The Drabblecast http://www.drabblecast.org Strange Stories, By Strange Authors, for Strange Listeners Thu, 17 May 2012 10:18:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The Drabblecast is a weekly audio fiction magazine that offers “strange stories for strange listeners.” Stories feature on the Drabblecast are generally narrated by charismatic host, humorist, and musician Norm Sherman. A full production, the Drabblecast features multiple voice actors, music, and foley effects. The podcast has a finely tuned 'voice' that crosses all genres, including horror, science fiction, fantasy and 'other.' Special features include 100-word stories called, “drabbles,” 100 character stories coined “twabbles,” as well as Norm's own Bbardles, songs based on story themes. Original cover art accompanies every episode. Norm Sherman no Norm Sherman submissions@drabblecast.org submissions@drabblecast.org (Norm Sherman) Strange Stories by Strange Authors for Strange Listeners strange, stories, fiction, science-fiction, horror, fantasy, speculative, norm, sherman, anthology, comedy, weekly The Drabblecast http://www.drabblecast.org/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/RSS2_Image.jpg http://www.drabblecast.org Drabblecast 243 – The Other Lila http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/17/drabblecast-243-the-other-lila/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/17/drabblecast-243-the-other-lila/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 10:16:57 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4740 read more]]> Cover for Drabblecast episode 243, The Other Lila, by Richard K. GreenI step out of a porter booth in the overheated Los Angeles station and reach up to peel off my winter coat. That’s when I realize something’s wrong with my hand — it feels numb and prickly, and the fingers aren’t quite responding the way they’re supposed to. Weird. I don’t recall circulatory problems being listed among the possible side effects…

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/17/drabblecast-243-the-other-lila/feed/ 0 Artist: Richard K. Green,Author: Gwendolyn Clare,clones,couples,crime,futuristic,LBGT I step out of a porter booth in the overheated Los Angeles station and reach up to peel off my winter coat. That's when I realize something's wrong with my hand -- it feels numb and prickly, and the fingers aren't quite responding the way they're suppo... I step out of a porter booth in the overheated Los Angeles station and reach up to peel off my winter coat. That's when I realize something's wrong with my hand -- it feels numb and prickly, and the fingers aren't quite responding the way they're supposed to. Weird. I don't recall circulatory problems being listed among the possible side effects... Norm Sherman no 16:43 Mega Beast Death Match 2012 – Episode 2 http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/15/mega-beast-death-match-2012-episode-2/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/15/mega-beast-death-match-2012-episode-2/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 06:02:07 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4709 read more]]> Mega Beast Death Match 2012 round 2 Cover, art Bo Kaier“You Can’t Roll 3 and Pick 2, M@therf%#cker…”

Snorks vs. Smurfs
Chicken vs. Platypus Egg

And who would win in a fight to the death… a 6-foot tall cricket with bat wings, a 400 lb. octopus with cobra legs or a platypus that can manipulate probability…

More information about this year’s competition, and the ‘heats’ that produced its competitors, can be found at mega-beasts.com.

Subscribe to the Death-Match Podcast via iTunes!

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/15/mega-beast-death-match-2012-episode-2/feed/ 0 Drabblecast 242 – Transfer of Ownership http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/12/242-transfer-of-ownership/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/12/242-transfer-of-ownership/#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 06:44:18 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4672 Cover for Drabblecast episode 242, Transfer of Ownership, by Jonathan SimsMy new occupant is larger than Carson was. I was made for her, within a certain tolerance for the inevitable changes in human specifications that come with age, changes in health, and abundance or scarcity…

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/05/12/242-transfer-of-ownership/feed/ 0 Artist: Jonathan Sims,attack,Author: Christie Yant,Author: Nicholas J. Carter,crime,futuristic,jerks,mechs,robots,war My new occupant is larger than Carson was. I was made for her, within a certain tolerance for the inevitable changes in human specifications that come with age, changes in health, and abundance or scarcity... My new occupant is larger than Carson was. I was made for her, within a certain tolerance for the inevitable changes in human specifications that come with age, changes in health, and abundance or scarcity... Norm Sherman no 25:56 Drabblecast 241 – The Dead http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/26/drabblecast-241-the-dead/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/26/drabblecast-241-the-dead/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:45:04 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4388 Cover for Drabblecast 241, The Dead, by John DebergeThree boy zombies in matching red jackets bussed our table, bringing water, lighting candles, brushing away the crumbs between courses.  Their eyes were dark, attentive, lifeless…

