1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville
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Quaranteam - Dave In Dallas: Part 4 Shenanigans: Fun times at House Belsus. Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Let's review the list of characters: David Belsus – 46, physics & astronomy professor at Eastfield college, a community college in the Dallas area. Prepper, survivalist, has a greenhouse in his backyard and lives in an outer ring suburb. Six foot, fit, short cropped hair. Lupie Ramos – 32, former financial advisor, Dave's neighbor, got caught out of state when the lockdowns started. She spent two frantic weeks trying to get back to her daughter. Lupie has been in love with Dave for over a year. Long, dark brown hair, medium build, and a lovely smile. Esme – 9, daughter of Lupie, prone to the occasional snarky comment. Adores Dave. Becca; 18, Lupie's babysitter, was watching Esme when lockdowns occurred. Her refusal to abandon Esme, as her mother insisted, likely saved Becca's life, since her extended family ignored precautions and died of Duo. Esme, Lupie, and Dave are all Becca has left in the world. Short, medium build, small tits, with short blond hair and a smile that is shy with strangers and beams with family and friends. Janice Wheeler; 33, Dave's first partner to arrive, a librarian at Cedar Valley, another community college member of DCCCD. Slender build and medium height, Janice is 3/4 Korean, her paternal grandfather is Anglo. Medium length black hair often pulled back in a bun for work or ponytail at home. Shawna Cooper; 36, senior meteorologist at WFAA, Master's degree in meteorology from O U, worked at NSSL and spent time as a storm chaser. Whole hog sci-fi nut, beginning with Start Trek TNG. 5' 10", large tits, medium brown skin, dark brown eyes, shoulder length black hair styled like a frizzy weeping willow. Olivia Tyler (Liv); 21, senior studying horticulture at Tarleton State University, near Dallas. Daughter of Carter and Janelle, Dave's best friends since college. Had a well-known crush on Dave throughout her teen years. Since her dad was former SF and a survivalist, Liv is skilled with several firearms as well as bladed weapons. Never failed to take a deer any season she's hunted. 5'10" long, dark brown hair, large tits, lightly tanned, brown eyes, and a wide smile. Melanie Ustanich; 22, graduate student in IT at Tarleton, Liv's roommate, recently found a passion for cooking. Spent most of her life in foster homes, Liv's parents accepted her like family the first time she went with Liv on Thanksgiving Break. 5'8" medium length auburn hair, green eyes, small mouth with a ready, mischievous smile. During the interlude, Dave took some time to look over Melanie. He knew less about her than the others, but more than he'd known about Jan or Shawna when they'd shown up on his doorstep. He knew from a glance that she dressed more stylishly than Olivia, though he'd be hard pressed to describe why. He thought both looked great, even if he could tell a difference instinctively. He was always a fan of variety. Silver studs in her ears support three short silver chains each, drawing the eye tantalizingly into the chasm of her russet mane. The verdant green of Mel's satiny top provided the perfect counterpoint to the auburn tones of her hair. The cinched belt securing the crossing panels of her blouse held it together well, yet giving tantalizing views of her medium sized tits. The black slacks clung closely to her well-shaped thighs and calves without the 'painted on' look. "Dave, could you make me one of your 'ginger ales' please?" "Sure, Liv. Anyone else want something?" "Can you make me one of those drinks you made that first time?" Becca asked. "Yeah, that's what Livy is asking for. Seven-Up and Captain Morgan mixed to look like ginger ale." "Oh, okay, then one of those please." "You got it." Dave got to mixing drinks. Jan asked if anyone else wanted wine. All the others voiced their interest, Jan pulled two bottles of blush from the pantry and brought them to the living room. Lupie grabbed wine glasses for each of them and handed them out as Jan poured. Dave watched Becca's first sip carefully. He'd mixed this one normal strength, not the light pour he'd given her last time. Eyes flared, she took a smaller sip than usual, but nodded before setting it on the side table. "Olivia, dear," Lupie asked softly, "I hesitate to ask, but can you tell us about your parents? Should we contact them that you are here, or, are they; ?" "Dad died six weeks ago. Mom passed a week later." Olivia took another sip. Melanie hugged her loosely. Olivia's voice took on a husky note. "She called me, near the end. She told me Dad had died. That she was very ill and wasn't; wasn't, ah,; She knew she wouldn't make it." One hot tear dallied along the top curve of her cheek before coursing downward. Dave took her hand. "She said I should pursue my dreams. All of them." Livy looked Dave dead in the eyes. "She said she'd known for a long time it was more than a crush, that she was sorry she'd belittled it by calling it that. And then ;” Olivia sucked in a breath. Mel hugged Olivia again. "We're all here for you. Let it out at your own pace." Lupie encouraged softly. "She said 'Love him. Love him like I never did. Love him like he deserves.' And then she closed the call." A hard sob shook through Olivia as more tears fell. Dave and Mel hugged her, one from each side. Dave did so while looking at the ceiling with a distant gaze. After several minutes of silence, Jan got up for a second plate. Dave stood to join her. "My mind still doesn't want to eat, but my stomach got a taste of that bruschetta and wants more. Of that, and everything else." Jan smiled and gave him a quick kiss, which he returned. "Can you tell us something about Eddie?" Shawna asked after Dave sat back down. Dave thought for a minute. Slowly, a proud smile spread across his face. "His Eagle project." Olivia smiled and nodded. "Eddie was an Eagle Scout?" Jan asked. "Yes, he was. Got his Arrow of Light as a Webelo too." Livy provided. "Eddie and I were just beginning to reconnect when he began working on his Eagle rank. For his project, he decided to build a foot bridge across the stream in the park." "Armadillo park? The bridge on the south end?" Becca asked. Dave smiled broadly. "That's the one. Before that bridge, anyone walking the path and crossing the bridge at the north end would have to turn around when they hit the ends of the u-shaped path. For some folks, that was more walking than they could handle, so they wound up getting less exercise, or taking their walks in the few areas with sidewalks or walk along the side of the road. Either way they got very little 'green time'. He found a bridge design appropriate for the location, one that would last with little maintenance and convinced a local construction company to donate materials. He met with the city manager and then spoke before the city council to arrange an agreement for maintenance." "The foreman of the construction company and his best concrete specialist offered their services to supervise the volunteer workers and ensure the quality of the work. I think Eddie had a hand in that." Dave's pride in his son couldn't have been any louder on his face. "The kicker was, he vetted the design to make sure the angle of the curve was suitable for someone in a wheelchair. So at the ribbon cutting, the young lady that cut the ribbon, and the first to cross was in Eddie's class. I think she wound up the class Salutatorian. Anyway, she was paraplegic, lost the use of her legs in an accident during her eighth grade year." Dave paused. "I think she and Eddie started dating not long after." Olivia snorted. "They were already dating. I think that night was the first time she gave him the goods though." "Go Eddie." Shawna said huskily. "Seriously?" Dave asked Olivia. "Pretty sure. Not 100%. I mean, I know they did it. Like a lot. Once they opened up that part of the relationship they were like bunnies. I'm not absolutely sure that night was the first night though." "Hell, I was nineteen before my first time. He was always better with people than I ever was." Dave's looked wistfully into the distance, like he was seeing through the walls at something beyond. Then he swallowed hard. He took a steadying breath and blew it out slowly. Becca rubbed his shoulder lightly before giving it a soft kiss. Dave smiled at her, then leaned in to deliver a light peck on her cheek. He looked outward again, scanning across the room. "Thank you all for putting up with this. I'm sorry for acting like such a p--" Becca pressed a finger firmly to Dave's lips. "If that word crosses your lips, you'd better be talking about our body parts. The man that I've watched, relied on, and come to trust implicitly sure as hell isn't one of those. And he deserves better than that." The fire in her red-rimmed eyes put the punctuation to her statement. Dave just nodded in concession to his young lover's demand. With an impish grin she added, "And for the record, anytime we're getting frisky, or flirting, I'm perfectly happy with you calling it: or me: a pussy." She grabbed his hand and shoved it between her shorts-clad legs for emphasis. Becca's addendum broke the somber mood of the room. Everyone got a good laugh. A brief quiet descended as everyone ate a few bites or stared into their drink. Dave looked up to see Jan and Lupie gazing at him, concern and sympathy clearly written across both of their faces. "Well, Becca, since you have some history with our man, tell me something to catch me up with all of you." Shawna requested. "Oh, tell her about the cupcake exchange." Jan suggested. "Dave told me about it while the two of you were getting vaxxed." "Oh that one she told me already. Good story." "Okay, so something new." Becca paused, then blushed. She bit her lip and looked sideways at Dave and cringed. Then she flicked her eyes to Lupie. Lupie caught the look and rolled her eyes. "Go ahead." She said with a sigh. Then she turned her face away. "So, um, you know how Dave runs a couple times a week, and works out with his staff in the backyard about as often?" Shawna nodded at Becca's narrative, then turned to give Dave an appreciative leer. "Ahem, well, it's cooler now, so he does he work outs in a t-shirt and shorts." Shawna nodded again, then stared at Dave's torso like she was imaging him bare chested and sweating. Well, she'd seen him shirtless often enough. Melanie's breathing became slightly deeper and slower as she sized him up as well. "Well, remember we used to live next door. And Lupie's second story windows are high enough to see over Dave's fence." Mel, Shawna, and Jan all looked at each other. "Oh." They said in unison. "You lucky bitches." Jan added. Dave's mind was working at a slower pace and caught up a moment later. He closed his eyes and shook his head. With a small grin. "Well, that's not all of it. See, I made no pretense about watching him work out. I mean, mid-August, heat pounding down? Ten minutes into his work out his whole torso is covered in sweat, with rivulets running down his front and back." Shawna looked transfixed. Jan had her eyes closed. Mel tightly gripped her thighs, staring intently. "Usually I watched from one of the back windows, and just put up with the oblique angle. One day, a few months back, I realize it's very quiet in the house, and I seem to be the only one on the second floor. I decided to move over to Lupie's room, which is at the back corner, with two windows looking out over the backyard, one on each side of the corner." Lupie blushed hard and brought her hands up to cover her face. "So, there was a small space between the curtain panels and I was staring at Dave through the gap as I walked up. I walked as quietly as I could so Lupie and Esme wouldn't hear my footsteps from downstairs. I pulled back the curtain to get a better view. Lupie was hiding in the curtains, eyes fixed on Dave. We both screamed, and Lupie's hand flapped backwards hitting the window frame." "That's how you bruised your hand?!" Dave exclaimed, trying to suppress his laughter. "You flap your hands around when you're surprised?" "No. Just, um, I, uh ;” Lupie's muffled response trailed off. "She took care to wash her hands thoroughly before she let me bind it." Becca interjected. "Initially we thought she'd hurt her wrist, so I stabilized it. But, I recognized later what I had smelled while we were leaving the room." Lupie peeked between her fingers at Becca, pleading. "Okay, never mind." Becca conceded. "I've said too much already." The others looked confused at the abrupt ending until Melanie burst out laughing. When they looked at her questioningly, she said, "I know what I would be doing standing there watching him work out shirtless." And flopped back into the couch giggling furiously. The others started cackling and Jan, chortling, reached over to pull Lupie into her for a hug. "Not like we all don't do it." Dave sat there open mouthed, shocked, and feeling like he'd won something undefinable. He moved to kneel in front of Lupie. He took her hands in his own, pulling them away from her face. He pulled her into a hug. Into her ear he whispered, "I love you." Her hug on him tightened. "And if I hadn't been so dense I would have been in that room to take care of you properly. Or at least, lick your fingers clean." He punctuated his comment with a light nibble of her earlobe. Lupie swatted him on the back as she released him. Her face was still flushed to the tips of her ears. The tight, prim smile and her laughing eyes testified to her approval of the idea, and her mortification it was said out loud. Even at a whisper. Dave got up and refreshed his drink, and Olivia's as well. Becca sipped hers more slowly, and still had more than half a glass. Jan topped off her wine glass, along with Mel's and Shawna's. Lupie got up and made a fresh plate, then headed for the stairs. "I'm going to take a plate to Esme, just in case she didn't get enough earlier. Besides, if I tell her Dave likes the bruschetta, she might try it." Lupie said with a knowing mom smile. Shawna came to Dave once he was seated. She gave him a soft kiss and held him to her. She spoke no words, but conveyed clearly her heart ache for him, and her availability should he need something. When Lupie returned, she took her seat and looked to Olivia asking "Can you tell me something about your father?" Livy squirmed for a moment, then nodded. She took a breath. "He was a security consultant. Worked for a firm that advised companies on the weak points in their physical and cybersecurity. Dad was on the physical side. He'd been a Green Beret before going to college, where he met Mom and Dave." "Oh, wow. So your dad was a badass?" Becca asked. "Carter was so badass he was chill," Dave interjected. "He had that confidence of the guy that knows he'll win if things get physical. Smart too, though." "Yeah, Dad made supervisor