.”
Underwood is very frank about the reasons for the rules
"His birth name must be forgotten, or else future enemies will use it to harm him. How can it be forgotten if his family keeps in contact? Besides, no one has forced his parents to part with their brat."
if apprentices make it they get to work for the government
7
Martha wishes they could have a child
something happened in Italy when they let magicians have kids
N's bedroom is in the attic
he can see London out the window
he can see the crystal palace radio mast on a good day
is the crystal palace radio mast a real thing?
8
M puts fresh flowers on his desk every week
she often uses Ns birth name, despite Arthurs disapproval
she refuses to be moved, despite the risk
"Who’s going to notice?” she protested. “No one. It gives the poor lad comfort.”"
other people call him Underwood and Arthur
calls him boy.
Nathaniel is devoted to her
she gave him a painting of boats
the woman is extraordinary
9
"You’re to be a magician, Nathaniel,” she said, “and that is the greatest privilege that any boy or girl could have. Your parents have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving you up for this noble destiny. No, don’t cry, dear. So in turn you must be strong, strive as hard as you can, and learn everything your tutors ask of you. By doing that you will honor both your parents and yourself."
10
most magicians work at Whitehall and she expects he will too.
he determines to make her proud and make it to the government
he eventually stopped thinking of his parents and accepted life with the Underwoods
11
the "mouth not toes" story
he keeps himself looking neat and tidy
pale face
Martha helps him with his homework
12
hes learning geography
she explains why its important
she tells him about the djinn
13
Walter Purcell, Ns non magical teacher
horrible ties
twitchy, honest, snippy
14
Purcell explains why we need a government
protection in a time of war
tho it sounds like theyre whipping czechs butt
if magicians werent in charge it would be commoners
"All that stands between us and anarchy is our leaders. This is what you should aspire to, boy. To be a part of the Government and rule honorably. Remember that.”"
15
"Honor is the most important quality for a magician,” Mr. Purcell went on. “He or she has great power, and must use it with discretion. In the past, rogue magicians have attempted to overthrow the State: they have always been defeated. Why? Because true magicians fight with virtue and justice on their side.”
16
he learns to swim
at eight hes avoided and left alone
he has a music teacher, Mr Sindra
Sindra gets super angry
apparently music is used in summoning
17
N is hopeless at music
his drawing teacher mrs lutyens is great tho
she asks for his name and he gives it
18
he wishes he could draw fun stuff instead
of symbols and diagrams
she explains that he needs to do this extremely well to be amagician
19
hes made mistakes
she explains that in magic he cant afford to make a single mistake
Nathaniel goes out to the garden
20
theres a cool statue of a guy in the garden
he asks Martha who it is
"Ask your master,” she said. “He knows everything.”
But Nathaniel had not dared ask."
N comes here to compose himself
Chapter 9
1
nathaniel would be summoned to the master office
he sits on a cushion
2
Underwood would quiz him on all he was learning
sometimes he would talk about magic
he explains that magicians can be bad or good, but what they must not be is incompetent. Loss of control is unacceptable.
"Providing the magician remains in control of the forces he has set to work, he remains—what does he remain?”
3
Safe, secret, strong
the great secret - that demons (or spirits) are very wicked and will hurt you if they can
he explains that you cant mispronounce anything
demons will exploit any failure
hes almost nine
4
magic lessons begin twice a week
he loved being telling about his day with Martha, then dreaming about going to the government
5
master takes N to his office
he shows him a case of books he must learn before his 12th birthday
he asks if then he'll be a magician
6
Master points at bookcase with hundreds of books
he wont be allowed to look at those till 13
next they go to a creepy workroom
6
M has him put on the spectacles
Master show him his contact lenses
7
when hes 12 he'll get a new name
8
M explains the need for secrecy
demons and also bed magicians can use him name to pull shenanigans
N gets to wear spectacles but not outside the workroom
explains that there are different layers to reality
9
Master pulls down a dead rat
tells N to look at it closely
puts on specs
sees an imp
a "Scarlet Vexation"
10
its a spreader of pestilence
he shows N a box full of tiny lil demon guys
simplest minded demons
orange stings beneath their tails
11
these mites will mess up your enemies
""We have dangerous tools that we must control. We shall now begin learning how to protect ourselves.”"
he learned all the skills necessary to do magic
12
not once does Underwood summon anything
he does as much extra work as he can
he wants those spectacles damnit
he tells Lutyens
"'Patience,” she told him. “Patience is the prime virtue. If you hurry, you will fail. And failure is painful. You must always relax and concentrate on the task in hand.'"
Underwood summons a creature but wont let N see it
13
the master and he stand in circles and the demon should be appearing in the other one
a wind knocks over candles, starting a fire
N goes to extinguish him but Master shouts him down
Master says seven words of dismissal
burning papers vanish, candles are back upright
14
Master admonishes him for falling for the demons trick
some demons adopt cute animal guises
some make nasty smells
one made a shower of apple blossom
some had nice perfume
some were scary sounds
15
he kept it together
a year later he was able to wear the specs and see the demons
he was kicking ass at all his studies
just before age 11, something terrible happens
Chapter 10
1
Bartimaeus complains about his terrible ordeal, camped out on the roof of Westminster Abbey waiting for the summons
amulet flashes in the sunlight
2
the spheres didnt find him because of the artifacts in the graves
the boy still hasnt woken up
he restates his belief that N is being exploited by a more powerful magician
3
clearly several magicians took part in the search, suggesting the amulet was necessary to some larger plan
Simon Lovelace is powerful
"The fact that he was able to employ (and restrain) both Faquarl and Jabor proved as much. I did not relish the urchin’s chances when the magician caught up with him."
its been several centuries since B has run into humans that are immune to magic
the kids dont seem to grasp the implications
B cant figure how the girl is related
the summons feels super painful
4
B is annoyed by N
"I order you, Bartimaeus, to reveal whether you have diligently and wholly carried out your charge—”
“Of course I have—what do you think this is, costume jewelry?”"
"The Amulet of Samarkand. It was Simon Lovelace’s. Now it is yours. Soon it will be Simon Lovelace’s again."
the kid has drawn Adelbrand's Pentacle
kids shouldnt be able to smirk
5
As P is trouble
B pretends that N has done the circle wrong trying to spook him
"The kid’s face went an interesting mix of white and red; his lower lip wobbled; his eyes bulged from their sockets. He looked very much like he wanted to run for it, but he didn’t, so my plan was foiled."
N calls him Recreant demon
B admits he lied
N says put the amulet in the bowl
6
instead N uses a stick
N has a smart way to transfer the amulet from one circle to another
this isnt like the dresden files where crossing the boundary of a circle breaks the spell
N doesnt like how it smells
B explains what he had to do to avoid capture
"You were pursued?” He sounded almost eager. Wrong emotion, kid—try fear.
“By half the demonic hordes of London.”"
B warns N that they are coming for him
He tries to trick N into releasing him again
N doesnt bite
"Do you take me for a fool?”
“The amulet in your hands answers that."
7
Nathan tries to banish B but B resists
"You cannot depart! I have other work for thee.” More than the renewed captivity, it was these occasional archaisms that annoyed me so much. Thee, recreant demon—I ask you! No one used language like that anymore, and hadn’t for two hundred years. Anyone would think he had learned his trade entirely out of some old book."
haha! dramatic irony
As P lets you hold on to a demon and continue their service
"It was a complex magical formula that required adult stamina and concentration, and this gave me ammunition for my next attack."
8
B asks where Ns master is
N seems stung by this
B says its a sort of prank
N laughs, then puts amulet back in the bowl
9
He sends amulet back to B
B says he'll give amulet to Simon Lovelace
the boys coat is three sizes too large
"It had evidently once belonged to a very careless magician, since, although heavily patched, it still displayed the unmistakable ravages of fire, blood, and talon. I wished the boy similar fortune."
the kid has a scrying glass
he starts to cast a spell
10
the boy uses the glass
B looks around the room
he wants a clue as to the boys official name
(which is funny because N doesnt have one yet)
a cracked glass vase with fresh flowers
somebody liked him
Kid orders B to hide the amulet in Underwoods office
"Very well. Where does this unfortunate magician reside?”
The boy smiled thinly. “Downstairs.”"
In this episode, Dave H returns to discuss the first two episodes of Lower Decks, "Second Contact" and "Envoys". Hilarity ensues.
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Favorite References
Jeff: when she asks if he knows Kirk, Sulu, etc
Dave: the bucket of contraband
Plugs
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
Music
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Possible show notes
Protect This Slime
Recommendations
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Dave is on Discord: The USS Hood @cthulhucalamari
Links
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock
Star Trek 4: The One With the Whales
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Animated Series
the TNG episode where Riker is in a holocave with a kid who says he's his dad
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
the guy who did choreo for The Matrix (Yuen Woo-ping)
Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way
Maid Marian from Disney's Robin Hood
Khan's "Moons of Nibia" speech
TNG episode where Jake takes a shuttle
Soundbite: Ransom shouts "did I eat flesh? how much did I eat?"
Mariner: "We're gonna get your butt in a captain's chair!" 1:04:38
1:21:25 Mariner: "Up and down with the blast shield!"
Show Pic: Boimler saying "Female outside feces feces"
1:36:25 Shapeshifter child: "I'm a little boy!"
Show Pic: "He likes jamaharon!"
18:24 Boimler: "I should just study bugs on a far off planet!"
Show Pic: Boimler with his pants down
Episode 1 "Second Contact"
space station and ships pan into view
a male voice gives a captains log
the Cerritos looks cool as hell
douglas station
cool layers, plenty of depth
great depth of field, fuzzy people in bg and fg
"our specialty is second contact"
black lady opens the door and clowns on purple haired guy for doing a captains log in a closet
shes drunk, busting on him for being a nerd
romulan whiskey is blue
phg says its against regulation, black lady doesnt care
she starts swinging a batleth, cant remember what its called
"i got it from an old guy with an eyepatch"
could it be Martok? surely shed recognize him since hes the chancellor
"worf worf worf i love honor! i demand honor!"
she hacks his thigh, they both scream
credits
beautiful scenery
rocks hit ship (shouldnt the deflector block those)
the ship sees borgs fighting roms and dips out
its got a space whale!
looks so good!
shuttle lands
theres a geordi visor!
an Orion officer
Ensign dvana tendi
shes jacked
blonde guy tells her to keep moving
phg, boimler, is only getting bananas
shes science, boims and mariner are command
"i love science. Uh, its so sciency" is boimler horny for Tendi?
Beckett Mariner
"i cant believe were gonna serve side by side, scientists and commanders, an elite team" shes clearly very into drama
tendi def wants to be CMO
Mariner does not want to be senior (odd then that shes in the command track)
she was promoted, then thought for herself so got demoted
Mariner doesnt like giving the tour but she does need help with contraband
Boims is not amused
Boimler points out places on the map
Mariner clearly has heard Boimlers jokes and is bored with it
Boims thinks bridge is cool
Mariner does not
Rutherford the engineer has a vulcan implant thats goofing up
Ruthy has a date with ensign barnes
M says shes crazy hot
ruthys implant keeps suppressing his emotions
Ruthy is naturally anxious, pukes when stressed?
Mariner pretends not to know what rooms are, Boims calls her out
M "And this is Boims's hidey closet where he pretends to be a captain like a big boy."
B "this is not a good tour!"
they sleep in a hallway
sleep near a shower
Tendi is loving being on a ship seeing the warp trails
its holodeck time!
(i am skeptical that an ensign wouldnt have used a holodeck before. im sure they use them to do the kobayashi maru)
Boims is crazy for warp core
M does not care
Tendi doesnt know about sand? nonsense
also surely Orions have holodecks at least to practice their piracy
Tendis impressed that B gets to go to the bridge
M downplays it
all nude olympic training facility
M should be reported to hr for this one
Galardonian shuttles are badass
Gs themselves are little purple seahorse pigs, some with horns
Ransom, buff white dude, gets bit by insect
R and mustache man are real bros
Boims tries to manage hair unsuccessfully
he enters the bridge in severe anxiety
Black woman captain gives Boims a special assignment
keep an eye on ensign mariner
"i like my crew working in lockstep"
Barnes and Ruthy's date
apparently Billups doesnt know how to talk to women (with future knowledge we have an idea why)
Rs implant makes him harshly vulcan for a sec
her dad was a cyborg
"Shaxs drop his latte again? Guy's got baby hands" would be funnier if wed gotten his name yet, clearly a second watch joke
B is clearly feeling bad and suss
he sees Mariner run off and get in a truck
he follows
Ransom goes nuts
zombie virus, spewing black goo and chewing on a guys neck
B and R still do date even during this madness
disease is either airborne or transferred by goo
cat doctor
T "i was supposed to be assisting Nurse Westlake" cat points at guy on bed snarling "that is nurse westlake!"
B is behind a bush, peeking
he sees Mariner offering starfleet tech to two Galardonians
the planet is so beautiful, yellow sky, reddish brown leaves, pea soup green dirt, fungus balls and tall grass
B jumps out and scares Mariner
he accuses her of selling weapons, she tries to shut him down
Gs try to leave, B shoots the ground
B reads the rulebook
she busts back with more knowledge
its farm equipment
hes surprised
Gs run through gate, leave it open
huge spider breaks out
giant spider is shooting butt webbing
M and B behind bush
M defends herself, saying the farmers were starving so she gave some help
he asks how she knew they exist
she was here last year on the quito before she got demoted to the cerritos
B didnt know her backstory
she was
trapped in a sentient cave
"thats a dark place that knows things"
head taken off by a singing crystal
klingon prison where she had to fight a yeti for her own shoes for no reason.
"he was just being a dick!"
hes only been to five planets including earth and vulcan
he only knows what in the manuals so he should follow her lead
they cant leave because the farmers need the spider
general order 5
"We'll just stun it." "No could spoil the milk."
B dismisses this, but as i thought about it i realized she saw only one get out which suggests the animal isnt for meat but for some other purpose, its a short leap to milk
"Five ships, yeti shoes, i am always right, take them off now!"
two puppets of them for spider to attack
its going to town on Bs uniform
M is stoked
shes ready to jump on its back
he wants it to destroy both uniforms first
why did she yell Mark before jumping?
she jumps, then B
he gets nabbed by spider which starts gooping and sucking him
he says phaser it
farmers begs her not to
M says we cant let it eat him
farmer says its just suckling for moisture
M yells to Boimler
"its just suckling you, youre fine"
Boimler has funny scream. M tries to encourage him
"go to your happy place! oo think about the warp core!"
B and M spacewalk to get to the rally point
it looks totally awesome
their suits are low on oxygen? they should be rated for 24 hours or more if show canon is to be believed. how long were Belanna and Tom out there?
she likes The Monkees, Ruthy is into it
"Lets just say I'm a Believer"
Great shot thru window of Shaxs wasting fools as they ascend
B and R are wicked at action stuff
weirdly a hatch wont open for them
i like how he thumbs up for her to move through maintenance hatch then jumps in after, good teamwork during retreat
they take off helmets and kiss
shes like hows it goin
and hes like these doors are messed up
she is not into boring details and walks off
Tendi in sickybay
"pump this, dont pass out. nobodys authorized to pass out"
M havin some wilk while B gets milked
she pulls him out of sleepy spider
"my bones..."
"but im naked"
they drive back thru idyllic landscape with lovely tune
"i think we make a pretty good team, Boimler"
he admits he was told to spy on her
she doesnt get why he worships them
he starts to defend captain but stops
hes going to report her
they get to rally point and beam to ship
everyone is in transporter room
DR taana swipes bs face and analyEs
spider milk
dr t says they should get B to sickbak
"what makes him so special? nothing. its the slime, Captain"
"everyone, protect. this. slime!"
Shaxs bursts through door, carrying B
crew makes it to sickbay
milk will neutralize rage effect
T says Cap doesnt have nuch time. M yells
"oo shouldve washed those hands, captain!"
Ransom is cured
"where am i? did i eat flesh?" "hardly any" "how much did i eat?!"
T sprays purple gas through ship
captain congratulates Dr t
she makes a bad joke, senior staff laugh
M tries to explain that B saved them
Tendi stoked cuz she got to
hold a heart
cap says in report that only dr t saved everyone
she asks B what mariner did
he says she was fine
"maybe that goo that saved the ship messed with my memory"
even now hes trying to correct the record
admiral so and so calls her
"ransom tried to eat a guy. we're
fine"
she wants to throw Mariner in the brig
she loves the brig
T asks R about his date
he praises her but hes not seeing her again
she had zero interest in why a red alert messed with the hatch lock
"who has time for romance when theres a level two diagnostic just sitting there waiting to be run?"
"mm mm dont have to tell me twice i am right there"
B praises M
"starfleet is better with you in it"
B didnt sell her out
she praises him
"were gonna get your butt in a captains chair. guess what mm im your new mentor. boom. surprise bitchh its done how does it feel?"
lower decks cheer
"youre gonna be my chadeetch from now on baby"
she mentions spocks rebirth in star trek 3
mentions khan and space whales
how bout sulu do yiu know kirk my man worf gary mitchell, do you know deanna troi her body be bangin, she went from a jumpsuit
episode 2
"Envoys"
cerritos floats above red planet
pale blue sphere enters the hull imto a storage room
M suggests drinkin and gettin a dude all worked up
Tendi doesnt get it
energy sphere appears
"supplicate yourselves!"
Mariner grabs it and tells Tendi to bring a canister
"we can use this thing for all sorts of cool stuff"
she starts to push it into a canister
he says he can grant wishes
Mariners listening
she demands a tricorder with a purple stripe
he loses a bunch of power
she wants a power pack
it gets even smaller
Captain Freeman rolls up and it just darts into her chest shouting "die, mortal!"