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/26/drabblecast-241-the-dead/feed/ 0 Artist: John Deberge,Author: Michael Swanwick,Author: S. Zainab Williams,undead,work,zombies Three boy zombies in matching red jackets bussed our table, bringing water, lighting candles, brushing away the crumbs between courses.  Their eyes were dark, attentive, lifeless... Three boy zombies in matching red jackets bussed our table, bringing water, lighting candles, brushing away the crumbs between courses.  Their eyes were dark, attentive, lifeless... Norm Sherman yes 37:41 Drabblecast 240 – Trifecta XXI http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/20/drabblecast-240-trifecta-xxi/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/20/drabblecast-240-trifecta-xxi/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:45:47 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4385 read more]]> Cover for Drabblecast episode 240, Trifecta XXI, by Gino MorettoWe bought our first yarn baby at a garage sale. The ends of its arms were frayed and its eye buttons dangled loose on bare threads.

This theme of this episode of the Drabblecast is family unties: Nontraditional homes and family situations. In the drabble, the enterprising resident of a haunted house fools its ghosts into performing everyday domestic tasks. In Divorce in the House of Flies, a young boy has to deal with his parents’ divorce at the same time he has to deal with their transformation into human-shaped masses of tiny insects. In Wendigo Bake Sale, residents of a small town overcome their initial terror of a pair of wendigo participating in the school bake sale, only to be frightened anew when the wendigo reveal they are supporting the school because their child attends. In Knit, after losing their first yarn baby during her rebellious teen years in a tragic unraveling accident, a couple tries vainly to reconstruct her from the scraps of yarn, stuffing, and buttons left behind.

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/20/drabblecast-240-trifecta-xxi/feed/ 0 abstract,absurd,Artist: Gino Moretto,Author: Brenda Stokes Barron,Author: Dustin Reade,Author: Leslianne Wilder,break-ups,children,conflict,couples,delusions,divorce We bought our first yarn baby at a garage sale. The ends of its arms were frayed and its eye buttons dangled loose on bare threads. - This theme of this episode of the Drabblecast is family unties: Nontraditional homes and family situations. We bought our first yarn baby at a garage sale. The ends of its arms were frayed and its eye buttons dangled loose on bare threads. This theme of this episode of the Drabblecast is family unties: Nontraditional homes and family situations. In the drabble, the enterprising resident of a haunted house fools its ghosts into performing everyday domestic tasks. In Divorce in the House of Flies, a young boy has to deal with his parents' divorce at the same time he has to deal with their transformation into human-shaped masses of tiny insects. In Wendigo Bake Sale, residents of a small town overcome their initial terror of a pair of wendigo participating in the school bake sale, only to be frightened anew when the wendigo reveal they are supporting the school because their child attends. In Knit, after losing their first yarn baby during her rebellious teen years in a tragic unraveling accident, a couple tries vainly to reconstruct her from the scraps of yarn, stuffing, and buttons left behind. Norm Sherman no 29:43 Drabblecast 239 – Killing the Morrow http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/13/drabblecast-239-killing-the-morrow/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/13/drabblecast-239-killing-the-morrow/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:01:21 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4348 read more]]> Cover for Drabblecast episode 239, Killing the Morrow, by John DeBergeYou know, I’ve heard my share of disembodied voices.  I’m accustomed to their fickle, sometimes bizarre demands.  But tonight’s voice is different, clear as gin and utterly compelling.  I must listen…

This episode of the Drabblecast concerns time and inter-dimensional travel. In the drabble, a being hurriedly fleeing its own dimension accidentally merges with a pizza jockey but still cannot escape its pursuers. In the feature, Killing the Morrow, voices from a ruined future attempt to flee to our present, commandeering a workforce to construct bathtub chambers where they can grow physical bodies and ready cities from which to rule. Is this the end of mankind as we know it, or can a second faction of future-dwellers subvert this implosive invasion?

