July 30, 2008 at 10:02 pm (ghosts, paranormal, podcast, review, theology, ufo, undead, underwater, vampires, weird news, zombie)
I was a huge fan of Mysterious Universe, which was a paranormal podcast based out of Australia. However, when Ben Grundy closed the doors of MU, I was already well on my way to being an EERIE fan. Based in Indiana, this podcast showcases the skills of radio personalities DK, Fizz, and Ollion. Ollion’s the shows techie, Fizz is the long winded answer guy, and DK is the …man of contagious laughter? Sorry, seriously, though, DK does his best to keep things on topic but once he cracks, his …giggling is completely infectious. I’m sorry, DK…but you do giggle. When I first listened to the show, I didn’t like it. It sounded too much like a bunch of rowdy guys sitting in a basement drinking Guinness and telling sophomoric jokes. Then, I realized something. This show sounds just like a bunch of rowdy guys sitting in a basement drinking Guinness and telling sophomoric jokes. I do have to say that to the best of my knowledge, these guys aren’t actually drinking while recording. Just to be fair.
If you have any interest at all in the paranormal, be it from the skeptical scientist to being an alien abductee, this is the podcast for you. Topics so far have covered everything from the Bermuda Triangle and the Pyramids of Giza to Roswell and Bigfoot. The hosts attempt to take all of their guests seriously (Note* I have to say attempt, because on occasion things do get a little weird) and It’s nice that they do not attack their interviewees. The people being interviewed generally get a good long 45 minutes to an hour to talk. Yes, on multiple occasions, both guest and hosts get stuck on some far out tangent…but for the most part, these digressions end up being both hilarious and enjoyable.
For extra variety, guest hosts are sometimes brought onto the show. On occasion, these guest hosts have become permanent members of the show …well, semi-permanent…well, one was on for a bunch of episodes and took the summer off. The Robfather is pretty new to the show still, but hopefully will stick around and will not take extended sabbaticals. Rob’s pointed questions have greatly enhanced the informative aspect of the show. And yes, the movie quotes being blasted back and forth do add to the shows relaxed atmosphere.
This is a fantastically fun podcast and I recommend the show to everyone. If you want to listen with your families, I’d suggest avoiding listening live online while the show is being recorded. The guys edit out most things to bring this safely back to a PG (if not G) rating for the final recording. However, if you want the added dose of madness, the live show can be pure chaos. Well… the show itself generally stays pretty organized, but the ability of the listeners to chat with each other while the show is going leads to some pretty …odd topics. I laugh out loud during every show, particularly while in the chat box. I also have to say that a good part of this shows entertainment value is in the audience. This podcast has the friendliest fan base and forum of any that I have ever encountered.
Check out EERIE Radio and see what all the fuss is. Shows are recorded live at roughly 7 pm every Sunday.
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July 30, 2008 at 3:08 am (Psuedopod, dark, fiction, obese, paranormal, podcast, review, short story)
Re: Votary by M.K. Hobson.
I first heard Votary on Pseudopod, which is a short horror fiction podcast, and I very nearly turned it off. Several times. But I have to admit that this has ended up being one of my favorite stories so far. Even though I think its disgusting. If you listen/read the story, you’ll see what I mean.
Hobson masterfully describes the adoration of a daughter for her unnaturally obese father. Yes, its all fine and dandy that a daughter loves her father, but the writing was so descriptive regarding the scent of the childs’ father and wrapping up in folds of fat. It was really hideously disgusting. Which is why I almost turned it off…then remembered, ‘oh wait, horror story, its supposed to be gross.’ So…mission accomplished. I was horrified.
This one really stuck with me. Thats what I like about it. I listened to it for the first time several weeks ago, and have had to hear it several times since. It’s not that I don’t like this story..its really just… GROSS. But I keep coming back to it. The writing is fantastic… I really think its all around fantastic…in a weird way. Does this make sense? I’m so completely.. gacked by the story that I have to say its great, not just good. I’m pretty sure Hobson achieved with me exactly what she was planning with this story. I don’t know what else to say except that I am left wide eyed and horrified. I give this 4 out of 4 barf bags. Which is a good thing for a horror story. ;-D
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July 28, 2008 at 11:25 pm (audiobook, fiction, heaven, legends, mur lafferty, paranormal, podcast, review, theology)
I admit it. Until recently, I’d never heard of Mur Lafferty. If you haven’t heard of Mur either, its time to get caught up on podcasting fiction. Mur Lafferty has become a big name in podcasting fiction. She is a trail blazer for free podcasting books. Her novella, Heaven, I found very recently. I’m definitely a bit behind, as this was released years ago, 2006 from what I can find. In fact, four Seasons have been released, Heaven Season 1, Heaven: Hell (Season 2), Heaven: Earth (Season 3) and the most recent Heaven: The Wasteland (Season 4).