T and M are watching video of admiral falling
B comes in with news of his mission
hes talking about someone
they speculate who it might be
Castro, enterprise
Pjoq, what a snack
its Boimler!
piloting general Korin
decorated warrior
they all have an apostrophe
M thinks the cargo bay is exotic
R shows up
hes been in ducts for a week
"thats another three, four days in the tubes!"
R says he'll switch his career to change shifts
B comes into the shuttle bay
Mariners in the shuttle!
shes already there eating ramen and spilling
shes the pilot
he has a dress uniform
blast field down and up with songs
Rutherford tells Billups hes transferring
Billups is totally cool about it
they chant his name
on the shuttle M is passed out
"buried alive
marooned for eternity
moons of nibia"
Bs been studying Korin
deference and respect
M kicks his ass
"Starfleet has made you soft, Mariner!"
"i must update
you on my many sexual contests, Mariner!
What, both of them?"
Korin wants to be landed in Little Kronos
Bs like what?
"I got chewed out, but he got his ass chewed Uuuup"
why is console hot?
multispecies hang spot
unsecured district
theyre blood bonded he passed out on his sword
Korin jakes the shuttle
Mariner laughs "classic Korin"
"did you even read the mission brief?"
"im sorry i skimmed most of it, and read some of the captions"
Boimler is speed walking to conserve energy
"this is serious! i think were violating the Khitomer accords"
"he went north in search of stronger ales!"
so were federation dogs, huh?
"hey if it got us what we needed woof woof"
Ransom does command trainer 43 with Rutherford
captain were being drawn into a temporal rift?
"casualties 105 percent
wait how did i kill more than the whole crew?"
Ransom mentions the Janeway protocol
command trainer 4
should they hit the asteroid?
Janeway protocol?
"all the ships children have been ejected into space."
"all those kids..."
M and B talk philosophy of training
Boimler meets a lady in red
shes real sensual
Mariner washes it off of Brad
"i know you still want it! I can hear your nasty boy thoughts!"
it was an anobaj
weakminded? lol
"An andorian in the bathroom said the generals in a bar down the road"
hes relating engineering to bodies
taana is supportive
she orders him to chat with the guy and keep him distracted
instead R makes him freak out
"Those are dilithium burns? how are you still alive, man? you should be dead!"
"that robot said i was dying"
he joins security
bunch of borgs
program smorgasborg
he uses his implant to be a super kickpuncher
M cautions B to be chill
he gets all huffy
Boimler sees a man being menaced
he runs in
Mariner says no
old guy whines
other guy goes to kick him
B shoots
"Starfleet! I order you to step away from the elder! You idiot thats no elder!"
its a weird little monster - Vendorian shapeshifter
they start a barfight
theres a Morn!
Boimler objects
"this is a violation of the Tulganan neutrality pact"
Mariner jumps up "Kirk hands"
has phaser
she pays for five rounds
"sir i dont know you, thats starfleet property youre handling"
Boimler looks like shit. He feels inadequate because of Mariners awesomeness
"all that studying and where did it get me?"
"i should just turn in my uniform and go work on a research asteroid!"
Mariner is horrified
"do not even joke about that"
17:45 soundbite: Boimler does the shaky video log bit
Mariner says starfleet needs booksmart people like B
he flips his communicator and runs off
Rutherford is in security. Shaxs is giving a speech
"no greater honor than to die beside you in battle."
Rutherford decides to go back to engineering. he needs those tubes
"Got to be true to yourself. am i right bears? oo rah!" Rutherford "Aw, bears!"
ferengi bit
Mariner pretends hes a Bolean
"hey ferengi, get out of here, get get!"
they drag drunk Korin out of the shuttle
"Fetch me my drinking horn, i need ale"
Mariner pretends to have not known the ferengi thing
B promises not to tell anyone
smash cut to him telling everyone
"Muah muah hoo mon" he was doin the hand thing and everything"
Mariner pretends to be offended and jets
she smiles
Rutherford "i belong in the tubes"
she doesnt realize he did all that to be a bro
ferengi dude and Mariner chat
R looks at tube
"isnt it amazing?" she says looking at spce on her pad. R looks at tube. "its beautiful"
This is it! Our holiday special with the one and only Jayme Antrim! Back by popular demand, Terry Pratchett brings us Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, a dramatic retelling of his timeless classic. It's no notes today so things are a bit loose and all over the place, but it's a ton of fun and should make a delightful part of your holiday experience!
Happy holidays, everyone! May your season be as bright as Death's eyes!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Plugs
Jayme Antrim
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Possible show titles
Meat Nieces
One Dimensional Dudes
Bordered-Off Danger Showers
Medium Dave Fan Fiction
Humans Are the Hawk Tuah
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Jayme Antrim
Brandoff the Offbrand Gandalf on Youtube
Links
Doctor Who "Love and Monsters"
Star Trek: The Next Generation "Tuvix"
It's Part 2 of our gigantic Dracula discussion! Special thanks to Jayme for bringing all this knowledge and enthusiasm!
Join our Discord community! Here's the link:
Plugs
Jeff Richardson
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
Jayme Antrim
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song. Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
Ravenous
Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Jayme Antrim
Brandoff the Off-Brand Gandalf on Youtube
Possible show titles:
My Dude, This is Your Job
A Stake on a Steak
Mummies vs The Bronx
Dracula 2
The Stoker Necktie
Links
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter
what do you call an incel with a girlfriend?
Extended Notes
"for one who has not lived even a single lifetime, you are a wise man, Van Helsing."
Mr Mina was shocked
Harker said he looked like a wild animal
he looks outside, notices a wolf
VH explains that drac is a vamp and can turn into critters
"the strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him."
Mina goes out walkin
finds CD, he wraps her up
Harkers says vamps are only in ghost stories
VH says some vamp lore, doesnt even worry about explaining it
he must have brought boxes of grave dirt
Renfield is eavesdropping
Renfield explains that Mina has been attacked, he thinks Harker should take her away
big bat arrives
renfield tries to apologize, warns him to escape
VH tells renfield to help
he says he cant
maid screams and runs over
miss mina is out there dead
renfield laughs all creepy like
maid passes out
renfield crawls over to her
is he gonna bite off a chunk?
Mina's still alive
VH says shes under his influence
"we must cope with it"
child crying
woman walking in dark woods
comedy intern reads paper
children describes beautiful lady in white who enticed them with chocolates, drew them into woods, and offered them chocolate
Mina saw Lucy outside after her death
Mina tried to speak to her until she realized she was dead
Lucy looked like animal, then ran into the dark
Mina asks them to save her soul
Harker says she wont die
she says dont kiss me anymore
she tells VH to make it clear to Jon
"its all over Jon. Our love, our life together."
Drac wills her
VH tells her to come inside
Harker blames VH for driving her crazy
he wants to take Mina away
VH has prepared the place to protect against Drac
she wants dad to keep Jon from leaving
nurse is ordered to keep windows shut and wolfsbane near Mina.
drac is at his coffin
three boxes of earth were deliverd to carfax abbey
VH tells Harker he cant take her or it will kill her
VH explains his occult knowledge - the only way to save her is to stake dracula
"you forget doctor that madmen have great strength."
Martin the panto orderly is shocked to learn R escaped again
Drac released him
"a red mist spread over the lawn
coming on like a flame of fire
and then he parted it
and then i could see that there were thousands of rats, with their eyes blazing red
like his, only smaller."
rats rats rats thousands millions of them all red blood, alp these will i give you if you will obey me."
daddy asks what hes meant to do
"that which had already been done"
"Dracula is in the house"!
"Van Helsing. Now that you have learned what you have learned, it would be well for you to return to your own country."
I prefer to remain and protect those whom you would destroy."
dracs blood flows through Minas veins, she will be immortal
Van Helsing promises to destroy carfax abbey and stake dracula
drac tries to summon VH, he resists but then starts to stumble forward. He regains control.
VH reaches for crucifix, drac hisses and runs off
Mina doesnt want the wolfsbane, says it stinks. she refused to stay put and went onto the terrace
Harker comes in and sees Mina all fresh as a daisy
Briggs wants her to come back in, she and JH wave her off
Mina is enticed by JHs neck
she claims to not dislike the night. she now says she loves it
Jh is trying to chase off a big bat
shes talking to it
JH is flummoxed
Mina is trying to mind control JH
shes moving in again
VH rushes in with cross
Mina tells him that drac fed her blood
Martin tries to shoot the bat
VH tells him to leave off
Martin the wacky orderly
"theyre all crazy but me and you. And sometimes i have my doubts about you."
Drac summons nurse briggs to the window
she takes down the wolfsbane
then lets him come in
VH and J follow Ren into abbey
Drac lures Mina there as well
Renfield is all stoked
he wants to serve
JH finds a grate and yells Mina
Renfield is scared, tries to run
Drac tells him to wait. he stands still
Drac approaches. Renfield whines
R whines while Drac chokes him and drops him down the stairs
he runs to basement with Mina
closes and locks the door
the boys rush in and find no one
they hunt around a bit
for some reason drac is asleep
(we havent seen any indication of dawn)
VH opens the other coffin, doesnt let JH see
sends him off for a rock
rips up the lid to make stakes
Jh comes back
VH says Minas not there
JH goes looking
Minas in corner wailing
they meet up and hug
"the daylight stopped him."
Harker walks her up the stairs to the sound of bells
wtf
"arent you coming with us?
not yet not presently"
"come, john" last line
so she hasnt yet been turned?
this movie is skimpy on the rules
is Mina now a daywalker?
In this one, Jayme Antrim swings by to discuss Dracula (1931). We have a terrific time, so good in fact that we decided to do a big fat two parter!
Check out our Discord community! Here's the link:
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Jeff
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Jayme Antrim
Brandoff the Offbrand Gandalf on Youtube
Possible show titles:
Shouting Dracula
A Year of Dracula
Be a Hunky Dracula
Why is There a Bug Coffin, Guys?
Bag Baby
Brooklyn Slumlord Dracula
Chicken Blood Soup for the No-souled
Take That, Great Britain!
Recommendations
Fright Night remake Tennant, Farrell
Elvira's Haunted Hills
The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Social Media
Links
Vampire Anthology with Jayme's Dracula story
The Hammer Brothers from Super Mario Bros
(pic of Jayme as Dracula?)
Ragtime by ER Doctorow (CORRECTION: nominated for Nebula but didn't win)
Extended Notes
pretty canyon painting
among the peaks bygone age
five passengers in coach
tourist lady reading from the book
local says tonight is bad news
nosferatu
to the virgin we pray
geese in the yard!
working people come out to see the coach
ladies hide behind windows
porter starts unloading all the luggage
this dude sounds American
he says not to take down his luggage
innkeeper wants him to wait
hes meeting another coach on Borgo pass at midnight
count draculus
count draculas name scares the hell out of these rubes
"no. you mustn't go there.
we people of the mountains believe that at the castle there are vampires, dracula and his wives, they take the form of wolves and bats. they leave their coffins at night and feed on the blood of the living."
fancy lad is unmoved, he is set on meeting the other coach
(this dude kind of reminds me of my brother - his bright-eyed desire to gain secret knowledge and meet interesting people)
innkeeper's wife gives him her crucifix
everyone is sad that hes going
foreboding clifftop castle
this crypt looks like state of decay
these shots are real arty, like a fellini joint
slow drac and his three spooky wives
we got us a real eye gore (is it Dracula? the implication in the book is that it was)
this dude has a real penetrating stare
spooky af
great fogslashdust effect as carriage rolls up the hill
wtf theres a bat over the horses and no driver
i dont think you could pay me to go through with this
this dude walks smoothly and silently
this dude has real elijah wood face
its mister renfield
every shot hes in makes him small and weak
its so 3D
real black lodge motherfucker right here
drac cant resist blood
but the crucifix freaks him out
renfield not looking too good
dracs fingers are so scary
renfields spooky smile after drac kills crew
renfield now at sewards sanitarium
drac lookin fly
cop whistles and pleather capes
drac mind controls lady at theater
introduces himself to rich moustacheman
his daugter Mina, miss lucy weston, and mina's husband Jonathan
drac compares his castle in transylvania to carfax abb
"to die, to be really dead. That must be glorious." mh: "oh but count dracula." dr: "there are far worse things awaiting man than death."
Lucy tells Mina shes hot for drac. Mina thinks she should chase someone normal
outside Westons place, drac hangs out like a creep
28:00 lucy in bed reading, bigass bat at the window. she doesnt notice it, drifts off. then bat enters and drac advanced with his scary claw fingies
he gets his face right up near lucys neck. so rapey
at seward sanitarium we see an auditorium where they examine Lucy's corpse.
"on the throat of each victim, the same two marks."
Martin the orderly chucks Renfields spider out the window. He is real weird about it
we see oldman doing experiences
gentlemen, we are dealing with the undead. yes nesferatu
professor tells mustache drac is def a vampire
renfield comes in, oldman tries to touch his hand. he recoils
"keep your filthy hands to yourself!"
someone thinks they heard a wolf
annnoying comedy orderly says
"ee thinks theyre owlin back at him! hes cryzy!"
Van Helsing shoves wolfsbane in Rs face, hes like
"you know too much to live Van Helsing"
Renfield doesnt want to do something to Mina but doesnt explain what it is
Drac enters Mina's room, makes the grimace and leans forward
Mina talks about her dream thing the next day
room full of mist
lamp "a tiny spark in the fog"
"And then i saw two red eyes starinf at me and a white livid face came down out of the mist"
Harker tells her it was a dream
"it seemed as if all the life had been drained out of me"
Harker gaslights her
Van Helsing taps in
Harker claims she's hiding something
"is there anything the matter with your throat"
van helsing checks her neck
consent means nothing in 1931 apparently
bite showed up the morning after
"what could have caused them, Doctor?" "Count Dracula." interesting mashup
Mina isnt afraid of Drac?
Drac recognizes Van Helsings name
Count claims to have told her vampire stories
Harkers seems jealous of dracs attention
Van Helsing realizes Drac has no reflection
Dad tells her to go to bed, she objects
Drac reiterates, she goes with no complaint
VH shows Harker the mirror. Hes stunned
Van Helsing asks drac to look at the mirror. Drac reacts with fury and knocks it away
are dracs afraid of seeing themselves? are they ashamed of having no reflection? does it remind them they have no soul?
[Editor’s note: Jeff said some things about George W. Bush that haven’t necessarily been proven in court. We encourage you to read up on the issue to learn what has and hasn’t been corroborated publicly.]
In this one, Sofia B returns to discuss chapters 3 thru 5 of The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold. Miles gets in over his head and goes head to head with a dangerous superior.
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Plugs
Check out Sofia’s interview on Jeff’s other show, Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?:
https://awesomepodnw.libsyn.com/episode-149-saving-the-wetlands-ft-sofia-buhrgard
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendation
Pantheon (tv series) - Based on the short story collection by Ken Liu
Anti-Recommendation
The Culture series by I.M. Banks
Social Media
None for Sofia R unless you're looking for traffic planning - if so hit us up and we'll connect you!
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
Possible Show Titles
I Gotta Get a Cloak
Sinister Assistant
A Well-Known Sneaky Guy
The Other Empire
Links
George W Bush and the Air National Guard
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Extended Notes
chapter 3
1
he survived the cold
hes recovering in the infirmary
he fantasizes about what impsec would do to the motor pool guys
they hadnt meant to murder him so he lets it go
2
M asks if they treat a lot of frostbite
corpsman has to send him packing
3
do many people lose scat cats?
not too many
the commandant has been ripshit about it
he goes home and realizes he doesnt have the correct uniform since he lost his boots and trousers in the mud
he couldnt borrow from anyone because they wouldnt fit his unusual anatomy
4
"He cursed under his breath and shucked on his dress greens, complete with mirror-polished boots to the knees. At least the boots obviated the need for leg braces."
Miles thinks about how he failed to avoid the problem. He always seems committed to improving his behavior. Very ambitious
"Today, the general was aggressively dressed in black fatigues. At Metzov’s altitude in the hierarchy, this stylistic choice usually indicated a deliberate identification with The Fighting Man. The only concession to his rank was their pressed neatness. His decorations were stripped down to a mere modest three, all high combat commendations. Pseudo-modest; pruned of the surrounding foliage, they leapt to the eye. Mentally, Miles applauded, even envied, the effect. Metzov looked his part, the combat commander, absolutely, unconsciously natural."
5
Miles realizes hes fulfilling an embarrassing stereotype
a Vor lordling in riding boots
He thinks to himself: "I didn’t design the damned boots. His father had once suggested that his staff officers must need them for riding hobbyhorses, high horses, and nightmares. Unable to think of a useful reply to the general’s sally, Miles stood in dignified silence, chin lifted, parade rest. “Sir.”"
6
Metzov goes in on poor Miles about his fanciness and failure
he finds out the permafrost zones were represented by blue on the maps which hed have known if hed read the regulations, which hed have done if his boss wasnt a total wreck
7
Metzov is being a real douche
"The authority lent Miles by his uniform barely balanced the deformities that made him a target of Barrayar’s historically grounded, intense genetic prejudices. A public humiliation that sapped that authority before men he must also command came very close to an act of sabotage. Deliberate, or unconscious?"
Miles references how he nearly wasnt born because of an attack during Vordarians Pretendership
8
Metzov thinks what they need is a fresh war every few years to toughen up the troops
Metzov says some sexist shit and Miles internally turns it around
Metzov lays out his punishment. He has to get with Lt Bonn and organize a work detail to lift the scatcat out
9
Metzov turns the screws, punishing Miles for damaging the station to save his life
Miles does not want to be insubordinate but also he has no respect for Metzov.
"'The damage I did to the weather station was not a stupid accident like the scat-cat, sir! It was necessary to my survival.”
General Metzov fixed him with a very cold eye. “Make that six hours a day, Ensign Vorkosigan.”
Miles spoke through his teeth, words jerked out as though by pliers. “Would you have preferred the interview you’d be having right now if I’d permitted myself to freeze, sir?”"
