The Thirteenth Hour Podcast

This week, I'm reading the first part of the twenty first chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  Before we get to the reading, there are a few noteworthy announcements: -I finished a set of breaking training cards to help add an element of randomization to solo dance practices.  Those are available on itch.io and are free to print out.  I will make a physical version of the cards and an instructional video in the coming weeks but to anyone that might find them useful, they are available now.  I ended up using animations that were originally made for a breaking game I tried to make about 20 years ago.  -Speaking of animation, I made a pixelart animation for the song "Forward" to go with the release of Once Upon a Dream (6/13/25).  That video is available here.  This week's reading of the Rocketeer chapter accompanies the section of the film where things come to a climax over the skies of the Griffith Observatory.  You can watch the exciting shootout here.   Pictures from the show notes are all available at https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-512-and-like-a-hood-ornament-78-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-21-part-1/Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞Don't forget that the original hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is available on Etsy!Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well. Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK8lTEQoc_gFollow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.Check it out!As always, thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞Synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.Check it out!As always, thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com

This week, I'm reading the twentieth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  There's a whole bunch of prereading announcements that occur prior to this (about 22 min in; it's not a long chapter). This chapter takes place in Griffith Observatory, which is a real life location you can visit should you ever find yourself in Los Angeles.  I was there a number of years ago, at night, and it did look pretty much the same as it had in the film about ten years prior.  This section has some cool dialogue between Eddie Valentine and Neville Sinclair as well as a great shot of the Rocketeer flying in and landing in a very controlled way.  For a guy who nearly killed himself trying to land it just a short time before (a day or two at most), Cliff sure got the hang of it!  Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/05/26/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-511-and-like-a-hood-ornament-77-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-20/

This week, I had the honor of speaking to Scott Holcomb, who was Hideo Takamini in the 1986 film, Spacecamp, one of my favorite films, and one I watched over and over as a kid (not seen it?  I was not able to find it streaming anywhere, but you can find it on Youtube, e.g. here).  I stumbled on Scott's contact info when I was making the first wave of Spacecamp Lego minifigures as a fundraiser for Spacecamp scholarships.  I have since decided to make a second wave (since I gave away and sold all the others I made and wanted to keep at least one!) but this time, added Hideo Takamini as a bonus figure.  More of this project in the next week or so.  That said, I was really stoked to talk to Scott.Aside from geeking out about Spacecamp as a movie, there's something more serious I always really wanted to ask someone about.  Problem was, I never could quite put my finger on how to articulate it as a kid.  But it had to do with something that always kind of bothered me about the film, even in childhood (and I say that as megafan who made my parents borrow the VHS tape from the local grocery store again and again for months until my father finally found me my own copy).  There was this scenario in the beginning of the film where one of the characters, Kevin Donaldson (Tate Donovan) switches ID badges with Hideo Takamini (Scott Holcomb) in order to be on the same team as another camper, Kathryn Fairly (Lea Thompson).  It happens in the blink of an eye, but even as a kid, it made me wonder.  Why did the writers stick in a ruse like that?  Why not just have Kathryn and Kevin be on the same team to begin with?  I guess the point was to set up romantic tension right from the beginning, this being a teen movie and all, but did they really need to do it at someone else's expense?  Why pick on the Asian guy with glasses?  Did we (I say this as an Asian guy who wore very similar aviator glasses to Hideo Takamini's as a kid) really need further reminders we weren't one of the cool kids?  This always kind of bothered me, though it took me until adulthood to finally be able to formulate my thoughts on it articulately, and we dig into it in the episode.   ... more at https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/05/19/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-510-welcome-scott-holcomb-from-spacecamp-1986/... All that said, it was great to be able to talk to Scott about all this.  We managed to squeeze the conversation in his work day (Scott is a science teacher), and I'm glad we did!  Thanks, Scott, for coming on the show and helping young people discover more about themselves and their world through science.  We need it more today than ever!If you are a Spacecamp alum, Scott wanted me to make sure to let folks know about the yearly summer reunion in Huntsville (this year, 7/11-7/12).  I am planning to have my Spacecamp Lego figures done before then, where they will be donated for a silent auction to help raise money for camp scholarships.  You can learn more about the US Space and Rocket Foundation here.  You can make donations to support the camp and its work under the "give" tab on that page.Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This past two weeks, I have had the honor of speaking to Sahbunim Jamie Webster, who played himself (and the character of Great Wolf) in the mid 90s martial arts show, WMAC Masters.   Sahbunim (abbreviated here as SBN) is the Korean term for master instructor at a martial arts school, and the Webster Martial Arts academies have been serving the Northern Alabama region since 1973, when SBN Jamie's father, opened the first martial arts school in the area.  We had a great conversation about many topics - martial arts history, WMAC Masters, breaking, toy collecting and more, and it was long enough that for the sake of editing, I broke it into two episodes.   You can find part one here.A lot of today's episode is about collecting.  WMAC Masters, similar to a lot of other children's programs of the era, was created with the idea of selling toys.  The company producing the show, Saban, had the toys made through its manufacturing partner, Bandai, and while you can still find the figures around today, since the show only went 2 seasons (26 episodes), there were probably more figures that would have been made had the show been around longer.   I never had any as a kid, since I was a teenager when the show aired and didn't really play with action figures by that time, but I did pick up a Great Wolf figure on ebay for this interview.Jamie also sent me a number of pictures from his own extensive collections, which he describes in the episode.See them here: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/05/12/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-509-welcome-sahbunim-jamie-webster-great-wolf-from-wmac-masters-part-2/Jamie has an extensive collection of WMAC Masters memorabilia as well, and it just feels right that a star of the show would have one of the largest, if not the largest collections of show stuff ever.  If you visit the links below, you can see him talking about his costume (which he still has) and more.A few related books:If you are interested in the show, to my knowledge there was never a "making of" book created when it came out, but author Kristopher Landis wrote an extensive behind the scenes book called Quest for the Dragon Star you can find here.  Highly recommended!  SBN Jamie has quotes featured in a number of the segments.I recently also wrote a segment for a book being published by whistlekick's books division.  I wrote about watching WMAC Masters as a teenager, seeing SBN Jamie doing windmills, and how that spurred me on a years long quest to be able to do the same.  The show was such an inspiring thing to have as a kid since it was positive and full or actual martial artists I read about in magazine who were more or less playing themselves and saying and doing things good martial arts instructors would do (at least in season one).  Anyhow, that segment is part of a book called Modern Dads of Martial Arts, Vol 1, and is coming out 6/10/25.  There actually was a mom edition (Happy Mother's Day all you moms out there) that released last year called Modern Moms of Martial Arts, Vol 1.  Check them out!If you have not see WMAC Masters, you can find all the episodes uploaded to Youtube here.  They were never released on DVD, to my knowledge, so these are, I believe episodes that a kind soul likely taped off the TV and then digitized and eventually uploaded.You can learn more about SBN Jamie and his schools here:-The Webster Martial Arts Academy of Decatur-The Webster Martial Arts Academy of Madison-Instagram-Tiktok-YoutubeThanks for being on the show, SBN Jamie, and thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com