pretty fast. He and his team would walk the grounds of a company and show them where a person could slip in or out without detection. Then the cyber guys would do the same for the company's networks. Sometimes, Dad would have to prove the point. He loved that. He and a couple of his team would don tactical gear and break in. Dad always left a fake tarantula with the company logo on its back on the boss' desk, or somewhere critical." Olivia chuckled. "One time, this one CEO was particularly resistant. Dad had to go in a second time. The first time he left a tarantula on the main server station, and one in the research lab; that by law was required to be restricted access. To drive his point home, Dad went to the CEO's office and installed this box on the ceiling, where most don't look. It had some kind of trigger because once the guy sat down, this tarantula drops on a thread from the box, right on the guy's paperwork." Several smiles broke out. Dave laughed soundlessly, his mouth closed so it didn't become a cry. The tears in his eyes were tattle-tale enough. He absently played with Olivia's dark locks. Olivia turned to look at him, eyes soft and happy. She leaned against his hand. Dave realized what he was doing, got self-conscious and pulled back. With downcast eyes, Liv turned back to the room and took in the other faces. A couple of looks exchanged suggested that most had caught what had just passed. Dave tried to process what just happened by staring off through a blank spot on the wall. It wasn't terribly helpful, once he recalled the picture that hung there just a few weeks before. Then Lupie cleared her throat. Dave fixed his eyes on her. He was never particularly perceptive of the looks on people's faces, but this time it seemed pretty clear. She stared at him with a stern look, then shifted her eyes to Liv and back to him. He looked to Jan, who just nodded. "Maybe someone else can share a family background story." Dave temporized. A few pensive looks passed. A tight smile grew on Jan's face. "My aunt Carolyn." She paused for a second. "My dad's sister. They were half-Korean, half European. Aunt Carolyn took more after the European side of the heritage, especially in the kitchen. She made an awesome meatloaf." She chuckled and looked over at Dave and Becca. "She would have loved that meatloaf cupcake." Her eyes watered at the bottom edge. "Visiting her was a way to encounter the white half of my ancestry. She had prints from famous artists. Classic books. If I was there on a Saturday night, she'd serve cheese and crackers, sometimes with a little sausage. As I got older, she'd let me have a small glass of wine as well." Jan took a light breath. "She played some classical music, but mostly it was Michael Bolton and Kenny G. Maybe some Cranberries and Matchbox Twenty when she felt wild. I haven't heard from her in over a month. And she has asthma." Jan trailed off into silence and the room observed it with her. Lupie reached out a hand to Jan's shoulder. She in turn, put her own hand on top of Lupie's. She turned her head and smiled. With a small nod, she turned away again, staring at the floor. Both hands dropped away. After a reasonable silence, Becca spoke. "When I was thirteen, my cousin Kimberly, who was sixteen, offered to pierce my ears for me." Half the women groaned. Dave sat silently, suspecting this wouldn't end well. "She got a large sewing needle, a bottle of rum, a small bowl, and a pair of my mom's stud earrings." "Rum?" Jan asked. Becca rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she said with a sigh, "she said she had to soak the needle in alcohol before using it." A variety of gasps, groans and sighs walked around the room. Dave's sympathetic grimace did less than his hand patting her knee to communicate his support. "Oh, but it gets worse. Wrong kind of alcohol at too low concentration, plus lots of sugar are only enablers. She cleaned my earlobes thoroughly with antimicrobial soap, so maybe that was the one thing she did almost right. But she didn't clean her own hands. And when she stuck the needle through; which hurt like hell; she stabbed her finger." Multiple hands struck foreheads or mouths. "Oh yeah. So we're both bleeding like stuck pigs, and crying. She's freaking out because 'the blood is mixing'. I never figured out what that meant. We bandage each other up the best we could, hide all the stuff from our parents and then hide ourselves. Three days later I have a raging infection in one earlobe and have to go to the doctor AND admit to my mom what happened." Becca paused, shaking her head. "Chewed my ass out. The doctor said because of the infection, I had to wait at least six months to get piercings. Mom added another six as punishment. She did take me to get professional piercings one year to the day after the doctor's visit though." Becca's eyes watered. Dave leaned over and kissed her cheek as a single tear slid down her face. Dave noticed Melanie getting increasingly fidgety. He thought he first noticed something during Becca's tale about his workouts. Maybe when the stories ran out, he'd have his head right. It wasn't fair to her to make her wait too long for imprinting. Or Liv. God, he really needed to get his head around this. He loved Olivia, he truly did. He was just so used to it being a non-sexual, non-romantic relationship. He'd looked on her as nearly a daughter for, well, for her whole life. But she wasn't his daughter. And she loved him. That was so clear in her eyes, every time she looked at him. Not just today, but thinking back over the years. It's crazy to think he could hurt this person he cared so deeply for, by not having sex with her. Fuck, it was Kim Dawson all over again. Shawna sat placidly, attentive as others told their stories. As the room lay silent again for a time, she took her turn. "I once caught my brother coming out of the shower with his girlfriend." Grins and giggles passed around the room. "Mind you, this is after my mother had chewed me out for getting frisky with, um, my best friend in my room." "Oh" several said in unison. "We were experimenting," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "It was my first Thanksgiving Break home from college. We were just friends, with nothing going on physical, since sixth grade. We were both single at the time, but we'd each had boyfriends, and each had sex before. We just thought we'd try out the other flavor. Who better to try that with than your ride or die?" She grinned. "Mom walked in when we had our shirts loose and hands inside each other's bras. Mom got all pissy about it and made some comment along the lines of 'Darian would never disrespect me by having sex under my roof.' Yeah sure Mom." Shawna rolled her eyes. "The bathroom smelled of" she looked straight at Becca, "pussy, so they'd been going at it in there. Mom wasn't home, so the obvious sounds of continuing humping came from his room almost immediately." "Hell of it is, she was this tiny little thing. Barely five foot tall and a nothing waist. And since I'd seen Darian stumbling around out of the bathroom when we both had midnight potty urges, well, he wasn't great at covering up when he's drowsy, and in his case, the stereotype is true. I don't know how he'd didn't break her in half." "After she left, I confronted him with Mom's comment. Now Darian ain't scared of shit; not a machismo thing, he uses his brain; but Momma. She's a foot shorter and at least a hundred pounds less muscle but that boy will cringe and genuflect if Momma is mad. He starts bargaining with me. Of course, he can't offer money since he's just getting his feet under him. He had plans, and he did eventually move out, but he was scrimping and saving so paying me money to shut up would have crippled him." We all hung there, waiting. "Well, Darian had been incredibly protective of me growing up. He over did it, by a lot. So my price for silence was for him to set me up with a friend of his that I had always wanted to date, but Darian kept getting in the way." She paused for a minute. "You know how you really want something, and imagine what it would be like to get it? And then you do, and ugh. Darian meant to protect me against a guy getting handsy. In this case he was protecting me from getting bored. The guy was about as much fun as a wet paper towel. I gave him a handshake at my door when he dropped me off." All the ladies shook their heads in commiseration. Dave closed his eyes and kept his mouth shut. Becca however, didn't. "Dave, how many of your dates ended in handshakes?" "None, from now on," he said flatly. "You got that right." Shawna said. Jan just shrugged and nodded. Becca and Liv hugged him tightly. Mel rubbed a hand against his back. Lupie sat still with an enigmatic grin. Dave knew there were thoughts churning behind those dark chocolate eyes. While he wondered what those thoughts were, he had a thought of his own. Maybe it was what she was thinking, maybe not. Here he was, sleeping with four women, two more about to be added to their ranks, and he hadn't taken a single one of them on so much as one date. That couldn't stand. Granted, movies and restaurant dinners were out. But they had two backyards to have a picnic meal in. The parks were open too. Maybe the Botanical gardens? He'd need to talk with each one, find out what they wanted, and find a way to make it happen. "Well Becca already told a story for me," Lupie said, breaking the silence. Becca blushed and chuckled. "So Melanie, what can you share with the family?" "I was orphaned so early, I don't really remember my parents. Just a few fuzzy images. I bounced from one foster home to another. One time I got to stay in the same place for two years. Usually it was more like eight to ten months. The social workers tried to at least let me stay in one school for a full year. Some of them anyway." "I don't have any horror stories about it. Other kids I fostered with told me about other homes they've been in, and some of those were bad. So I don't want to suggest it doesn't happen, it just never happened to me. The worst for me was not being connected to anyone for long. Honestly, living with Olivia is the longest I've shared a place with anyone. And she brought me home on holidays." Her face darkened. "Carter and Janelle were nice to me." Then she laughed. "I think Carter suspected I was Liv's lesbian lover though." "Oh my god." Liv rolled her eyes and brought a hand to her forehead, covering her eyes. Only Dave noticed Jan wincing at the hated phrase. Then Mel's face went blank, trying to hold back the intense emotions. "You're the closest I've ever had to a sister." The two college girls hugged. After a brief pause, Dave chimed in. "Now that is a tough life, having Olivia as your sister." Melanie laughed. Olivia turned and punched him in the shoulder, with a tight smile on her face. Laughing and rolling with the punch, Dave couldn't help but notice the way her large tits jiggled with the turn and the force of her punch. When she leaned against him, he found himself wishing her neckline was cut lower. The thought was surprising, and conducive to future events, but still slightly disconcerting. Before he could get too lost in his head, Jan spoke up. "So, how about a story about young Olivia?" she asked. Liv groaned. Dave grinned. "Okay, so we've mentioned before she hunts, hikes, does all kinds of outdoors She-Ra stuff." Liv glared up at him. She adjusted her head so the backs of her round silver stud earrings wouldn't poke her head. Mel rubbed Liv's back reassuringly. "You may have noticed that fishing was not mentioned in that list." "Oh God, no." Liv covered her face with her hands. The grins on every face in the room showed realization dawning in each of the other minds present. "So, Carter and I took Eddie and Liv fishing. Carter preferred drift catfishing, so we'd get out on the lake very early, usually by three am, four if we were running late. We had a small casting net we'd use in the shallows to catch bait fish. Then Carter would take the boat to a point up current from where he suspected the cats would be, and we'd drift across with our hooks in the water. Well, the bait fish had to be cut into two or three pieces to be useful. Olivia objected. But not to cutting the fish. To holding them. She squealed every time we put one in her hands. She loved casting the net and hauling it in. she liked fighting the fish on the rod, put touch one with her hands? Oh, no, not happening." Olivia buried her head in his chest and glared upward. "Oh, did I mention her fishing rod and tackle box were Barbie themed?" A series of giggles followed that assertion. "Don't talk about that!" "But you were cute!" "Shit like that is why you keep seeing me as a little girl for you to protect and raise instead of a woman you could sleep with." Olivia humphed. "Beginning to think the only way to change your mind is to sit here topless. I wait like that long enough and your cock might start taking charge." She accented her words by puffing out her generous chest and turning partially towards Dave. "You go girl," Shawna laughed. "How about some big titty solidarity?" She unbuttoned two buttons on her blouse. Jan joined in the laughter while Lupie shook her head, smiling. Becca stared a chant of 'Do it!' quickly joined by Mel. They both shook their chests in time with the chant. "No." Dave said, staring at Liv with no hint of a smile. He swatted Becca on the knee. "Hmm, what do I need to do to get a spanking Daddy?" Melanie purred. "Do not start that shit." Dave tried to be stern this time but didn't quite manage it. "Speaking of getting something started, I'm getting kinda itchy here. I don't know if either of you are in the mood yet, but this serum is starting to eat at me." Liv and Mel exchanged looks. "I don't want to jump the line on banging your dream guy, but please girl, let's get this started. If you don't go, I will." "Sexier words were never spoken," Dave noted dryly. That got Liv laughing. Dave stood. "Do you two want to do this one at a time, or side-by-side?" "One at a time," Mel stated emphatically. "After walking in on you masturbating once, I don't need to see that pussy again." Liv groaned and turned her head to the ceiling. Then Mel turned to Lupie "hashtag justiceforLupie." She grinned. Lupie just rolled her eyes while Becca laughed. Jan laughed, but reached out a hand to Lupie's shoulder. Dave took Olivia's hand and turned to the stairs. She interlocked her fingers with his and walked beside him with her head against his shoulder. They stayed like that until they reached the bed. Dave turned to face Olivia, placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked into his eyes, hungry, pleading. Dave took a deep, shuddering breath and pushed aside the thoughts of the little girl that kissed him on the check at bedtime as he tucked her into bed. He stared into Olivia's eyes, focusing on the woman in front of him, as she is now, wanting to be with him. She loved him. had for a long time. She had been dedicated to the idea of being with him for life, for longer than, well, any woman in his past or present. The reality of that finally washed over him. His love for her did not need to end or change, merely grow. He had always been hers. Dave pulled Olivia into him and kissed her with passion. Olivia moaned into the kiss. Dave felt her hot tears as their cheeks brushed. He pulled back, their faces parted but close. "I love you Olivia Barnes, always and forever." A heart-rending sob burst from her as her dearest dream manifested. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, and kissing him fiercely, their tongues dancing. Dave slowly walked them to the edge of the bed and sat her down. Mostly. Olivia was not letting go. Dave tugged at the bottom of her blouse and lifted. Olivia broke the kiss and raised her arms, her legs still clutching him tightly. Dave paused removing her shirt when her lips were exposed, but her eyes still covered. He moved in for a kiss. He felt her grin as their lips moved in unison. Olivia then grabbed Dave's shirt as he finished removing hers. Dave moved to her jeans and quickly removed those as She reached for his waist band. Olivia grasped his pants and boxers as one and removed them. Dave, standing, naked and half-erect. Olivia, seated on the edge of the bed, in a lacy white bra and matching panties. They drank each other in. She looked up at him. "Well, part of you is getting interested," she smirked. "You get all of me, Olivia, just as you always have. I'll show you my love every day. It will just manifest in a few new ways from now on." Olivia scooted up the bed as Dave crawled up, aligning himself over her, kissing as they moved. Dave's hands wandered along her thighs and sides. Olivia's fingers coursed lazily along his back. "Just one request." She gave him an impish look. "When you go get Mel to bring her up here, leave my legs spread so the first thing she sees when she walks in is my pussy." "You're rotten ya know that? I have to live with her too ya know." "She'll laugh. It's just roommate hijinks." Dave returned to kissing Olivia. He moved his lips lower, down her neck, to her collarbone, and then the slopes of her tits. He slipped his hands underneath her, unclasping her bra. Gingerly, he removed it. Olivia's large tits, no longer supported by a bra, formed two delicious lumps on her chest, that looked like they were about to slide off her chest. Olivia's eyes glistened, radiating joy as Dave took her tits in his hands and began kissing them. She moaned as he ministered to her bosom with his mouth. When he took one nipple in his mouth and suckled, she gasped. "Oh, David, Yes!" Pleasure and unbridled joy left her breathing ragged, her mind awash in bliss. His hands remained at her tit, massaging gently, easing her higher with delicate caresses. His mouth proceed lower, kissing her ribs. Her abdomen. Kissing and licking her belly button. She giggled and twisted her torso. Dave brought his hands down to Olivia's hips. He grasped her panties and pulled them down to her ankles, raising himself and her legs up. He tossed them aside and brought his face to kiss the crease of her pelvis and her hip. She shuddered. Her arousal scented the room. Her lovely light brown vulva filled his vision as he breathed softly across her bare essence. The hairs of the small landing strip on her mons tousled in the artificial breeze. She lifted her head to look at him. "David;” she pleaded. He grinned. He locked eyes with her and closed his mouth around her lower lips and began to suckle. Her body arched and she sucked in a breath. His tongue played across her sopping wet slit. He tasted her juices. He nibbled her flowering inner lips. He slipped his tongue into her entrance. "Oh God David Yes! Oh please put it in me." Olivia whimpered. "Darling, you've wanted this night for a long time. I intend to make it worthwhile." "You are enough David, that's al; Ah" she cried out as he took her clitoris in his mouth and suckled. He slid one finger gently inside, massaging her tunnel. Every stroke drew her natural lubricant in greater volume than the last. He inserted as second finger and she moaned, writhing, hips bucking. He released her button and withdrew his fingers. She eased her motions. Dave crawled up her body, a victorious and hungry grin on his face. She beamed, breathing heavily. He caressed and kissed her tits briefly as he moved up. Finally hovering over her, face to face, bodies aligned, his erection resting between them, Dave kissed her once again. She clutched him and returned the kiss. Dave maneuvered his member with his hips, aligning with her fully relaxed and open entrance. He pushed in gently, a small distance just to lodge the tip of his helmet in her. The precum coating his cockhead set off a body-rocking orgasm that stole her breath. When her eyes re-opened, Dave drove himself into her, full length, in one smooth stroke. Her eyes glowed with joy. He began moving himself in and out of her. Slowly at first. Always firmly, gently. Staring into her eyes as he worked them both to ecstasy. He picked up his pace. She began rocking her hips with his. Soon they were pounding into each other, breathing raggedly, eyes still locked, her hands braced behind his shoulders until their passion pushed him over the brink, firing rope after rope of hot cum into her waiting vagina. The effect on Olivia was immediate. A primal scream of pleasure burst from her lips as her body convulsed like a marionette in the hands of an angry child. And then she fell to the bed, limp. "Imprinting,; imprinting,; imprinting, ;” Dave kissed her forehead and extracted himself from her body. He crawled off the bed and left to clean himself in the bathroom. He returned with a damp washcloth to clean her. After dressing in loose shorts and a shirt, he arranged her as she'd requested and left the room shaking his head. Melanie met him at the bottom of the stairs with a passionate kiss and a tight hug. "You need a minute or two?" "Yeah, let me get a drink and I should be fine." He returned the kiss, then slipped from her arms to search out some juice from the fridge. "Oh, I thought you meant you needed a little something to steel yourself for doing me." "Please." Dave guzzled half the glass. "One, you are hot. Two," he blushed a bit, "I have a thing for redheads." Melanie smiled. "Oh yeah?" "Hell, if you had freckles, I'd kiss each one of them." That made her blush. After Dave finished off a second glass of juice, he and Melanie headed upstairs, pursued by catcalls and wolf whistles. Esme, who'd been invited into the living room after Dave and Olivia had gone upstairs, just laughed at the shenanigans. Opening the door, Melanie exclaimed, "Oh my god, you left; " she pursed her lips. "No, she put you up to this didn't she?" Dave chuckled and grabbed a light blanket. "No," Melanie said, "save that to cover us both when you finish with me." She cupped her hand under one of Liv's shapely thighs and brought the leg over the other, giving her friend a bit of modesty she hadn't asked for. Dave noticed that her hand seemed to linger just a bit on Liv's thigh. It certainly looked like Mel gave her rump a light squeeze. Maybe he just imagined it. She turned to face him. "Reading between the lines, from everything Liv's told me, you don't think you deserve any of us, do you?" Dave swallowed hard, trying not to react. "I'm going to tell you something harsh and reassuring. You don't. And you know something else? We don't deserve your love either. I learned bouncing around those homes that love isn't earned. It's too valuable to be earned. No one is ever worthy of someone else's love. Body, heart, or mind. Love is a gift. We each give our love to you, by our choice. And you give us your love by your choice. I barely know you and I'm more comfortable being here with you than I've ever been with any man." She paused to let that sink in. "David, just accept that you are a damn good man, and we are all happy to be here with you. Enjoy what we give you. Let us enjoy what you give in return." Dave felt like this beautiful young woman that barely knew him was staring straight into his heart, laying it bare and spearing it with the cruelest weapon; hope. He stretched out his hand tentatively, reaching for the sash holding her blouse closed. She looked down briefly, seeing his hand. She immediately looked into his eyes and gave the smallest nod, and a smile. Dave pulled slowly on the loose tail of the cinch and dropped it. The belt ends fell to her sides and the halves of her blouse hung loosely, exposing the center of her chest and abdomen. Melanie had a belly button piercing. A small chain with two small clear crystals near the top and at the bottom, a butterfly done mostly in silver metal clasping tiny crystals, except for a soft pink pearl serving as the body of the faux insect. "You like? Your profile said you weren't a fan of body modification, but I was hoping you would be ok with this." "It's cute and sexy and innocent and naughty all at once." Dave smiled. He stepped up to her, sliding his hands into her blouse and around her back. He pulled her into a soft, slow kiss. They explored each other that way for a few minutes. Dave brought his hands up to her tits, cupping them and kneading them through her black satin bra. Melanie sucked in a breath and hummed. She broke the kiss and drew his attention with her eyes. "The others told me how you like to take your time, maximize a woman's pleasure. I am super fucking horny right know. You can take me to the heights later, we have forever for that. Right now I just need to pound your stake into me and lay claim to my body." "What about your heart?" She grinned "Just like they said you would. It's getting there, just takes a bit more time." She shrugged her blouse off and shucked her pants. The panties were also black and satiny. "Come on Davey, fuck my brains out and make me yours." She tossed her bra and panties aside quickly and crawled up the bed, turn over on her back once she was alongside her friend. Dave stripped of his shirt and shorts rapidly and joined her on the bed, pressing his body lightly against hers. His erection sandwiched between their torsos, her medium sized tit and their pointy nipples pressed against his chest. He kissed her again and she hummed. She worked her hips against his and together that got him lodged in her. A few strokes inside her passage caused him to leak out the first drips of precum and she exploded in a howling convulsion, her eyes rolling back, one hand flailing and bashing the insensate Olivia. "Fuck that was good. Give it to me David, give your woman what she needs. Seal your claim." She kissed him fiercely and they both rocked their hips savagely. No sensuality, just raw primal fucking of two hungry bodies. Despite his recent bout with Liv, this carnal frenzy brought Dave to the pinnacle faster than he anticipated and he crashed through, erupting a geyser of cum inside her depths. As the hot load filled her cavity, Melanie wailed in ecstasy, her mind shattered by the biochemical overload. Then she flopped to the bed, repeating the new world's chant of family harmony and togetherness. Chapter 6 – Shenanigans. October 4, 2020. David Belsus awoke to three beautiful young ladies lying beside him, all nude. As yet, none of his partners had elected to sleep in another room. Last night they all emphatically wanted to be near him. No one piled over anyone else. Lupie came to bed in a rich blue camisole with matching high cut panties. Shawna clad herself in a soft pink camisole and pink boy shorts. Jan wore one of Dave's sweatshirts as a baggy night gown, no panties underneath. He'd checked by way slipping his hands under the hem of the shirt to dance along her skin. Finding paradise exposed, he impishly fingered her to heaven as she begged for his cock. She beamed when he finished. She kissed him deeply after he sucked all her juices off his digits. None of the three were in bed at the moment. Shawna was likely on her way to work already. Which meant Jan and Lupie had gotten up with her to talk and share breakfast, or at least coffee. They had developed a morning routine rather quickly. That left Liv and Melanie nude, side by side on his left, and Becca, nude, curled tightly under his right arm, his hand resting just above her hip. She slumbered peacefully, unperturbed by the small motions he made as he took in the morning tableau. Becca's insecurities stemming from the near-abduction at the vax center had faded quickly with the reassurance of imprinting on Dave. What followed in its wake was the desire to be close to the person she'd just started sleeping with, magnified by this being the only person she'd ever slept with, further multiplied by the vaccine-clad certainty this was her person for life. Becca wasn't pushy about it. She knew enough to leave some space for the others to get their 'Dave time' too. In and out of bed. And the others, having experienced a similar phase in life, and happy that, for her, it really would be for a lifetime, accommodated her wherever possible. And then Dave's mind recalled a text conversation. "; Oh god, I just had this thrill run through me at the idea of waking up with you already in me, on top of me." Dave stroked her hip softly, slowly easing his fingers toward the crease where her leg met her pelvis. After several minutes of this, he brought his left hand up to cup her tit, massaging lightly, avoiding the nipple. He wanted to slowly raise her towards wakefulness, and ignite her libido, but he didn't want her awake until after he'd penetrated her. Just as she'd asked. Dave carefully eased himself out of her arms, rotating himself until he was kneeling on the bed, behind her knees and 'under' her butt as Becca lay curled on her left side. Dave leaned in and began kissing along Becca's outer thigh of her top leg while gently stroking the inner thigh of her bottom leg with his right hand. His left hand stroked softly along her side. A quick brush of her lower lips indicated her unconscious arousal, or the serum effects. Either way, Dave rubbed his half-hard cock between her thighs, rubbing against her labia, to get them both ready. He kept kissing her hand and arm while softly playing with her tit. "David?!" Came the scandalized whisper. Lupie and Jan stood, frozen, in the doorway, not believing what they were seeing. "She expressly asked for this, you can even check my text messages." Both ladies looked concerned, but said no more. A few more minutes of play time had Dave fully hard, regaining what he briefly lost with the interruption. Becca was ready as well. Dave seated himself at her entrance and pushed slowly, steadily forward. He was half inside her, leaning over her when Becca's eyes flew open. Wide-eyed, mouth agape, she turned her head and moaned. She writhed against David and clutched his upright arms. When her breath returned, she kissed him hard. She