Metzov is shooting daggers
10
Miles leaves the office and starts to unravel
he got too used to being around bigwigs
he doesnt know how to shut up and serve
Miles wonders if Metzov is political
11
M realizes that there could be myriad reasons why Metzov is a bust
Milo tells himself hes just gonna have to avoid Metzov
foreshadowing about Ahn and Metzov!
Bonn and Miles are stomping around, trying to find the scatcat
12
Miles learns that the ice forms under the bog, making it solidish ground unless it gets warm enough then it melts
""Midwinter, you could park a freight shuttle on this bog. Come summer, it thins out. It can thaw from seeming-solid to liquid in a few hours, when the temperature is just right, and back again.”
“I . . . think I found that out.”"
13
Bonn finds the scatcat with a probe
he signals the hovercab
hovercab flies over and sucks the thing out of the ice
14
Miles explains how he almost died
goes to look for his boots
only finds one
"Bonn frowned down at the ruined boot dangling from Miles’s hand. “You could have been killed,” he said in a tone of realization."
15
Bonn finds it odd that Miles wont turn in Pattas from the motor pool
Miles explains the situation
16
he tells Bonn why he's here,
to earn his spot on the new ship
Miles jokes that Vor promises dont mean much
17
Bonn delivers Pattas and Olney to Miles in the morning
they get to work cleaning all the equipment that had been submerged
Miles heads off to work, musing how these two must be confused
18
next day he Olney and Pattas had culvert duty
he really got into it
19
Miles finds a plugged culvert with water pooling on one side
he realizes hes the only one narrow enough to get through the drain
20
he finds a corpse!
chapter 4
page 1
surgeon arrives
miles and crew close off one end of drain
surgeon determines he drowned, no signs of foul play
page 2
"Does this sort of thing happen often around here?” Miles inquired mildly.
The surgeon shot him a sour look. “I slab a few idiots every year. What d’you expect, when you put five thousand kids between the ages of eighteen and twenty together on an island and tell ’em to go play war? I admit, this one seems to have discovered a completely new method of slabbing himself. I guess you never see it all.”"
miles went in to search but found nothing but a handlight
original impressions suggest the guy was alone
Pattas is surprised Miles seems unimpressed by the mans body
page 3
Pattas asks if hes seen a body before
Miles thinks about it
"Miles hesitated. Events of three years ago flickered through his memory. The brief months he’d been caught in desperate combat far from home, having accidentally fallen in with a space mercenary force, was not a secret to be mentioned or even hinted at here. Regular Imperial troops despised mercenaries anyway, alive or dead. But the Tau Verde campaign had surely taught him the difference between practice and real, between war and war games, and that death had subtler vectors than direct touch. “Before,” said Miles dampingly. “Couple of times.”"
later he gets a call from someone in Vorbarr Sultana
handsome Ivan is on the other end
he wanted to show Miles his new apartment
page 4
Miles used to live in the capitol, he finds it strange to see again
Ivan has a webcam you can turn around 360, shows Miles the room
he gets a wave of homesickness
Ivan has a new girlfriend
Ivan noticed Miles is soaked, asks what he's been doing
forensic plumbing
"how’s life in the infantry?”
“Oh, great. Lazkowski Base is the real thing, y’know.” Miles did not define what real thing. “Not a . . . warehouse for excess Vor lordlings like Imperial Headquarters.”"
Ivan explains how fun his job is, getting to see info from all over the empire
page 5
"Voices from another universe. At that, Vorbarr Sultana was only a couple of hours away by sub-orbital flight. In theory. Miles was obscurely comforted to be reminded that the whole planet hadn’t shrunk to the lead-gray horizons of Kyril Island, even if his part of it seemed to have."
later he goes to the infirmary to talk to the surgeon
surgeon explains that the guy got stuck and died within thirty minutes. "death by misadventure"."
Miles asks why he doesnt want to know more
page 6
surgeon isnt interested. just death by stupidity, details irrelevant
Miles goes jogging
arrives at culverts
"The road was lonely, out by the empty practice fields. The sun crawled crabwise toward the horizon. Miles broke from a jog back to a walk, then to a slower walk. His leg-braces chafed, beneath his pants. One of these days very soon he would take the time to get the brittle long bones in his legs replaced with synthetics. At that, elective surgery might be a quasi-legitimate way to lever himself off Kyril Island, if things grew too desperate before his six months were up. It seemed like cheating, though."
he tries to figure out why the guy chose that particular culvert
he takes a slightly wider one and voila finds
7
a package taped to the roof
his mind races, thinking of the glory
"Pastries. A couple of dozen lisettes, a kind of miniature popover glazed and stuffed with candied fruit, made, traditionally, for the Midsummer Day celebration. Month-and-a-half-old stale pastries. What a cause to die for."
doc isnt impressed
"The surgeon’s only comment, when Miles caught up with him and explained his findings, was “Yep. Death from stupidity, all right.” Absently, the man bit into a lisette and sniffed."
8
he see Lt Ahn off
Ahn leaves him with a cryptic warning
"he can be a funny kind of dangerous. dont ever really threaten him, huh?"
Ahn tells him not to risk pissing him off
9
Miles decides to look into Metzovs record
clearly something happened during the Komarr revolt that got him sent to Kyril Island
he comes to a redacted section and decides to call a contact with security clearance
its Ivan!
10
"Yeah, the old man’s stuck in committee. Nice little flap—a Barrayaran-registered freighter got itself impounded in the Hegen Hub—at Vervain Station—for suspicion of espionage.”
surely this wont end up having something to do with the story later
Ivan gets stopped by an impsec warning, explains how he cant get any data out
Miles tells him how he can make the two computers talk to each other, bypassing all security
11
Miles finds out Metzov probably killed a dude who killed a guard trying to escape
And there the info ended
Miles tries to get Ivan on board
"You,” said Ivan severely, “are career-poison. Never darken my vidplate again. Except at home, of course.”
12
5000 grubs arrive!
some grubs strted a fire lighting farts
Miles suggested they solve the problem by taking red bean stew off the menu
"Three months down, three to go. It was getting darker."
chapter 5
1
not the wahwah warning?
silence was baffling
some sort of accident in a toxic stores bunker
2
they join a big gang of folks at the bunker, including fire marshall and surgeon
surgeon tells them to take off everything and then decon
the bunker is full of fetaine
a terrible poison
barrels corroded over 20 years
3
Miles suggests using heat to melt the fetaine
fetaine affects reproduction
Miles busts out a full on weatherman bit
Bonn and the fire marshall plan the operation
Miles thinks about following them there
he cant risk mutating his sperm
he couldnt sleep so he's up
Metzov is in his office with Bonn
Miles steps in
Metzov says some ignorant shit
he says he isnt mad
the doc says the gear isnt good enough
5
Metzov is talking about shooting people who dont follow orders
Miles doesnt like what hes seeing
were gonna have a good old fashioned discipline parade
6
Metzov has a bunch of guys lined up
"the really old-fashioned discipline parades had involved lead-lined rubber hoses. How far back in Barrayaran history was Metzov’s mind rooted?"
Metzov explains why it was good to have multiple military branches so they could shoot each other
mutiny?!
"'Principle, sir, what principle? It’s waste disposal,” Miles choked."
7
a bunch of grubs with nerve disruptors (which sound hella scary)
Miles thinks about how these kids arent trained enough for these weapons
Metzov orders the techs to strip
Miles thinks about how evil fetaine is and how screwy it is for barrayar to have made it
Bonn strips and joins the line
8
"No, no, no! Miles screamed inside his head. If you join them they’ll never back down. They’ll know they’re right. Bad mistake, bad . . . "
Metzov tells Miles to grab a gun or get gone.
someone gives Miles a disruptor
"He could leave. Could he leave?"
he realizes this is gonna be a massacre
he ponders the thorniness of the issue, how his dad taught about how to handle criminal orders
it was a powerful class
they called it Vorkosigan's Day
9
"For a lunatic moment Miles envisioned thumbing off the safety and shooting Metzov. And then what, shoot the grubs? He couldn’t possibly get them all before they got him.
I could be the only soldier here under thirty who’s ever killed an enemy before, in battle or out of it."
M realizes he has no choice. his career is toast, he knows hed be haunted by ghosts if he doesnt join the others
"He sat on the ground. Pulled off his gloves and boots. Let his parka fall, and his shirts. Trousers and thermal underwear atop the pile, and the nerve disruptor nested carefully on them. He stepped forward. His leg braces felt like icicles against his calves.
I hate passive resistance. I really, really hate it."
"What the hell do you think you’re doing, Ensign?” Metzov snarled as Miles limped past him.
“Breaking this up, sir,” Miles replied steadily"
Metzov calls him Vorkosigan, which could only stiffen his resolve. hes honorbound to do the right thing
10
Miles calls him Mad Metzov in his head
Miles explains the situation. If people learn what happened it would be bad for Metzov
"S-s-sorry, sir, but I see at least ten witnesses, behind those nerve disruptors.”
"You can’t silence me. Living or dead, through my mouth or yours—or theirs—I will testify.”"
11
Miles gives Metzov a win, explaining how it could benefit him
Metzov calls his dad a nasty name
Miles gets him to go for the deal
he sees the relief in Metzovs eyes
"It reminded him of that definition of his father’s. A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind. The mind was the first and final battleground; the stuff in between was just noise."
Bonn asks am i supposed to thank you for this?
"We got what we wanted, eh? He’s going to plasma the fetaine on-site before the wind shifts in the morning. Nobody dies. Nobody gets their nuts curdled. We win. I think.”"
12
Bonn and Miles are cellmates
Bonn just confirmed that the bunker was melted
guards take Miles to base security
Impsec is there as Miles arrives
Miles signs some travel orders
13
Miles is stoked to see the impsec courier thinking hes there to help
Metzov comes in all pleased
says if a vor commits mutiny its treason
Miles realizes now that the big guy is his new jailer
"Overholt, read the name on the man’s badge, which Miles mentally redubbed Overkill. He had only to lift his arm to dangle Miles like a kitten."
14
theyre taking him to imperial hq
"The Imperial Security sub-orbital courier shuttle sat on the icy concrete like a bird of prey accidentally placed in a pigeon cote. Slick and black and deadly, it seemed to break the sound barrier just resting there."
Miles can smell the weather - conflicting emotions
In this one, Sofia B drops by to discuss traffic planning, terminators, and Jeff's favorite science fiction novel, The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Sofia will return soon to discuss The Vor Game, Chapters 3 thru 5 soon. Get in on the fun by sending your thoughts to: [email protected]
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Check out Sofia’s interview on Jeff’s other show, Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?:
https://awesomepodnw.libsyn.com/episode-149-saving-the-wetlands-ft-sofia-buhrgard
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow
A Deadly Education and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Social Media
None for Sofia R unless you're looking for traffic planning - if so hit us up and we'll connect you!
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
Links
Extended Notes
chapter 1
page 1
plastic flimsie - apparently we're still using plastic centuries from now - hopefully its made of bamboo or hemp or something biodegradable
maybe their matter recyclers break them down so they dont sit in landfills
so we're in an empire
page 2
chief of impsec illyan who remembered everything
the emperor is young? if hes near military academy age thatd be 23 plus
Vorish types? whats that?
page 3
ship duty is the most sought after appointment
ive been interviewing my dad and he got ship duty, though he wasnt academy trained
"'So what have they done to you this time?” asked Plause, clearly prepared to offer congratulations or sympathy as indicated."
Ivans Miles's cousin? also Miles has physical handicaps. long description of what it was like being made taller
page 4
miles isnt built for infantry
Major Cecil has a sense of humor
page 5
miles insurbodination
"your most insidious chronic problem is in the area of . . . how shall I put this precisely . . . subordination. You argue too much.”
“No, I don’t,” Miles began indignantly, then shut his mouth."
page 6
Miles is a manipulator par excellence
if he keeps his nose clean and gets along with his officers and subordinates hell be recommended for ship duty on a shipnthat sounds a lot like the enterprise
page 7
"your saving grace. Mutant"
there are mutants in this story? and Miles is proving their worth?
"We’re not trying to make it impossible, Ensign.”
Merely very difficult. “I’m glad to know that too. Sir.” Miles’s parting salute was almost subordinate."
page 8
"A couple of the black-clad men, watching him as he hopped down from the ramp, made remarks to each other in Barrayaran Greek, a minority dialect of Earth origin, thoroughly debased in the centuries of the Time of Isolation."
so we have greeks on a different planet who still speak greek, this isnt earth and were after something called the time of isolation
Miles can speak Greek but he plays it cool
its a mutant! lets talk disability and how folks treated disabled folks in the 90s
its horrible that you could be beaten to death in this society for being too different. also a good sign of Miles's character that he acknowledges his privilege. That sort of thing was much less common in the 90s
the vorkosigans own district? is that where they live or do they rule it? is Miles a prince?
"Yes, rank, social or military, had its uses. Miles meant to acquire all he could before he was done."
page 9
he chooses to walk rather than inconvenience the jerks
his disabiity sounds severe, having to wear braces and having trouble walking very far
his pride makes him hide his trouble
base is free of infantry until summer
page 10
the air inside is 98.6! who works here?
the meteorology officer is a drunk in his underwear
page 11
this is Lieutenant Anh
hes been in this terrible assignment for fifteen years
you have to wonder what he could have done to deserve that
he runs into a jogging sergeant maybe in the lobby
page 12
"Miles stood with his legs slightly apart, threw back his head, and stared up with equal force. The man seemed totally oblivious to Miles’s collar tabs. Exasperated, Miles snapped, “Are all the keepers on vacation, or is anybody actually running this bloody zoo?'"
"With a cold flare of his carved nostril, the Base Commander glared down at Miles and growled, “I run it, Ensign."
Chapter 2
page 1
Anh is awake, hungover, and breathing poorly
"Ha?” Ahn looked up, and returned his salute automatically. “What the devil are you, ah . . . Ensign?”
this dude lost an entire day
Miles seizes the chance to trick this dude into teaching him something
Anh looks him over ever so briefly and moves on
he names all the computers womens names
page 2
he tapes the procedural discs under each piece of gear
he names his coffee pot Georgette
Anh turns in a slow 360 to meditate (or maybe predict the weather?)
just past the shortest night of the year
in summer
must be the north pole?
"Kyril Island was an egg-shaped lump about seventy kilometers wide and one-hundred-sixty kilometers long, and over five hundred kilometers from the next land of any description. Lumpy and brown described most of it, both base and island."
nobody bothered with agricultural terraforming
so this is a thing now, making worlds more like earth
talking about bleakness
"To the near south, the leaden sea heaved, muting the sun’s best efforts at sparkle. To the far north a gray line marked the border of the tundra at a chain of dead volcanic mountains."
hed been in snow before but here the sea air seeps into his bones at every old break (which is many)
page 3
Anh is shocked to learn that Miles's dad is Lord Vorkosigan
Admiral Count, conqueror of Komarr, hero of Escobar, Lord Regent to the emperor
"I have seen him laugh in pure delight, standing on the dock at Vorkosigan Surleau and yelling instructions over the water, the morning I first sailed, dumped, and righted the skimmer by myself. I have seen him weep till his nose ran, more dead drunk than you were yesterday, Ahn, the night we got the word Major Duvallier was executed for espionage. I have seen him rage, so brick-red we feared for his heart, when the reports came in fully detailing the stupidities that led to the last riots in Solstice. I have seen him wandering around Vorkosigan House at dawn in his underwear, yawning and prodding my sleepy mother into helping him find two matching socks. He’s not like anything, Ahn. He’s the original.
“He cares about Barrayar,” Miles said aloud at last, as the silence grew awkward. “He’s . . . a hard act to follow.”
Miles think Ahn would be more prejudiced if he wasnt so stoked about his coming retirement
page 4
What is Vor?
"I’m Vor,” said Miles impatiently. “I serve. Or at any rate, I try to. Wherever I’m put. That was the deal.”
what are wah-wahs?
Miles doesnt mind beatings but he hates
practical jokes - same
explains ropes between buildings and how to fall without breaking bones
"...you must never let yourself get caught without your cold gear, or more than fifteen minutes away from a bunker. There’s bunkers all around the grubs’ practice fields out there.” Ahn waved his arm in that direction. He seemed quite serious, even earnest. “You hear that siren, you run like hell for cover. The size you are, if you ever got picked up and blown into the sea, they’d never find you again.'"
spoiler alert - good foreshadowing about the dangers and the bunkers
he wonders how Anh gets his numbers
page 5
"'You’re not just making them up, are you?” said Miles in suspicion.
“No!” said Ahn. “I hadn’t thought about it, but . . . it’s the way the day smells, I guess.” He inhaled deeply, by way of demonstration."
theres no such thing as a smellometer
"When Ahn leaves, this island is going to experience an 11-to-21% drop in forecast accuracy. They’re going to notice."
page 6
Anh is trashed so Miles gets to work
more good foreshadowing
"Base personnel, Miles had been given to understand, had grown extremely tired of picking lost antigrav sleds out of the frigid sea. Not to mention their late drivers."
one of the ableist Greeks from earlier is at the motor pool when Miles gets there
page 7
Miles has to constantly preclvent himself from going off, but hes gotten good at it
"Concentrate on the task, not the bloody audience. You’ve always had an audience. Probably always will."
he realizes its gonna be a year or two before people respect him every time he goes to a new post
page 8
hes enjoying being alone for once
hes late so he decided to camp out for four hours til its light again
he parks where Pattas told him to park
on a video he saw a portapotty flying horizontally and decides he needs to weigh down his tent
page 9
to that end he attaches a chain from his tent to the scat cat
he reads, goes to sleep, then wakes up in darkness even though it should be bright out
hes experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning and is stuck in the muck, tent all squished up
"Miles shoved one finger against the thin cold plastic. It yielded slowly, like soft butter, and retained the dented impression. What the hell . . . ?"
hes underground, stuck in some sort of slow mud
page 10
he tells himself to relax
he thinks about the ice poking tube in the scat cat, then realizes the scat cat is pulling him down
he hs a terrible vision of people finding his gross body
he gets a rib from the tent and pokes it through a small gap in the zipper
"He’d feared the black mud would pour in, drowning him at once, but it only crept in extrusive blobs, to fall with oozing plops. The comparison was obvious and repulsive. God, and I thought I’d been in deep shit before."
he turns the heat tube off to put in his pocket and its pitch black
hes running out of time
page 11
he unzips his boots and undoes his belt buckle
he pulls in tons of mud to make room, then surges upward
"His legs slid out of his boots and pants, his hips sucked free, and he rolled away. He lay spread-eagled for maximum support on the treacherous surface, faceup to the gray swirling sky. His uniform jacket and long underwear were soaked with slime, and he’d lost one thermal sock, as well as both boots and his trousers.