This week, I had the honor of speaking to Sahbunim Jamie Webster, who played himself (and the character of Great Wolf) in the mid 90s martial arts show, WMAC Masters.   Sahbunim (abbreviated here as SBN) is the Korean term for master instructor at a martial arts school, and the Webster Martial Arts academies have been serving the Northern Alabama region since 1973, when SBN Jamie's father, opened the first martial arts school in the area.  We had a great conversation about many topics - martial arts history, WMAC Masters, breaking, toy collecting and more, and it was long enough that for the sake of editing, I broke it into two episodes.   I was in high school by the time WMAC Masters aired and had been doing martial arts for just a few years.  Though I was a little beyond watching cartoons on weekend mornings by then, I do remember getting up to try to watch episodes of WMAC Masters, since they were one of the few sources of martial arts I could find on network television (unless there was the Chuck Norris or Van Damme movie or the odd kung fu film playing on this random Spanish language channel that had them sometimes).  SBN Jamie was a Native American character on the show called Great Wolf, who, besides being a pretty swell martial artist and acrobat, was also a breakdancer.  He did windmills on the show a number of times. I talked about how seeing him on the show was one of the reasons I wanted to learn how to do the move on a previous episode, so when I stumbled across his school contact info, I had to reach out to thank him.  We get to talk all about mills and other acrobatics on this episode!If you have not see WMAC Masters, you can find all the episodes uploaded to Youtube here.  They were never released on DVD, to my knowledge, so these are, I believe episodes that a kind soul likely taped off the TV and then digitized and eventually uploaded.You can learn more about SBN Jamie and his schools here:-The Webster Martial Arts Academy of Decatur-The Webster Martial Arts Academy of Madison-Instagram-Tiktok-YoutubeStay tuned for part 2 next week!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I'm reading the nineteenth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter takes place in the study of Howard Hughes, the inventor of the Cirrus X-3 rocketpack in the world of the film (in Dave Steven's original story, it was his unnamed analogue of Doc Savage).  In this scene, you can see what's in Cliff's pockets, a Dave Stevens cameo as an ill-fated German rocketeer, an animated film featuring German rocket troopers, and references to the Spruce Goose (the Hughes H-4, a gargantuan - 218 ft long with a 319 ft wingspan - wooden flying boat meant to ferry men and equipment across the Atlantic during WW2).  Interestingly enough, the book has Cliff hang glide from Howard Hughes' study all the way to the Chaplin airfield (which was actually filmed in Santa Maria, CA, some 150+ miles northwest)!  Presumably, the airfield in the movie was not actually in Santa Maria.  That said, there is a museum there, the Santa Maria Museum of Flight, that has a number of remaining props used in the film, as it was the real life hangar used in the film (check out this clip for some very thorough detective work of filming locations).   Although it aired on Disney Channel around the time the movie was released, Rocketeer: Excitement in the Air (both a featurette on the film as well as a documentary on manned flight hosted by Billy Campbell) has some shots of the real life Spruce Goose as well as some shots of its maiden (and only) flight as well as some info on Howard Hughes.   It's well worth a watch! Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/04/28/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-507-and-like-a-hood-ornament-76-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-19/

