Drabblecast – Page 23 – The Drabblecast

Drabblecast 108 – The Wicked Witch Looks at 40 (Decades)

On March 27, 2009

The wicked witch business wasn’t what it used to be. It had been such a simple thing, to lure children with candy; back in the old days when candy had been hard to come by…

In this episode’s Drabble, a moth eloquently expresses her attraction to a bright light and her own subsequent destruction. The feature story, The Wicked Witch Looks at 40 (Decades), follows Winnie the witch through her (long overdue) midlife crisis. After a particularly discouraging Halloween, where not a single child is captured, she takes the advice of an article in Martha Stewart Living magazine, changing her house and her lifestyle.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 107, The Alchemical Automaton Blues, by Josh Hugo

Drabblecast 107 – The Alchemical Automaton Blues

By Drabblecast

On March 20, 2009

In Drabblecast, Fantasy

“How often does it do that?” the faun asked.
“Most of the time. The poor thing’s totally neglected. They never speak to it or interact with it– except for when the kids are throwing rocks at it…”

This episode of the Drabblecast begins with a Drabble News story about an employee finding a Brazilian wandering spider in the bananas at a Whole Foods in Oklahoma. In the Drabble, a little girl plays hide and seek with her friend, Rex. T-Rex. In the feature story, The Alchemical Automaton Blues, the good intentions of a kind-hearted couple concerned for the welfare of their ogre neighbor’s badly neglected and constantly crying guard golem have unexpected and disheartening consequences for the creature in question.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 106, Boiled Black Broth and Cornets, by Nettie Pinney

Drabblecast 106 – Boiled Black Broth and Cornets

By Drabblecast

On March 11, 2009

In Drabblecast, Strange

“From fortress-building to cornet-playing, you never cease to amaze me, Beckie.” I replied, dumping my weekend luggage in a corner of the grm brickish vestibule…

In this episode’s Drabble, reading a spy thriller helps pass the time while an assassin waits for his target to return home. The feature story, Boiled Black Broth and Cornets, concerns a bizarrely convoluted plot by the narrator’s good friend to learn how to build a fortress, make mind-controlling soups, and play the cornet for the overall purpose of abducting and training an octet of musicians to put on a jazz concert.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 105, DoubleHeader 2, by Kelly Martinez

Drabblecast 105 – Doubleheader 2

By Drabblecast

On March 4, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Strange

She’d been hunting full-grown pies for four years now. The little hand-held fruit pies were for kids– the preservatives made them slow and stupid– but pies in the wild, they were the true treasure, they had formed the culture of her people…

This episode of the Drabblecast features two pie-themed stories set in one fantasy world. In The Blueberry Pie, successfully slaying the titular food item stands as the first rite of passage for a child wishing to officially join the tribe of the pie hunters. One young pie hunter cannot ignore the allure of hunting a crusted, culinary legend. In The Last of the Pie Hunters, a peaceful gardener gives care and compassion to a battered warrior in the war between the pie hunters and the cake eaters.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 104, The Food Processor, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 104 – The Food Processor

By Drabblecast

On February 25, 2009

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Strange

Though the boy’s birthdays occurred weeks apart, Mother combined their gift to please Father.
“You may choose your present this year, boys,” said she. “Something to fulfill your destiny, perhaps.” The boys were born to change the world…

The winners of the Drabblecast People’s Choice Award are announced: Best Drabble “Please Allow the Door to Close” by John Medaille (episode 89) and Best Feature Story, Floating Over Time by Robert Reed (episode 83). In the Drabble, gods get whatever they can afford at a marketplace of souls. The feature, The Food Processor, is a coming of age story about two brothers who use their birthday gift, an industrial food processor, to break free from the expectations and control of their formidable chef father.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 103, Out of His Leagie, by Rodolfo Arredondo

Drabblecast 103 – Out of His League

By Drabblecast

On February 18, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Sci-Fi

An influx of uniformed combatants filed into the room, some mumbling, others grumbling– the sure sign of another loss. In moments the place smelled of dirty socks and planetary jocks…