It was sleeting."
later his colleagues find him freezing in the weather station, having busted a piece of equipment to use to signal Anh back in HQ. He's alive, but boy is he pissed
In this one, Friend of DeSoto and entertainment lawyer Dave H swings by to discuss one of the scariest movies of all time, The Thing, directed by John Carpenter.
[Reminder: Lindsey had to step back from the show for personal reasons, so until Jeff finds a permanent cohost we'll be swapping between various properties with different guests. Check in if you’d like to participate, or if you know someone who’d be a good guest at: [email protected] ]
Dave H will return soon to discuss Star Trek: Lower Decks. Get in on the fun by sending your thoughts to: [email protected]
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
Comedy Bang! Bang!
Natalie Haines, fiction and nonfiction
The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Unspoiled! Network
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Email us at: [email protected]
Links
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
"Who Goes There" by John W Campbell, Jr
"At the Mountains of Madness" by HP Lovecraft
"Horror of Fang Rock" - Doctor Who
Nigerian scammer Emmanuel Nwude
The Thing End Credits Music by Carpenter
"All Those Who Wander" - ST:SNW
Titmouse, Inc. - Vancouver, BC
Extended Notes
ennio morricone
it sounds carpentery but its not! interesting
flying saucer!
shaky dolly across a sweet snowy ridge
this husky looks so happy
were shootin dogs!
look at these cute
old dudes playing ping pong
"Poor baby youre startin to lose it, arent you?"
he poured whiskey into his computer! wtf
hell of an opener
boss looks like discount robert stack
theyve been cut off for two weeks? ominous
Nauls like to skate
"maybe were at war with Norway"
Macready has to fly them even though the weather sucks
this dogs biding his time
Nauls likes stevie, doesnt actually turn it down
dogs peekin
spooky norwegian place is torched
bloody axe in a door
icicles everywhere
corpse in a chair
cut his wrists but also his throat?
good depth of set here
cute doggy waiting for them
groovy steam comin off the multicorpse
guy sounds like Brimley but looks like Beatty
spooky dog freaks out the others
this monster dog is so nasty, launching tentacles and spider legs
its got a goo hose
"idont know what the hells in there but its weird and pissed off, whatever it is"
Childs torches it
long silent pause while they absorb the situation
autopsy on the creature
they find the spot they dug something up
and head out to investigate
big saucer
theyre awfully blase about ice climbing
why is the ice blue?
"i just cannot believe all this voodoo bullshit"
i love Keith David! he was in precinct 13, they live, fire king in adventure time
groovy computer program describing cells
this computer is extremely sophisticated if it can project something and describe it in simple terms like that
guy says we should burn them
"you cant burn the find of the century. thats gonna win somebody the Nobel prize"
oh dude its goopin
the boys talk out in the Thiokol - Blairs journal says the things are still alive
uh oh Bennings got absorbed
they torched him
theyre using so much fuel
odd that Garry isnt taking charge
everyone seems to defer to Mac
action packed bit where Blair is losing it. he killed the dogs, messed up the computers tractor and the choppers
locking Blair into the toolshed
"trusts a tough thing to come by these days. why dont you just trust in the lord."
Blair says to watch Clark closely
theyre gonna make a blood serum test
paranoid mess after the blood packs are found to be damaged
Windows tries to get a gun
they decide Mac should hold the weapons
whoa Mac decides theyre gonna drug Garry Clark and Copper with morphine
"Nobody trusts anybody now. We're all very tired."
everyone should prepare their own meals and eat out of cans in case a single particle could take someone over
Fuchs finds Macs ripped up coat
guys go out to find him
they check on Blair
"I hear funny things out here."
Fuchs bought it. did he burn himself?
"were going to my shack. What for? Cus when i left yesterday i turned the lights off." lights are on
"Childs, what if were wrong about him? then were wrong"
"anybody touches me and we go"
thing eats Coppers hands and then goes full nightmare
they cook it but the head escapes
spider head peeks out
Mcready decides to tie everyone up and test their blood
"you see when a man bleeds, its just tissue. the blood of one of you things wont obey when its attacked"
mac heats up a wire and plans to cook the different samples to see if they react
whoa they cooked Palmer and he did the fun stuntman fire walk, rushed through a wall then exploded
apparently they stop needing to use the fire extinguisher
"i know you gentleman have been through a lot, but when you find the time id rather not spend the rest of this winter tied to this fucking couch!"
Blair got out. someone mustve let him out
theres a secret lair underneath the shed?
hes made himself a spaceship?
now theyre hunting Blair
Childs leaves the camp and then the power goes out
the thing wants to freeze and wait for rescue
Mac blows up the little ship
they break in using a little tractor to use the fuel
theyre lighting everything up room by room
great lighting in the generator room
omg its so nasty when Blair invades Garrys face and drags him off
Mac is worried, hes got a stick of d and a lighter
damn that thing can roll underground, shit now its a sandworm dinosaur
"yeah, fuck you too"
so nasty
it blows big
Mac survives, hes outside, hes drinkin
"how will we make it?" "maybe we shouldnt"
"why dont we just wait here a little while? see what happens."
Childs takes a drink and the bumbums come in
howd the guy live being frozen
"because hes a space guy'"
In this one, James Lark phones in from jolly old London to discuss the first book in The Bartimaeus Trilogy, The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud.
[Reminder: Lindsey had to step back from the show for personal reasons, so until Jeff finds a permanent cohost we'll be swapping between various properties with different guests. Check in if you’d like to participate, or if you know someone who’d be a good guest at: [email protected] ]
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James’s podcast
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
Neurotic Literature
Anora
The Good Doctor
The Library of Impossible Things
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
James Lark
Links
Torn Music: Rejected Film Scores, A Selected History
The Avengers, “The Maneater of Surrey Green”
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Notorious Scarlet and Brown
Extended Notes
I ask you
chapter one
"The sulfur cloud contracted into a thick column of smoke that vomited forth thin tendrils; they licked the air like tongues before withdrawing. The column hung above the middle of the pentacle, bubbling ever upward against the ceiling like the cloud of an erupting volcano. There was a barely perceptible pause. Then two yellow staring eyes materialized in the heart of the smoke.
"Hey, it was his first time. I wanted to scare him."
kid makes sure its the correct demon.
"Are you that B-Bartimaeus who in olden times was summoned by the magicians to repair the walls of Prague?”
What a time waster this kid was. Who else would it be? I upped the volume a bit on this one…
‘I am Bartimaeus! I am Sakhr al-Jinni, N’gorso the Mighty, and the Serpent of Silver Plumes! I have rebuilt the walls of Uruk, Karnak, and Prague. I have spoken with Solomon. I have run with the buffalo fathers of the plains. I have watched over Old Zimbabwe till the stones fell and the jackals fed on its people. I am Bartimaeus!’"
most young magicians are cautious. the kid is punching above his weight
B thinks the kid should be thinking about cars and girls and not summoning
"I charge you to retrieve the Amulet of Samarkand from the house of Simon Lovelace and bring it to me when I summon you at dawn tomorrow.”
“You what?”
“I charge you to retrieve—”
“Yes, I heard what you said.”
I didn’t mean to sound petulant. It just slipped out, and my sepulchral tones slipped a bit too."
the wizard has to send them away thrice unless they choose to leave before that
B thinks someone is taking advantage of kid
we're in London, must be close to modern day if there are racing cars
kids room is decorated spartanly - B wonders why there are no posters of pop stars or football players
the amulet belongs to Simon Loveless. He is bad news and will get it back
the Systemic Vise is some nasty spell to hurt demons
chapter 2
B can turn into animals
it hurts to be corporeal
changing forms helps but it burns up his energy
he wonders about the kid and what will happen to his rep when other demons learn hes controlled by a child
he can see on seven planes - humans can only see one
magic protections equal wealth. do people pay mages to set it up or are only mages wealthy?
the house is well defended, including three weird looking sentries
he turns into a mole to go under the shield
chapter three
B is a being of fire and air so he hates earth
you dont notice it on the audiobook but he has little asides in the endnotes
he heard voices in the house and sees a vent. he becomes a fly
chapter 4
two people in a room, one woman fawning over a dude, Simon Lovelace
he thought he might turn into this lady next time he sees the kid. i cant picture that happening onscreen lol
endnote -
"For those who are wondering, I have no difficulty in becoming a woman. Nor for that matter a man. In some ways I suppose women are trickier, but I won’t go into that now. Woman, man, mole, maggot—they’re all the same, when all’s said and done, except for slight variations in cognitive ability."
Lovelace has an imp on his shoulder so B cant enter til it leaves
B clearly hates ordinary human behavior.
"The magician was talking. He did little else. The woman gazed at him with spaniel eyes so wide and silly with adoration that I wanted to bite her."
shes named Amanda
so we have a prime minister and sycophants. is there a king or queen? a house of commons? how similar to earths is the government?
Carter arrives, one of SLs servants
he has a friend, a playwright named Makepeace. SL and Amanda will be going to the theater
he considers using magic.
"I debated sending out a discreet magical pulse to see if I could detect the whereabouts of the magician’s artifacts, but decided that it was far too risky. The sentry creatures outside might pick it up, for one thing, even if there was no further guard. I, the fly, would have to go hunting myself."
theres a frog alarm disguised as a smoke detector, so we're definitely in the electronic age
B does good spywork, following the mark, going to the most well defended door
he can turn into smoke! he goes under the door and then turns into a child.
he thinks about being the magic kid, but cant because he doesnt know his name.
instead he becomes a dark skinned boy from Bs past, someone he loved?
demons can love... kid was from the Nile, so perhaps pharaoh times?
the room is full of magical bits and bobs, which B scoffs at
theres a golems eye which is super powerful.
he figures SL doesnt know that.
he says some stuff about magical tourism.
"Magical tourism…I ask you.5 Well, with luck it might kill him some day."
according to the endnote, B doesnt care about cultural vandalism, he just finds it vulgar he sees the amulet in a glass case.
"The Amulet was small, dull, and made of beaten gold. It hung from a short gold chain. In its center was an oval piece of jade. The gold had been pressed with simple notched designs depicting running steeds. Horses were the prize possessions of the people from central Asia who had made the Amulet three thousand years before and had later buried it in the tomb of one of their princesses."
he breaks the glass and grabs it.
something on the seventh plane is coming. a portal is opening and something is coming through. he bolts for the door. his fist blows up the door
turns out the toad isnt just an alarm, it also spits acid.
B shrinks it with a compression spell. B can make force fields so he throws one up and keeps running. Something called a Detonation sends him flying into the wall.
"The impact was so great that I was sent flying headlong at an angle down the corridor and half into the wall. Green flames licked around me, leaving streaks on the decor like the fingers of a giant hand."
a red skinned demon shouts Bs name. B rolls down the stairs and looks at the front door.
The sentries are out there so he heads to the back of the house.
he comes to a kitchen with an attached greenhouse. he runs in and puts a Seal on the door to the hall.
near the fire is a cook with a meat cleaver.
"He was sitting far back in his chair with his shoes on the kitchen table, a fat, jovial-looking man with a red face and a meat cleaver in his hand. He was studiously paring his nails with the cleaver, flicking each fragment of nail expertly through the air to land in the fireplace beside him. As he did so he watched me continuously with his dark little eyes."
Its Faquarl! he and B have history, and he must be strong because B is on his best behavior
detonations hit the door but the seal holds
Jabor must be the red guy. apparently hes gotten more addicted to violence ove rthe years
"Treat ’em mean, keep ’em keen,’ that’s your master’s watchword, is it? Still, he must be fairly potent to be able to have you and Jabor as his slaves.”
Faquarl does not like the S word. He says he and Jabor are playing the long game
Faquarl tells him to give back the amulet.
he cant do that. endnote 7
"Not strictly correct. I could have given over the Amulet and thus failed in my charge. But then, even if I had managed to escape from Faquarl, I would have had to return empty-handed to the pale-faced boy. My failure would have left me at his tender mercy, doubly in his power, and somehow I knew this was not a good idea."
B tries to edge toward the window. F tells him its silly and pointless. calls the sentries
triloids.
B goes to return the amulet, leaps to the side and drops the Seal.
The detonation shoots through the opening and hurls F into the fire. B bolts and gets into the garden.
The triloids come for him so he makes an Illumination, blinding them.
He tears ass through it and gets out of the yard, hitting the alarm field as he goes.
he hears hooves so turns into a peregrine falcon. he takes off across the city, F and J following
"Suffice it to say, however, that when Faquarl and Jabor landed in the Hampstead backstreet, creating an invisible obstruction that was immediately hit by a speeding moving van, I was nowhere to be seen."
i dont know what this means
chapter 5
Nathaniel
heres where we find out how awful the kids master is. hes got big white eyebrows
"Remember this,” he said in a soft voice. “Demons are very wicked. They will hurt you if they can. Do you understand this?”
master doesnt think the kid really gets it.
"Oh, yes, sir; yes, I do, sir. Demons are wicked and they are hurtful and they will hurt you if you let them, sir.”
hes only seen demons in books (are we back in time or is he lying?)
Master tells him to go to his office, get his spectacles, wear them, then return.
"Never having been beyond this point before, he had nothing but nursery stories to furnish his ideas of what might be waiting in his master’s study. Terrible images of stuffed crocodiles and bottled eyeballs sprang garishly into his mind. Furiously he drove them out again."
he enters the office. it seems ordinary. he sees the box on a table.
he heads toward it.
he tries to touch it but it keeps moving. its too hot.
the whole room seems to be alive with noises. pens start rolling in all directions.
something laughs in his ear. he lashes out.
he grabs the mastersglasses, runs for the door. it slams shut.
he hears all this motion. shouts begone. sounds stop but then start again.
he puts on the glasses.
"A hundred small demons filled every inch of the space in front of him. They were stacked one on top of the other all over the room, like seeds in a melon or nuts in a bag, with feet squishing faces and elbows jabbed into bellies. So tightly were they clustered that the very carpet was blocked out. Leering obscenely, they squatted on the desk, hung from the lights and bookcases, and hovered in midair. Some balanced on the protruding noses of others or were suspended from their limbs. A few had huge bodies with heads the size of oranges; several displayed the reverse. There were tails and wings and horns and warts and extra hands, mouths, feet, and eyes. There were too many scales and too much hair and other things in impossible places."
the demons jump him, not hurting him but menacing him terribly for twenty minutes. it was immensely traumatizing. his master never explained it or even discussed it.
it bred deep resentment in Nathaniel.
"This was one of Nathaniel’s earliest experiences. He did not speak of it to anyone, but the shadow of it never left his heart. He was six years old at the time."
chapter 6
Bartimaeus has the amulet but it sends out a powerful aura so anyone aware of magic can follow it to the source. Bartimaues still has hours to go before hes summoned again, so hes constantly moving from one hideout to the next.
small red spheres are moving all over the city, looking for it.
there were so many Lovelace had to have other magicians assisting him with the search.
finally hes too tired to keep switching and moving, so he goes to Trafalgar square to blend in with other magic items and people, as a way to obscure the amulets position.
B flies in and turns into the egyptian boy again, wearing jeans and a tshirt. tourists are looking at so called magical trinkets, snapping pictures and whatnot. some people were magicians, mostly from government. one had an imp but the majority were without demons. a few regular police and some hairy night police.
b goes to look at a stall but realizes a gang of kids are looking at him. He doesnt know why, but he tries to mill about and get rid of them. he wondered why they were following him. it couldnt have been to mug him, he was clearly broke.
he manages to lose them by going into the subway and popping back up on the other side of the road. He hunkers
down in another alley behind some bins. He smiles, thinking hes lost them.
“I was wrong.”
In this one, Dean Eaton swings by to discuss Part 1 of Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic (2008). Lindsey had to step back from the show for personal reasons, so until Jeff finds a permanent cohost we'll be swapping between various properties with different guests.
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Dean’s project
Jeff's projects
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
Omniversal Escapades
The Good Doctor
Discworld, Book 3: Equal Rites
The Dresden Files
The Witcher (book series)
The Fatal Wish
Social Media
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Dean Eaton
@geekusdean on the various socials
Links
Star Trek: The Next Generation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete%27s_Dragon_(1977_film)
Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse
Extended Notes
purple sky
in a distant and second hand set of dimensions
through wavering star mists see the great A'tuin
big turtle, four giant elephants, discworld
astrozoologists
what is the sex of the turtle
ankh morpork - sean astin twoflower is the worlds first tourist
good looking city
pretty good cgi
eight heads of the order of wizardry
"when a wizard is tired of looking for broken glass in his dinner, hes tired of life. Im just speculating, obviously" - Tim Curry wizard
old rumlet died
Rincewind shows up late - David Jason?
its a real sausage fest here
rincewind isnt even level 1 so he gets bumped
who killed Narrowbolt?
interesting architecture
one weird lady making charms
rincewind leave Unseen University stirs magic?
bums steals food in market
why is Astin so modern and these clods are medieval or renaissance?