pulled away, winking as she deliberately flexed the muscles of her inner passage. Dave took that as a signal to continue. He steadily worked himself in her. Becca grinned madly, moaning and encouraging him. In a few minutes, both were racing to a peak they reached in tandem. Becca fell limp against the mattress, gasping. Dave steadied himself by resting his ass on his heels. Both dismounted the bed and began searching for clothes. Lupie gave Dave a quick kiss on the cheek and hugged Becca before heading downstairs. Jan stayed to change clothes. Jan viewed Becca with a grin. "Get your jollies little freak?" Becca beamed and blushed. "Umm hmm." "Just razzing you, ya know." "I know. I'm still learning what I like, and that is one of them. You know, the way you get off when a guy has a big; book collection." Her eyes twinkled. She squealed and caught the pillow Jan threw as she joined the laughter. "Oh my god, a naked pillow fight. I knew they were real!" Dave laughed and ducked as both partners chucked pillows at him. Dark brown irises set in almond eyes gazed at Dave from Becca's laptop resting on the folding table Becca had set up in one of the unused bedrooms. Raven black hair framed an oval face of chocolate brown before cascading over shoulders set with remembered power, but a hint of sag. The plain white scoop necked t-shirt stretched into small ripples between her tits. The shirt was mostly opaque, yielding evidence of a white bra of exactly the same tone as the shirt, but nonetheless unable to disguise two ripe, thick nipples making their presence known. As the call began, her small, tight mouth had appeared balanced between the promise of lighting up the room with a smile, or unleashing a verbal tirade that would leave all within earshot cringing. Dave's skeptical, reserved approach was pushing her more towards desperation. "Yes, I have been; unkind to people through all of high school. I thought I was better than a lot of people. I had a group that I hung out with, and we deemed ourselves 'the betters' of everyone else. Becca knows some of what I did, more from hearing about it or seeing it than experiencing it directed at her. I; held back since she helped me study." Reena swallowed before continuing. "I've had all these months to think about life and people and a lot of stuff okay? I'm not proud of my behavior. I was a bitch." Her eyes began to water at the lower edge. "Being isolated, knowing people are dying, finding out from a few friends they only have another day or hour left; " her voice caught. A few tears coursed down her apple cheeks, but she batted them aside quickly. "Do you know what it's like to stop hearing from someone that you thought you'd invite to your wedding, or have your kids play together?" Becca inhaled, about to speak, but Dave stayed her with a gentle touch. It wouldn't do to interrupt when Reena was clearly pouring her heart out. The words she spoke over the next several minutes could be the ones he really needed to hear to make a good decision. "The kids in grades below us stopped answering a long time ago. There's an internet rumor that this thing takes more men than women, and everyone under eighteen, but even the ones over eighteen are hard to find someone that answers, boy or girl." Reena's 'queen of the school' composure was cracking. While that allowed a glimpse at the person behind the mask, it wouldn't do to let her fall apart. Time to say something reassuring, but realistic. "Reena, just tell me about why you want to be here." "Honestly, Becca may be the only friend I have left I the world. And I was never a very good friend to her before. I; I want to do better. I've been thinking a lot about what I should change. Specific things I should stop saying or doing. Remembering to say 'please' when I ask for something instead of expecting compliance because of 'who I am.' Or saying 'thank you' when someone else does something for me. Doing something for someone else just because they need it, even if they never asked." Shaking, Reena paused to collect herself. "Becca has told me about you. I'm not smart like you and her, but I would like to study something past high school. Please, please choose me. I'll; I'll do anything you want." Her voice lowered and her eyes dropped at the last sentence. "There's a lot I still don't know about sex, but I'll learn. I'll be your little; " "Hold up. Kareena, I'm not out to push you to be some kind of play toy. If we are compatible in other ways, we'll figure out the sex part. Why don't you tell me about your hobbies, things you do just because they're fun? May be things you did even if your friends weren't into them." "Well, I do like to read; even though I joined in with the others when we made fun of 'bookworms'." Her eyes were downcast for the end of that sentence but came back up. "Becca mentioned you're a big book lover. But; I don't read; like nonfiction, or high class stuff. I mean, I have red Lord of the Rings, but that took forever. I could only get through like the first three pages of Moby Dick and Tale of Two Cities before passing out though." She still looked scared, so Dave gave her some reassurance. "Yeah, I think I maxed out after the first chapter of each of those. Some people love that style, but for me, it was a snooze fest too. The last two I mean. I love Lord of the Rings. So tell me, what do you like to read?" "Well, there's this series about this guy that keeps monsters in check in the San Francisco area." "Monsters?" Dave tried not to sound dubious. "Well, magical creatures. Fairies, unicorns, vampires, stuff like that. Oh, the author's name is Blake Conrad. It's a lot of fun if you like magic stuff. I have the full collection. Everything that's out so far. The next book was due out already, but the pandemic hit and who knows when they'll publish it now. For all I know, the one that's waiting is the last one. Chances are the author caught this thing and died months ago." Her face darkened again. "Well, if this does work out," Dave said, "You're welcome to bring your complete; Blake Conrad collection with you, and we'll look for similar books, similar titles. I know Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and Ursula K. Le Guin use a lot of magic themes in their works. Sounds like they might be right up your alley." Hearing Dave endorse her reading interest perked Reena up. "You know, I could help the other girls too. I like doing nails. I'm pretty good at it too. I can free hand designs and stuff." "I could see where that could come in handy. So to speak." Dave grimaced at his unintended pun. Becca laughed. Reena just shook her head. "Anyway, I'm sure some of the ladies would appreciate that. I'll stick with natural myself," Dave said with a wink. That got a chuckle out of her. "Look, I'm not expecting you to have everything planned out. You're eighteen. There's still a lot to decide. And speaking of decisions, I'd like you to meet virtually with the other ladies of the house and we'll talk as a family after." "Also, take some time yourself to think this through completely. I know you want to be here so you can be close to someone familiar, but bear in mind, that means being sexually bonded to me, a forty-six year old man, more than twice your age. By the time you were born, I'd finished grad school, got married, had a kid, and divorced." Reena looked pensive but nodded. Dave left her to talk with Becca more. He caught Jan in the library with a notepad, apparently noting possible additions. On his suggestion, she left to join Becca. In the dining room, he found Olivia munching a bowl of cereal. Lupie sat with her. The two were sharing an easy conversation which halted when Dave walked in. He'd seen Lupie's bible on an end table in the living room when he passed through. Liv must have come down to get breakfast while Lupie was conducting a bible study on her own. Not like it was safe yet to go to a church. Especially when so many church goers around here seemed to buy into the 'just a hoax' nonsense. Dave shook his head. Christian Nationalism seem purpose built to destroy conservatism and faith in one fell swoop. Sure had a good shot at it with this damn plague. Dave shook out thoughts of things he couldn't control. Here, now, was one woman that had been interested in him for a few years as she lived next door, and another that had pined for him for; a decade? And both were happy to be bound to him by this weird vaccine, even though it meant sharing him with other women. This world was wonderful and terrifying in the same breath. "Morning, Hermosa," Dave said before kissing Lupie on the lips. She hummed into the brief contact. "Morning, love bug," he said as he greeted Olivia in the same manner. As he pulled away, she slugged his shoulder, smiling scowl pulling her lips tight. Lupie shook her head. "David, I'm with Olivia on this one. Terms of endearment you used when she was a child are not conducive to her feeling she's being accepted as a woman." "I meant it as continuity. She has a lot of love to give. Always has. And I appreciate that." Olivia's scowl relaxed but did not become a smile. Well, not immediately. Lupie raised an eyebrow at him with a gentle smile. Dave realized what he needed was a change of subject. "Becca is upstairs Zooming with a friend of hers from high school. She; would like to join us here." Both ladies smirked. Dave sighed and rolled his eyes. He brought a hand up to his face and rubbed his eyes before leaning into the hand, the elbow of the same arm resting on the table. "Look, it's not like I'm seeking women out. I'm not out pursuing young girls." Olivia shifted in her seat. "I mean; " "I get it Dave. Don't apologize." Her voice was soft, with a hint of iron. "I talked with her for a while. She's apparently been talking with Becca since before the two of you got vaxxed in the first place." He said, looking at Lupie. "And it seems Becca has been telling Reena all about us, especially about vaxxed life with me." "Kareena Agrawal? The one Becca calls 'the Indian Karen'?" Olivia barely managed to contain the mouthful of cereal and milk at Lupie's interjection. Dave held back a laugh. "She seems genuinely heartbroken and lost, Lupie. And she has taken time in isolation to examine her past behavior." Dave paused, looking each of them in the eye. "I'm reserving judgement for now. I think it would be a good idea if each of you took time to talk with her, probably with Becca as host. I ran into Jan already, she's probably up there with her now. All I'm asking is that you get with Becca sometime today to find a time you can Zoom with her and form your own opinion. I may be 'the man of the house'; " Dave bowed his arms out from his sides, leaning side to side with a faux stern look on his face; "but this is too big not to get ya'lls take on it as well." Both women giggled at the display. "Okay, okay, I'll seek Becca out in a few minutes. I'll give Reena a fair hearing, just understand, I've heard enough of her exploits to be a bit wary." "Wouldn't have it any other way, cielo." The warmth of the smile Lupie gave him was enough to power an entire town. It was a few hours past noon when Dave heard voices in the bedroom. He left his office to see if that meant Melanie was up. She'd been out for eighteen hours. Opening the door, he found Becca and Liv sitting on the bed, talking. Mel was nowhere to be seen. "Mel up I take it?" "Yup, been awake for a few minutes. She needed to use the bathroom," Becca informed him. "She'll probably be in there a while." Liv chimed in, just as Mel emerged. She had a huge smile on her face. "Wow, usually a night like last night would leave you crying on the toilet for an hour. And I needed a hazmat suit to go in there afterwards." Mel smirked. She strode over to Dave and gave him a big hug. He recognized the t-shirt she wore, black with a white line drawing of Einstein sticking out his tongue. Recognized, because it was probably the one from his closet. "Looks like I unlocked the special bonus. They did say sometimes a healing process happens during imprinting. How long was I out anyway?" "About eighteen hours," said Liv. "Longest of any of my partners. What's the healing you're talking about?" "I have; had; I B S. I tend to be careful about what I eat, or go ahead and indulge once in a while, knowing I'm going to pay the price in the morning." She turned to face Liv, with her hands on her hips. "And for your information missy, I was somewhat careful last night. The wine was dry, and I only ate a little bit of cheese. And I didn't have any deviled eggs." She grumbled that last sentence. Liv looked at Dave. "She loves deviled eggs, especially made with dill relish instead of sweet, which I've told her was the way you do it. Not that you made last night's, but that does mean the only relish in the house is dill. Problem is, the protein in the whites plus the fat in the yolk and mayo is an issue for her. If it weren't for that, she'd gobble deviled eggs like she's trying to set a world record." Dave chuckled. "As a deviled egg lover, I can testify that that much deviled egg will cause intestinal issues that oughta be against the Geneva Convention, without any medical conditions." The trio giggled. Becca sat bolt upright for a minute. "Hey, weren't there deviled eggs leftover in the fridge?" Mel was already up and moving. "Clear square sandwich container with the see through blue lid!" Mel's happy cackle faded as she sprinted down the stairs. To be continued in part 5, Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts, for Literotica.
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit smokeempodcast.substack.comAndy Mills, audio storyteller extraordinaire, joins Nancy and Sarah to talk about the “AI hinge moment” we're living in, the subject of his new podcast “The Last Invention.” How scared should we be? Let's discuss. They talk creative process, journalism's inflection point and what was lost and gained in “the war of public shaming.” Plus: Books books books!Also discussed:* Gotta love a rotund tree* “The thing about when you're making your sauna …”* The country mouse/city mouse ideal* Are we really living in “unprecedented times”?* The secrets of how Andy builds a podcast* The trend to exaggerate victim status is REALLY UNHEALTHY* Bringing down a deer with a bow-and-arrow is harder than you think* When pain comes your way, don't add regret to it* The Wall Street Journal is crushing it* Make centricism sexy again! * One was joyous, one was meh: Apple vs. Free Press holiday parties* Andy explains frog embryology to Nancy* Andy and Sarah are Magnolia stans* Alexander Hamilton got what he deserved* Demon Copperhead: Even funnier than Moby Dick! * “There's so much comfort in history.”* WANTED: Presidential biography recommendationsPlus, three cheers for Bari Weiss and building new media, everyone loves Anna Karenina, “to be alive is to be heartbroken,” and much more!Give yourself the gift of deep conversation. Become a paid subscriber.