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/13/drabblecast-239-killing-the-morrow/feed/ 0 Artist: John Deberge,Author: Robert Reed,birth,conflict,crime,delusions,futuristic,gritty,insanity,maniacs,parenting,possession You know, I've heard my share of disembodied voices.  I'm accustomed to their fickle, sometimes bizarre demands.  But tonight's voice is different, clear as gin and utterly compelling.  I must listen... - You know, I've heard my share of disembodied voices.  I'm accustomed to their fickle, sometimes bizarre demands.  But tonight's voice is different, clear as gin and utterly compelling.  I must listen... This episode of the Drabblecast concerns time and inter-dimensional travel. In the drabble, a being hurriedly fleeing its own dimension accidentally merges with a pizza jockey but still cannot escape its pursuers. In the feature, Killing the Morrow, voices from a ruined future attempt to flee to our present, commandeering a workforce to construct bathtub chambers where they can grow physical bodies and ready cities from which to rule. Is this the end of mankind as we know it, or can a second faction of future-dwellers subvert this implosive invasion? Norm Sherman yes 45:02 Mega Beast Death Match 2012 – Episode 1 http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/12/mega-beast-death-match-2012-episode-1/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/12/mega-beast-death-match-2012-episode-1/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:08:35 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4366 read more]]> Mega Beast Death Match 2012 round 1 Cover“Just get him in the room”

The Al-Qaida Fulbright…
Predator Snuff-Porn…
And who would win in a fight to the death:

A rabid 3-ton flying squirrel the size of a moose, a stealthy air-breathing flight-enabled manta ray that drops concussive missles, or a eugenically forged 6-foot tall Communist Red Panda with metal capped claws and back-mounted retractable gun turrets.

Warning, super-duper explicit, do not listen unless you’re well aware of what you’re getting in to. The hosts make sport of saying horrible things.

More information about this year’s competition, and the ‘heats’ that produced its competitors, can be found at mega-beasts.com.

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/04/12/mega-beast-death-match-2012-episode-1/feed/ 0 Drabblecast 238 – From the Lost Diary of TreeFrog7 http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/29/drabblecast-238-from-the-lost-diary-of-treefrog7/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/29/drabblecast-238-from-the-lost-diary-of-treefrog7/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:42:52 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4328 read more]]> Cover for Drabblecast episode 238, The Lost Diary of TreeFrog7, by Caroline ParkinsonTranslating… Appendix 820 of The Forbidden Greeny Jungle Field Guide. This series of audio files was created by TreeFrog7. It has been automatically translated into text

In this episode of the Drabblecast, heavily pregnant jungle explorer TreeFrog7 keeps a recorded diary of data she and her husband are collecting for the Forbidden Greeny Jungle Field Guide. As they close in on a legendary mature CPU plant (MCPU), a wild version of cultivated CPU plants used as personal computers, they encounter numerous jungle creatures including an enormous flightless moth protecting the plant. Despite its attacks, the explorers do not want to kill the moth in case the MCPU needs it to survive. While treed by the moth in the MCPU, TreeFrog7 gives birth to their daughter while her husband downloads the MCPU’s data. Close enough to see the MCPU’s monitor, they watch a rapidly shifting display of locations and symbols. TreeFrog7 realizes the images are getting closer to their own location and represent another explorer’s collected data. Finally, the scene fades and the monitor shows only two eyes. The diary ends with an entry by an unknown voice that implies the explorers have themselves been collected. In the drabble, a teenage boy fails to convince an uninterested, gum-snapping girl that he understands her feelings of otherness and isolation.