Is Rincewind possessed by purple juice?
being protected by magic
Rincewind sees gold and he wants it!
sapient pear wood trunk has legs
RWs robe is so janky
fun whip pans
tavern set has good depth
Rincewind can speak Trob
he says he can help tourist stay alive
Bes Pelargic
best port of Agatean Empire
"he says he's a tourist Huh? Whats that mean then? I think it means idiot."
scum finds out tourist has gold
Ymor the thief finds out
whore pits and slave markets? yikes
Jeremy Irons the Patrician chewing the scenery
hes got a fake widows peak and a speech impediment
Zlorf the assassin
these dwarves seem dangerous
Bruff of the guild of merchants and traders
the magic flash makes them fight each other?
what do you say to that? you say yes. i say yes!
Rincewind has to protect sean astin
and not run away
"if i were you id sue my face for slander"
sees barfight, tries to run
trunk wont let him escape
tourist is taking pictures and loving the fight
picture imp inside the camera
fun monochrome pictures of their adventures
Death played by christopher lee
tourist tells rw about insurance
its like a bet
inn blows up
its funny how unheroic these two are
terrible horse riding effect
purple chained book octovo
the spells in it are buggin
it missed RW
so now chancellor needs to get him back so it will settle down the book
Horace is chancos homey
tim curry mr tryman wacked narrowbolt
room at the top how to succeed at wizardy
he goes to open it and it has scary knives
is harace the head librarian?
trymon wants to take over as chancellor so he needs to ice Spoghold Grog
rw cant find 2f
pit of ultimate despair
dread tower of darkness
hospitable temple of belshab theroth
the wyrmburg and the palace of the dragon lord
hubward and rimward
rw is about to be eaten by wolves
poison snake on the branch!
purple light again
box scares off wolves and grabs him
dragons dont exist anymore
wicked gear door
trymon wants in
they really get their moneys worth with that fake bookcase
missing spell
spold doesnt know where it is
trymon peeps on spold, then slaps goo in his lock
timelapse clouds
music is pretty damn annoying
birds are cheesy as heck
have there been any women in this yet?
he sees a floating mountain - is it wyrmberg?
rincewind is on the luggage
invisible dragon grabs 2flower
more bad horse action
homeboy hits branch and falls down
a magic sword tells RW to pull it out of the stone
"could be worse. this could have been an anvil."
what?
horace and chanco come to see sklop
they see the keyhole was covered
sklop is dead
rw beats dragon lady using magic sword and says lets go to wyrmberg
dragon is see through
dragon looks video gamey but cool
music is pretty generic fantasy
our first lady
the set looks great, like stone carved to look like dragon sces
rw has hog boots now
trymon seems to have killed glorp, chats with chanco outside his office
AC shouts - did Trymon kill the AC?
tourist is in jail, so stoked to have seen dragons
tourist is a dragon lord? for some reason it likes him
dragon melts the bars - long silly effect
arch chancellors hat is on the ground...
but AC is still alive
he set a big axe spring trap
RW is upside down with his sword
chica is bangin, turns out her sword has a personality too
rw and her magic swords battle
"ive seen sharper butter knives"
his boots break and now hes hanging off her
he drops and 2f and dragon catches him
"its not the actual falling, its more the hitting that bothers me"
he dropped the sword
at the edge of the world, The Krullians are still hoping to learn the sex of the turtle
they have a cool ramp and a purple guy asking about chelonauts
12 hours until the launch
RE and 2flower are drifting close to the edge of discworld
"we're going to run out of world! well i definitely want to see that!"
RW wind might die, the octavo is not happy about it
horace comes to see arch chancellor weatherwax, trymon blocks him
chanco is sleeping, an anvil trap over his head
horace smells burning
chanco wakes up confused and worried
anvil drops
horace says that after rw touched the octavo, he never won any exams
such an obvious outcrop
2flower resuscitates RW
rw doesnt like hugs
2f convinces him to see the bright side and shakes hands
RW tells him about the octavo and the spell
"settled in my memory like a toad in a stone"
trymon and horace look at the octavo
Trymon learns that no one knows what the spell does
they marvel at the edge of the world
theres a circumfence
then a boat arrives
they crank it
and find a city at the edge of the world
"do you see the eighth color? thats the color of magic"
rw points out a new star
a boat rolls up
they get in
luggage is coming
trymon sees arch chancellor making a big arrow
ac has magic mirror and is gonna shoot Rincewind. he says the spell will come back on the ionized path and enter chanco
he and trymon banter about the eight spells
trymon has dagger
horace runs in
"its The octavo. iti going really ape"
the spells are restless
horace opens door to octavo
did chanco go in?
welcome to Krull
my name is Marchesa
black woman with spear plans to sacrifice them
somehow RW beats everyone up and the two get away
big chest is going into ocean to reach them
trapped on an island
Tourist pulls a thing and theyre in the ball room
looks like star systems
rincewind isnt as stoked
they beat up two dudes and wear the space costumes
cut to the arena: crowd is stoked
vehicle is ready
purple coat guy gives a speech
"highly skilled chelonauts"
the two are suited up
"i just think i need to boldly go"
"heroes not just of Krull but the galaxy" pc guy
oh no theyre going up to the ship
octavo is screechin
wizards are in front of it
silly purple effect shoots up to the ceiling
its going up out of the university into the sky
theres a chimp wizard - head librarian Horace
the guys arrive at the ship, the goons are pursuing them
2f is opening it
rincewind is not into it
but the enemy chelonauts are coming
2f gets stuck in hatch
countdown is going
the wizards see the Octavo looking like
discworld blowing up with mist - a warning?
"to the tower of art!"
wizards climbing stairs 8888 of them
it didnt blow up but it made a big mist
a countdown while 2f is tryingg to get inside hatch and the ship is about to go
a new star
"the whole damn sky is full of worlds"
ac says the only way to know whats happening is to perform the rite of ashkente
mist is a change spell created by the octavo
“the whole world is changing...for the better, I think."
arrow went through ACs hat
Trymon dumped him off the edge
we see whole discworld
ship is spinning so they can see the edge
tourist says the new star is so pretty, he should name it
trymon is now the arch chancellor
oops they went under the whole thing
they seem to be moving near the new star
"ill give it a name: goodbye, world"
theyre on a collision course!
Ben Mooney of Back to the Futurama fame joins us to discuss Jeff's favorite film, The Wizard of Oz. We get deep into the weeds on this one, from class struggle to female scientists to the drawbacks of John Carpenter films. Toby Keith gets a shoutout and Glinda gets a critical reappraisal.
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Lindsey's podcasts The Kurt Locker Cool Breeze over the Mountains Historical Hotties Jeff's podcasts Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
Ben’s podcasts
Back to the Futurama Good Morning, Greendale Ring My Bell
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024 Here’s James website for all his activities: jameslark.co.uk Recommendations
The Vanishing (Dutch Version) Alan Wake 2 Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
Social Media Lindsey Nelsen
Instagram - LindseyCameronNelsen Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter)
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
Ben Mooney
Bluesky: ben.vampirefriday.org
Mastadon: [email protected]
Links
Return to Oz Supernatural "Skin" 1-6 The Thing Doctor Who The Hobbit Alice in Wonderland Avatar Citizen Kane William Randolph Hearst Rupert Murdoch Gone With the Wind Mr Rogers Rocky Horror Picture Show Legend Clue Muppet Treasure Island Labyrinth David Bowie The White Rose Society Jurassic Park Alien Gandhi Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Princess Bride The Ring Twin Peaks: The Return Murder She Wrote Hannibal What We Do in the Shadows Dracula Speak No Evil James McAvoy
Extended Notes
BRING BACK THE INTERMISSION
A Movie-Ass Movie
movies stayed in theaters sometimes for years
live show during a movie
make every movie a rocky horror picture show
theyre not all winners
LIPSKIN
Oh we've had a beef for some time
some loudass birds
what is this statue for?
you can't blame a tornado on a dog
I'm not saying Toto is on a weight loss journey
Make every effect you can a practical effect
abandoned Oz theme park
youre gonna need another boat
she could be a chaotic good witch
a good post-murder party
you gotta have snacks
where's the Orange Brick Road go?
magic ethereal background singers!
you don't know the rules!
owls and vultures look like shit
far too many monkeys
the witch is so evil she cackles at US
a Prime Directive violation par excellence
Breakdown [Don't Watch It]
Buying a Costume: the coward's way out
Lindsey Nelsen: Certified Spooky Person™️
Ben's Haunted House
so many nieces and nephews
Backtothefuturama.com
Goodmorninggreendale.com
ringmybell.sexandlasers.com
love the wind sound during the overture
victor fleming production/directed as well
munchkins arent credited?
dedicated to the Young in Heart
like when time magazines person of the year was You
chicks chirping!
aunt em
is she playing younger than 16?
wavin that dang hammer at her
lovin the walk on the stall in a nice dress thing
shes gonna get ate by the pigs!
Zekes the cowardly lion!
Aunt Em cant put up with lollygaggers
well dont start posing for it now!
its no place for dorothy qround a pig sty
now go feed those hogs before they worry themselves into anemia!
some place where there isnt any trouble
we must discuss the classic anti Jewish stereotype witch/ Miss Gulch (not in the book?)
(Uncle Henry has a long beard in the book and both he and Em are gray and dour, no laughter)
toto whimpering! never heard it before
Elmyra Gulch
for 23 years ive been dying to tell you what i thought of you and now, well, being a christian woman i cant say it
Totos a sneaker
you came back!
good reason to run away
does this mean that Toto's to blame for this entire mess?
or Dorothy for letting him in the garden?
this part is kind of dull visually but the banter is good
no one would ever leave their tray of food down near where a loose dog could get it. sheer madness
i like how the branches are moving out the door
winds pickin up!!
a whopper! to speak in the language of the peasantry!
that model looks amazing
the twister always scares the shit out of me
you can tell Judy Garland is a stage actor dancer type and not a farmgirl, yankin on the cellar door limply
(in the book the cellar door is inside the house)
i just yelled get away from the window! even though ive seen this fifteen times
cart
tree
chickens
knitting lady shes dead
cow dead
two guys rowing dead
Miss Gulch!
oh shit shes a witc
this song is so scary
i forget how scary the music is when watching it with an album
oh! cute utterance amid total silence
toto in full color is even cuter
Munchkin village really could be a theme park area
(in book Munchkins are Dorothy's height, i think they aged Dorothy up for the film)
Toto, I have a feelling were not in Kansas anymore
oh this bitch
Glenda the good witch
(from the book - pic at bottom of notes)
(in book a Munchkin suggests she go to the wizard. doesnt explain why she cant go but plants a protective kiss on her)
i need you to wage war on this other witch
ONLY BAD WITCHES ARE UGLY
shes gone where the goblins go
its funny how they try
to make the kids look older with wildass makeup
Glinda is on valium for sure smiling through the death chat
dude is swinging his sword around in the middle of this melee
ok what
these people are tiny yet their doors still dont fit them
lullaby league has super squeaky song
wicked witch of the east seems so goofy
where are the slippers?
Glinda is such a shit stirrer
the witchs exit is so dramatic
what a smell of sulfur
she doesnt seem all that surprised to find out Oz also has trouble
Glinda you vile shit stirrer - dont take off those slippers!
Glinda's slippers must rule if she doesnt even try to take the ruby ones
it seems like the edits last long as Toto stays on task - i wonder how many takes he ruined
bet Garland was having to feed him treats anytime the camera came on
(theres a ton of eating in the books but not in the film)
why scary music for Scarecrow?
brown nose?
(in the book everyone in the East wears blue, even the scarecrow)
i could while away the hours
pickin wild flowers
individal!
shes really good at gassing up her homeys
how do you follow the ybr if it splits four ways?
uh oh witch be right here? wild. why doesnt she just kill her right here?
why its a man!
oil can!
rusting rain!
did this paint give him cancer?
who sang that lady part? fucking weird
WHEREFORE ART THOU ROMEO? wtf
i cant remember a time this has ever happened in cinema - possibly a Mel Brooks?
can he throw his voice? i need to know the extent of the tin mans powers
toto loves him
the toot toot spooked Toto
what are D and SC whisperin about?
oh takin him with them to the wizard
witch cacklin on the roof?
wanna play ball?!!! this woman just tried to ignite poor SC
oh yeah its lion time
lions and tigers and bears oh my
whats wrong with you teachin em?
Dorothy just slapped him on the face!
(in the book Lion asks what Toto is made of and Dorothy says hes a meat dog!)
afraid of sheep!
without the vim and voive!
if the wizard is a wizard who will serve
(id love it if the lion was a literal lion like in the book, though who will ever redo the Wizard of Oz?)
gorgeous matte painting at the end of wizard of oz song - i want it as a mural
witchypoo is doing something dastardly
(in the book the witch doesnt make the poppies appear!)
poppies will put them to sleep!
get high people
sc and tm dont breathe so theyre fine
(itb they leave Lion in the field! theres this whole section where the queen of mice and her subjects help rescue Lion)
(itb Lion talks like a dnd paladin)
i have this strange memory of wearing a Lion costume and playing TCL, but surely not cuz i dont remember anything else about it
snow neutralizes poppy poison?
but then rusts poor TM
"somebody always helps that girl"
well bust my buttons!
lookat these green motherfuckers
velvet tophat!
oh no its the king of the forest song
yeah i dont like this guys shtick
tm just broke a pot to do a bit? chaos
why the huh at the end?
dont cry dorothy!
door guy had an Aunt Em once? bizarre
the green cathedral hall is real spooky
Toto!
boveen fodder
damn wiz really is ordering them to their deaths
lion leaps through a window with no apparent injury
wrench net gas and gun
those owls are the worst thing in the movie
wait maybe the vultures are worse
that flying monkey should use the slippers, take control homey
too many monkeys
Toto!
i bet those monkeys stink
so many spears missed Toto!
holy shit she's
so evil she cackles AT US!
Toto goes to get the guys!
climbing with lions tail!
its slow goin
witchy is into brutalist architecture
olia jo um
owium
jo um
hooknosed green mongols with naginatas
they all managed
to get their asses kicked
oz is parked right next to the front door? what a doofus
a heart is not judged by how much you love
but by how you are loved by others
You are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe. I was
petrified
so the message is stay at home?
surely she just means for two years until graduation, yeah?
now i know ive got a heart, cuz its breaking
say goodbye toto
theres no place like home
she'll have to give up Toto anyway, unless Gulch ate it in the storm
In this episode, Lindsey and Jeff break down two exception X-Files episodes, “Beyond the Sea” and “Humbug”, from season one and season two, respectively. Lon Suder and the Enigma feature prominently, and the Man From Another Place even makes an appearance!
Next time: The Wizard of Oz!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Lindsey's podcasts
Cool Breeze over the Mountains
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024
Here’s James website for all his activities:
Recommendations
Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) with Jamie Loftus
Dickenson on Apple TV+
The Maid and the Crodocile by Jordan Ifueko
Social Media
Lindsey Nelsen
Instagram - LindseyCameronNelsen
Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter)
Jeff Richardson
@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show)
Links
"Whatever Lola Wants She Gets"
COPS chasin a werewolf episode
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Extended Notes
Beyond the Sea
season 1 ep 13
its christmas!
her dad likes to tease her
is she religious?
she rebels by punishing herself with pine needles lol
mom doesnt know why he wants to leave early?
or does she know something?
ohhh she wants dad to admit hes proud of Dana
motherfuckers will pay anything to look like they have hair
whats dad saying?
we lost your dad :(
hes a ghost!
our first look at the credits
groovy song
seems more like the credits of an unexplained mysteries
inappropriate, Dana
shes shocked to be called Dana by Mulder
Luther Lee Boggs - Brad Dourif
Boggs is a family annihilator
what do we know about FAs
LLB wants to meet Mulder
Dana works to deal with pain
Mulder is sweet with Dana
he wanted to be spread in the sea and not buried at Arlington
french beyond the sea
"he was your father"
what does that mean?!
what four letter words would you put on your fists?
LLB channeling, he really goes for it
have you ever seen someone channel for real?
Ramtha in Yelm
can convicts have earrings?
"i gotta go, i gotta go"
he sings the tune! but not in French? is that just for us or does it mean anything
this music is so creepy
haunting horns, feathery strings
Mulder is mad!
"I thought that youd be pleased that id opened myself up to extreme possibilities"
"I love this job" "You love your father"
spooky circle pan
so wet
dont go near the white cross
your blood spills on the white cross
oh dang Mulder got it in the leg
Danas trippin
was Lucas Henry Boggs's partner?
wow Scully says some angry nonsense
Dana sees Mulder? its always odd when cops are hallucinating yet stay at work
whoa now hes channeling Scully at 14!
"theres plenty o room in that cold dark place for liars, Scully"
is it proof that he hasnt reformed not giving up the boys
location? or is saving your own life enough to justify letting someone dies?
great prison model!
Cops lie! Bearing false witness is a commandment and your good catholic girl Scully crossed that one right off the list
its our ACAB moment of the day
circles, barrels, huge vats
condemned factory
old blue devil brewery
"dont follow Henry to the devil, leave that to me"
wow Scully just rolls into view, shes feelin reckless
lol she sent a goon on ahead
love that rat squeakage
oops Boggs got him
she didnt really need that warning considering it was all the way across the room
"I believe that if you had orchestrated this kidnapping, Lucas Henry would have been aware of the danger you warned me about"
hes got some wild eyebrows
i trim mine, did men not do that in the 90s?
ugh the death penalty sucks...im reminded of The Player and also Dead Man Walking
Mulder is like now you dont believe? weird
"I'm afraid. I'm afraid to believe."
"He was my father."