In this special episode, we're joined once again by two extraordinary figures in the world of opera, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, affectionately known as Flicka, and composer Jake Heggie. Flicka has graced the great opera houses and concert halls for over four decades, known for her captivating performances in roles by Rossini and Bellini, as well as her powerful interpretations of modern works like Heggie's own operas, including Dead Man Walking. Jake is renowned for his operas, having created over ten full-length works, including the widely acclaimed Moby-Dick and, of course, Dead Man Walking.In Part 1, we delve into their creative partnership, particularly focusing on their song cycle Paper Wings, inspired by Flicka's children. They share personal stories about the songs that resonate universally, illustrating how specific experiences can lead to broader emotional connections in art. The discussion also touches on the joy of collaborating and the importance of maintaining humor in their performances.[Subscriber Content] In Part 2, Jake and Flicka reveal more about their personal journeys with music and performance, including the importance of pushing through those dreaded "bad days" where things just don't seem to work right. Flicka discusses the emotional depth in her interpretations, while Jake reflects on the significance of trust in music. Their insights provide a deeper understanding of the art of singing, composing, and music in general enriching the listener's appreciation for the nuances of opera and lyrical storytelling. Listen in for a heartwarming conversation filled with memories, laughter, and profound insights into the world of music and creativity.Would you like more inspirational stories, suggestions, insights, and a place to continue the conversations with other listeners? Visit anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com to learn more! As a Contributing Listener of "Anthony Plog on Music," you'll have access to extra premium content and benefits including: Extra Audio Content: Only available to Contributing Listeners. Podcast Reflections: Tony's written recaps and thoughts on past interviews, including valuable tips and suggestions for students. Ask Me Anything: Both as written messages and occasional member-only Zoom sessions. The Show's Discord Server: Where conversations about interviews, show suggestions, and questions happen. It's a great place to meet other listeners and chat about all things music! Can I just donate instead of subscribing? Absolutely! Cancel at anytime and easily resubscribe when you want all that extra content again. Learn more about becoming a Contributing Listener @ anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com!
Miguel Gutiérrez Saxe."Me puse a recordar y buscar más en la literatura, ese espejo de la condición humana, ejemplos aleccionadores. Permítanme continuar ilustrando el punto de la ballena blanca de Moby Dick y la venganza del capitán Ahab que les conté en el anterior artículo/podcast, con una lectura que me marcó de muy joven. "Calígula" de Albert Camus es una buena ilustración pura y filosófica del adagio "un loco hace miles". Mientras que "Moby Dick" muestra la seducción de una obsesión concreta, "Calígula" explora cómo la locura lógica, cuando alcanza el poder absoluto, puede convertir el mundo entero en algo absurdo..."#larevistacr @larevistacr www.larevista.cr#miguelgutierrezsaxe
CraftLit - Serialized Classic Literature for Busy Book Lovers
Here's a mid-December update from Heather with some important CraftLit news. We're officially moving CraftLit off Patreon and onto Supercast, and while the transition took a lot of work, the result is a much easier and better experience for listeners. In this update, I cover: • Why CraftLit is leaving Patreon • How easy the move to Supercast is (no extra charges, no double payments) • What Patreon supporters need to do • Help for "app orphans" who lost access to premium audio • Where to find Christmas playlists across platforms • Discounts available through the end of December 2025 • How gift subscriptions work on Supercast • A quick programming update (no Moby-Dick this week) • Upcoming holiday audio and a new spooky Christmas story If you've ever supported CraftLit, use the app, or are thinking about becoming a premium subscriber, this video walks you through what's changing and how to get set up. Thank you for supporting CraftLit and for your patience as the tech finally caught up with what we've wanted to do all along. Happy holidays
®Cos'è una lingua? Cosa significa condividere una provenienza culturale e linguistica diversa da quella prevalente dove si vive? Hannah Arendt diceva che quando tutto sembra aver perduto il suo senso, quello che alla fine resta e portiamo con noi è la lingua. Nel corso di questa puntata di Moby Dick initolata “La lingua che ci abita, la lingua che abitiamo” vogliamo provare a riflettere sulla relazione tra lingua e identità, personale ma anche di una comunità. Lo faremo partendo dall'italiano, una lingua ufficiale della Svizzera, con una protezione particolare a livello legislativo e un'attiva comunità italofona che vive al di fuori dei Cantoni del Ticino e dei Grigioni. Lo faremo con Lorenzo Tomasin, professore di Filologia romanza e di Storia della lingua italiana all'Università di Losanna, la poetessa Laura Accerboni, co-ideatrice et coordinatrice del progetto “Calvino a Scuola” nel Cantone di Ginevra, la poetessa svizzero-brasiliana Prisca Agustoni e lo scrittore Paolo Di Paolo, finalista allo Strega 2024.Prima emissione sabato 15 novembre 2025
Minister spravodlivosti Boris Susko uspel s dovolaním na Najvyššom súde. Rozsudok, ktorý z Dušana Kováčika urobil korupčníka, sa vracia na začiatok. Senát spochybnil samotné vyšetrovanie, dokonca aj názov policajnej akcie Mobydick, ktorým mali policajti označovať práve bývalého špeciálneho prokurátora. O tom, čo znamená verdikt v jednej z najväčších káuz s najvyššie postaveným verejným funkcionárov, diskutoval v Dobrom ráne s Janou Krescanko Dibákovou reportér SME Peter Kováč. Zdroje zvukov: TV JOJ, TA3, Markíza, Youtube/Aktuality.sk Odporúčanie Sledujte naše Podcasty SME aj na instagrame! Nájdete tam zákulisie nahrávania, odporúčania na nové diely, ankety, krátke ukážky aj obsah, ktorý nikde inde neuvidíte. Pridajte sa k našej komunite a majte všetky vaše obľúbené podcasty vždy nadosah. Sledujte Podcastysme! – Všetky podcasty denníka SME nájdete na sme.sk/podcasty – Odoberajte aj audio verziu denného newslettra SME.sk s najdôležitejšími správami na sme.sk/brifingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 11, 2025 is: leviathan luh-VYE-uh-thun noun Leviathan is a word with literary flair that can refer broadly to something very large and powerful, or more narrowly to a large sea animal, or a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy. // Towering leviathans of the forest, giant sequoias often reach heights of more than 200 feet. See the entry > Examples: “These are dim days for the leviathan merchants. The smart whaling families have diversified and will hang onto their wealth for years to come. ... The less smart, those convulsed by the strange desire to continue doing what had always been done, who consider it a divinely issued directive to rid the waves of great fish, now face a problem: the Atlantic whale that built their houses and ships has seemingly wised up ...” — Ethan Rutherford, North Sun, or The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther: A Novel, 2025 Did you know? Old Testament references to a huge sea monster, Leviathan (in Hebrew, Liwyāthān), are thought to have been inspired by an ancient myth in which the god Baal slays a multiheaded sea monster. Leviathan appears in the Book of Psalms as a sea serpent that is killed by God and then given as food to creatures in the wilderness, and it is mentioned in the Book of Job as well. After making a splash in English in the 1300s, the word Leviathan began to be used, capitalized and uncapitalized, for enormous sea creatures both imagined and real—including as a synonym of whale over 100 times in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, as in “ere the Pequod's weedy hull rolls side by side with the barnacled hulls of the leviathan.” Today, leviathan can be used for anything large and powerful, from ships to corporations.
Send us a textIn this episode we examine the life and work of two authors who actually knew each other and corresponded as they wrote their literary masterpieces. Nathaniel HawthorneFrom a modern perspective, Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing tips emphasize the importance of deep psychological exploration, moral complexity, and meticulous craft. His advice challenges writers to move beyond simple storytelling and engage with the more difficult truths of the human condition. Embrace the difficulty of good writingHawthorne's most famous writing maxim is: "Easy reading is damn hard writing". Editing is keyThe illusion of easeFocus on psychological and moral depthAs a key figure in Dark Romanticism, Hawthorne's work delves into the complexity of the human mind and its dark side. Explore complex inner strugglesExamine sin and guiltUncover hypocrisyUse symbolism and allegoryHawthorne masterfully used symbolic imagery and allegorical narratives to create layered, meaningful stories. Go beneath the surfaceEmploy symbolsCraft evocative narrativesDevelop a strong writing ritualHawthorne was known for his very structured, solitary, and monotonous daily routine, which created the ideal conditions for deep and sustained thought. Embrace solitudeMake it a habitRecognize the power of wordsHawthorne viewed words as an instrument of immense power that a writer must learn to wield skillfully. Combine words carefullyLet the narrative unfold naturallyHis storytelling technique was focused on telling a story as a process, allowing it to reveal itself naturally. Character-driven choicesCreate richly detailed narrativesHawthorne's elaborate, ornate prose style was intentional, designed to force readers to examine every word. Craft intricate sentences: His notoriously long, winding sentences were used to add layers of meaning and complexity to his ideas.Encourage reader interpretationHerman MelvilleFrom his letters, essays, and fictional works, Herman Melville's writing tips emphasize originality, ambition, and the pursuit of truth beneath surface appearances. He encouraged a deep, unyielding commitment to art, even if it meant commercial failure. Pursue originality over imitationMelville deeply valued originality and considered it a measure of a writer's potential for greatness. "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation".Choose a "mighty theme"For Melville, a book's substance was directly related to the ambition of its topic. He advised writers to grapple with "great and enduring" subjects "To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme".- Uncover the truth beneath the surfaceTruth is often elusiveChallenge assumptions Embrace creative struggle and even failureUse your own experiencesBe prepared for your work to be misunderstoodWriting from the heart, Melville was famously undervalued in his lifetime, and in a letter to Nathaniel Hawthorne, he resigned himself to this fact. Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!
Back in episode 112, Phil and JF devised a gimmick for a show: randomly select one of the many aphorisms in The Book of Probes, a compendium of Marshall McLuhan's prophetic quips designed by David Carson, and see what happens. It proved lively enough that they're trying it again nearly a hundred episodes later. The resulting conversation touches the weird across a range of themes: tourism, the two kinds of truth, advertising, Kubrick's marketing savvy, technology, orality versus literacy, and much more. A fitting feast for the mind as the year draws to a close. From all of us at Weird Studies, happy holidays. • Sign up for JF Martel and Erik Davis's upcoming course on Moby-Dick. • Join Phil, JF, and composer Pierre-Yves Martel for Weirdosphere's Solstice Story Hour on December 21. • For dates, venues, and the full slate of Weird Academia events in Bloomington this January, visit the Centre for Possible Minds website. • To participate in the Weird Academia Colloquium, email organizers Emma Stamm and Michael Garfield at elfthoughts@gmail.com Header Image: NASA. REFERENCES Marshall McLuhan, Distant Early Warning Deck Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain Plato, The Seventh Letter Marshall McLuhan, The Book of Probes Toronto School of Communication Theory Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy Paul Kingsnorth, Against the Machine Charles Taylor, A Secular Age Plato, The Republic Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media Jonathan Crary, 24/7 H. P. Lovecraft, The Color out of Space Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Achab l'ha fatta diventare la sua ossessione, trascinando i marinai con sé fino alle viscere dell'oceano. La balena è simbolo e icona ancor prima di Moby Dick. A partire dal mito di chi, come Giona, in quel ventre c'è stato. E ne è poi uscito per raccontarlo. “Racconta Ismaele” è un podcast di Chora Media in collaborazione con Palazzo Ducale di Genova, realizzato in occasione della mostra “Moby Dick – La Balena. Storia di un mito dall'antichità all'arte contemporanea”, curata insieme a TBA21 Scritto e raccontato da Simone Pieranni In collaborazione con Leonardo Mazzeo e Tommaso De Lorenzis La cura editoriale è di Sara Poma La regia, il sound design e le musiche originali sono di Luca Micheli La project manager è Giorgia Viviani La producer è Greta Cavalca Il coordinamento della post produzione è di Matteo Scelsa La fonica di studio è Lucrezia Marcelli Le musiche addizionali sono su licenza Universal music publishing ricordi srl Si ringrazia NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information per i materiali audio forniti Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Changelings aren't the only ones who step outside the fleshly realm from time to time. Human magi have also been known to wander the farther spaces, and it's not unreasonable that a fae might encounter one of these upstart travelers. Mage: the Ascension's 2nd edition supplement Book of Worlds provides an in-depth treatment of how these willworkers perceive and navigate the Otherworlds. The text mainly deals with the Umbrae, but also contains the first detailed description of the Dreaming—or "Maya", to use their term. (It was early 1996, so very little had even been written for Changeling: the Dreaming at that point.) In this episode, Josh and Pooka pull some highlights from the book that are most relevant to CtD players, from the dreamscapes of Hollywood to mysterious spirit-muses, a smattering of those corners of the Dreaming mages have thus far explored, a space that is indeed vast... but what percentage of infinity is that? If you'd like to flip through the Otherworldly gazetteer yourself, check out https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/62217?affiliate_id=3063731 for options. Other links you might wish to click include our socials, such as: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is only two planets away from a free gift on the Magrathea punch-card! Pooka G (any pronoun/they) grudgingly accepts Leibniz's principle that this is the best of possible worlds, but only because baklava exists. As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts. —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
Quattro episodi per esplorare il mondo sommerso dei cetacei, dei loro suoni, dei loro rapporti sociali. Partendo dalla storia della baleneria e passando per l'arte, la filosofia, la scienza. Il tutto ripercorrendo la rotta del Pequod e di Moby Dick, il libro mondo di Melville che racchiude tutto. “Racconta Ismaele” è un podcast di Chora Media in collaborazione con Palazzo Ducale di Genova, realizzato in occasione della mostra “Moby Dick – La Balena. Storia di un mito dall'antichità all'arte contemporanea”, curata insieme a TBA21 Scritto e raccontato da Simone Pieranni In collaborazione con Leonardo Mazzeo e Tommaso De Lorenzis La cura editoriale è di Sara Poma La regia, il sound design e le musiche originali sono di Luca Micheli La project manager è Giorgia Viviani La producer è Greta Cavalca Il coordinamento della post produzione è di Matteo Scelsa La fonica di studio è Lucrezia Marcelli Le musiche addizionali sono su licenza Universal music publishing ricordi srl Si ringrazia NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information per i materiali audio forniti Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the summer of 1819, the whaleship Essex set sail from Nantucket, chasing fortune across the vast and indifferent Pacific. What began as a routine whaling voyage soon veered into a nightmare, however, when the hunted became the hunter, and the ship, until now known as one of the luckiest around, was smashed to splinters, leaving her crew adrift in an ocean without mercy. Their struggle was a descent into fear, hunger, and the raw edge of human endurance that would go on to inspire the story of Moby Dick, though much of the darker elements would be left at sea, where such stories belonged. SOURCES Chase, Owen (1821) Narrative of the Wreck of the Whaleship Essex. Wesleyan University Press. NH, USA. Heffernan, Thomas (1981) Stove by a Whale: Owen Chase & The Essex. Wesleyan University Press, NH, USA. Philbrick, Nathaniel (2000) In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. Viking Press. NY, USA. ------ For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: http://author.to/darkhistories Dark Histories merch is available here: https://bit.ly/3GChjk9 Connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast Or find us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkhistories & Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/ Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com or join our Discord community: https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jude is back in town for a huge Thanksgiving, the basement never ends, Wicked 2 is not great, and we talk about the spiritual ramifications of The Biggest Loser. Our locals page is now accepting subscriptions! Move over from Patreon so more of your tips go to us and not Apple. Books: Read along with Mac - Current book is Moby Dick by Herman Melville Other great stuff we like: Baritus Catholic Illustrations Pacem in Terris Retreat Center Restoration of Christian Culture from Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey Restoration of Christian Culture PDF Spiritual Direction.com Fatima Farm liturgical calendar from Sofia Institute Press Gregory the Great's St. Nicholas Guild Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary Other stuff our family does: Our libsyn page where you can find all our old episodes Sam and Mena's podcast: Engaged at 18 Spoiled! with Mac and Katherine Mac's book! Clueless in Galilee Ben's Photography Business: Red Barron Media Find us on our website Theme song by Mary Bragg.