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1981 movie, Spiderman: The Dragon's Challenge, a composite of two 1979 episodes of The Amazing Spider-Man where Peter Parker ends up in pre-handover Hong Kong protecting an influential Chinese diplomat.  As far as we could tell, the live action Spider-Man show did not have that much to do with the comics and take a more realistic view of what a man in a spidersuit, albeit one with special powers, could realistically accomplish.  The series is not available on Disney+, unlike many of the other Marvel properties, but you can watch the two year run (1977-1979) on Youtube for free.  The last two episodes ("The Chinese Web") of the series (there are 13 total) form this movie, which oddly enough was only released internationally. Check out Jeremy's work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry as well as an upcoming exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!  Don't forget that the original hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is available on Etsy!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well. Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK8lTEQoc_gFollow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.Check it out!As always, thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞The synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.Check it out!As always, thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I'm reading the eighteenth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This short chapter takes place in the Bulldog Diner and features a scene where Cliff falls down a ladder from the attic after he is startled by Patsy, the daughter of the proprietress, Millie, and in the censored version we'd taped off the Disney channel when I was a kid, they actually dubbed over the work "heck," so instead of "you scared the living ... heck out of me!" it became "you scared the living daylights out of me!"  It's funny, when I think of that scene, it's still the censored version I hear in my head :) In other news, I have been getting Once Upon a Dream reading for production (6/13/25 is the release).  In the process, I made a "study mix" from some of the instrumental tracks.  If you click here, you can listen to it on Youtube. Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/04/21/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-505-and-like-a-hood-ornament-75-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-18/

This week, I'm reading the seventeenth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter takes place in Neville Sinclair's home, where he's kidnapped her, though she ends up figuring out how to get the upper hand, at least temporarily.  I don't remember if I usually fast forwarded through this part as a kid, but I think I usually wanted to since I always through Neville was such a creep (and this scene certainly hits different in 2025), but I have to admire Jenny's resourcefulness.  There was very limited merchandise put out for the Rocketeer, but I don't believe Jenny got any, which is a shame.  I have always thought that she should have her own action figure as well, and perhaps I will make one. I have some possible figures I could use.  ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I'm reading the sixteenth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter takes place in The South Seas Club, like last chapter, and is great fun.  Cliff wreaks absolute chaos on mob boss Eddie Valentine's club (crime doesn't pay, kids!).  The full clip is here. The novelization adds a few interesting tidbits that I suspect were artistic license, like the first person that Cliff runs into when he is on the waiter's cart being Margaret Dumont (who was in many Marx Brothers films as the straight woman to their gags).  Here she is with Groucho in a clip from A Night at the Opera in a somewhat similar location, this also being a fancy restaurant.Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-503-and-like-a-hood-ornament-73-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-16/

This week, I'm reading the fifteenth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter takes place in The South Seas Club, and has one of my favorite parts of the movie this part where Cliff stands by the table with Neville and Jenny awkwardly and tries to poof up these flowers - which go right back to the way they were before.  I don't know why that part always used to crack me up, but it still does :)  The full clip is here.  Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/03/24/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-502-and-like-a-hood-ornament-72-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-15/

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1992 movie, Army of Darkness.  Both of us remember the movie poster from comic book ads from the time.  (It's still not clear to me what the X shaped belt Ash is wearing if for ... I don't think he wears something like that in the actual film).It was my first time seeing in a few decades and Jeremy's first ever.  We watched the director's cut (which you can view online), but after a few minutes, I realized that this version was somewhat different from the theatrical release I'd initially seen.  The latter has a campier ending that is quite different (though I actually like it better).  There are a number of different versions of this film, as discussed here.In the episode, we touch upon the 1970s Conan in NYC comics (see one of the covers here). Check out Jeremy's work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry as well as an upcoming exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!  As always, thanks for listening!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-501-welcome-my-brother-jeremy-as-we-talk-about-army-of-darkness-1992/∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week on the show, we are celebrating the 500 episode mark with a story!  I alluded to some of this in the past few weeks and was inspired by the scene in the 1988 film, Big, where both the young and adult Josh play a CGA text parser style game with a wizard and a cavern. You will be hearing from the following guests in this episode that I am happy to call friends:Shawn Wells and Colin Stewart, hosts of the podcast, I Used to Like This One, who recently hit a milestone of themselves, discussing rewatching Back to the Future, a few months ago on their episode 200.Paul Korman - one of the hosts of the Classic Gamers Guild podcast as well as the game designer of the adventure game, The Phantom Fellows. Andrew Adams - drummer, martial artist, and podcaster of the martial arts lifestyle company, Whistlekick (they recently hit a major milestone of their own, episode 1000).Gad Krooder - a fellow martial artist I also know from Whistlekick who has his own Chinese Youtube channel - go and learn some Chinese!Ryan Armstrong - BIblical scholar, professor, and bboy (Dynamic Rockers) - check out his Youtube channel for a combination of the 80s, the Old Testament, and Hebrew.Doug Bernon - one of my long standing trusted mentors who is also an adventurer and bread maker. Jeremy Blum - writer, TTRPG DM and developer, and most importantly, my brother, who is in the process of launching an ecology and exploration rpg, Mappa Mundi.EzDean Fassassi - bboy and Tibetan medicine practitioner and authorRaphael Xavier - bboy and Princeton University dance professor  who recently released an indie film, Swerve, based on his experiences with Philly BMX culture.Adam Crohn - podcaster, 80s enthusiast, custom action figure and toy designerThanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/03/10/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-500-celebration-in-the-cavern-of-the-ice-wizard/