This episode opens with a reminder to vote for the Drabblecast People’s Choice Award on the Drabblecast discussion forums, which neatly segues into a Drabble News segment about a New Jersey couple who claim that their child’s Tickle me Elmo toy telephone asks “who wants to have sex?” In the Drabble, defeating gravity is a very different experience for a professor and a small boy. The feature story, Out of His League, puts a humorous spin on Pluto’s reclassification from planet to dwarf, envisioning it as a player on a celestial baseball team who has just been sent down to the minors.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 102, The Last Dog, by Matt Wasiela

Drabblecast 102 – The Last Dog

By Drabblecast

On February 11, 2009

In Drabblecast, Drama, Sci-Fi

He was panting now, his breath coming in a never-ending series of short spurts and gasps. His sides ached, his eyes watered, and every now and then he would trip over the rubble of the decayed and ruined buildings that lined the torturously fragmented street…

This episode opens with the announcement of the three drabbles and five features stories nominated for the Drabblecast People’s Choice Award. In the Drabble, the narrator muses on the nature of his fatalistic precognition. In the feature, The Last Dog, the titular ultimate canine and his master, the last man on Earth, form a strong bond helping one another to survive on a war-ravaged planet. When they encounter an alien assassin, they are forced to make hard choices.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 101, Bemused, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 101 – Bemused

By Drabblecast

On February 4, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy

My Muse is the life of every party. He does keg-stands and plays beer-pong like he was born to the game…

This episode of the Drabblecast podcast opens with a DrabbleNews story about immortal jellyfish, jellyfish that under certain circumstances can reverse the aging process. In the Drabble, a stalker cheerfully greets, drugs, and kidnaps the object of her desire. The feature story, Bemused, is a hack-to-riches-to-hack tale about a mediocre, rejected writer who discovers his muse and a catapult to fame and fortune. The only problem: his muse is a real jerk.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Drabblecast 100 – Trifecta VI

By Drabblecast

On January 28, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Strange

The 100th episode of the Drabblecast opens with Norm thanking donors, contributors, and listeners for its success and growth. Norm announces the opening of nominations for the second annual Drabblecast People’s Choice Awards, now including a category for drabbles as well as feature stories. In Cork Ringtone and the Break Dancing Pig, a desperate, Jesus-costumed liquor store robbery, which may be wholly unnecessary when a loan shark experiences an alien-induced vision of god. In Gerri’s Sounds, the events occurring in a torture chamber are experienced in disturbing detail by its sounds alone. In Cupid, Playing, new love is cut short by a deranged cherub.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Drabblecast 99 – Sarah’s Window

By Drabblecast

On January 21, 2009

In Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy, Horror

The shadow lingered at Sarah’s window, balanced on air, certain to fly away the next step I took. Another moment and it would be gone. Another moments and I would call the police, report my daughter missing, and spend the rest of my life convincing myself I’d imagined it…

This episode of the Drabblecast opens an announcement introducing the Drabblecast Archive CDs, featuring episodes 1-79 in a 3 disc set. In the drabble, a sleep-addled God himself cannot (or will not) provide a reason for why the world ended. The feature story, Sarah’s Window, explores the familiar theme of children leaving our world for one of fantasy, with the twist of a distraught parent serving as protagonist. A single father tries to convince a trespassing, morally ambiguous shadow creature to return his apparently kidnapped daughter, Sarah, amid its assertions that it is innocent of wrongdoing since “not all lost things are stolen.” An otherworldly realm seduces with magical delights.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 98, The Graggleberry Thief, by Matt Wasiela

Drabblecast 98 – The Graggleberry Thief

By Drabblecast

On January 14, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy

“Mark my words Monkey,” said the chicken. “If you’re up to no good, Felonious Peck will find you out…”

This episode of the Drabblecast revolves around birds. It opens with a Drabble News segment about a bald eagle that caused a power outage in Juneau, Alaska by crashing into transmission lines while carrying a deer’s head. The Drabble features ever-vigilant pigeons performing an important job for the good of humanity. The feature story, The Graggleberry Thief, is a humorous tale about a thieving monkey who outwits the grumpy bird in charge of Graggleberry, Inc.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast 097, Daydream Nation, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 97 – Daydream Nation

By Drabblecast

On January 7, 2009

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi

From a small, dusty box similar to a contact-lens case, she took a fresh iDreams bindi, a self-adhesive circlet displaying the iDreams logo: a stylized human head wreathed in fluffy clouds and displaying a Third Eye…

This episode of the Drabblecast explores the relationship between technology and romance. In the Drabble, cryotechnology brings new dimensions to love, loss, and grieving. The feature, Daydream Nation, is a post-modern fairy tale exploring how the development of an iDreams caster, a device allowing users to broadcast crafted or purchased iDreams to one another, might affect courtship and relationships. After the story, Norm waxes poetic about the effect of our instant message society on “good old fashioned cheesy flirting.”