Send us a textTrey reports on new audio evidence from Loch Ness - is this a sign of Nesie?The Monster Quest this episode is S03E24 The Real Moby Dick: MonsterQuest goes to the Azores in order to look for an albino sperm whale and investigate the theory that such an animal would be hostile.Miles and Trey detail the history of monster whale attacks, including one famous animal the troubled the late Roman empire. Nature DisturbedMother Nature is one weird ladyListen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the show
En nuestra tertulia de maduritos interesantes, con José Luis Garci, Andrés Aberasturi, Xosé Castro y Javier Fuentes, hablamos de cómo Lanzarote se ha transformado en un escenario de película. La isla, además de ser un destino turístico de primer nivel con playas y paisajes lunares, ha servido como plató natural para títulos como Hace un millón de años (Don Chaffey, 1966), Viaje al centro de la Tierra (Juan Piquer Simón, 1977), Mararía (Antonio Betancor, 1998), Los abrazos rotos (Pedro Almodóvar, 2009), Furia de Titanes (Louis Leterrier, 2010) y Eternals (Chloé Zhao, 2021, Marvel).No solo hablamos de las películas que fueron rodadas en Lanzarote, también nos detenemos en aquellas en las que el mar se convierte en un protagonista más. El océano ha sido escenario central de grandes títulos de la historia del cine, como La tragedia de la Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 1935), Capitanes intrépidos (Victor Fleming, 1937), Moby Dick (John Huston, 1956), Tiburón (Steven Spielberg, 1975), Titanic (James Cameron, 1997), La tormenta perfecta (Wolfgang Petersen, 2000) y muchas más. Escuchar audio
It's that time of year…time for some big tasty turkels, delicious side dishes, and a nice tryptophan induced nod after feasting yourself into fullness and naptime. It's THANKSGIVING, and while most folks are gearing up for the coming holiday season (which will start promptly in the pre-dawn hours of Black Friday), we realize that we've NEVER taken any time off during the holidays and that perhaps it's time we enjoy a little holiday breather. With that in mind, we've put together a veritable cornucopia of clips from our 2025 collection that we hope you enjoy. Our only real cautionary advisory would be that you listen to this prior to enjoying your Turkey Day feast in order to avoid the very real possibility of laughing until you vomit. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day feast, prep carefully if you're deep frying a turkey, be thankful and gracious for the lack of giblets in your gravy, and enjoy an abundance of relaxers before dinner with the family when you JOIN US for the most off-putting, irresponsible, and exhausting VACATION TAPES you've ever heard. Help Support Metal Nerdery https://www.patreon.com/metalnerderypodcast Leave us a Voicemail to be played on a future episode: 980-666-8182 Metal Nerdery Tees and Hoodies – metalnerdery.com/merch and kindly leave us a review and/or rating on your favorite Podcast app Follow us on the Socials: Facebook - Instagram - TikTok Email: metalnerdery@gmail.com Can't be LOUD Enough Playlist on Spotify Metal Nerdery Munchies on YouTube @metalnerderypodcast Show Notes: (00:01): SHARON!!! / #oldefaece / “He came in for the tur…”/ #whatsitcalled / “Whatever happened to #JuiceNewton …? / #juicebox / #DownTime / “Let's not make it gross…”/ “She sounds like #PeterSteele…” (02:43): #AI / “She stopped sucking me today…”/ #ConwayTwitty / “The power was in his hair…”/ “Ladies and gentlemen…Conway Twitty…”/ #BramStroker / “…slash handjob…”/ “What am I saying? I'm fixed…”/ #vasectomyawareness (07:02): “I just don't give a shit anymore…I'm not gonna bring the A game…”/ “Nobody ever wants to go first…I set the bar ultra-low…”/ #mealprep / “Sometimes Dracula likes to go camping…”/ #vampirejerky / “I thought you were gonna go the frozen tampon route…”/ “If it looks like #liquidsneeze / #GospelBand / “This is extraordinary news…”/ #carnivore (11:05): “The #fuckbag review!?” / #redemption / “I was having a bad day…I changed the review to 5 stars…”/ “Okay let's not do that…”/ #shittalkuh / “Yours is by far one of my FAVORITE podcasts…”/ #offputting and #exhausting / “The #superfuckbag review is still out there…”/ “Could have been a ‘Them'…”/ #TransAms (14:56): “That's a fantastic band name!” / #coathangerabortion / “Our house is haunted, btw…”/ #maryreilly / #GhostStoryASMR / “The original owners died in that house…”/ “The headphones, man…”/ #Megatron / #Transformers (17:58): “This is from the mighty Mixon…since we're on the way…”/ “Conan…the Barbarian Destroyer?” / “I would have done it from the balls…from my balls to you…”/ #OMG / #DJTASMR / #vagmetal / “Really? You're gonna go there…”/ #DOGEASMR / #batvagina / “Nutrition is a lie…”/ #saltwater / “Butter is good for you…”/ #nutritionadvice / “Does Santa Claus come up from the septic tank now!?” / #markallthetimes (22:16): “Tattered and torn…or shaven and shorn?”/ #footfetishporn / “There was a moment when we needed money…”/ “I'm always looking right at the snooch…”/ #toethumbs / “Apparently people think she's a dude…wait, don't women have Adam's Apples though?” / “Which do you think would be more risky?”/ “I got a kiss on the cheek from my first stripper…”/ “I usually put it in the G-string…”/ #manintheboat (27:39): “Every time I see sports highlights…in slow motion…” / #slowmotionporn / “What was that voice you just did?” / “It was #KattWilliams…”/ #KingOfComedy / “That's a better Katt Williams impression…”/ “Not since Tuesday…”/ “I sit back and wait…”/ #shockvalue / “It was odd…”/ “I don't want to no more…”/ “How does it reattach?” / “That sounded almost like #RichardPryor a little bit…” (32:20): “And the verdict…”/ “I gotta back snooch…you wanna see my balloon knot?” / “It was in the dark…if I do it in the dark my dick will seem bigger…”/ “The yurt, as it ‘twere…”/ “That's the pre-hole, right?” / “I think ‘fuck off' is a full sentence…”/ “I'll fix that in post…”/ “Y'all know what snails look like, right?” / “No, no, no, these were slugs…”/ #whatareyouwatching / #sexualdeviance / #snoochguard / “I like that word, dude…” / “It's the snooch & gooch…”/ “Paws…” (38:19): “Sooooo…last week…” / “Wait a minute…this is #Sleep…this is #Dopesmoker…”/ #bestfridayever / “For those 35 minutes…it was the best Friday ever…”/ #MAGMA / “Is that one of them Trump supporters?” / #guitarclass / “That was his fuck-off hour…”/ “We came up with this song…”/ “I left it in there just for you…” (43:11): “You should have got the burger…”/ #mediumrarechickentenders / “You get into that Gran Ma…”/ “You could stop drinking…”/ “If you're doing a ride share…you owe it to yourself to be hammered at least on one end of the journey…”/ #shitfaced / “It was awesome…”/ “You know that pre-hangover hangover that you get?” / #markthetime / #UberEats / “So you paid $38 for $8 Chinese food…” (48:14): “That's one of the things I did like about #TheBlackAlbum…”/ “Bill needs a segment…”/ #tonechasing / “In my non-guitarist ears…he's a singer, he hears things differently…”/ “What about #Pantera?” / “The mix is completely different…” (52:41): “It's not overbearing, but it's definitely there…”/ “I'm gonna be that guy…”/ “But you didn't have ‘Stairway To Heaven 2'…”/ “I forgot the after twang that Jager's got…”/ #snoochsmooching / “Snooch smooching alright!” / “There IS no metal without #ACDC…”/ #Era / “Australasia…where is New Zealand?” / “I got some quality handies…”/ “Lube is a different game, bro…”/ #RussellsPornShopReflections / #markthetime / #ReverseOreo / “It was a toy of some form…”/ “I'm not gonna do it the way she said it…”/ “You think they get paid by the hour or by the load?” (1:01:38): “Wouldn't it be interesting…if #Spiderman was more scientifically accurate?” / #EmberingEffigy and #comedy at #SweetwaterLive / “So on the way home…”/ #blindedbythelight / #spotlight / “The light still works…it was just really, really dim…”/ Tag Light Visible – 50 ft / “I have no idea what he looked like…if you get pulled over, pull into a populated place…” / #DivineIntervention / “Wear your sunglasses at night…” (1:08:12): “Incubus and succubus…what's the difference?” / “Sleepfucker alright!” / “You know what's almost equally offensive?” / “It's fun if a 10 year old says cunt…”/ #recordscratch #IrishCarBombs / “Starts with an N, ends with an R…”/ “I had a dream that we were hanging out with the #Metallica guys…”/ #TridentChallenge / #PlanetCaravan / “I don't know where they could have put it where I would have liked it…”/ #LMAO / “I'm laughing at him…” (1:14:24): “Every time I listen to that song I think about the first time I finger blasted a girl…”/ “I know who you're talking about…”/ “That's a triple…you got slimy fingers…”/ “Third base is windshield wiper…”/ “Dude, I just scored…”/ #HotPocket / “It's that from now on…”/ “It's MG Approved…from the heart…”/ “Occasionally Matt comes up with some shit that fucking works…” (1:18:52): “Here's the rules…if you wanna make a show on #HBO…”/ #flacciddicks / “I could put so much…right there…”/ “Why are you such a dick?” / “Last night while I was in slumber…Satan came into my room…and he had his way with my forehead…”/ “You're not supposed to swallow it…”/ #LOL / #onmicburp / “You know what that sounds like?” (1:22:40): “We've got coyotes…”/ “Here's what makes a lot of noise…”/ “Fuuuuuuck…”/ “Is it gay…?” / #fleshlight / “Yep!” / “Okay…follow up question…”/ #RequiemForADream #GAF #AssScissoring / #TheFourthHole / “I'm tripping balls by the way…”/ “This is not a microdose…”/ “This is what you sent me!?” / “What does that even mean?” / “When you said you were sending him a file…”/ “If anything, it's three 7's, and one of them has a line in the middle…”/ “Hold on…don't tell me…”/ “Arnold by Enwuego…”/ “There's Moby Dick…there's um ‘I'm thinking'…”/ #HappyThanksgiving from all of us at #MetalNerderyPodcast and #BunkerpoonInternational
photo by Colin Outridge. The exhibition Change of Scenery, marks the painter's third solo show with the gallery. It is the culmination of a year's worth of travel across the U.S., as Brennan Hinton spent extended time in residency in Corsicana, TX, Martha's Vineyard, MA, and Fishers Island, NY. Brennan Hinton's practice focuses on the sustained act of observation, the plein-air discipline, and painting's ability to capture the essence of a place. The time spent in three distinctive towns, each in its own ways divergent from Brennan Hinton's familiar Ontario, required the artist to meet each place with open eyes and a fresh palette. To situate himself, Brennan Hinton leaned on two formative texts, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry and Moby Dick by Herman Melville, which are each set in the same landscapes in which he painted. Keiran Brennan Hinton (b. 1992, Toronto) lives and works in Toronto and Elgin, Ontario. He received his BFA from Pratt Institute in 2014 and his MFA from Yale University in 2016. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Ogunquit Museum of Art, Ogunquit, ME and The Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, MI. Past international solo shows of Brennan Hinton's work include exhibitions at MAKI Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (2022); Thomas Fuchs Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany (2021); Charles Moffett, New York, NY (2023, 2021); Nicholas Robert Gallery, Ontario (2022); and Francesco Pantaleone Gallery, Palermo, Italy (2019) among others. His paintings have been featured in institutional exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario; James Castle House, Boise, Idaho; and Katonah Museum of Art, Westchester, NY. Keiran Brennan Hinton, The White Pine, 2025. Oil on linen, 70 x 60 in. Photo by Lauren Finlay. Courtesy the artist and Charles Moffett. Keiran Brennan Hinton, Texas Sky (Sunrise), 2024. Oil on linen, 56 x 44 in. Photo by Daniel Greer. Courtesy the artist and Charles Moffett. Keiran Brennan Hinton, Fishers Island Living Room, 2025. Oil on linen, 9 x 12 in. Photo by Zeshan Ahmed. Courtesy the artist and Charles Moffett.
