Hello, and welcome to FlashCast episode twenty-night – prepare yourself for Captain America, flightless canaries, Bond girls, an individual Dorito, and the Collective Detective.
The Skinner Co. Network
FC29 - New York Minute
[Music] Hello and welcome to Flashcast 29. Brought to you by YouTube Click and R. Heron. Prepare yourself for Captain America, flightless canaries, bond girls, an individual Dorito, and the collective detective. [Music] Tonight we have myself, Opopon X, narrative noble. Jessica May. Howdy. Auditory authority. And J.R.D. Hello. A letter-lugger. Little sad news up front. Linda Christian died. She was the first, she was, as all of the media outlets are saying, the first bond girl. Although technically I think a lot of us count Ursula Andrus, the bond girl from Dr. No, as technically the first bond girl because she's the one who sort of glamorized the position, whereas the lady who died, Linda Christian, was a bond girl on a television casino royale make. Hmm, that's interesting. And sad indeed. She did marry Tyrone Power. Who's that? You don't know who Tyrone Power is? No. He was huge. I don't remember names very well. Wait, who's Stephanie Power? She was an 80s/90s exercise guru. That's Susan Powder. Oh, on that. [laughter] Stephanie Power? No? No. Hmm. We'll never know. It's a mystery forever. She did. I did like this. They noted in most articles that Life Magazine gave her the nickname "Anatomic Bomb." Great. To sort of continue movie news. The Dark Tower. There is a recent update. I don't know if you noticed that. No, I didn't. Tell me all about it. I know. This is a project near and dear to your heart. It is. Apparently Ron Howard was turned down by Paramount because it was too expensive to make. Well... And so now the project looks like it's probably not going to happen or be taken on by someone else. And that's disappointing because I believe this means both the film and the television show that they were planning on making or TV miniseries maybe? I'm not sure how they were handling that. Well, if they're not willing to put up the cash to make something quality, then maybe it just shouldn't happen yet. And you know what? I don't know how many people who listen have ever heard of the sort of truth series. But they did that very same thing. They kind of ruined that by making it a crappy TV series. Oh, yeah. There's always the risk of making an inferior product when you try to adapt that sort of thing. I mean, you look at Game of Thrones and think this is how it can really be done well. Thank goodness for HBO. But then sort of teaser for later on with Fresh Fish. You look at the old Captain America movie that they made and they're just ridiculous. It's just foam flying around everywhere. They didn't even get a suit, right? No. Well, there's been multiple incarnations of previous Captain America. There's ones that have been closer in spirit, if not budget. And anyhow, this new one seems to have nailed it, not to step down. Fish's toes. Maybe we have a differing opinion? Anyway, last week we were discussing the Fury, the lady who essentially looked like Catwoman. Yes, yes. And who unfortunately had it downturned in her later superhero and career into sort of a fetish latex scene. She fell over to the wrong side of the tracks. Yes. But you were citing interest after the episode in looking up another hero. Yeah, well, as you were looking up the Fury, I saw this other character. It was a picture, and the picture just caught my eye. It was the butterfly. And she was actually the very first female black superhero in. Hmm. And she was created in the 1970s, and she appeared in the two issues of Hellriders, which was put out by Skywald, and they were in competition with Marvel. Yeah, everyone is in competition with Marvel in the 1970s. Well, well, it was written by Gary Friedrich, who actually did Sergeant Fury, and who was one of the creators of Ghost Rider. Well, that's pretty cool. Yeah, so it act like that story got taken, and I guess part of it was the concept for Ghost Rider, the Hellriders. But the art was done for the butterfly by art, sorry, by Ross Andrew, Jack Abel, and Mike Esposito, who also did Spider-Man in the '60s and Wonder Woman. Hmm. So that's a pretty good team they put together. She was this Las Vegas cabaret singer. Marion Michaels. Cabaret singer. Is that a nice way of saying "Strucker"? No, she was a singer. Oh, singer. Yeah. She took a close up. Well, she had a pretty racy costume, but she flew around on this, like, jet propulsion/antigravity system that she had worked out. And she would blind her enemies with bright lights. 'Cause that's what butterflies do. Yeah, she could also kick some ass. Just like butterflies. Yeah. I don't think they ever... I don't think they ever... Yeah, I don't think they ever came out with her origins or anything, 'cause she wasn't around long enough. Yeah. She was the first... She was before... Like... They had to break up the king. The kings before she... Who was the other one? Bumblebee? Or something like that? Some of the really early superheroines, she was actually predating them. Hmm. That's pretty cool, I think. Check her out. Yeah, that was a nice little walk-down pulp history lane. Mm-hmm. Okay. Well, last thing before we move on to Freshfish. I was thinking earlier. Not that we've been watching the film recently, but I got thinking for some reason about the film Predator, which I think we're all fairly familiar with in this household. Yeah. You're talking Predator 1, right? I'm talking the original Predator, not Danny Glow's Predator. Of course. Or later. Uh... Just simple plain Arnold Jesse Ventura Predator. Mm-hmm. It struck me that that