Mulders soft touch on her arm - what a chap
Humbug
season 2 ep 20
weird reddish face of guy in the woods
hand all funky
kids playing in pool
green eyes
something in the water
weird red gloopy mouth?
goes in water, scares gatorman
kills gatorman
48 attacks!!
same weird weapon
sounds like a hungry monster,
like flukeman
Scully is stunned by the idea of being ugly
the freak funeral is great
suspects!
"they rod and thy staff"
pastor has no arms so uses his feet
bearded lady is gatormans wife
subway ghost from Ghost!
Vincent Schiavelli
"i cant wait for the wake"
Jerry was an escape artist
Hepcat Helm, artist that drew fishman
Hepcat seems spooky
"Who are the rubes?"
"Its a tabernacle of terror." "Its a fun house"
Dead monkey sewn onto the tail of a fish
a genuine fake
"you never where the truth ends and the humbug begins"
is the Fiji Mermaid real?
"Do you recall what Barnum said about suckers?"
lil man works behind the bar - is this the Man From Another Place?
he reads Mulder!
"your unimaginative necktie design"
Larry loved the freak life
he would show off his dead conjoinedbrother Leonard
Mr Nutt, the kindhearted manager
now he carries the luggage
he says the bedbug thing lol
"dont let the Fiji Mermaid bite"
oof this song is terrible
"im in a frenzy, bwaaaaah"
Mermaid wastes the prop guy
its Xenomorphin Time
Mulder sees someone swimmin
he has a fish!
its the Enigma! the conundrum
he runs off
Scullys sleepin
folks are trampolinin
Larrys back
shows bro, peeps Scullys boob
new murder
Mulder TOUCHED THE BLOOD ON THE WINDOW
"theyd have to be a contortionist, or just plain crazy, or both"
escape guy not going very fast
under three minutes?
"Dr Blockhead does not perform tricks!"
he claims to be from Yemen?
theres blood on the nail!
Tieu Bu Shan
"did you know you can train your testacles to draw up into your abdomen?"
"oh Im doing that as we speak?”
the music sort of clangs off the goofs
conundrum eats all manner of stuff
Scully ate a live bug
Mulder wasnt into it
she was doing magic!
"everybodys uncles an amateur magician"
checkin out the freak museum
Chang and Eng
museum docent has a melty half face
this guy has real Garak vibes
hes in five xfiles eps
canadian actor
last role was in 2019 twilight zone, "The Blue Scorpion"
the exotic life of the Dog-faced boy
good mirror stuff with melty guy
charging a cop to investigate is shady
is he locking her in here?!
treasure chest
its empty
door to rear exit opens?
Mulder at trailer, snooping around
find guy under trailer
did Mulder just pretend to make a pass at him?
an orphan discovered in the wild forest of Albania in 1943
Sheriff Hamilton was dog faced boy
why did melty guy lead them to Sheriff?
Sheriff be diggin
doin somethin with a knife
is this a setup? does he know theyre watching? show got me thinkin paranoid thoughts
spooky bushes again
hyperthrosis does not include lycanthropy
theyre just calmly admitting to spying on Sheriff without a warrant
Conundrums in a loincloth chasin a dog
Trailer Manager is totes chill, takes a rent check from Conundrum in advance
oh snap creature
is trying to yank dude
out
little lady face mermaid screams at dude covered in blood
Larry rolls in, says "Hes dead"
Larry loved lil man
weird spike thing with blood
Sheriff settles Larry down
"If people knew the true price of spirituality thered be more atheists"
blockhead is a bit of a goofster
he does some escape artist shenanigans
knocks down Mulder
Sheriff catches Blockhead
someones stalking Lanny
uh oh somethings arrived, Larry is trippin
does he know what it is?
"I dont know why he hates me so. Ive taken care of him all our lives. perhaps that was the problem."
he thinks you cam be born bad
"how mobile could such a thing be?" "too mobile"
"What an act!" too bad hes a murderer, Blockhead
Mulder's somewhere spooky
reminds me of basement in dresden files Mavra's vampire lair
is this the tabernacle of terror?
yep
goblin laughing on string
critter still lurkin
Hall of Mirrors!
gross creature noise
she's just shooting at the creature? i know its killed but thats pretty rude
they go outside - did she injure it? dog is coming too
heres Conundrum
critter attacks!
did Conundrum eat him! Wtf
"Now you know howI feel"
Lanny died!
he was a mega drunk
"Nature abhors normality. Maybe some mysteries were never meant to be solved"
"probably somethin I ate"
That was it?
weird
In this episode, Lindsey and Jeff discuss the X-Files pilot episode. Also, if you're looking for a composer look no further than friend of the show James Lark! Find his website at Jameslark.co.uk - you'll be glad you did!
Next time: "Beyond the Sea" (season 1, episode 13) and "Humbug" (season 2, Episode 20)\
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Lindsey's podcasts The Kurt Locker Cool Breeze over the Mountains Historical Hotties Jeff's podcasts Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show) James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024 Here’s James website for all his activities: jameslark.co.uk Recommendations None this week! Check the Links section for ideas! Social Media Lindsey Nelsen Instagram - LindseyCameronNelsen Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter) Jeff Richardson @eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Omniversal Escapades (Jeff’s livestreaming RPG show) LinksKumail Nanjiani's The X-Files Files
X-Files "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
Doctor Who: "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror"
Extended Notes
"the following story is inspired by actual documented accounts"
Collum national forest
lady running in the woods
red hair and white ish night dress
weirdo creep surrounded by wind spiral
the dude zaps into white light
leaves behind ladys body
two red bumps
Karen Swenson, dead woman
class of 89
2:11 "its happening again, isnt it?"
Agent Dana Scully!
she doesnt get out of a mans way and its boss
mean roger ebert is her boss
smoking creepo is there
Agent Fox Mulder
oxford educated psychologist, profiled Monty Propps in 1998
nickname of Spooky
she got a bit huffy about being assigned to debunk the x-files
Mulder's office is a trip
for a messy office is isnt that messy
he thought she was sent to spy
shes a medical doctor, teaches at the academy, undergrad in physics
Einsteins Twin Paradox
he says Oregon wrong
two distinct marks
can Dr Scully ID the marks?
synthetic protein seen in her death and two others, SD and TX
she doesnt think there are aliens
also she doesnt think this woman was
8:10 "Thats why they put the I in FBI"
theyre flying
they hit some heavy turbulence and Mulder is straight chillin
FBI got involved, didnt find anything, then shelved the case
they go through a weird zone where radio frizzes out, card ies
Mulder gets some spray paint and marks the area
11:20 "What the hell was that about? Oh you know. Probably nothing."
they meet the locals at the graveyard
Greatest American Hero drives up, his daughter doesnt want him to do this, he confronts Mulder
Dr Jay Nemmon
hes defensive and thinks Mulder is accusing him. daughter begs to leave
13:22 "Guy obviously needed a longer vacation."
Ray Soames, 3rd victim
accused of the murder
died of exposure
13:50 "How does a 20 year old die of exposure on a warm summer night in Oregon, Doctor Scully?"
strap breaks, body rolls, and Mulder opens it up. theres a chimp corpse inside
14:25 "Its probably a safe bet Ray Soames never made the Varsity basketball team"
Autopsy of the chimp
Mulder takes photos
15:30 "If its not alien, what is it?"
Scully doesnt want to do more tests
Mulder orders it
Scully thinks it might be an orangutan but after her exam she isnt sure
16:25 "Who is it? Stephen Spielberg."
shes just in a big shirt!
Mulder asks her to walk with him
she says no
he wants to know about implant
she claims not to care, then we see her studying x ray
they go to mental hospital
meet the boss
Billy Myles is in a waking coma
Peggy and he were in an accident
Mulder is really sweet to her
Mulder says some shit to engineer her freaking out so he can look for her two bumps
Scully is disgusted
she wants to know why he expected to see the bumps
alien abduction?!
she is not into this
she thinks its something non alien
Scully: "how did she get there? wht were those kids doing in the forest?"
theyre in the woods that night
looking for clues
she finds a circle of weird ash
then hears a strange noise
she investigates
finds a white light behind a ridge
some dude walks up
22:17 Scully says she's FBI
shotgun man tells them to split
they dont like it
how did she get all the way back to the car without realizing?
weird for the guy to be out there
Scully shows Mulder the ash
what if theyre in a cult?
Mulder drives, sees compass being weird
light flashes, car died, they lost 9 minutes
24:25 "We just lost nine minutes!"
abductees report unexplained time loss
25:09 "Time cant disappear. Its a universal invariant!"
Scully is writing a repory, light goes out
runs a bath instead
robe, candle, basic 90s underwear
she sees something weird
she goes to Mulder, asks him to look at it
theyre just mosquito bites
she is so relieved she hugs him
she stays with him
he tells her how his sister disappeared out of the room
no one would talk about it
he explains how he found the X-Files
[San Francisco kid counseling service rule requiring truth about the event that damaged them]
28:44 "There's classified government information I've been trying to access, but someone has been blocking my attempts to get at it."
he says shes a part of it
she says she just wants to solve this
he says she needs to know
he explains doing hypnosis with a doctor Heitz Werber
someone calls and says Peggy O'Dell is dead
she ran in front of a truck
but she was in a wheelchair before
her watch stopped at 9 something
they get to the motel and its on fire
all their evidence destroyed
teresa nemmon comes up "You've got to protect me"
her dad is the medical examiner
he told her not to tell anyone about it
he claims he can protect her
she has the marks
she has a bloody nose!
dad comes in and is real pushy
shotgun guy is Billy Myles's father
Scully says they know who did the murders
Mulder doesnt get why they destroyed evidence
whats up with the other two graves?
theyre both freshly emptied
Mulder thinks he knows who killed everyone
Billy Myles?
she says vegetable *yeesh
He says Billy moved
something took control of Billy during those nine minutes
you think im crazy dont you
she tells him about the watch
they say this stuff
summoned by some alien impulse
she laughs
he does too
they split
Scully sees that Billy's feet are muddy
she gets a sample from his feet
same stuff from the forest
they decide to go back to the forest for a sample
Detective Myles is parked there
they hear a scream
theyre running through the trees
Scully gets brained by Myles
Mulder runs after scream
Myles cocks his weapon at him
Mulder tells him he knows its Billy
Billy is being tornadoed with someone
Dad starts to shoot
Mulder tackles him
Billy has the marks
light swirls
Scully sees light
when it goes away, Billy is there and whoever he was holding is alive
bumps are gone
Mulder runs, finds Scully
it was incredible
Billy is being interviewed about the light
Mulder is watching
he talks about the testing place?
talks about getting the implant
theyd give him orders
Scully is behind the glass
test didnt work
im afraid theyre coming back
smoking man whispers and mean Roger Ebert leaves with him
Ebert tells her its wack
no evidence
she shows him the implant
44:30 "the material could not be identified"
She leaves office and smoking man goes in
she cant sleep
nice blinds shadow on her face
Mulder calls
no casefile, paperwork is gone
Smoking man stashes implant in a case thay seems especially made for them
super long and tall aisle
he comes put and locks the door
its in the pentagon
music seems unorthodox
ambient plonk plonk with whiny grinding
opening theme was like that as well
did they not write a full theme because it was the pilot?
i jumped ahead and yes thats what happened
Beverly Crusher challenges the universe
We wrap up the final chapter and then talk about the entire book. Then we look at One Star Goodreads reviews!
Next time on: X-Files! Watch the pilot and join us with your ears!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Below you'll find our plugs, links, recommendations, and links to stuff from this week's episode! Lindsey's podcasts The Kurt Locker Cool Breeze over the Mountains Historical Hotties Jeff's podcasts Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Omniversal Escapades
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024 Here’s James website for all his activities: Recommendations Dropout TV Game Changer Make Some Noise Bookburners (podcast) Oh Boy! A Time Travel Podcast James Lark (composer, podcaster) The Bartimaeus Trilogy
Social Media Lindsey Nelsen Instagram - LindseyCameronNelsen Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter) Jeff Richardson @eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Links
Star Trek: The Next Generation “Remember Me”
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Extended Notes
Part 7: Matthew Rose Sorensen
Ketterley missing
cops trying to find him
no one remembers him being a boat guy
Officer Askill thinks its related to the reappearance of Matthew Rose Sorenson
Askill thinks he held Sorenson to manufacture evidence of the other world
he killed himself out of shame or because they were onto him
"Undeterred, Askill has questioned me twice. He is a young man with a pleasant, good-natured face, little brown curls all over his head and an intelligent expression. He wears a dark blue suit and a grey shirt and speaks with a Yorkshire accent"
"And where were you?’ he asks. ‘While you were gone?’
‘I was in a house with many rooms. The sea sweeps through the house. Sometimes it swept over me, but always I was saved.’
Askill pauses and frowns."
Askill asks if he's getting treatment
he is seeing a therapist
but no meds
Askill wonders if Ketterley kept him anywhere, he says no, he was free to travel
P feels bad that he cant tell Askill more
Askill says Raphael is amazing. P agrees
Askill tells the story of Pinny Wheeler
"She sat down with Pinny Wheeller and she got him to stop throwing flaming newspaper everywhere and she got him to come down. Pretty brave, don’t you think?’
‘Braver than you think. She doesn’t like heights.’"
Piranesi meets his family, theyre all very happy to see him
they hold on to the idea that the house is a metaphor
"This love of clothes was something he shared with Piranesi. Piranesi frequently wrote about Dr Ketterley’s clothes in his journal and lamented the contrast with his own ragged garments"
Ps new personality doesnt care much about clothes
"Piranesi cannot bear to have so many possessions. I do not need this! is his constant refrain"
P uses the journals to help him learn who MRS was
"Piranesi has a strong dislike of money. Piranesi wants to say: But I need the thing you have, so why don’t you just give it to me? And then when I have something you need, I will just give it to you. This would be a simpler system and much better!"
he decides to write a book about Arne-Sayles
Raphael teaches him how to find the path to the labyrinth
he goes to Manchester, finds James Ritter, and offers to take him back to the house.
Ritter wants to stay but P wont let him. he doesnt know how to care for himself
he finds Ketterleys body and lys it at the feet of a man surrounded by snakes. here it will be picked clean by birds, then he'll move it next to the Biscuit-Box Man
he continues to look to statues for guidance and strength. He thinks of one in particular
"It is the statue of a man kneeling on his plinth; a sword lies at his side, its blade broken in five pieces. Roundabout lie other broken pieces, the remains of a sphere. The man has used his sword to shatter the sphere because he wanted to understand it, but now he finds that he has destroyed both sphere and sword. This puzzles him, but at the same time part of him refuses to accept that the sphere is broken and worthless. He has picked up some of the fragments and stares at them intently in the hope that they will eventually bring him new knowledge."
then he think of LAS
"This statue represents a heretical pope seated on a throne. He is fat and bloated. He lolls on his throne, a shapeless mass. The throne is magnificent, but the sheer bulk of the figure threatens to split it in two. He knows that he is repulsive, but you can see by his face that the idea pleases him. He revels in the thought that he is somehow shocking. In his face there is mingled laughter and triumph. Look at me, he seems to say. Look at me!"
he thinks of one for Raphael
"In my mind Raphael is better represented by a statue in an antechamber that lies between the forty-fifth and the sixty-second northern halls. This statue shows a figure walking forward, holding a lantern. It is hard to determine with any certainty the gender of the figure; it is androgynous in appearance. From the way she (or he) holds up the lantern and peers at whatever is ahead, one gets the sense of a huge darkness surrounding her; above all I get the sense that she is alone, perhaps by choice or perhaps because no one else was courageous enough to follow her into the darkness."
he loves Raphael more than anyone
the two of them return to the house often, sometimes together, sometimes apart
"Don’t disappear,’ I tell her sternly. ‘Do not disappear.’
She makes a rueful, amused face. ‘I won’t,’ she says.
‘We can’t keep rescuing each other,’ I say. ‘It’s ridiculous.’
She smiles. It is a smile with a little sadness in it.
But she still wears the perfume – the first thing I ever knew of her – and it still makes me think of Sunlight and Happiness."
when he's stressed he thinks about the house, remembering the exact shape and turns
he dreams of the gorilla statue leaving its plinth and coming toward him. P hugs him and says how happy he is to be home
"It began to snow. The low clouds made a grey ceiling for the city; the snow muffled the noise of the cars until it became almost rhythmical; a steady, shushing noise, like the sound of tides beating endlessly on marble walls."
he walks the park until he sees an old man. He recognizes him!
"He is shown as a king with a little model of a walled city in one hand while the other hand he raises in blessing. I wanted to seize hold of him and say to him: In another world you are a king, noble and good! I have seen it!"
last he sees a hotel
"Paper lanterns were hanging from the wires, spheres of vivid orange that blew and trembled in the snow and the thin wind; the sea-grey clouds raced across the sky and the orange lanterns shivered against them.
The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite."
thats it!
Thanks for listening to The Great and Secret Knowledge: A Speculative Fiction Podcast! In this episode, Lindsey and Jeff cover Part 5: Ketterley and Part 6: Wave.
Below you'll find our plugs, links, recommendations, and links to stuff from this week's episode!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Fancast as Raphael
Rashida Jones in Silo
Roxann Dawson in Voyager
Fancast as Ketterley
Roger Delgado in Doctor Who
Mads Mikkelsen
Fancast as Arne-Sayles
Chris Hemsworth in Bad Times at the El Royale
Jesus Christ Superstar guy
Anthony Hopkins
Mads Mikkelson
Links
Erica Knapp on Everything is Awesome
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Doctor Who "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"
Recommendations
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Never watch Knock Knock
Plugs
Lindsey's podcasts The Kurt Locker Cool Breeze over the Mountains Historical Hotties Jeff's podcasts Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Omniversal Escapades
James Lark (composer, podcaster) wrote the theme song for the show Licensed for show use, copyright 2024 Here’s James website for all his activities:
Extended Notes
Part 5: Ketterley
are you familiar with Berlioz? Hector Berlioz
"inside the house there was a smell of rain, clouds and air, a smell of limitless space. A smell of the sea"
berlioz is "the soundtrack of catastrophe"
Ketterly stopped academia 15 years earlier "Academia was never very welcoming to me. I had the wrong sort of ideas and the wrong sort of friends.’"