Sobrezero es una banda madrileña que ha irrumpido con fuerza en el panorama nacional, con una propuesta que fusiona indie, pop y rock. Su disco debut, lleno de hits inmediatos listos para ser coreados, confirma su proyección. En ese álbum, pueden presumir de contar con la colaboración de una de las bandas referentes del indie: Shinova. Sus canciones no solo destacan por su contundencia, también por la emoción de sus letras, con las que el público conecta fácilmente. Han presentado su directo en salas como Moby Dick, Siroco, Gruta 77 y Búho Real.Escuchar audio
The Stupid History of the novel Moby DickBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-stupid-history-minute--4965707/support.
November 20, 1820. Two thousand miles off the coast of South America, an American whaling ship is sunk by an enormous sperm whale.Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Join mega nerds Dre Alvarez and Jeff May as they geek out on a different nerdy cultural touchstone every month. Part reminiscence, part historical deep dive. This month, Dre and Jeff continue their season on Movies Dre Should've Seen by Now with the 2011 action classic Warrior. And because we theme these episodes to the corresponding holiday, we've added special guest Dan Alvarez to fight with his brother about a movie where brothers fight.There's a lot to unpack about this move that is far better than it has any right being, listen to Moby Dick on tape, fight Russian Kurt Angle, and cry like absolute babies, as we tackle one of the greatest, but most forgotten, sports movies of all-time, that for some reason Dre Hadn't Seen Until Now.And, of course, don't forget to follow Dre (@nerdnumbers) Jeff (@heytherejeffro2 or @heytherejeffro) on the socials, and have a nerdy day!
20.11.1820: Ein Pottwal rammt ein Walfangschiff - der Gejagte schlägt zurück. Melville macht daraus Moby Dick. Eine Geschichte von Gier, Kannibalismus und Überleben. Von Stephan Beuting.
This is the true story of the 1821 whaleship Essex, the doomed Nantucket vessel whose catastrophic encounter with a massive sperm whale helped inspire Moby-Dick. After the Essex was rammed by the massive whale, the Essex was destroyed, leaving its crew stranded thousands of miles from land.During their harrowing struggle for survival in their open-boat journey. Some of the men would survive, but only by engaging in the "custom of the sea." The story of the whaleship Essex is one of the most haunting tales from maritime history, and was the inspiration behind Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick.**No AI was used in the production of this podcast.Written, edited, and produced by Rich Napolitano.All episodes can be found at https://www.shipwrecksandseadogs.com. Original theme music by Sean Sigfried. Listen AD-FREE by becoming an Officer's Club Member ! Join at https://www.patreon.com/shipwreckspod Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Merchandise is available! https://shop.shipwrecksandseadogs.com You can support the podcast with a donation of any amount at: https://buymeacoffee.com/shipwreckspod Join the Into History Network for ad-free access to this and many other fantastic history podcasts! https://www.intohistory.com/shipwreckspod Follow Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs Subscribe on YouTube Follow on BlueSky Follow on Threads Follow on Instagram Follow on Facebook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
My co-host today is Jeff Bader, co-founder of Twisted Reels Productions. They are a true cinematic powerhouse. Jeff is a life long visual storyteller. His innovation and experience just rocks from original concept thru project completion. Merging AI with innovation and cutting edge visual effects, they are becoming The company you want to work with on all your creative ideas/projects. Check them out https://www.twistedreelsproductions.com/ check Jeff out on instgram https://www.instagram.com/jeff.bader.twisted/ National pay back your parents day. Entertainment from 2005. Moby Dick happen in real life, Nuremberg war trials began, SETI was formed, 1st piece of the International Space Station was launched into space. Todays birthdays - Franklin Cover, Richard Dawson, Joe Walsh, Bo Derek, Sean Young, Mike Diamond, Deirks Bentley, Josh Turner. Leo Tolstoy died.Intro - God did good - Dianna Corcoran https://www.diannacorcoran.com/ Mom & Daddys money - Adam DoleacGod Digger - Kanya West Jamie FoxxBetter Life - Keith UrbanBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent http://50cent.com/Lifes been good - Joe WalshFight for your right to party - The Beastie BoysWhat was I thinking - Dierks BentleyWhy don't we just dance - Josh TurnerExit - All the beer in Alabama - Shane Owens Shane on Facebookcountryundergroundradio.comHistory & Factoids about today webpage
Is Trump finally falling apart? His approval ratings are catastrophic, the Republicans took a hammering in the November elections, his gross-out distraction tactics no longer work… and as more Epstein emails are released, the scandal is lapping ever-higher around his cankles. Molly Jong-Fast of The Atlantic, Vanity Fair and the unmissable Fast Politics podcast joins Andrew Harrison and Rafael Behr to discuss the teetering tyrant and the damage he will leave. • This episode recorded before Trump decided he wanted the Epstein Files released after all. ESCAPE ROUTES • Raf has been reading Moby-Dick (because why not?) and listening to funk and soul covers by Scary Pockets. • Molly recommends When All The Men Wore Hats by Susan Cheever. • Andrew is going crazy for Pluribis on Apple TV+. When you buy books through our affiliate bookshop you help fund OGWN by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org's fees help support independent bookshops too. • Head to https://nakedwines.co.uk/ohgodwhatnow to get a £30 voucher and 6 top-rated wines from our sponsor Naked Wines for £39.99, delivery included. www.patreon.com/ohgodwhatnow Presented by Andrew Harrison with Rafael Behr. Audio and Video Production by Chris Jones. Art direction: James Parrett. Theme tune by Cornershop. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. OH GOD, WHAT NOW? is a Podmasters production. www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We begin today's episode with philosophy! More specifically, we discuss the Existential Elk Theory and the sad, soul-crushing reality that is the human condition. Fun! Oh yeah, we also talk about Moby Dick for a bit. After the extended cold open, we settle into a conversation about how the support of family and friends is important to creatives, but also how their negativity can be a sign to cut ties and elevate the class of people you associate with. If you have a certain goal you want to reach, you need to be around like-minded individuals who will help you reach those goals, not hold you back. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @dpwpodcast You can check out Caleb's work at www.calebjamesk.com.
Mark Maddox Joins Jim for a duscussion of the 1956 classic based on the immortal novel by Herman Melville - "Moby Dick," starring Gregory Peck, Richard Baseheart, Leo Genn, Orson Welles, James Robertson Justice, Harry Andrews, Friedrich von Ledeur, Francis Wolf, Royal Dano, and directed by John Huston. This well-known tale involves the observations of a young seaman (Baseheart) while serving aboard a whaling ship under the command of Captain Ahab (Peck). But who is the real monster in the story? Find out more on MONSTER ATTACK!, The Podcast Dedicated To Old Monster Movies.
Mark Maddox Joins Jim for a duscussion of the 1956 classic based on the immortal novel by Herman Melville – “Moby Dick,” starring Gregory Peck, Richard Baseheart, Leo Genn, Orson Welles, James Robertson Justice, Harry Andrews, Friedrich von Ledeur, Francis Wolf, Royal Dano, and directed by John Huston. This well-known tale involves the observations of […] The post Moby Dick | Episode 490 appeared first on The ESO Network.
Back on this day in 1851 "Moby Dick" was published. It was Hermin Melville's sixth book.
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by:Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USAVisit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day!Robin gives a warm, drummer-to-drummer salute to Jack DeJohnette before slamming Cloudflare for breaking TRO's podcast feed. He's changing tires, tubes and all, on a '70 CB350 while considering cool SAE selector ideas (one battery tender for three bikes). Brian's battery-tender advice is met with Robin's half agreement and a bit of eye-rolling.Brian plans a winter of family road miles and rereading Moby-Dick along with Lord of the Rings. He's all cheers 'n' tears about Blackhawk Farms raceway getting a pavement makeover. Eventually he dives into the techno jargon of cylinder count.Both take aim at mushy moto-speak, mocking phrases like "hand tight" and clearing up foot-pounds versus pound-feet. Also, save your chicken strips and knee dragging for clear, actionable coaching. Let's have a sane talk about dual-sport difficulty so that we can all maintain our momentum.Episode Page: https://tro.bike/podcast/2025e29/Music by Rabid Neon and Otis McDonald
Board your space station full of despair and venture to the only animated Godzilla films with the Netflix anime trilogy! This first installment features a tree-inspired Godzilla hunted by revenge-seeking humans and aliens on a desolate Earth 20,000 years into the future... and it's about as cheery as it sounds. We talk about this trilogy's reputation and the deliberate attempts to swerve away from standard kaiju fare, its nihilistic streak from a writer nicknamed "Urobutcher", and the downside of only getting 1/3 of a Moby Dick-style story.Part of The Glitterjaw Queer Podcast CollectivePatreon | DiscordEmail: skreeonkpodcast@gmail.comTheme song: "BIO WARS - Synth Cover" by Kweer KaijuSources include: Godzilla: The First 70 Years by Steve Ryfle and Ed GodziszewskiSciFiJapan interview with Hiroyuki SeshitaWikizilla
Join us as we dive into Mastodon's groundbreaking album "Leviathan." In this episode, we explore the album's intricate themes, its connection to Moby Dick, and the unique musical elements that make it a standout in the metal genre. From the powerful riffs to the dynamic drumming, we break down why "Leviathan" is considered a masterpiece. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to Mastodon's music, this discussion offers fresh insights and a deeper appreciation for one of metal's most influential albums. Highlights: The concept behind "Leviathan" and its literary roots Track-by-track analysis and standout moments The legacy of Brent Hinds and his contributions to the band Join the conversation and share your thoughts in the comments below! #Mastodon #Leviathan #MetalMusic dl Evil
In this rich and reflective conversation, Tim Brown, Heath Hardesty, and Brian Daly answer questions from attendees and discuss the spiritual dynamics of sermon preparation. Together they explore how worship, prayer, and delight in Scripture form the heart behind preaching that reveals rather than merely informs.Tim shares how Psalm 29 inspired his allegory comparing sermon preparation to the formation and venting of a storm – a vivid picture of how preaching can humble, refresh, and awaken new vision. Brian speaks about cultivating intimacy with God so that the preacher delivers a word received in worship, not a performance shaped by pressure. Heath reflects on the joy and labour of study, reminding us that the best preaching flows from delight in the Word rather than duty alone.Drawing on imagery from Moby Dick, Heath Hardesty describes how the harpooner's stillness before the strike mirrors the preacher's call to quiet readiness before God. It's a striking reminder that the power of preaching is found not in frantic effort, but in calm, focused communion.The episode closes with encouragement to treasure the abundance of biblical tools available today, and to let the preacher's soul be shaped first by the voice of the Lord before speaking to others.OutlineThe Storm and the Voice of the LordTim Brown's Psalm 29 allegory: sermon preparation as the formation and venting of a storm.Preaching as revelation that births new desire and exposes pride.“Preaching helps people see with their ears” – Haddon Robinson.Worship and the Preacher's SoulAvoiding “drizzling” on listeners by preparing the heart in worship.Brian Daly on preaching from intimacy and dependence, not routine.Heath Hardesty on delight and labour: studying as worship.Stillness Before the StrikeThe Moby Dick metaphor: the harpooner's stillness as a model for prayerful focus.Learning to be still before God, letting Him shape the message.Tools for Deeper StudyBlue Letter Bible, Logos, The Bible Project, and E-Sword.Encouragement to explore design patterns, word studies, and accessible commentaries.Final ReflectionsThe joy of seeing the beauty of Christ in Scripture.Preaching as overflow from worship, not just output from study.Resources MentionedBlue Letter Bible – blueletterbible.orgLogos Bible Software – logos.comE-Sword – e-sword.netMoby Dick by Herman Melville – https://www.amazon.ie/Moby-Dick-Herman-Melville/dp/0198853696 Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson – “Preaching is the ability to make people see with their ears.” https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/products/9781540967916_biblical-preaching All Things Together by Heath Hardesty – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776336/all-things-together-by-heath-hardesty/Further Listening: Tim Brown: Preaching Up A Storm: https://cgnmedia.org/podcast/expositors-collective/episode/preaching-up-a-storm-tim-brown Tim Brown: After The Storm: https://cgnmedia.org/podcast/expositors-collective/episode/after-the-storm-with-tim-brown Heath Hardesty: Symphonic Preaching : https://cgnmedia.org/podcast/expositors-collective/episode/symphonic-preaching-bad-sermons-consistent-improvement-with-heath-hardesty Heath Hardesty: Meditation, Delight and the Full Counsel of God: https://cgnmedia.org/podcast/expositors-collective/episode/meditation-delight-and-the-full-counsel-of-godFor information about our upcoming training events visit ExpositorsCollective.com The Expositors Collective podcast is part of the CGNMedia, Working together to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and plant churches. For more content like this, visit https://cgnmedia.org/Join our private Facebook group to continue the conversation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExpositorsCollectiveDonate to support the work of Expositors Collective, in person training events and a free weekly podcast: https://cgn.churchcenter.com/giving/to/expositors-collective
Gender, race and identity collide on the open seas in Xiaolu Guo's Call Me Ishmaelle (Chatto), a powerful, feminist reimagining of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. She was in conversation with Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan: Or the Whale, who has described Guo's latest novel as being ‘as animal and visceral and shape-shifting and subversive as the broad back of the mythic whale themselves.'