This week on the show, I wanted to talk through the creation of a character who will not only show up in episode 500 next week but also some subsequent Thirteenth Hour stories.  I wanted to explore some of the references, motivations, and conflicts behind the character, who I am calling Faltron, the cloud dragon, kind of a mix between Falkor from the film, The Neverending Story and Voltron from the cartoon, Voltron: Defender of the Universe (you will hear some music from the theme in the show).  I came up with the idea years ago and toyed around with the idea of an amorphous being that could transfer in to a more solid shape if cold but have a more gaseous, cloud-like structure in warmer temperatures.  While I'm still toying with how he will fit in to future stories, fleshing him out for the DnD session in episode 500 helped quite a bit.As a little preview, here is a little sketch that will show up next week (see it at https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/03/03/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-499-creating-a-new-thirteenth-hour-creature-who-is-the-cloud-dragon/)Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for mo

This week, my brother, Jeremy Lesniak from Whistlekick, and I are brainstroming how to turn The Thirteenth Hour workout cards I've discussed here before into an actual analog martial arts game that could also be a training tool for practicing martial artists.The cards were are talking about prior to cutting them out:Some pictures of the "Easy Exercise Plan" I made for my parents as a teenager that my brother refers to in the episode that was a kind of spiritual precursor to the deck above. Check out Jeremy's work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry as well as an upcoming exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!  Check out Jeremy Lesniak from Whistlekick, who was last on the show on episode 376 to discuss his martial arts-themed novel, Faith.  You can find our previous joint episodes where we were discussing some classic martial arts movies here: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Ong Bak, First Strike, Wheels on Meals, Dragons Forever, and Showdown in Little Tokyo.  Thanks, Jeremy for coming on the show!By the way, if you haven't checked out last week's guest appearance with Billy Campbell reading the next chapter of the Peter David 1991 Rocketeer movie novelization, he did an awesome job!  Check it out:As always, thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details

This week, it's not me reading the next chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  That's because we have a special guest - Billy Campbell, who played the Cliff Secord / the Rocketeer in the 1991 film - is taking point to read Chapter 14!   Billy was last on the show in 2022 (follow this link for a preview of an exclusive podcast recorded for people who had supported fundraising efforts for the Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation in memory of Rocketeer creator, Dave Stevens). This chapter takes place in one my favorite parts of the original comic and the film, the Bulldog Cafe.  If you like ambient, mood-setting background noise / "study music," you will love this this Bulldog Cafe-inspired video as if you were sitting in a booth of the Cafe.  Episode 500 is coming in a few weeks!  If you were a past guest on the show, check your messages this week for more details on the recording session on 3/2/25.Thanks, Billy, for your excellent reading, and thank you for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week on the show, I'm brainstorming ideas for episode 500, coming in a few weeks.  I was thinking about doing a group DnD-lite style adventure so anyone who joins can essentially join in on a role playing journey (virtual/theater of the mind style) with the goal of emphasizing cooperative gameplay with a minimum of time spent attending to inventory (maybe you'd have one item), character class, combat, and stats (none).  I'd have to design the game in such a way to make it very stripped down, but I think the goals of moving through a labyrinth, traversing caverns, avoiding hidden dangers, and getting to the end point all together (I figured you might play as Imperial Rangers in the world ofThe Thirteenth Hour, who are not in the habit of leaving brothers in arms behind) would be enough to keep folks engaged. I was actually inspired by the scene in the 1988 film,Big, where both the young and adult Josh play a CGA text parser style game with a wizard and a cavern. "You are standing in the cavern of the evil wizard.  All around you are the carcasses of slain ice dwarfs," says the dialogue of the game.  We never really get to see more, but I think as a homage to the film, it actually would be a great setting for an adventure!  Why not make the game a dungeon crawl, essentially, through the icy cavern of the evil wizard?  We shall see!Thanks for listening!∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for themailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour,and access to retro 80s soundtrack!Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over atThirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over atKo-fi.Join theThirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week onSpotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM,Tunein, andGoogleplay Music.FollowThe Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs fromThe Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.Listen toLong Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ orSpotify.  Join themailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it onCD ortape.Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.comBook trailer:http://bit.ly/1VhJhXYInterested in reading and reviewingThe Thirteenth Hourfor a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/02/10/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-496-episode-500-preparations/