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 96, L'Wek and Sarah, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 96 – L’wek and Sarah

By Drabblecast

On December 31, 2008

In Drabblecast, Drama, Strange

Since the Emergence they’d all had to learn: humans, certainly, but mostly the Lemurians…

Norm opens the episode with the “Top 10 List” of the most badass animals of 2008, each mentioned in the listener and news forums (winner: the “colossal squid,” of course). This episode’s Drabble, by Shane Shennen (who also contributed a Drabble to Episode #93), explores the villainous joys of building a robot army. Norm segues into the moody feature story by Samantha Henderson. Samantha was featured recently with her fantasy “Starry Night” (Episode #89), which coincidentally also involves crystals. In this story, a young member of the underground Lemurian species ponders his relationship to a human race captivated by their unearthly gemstones. Feedback for “Gifting Bliss” (Episode #91) was highly positive.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover of Drabblecast episode 95, On Dasher, by Matt Cowens

Drabblecast 95 – On Dasher

By Drabblecast

On December 28, 2008

In Action, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Strange

Seen from a hundred feet up–if one could see any of this meeting, which they can’t – Saint Nick and his reindeer are red and brown dots standing on a potmarked gray island spanning hundreds of feet, lapped by waves…

Norm begins this Christmas episode with musical satire of the “Night Before Christmas” poem, twisting it into an explanation of the subprime derivative collapse: “We Don’t Have to Liquidate Christmas.” Jonathan C. Gillespie, a veteran of the podcast “Variant Frequencies” among others, focuses on those unsung worker heroes of Christmas, the everyday average reindeer, who pull a heavy load (and toys too) across the skies. As it turns out not even these mythic creatures are immune to office politics. The titular Dasher is given a chance to prove himself, and keep his day job, amid a desperate sky race around the world.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 94, Squidges, by Jonathan Wilson

Drabblecast 94 – Squidges

By Drabblecast

On December 17, 2008

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Strange

“Squidges?” This was a term I hadn’t heard before. I was used to Maine brother colloquialisms, they had adopted a vocabulary largely unique to themselves, but this went beyond even that…

Norm rewards forum participant Wonko by reading his Drabble about an unwilling exposure to the majesty of nature. Rish Outfield and Big Ankelvitch, narrators of the Dunesteef podcast, assist Norm in telling Thomas Canfield’s story, “Squidges.” In it, an unsuspecting patron of eccentric auto-mechanics learns about the unseen gremlins plaguing cars the world round. Feedback from Frank Key’s surreal sci-fi piece, #90 “Far Far Away,” demonstrates the magnetic qualities of magnetic love monkeys to fans of the Drabblecast.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 93, Blue, by Richard K. Green

Drabblecast 93 – Blue

By Drabblecast

On December 11, 2008

In Drabblecast, Drama, Sci-Fi

I had a dog, his name was Blue
Betchya five dollars he’s a good one too.
Come on Blue!
I’m a-comin’ too.

Glum weather in Baltimore inspires Norm to treat us all to a pair of melancholy stories. In Shane Shennen’s Drabble, “Ancient Apple Tree,” the passing of an old, faithful robot is mourned by nary an organic eye. Next, accomplished writer Mike Resnick (who appears in Drabblecast #67, “Malish,” and #102 “The Last Dog”) bases a sad tale of attrition and mourning on the traditional song “Old Blue.” Accompanied by Norm’s gentle rendition of the song, the story describes the mutual loyalty of a hermit and his canine companion in a harsh season. A grateful Norm confesses to his love of dogs after the song and story conclude. This is followed by feedback for Episodes #88 (“The Toys of Peace”) and #89 (“Starry Night”), which is generally positive.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 92, Synesthesia, by Tom Morganti

Drabblecast 92 – Synesthesia

By Drabblecast

On December 5, 2008

In Action, Drabblecast, Drama, Horror

They called it “Synesthesia.” It’s when the senses got mixed up and you started to hear colors or taste sounds…