October 24-30, 1981 Happy Halloween! This week Ken welcomes producer/director behind the excellent documentaries "In Search of Darkness", David Weiner. Ken and David discuss playing Star Trek, TV watching with siblings, the three ages of horror, the video store age, making friends just to watch cable, not getting a VCR until much later in life, being the person in the household who brings in technology, missing four years of television due to attending boarding school, the power of the TV Guide movie section, seeing The Omen, the Exorcist, and Amnityville Horror for the first time on television, Fall Preview love, being able to see photos and images from television, the TV version of a movie, TV series based on movies, Logan's Run, Planet of the Apes, Land of the Lost, Valley of the Dinosaurs, being a 70s kid, Famous Monsters, where you have to grow up to associate King Kong with Thanksgiving, The Crawling Eye, Monster movies, WPIX, Chiller Theater, television images burned into your brain forever, having no identity of your own, being made of exclusievely tv memories, CED Selectadisc, having a Seagram's hook up, having a Kraft food hook up, Ken's sleeping bag collection, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Wonderful World of Disney, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Disney's Haunted Treat, Ken's theory of Knight Rider taking place in the Halloween III universe, going to film school, all the familar locations you drive by in LA, Moby Dick, Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes, pre-empting shows, the baseball world series, variety shows, The Muppets, Star Wars, Private Benjamin, local variations, mail fraud, record clubs, getting to interview John Carpenter, Star Trek II Wrath of Kahn, Looney Tunes Halloween specials, Fat Albert Halloween, It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, The Brady Brides, Tom Baker Doctor Who, The Fall Guy, the first time ever network airing of Halloween on NBC, factual inaccuracies, Jaws, seeing things you are not allowed to see, watching Halloween home alone as a teen and being terrified, how you couldn't easily prove people wrong growing up, Close Encounters of the first and second kind, and making an In Search of Darkness 70s documentary. Be sure to buy the latest In Search of Darkness doc, covering the second half of the 90s, 90shorrordoc.com
Jason Lund, upper school humanities teacher and senior thesis coordinator at Treasure Valley Classical Academy in Fruitland, Idaho, joins host Scot Bertram to discuss the least interesting parts of great books, how Homer's list of ships in The Iliad relates to the poem's themes, and the importance of the extracts in Melville's Moby Dick. Learn more: https://k12.hillsdale.edu/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
If you went to high school in America, you probably read Moby-Dick — or, more likely, you skimmed the CliffsNotes and wondered why this dense, whale-obsessed novel was considered a classic.That was me in 10th grade.But earlier this year, I decided to revisit Moby-Dick in midlife, and it hit me completely differently. What once seemed like a tedious story about a guy chasing a whale revealed itself to be a profound meditation on free will, perception, self-reliance, leadership, and obsession. It's now one of my favorite novels.To help unpack why Moby-Dick endures — and why it might be worth picking up again— I'm joined by Mark Cirino, a professor of American literature. Today on the show, we discuss why Moby-Dick was initially overlooked, the novel's major themes, and the timeless mystery of Captain Ahab's monomaniacal quest.Resources Related to the PodcastMark's previous appearances on the AoM podcast:Episode #786: The Writing Life of Ernest HemingwayEpisode #922: For Whom the Bell TollsOne True PodcastThe Norton Library PodcastMark's Norton Library Edition of A Farewell to ArmsConnect With Mark CirinoMark's faculty pageSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Most Haunted City On Earth | Presented by The Savannah Underground
#conjuringhouse Click here and join the Parajunkie Fam TODAY! We kick off with peak chaos: Pequod the Ghost Guy boards the Moby-Dick bit, Madison & Chris debate whalers vs. pirates, and then we settle in for a Ghostmail packed with goosebump fuel and real talk about paranormal sensitivity.What's insideKatie's stories (CA & TX):Heavy boot footsteps in an empty hallway, a breath on the neck during hide-and-seek (nope!), sleep paralysis lifted by a dog (!), a dorm room TV that turns itself on, and a WWII nurse apparition in a campus museum.How to re-open your sensitivity:We dive into blockages, shadow work, intention vs. action, and why listening to spooky stories can quietly “flip the switch.”Betty's “Haunty House” (Oklahoma):Skirt tugged in the kitchen, a voice at the attic window whispering “Elizabeth,” a porcelain doll launched six feet, a walking shadow that dissolves in light, a Regency-era figure in a thunderstorm, and a heartbreaking epilogue that explains why memory can fog the weirdest years of our lives.AnnouncementsSave The Conjuring House: We're supporting Jason Hawes' effort to keep the house in good stewardship. The auction timing changed; details are evolving. GoFundMe link is right here! Read the description for the latest and consider chipping inHalloween at the Savannah Paranormal Museum — Midnight Methods: Estes Method, automatic writing with Brian & Jen Byers, and hands-on time with lesser-used tools while the veil is thinnest. Limited spots! Click here to learn more.Send us your storyGot a haunting? We want it. Email ghostmail@hauntedcitypodcast.comThis is a judgment-free circle—your experiences matter, your questions are welcome, and the weird is normal.
CraftLit - Serialized Classic Literature for Busy Book Lovers
00:00 Intro 00:36 Start of book talk 29:51 Chapter audio 51:44 Post-chapter booktalk CHAPTER 36: The Quarter-Deck Link to the shownotes: Happy listening! Intro music: Upon a Nameless Tide by Aaron Ordover Outro: Adrift in Blue Hours by Aldrin Adolfo
Production Designer Kathrin Eder takes us inside the making of The Man in My Basement (Walter Mosley). We cover transforming Wales into 1994 Sag Harbor, building a house exterior in a swamp, staging interiors at Dragon Studios, and how a stained-glass front door became the set's emotional center. Plus: a real-home-turned-quilt shop, Arts & Crafts details, UK prop-house treasure hunts, and subtle Moby-Dick/whaling references that root the story in place. Perfect for fans of production design, set decoration, and grounded period world-building.
CraftLit - Serialized Classic Literature for Busy Book Lovers
00:00 Intro 00:32 Start of book talk 36:26 Chapter audio 53:46 Post-chapter booktalk CHAPTER 35: The Mast-Head Link to the shownotes: Happy listening! Intro music: Upon a Nameless Tide by Aaron Ordover Outro: Adrift in Blue Hours by Aldrin Adolfo
Live from the Hollywood Theatre in Vancouver, B.C., NOM DE BROOM: Taryn brings the case against their sister, Lauren. Taryn and Lauren are both practitioners of the king of Canadian sports, which is, obviously: CURLING! Taryn owns a controversial curling broom, and they have named it in honor of Beyoncé. But Lauren hates this broom. She will not even say its name, say its name. Who's right? Who's wrong?PLUS in Swift Justice we hear cases on: a family book club where just one person has read the book, proper nail clipping technique, and proper sandwich cutting technique. Make sure to stay tuned to the end for Friends of the Court Deb Perelman and Kenji López-Alt to weight in on their sandwich cut preferences!Please consider donating to Al Otro Lado. Al Otro Lado provides legal assistance and humanitarian aid to refugees, deportees, and other migrants trapped at the US-MX border. Donate at alotrolado.org/letsdosomething.We are on TikTok and YouTube! Follow us on both @judgejohnhodgmanpod! Follow us on Instagram @judgejohnhodgman!Thanks to reddit user u/banjo_solo for naming this week's case! To suggest a title for a future episode, keep an eye on the Maximum Fun subreddit at reddit.com/r/maximumfun! Judge John Hodgman is member-supported! Join at $5 a month at maximumfun.org/join!
CraftLit - Serialized Classic Literature for Busy Book Lovers
00:00 Intro 00:33 Start of book talk 21:56 Chapter audio 36:36 Post-chapter booktalk CHAPTER 34: The Cabin-Table Link to the shownotes: Happy listening! Intro music: Upon a Nameless Tide by Aaron Ordover Outro: Adrift in Blue Hours by Aldrin Adolfo
Intro - Phil celebrates his completion of Moby Dick. Content (8:54) - Discussion of the character list and context of Return to the Whorl, by Gene Wolfe. This Month's Read-Along - Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. Check out more at alzabosoup.com.
CraftLit - Serialized Classic Literature for Busy Book Lovers
00:00 Intro 00:35 Start of book talk 20:06 Chapter audio 27"02 Post-chapter booktalk CHAPTER 33: The Specksnyder Link to the shownotes: Happy listening! Intro music: Upon a Nameless Tide by Aaron Ordover Outro: Adrift in Blue Hours by Aldrin Adolfo
CraftLit - Serialized Classic Literature for Busy Book Lovers
00:00 Intro 00:35 Start of book talk 30:17 Chapter audio 54:28 Post-chapter booktalk CHAPTER 32: Cetology Link to the shownotes: Happy listening! Intro music: Upon a Nameless Tide by Aaron Ordover Outro: Adrift in Blue Hours by Aldrin Adolfo
In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why Moby-Dick is still worth reading. (Part 3 of "Everything You Never Knew About Whaling.") SOURCES:Michele Baggio, professor of economics at the University of Connecticut.Mary K. Bercaw-Edwards, professor of maritime English at the University of Connecticut and lead foreman at the Mystic Seaport Museum.Hester Blum, professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis.Eric Hilt, professor of economics at Wellesley College.Kate O'Connell, senior policy consultant for the marine life program at the Animal Welfare Institute.Maria Petrillo, director of interpretation at the Mystic Seaport Museum.Joe Roman, fellow and writer-in-residence at the Gund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont. RESOURCES:Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World, by Joe Roman (2023).“Racial Diversity and Team Performance: Evidence from the American Offshore Whaling Industry,” by Michele Baggio and Metin M. Cosgel (S.S.R.N., 2023).“Why 23 Dead Whales Have Washed Up on the East Coast Since December,” by Tracey Tully and Winston Choi-Schagrin (The New York Times, 2023).“Suspected Russia-Trained Spy Whale Reappears Off Sweden's Coast,” by A.F.P. in Stockholm (The Guardian, 2023).“International Trade, Noise Pollution, and Killer Whales,” by M. Scott Taylor and Fruzsina Mayer (N.B.E.R. Working Paper, 2023).“World-First Map Exposes Growing Dangers Along Whale Superhighways,” by the World Wildlife Fund (2022).“Lifting Baselines to Address the Consequences of Conservation Success,” by Joe Roman, Meagan M. Dunphy-Daly, David W. Johnston, and Andrew J. Read (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2015).“Wages, Risk, and Profits in the Whaling Industry,” by Elmo P. Hohman (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1926).Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville (1851). EXTRAS:“Why Do People Still Hunt Whales? (Update)” by Freakonomics Radio (2025).“How Much Does Discrimination Hurt the Economy?” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).