This week, I'm reading the thirteenth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter takes place in the legit front for Eddie Valentine's business - The South Seas Club. In preparation for episode 500, coming in a few weeks, I've been toying with some ideas.  Let me know if you have thoughts!   Ideas for Episode 500: -group draw in (everyone draws or paints something) - could be talking at the same time -DnD one shot set in the Thirteenth Hour - would need a setting where people come and go, like a tavern or a river barge where people get on and then exit at their stop, or a gym, where people can do some pushups (see last one) then leave if they wish -Group hangout, akin to ep 400 (no particular topic) -Livestreaming playing the Rocketeer NES game (probably pretty short, as I'm terrible at this game) -Mini concert of the upcoming Once Upon a Dream album (this might be better as a future episode) -500 pushups, one for each episode, donated for a cause, like the Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation or St Jude or Hero Initiative. -A combination might work - like group draw-in with occasional breaks a people do some pushups in between draws until we get to 500.  We might have to do this live so people can pledge donations at the same time. -? Open to ideas! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I'm reading the twelfth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter has a scene that for some reason always cracked my brother and I up as kids - the big bad guy, Lothar, picks up Cliff and shaves him through the ceiling headfirst a few times.  It's so cartoonish - like something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon - that I still can't help it, though adult me (who tends to smack his head on lots of things always kind of winces).  This shootout occurs just moments after.   Preview of coming events - in a few months (March, really), we'll be up to episode 500.  I have been thinking of a few ideas on how to make this a special episode, such as a group draw-in (where everyone hangs out and draws or makes something) or some kind of rolling DnD one shot in the world of The Thirteenth Hour where people can come and go ... what do you think I should do for episode 500?  Let me know! Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.co

This week, Paul Korman, who was last on the show in 2021 (episode 298), rejoins the show to discuss The Phantom Fellows, the pixelart adventure game he recently completed.  This was a really fun episode to record (even though we needed to do it twice - more on that in the intro), and it was a fun one to prepare for, since it involved playing the game Paul had discussed back in episode 298.  It is really something - not only was it a very enjoyable experience - but he did the programming, art, music, and writing, all while single parenting it, and doing regular episodes of The Classic Gamers Guild Podcast (a Facebook group devoted to classic video games that has a regular podcast - more below).  This is a great episode to check out if you are involved in any creative pursuits. One of the best things about the game is the writing Paul lent to it, showcasing his unique brand of humor.  I played the game on a portable PC, so to speak, called the Steam Deck, and took some photos during game play of some of the screens I got a kick out of. If you'd like to learn more about The Phantom Fellows and play it yourself, check out the following: The Phantom Fellows Instagram The Phantom Fellows Twitter Website The Phantom Fellows on Steam The Phantom Fellows on GOG If you'd like to learn more about The Classic Gamers Guild, check out the following: CGG website (with all the episodes) - also available on most major podcasting platforms CGG Instagram Support the CGGuild and The Phantom Fellows by joining the CGG Patreon. Paul does the intro and outro music to the CGG podcast, by the way.  Listen to more of Paul's music on Bandcamp.  You can also find the soundtrack (which Paul did, by the way) to The Phantom Fellows there also.   Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, my brother and I chatting in a rare, in-person meeting and, using my homebrew Rocketeer game demo as an example, talk about what makes video games enjoyable.  When I started making this game a few years ago, my initial goal was not actually to make much of a game.  It was it learn how to use the game making software I am using (GDevelop5).  But once I got past the animations, story, and sprites, I kind of ran out of steam.  This is what used to happen when I tried to make games back in college as well.  I, to be honest, have never had a great track record with actually playing games - I only have found a few that I have enjoyed - so I have always been a bit puzzled about what makes games actually ... well, fun!  Since I have been experimenting with a number of other ways to make games lately (e.g. text based, role playing, card based, etc), the same question comes up at lot.  I'd actually like to finish the Rocketeer game I started and make it more than just a demo level showcasing some of the abilities the character has and how he can more about in the world of the game.  That's the subject of this episode. Check out Jeremy's work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry as well as an upcoming exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!   As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

Happy 2025! This week, my brother and I are watching the 1990 movie, Darkman. This is our first time watching it, though we'd both heard of it, having grown up seeing ads in Nintendo Power for the video game.  Just like Dick Tracy, which we did a number of episodes back and also had not seen, it has a certain pulpy, tongue in cheek vibe.  In fact, it reminds me a little of the first Robocop. Check out Jeremy's work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry as well as an upcoming exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!   Speaking of dark men (haha), don't forget that the original hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is available on Etsy! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for mor

This week, I'm reading the eleventh chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter is when the Rocketeer flies off after his debut flight and tries to get the hang of the Cirrus X-3 without killing himself.   We also get a sense of all the different players that want it.   Thanks for listening! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I'm reading the ninth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter is when the Rocketeer makes his debut!  This is one of the few part of the comic the plays out on the big screen, as Cliff in the comic also goes airborne for the first time to save Malcolm, a former WW1 flier who hangs out at the airfield.  Click on the picture of Cliff taking off to watch the scene in the film.  The James Horner score really completes the scene.  As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details! https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/12/23/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-488-and-like-a-hood-ornament-66-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-9/