Now, I am not going to do any spoilers on this. I am going to say, however, that if you are a Christian looking for an inspirational reading on Heaven…this is not the book for you. I do suggest that you should be open minded to religions and have a good sense of humor. There is swearing in this. I’d give it a PG rating. Most of it is perfectly easy to understand, but there is language and violence. As far as the violence factor goes…find me a god-story (I’m not talking only the Christian God, but gods of Rome and the Norse as well) that doesn’t involve something a bit nasty. There are a multitude of beliefs mentioned. (Hurrah for Odin!)
The basic concept of these stories is the exploration of the afterlife by two characters that died together. The title of each season explains what aspect of the afterlife is being explored (Heaven, Hell, Earth and the Wasteland).
My biggest complaint with this series is the really corny music that plays during the first audiobook. Even if the lyrics are true-sounding to me, its still really corny. They are singing something about ‘Heaven must be really boring and all the angels must be snoring’ or some such. But hey, it’s a free audiobook. The story is awesome. So what if the closing credit music is goofy? The music gets much better though during the most recent Season with music by the Beatnik Turtles. Hurray for the change of pace.
These podcasts can be found on iTunes, still, just type in Heaven and look under podcasts. Mur Laugherty also has a few other projects out there that I haven’t had a chance to listen to yet. Just follow the link, Mur Laugherty to her page.
PS
Dear Mur,
I saw your picture on Murverse and am horribly jealous of (and in love with) your purple hair. Before I die, I WILL have a job that allows fun hair.
Sincerely,
Lisa M Andrews
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July 27, 2008 at 9:23 pm (Great Lakes, Loch Ness, dark, lake monster, legends, paranormal, underwater)
What comes to mind when I say, “Lake Monster?” Are you thinking, Nessie? Loch Ness? Or just rolling your eyes? This blog isn’t about Nessie. It IS about similar creatures reportedly sighted over the last 200 years in the Great Lakes. I would imagine that most people that pay attention to the paranormal field, if not the cryptozoological field, have at least heard rumors of Champ, the rumored monster of Lake Champlain. Uh…which is actually not one of the five Great Lakes, although I’ve found references including it as a missing sixth. For this blog, we are going to poke around a bit at the depths of the Great Lakes.
Lake Erie is rumored to contain a similar creature similar to Nessie, dubbed ‘Bessie.’ The first documented sighting was in October of 1817. Reports from way back when describe her as about 30-45 feet long with dark, possibly black skin, and bright eyes. The most recent sighting that I could find mention of was in 1993 by two local fire inspectors. If you happen up to Lake Erie and are feeling very brave (insane), Tom Solberg of the Huron Lagoons Marina is supposedly still offering a $100,000 reward for the SAFE capture of Bessie. Best of luck with that and send me photos.
Lake Ontario shares a similar history. Honestly…in the digging that I did, most of the stories on Ontario seemed remarkably similar to the sightings on Lake Erie…some happened within several weeks of each other. I can’t help but wonder just how long it would take news in the 1800s to travel. However I do have to note that one encounter stated that a man scared off the monster with his fishing pole….perhaps just a very large snake in this Great Lake?
Lake Superior’s rumored monsters are my favorite. As with the majority of these monsters, the Native Americans of the area had a history of stories about the occupants of the lake. They believed that Lake Superior housed a gigantic fish, a sturgeon, to be exact, that had a habit of swallowing natives on the lake. In the late 1700s, a merman was actually sighted. Yes, think bottom half fish, upper half man. The Natives explained that this was some sort of god of water.
Lakes Huron and Michigan do not have such extravagant sightings…at least, not that I could find, but have their share of 30-foot snakes stories. Just as a side note, there are quite a few lakes in the world that claim lake monsters. We’re talking in the well about one hundred.