film, or at least the general plot for that film, can really be set in almost any time, and is probably a basic echo of, like an old hunting tale. Yeah. Like a bunch of men go into the forest, they have some sort of job to achieve out there, and then they're assaulted by some unknown that they can't explain. That is hunting them. And it's killing them one at a time. And it takes basic, uh... like woodsmanship, woodscraft, to defeat it in the end. Yeah. I think the really creepy part too is that, even though a lot of them were very experienced, and could probably live a long time out in the jungle, even like really badass people could, like, wear no match for this creature, you know? And I think the other frightening thing is that the thing was sentient, and it, um, it was very intelligent. Mm-hmm. And you understood even that it had, like, morals even. Like, it wouldn't attack people and armed and stuff like that. And it understood you much more than you understood it. Mm-hmm. So it kind of gives you the idea... All levels of creepy. Yeah, that, you know, this isn't the first time that this has happened. Mm-hmm. This is something that's been observing you or your people. It's creepy. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that story can be told at any time. Mm-hmm. Anywhere. Speaking of stories that can be told any time... [rattling] Fresh fish. A new batch of cinematic pulp with The Always Listening. Three-day fish. Hey, Flashcast. Some fresh fish on Captain America. I gotta say... It was awesome. Visually speaking, like, it was just a very appealing movie to watch. Like, the effects weren't overdone, but they were still impressive. The storyline was good. The acting was solid. I know a lot of people were worried about the actor who was picked to play Captain America. He does a great job. And a lot of people were also worried about the costume. Or at least people I've talked to anyway. And actually, the costume doesn't look goofy. It looks pretty hardcore. Uh... Very... Tch. Very realistic, I guess, would be the best word. 'Cause it's really easy to look at, like, the Captain America costume. And be like, "Yeah, it's a little overdone." I would have to say it is a close second in quality to X-Men first class. In fact, I would even go to the point where I would say that it's... You could really argue either way which one was the better Marvel movie. Also, the acting on Hugo Weaving's part, who was Red Skull, was pretty fantastic. I feel like Hugo Weaving is, like, always the antagonist, though. But he does a great job. And I think what I liked most about Hugo Weaving's acting was... He took a character that can very easily look kind of ridiculous. You know, got run around with a Red Skull face. But he did a good job with it. So yeah, all in all, green light, go see Captain America. And if for nothing else, there's an Avenger preview at the end of the credits. So stay for the whole thing. That's all. Always listening. I'm really glad that he touched on the Red Skull's costume job. Or however they were, they managed that. I don't know if it's LCGI or what the deal is. I was really concerned, because that's a very easy thing to do goofily. Did you see any actual pictures of Hugo Weaving as Red Skull? No, I've sort of avoided it because I'm actually fairly excited to see this film. It's sort of a guilty pleasure for me for the summer. And I didn't want to ruin it in any way. I've seen a few shots of what the cap costume looks like. But other than that, I haven't seen anything. I haven't seen the Captain America costume, but I did see a picture of Red Skull. And he looks pretty awesome. That's good. I think we finally achieved a level. It especially struck me in Dark Knight with how they did Too Faced, where we can kind of CGI onto people now. And it looks relatively realistic. Yeah. So I don't know if that's how they did that. I know there were some concerns with the Green Lantern costume being too CGI'd on. But I think that Fish said that that went fairly well. So thanks very much Fish. I'm definitely going to see Captain America. Hoping to see it in a drive-in. We'll see if that's possible. Ooh, that'd be so perfect. Kitching. Yeah, we need to get us a new van because ours broke. Yeah. Oh, some exciting happenings around here. Yeah. Anybody got any recommendations for a 7 passenger van? Anybody you super rich and want to buy me one? I just don't go though. I really like this dough and go. Okay. So our cats are fighting and our children are walking. And my new puppy is sleeping. I have to say, Stow and Go just makes me think of the smuggling compartments that Han had on the mulling and fucking. That's what that term to me, Stow and Go. Yeah, well it's much cooler that way. So I agree. Yeah, to just keep the family in there. We're smugglers, we're smuggling juice boxes and snacks. Like raisins. I know that they said that she would look sleepy after her vaccines, but she looks really sleepy. I'm just saying. I think she's dead. I can see her breathing. I think she didn't really think she was dead. No, I think she's dead. Okay. I got a little preview of this week's spot of bother from Jeff before he... Well, before we played for the public, there's some pretty, well, foul slash funny language. It's just minor, it's quick. It's completely necessary, I'm sorry, but it's like a vaccination. Yeah, it's necessary. It keeps you strong and makes you live longer. Spot of bother. One of the joys of childhood is summer camp. That's what I hear anyway, as I never personally attempted camp as a kid. The whole family farm theme kept us all pretty busy. Besides, it was the 70s and we were knee deep in another of those pesky