MRS thinks maybe AS wont talk to him cuz hes ashamed
"Ketterley gave a short, sharp, humourless laugh. ‘Hardly. Laurence has no shame. He’s just perverse. If someone says white, he’ll say black. If you say you want to see him, then he won’t want to see you. That’s just the way he is.’"
we learn about MRSs journals - hes a very good record keeper
we get MRSs opinion of AS
On not liking the word Conjuring:
"Of course I object to the fucking word,’ he said irritably. ‘You’re suggesting that Laurence was some sort of stage magician and we were all his wide-eyed dupes. It wasn’t like that at all. He liked you to argue with him. He liked you to put the rationalist point of view.’
interesting cult where its oky to challenge the leader
he would destroy you verbally tho which is textbook cult behavior
Sylvia Dagostino was devoted. AS told her to break ties with parents and she did
"There was absolutely no advantage to him in cutting her off from her family. It didn’t benefit him in the slightest. He did it because he could. He did it to cause anguish for her and her parents. He did it because he was cruel.’"
Interesting to see K talk about this, as if he isnt cruel. Is he judging AS? or just speaking facts
"I don’t like you very much,’ he said.
I laughed. ‘I can live with that,’ I said"
why did K think it was a labyrinth?
K explains - AS claimed not to need a ritual, but the others did
Also Sylvia could slip in and out
could K do it? he felt it and once he saw it
K asks the scariest question in media "Does anyone know youre here?"
the suspense!
a twelve minute ritual? not likely
hes also feeling suspense while writing it!
MRS just thinks K is lying, not that he's about to murder him
interesting to get MRS first impressions of the House
K says some wack stuff
"Forgive me for not saying anything before now,’ he smiled, ‘but I really am delighted to see you. A young, healthy man is just what I wanted.’"
this is his supervillain moment - this guy that isnt cruel
PART 6 - Wave
P vomits, realizes K is not his friend
He is my enemy
"I had forgotten, but the Other remembered. I could see now that he was apprehensive in case one day I remembered. He called me Piranesi so he would not need to use the name Matthew Rose Sorensen. He tested me by speaking words such as ‘Battersea’ to see if they sparked any memories. I had been incorrect when I said that Battersea was nonsense. It was not nonsense."
multiple revelations
this is how it hits when you realize your partner is cheating or stealing from you
how to make sure i dont forget?
for his own advantage!
K needs a slave to do his work for him
he's wishing he hadn't warned K about the flood
I could kidnap K and tie him up
killer monologue wink
"maybe i'll give him water, maybe i will not
Perhaps I will give him water to drink. Perhaps I will not. Perhaps I will say to him: ‘Soon you will have plenty of Water!’ And on Thursday he will watch the Tides pouring in through the Doors and he will scream and scream. And I will laugh and laugh. I will laugh as long and as loud as he laughed at Matthew Rose Sorensen when he brought him here …This is where I lost Myself."
P fantasizes about killing K
he gets food and thinks about what he read
MRS had this stuff happen to him and he resides within P
"I placed my hand on my chest. Hush now! I said, Do not be afraid. You are safe. Go back to sleep. I will take care of us both"
"MRS thought these things. 'As far as I can tell, Matthew Rose Sorensen was in his right mind when he wrote them. Neither he nor I had ever been mad.'"
the Other is the one trying to drive him mad, not 16
he considers 16s last message, realizes hes probably Ks only victim
"why had 16 come?
Because she was looking for Matthew Rose Sorensen. Because she wanted to rescue him from the slavery of the Other. I saw it clearly now. It is 16 that is my friend and not the Other"
"16 was patient, resolute and ingenious. 16 was still looking for me"
he discovers that someone wiped away Ps warning about the flood for 16 as well as her question to P
P decides that K did it
he thinks K is intentionally tricking 16 into dying in the flood
he moves the deads bones
he stashes his journals high up
he gathers up all his rain bowls
in the hall of horned giants he sees a bag full of gear:
"I took out all the contents. They were as follows:
• a Gun
• a quantity of folded material made of a dense, heavy plastic. This was by far the largest object in the bag; it
filled most of the bag and was coloured blue, black and grey.
• a small cylindrical container with a secure lid. This contained other small objects the purpose of which was unclear.
• a thing like a slice of a larger cylinder cut down at an angle, with a yellow hose coming out of it
• two black plastic rods extendable to a length of approximately 2 metres
• 4 black paddle-shapes"
he thinks maybe the house left the bag for him
he decides its the Others because theres a gun
day of the flood
he eats some soup
he tries to guess where K would send her
"I remembered the words of the Prophet:
The closer 16 gets, the more dangerous Ketterley will become.
My hope was that I could find 16 before she reached the Other"
he goes back and forth between boat area and the first vestibule
the Other appears!
Other is dressed casually and wearing a life jacket
P flllows him to the boat, still no sign of 16
tides are beginning to converge
Other pumps up the boat
waves start thudding
he realizes 16 is clever and may be watching
"I had a mental image of both 16 and Myself hiding in the First Western Hall, both waiting for the other one to appear. I could not afford to remain hidden any longer: I stepped down from the Niche and walked towards the Other"
the gun is out in the open
Other is angry
P starts quoting his journal at the other
"I visited him in mid-November,’ I said. ‘It was just after four, a cold blue twilight.’"
other isnt listening, starts giving orders
K says to bash Raphael (16) in the head
P keeps quoting
"The afternoon had been stormy,’ I said, ‘and the lights of the cars were pixelated by rain; the pavements collaged with wet black leaves.’"
"When I got to his house I heard music playing,’ I said. ‘A requiem. I waited for him to answer the door to an accompaniment of Berlioz.’"
K is getting spooked
"What are you talking about?’ he asked again in a voice made hoarse with fear.
‘Battersea,’ I said. ‘You asked me once if I remembered Battersea. And now I do.’"
K tries to distract P by calling him Matthew
"He laughed suddenly, an odd sound: hysteria masquerading as relief. ‘No, no!’ he said. ‘You don’t get me that easily. Those aren’t your words. They’re someone else’s. You don’t really remember. Raphael put you up to this. Really, Matthew, how stupid do you think I am?’"
he goes for the gun
P kicks away the gun
K asks what hes going to do
16 calls Ks name
she says shes looking for MRS
K grabs P and says here he is
P warns her about Ks gun
waves rush in
16 steps out
K tries to hit P
P gets loose, runs to 16
he takes her hand, they run to the wall
he climbs up the Father and son
she's too short to follow
he comes down and pushes her higher up
the make it 20odd feet up
cracking sounds
K is shooting at them!
P warns him to get in the boat
they have to move to avoid the shots
they hide behind statues back
P peeks out, sees K going to boat
hes wading, boat is swirling
boat is dancing around the hall
K is hopelessly swimming after it
boat comes at him then flies away
P shouts for him to climb
a big wave crashes and the spray goes way up
if they hadnt hidden from shots they would have been thrown
destiny?
"The Spray caught the Sun; it was as if someone had suddenly thrown a hundred barrelfuls of diamonds into the Hall"
K eats it
boat keeps whirling about
waves continue, time passes
they dont speak to each other cuz its too loud
waves settle down
"16 had large dark eyes and an elfin face. Her expression was solemn. She was a little older than me – about forty, I thought. Her hair was black with wet.
‘You are Six … You are Raphael,’"
she says hes MRS and that she doesnt know him
shes here because shes a police officer
P thinks theyre both freaked by Ks death
she tends to his wound
it Looks like he was hurt by shrapnel, not a bullet
she cant get down so he goes off to find something to help her
he collects some gear, returns to 16
he feeds her seaweed
he ties nets together and makes a web she can climb down
"Our clothes were plastered to our bodies with wet. My hair – which is dark and curly – was as full of droplets as a Cloud. I rained every time I moved"
he talks to birds
"It’ll be gone soon,’ I told them. ‘Don’t worry.’
‘What?’ asked Raphael, startled. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘I was talking to the birds,’ I said. ‘They’re alarmed by the great quantities of Water that are everywhere. I’m telling them that it’ll soon be gone.’"
she wonders why he talks to birds, he mentions that she did too
she asks why he scrubbed her writing
he says because K said she was evil and would make him go mad
she says we should go home, he can come to her place and then she can take him home
he says i am home
she doesnt respond
she tells him why he should leave
"There’s something I have to tell you,’ she said. ‘I don’t know if you remember this, but you have a mum and a dad. And two sisters. And friends.’ She gazed at me intently. ‘Do you remember?’
I shook my head.
‘They’ve been looking for you,’ she said. ‘But they didn’t know the right place to look. They’ve been worried about you. They’ve been … ’ She looked away again to find the right words to express her thought. ‘They’ve felt pain because they didn’t know where you were,’"
"You don’t think of yourself as Matthew Rose Sorensen?’
‘No,’ I said.
‘But you have his face,’ she said.
‘Yes.’
‘And his hands.’
‘Yes.’
‘And his feet and his body.’"
Raphael is not contentious, P likes it
she asks if he would make a visit to MRSs family and he could come back
he explains that he takes care of the bones
shes surprised to hear there are other people
shed like to see the others to id them
hes like oh theyre dead
shes all what?
he thinks they were dead before he got there, but he cant be certain
he asks if she has dead
do they visit them and take them offerings
then he says he has to collect Ks body
she says theres plenty of time
she touches his shoulder
he starts crying
it must be MRS inside him crying
he asks if she'll come back
she will come back
she asks if he'll think about seeing MRSs family
he will
"My last thought before I fell asleep was: He is dead. My only friend. My only enemy"
he finds K
he explains how he'll treat the corpse
"I will put you in good order and you can rest in the Sunlight and the Starlight. The Statues will look down on you with Blessing"
P finds the boat
"I wish that you had saved him,’ I told it.
I did not feel that it responded in any way. It seemed drowsy, dozing, only half alive. Without the Rushing Waters to animate it, it was no longer the devil that had danced on the Waves, first mocking Dr Ketterley and then abandoning him"
Raphael asks what she should call him. he starts to say Piranesi but falters. K used to call him that but K was a dick
R tells him how she found him
an owl flies in. P has never seen a real live one
R interviews Sayles. He explains what happened to MRS
P talks about how things from the older world are represented by statues
she promises to come back whether he visits the other world or not
he gives R a tour of the halls
"She said, ‘It’s such an astonishing place. A perfect place. I saw some of it while I was looking for you, but I kept having to stop at the doors to write out the directions back to the minotaur room. It got very time-consuming and frustrating and of course I didn’t dare go too far in case I made a mistake.’"
he remembers that early on he had to use chalk to mark his path - more internal wrestling with truth
R asks if she can take photos. P says yes and thinks how nice it is tthat shes respectful of the house
P shows her the people of the alcove.
"Raphael regarded them gravely. She gently rested her hand on one of the bones – the tibia of one of the males. It was a gesture conveying comfort and reassurance. 'Don’t be afraid. You are safe. I am here.'"
she apologizes for his experience.
"I was astonished, even a little alarmed. No one has ever been as kind to me as Raphael; no one has ever done more for me. That she should apologise seemed to me inappropriate. ‘No … No … ’ I murmured and I put up my hands to fend off her words"
The two types of being sorry
he wants to avoid the thought that they were murdered.
"Mostly I wanted Raphael to come away from them so that I could stop thinking of them the way she thought of them – as murdered – and go back to thinking of them the way I always had before – as good, and noble, and peaceful."
he shows her the Coral Halls
"There are Figures horned with coral, or crucified on coral branches, or stuck through with coral arrows. There is a Lion enmeshed in a cage of coral and a Man holding a Little Box. The coral has grown so profusely over his Left Side that half of him appears to be engulfed in red- and rose-coloured flames, while the other half is not."
she expresses appreciation that there are no people in the house. he asks if she doesnt like the people in her own halls.
"Don’t you like the people in your own Halls?’ I asked, puzzled.
‘I like them,’ she said, with no very great enthusiasm. ‘Mostly I like them. Some of them. I don’t always get them. They don’t always get me.’"
he considers why one might not want to be around people.
"Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not. Perhaps that is what Raphael means."
he resolves to leave with Raphael.
"I have returned all of the Dead to their allotted places. Today I walked through the Halls as I have done a thousand times before. I visited all my most beloved Statues and as I gazed on each one, I thought: Perhaps this will be the last time I look on your Face. Goodbye! Goodbye!"
what must it be like to leave your entire life behind?
he puts all his ornament back in his hair. Raphael seems astonished.
"I took one last look at the Eternal House. I shivered. Raphael took my hand. Then, together, we walked into the corridor."
Recommendations
Camp Damascus
First legit novel - horror
not erotica
he's autistic!
talk about horror?
X-Files
Making a Murderer
Thanks for listening to The Great and Secret Knowledge: A Speculative Fiction Podcast! In this chapter, Piranesi learns more about the mysterious 16. He studies the scraps. We critique the character of Laurence Arne-Sayles. We hope you enjoy our coverage of Piranesi, Part 4: 16
Below you'll find our plugs, links, recommendations, and links to stuff from this week's episode!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Lindsey's podcasts The Kurt Locker Cool Breeze over the Mountains Historical Hotties Jeff's podcasts Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Our theme song was composed by James Lark Visit his website! https://www.jameslark.co.uk/
And listen to his wonderful short story podcast, Neurotic Literature: https://www.jameslark.co.uk/neuroticliterature
Recommendations
Game Changer Make Some Noise A Hero Born (Legend of the Condor Heroes) Daniel York Loh Everything is Awesome Doctor Who Decades Collection - "Imaginary Friends" Social Media Lindsey Nelsen Instagram - LindseyCameronNelsen Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter) Jeff Richardson @eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Links
The Fall by Tarsim Singh Eddie Izzard Legend of the Condor Heroes fight flight freeze fawn Stockholm Syndrome Humans will pack bond with literally anything National Geographic article about peat bog bodies tree made of cake Dragonlance Stephen King's endings Alfred Hitchcock on suspense Cursing and the brain Doctor Who "Blink" Waiting for Godot
Extended Notes
Part 5: Ketterley
P prepares to go collect the scraps of paper in the nests
some paper falls apart but others stay together
he makes a fire and uses warm water to dab away the droppings
79 scraps from 35 nests
"I rely on him to bring me food and water - which only underlines my status as a prisoner, a slave. He leaves the food in the room with the minotaur statues."
he feels bad for the writer, wishes he could teach him how to fish
"with only a little foresight he need never go hungry, how the House provides for and protects its Children."
"Had the concealed person tormented the Biscuit Box Man? Or the other way round?"
the writer thought a statue spoke to him. he's convinced he's losing his mind. He wants to kill someone "before I forget why I HATE HIM."
all caps - dude is losing it
he puts the scraps in different envelopes
he isnt sure whether to tell the Other about the people he's read about
"Supposing he said: Where did you hear of these people? Who told you? I would not know what to say. He must not know that I have spoken to the Prophet. He must not know about the entries in my Journal."
Ketterley says he's planning to do the ritual but it's been two months
"Something had just happened. What was it? What had just happened?"
he moves around until he finds the scent of lemons, geranium leaves, hyacinth, and narcissi. (I wish I could identify all those scents, it would help in my writing)
a beautiful perfume
the scent originates in the first vestibule and goes as far as the doorway to the corridor leading to the first southwestern hall.
he knows the smells of Ketterley and Arne Sayles.
16 was here!
"It was surprising to me that someone like 16, someone so wedded to destruction and madness, should wear a perfume so lovely, so redolent of Sunshine and Happiness."
"It is very likely that he will be pleasing to the eyes. His manners will be friendly and insinuating. This is how he intends to destroy you."
He tells K about the perfume. K is chill about.
He's relieved that they're coming to the halls because he thinks its best to kill him.
"I do not think I could kill someone however wicked they are," I said. "Even the wicked deserve Life. Or if they do not, then let the House take it from them. Not me." (is there a name for this? its not quite pacifism...not sure how to google it)
even K doesnt think he could kill someone up close.
he thinks he'll have to practice. (the idea of K practicing is kind of ridiculous)
K says a old man might come by, he describes him, its definitely the prophet.
"It was always amazing to me that no one killed him while he was in prison."
Piranesi realizes he's lying by omission by not mentioning talking to the prophet.
He's glad that the prophet said he'snot coming back
its raining bad.
he's real anxious about 16 out there plotting to make him go mad
he goes to a hall full of rooks (crows?) he feeds them.
one pecks at his ear and he laughs
he sees a mark made on a door with yellow chalk!
he used to do this, but he never had yellow chalk
16 wrote on the floor! P is worried about madness
he isn't sure if words would make him go mad or if its just listening to 16 speak
its only directions!
by where they put the chalkmarks P surmises that 16 is between 12 and 15 cm shorter than him)
Piranesi writes a wild note to 16 in all caps -
"The other has warned me of how you intend to make me mad. But in order to make me mad, you must first find me and how will you do that? the answer is you will not. I know every niche of these halls, every apse, every place to hide. Return to your own halls, 16, and reflect on your wickedness."
he wasn't sure how to sign it
its other day so Piranesi grills him about reading 16's words.
Other says we shouldnt read his words but also that it's okay.
He actually pats Piranesi on the shoulder! (i was surprised P didnt wax ecstatic about being touched)
K gets a gun, admits he's bad at shooting
P suggests maybe 16 will see his response and stop coming. K shakes his head.
"There's not a chance of it, Piranesi. I know this person. 16 is relentless. 16 will keep on coming."
its cold, he gets waken up but doesnt know why. all is calm
someone has a flashlight!
they're searching around, possibly for someone specific?
The Other is there, shouting "Raphael!"