If you have any interest at all in pursuing this topic, since I obviously just touched the tip of the information, you might want to check out:
American Lake Monsters
UnMueseum.org
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July 25, 2008 at 11:48 pm (fiction, podcast, review, science fiction, short story, underwater)
For anyone who does not know, Escape Pod is a podcast that reads science fiction short stories.
I am most definitely not an expert on science fiction. I love reading horror and fantasy, and on occasion, both of those genres wander into the sci fi realm, but thats about it. I really dislike the futuristic computer-type deal. Now, a good sci fi movie, I’m ok with, but I have to admit that I am just not enough of a tech junkie to be able to properly visualize what a writer is talking about when its practically in binary. I really don’t get it.
Pressure however, is not at all like that. This is the first piece of science fiction since reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that I have enjoyed. Well…thats underwater and enjoyable. I have a …uh..mild water phobia.
The gist of the story is that a man signs up to be turned into some sort of man/fish hybrid. The biomechanics are delved into in such a way that I grasped what was being described…which was a nice change. The drama that developed in the main characters personal life was completely believable, as depressing as it becomes….but I really didn’t like the ending. I’ll leave that for you to decide, of course. 
Jeff Carlson is a writer of thriller genre fiction. I confess I’ve never heard of him until now, but if you are at all interested in nanotech and/or plague, you might want to visit his site. I’m a plague and biowarfare junky, so I’ll be picking up his first Plague novel to see what all the hype is.
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July 22, 2008 at 10:40 pm (Psuedopod, dark, fiction, paranormal, podcast, review, short story, undead, zombie)
Pseudopod 94: The Skull-Faced Boy by David Barr Kirtley
We’ve all heard the same old zombie spiel over and over again. Zombies rise. They are hungry. Living people run and hide before rising up and stomping zombie butt. (Well, some of the time). What happens though, when there is a zombie overlord? What happens when some of the zombies are the living dead with a mind still intact? Is there actually an original zombie story left out there? Well, I’ll answer that last question…YES! And this is it!
One of the first things to pop into my mind after hearing this, is that this story would make a perfect episode of the Twilight Zone. A very good episode of the twilight zone. This is also probably one of the only zombie..well, anything!.. that does not have massive amounts of gore flying around and detailed descriptions of mauling. Is there zombie grossness? Of course. But this guy has finesse!
I’ll be looking up more of this author and I highly recommend heading over to Psuedopod and downloading the audible version, as the reading was also excellent. If you are interested in hearing or learning more about
David Barr Kirtley, just follow the link!
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July 20, 2008 at 8:01 pm (dark, movie, review)
*WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! I would not recommend reading this post if you have not yet been to see The Dark Knight!
I’m not really even sure where to start on this review. This movie was incredible. Without a doubt, this is my favorite Batman movie…well, ok the original Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson movie (yes, I realize that Adam West did a movie, but are we counting that?) was magnificant. I still remember watching it when I was a kid and cheering one of my heroes doing some series bad guy stomping…but this latest film on the Caped Crusader was truly amazing.
Christopher Nolan, who is the writer, producer, and director of this darkest yet Batman trilogy, has returned us to his version of Gotham with as much drama and depth as the last. In this movie, we delve into the psyche of the characters without spending the entire movie thinking, “Poor Batman” or “That Joker…no wonder he’s crazy!”
Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker is …well, you’ve all already heard that he gives nothing short of a stellar performance and will surely at least get an Oscar nod. Ledger was so incredibly into his role that he added touches of realism that I honestly had to think about. For example, why is he licking his lips so much? Personal opinion…the Joker wasn’t born with the scars on his face. After his lips and cheeks healed to the scarred mass that remains, I’d imagine he would be constantly running his tongue over the new surface of his his lips and cheeks. I have a snaggle tooth that is a result of a recent experience with braces and developed the habit of worrying at said tooth with my tongue. This isn’t something that I ever did before. So why wouldn’t the Joker also develop this habit? What if he flicks his tongue out like that not to be gross, but as a habit due to scarring? Are we assuming its a crazy tick for an insane man when its really something much more ordinary? And as much as everyone has raved about the madness of this character… I still loved the VERY dark humor. I was not expecting the disapearing pencil trick, let me tell you!
I also can’t help but to point out due to the complaints of some friends, that it was pretty much a given that something horrible was going to happen to Rachael, eventually. I mean honestly, people…has Batman really ever had a girlfriend that lasts? And would we really want it to? I’m pretty sure there was an episode or two in the original Adam West TV series where Batman fell in love (evil super villain women, ya know) and they drove me insane. Batman cant be…happy. He just wouldn’t be the Bat!
I have no complaints what-so-ever in regards to this movie. In fact, I’m planning on blowing another $9 to see it again! I am eagerly awaiting the third installment of the Nolan’s Batman. I do, however, want to point out that this is NOT a movie for little kids. I know its Batman, but he has grown up with us. Please encourage people not to take their 5 year olds to see this. If they insist on scarring them, maybe wait til DVD? I listened to quite a few little children screaming mid-movie this time. Ugh.
I have yet to establish a rating system for my reviews (since I’m still in the learning process) but whatever system I end up using…this movie gets the highest rating. 
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July 19, 2008 at 12:15 am (fiction, paranormal, review, tv series, vampires)
Ah, September. The leaves are changing colors and the scorching days of summer are having a last hurrah. OK, so today’s actually July 18 and the humidity is so thick I can barely breath, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream a little bit about September. Its the month of kids going back to school (and getting out of our way during the day), new seasons of your favorite shows, and pilot episodes of new shows.
I actually don’t watch very much television anymore. It’s a hobby that is fading further and further away every year. At first, I noticed that I was watching shows that focused more on learning instead of sitcoms like Friends and the Simpsons. Then I caught myself using that TiVo thing to record bits and pieces of the History Channel and Discovery Channel…and never watching them. Now I’m debating on canceling cable all together…except that September has made me realize that I couldn’t possibly.
So here I am, dreaming about September. Why, you ask? Because this coming September *drumroll please* Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse books will come to life on HBO and I must be there. Yes, I’m a little nervous, as any sane booklover would be, over one of my favorite lighthearted series being made into a series…we all know the stories become shredded…but Mrs. Harris is apparently on the set all of the time and Anna Paquin (that played Rogue in the X Men movies) is Sookie. Between those two women, I have great hopes. The series name on HBO, by-the-by, is TrueBlood and is directed by the same fellow that directed Six Feet Under
If you are a lover of vampires and have never read the Sookie Stackhouse books…no, scratch that. If you like to laugh and put your feet up at the end of the day with a glass of wine, a bottle of Guinness, or a shot of Jack Daniels (or all of the above), you should give these books a try. It doesn’t matter if you like vampires or not. These are not Ann Rice vampires, so if you’re looking for lots of descriptive sex, it wont be found here. Sex, sure, its there, but not the Ann Rice kind! Anyway, the characters are wonderful the story is original and the words flow off of the paper until you hit that special place in the reading world where you forget that you are actually reading and not watching everything unfold as in movies. There just isn’t anything like a good Southern Vampire novel. Trust me, there really isn’t. So before we all start enjoying September, I suggest grabbing the first book in the series, Dead Until Dark, and see what you think.
After reading everything that I just wrote, I’m a little concerned that I built the series up too much. Hmmm… its not really a thought provoking series and the writing, while descriptive, isn’t Pulitzer Prize winning. (Please forgive me, Oh Great Charlaine Harris who I met in Virginia at a book signing and is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting) Did I downplay it enough? OK, good, now you can enjoy it!
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July 18, 2008 at 12:07 am (fiction, paranormal, podcast)
I thought that I would share with everyone a handful of podcasts that I am currently obsessing over. That way I’m sharing somewhat useful information while learning how this ‘wordpress’ thingy works!
I have come across three EXCELLENT fiction podcasts, all of which are affiliated with each other, which are: Pseudopod, EscapePod, and CastlePod. All of these podcasts consist of flash fiction and short stories. Pseudopod contains Horror. EscapePod holds Science Fiction. CastlePod encompasses the realms of Fantasy. Not all of these stories, however, are suitable for children, and that includes CastlePod, so you may want to screen stories before you listen to them during a family car ride. Especially Psuedopod and EscapePod.
If you like the paranormal world (i.e. ghost hunting, aliens, and crytozoology), I highly recommend EERIE Radio. The hosts are very laid back and make you feel like your sitting around drinking a Guinness while they chatter on about the interviewees. Check them out at www.eerieradio.com. Also, the forum community is one of the best that I have come across online.
I think I’m going to end this post here..thanks for checking this out, I know this was gibberish, but I had to start somewhere!
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