recessions. So money was tight. With a nearby pond, horses just over the hill and 90 acres of wood, streams and hills and which to play. Who needs summer camp anyway, right? Well, I'll tell you who needs summer camp. Kids of all ages who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience camaraderie in a natural environment. Parents who may not have the opportunity otherwise to experience camaraderie in a kid-free environment. And last but not least, elitist pricks. Yep, it's that time of the year again. The Bohemian art club boys are currently romping and playing amongst the giant redwoods in Northern California. Here's a bit more regarding this year's meeting from Paul Joseph Watson of prisonplanet.com. A Bohemian grove insider has gone in public to reveal that the secretive gathering of power brokers set to begin this week in Montario, California is far more serious than the summer holiday camp tag routinely attached to the powwow by the establishment media, noting how members constantly discuss business and politics. Bohemian grove is a privately owned 2,700 acre compound in Montario, California surrounded by giant old-growth redwood trees. Once a year, it plays host to a bizarre confab attended by some of the most powerful people in the world, including many U.S. politicians and government officials, during which participants embroiled themselves in a heedy mixture of plutocratic plotting and occult pagan ritual ceremonies. Alex Jones made history in 2000 when he became the first journalist to capture on video the cremation of care ceremony, where grove members dressed in eyes wide shut style hooded capes make a mock child sacrifice to Moloch, the pagan owl god, represented as a 50 foot statue carved out of a hollowed redwood tree. The mainstream press has habitually treated Bohemian grove in a similar manner to their coverage of the annual Bilderberg meetings. Dismissing the confabs is little more than informal chats interspersed with leisure activities. Despite the fact that, like Bilderberg, Bohemian grove has been the birthplace of some of the most momentous developments in modern history. Like Bilderberg, it is also used to groom future leaders and presidents. Although Matt Agro, the club's general manager, told the press Democrat this week that Bohemian grove is merely a group of guys out in the woods having a good time, presidents Nixon and Reagan both attended the elitist get together before they captured the Oval Office. George W. Bush was also introduced to Bohemian powerbrokers in 1995 by his father five years before becoming president. In 1942, Bohemian grove was the setting for the birthplace of the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb, a story often retold by grove members who are proud of the fact that the most important scientific development of the 20th century was conceived of there. The Strategic Defense Initiative, Star Wars, was also the brainchild of grove members and was first introduced during a lakeside talk in the early 80s before Ronald Reagan publicly proposed the program in March 1983. Despite two of the most monumental scientific developments of the 20th century being born at the grove, the establishment media still largely peddles the myth that the annual event is nothing more than a casual carnival for rich revelers. However, new disclosures by a former Bohemian grove attendee blew that fable out of the water. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle's Deborah J. Saunders, Sonoma State Sociology Professor Peter Phillips who attended the confab in 1994 said that the elitist encampment was a forum for very important people to discuss intimate issues. The fact that Bohemian grove is perhaps the ultimate secret room in which world domestic policy is agreed upon in the midst of a bizarre environment of drunken frivolity, alleged homosexual prostitution, and occult pagan ceremonies should be of utmost concern to any thinking person. Just like Bilderberg, Bohemian grove is antithetical to the notion that politicians are supposed to represent the American people who elect them and instead underscores the fact that policy is being conceived behind closed doors in a completely secretive, nefarious, and undemocratic manner. An added twist to this year's meeting is this bit of news from the Daily Mail. An notorious group of hackers called for the infiltration of this year's annual meeting at the Bohemian grove. Hackers Collective Anonymous has been called for infiltration of the group and occupation of its secret grounds. Anonymous has been associated with attacking major corporations such as MasterCard and Visa and has alleged connections to the diplomatic cable leak site, WikiLeaks. I'm Jeffrey Lynch, and that's This Week's Spot of Bother. That's creepy. Another fantastic entry by our own evil NPR guy. Yes, very nice work. Thank you very much, Jeff. Yes, I have actually seen that video of Alex Jones's, which I don't know if I'm really... I've had proud about mentioning. It wasn't really my idea, but I happened to have been present when somebody was watching that video. And I saw bits and pieces of it. To me, the whole thing sounds like a relic of an older time when rich people would go out and gather in the woods and do ridiculous things. But, up a period when it maybe took a couple of days by train and there was no TV to watch when you got there. So you came up with ridiculously overwrought dramatic exercises to make yourself feel better about the fact that you were just another Porsche love out in the woods by the satellite or something. Pretty interesting stuff, though. It's always interesting with Anonymous. I don't really agree with a group that