He threatens to hunt down his enemy.
He drops his flashlight and curses.
He sees some weird shadows but dismisses them
he sees 16! also with a flashlight, he's really studying the statues.
16 looks at the note P had left for him.
16 writes a ton of stuff
he sees the message but tries not to read it
he sweeps up the chalk then looks at the results
he warns away 16
P gives the Other the business, doesnt like being lied to
16 is a woman! Could it be Sylvia Dagostino? Ahgavad Scott?
when he's caught, Ketterley comes clean.
He says that he didnt want P to get all swept up.
"The reason I didn't say anything is that I know you, Piranesi. You're a romantic...I knew it was going to be hard enough as it was to convince you of the threat that 16 poses. But I thought it would be even harder once you knew she was a woman."
he thought P might fall in love with her!
"16 is fundamentally untrustworthy"
P thanks him for looking out for him but tells him not to keep stuff from him.
O wonders how P heard her voice, he explains she was talking to the rooks
P decides to look up Arne-Sayles in the index!
now we're talking
"It is not the fact 16 is a woman that fascinates me and excites me - or at least, not entirely; it is the fact she is another human being. I want to learn everything I can about her - or as much as I can learn without going mad."
interesting that P doesnt want to be kept in the dark but hes still keeping secrets from K
16 mentions Ketterley
"Certainly groomed other potential victims and I ... is 16 boasting of her victims? Of the harm she has done and intends to do? Unclear."
"Been here for almost six years ,did you" unclear what this refers to."
P looks up Arne-Sayles
Discussion with self about feasability of writing a book about Arne Sayles.
Scott is helpful with book stuff.
Is she anti Arne Sayles or pro Piranesi?
she sounds great
pros and cons
Tali Hughes is emotionally unstable and possibly delusional?
i wonder if thats true or if she was speaking sense
talk to Ritter?
"Spending a long time writing about a deeply unpleasant man could be emotionally taxing. It's universallyagreed that AS is malicious, vindictive, manipulative, spiteful,arrogant, a complete and utter prick. Con"
we read Arne Sayles's ideas about how we used to see the world as interacting with them
"When they observed the world, the world observed them back."
at all related to the Observer effect in physics?
"The world was constantly speaking to Ancient man"
"Nature was willing to bend to men’s desires, to lend them its attributes. Seas could be parted, men could turn into birds and fly away, or into foxes and hide in dark woods, castles could be made out of clouds"
magic was real and then it wasnt.
but it didnt die, it went somewhere else
the Marepool bodies at Manchester museum
one is the head of a king and seer
and thus begins the quest for the great and secret knowledge
the museum wont let AS use the head. hes shocked by this?
organizes student protests "Free the Head"
during xmas break someone breaks into the museum and does a ritual with the head
AS has an alibi with a rich couple called the Brookers. Is this our first indication of a cult patron?
we get the correct spelling of Addedomarus, a Romano British seer
Tony Myers told the cops about the breakin later, putting AS, Ketterley, and Robin Bannerman there
Myers claimed the heads lips moved
AS leaves behind the quest for the lost beliefs and powers but rather seeks to find where theyd gone
AS lays out his Theory of Other Worlds
"Picture it, said Arne-Sayles, like rainwater lying on a field. The next day the field is dry. Where has the rainwater gone? Some has evaporated into the air. Some has been drunk by plants and animals. But some has seeped down into the earth. This happens over and over again. For decades, centuries, millennia, the water, seeping down, makes a crack in the rock under the earth; then it wears the crack into a hole; then it wears the hole into a cave entrance – a kind of door in fact."
"it was necessary to cleanse one’s vision in order to see the door. To do this one must return to the place, the geographical location where one last believed the world to be fluid, responsive to oneself. In short one must return to the last place in which one had stood before the iron hand of modern rationality gripped one’s mind."
"The then-owners (dull exemplars of the prevailing mediocrity)"
"surrounded by the roses my mother had planted (though now forced to share their beds with flowers of insufferable vulgarity)"
this guy tells on himself so much
"All around me doors into other worlds began appearing but I knew the one I wanted, the one into which everything forgotten flows. The edges of that door were frayed and worn by the passage of old ideas leaving this world."
he goes through the door between pink roses and finds the halls
"eight massive statues, each one different, each depicting a minotaur"
I Remain Calm - i love how the title answers our first question
"I feel certain that the Other learnt of Addedomarus from Laurence Arne-Sayles. (‘All his ideas are mine,’ the Prophet said)"
"One sentence puzzles me: The world was constantly speaking to Ancient Man. I do not understand why this sentence is in the past tense. The World still speaks to me every day."
P remains calm despite all the strange words and phrases
he thinks he mustve gone into a trance state to come up with this stuff
There Will Be a Great Flood
talk about foreshadowing.
King does this a lot, just whets your whistle so youre in a heightened state of awareness
P realizes he hasnt checked his tide book in two weeks and now a huge flood is coming. He loses it and shouts the f word over and over
"I spoke to Myself sternly, telling Myself that it was no good bewailing the Past; what was needed now was to plan for the Future"
he tells the other there will be a great flood
O says its fine cuz he wont be there on Thursday. P asks where he'll be and O blows him off
the Other asks him "Will you be ok?" wild change, is he softening?
P says he needs to warn 16. The Other doesnt understand why
Are you Matthew Rose Sorensen?
"As I walked I thought about the last message I had left her – the one begging her to leave these Halls. Perhaps in the intervening time she had replied. Perhaps the reply would be something like:
Dear Piranesi
You are right. Today I will return to my own Halls.
Sincerely
16"
he expands on this, hoping 16 will come clean and pledge her willingness to change her wicked ways
P warns her about the flood in his message
"SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF CAUGHT BY THE FLOOD, THEN CLIMB QUICKLY! THE STATUES ARE GRACIOUS AND WILL PROTECT YOU"
he goes to a hall witha slope made of pretty white translucent rocks
finds some rocks have been scooped up.
he wonders if its the rooks.
16 had laid them out to write a message!
He read it before he could think to look away!
are you matthew rose sorensen?
he has a vision of life in the city.
"Dark forms filled the streets; I thought at first that they were statues, but they moved and I saw they were people. Thousands upon thousands of people. More people than I had ever conceived of before. Too many people. The mind could not contain the thought of so many. And everything smelt of rain, and metal, and staleness. This vision had a name and its name was …"
16 was successful, leaving a message that wpuld drive P mad
he starts to accept that he is MRS, but then the old familiar feeling hits him with the words I Am the Beloved Child of the House
Other explains why he calls him Piranesi. Its a name associated with labyrinths
he resolves to look up MRS in the journals
MRS is British, Scottish, and Ghanaian
reading his own words about AS:
"I found it interesting that Matthew Rose Sorensen believed that Laurence Arne-Sayles had denied Science and Reason. In this he was not correct. The Prophet was a scientist and a lover of Reason. I spoke out loud to the Empty Air"
a reference to Doctor Who! timey wimey, 10th doctor, by steven moffatt
"time traveling architecture"
Pgets mad.
"I had learnt nothing. I felt a strong urge to shake my Journal, as if I could somehow shake more information out of it."
he decides to look up the Other and see if he ever mentions MRS
he looks at the entries for The Other
then he looks up Ketterley
son of a soldier and occultist
Ketterley turned on AS in 1992, called for AS to be fired
they waited until the Ritter incident to pull the trigger
Ketterley lives near Battersea Park!
he discovers the missing pages! all related to Ketterley
"Who could have done this? Could it have been the Prophet? I knew that he detested Ketterley. Perhaps his hatred would cause him to destroy writing about his enemy? Or could it have been 16? 16 hated Reason. Perhaps she also hated Writing, a medium by which Reason can pass from one Person to another. But that made no sense. 16 had employed Writing to leave me a long message. And in any case how could the Prophet or 16 find my Journals."
he accepts that only he could have torn out those pages
he puts the scraps together and discovers "The events of 15 November 2012."
In this chapter, Lindsey and Jeff talk about the man of the hour, Laurence Arne-Sayles.
Thanks for listening to The Great and Secret Knowledge: A Speculative Fiction Podcast! In this episode, Lindsey and Jeff cover Part 3: The Prophet.
Below you'll find our plugs, links, recommendations, and links to stuff from this week's episode!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Lindsey's podcasts The Kurt Locker Cool Breeze over the Mountains Historical Hotties Jeff's podcasts Shattered Worlds RPG Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ? Our theme song was composed by James Lark Visit his website! https://www.jameslark.co.uk/
And listen to his wonderful short story podcast, Neurotic Literature: https://www.jameslark.co.uk/neuroticliterature
Recommendations
Social Media Lindsey Nelsen Instagram - LindseyCameronNelsen Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter)
Jeff Richardson @eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Links
John Robbins’ Diet For a New America
Extended Notes
Part 3 The Prophet
"He wore a suit in a Prince of Wales check" - another thing he just knows
unless hes lying the prophet had no idea there were dead people here? i guess he mustve gone to prison before folks he knew got stuck there? this skinny old dude taught the Other! The others name is Val Ketterley second fiddle complete charlatan, "all his ideas are second hand"
"For all the grand intellectual manner and the dark, penetrating stare, he hasn’t an original thought in his head. All his ideas are second-hand.’ not moral, but didnt want society to crumble sentimental streak - doesnt want to lose civilization
"My contemporaries did not understand this. They were all enamoured with the idea of progress and believed that whatever was new must be superior to what was old. As if merit was a function of chronology!" A Distributary World
he confirms that the knowledge is not here
Ketterley is an egotist. He always thinks in terms of utility. He cannot imagine why anything should exist if he cannot make use of it.’
Poor James Ritter could barely string a sentence together by the end and hed been here half as long
sylvia could pop in and out at will - wherever you come from you always arrive at the first vestibule?
'You might like to head off the danger by killing him or something.’
I took time to study his words carefully. There was a great deal I did not understand though this, I expect, is usual with prophets, their minds being very great and their thoughts following strange paths
perhaps the other was the 75th person! but thats fantasy [could the listener be called The 75th?]
could the prophet have sent some of the dead here? its been 25 years since he was in prison so how long has he been sending people?
why did other hide existence of prophet?
the prophet is definitely a violent person - The Hays Code, the sinister gay trope
perhaps i will write a letter to him in future? all bets are off when time travel is in play
Other warns him that P will become his enemy if he talks to 16 - being embarrassed is the worst fate
if i find that you are mad then i think its best if i kill you. for both our sakes
the Other is rather inflexible in his character. I would not go so far as to say it is a fault, but it is a definite tendency
P practices hiding from 16
P puts his hair ornaments into a box
he indexes his recent journal entries
Stanley Ovenden is already in there! I knew as I looked at it that there was something very strange here. But the strange thing was so strange, so entirely incomprehensible that I found it difficult to form coherent thoughts about it. I could see the strangeness with my eyes, but I could not think it with my mind why is there a journal 21? he only has 10!
his brain is compelling him not to investigate this mystery, to challenge his assumptions i feel a certain parallel to whats happening at the moment in Israel, what i imagine Russians are facing wrt to Ukraine - why is this happening, whos to blame, what does it mean, are the people i trust intentionally hiding the truth? if you keep yourself from learning something new so you wont have to change your life
The Good Place
New Names
Laurence Arne Sayles Orkney Ness of Brodgar Georgia OKeefe RD Laing JW Dunne Owen Barfield Rudolf Steiner Colin Wilson Srinavasa Ramanujan Nottingham, England Birmingham University of Manchester Maurizio Giussani
the disappearance of MG
More Names
Perugia Bannerman Hughes
Hughes first name is Tali this arne sayles guy is a real bastard
MGs girlfriend Elena Marietti "the other world"
Huxleyan psychedelic experience - discuss doors of perception MG disappears
what are Birmingham and Perugia? nonsense! "at the very point at which the Other has declared he will kill me if I become mad, I have discovered that I am mad already! Or, if not mad now, then certainly I have been mad in the past. I was mad when I wrote those entries"
the faun, the statue he loves above all others
faun comforts him
"The word ‘Birmingham’, for example, brings with it a blare of noise, a flash of movement and colour and the fleeting image of towers and spires against a heavy grey sky. I try to catch hold of these impressions, to examine them further, but instantly they fade."
he can almost remember university, but decides he extrapolated it from scholar
he now has evidence of his mental derangement
he decides he has to take better care of himself
twenty journals are missing!
reading the journals is a "triggering activity" so he decides to space it out - reminds me of emdr therapy, although my therapist believed it should be at least twice a month if not more "the House is the cause of my forgetting" thats a big shift for him
"It does not matter that you do not understand the reason. You are the Beloved Child of the House. Be comforted. And I am comforted" - a clear depiction of the mental process that keeps us stuck in bad information land
P waits week and a half before reading about Sylvia and John he sits by gorilla because he will lend Strength
more names Leith, Scotland Angharad Scott Death, Stars, and Mathematics is a fun title
she was the most devoted unpaid housekeeper and secretary house in Whalley Range Canal Street to pick up young men
cutting off parents as a test of loyalty - classic cult move Tom Titchwell, friend of her father, printed her poems
her first picture, Moon/Wood, in which a woman defies her hierophant, is beaten, then makes a deal for him to be imprisoned and eventually killed. Did she turn in Laurence?
she called the House the Castle and took footage there!
she tells her troubles to Robert Allstead LAS tells her to discard him, she refuses after that she is gone without trace
cleaner discovers John Ritter behind wall
Ritter is sectioned at Wakefield among others Ritter couldnt explain where hed been
Ritter explains that he was usually in the House
he mentions minotaurs
Journalist Lysander Weeks interviews Ritter he seemed chill
he describes the house and says working at town hall calms him because the decor was similar
university may be real but not in house, same with garden he says the House plants ideas in his head
"This is how the House places new ideas gently and naturally in the Minds of Men. This is how the House increases my understanding" his last thought is that there may be more people than dead in the House
John Robbins’ Diet For a New America
“Benevolent is a strong word” - Lindsey
Doctor Who Flux
Thanks for listening to The Great and Secret Knowledge: A Speculative Fiction Podcast! In this episode, Lindsey and Jeff cover the second half of Part 2: The Other.
Below you'll find our plugs, links, recommendations, and links to stuff from this week's episode!
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Lindsey's podcasts
Cool Breeze over the Mountains
Jeff's podcasts
Everything is Awesome with Jeff and ?
Social Media
Lindsey Nelsen
Instagram - LindseyCameronNelsen
Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter)
Jeff Richardson@eljefetacoma on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastadon
Links
The Twilight Zone: "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street"
Doctor Who: "Enemy of the World", "Invasion of the Dinosaurs"
"Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead"
Extended Notes
title chat
A Conversation
ask the other for shoes?
other doing a ritual
Addy Domarus
is Addy Domarus one of the dead?
Other even more condescending
Piranesi needs shoes
list of things Other has given Him
in the year he named the constellations, the list began
11:40
About shoes - move it back?
12:40
in the year i named the dead he gave me a ham sandwich
dude has new suit everytime we see him
he rationalizes the abuse and its effects
why wouldnt he ask for the shoes?
was he always like this?
17
None of the dead claim the name Addy Domarus
this is a fantasy book so everything may have meaning
he journeys with his new shoes
he's nervous about the dark room
he has an obligation to the other
he has a desire to please
crowd of statues
could the statues be actual people? or images from plays?
are they seeing the actual moon?
he decides the secret knowledge is pointless
the House is the House
its sacred, we shouldnt exploit it or try to define it
enriched uranium
he finds 47 pieces of paper in the herring gull room
he has so much patience
the other asks how the shoes are
Piranesi's bad memory
Other remembers way more information
if we're no longer colleagues than i cant spend time with you
this comes up every 18 months
the house cares about systems but time seems less important
Other is really busy
P has never tried to find out where Other lives
is the House sentient? editing select memories
is P an experiment?
is TO afraid to stay over an hour cuz he might lose memories?
why doesnt P seem to ever want to leave
Westworld
you dont know what you dont know
He writes a letter
right on the stone where they normally meet
Another person! 16
are they a test subject?
if you challenge traditions and their adherents you have to give up some of that veneration
reason is one of the things that 16 wants to tear down
prejudice him against people who might help him
the First Vestibule
We Got Two Minotaurs
a long corridor formed by the shadows
Cabin in the Woods
the statue of an elderly fox teaching to youngsters
could the letter be for Piranesi?
P writes to the letter writer
that's it
The Other is an asshole
P disbelieves the corridor's reality
how does somebody just disappear?
wolf child theory
who is the Prophet?
16? Piranesi?
Jeff guesses there's a fourth person!
1:05:19 the end
aftershow
bookshelves collapsing
CS Lewis
dream library
Beauty & the Beast
The Thing
X-Files
The Twilight Zone
"Enemy of the World"
"Invasion of the Dinosaurs"
Fallout
"The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street"
we're inquisitive by nature
social primates
we want to fit in
yawning and sociopaths
10 percent of the population (is this accurate?)
Am I a Psychopath?
Join Lindsey Nelsen and Jeff Richardson as the tackle their first work of speculative fiction, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke! In this episode, they talk about their experience with speculative fiction and cover Part 1: Piranesi, and the first half of Part 2: The Other.
Please join our Discord server and get to know the fam!
Meet us:
Lindsey Nelsen
Instagram - @LindseyCameronNelsen
Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter)
Jeff Richardson
twitter - @eljefetacoma
Facebook - Jeff Richardson
Instagram - @eljefetacoma
Welcome to our brand new media analysis podcast! Brought to you by Lindsey Nelsen and Jeff Richardson! The first property we're covering is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke!
Meet us:
Lindsey Nelsen
Instagram - @LindseyCameronNelsen
Tiktok - Noctisfilia (Darkness's Daughter)
Jeff Richardson
twitter - @eljefetacoma
Facebook - Jeff Richardson
Instagram - @eljefetacoma
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.