Norm begins this with a warning concerning graphic violence and gore. We return to one of the Drabblecast’s favorite topics, the Zombie Apocalypse. The theme receives a fresh airing, which is just as well, as it was starting to smell. Sal Lemerond, veteran of the horror webzine “Necrotic Tissue,” posits the connection between drug addicts and zombies, in a 100-word drabble. Norm chimes in with a tasty public service announcement about the nutritional value of your brain on drugs. In the feature story, J. Alan Pierce whose work has appeared in Kaleidotrope, as well as twice on the Drabblecast (#18 “The One that Got Away” and #31 “Beekeepers”) – takes us through a zombie plague via the eyes of an early victim. The condition first manifests as Synthesesia, the scientific name for the ability to taste colors, smell sounds, and other bizarre sensory hallucinations. The story culminates in a family dispute and a choice betrayal.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 91, Gifting Bliss, by Kelly MacAvaney

Drabblecast 91 – Gifting Bliss: Fifteen Years Later, Jason Avery’s Magic is Still Saving the World

By Drabblecast

On November 26, 2008

In Drabblecast, Strange

“When I first met Jason he was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the studio, surrounded by burning candles. The air smelled like flowers and a sort of a fog hung in the room and I’m thinking- this dude is a little off…”

This podcast begins with a content warning, beware the “f-bomb.” Norm takes the occasion of Thanksgiving to politely thank civilization and his listeners. The feature is a faux documentary from Josh Roundtree, a contributor to “Realms of Fantasy.” Its subject is a record called “Gifting Bliss” from fantasy musician Jason Avery, whose band “Broken” has a magical healing power to listeners. The reading includes fake commercial breaks and Norm’s hysterical imitations of several sub-standard bands and clueless musicians. Lastly, Norm reads the feedback for the recent Halloween story, “The Box Born Wraith.”

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 90, Far Far Away, by Jonathan Wilson

Drabblecast 90 – Far Far Away

By Drabblecast

On November 19, 2008

In Drabblecast, Sci-Fi, Strange

The bullet-riddled corpses of our dead crew-mates, all sixteen of them, are coffined up, and the coffins stacked as a makeshift ping pong table…

In Drabble News, Norm congratulates the Harper Collins Dictionary for adding the slang term “meh” (an utterance of indifference). For the Drabble segment, returning author and future editor Matthew Bey (responsible for Drabblecast #58, “Eggs,” among others) allows his strange nocturnal fantasies about pupating locomotives to cross into the listener’s daylight. Next, Norm reads from the work of Frank Key, the British surreal author whose ‘lopsided fiction’ has graced the Drabblecast on numerous occasions, including episode #190. The selection: “The Goat God.” The feature describes the Flying Dutchman space journey of the starship “Corrugated Cardboard,” and the strange transformations of its surviving crew. The crew’s destination: a tiny pink planet where blind, mute, magnetic love monkeys frolic. Do these wonderful mythical creatures even exist, or are they figments of the unreliable narrator’s imagination? Finally, Norm reads from the positive feedback heaped by readers upon Episode #86, “Half Sneeze Johnny.”

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 89, Starry Night, by Philippa Jones

Drabblecast 89 – Starry Night

By Drabblecast

On November 12, 2008

In Drabblecast, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi

“They were frozen in place, and their bodies blazed. The angel was before them, and they were silent, burning with no heat…”

The episode opens with a Drabble by John Medaille, a veteran of Podcastle, the Dunesteef, and the “Three-Lobed Burning Eye.” It discusses the depredations and terror experienced by survivors of a post-apocalyptic elevator failure. Next, continuing the theme of apocalyptic landscapes, Samantha Henderson also a veteran of numerous podcasts as well as “Realms of Fantasy” contributes her story, “Starry Night.” Evoking Van Gough’s famous painting, her story describes the consequences of a celestial event that illuminated, and then blinded, the renaissance village of Monte Verde. Surreal tragedy follows. After the story, reader feedback from the Double-Header, “Hush and Hark” and “Meta Science Fiction,” describes how disturbing and or amusing the audience found the stories. Listeners rated Trifecta 5 as middle-of-the-road.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Category: Drabblecast Page 23 of 28