appoints itself justice, but at the same time I kind of agree with a group that appoints itself justice. You know what I mean? Sometimes it's kind of nice to have this free-roaming sort of Damocles. All I can think of is Rocky Horror Picture Show now, the sort of Damocles is hanging over my head. We have another feature coming up this week, something new from a friend of the podcast and the blog, BMJ2K. We've talked before about how New York sort of has a very mythical presence within the realm of pulp. There are many renditions of New York within the pulp universe. You can think of Gotham, you can think of the Shadow, you can think of the Godfather. I mean, even you were mentioning the Dark Tower series, New York has a pretty prominent place in that series as well. So I'm very pleased to have this new piece by Barry. So here it is, New York Minute. Hi, I'm Barry, and this is your New York Minute. One thing I love is local history, and my part in New York is more than a chair. On September 3rd, 1609, explorer Henry Hudson, who had set sail from Europe six months before, reached the new world and found himself what is now called Lower Craves and Bay, just off the shore of Brooklyn, and anchored by the small piece of land that the later Dutch settlers would call Coney Island. It was here that he was attacked and driven off by unfriendly Native Americans, so even back then, Brooklyn was a tough place. He quickly continued up the bay, passing through the present-day location of the Verrazano Bridge and up the river that bears his name, the Hudson. The name of his ship, the Half Moon. Flash forward to 1927. The Half Moon Hotel was built right on the boardwalk in Coney Island. Close to where Hudson's crewman John Coleman was killed with an arrow through the neck. In fact, I can just about see that spot from my roof. This is my part of town. The Half Moon was a luxurious, 14-story behemoth just next to the amusement parks. Coney Island back then was still a playground for the wealthy, though the Great Depression was about to change things a bit. The Half Moon Hotel achieved a degree of infamy in 1941. New York City had for decades been in the grip of organized crime. Murder Inc was a vicious organization of mafia groups that was led by Albert Anastasia, who later became the boss of the Gambino crime family. One member of Murder Inc, a thug named Abe Kid Twist-Relds, was caught by the police and was facing certain execution for a slew of gangland murders. Rather than sit in the electric chair, he turned informant, or a rat, depending on your point of view, and gave information to put half a dozen infamous gangsters in the death house. This didn't sit too well with Albert Anastasia, who was next in the government sites. Kid Twist was to be the sole witness in Anastasia's trial on November 12th. The government put him up in the Half Moon Hotel under the, perhaps, not so watchful eyes of six police detectives. There are some interesting theories about what happened next, but in the early morning hours of November 12th, 1941, Kid Twist was forcefully escorted out of a six-floor window and died on the ground below. On the other hand, Albert Anastasia slept very well that night. The Half Moon Hotel eventually became a hospital and later a home for the aged and sat on its imposing perch until 1996, when it was torn down shortly before it could be landmarked. Henry Hudson, Kid Twist, Coney Island, and the Half Moon Hotel still enduring a cinematic legacy. Murder Inc, starring one of my favorite actors, Peter Falk, is Kid Twist, opened in theaters in 1960, and yes, you can get it on Netflix. The final word to the Kid Twist affair is best quoted from a popular saying of the time, "Not all canaries can fly." I'm Barry, and this has been your New York Minute. [Music] Great stuff. I really enjoyed that. I really feel like you pulled a lot together seamlessly there. It was a content-rich little blurb. It's kind of cool that you're so close to where, you know, so much went down in history. In New York. In New York. You should find other locations as close to your home, and then you should go there, and then we can listen to it while you're telling us the story. I think that he may have some issues with his mic and carrying it around portably. I believe he is tethered to a desktop. He's such a naysayers. Okay, well, he can do whatever he likes, which is his suggestion. It was an idea that I had that I wanted to share with Barry. I think the density of New York really makes it possible for a lot of magic to fit into a tiny, tiny place. Well, I think also the borough system and just the disparity between the different neighborhoods, how wildly different each one seems like it can possibly be. Mm-hmm. So close, yet so very far away. How many boroughs are there? There's seven, right? Seven boroughs? I believe that's what my Beastie Boy's knowledge has told me. It has also told you that this is sabotage. [Laughs] Dinner. I thought it was five, but what do I know? Is Staten Island a borough now? Five boroughs. Five, really? I'm so awesome. You know, I can edit this so that I'm right. How will I edit it? Mm-hmm. No, you know what? It's because I've seen gangs of New York and they talk about the five boroughs. Ah, very nice. And Heather all connected through these streets and it's like a hand. Daniel Day-Lewis. She remembers everything, but I'm sure I've told you that before. That's why she's in charge of the wiki. Still a little bummed about the death of Peter Falk, though. Yes. I remember at the time Barry was also said. I'm sure he still is. Yes. Because if we still are, then Barry definitely still is. Definitely. There was a time when detectives