This week, I'm reading the eighth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter introduces us to the Laughing Bandit, the role the villain Neville Sinclair is playing probably inspired by Errol Flynn swashbucklers from the era. There were also some cameos in the novelization (not in the film) with famous actors and films being made at the time Clark Gable (Gone with the Wind), George Reeves (Gone with the Wind, later famous for Superman), Mae West, and Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz).  There was a part of this scene that always confused me as a kid, since Neville Sinclair ends up stabbing one of his co-stars, Charlie.  I could have sworn as a kid that there was a whole side plot involving Charlie having discovered Neville's German spy moonlighting activities and Neville wanting to get him out of the way  But, to my knowledge, there never was a scene like that, and we actually don't even know about that side of Neville in the movie yet (we do in the novel, though).   I think that scene was just meant to show how self-centered and manipulative Neville could be as well as a plot device for a wedge to be driven between Cliff and Jenny, giving Neville a chance to move on Jenny.  But, the novel gives additional details that highlight his motives.  Turns out other people had similar questions about this scene - see here.  Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I'm reading the eighth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter introduces us to the Bulldog Cafe and tells us why Jenny's phone number is written on the wall next to the pay phone.  I always wondered about that and figured it was either a reference to the Tommy Tutone single from the 80s ("867-5309 / Jenny") or maybe the guys at the airfield had put her number up there to get a rise out of Cliff ("for a good time, call Jenny!").  The chapter also introduces the Rocketeer's iconic helmet for the first time.  Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details! https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/12/09/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-487-and-like-a-hood-ornament-65-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-8/

This week, I'm reading the seventh chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter introduces Jenny Blake, Cliff's girlfriend (called Betty in Dave Stevens' original comic as an ode to pin up icon Bettie Paige).  That part, in the film, went to Jennifer Connelly, who you may also remember from 1986's Labyrinth.   When I was a teen, I had VHS copies of Labyrinth, Howard the Duck, Some Kind of Wonderful, Sixteen Candles, and The Rocketeer taped off the TV (often the edited for TV versions and/or missing certain scenes) and those films were often on rotation on weekend mornings for me.  This section also introduces the character of Lothar, a character Dave Stevens based off character actor Rondo Hatton. As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details! https://13thhr.wordpress.com/?p=14675

This week, I'm reading the sixth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter introduces Eddie Valentine, the gangster doing the heavy lifting for Hollywood spy Neville Sinclair.  We get some backstory about Eddie that was not in the film as well as an early preview of Neville secret room where he sends encoded messages to his Nazi colleagues who want the rocketpack for themselves.  This is also the scene where Cliff and Peevy strap the rocketpack to a statue of Charles Lindbergh for testing and discover it may be a bit more unpredictable than they anticipated ... though Cliff is undeterred, much to Peevy's chagrin. As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details! https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/11/25/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-485-and-like-a-hood-ornament-63-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-6/

This week, my brother and I are watching the 1990 movie, Dick Tracy. This is our first time watching it, though we'd both heard of it, having grown up watching the cartoon and remembering the spring/summer of 1990, when there's was lots of Dick Tracy stuff about. Check out Jeremy's work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry as well as an upcoming exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!   As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack! Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi. Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people. Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music. Follow The Thirteenth Hour's Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack. Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details! https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/11/18/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-484-welcome-my-brother-jeremy-as-we-talk-about-dick-tracy-1990/

This week, I'm reading the fifth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter introduces Otis Bigelow, the owner of the Bigelow Air Circus, the statue of Charles Lindburgh outside the airfield, the Curtiss Standard biplane christened Miss Mabel (named after the real life barnstormer Mabel Cody), and, of course, the Cirrus X-3 rocketpack.    Thanks for listening! https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/11/11/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-483-and-like-a-hood-ornament-62-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-5/

This week, I'm reading the fourth chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter basically picks up in the spot in the film where Cliff has had to crash land the Gee-Bee and is dealing with the Feds.  We also meet a version of Howard Hughes, who in the film, is the man behind the Cirrus X-3 rocketpack.  It's never stated in the Dave Stevens comic (since he didn't have the rights) but he was intending that the inventor of the pack be Doc Savage.  Dave Stevens, who consulted on the film, also did the graphic below - the one Hughes tosses in the fireplace after he's learned that the Cirrus has (supposedly) been destroyed in an effort to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/11/04/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-482-and-like-a-hood-ornament-61-reading-the-rocketeer-movie-novelization-chapter-4/

In honor of Cliff Secord's birthday, 10/26, I'm reading the third chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  (What I really love about the bio Dave Stevens penned for Cliff is that it gives both backstory and motivation for his character as well as why, in 1938, he is flying the Gee-Bee Z, a plane from the early 30s, for the first time in 1938.  You can tell that Dave had put quite a bit of thought into the character and the history of the era.)  This chapter basically picks up in the spot in the film where Cliff, already in the air, gets show down by a gangster being chased by the police and the FBI.  Although we never really get to see Cliff fly the Gee-Bee racer in an actual race, the fact that he is able to land the plane after the engine gets shot out and without landing gear suggests he has more than enough skill as a pilot - not surprising since he later becomes the Rocketeer.