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/29/drabblecast-238-from-the-lost-diary-of-treefrog7/feed/ 0 aliens,animals,Artist: Caroline Parkinson,Author: Nathan Lee,Author: Nnedi Okorafor,birth,children,couples,delusions,explorers,female narrator,futuristic Translating... Appendix 820 of The Forbidden Greeny Jungle Field Guide. This series of audio files was created by TreeFrog7. It has been automatically translated into text - In this episode of the Drabblecast, Translating... Appendix 820 of The Forbidden Greeny Jungle Field Guide. This series of audio files was created by TreeFrog7. It has been automatically translated into text In this episode of the Drabblecast, heavily pregnant jungle explorer TreeFrog7 keeps a recorded diary of data she and her husband are collecting for the Forbidden Greeny Jungle Field Guide. As they close in on a legendary mature CPU plant (MCPU), a wild version of cultivated CPU plants used as personal computers, they encounter numerous jungle creatures including an enormous flightless moth protecting the plant. Despite its attacks, the explorers do not want to kill the moth in case the MCPU needs it to survive. While treed by the moth in the MCPU, TreeFrog7 gives birth to their daughter while her husband downloads the MCPU's data. Close enough to see the MCPU's monitor, they watch a rapidly shifting display of locations and symbols. TreeFrog7 realizes the images are getting closer to their own location and represent another explorer's collected data. Finally, the scene fades and the monitor shows only two eyes. The diary ends with an entry by an unknown voice that implies the explorers have themselves been collected. In the drabble, a teenage boy fails to convince an uninterested, gum-snapping girl that he understands her feelings of otherness and isolation. Norm Sherman no 46:51 Drabblecast B-Sides 16 – Winning Streak http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/22/drabblecast-b-sides-16-winning-streak/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/22/drabblecast-b-sides-16-winning-streak/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 06:50:21 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4293 read more]]> Cover for Drabblecast B-Sides episode 16, Winning Streak, by Mary MatticeSeven security gargoyles stare at me from atop the elaborate sandstone columns lining the casino’s walls. Their sharp eyes and oversized talons flex ever so slightly in anticipation of snatching up cheaters like unsuspecting prey… The pit boss watches me too, now, and for good reason. I’m an Ittari after all, a shapeshifter, just as they’d identified me with the DNA scan when I’d entered this fine establishment…

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/22/drabblecast-b-sides-16-winning-streak/feed/ 0 Drabblecast 237 – Test Drive http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/22/drabblecast-237-test-drive/ http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/22/drabblecast-237-test-drive/#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:02:42 +0000 StalinSays http://www.drabblecast.org/?p=4299 read more]]> Cover for Drabblecast episode 237, Test Drive, by Mary MatticeIt was my turn to wear the mask, but my egg-sister Linney wouldn’t give it up. She’d been wearing the mask all morning, set on Smile, and it was a test day, too. Everyone thought she was so pleased and relaxed and Earthy…

This episode of the Drabblecast opens with the announcement of the 2011 People’s Choice Awards winners: Best Episode Art (Jerel Dye, Hokkaido Green, episode 208), Best Drabble (Lab Rats by Nicholas J Carter, episode 229), and Best Story (The Wish of the Demon Achtromagk by Eugie Foster, episode 214). In the feature, alien egg-sisters Linney and Mirana are competing for an assignment on Earth. On test day, they are evaluated on their abilities to blend into human society. Despite a disappointing start, Mirana pulls ahead of Linney during a trip to the mall where they meet, and she charms, a human teenage boy.

]]> http://www.drabblecast.org/2012/03/22/drabblecast-237-test-drive/feed/ 0 2011 People's Choice Awards,aliens,Artist: Mary Mattice,Author: Nina Kiriki Hoffman,children,family,food,invasion,Women and Aliens month It was my turn to wear the mask, but my egg-sister Linney wouldn't give it up. She'd been wearing the mask all morning, set on Smile, and it was a test day, too. Everyone thought she was so pleased and relaxed and Earthy... - It was my turn to wear the mask, but my egg-sister Linney wouldn't give it up. She'd been wearing the mask all morning, set on Smile, and it was a test day, too. Everyone thought she was so pleased and relaxed and Earthy... This episode of the Drabblecast opens with the announcement of the 2011 People's Choice Awards winners: Best Episode Art (Jerel Dye, Hokkaido Green, episode 208), Best Drabble (Lab Rats by Nicholas J Carter, episode 229), and Best Story (The Wish of the Demon Achtromagk by Eugie Foster, episode 214). In the feature, alien egg-sisters Linney and Mirana are competing for an assignment on Earth. On test day, they are evaluated on their abilities to blend into human society. Despite a disappointing start, Mirana pulls ahead of Linney during a trip to the mall where they meet, and she charms, a human teenage boy. Norm Sherman no 14:37