were known by their auditory ticks a lot more. The sort of thing you might hear Sherlock Holmes say. There's a very, there's a very Sherlock Holmes voice that you can expect. I don't know if Basil Rathbone was the one who defined that or not, but Colombo was very much. Even if you weren't to see Colombo, you would very much be able to identify Colombo. Mm-hmm. His style. It was very particular. Same with Matlock. Yep. Yep. Perry Mason as well. Yes. Oh, Perry Mason. But you don't get that as much anymore. It's a period-great name. Yeah, everybody kind of looks like everybody now. Well, I think they're all trying to emulate real police officers a lot more often. Sort of the law and order effect. Yes. Yeah. All Sherlock and all these actors trying to be real people. Just naughty face lady. Yeah. Yeah. Even Bogart, I would claim, was largely defined by his vocal signature. Mm-hmm. Have a Claude Raines. Cary Grant. Definitely. Mm-hmm. Peter Lorry. Mm-hmm. Anyway, it just seems to me that the age of the well-made audio tick has gone. Yeah. Like the well-made accent, I don't know. I think at a time it was also used for like projecting your voice so you could be picked up on the rather, you know, like the old school microphones now where they had to be loud. Mm-hmm. That might be a good point as well, actually. Also when you're projecting into the theatre of the mind and audio is all you've got and the radio days. Some of those people actually came from the theatre originally, so that's right. Mail time. I love Flashcast. I wanted to add a comment to the Joni Connect discussion from a previous show. Joni Connect lives on. The goalie for the Vancouver Connect's Roberto Luongo. I'm sorry, Roberto. Has a little picture of Joni painted on his mask. It's a cool little pulp sports crossover, which is something we don't see very often. Yeah. Yeah, good for you. Roberto Luongo. Luongo? I don't know. I'm in this one area of my Canadianism. Do I fall down? Hockey is not my bag. But very neat. Also, I had a question about the collective detective, which is interesting because he sent this previous to the last episode being published but posted being recorded. Yeah, that's cool. So we hadn't actually done the collective detective episode when this was sent. Maybe he's psychic. Are they inspired by the newsboy Legion at all? My first reaction to the CD was that it reminded me of the Shadow's Informat Network. The more stories I listened to it in the archive is the feel like there's a similar vibe between them and Kirby stuff. I would definitely say there's a little of that. I would actually definitely say there's a little bit of the Shadow's Informat Network in there. The Baker Street Boys. Those are rascals. Yeah, basically any squad of hoolians. When I was a young man, and the internet was still an open frontier that my parents didn't really understand, I scraped together some space credits and managed to get myself a used computer and hopped on the intertubes, which one I fell into all sorts of hooliganism. And a lot of where the collective detective comes from is those early days on IRC and ridiculous forums and all sorts of somewhat skezzy corners of the internet that were full of interest for a boy between the ages of 16 and 18. I remember when I met you, you told me you'd seen everything on the internet. And it's true. Yeah, pretty much. I mean, there's new stuff all the time, but I've seen that too. You keep up to date with the new internet. Yes. As well as the good archive of the old internet. You are the archive of the collective detectives. But also a little bit of that old encyclopedia brown feel. My feeling is that I have yet to perfectly master putting out a mystery. And the collective, even more than mulligan sometimes, gives me a chance to delve into how to put that through another challenge. The formula. I can do it in a larger format, but in a thousand words to put those sort of hooks into a story is tough. So part of the reason that the collective is so... Because sometimes we bother you for shorter stories. We're like, "Make it short." And you're like, "I can't. It can't be any shorter." Yeah. Well, part of the reason the collective is so spread out as well, though, besides having to find those hooks in it being a little tougher to do so, there's also the fact that every episode essentially ends on a down note. There's no really great endings when you're essentially turning up cold case murders. Mm-hmm. It's tough to have a really triumphant sort of ending on that. Yeah. But seeing how each of those different characters reacts to that, I think, is... You know, like they, I found it interesting in the last collective detective. Like, they have certain forms that they know that they need to fill out and paperwork, and there's a process to every single part of it, and they've done it for a long time. But you see the evolution of the character from the last time they've had to do it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's one of the funner aspects, is being able to jump around between who I'm going to do an episode with, and I'll actually get more into this later in "Backroom Plots." Because, although this episode just passed and ended up starring Killer Croc, that was not how it originally went. Mm-hmm. But before we get to that, let's wrap up R's email. Until next time, make mine Flashbump, which is a nice little hat tip to make mine marble. And... Now I believe it is time for... Joe's Call. Hello Flashcrest crew, and fellow mobsters, Joe from Colorado. Quite weak on this end of the conversation, catching up at work will be ready to release my product this coming week. Then on to the next one. A developer's work, just like a writer's, is never done. Our granddaughter spent quite a bit of time with us, always nice. Nothing ends the day better than hearing a little voice when you walk in the door. Grandpa's home. I also have some experience with the software cycle, and I understand that it's a little endless. Uh, congrats for getting one in the can, and good luck for the next one. Certainly nice to have a little voice walking me home, too, as well. Mm-hmm. So I know that. Voice says, like, "Hi, Joe!" Or, "Look what I broke!" Because I know you're waiting with bated breath, here's my take on last week's big issues. Part one of one. I'm a fan of this labeling. Truth be told, I often wait until I have all parts and listen to them together. I do the same thing with book series. As I age, my brain sometimes forgets key details when I go back to a story. Listening to the related stories in close temporal proximity helps with this. Harry Potter. In a reversal of my father's date agreement, I read all of the books that my daughters request. I'm not a huge fan, but found them enjoyable. The movies, not so much. They rush sub arcs of the story too much, and gloss over too many details. I often wonder how someone who has not read the book understands what's going on. We have also read the, well, I've read the Harry Potter books, and I kind of feel the same. There was a lot lacking in the movies. Although they look spectacular, and there's something to be said for that. There's also something to be said for actually reading the books. I have to say that I feel a little bit the same way about the Game of Thrones series. I'm surprised that anybody who hasn't read the books can follow what's going on in the show. But then again, it is tough having read the books. I don't know how it's hard to divide myself into being able to see clearly what they're taking in from episode to episode without, like I already know all the backstory, I know what's coming up. But it does seem like they move through things very quickly compared to the books. Yeah, but I guess at the same time, a lot of things happen at the same time in those books. So when you're using video, it must be harder to show things happening at the same time when you're not just doing flashbacks all the time. Mm-hmm, true. I have to say that this issue was a sore point for me on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the most recent film version. I was actually quite excited before that film came out that we were finally going to get to see a large budget go at the Douglas Adams universe. And just, it wasn't that it was a terrible film for me, it was just more like sightseeing through these areas that I had read about in a much more enjoyable context. It's like the cliff's notes of Hitchhiker's Guide. It didn't have the humor, it was just like a slideshow of, oh, that's what that was. And then this happened, how did this happen? I'd much rather just go back to the old BBC miniseries and rewatch that, frankly, with all of its low budgets and cardboard box robots. So the moral is go miniseries, I don't know, go HBO. See, I like seeing things, like, it's not going to be portrayed as in depth in the movie as opposed to the book. But at least, like, I've imagined things in my mind, and if they've done a good enough job, like seeing that is kind of cool. Even if it's not as in depth, or... Well, my question is this. Now that we've gotten to a point where it's very common to make a long-running fantasy series, Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter stories. There's another good example that I'm not thinking of right now. Twilight. Oh, well, Twilight, actually. Twilight, I feel like, but all of these are limited by the same problem in that they're stuck with the number of books that tell the story. And I don't think that you can make these kind of films out of a series that has an entirely open end because people want to, like, they want a conclusion at some point, even if it means they have to come back every Christmas season to watch the film in theaters to finally get to that point. But at the same time, the way they broke up Deathly Hallows, for example, those people are probably kicking themselves for not having done that for the first, however many Harry Potter films. Because I'm sure there's enough content there that they felt like they had to just quickly run through because of the limitation of time, but now they're at the end of the series, and they've got nothing to go back to. But it wasn't as popular now. Like, well, it was a very popular book series, but it wasn't the beast that it has become the biggest movie ever. Well, and here's my theory, in the same way that we've gotten to a point where we're... In the same way that we've got to a point where we are rebooting... Sorry. Say where we're rebooting. In the same way that we've got to the point where we're remaking films from previous generations with the hopes of starting up these franchises, I think we're eventually going to come back. We're going to see another Lord of the Rings film in 20 years or whatever it's going to be, and it's going to probably be a six-filmer. Or something like that, like it'll be a mega-meg of an event when Blockbuster, you know, cubed. Like three hours for a book or something in a setting. Yeah. That would be cool. But until then, what, what? Curious as to your thoughts on the following question. After the first two or three books, is the Potter series really a children's series? In my mind, it is really geared to junior high school readers and not elementary school kids. Side note, I think the first conversation J.R.D. and I had was in regard to the book The Phantom Toll Booth, which is in my mind the best children's book ever written. The Phantom Toll Booth? Oh my God, I love that story so much. Yeah, absolutely fantastic, and it was great recommendation on Joe's part. Have you ever seen the movie? They made it into a movie and it was like part live-action and part cartoon. Very much like bed knobs and broomsticks was. And it was kind of old, but oh my gosh, I remember loving that movie as a child. You must get it for me. He was also asking our opinion on like the proper age range for Harry Potter. I found that interesting because it seems like the movies as the book says a movie have really grown up and become more serious and more dark. That I don't necessarily know if you could have your eight-year-old watch all of the movies back to back because they do eventually get to a creepy place. Very much so. I think part of that was the nature of their coming out though. I think that when the first few films and the first few books were coming out the audience was younger. And as time went on the audience, well the audience aged and it also happened to find a lot of adults for reading them as well. But as a child I'm sure once you pick up the first one you're going to want to pick up the second and third and you're not going to want to wait until then. Is there a point where you have to say to your eight-year-old I realize you've read the first four books but you're going to have to wait four years until you can read this next one? I think it's very progressive, the way it sort of gets more and more adult. As Harry grows he gets into more adult situations. I know that sounds like the beginning of like a fizz-ed chair. Maybe not that kind of fizz-ed lecture. But I don't know. I don't know how I'd feel about say our eight's reading the last couple of novels. There's kind of animated dead bodies and stuff like that. And I mean they're familiar with zombies and stuff and they've watched some horror movies and stuff but there's a lot to be said about imagination too. Yeah. And it's very descriptive. True. And onto this week's stories. The appearance. This story left me confused. That may have been the purpose of it, not sure. At the end I wasn't sure if I had, as described earlier, forgotten details presented in earlier coffin stories. Or if there was an inside reference I'm not privy to. Unsettled probably best described so I felt at the end of this one. Jeez. Hmm. I don't know. I'd say unsettled is a pretty good way to feel at the end of a lot of coffin stories. True but at the same time I wanted clarity at the end. I don't know how to give any help without it being spoilery. I'm sorry that I failed you in properly leading you through the narrative. I think you should give it up. Give up the goods, Charity. I don't know that too much previous coffin knowledge was necessary. Although knowing about the Three Steves certainly would help and the Insomniac as well. But at the same time they were mostly just there to demonstrate magic within the context of Dorsets. Yeah, how Dorsets is sort of an occult hangout almost. I don't necessarily want to say a cult because it brings up images of 70s and big hair. But a gathering of the supernatural and they don't want regular shlugs off the street hanging a bit. Yeah, and it's not necessarily that they're trying to be jerks, although it comes off like that. Maybe it's for their own good. Yeah, now I hope we haven't spoiled the episode for anybody who hasn't listened yet. Anyhow, sorry about that Joe. I'll do better next time. Gag. Wow, as it opened it as the previous story was, this story definitely ends. Tragically, but definitively. I really liked the kids' reaction at the end. They totally understood the ramifications of their discovery and were sickened at the realization as I was. Excellent job writing and narrating such an emotionally powerful story. Don't look at them. Thanks Joe. This one really came from a place of my own teenagerhood. Trying to demonstrate technology in a world where geeks had yet to come into Vogue and really be understood, but as anything other than basement dwelling, techno nerds. Lightning things up. I really like the Mr. 3 intros. The outtake from a couple of weeks ago had me chuckling and admiring the editing must have been required to get these intros sounding so great. Take care. Agreed. It took a lot of effort. It took a lot of. Yeah, it was fantastic. Mr. 3, say of, say of, and he's like narration. Mr. 3. That and some patience. Now he'll say it so beautifully, but I don't really need it for the show. I almost want to do it, but it wouldn't sound as funny as like narration. He does that and he wouldn't do that now. He would say it perfectly clear, so. Speaking of Mr. 3 and the collective detective, I think it's about time to move into... Backroom plots! So I realized something while writing this week's collective detective tale, which I believe was 189. Subconsciously, at some point I decided Doritos was the plural of the chips, whereas a single chip would be a Dorito. Dorito? Mm-hmm. I didn't realize I had done that. I don't know if this is a common thing. I just realized... Dorito and Doritos? Yeah. Well, you wouldn't be like, "Mm, this Doritos is so tasty." Yeah. But, I mean, doesn't everybody do that? Dorito, 1 Dorito, 2 Doritos? But in truth. 3 Doritos? No, it's not meant to be a plural. Doritai. It's the label. It's the name of the chip. You wouldn't say like... This is the chip. Yeah. But at some point, you would say Pringle. It's... You would say, would you say a Pringle? Would you like... Would you like a Pringle? Yeah, I guess. You wouldn't say would you like a Pringle? It's a nacho chip, really. A nacho chip, really. It's a brand name of a nacho chip. Yes. A lucky guy, Jamie. Like... It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. It's a nacho chip. The tostito to the nacho chip. Again, would you call an individual tostito versus a bowl of tostitos. I would call it a nacho. I love to taste this tostito. Would you like some tostitos? I wouldn't say would you like a tostito. Or maybe I would. I don't even know myself anymore. Another interesting point about this episode and a little bit closer to home. I don't know. That's pretty close to home. You've made me question my faith. When I originally started this story, it was a day late because I had a bit of a critical plot failure. You had a full plot failure. The original story was told from the perspective of Harris. We've seen before in Dig and- Harassment. Yes. A few other stories. I don't suicide a belief. But I realized that I was much more interested. Well, it wasn't just that I was interested. There were certain aspects of Harris that didn't drive well with how the story was presented. So I realized that I much more like the framework of- The killer croc elbow. Yeah. And having returned to that situation in which we saw sort of Kyle moving away from his Japanese video game playing friend and towards his new found girlfriend and being able to continue that arc in sort of an interesting direction. You know, that's another example of the characters evolving as they're going on. I like that. Drawing in new people to the collective. Yeah, it's like you know what you're doing. I appreciate that with you that this is- You know what else I really dig too? Shenanigans. Is like in the first one with Killer Croc, you see him moving away from the nerdy person and towards you know the girlfriend and being a little bit more accepted and society. But in the future you see well that doesn't necessarily mean that the girlfriend doesn't think it's cool too. You know, there's more of a community like you know, just because he's with a girl doesn't mean that he's not a nerd, you know. Absolutely. Geek roots for sure. Yeah. You know, all this talk about the collective detective, it makes me really happy that I actually just did a lot of work on- well I would say a lot of work. But I did some work on the collective detective section of the wiki just recently. It was helpful during the writing of the episode. Yes, I remember you saying thank goodness somebody had written it all down. But yeah, so it's nice to see the connections and of course it's not done yet. The wiki is always an evolving project but that was very interesting to tell. And if anyone else would like to add to it. Yeah I think I'm going to need some help with the structure of exactly how the collective detective works but there's going to be a section for that, etc, etc. Will there be five fingers like the burbs or the burbs? And when I grasp it in my hands I will crush them. I would- I would like to come up with an infographic for how the collective works. Well I was thinking I'd do some kind of chart or something. I love doing that stuff. Or somebody else can make a chart. No, I'm making the chart. You know what, aside from just the collective detective though, I recently updated the mother grand section as well. And I just- I was referencing the town of Bigelow where she lives. And so I added one of the old pictures from the flashpulper archive. One of the sketches you've done. Yeah, the Bigelow sketch. Which actually got written after the first time Bigelow was mentioned. But it took a while to get it done and so it never really made it into the episode when the episode was posted. And it was kind of a post-production thing so never really got- That's nice that it has a home now. Yeah. Are you a dassy? Oh, ho! It's kind of funny because I'm reporting on work that I haven't done yet. But I'm going to be doing it before the night's out and before this is uploaded. And that is Barry's intro. Oh yeah. I have such a good idea for Barry's intro. Well actually, I had a good idea and then Jay already put his idea in my sandwich and then we made tasty, tasty love sandwiches. Lovely sandwich. I'm not going to say much about it because you've already heard it. But- Barry! Barry! B-M-J-2-K. Walk in the streets of New York and tellin' his story there. I think this would be a good time to remind people about the wiki, which can be found at wiki.flashpulp.com. And Kelly. In case you weren't listening to what I just said. Huge thanks to Jim for hosting that and the website at flashpulp.com. Thank you, Jim. And keep me entertained for hours. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, you can find us at flashpulp.com. Call our voicemail line at 206-338-2792 or email us text or mp3's to skin or skin or not a pen. Jessica made us vocal talents and musical stylists. It can be found at maytunes.com. The Open Access artistic work and general updates can be located at apoponaxweathers.com. The entire run of flashpulp can be found at flashpulp.com or via the Switch Bar in iTunes. Flashgast is released and it is the Canadian creative comments that you've used. I told him to slow down what he did. A little 2.5 minutes. We'll never awaken you, not where the flashpulp.com has taken you. Angels have no thought of ever returning you. So would they be I leave, I'm not joining you. Oh, this is the last time and then I am ending you. Would there be candles and prayers at us at our door? Why should they cry when they know that I'm glad to go? It's the dead dream, then I'll dream I'm threatening you. On the long journey I know I'll be blessing you. We'll be some way. We'll be some way. We'll be some way. [MUSIC PLAYING] (chimes)