In honor of Rocketeer Day (unofficially a thing ... in the 1991 film, the date October 15th, 1938 is shown), I'm reading the second chapter of the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film.  This chapter basically picks up in the spot where the film begins, where on a fall morning at Chaplin Airfield, Cliff, Peevy, and the other fliers and mechanics who work there gather to witness and partake the Gee-Bee's first flight.  It's cool seeing little details, like how Cliff played a prank on the owner of the Bigelow air circus by taking out the screws of his chair so it collapsed when the rotund businessman sat in it - all to get back at him for unfair treatment of Malcolm, who Cliff would later save again later in the film.  (Of note, the Gee-Bee Z reproduction that was used in the film is now - as of 2003 - on display in the Santa Monica Museum of Flight.) Of note, I had previously hosted all my podcast episodes on the Internet Archive, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving various bits of pop culture that otherwise would disappear into the ether. They recently got hacked and are working on getting back online, but if you believe in free access to information, in the meantime, please help support them - https://archive.org/

I've been meaning to read the Peter David penned movie novelization of the 1991 Rocketeer film for some time, so I figured I'd start doing that this week.  It will take about a half a year if we read one chapter a week, but since they are not very long, some weeks, we might do two.  It's interesting reading just this first chapter so far, as there are a number of other details or plot changes that weren't in the movie.  Lookin forward to seeing what other ones I can find! Thanks for listening!

The past few months, I've been happy to host an adult open gym at a local gymnastics school.  Adult bodies are different from those of kids, and kids programming is mostly what gymnastics facilities tend to cater to.  Gymnastics for adults often ends up looking and being different than it does for kids.  We are older, our bodies don't move in the same ways as they used to, and we may feel rusty or uncoordinated.  But if the desire is there, it's like anything else - the first step is the hardest.  So needless to say, I've been very proud of the folks who have shown up to train!    I started gymnastics as a sophomore in high school, mostly because a friend asked me to sign a petition to help save the boys' gymnastics team from being cut.  I signed and eventually decided I'd make good on the signature when the petition worked.  I ended up doing it the next three years and have been doing it every since (though not all the events).  One thing that always puzzled me, though, is why there were so few opportunities for folks, especially men, outside of a high school or college, to practice.  And while I have been fortunate to have been able to find places over the years that have allowed adults some windows to practice, those gyms have generally been few and far between.  (The situation has not improved ... my high school's gymnastics team was eventually cut, and even at a college level, gymnastics, especially men's gymnastics can be tough to find - see this article about Ohio State).  My high school gymnastics coach used to say that a lot of gymnastics is mental. I think he said that partly to motivate us to do our homework, but at this point, I understand another meaning … because you are doing things that are unnatural and deliberately putting your body at risk, you are constantly battling your own fear and sense of self preservation … which you feel more as an adult with more developed frontal lobes.   So I think for anyone who falls a lot or has the potential of falling or getting thrown -  martial artists, wrestlers, football players, rugby players, breakers, stuntpeople, acrobatic skiers and skaters, the list goes on and on, some time spent in a gym to not only learn how to fall and develop airsense but also combat your own fears by deliberately doing things that disorient and scare you in a controlled and safe way are critical.  Obviously, I'm biased having done this since I was a teenager, but I will say that despite the intervening years and changes brought on by aging, my views have changed little.  Although as humans, we naturally want to move 180 degrees away from things that frighten us, we don't grow unless we push ourselves outside out comfort zone.  You can obviously take that to the extreme, but if done at a pace you can control and in a manner that allows you do get better at skills in a stepwise fashion, there is a real sense of ownership over your body that you start to attain, which leads to confidence.  And that's why I wanted to include a bit of it in The Thirteenth Hour when Logan and his fellow Imperial Rangers are going through their initial training.  At the time, I had only in a few settings experienced the melding of martial arts and acrobatics.  I had not done things like capoeira or kung fu yet, and of the styles I had done (tae kwon do, tang soo do, a bit of hapkido), the main crossover happened around learning breakfalls and rolls, and that was about it.  The style of "martial arts tricking" had yet to reach its heyday - that would happen in the late 90s and 2000s ... read more at ⁠https://wordpress.com/post/13thhr.wordpress.com/14616⁠

Some reflections on the benefits of gymnastics especially for adults.

I'm doing this episode as a future note to myself about some projects that I've been toying around for awhile that I'd like to delve into in the next few months: -An illustrated children's book that I'm temporarily calling "The Imperial Ranger's son" - a story written from the perspective of a child in the Capital City of Tartec (the kingdom where a lot of The Thirteenth Hour takes place), who is in school with other kids his age whose parents don't necessarily work for the Empire of King Darian.  Logan in The Thirteenth Hour grapples internally with the idea of being a representative of a government whose actions he doesn't always agree with, but he is an adult.  What happens for children when no adults are around is complex, especially as children try to come to terms with opposing views of the world and how their parents fit in.  We learn views (and prejudices) from those around us, so what would happen when a child who has a parent working for the Empire is mocked at school for such a lineage or told his father is not going to live very long as an Imperial Ranger?  What happens to him and his mother when his father leaves for months and the others in the class whose sensibilities lie elsewhere respond with a mixture of pity and derision?  Isn't it not dissimilar to the current black and white state of affairs to separates the current political climate in the US?  I think it's something that could be written simply, with underlying themes of love and parental responsibility with deeper undertones that comment on tribalism and fear of what we don't understand/agree with that could be appreciated by adults or older children. In episode 448, I spoke about a idea concerning a Thirteenth Hour card game that would fill in a part of the book, near the end, that I never got to write about. In episode 446, I spoke about a Tomb Raider card game that might take what I learned making the Rocketeer card game and apply it to another fan project, also using sprites I designed before.  Speaking of the Rocketeer, while I was making the Rocketeer Twine game as the backstory for the card game, I got the idea for a Twine text based game featuring Aurora from The Thirteenth Hour, since there's a part near the beginning of the book where she is working at a inn.  I thought it might be interesting to have a sort of "inn simulator" with some kind of overarching storyline (?a mystery - e.g. perhaps a crime is committed in one of the rooms and Imperial soldiers are sent in to investigate.  Aurora mentions at one point in The Thirteenth Hour that she doesn't have an especially high opinion of Imperial soldiers and hopes Logan won't turn out like them, so perhaps this is how that came to be) that occurs as she is trying to navigate the ins and outs of helping customers, serving food and drinks, and mucking out the stables.  Thanks for listening! https://wordpress.com/post/13thhr.wordpress.com/14610

Ideas on future Thirteenth Hour projects - A Children's Book, Card Games, a Twine Text Game and More

As mentioned last week, I attended a great event this past week put on by Whistlekick, Free Training Day Mid-Atlantic - took some great classes, taught a class, met some great people, caught up with ones I met last year - all great stuff.  If you are open minded and want to learn, head over to Whistlekick's free training day event page to learn about upcoming trainings (two in the next few months off the top of my head).  If you are interested in writing for Martial Journal, Whistlekick's online martial arts magazine, check out their site - I've done so a number of times and have always found MJ fun to write for as well as read. The Thirteenth Hour workout deck that I discussed the last few weeks is, I think, an early version of either a more modular draft of something to come or the early whispering of some kind of martial arts game/ training tool; I'm not sure which yet.  Either way, the beta tester digital pre-release version of these cards is available to all free on Patreon.   The box design thus far:  Check out the deck there, and thanks for listening! https://wordpress.com/post/13thhr.wordpress.com/14604

Reflections on Whistlekick's Free Training Day Mid-Atlantic on 9/21/24 and on martial arts in general.

The Thirteenth Hour workout deck that I discussed last week consists of 52 exercise cards + 4 wild cards; it's designed to be a pocket-sized deck of cards that can randomize and kickstart your exercise routine with the premise that if you want to work out, it's doesn't necessarily take long, it doesn't necessarily take any equipment, nor does it require money.  The beta tester digital pre-release version is available to all on Patreon.  I got some card stock today to start making copies for folks that might be interested in testing them out- if that sounds like you, just let me know.   Check out the deck there, and thanks for listening! Closely related is a class I'll be teaching at Whistlekick's Free Training Day Mid-Atlantic on hot to rain in small spaces, as the very premise of these cards was born out of not really having a dedicated training space at home and what spaces I could use were irregular and generally small.  So we'll be discuss what can reasonably be done in a 3.5-4' x 6-8' space.  If you  are in the Eastern PA - NJ - DE - MD area or just want to take part in a great event where you will learn a lot with some great people interested in learning, not rank or one upping one another or standing around feeling important (or whatever other negative stereotype martial artists have), check it out! https://wordpress.com/post/13thhr.wordpress.com/14599

An update on Thirteenth Hour exercise cards as well how it's related to an upcoming martial arts training event, Whistlekick's Free Training Day Mid-Atlantic on 9/21/24.

The Thirteenth Hour workout deck that I have mentioned a few times on the show over the summer is done: 56 cards = 52 exercise cards + 4 wild cards + instructions have been completed; I've made a public Patreon post where you can download them.  I'd like to make a few sample sets or have a few professionally printed so people can test them out, but for right now, the beta tester digital pre-release version is available to all on Patreon.   Check out it there, and thanks for listening! https://wordpress.com/post/13thhr.wordpress.com/14592

An update on Thirteenth Hour exercise cards as well as some ideas on a similar set for working on breaking transitions, one move to another.

My brother and I welcome author and illustrator Chad Derdowski back to the show to discuss his tongue in cheek illustrated fantasy history, The Thrillmarillion!

Some reflections on doing things like gymnastics and breaking as you age, when all the world (and sometimes your own body) seems to say otherwise.

An update on Thirteenth Hour exercise cards as well as some ideas on a similar set for working on breaking transitions, one move to another.

Reflections on Olympic breaking in Paris, Sixteen Candles 40 years later, and making adjustments while travelling

Wrapping up two paintings for The Thirteenth Hour universe.

My brother and I play an early build of the ecology and exploration role playing game he helped develop with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.

My brother and I play an early build of the ecology and exploration role playing game he helped develop with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi.