Technical Difficulties Solved

A big apology to you iTunes users out there who attempted to download the new episode and kept getting the previous Halloween show instead. Problem solved. It works now!

FYI: if you use Feeder to publish your podcast, don't make a copy of the previous episode and use it as a "template" for the new one. (Thought I was being clever, I did.) The unique ID of that previous episode will tag along. Though your new episode will appear in the iTunes store, it will not update for those who already subscribe to your podcast. The previous episode will keep showing up, saying, "You rang?" Mea culpa, friends.

Back In The Saddle Again

Those of you who wait with barely restrained glee for the next excuse me, ghidorah podcast (all four of you) will be pleased to know a new episode is now available for download. Just go to iTunes, podcastalley, or click this here link.

Or in TV parlance: "Tonight... on a very special episode of... excuse me, ghidorah."

It's a highly personal episode about my own wrestling match with OCD (that's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and I think I manage to pull it off with smart-alecky aplomb. OCD can be, as they say in medical talk, "a crippling disease" which can have a devastating effect on one's "overall quality of life". I have found that while OCD is caused by faulty wiring (I'm convinced of that), there are ways to outsmart it. In fact, much of the distress it causes can be traced to a single mental trick -- a trick which OCD folks fall for time after time. So please, if you or anyone you love or anyone you hate suffers from OCD, download the show and get them to listen. I really think it will be helpful. Heck, for all I know, people who suffer from various sorts of mental illness may find it helpful -- since the overall effect I am shooting for is "coping...with style".

Those of you familiar with the TV series Monk will probably by now have envisioned me triple and quadruple checking that my car keys aren't locked in the car, refusing to share lip balm simply because there's a hair on it (and a mole -- I think I see a mole), and arranging all my pencils and pens at clean right angles, all while solving a murder or two. Well, it doesn't actually work like that. I would probably be fine with the lip balm. I only check once or twice for car keys. And I limit my crime fighting to misdemeanors. ("Pick that litter up, mister! That's right. Nice and slow...")

My variety of OCD isn't as visible and quirky and colorful as all that. It all happens between my two ears and it's truly horrible when it's running at full steam. On the other hand, I discovered you can teach your disorder to do Stupid OCD Tricks. So there is a bright side.

"But, Lint," you ask, "what has this to do with the usual contents of excuse me, ghidorah?" Well, the goal of this podcast is to come up with creative ways to sneak past the dragon. As St. Cyril said, "We go to the Father of Souls, but it is necessary to pass by the dragon." Suffering and illness are among the things that may potentially trip us up. It's all about your perspective, your expectations. If you have a theology of the cross in your head, you're not made bitter against God (and pals with the dragon) when trouble comes. But even knowing about the cross doesn't actually help you to carry it. That's where coping skills come into play. We all need creative coping skills or when trouble comes we will snap like a twig.

IN OTHER NEWS: An interview with yours truly will appear some time soon on Taylor Kent's podcast, Snark Infested Waters. Taylor is also known as The Snarky Avenger. Given the intrepid nature of his podcast, I thought capitalizing the "T" in "The" as in "The Batman" is only appropriate. Here's the RSS feed address: http://www.snarkyavenger.com/rsspodcast

CAWNAHSTONE: The revamped website for the 2007 Imaginarium is up and it is a doozy. You must check it out. No, I insist. You must. Here is the link: http://www.cornerstonefestival.com/imaginarium

I will be presenting a three part seminar called "The Aisle of Misfit Toys: Kitsch, Irony and Innocence". Of course, that material will eventually find its way to excuse me, ghidorah, but wouldn't you rather hear it in person somewhere in the middle of Illinois in a tent filled with Christian geeks?

Also featured in the Imaginarium: Mike Hertenstein on "Hollywood & The Fifties: A Love-Hate Relationship", Kim Paffenroth on the redeemable aspects of Romero's zombie fllm franchise (that oughta be interesting), Jeff Gundy on Magical Realism, Paul Nethercott on otaku / J-Pop / hikikomori, plus a whole lot more. And what Imaginarium would be complete without Paul Leggett providing Criterion-quality commentary on a slew of cool movies? Plus, we'll be showing the Korean horror film, The Host! Plus, the not nearly as Korean film, Robot Monster! Plus, Don Glut's autobiographical docudrama, "I Was A Teenage Monster Movie Maker!"

All aboard! Next stop - the Cornerstone festival by way of Hackinsack, Salem's Lot and Kookamunga!

Halloween-A-Go-Go

Our Halloween spooktacular commences with an excerpt from The Magic Eightball Test: A Christian Defense of Halloween and All Things Spooky (read by the author). Actually, just before that you'll get some first hand info about the Fundamentalist backlash against the book. Right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) on the title to this post to download the mp3. Or take a look at iTunes or podcastalley.com -- it should show up there pretty soon.

The Fundie backlash was exactly as fun as it sounds. Just let those words fall trippingly across the tongue: Fun-da-men-ta-list back-lash. Perhaps there is a ride at the Georgia State Fair by the same name. "Hey, Mama! I'm gonner go for a ride on the Fundamentalist Backlash!"

If you want a more complete report, hit this link. It will download the press kit for The Magic Eightball Test, which includes an article about said backlash ("Fun-da-men-ta-list back-lash-uh"), as well as many other treats for curious souls like yourself. To order the book for the mere pittance of $12.95, head to this order page. (For even MORE info, if you can stand it, head to www.hambangers.com.)

This is the first episode in which excuse me, ghidorah? acts as a shill for that nefarious publishing concern, Hambangers Junction. That's right -- THE Hambangers Junction. The one your Grandpappy told you stories about while you drifted off to sleep and in that awful Gabby Hayes voice of his: "Yessir, don't let nobody tell ya different. That Hambangers Junction is out there, in the dark, in the trees...all spooky-like."

Okay, the caffeine is wearing off and I can behave normally -- or at least provide a reasonable facsimile thereof.

Hambangers Junction is the name of a publishing company started by yours truly ("Lint Hatcher... pleased to meetcha!"). The plan is to put Apocalypse on Aisle 4, for example, the podcasting of which comprises the first three episodes of excuse me, ghidorah?, into print. Likewise, things like a Monster Fan 2000 Compendium, and perhaps a Roadside America book, and even perhaps a book about Michael Polanyi, the moral imagination (not what you think it is), and the aforementioned Fundamentalist rejection of festivals like Halloween.
Exciting, ain't it?

So, from now on, this is the official podcast of said publishing concern. Which means nothing will change at all. So don't worry about it.

Some Halloween notes for those of you who scan the airwaves for cool stuff to record on the old Tivo:

On Turner Classic Movies
Plan 9 from Outer Space -- hosted by Rob Zombie -- Friday, Oct. 13, 2 am
Bride of the Monster -- ditto -- Friday, Oct. 13, 3:30 am
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse -- one of my all time favorite films -- Sunday, Oct. 15, 2 am
Vampyr -- another stop, drop, and roll favorite of mine -- Friday, Oct. 20, 10:30 pm
Kwaidan -- early (and lavish) example of Asian horror -- Sunday, Oct. 22, 2 am
Alfred Hitchcock interviewed by Dick Cavett -- Monday, Oct. 23, 12:45 pm
The Walking Dead -- Karloff film directed by Michael Curtiz -- Friday, Oct. 27, 10:30 pm
Eyes Without A Face -- haven't seen this one yet -- Sunday, Oct. 29, 2 am
Freaks -- my first viewing of this Tod Browning film -- Oct. 31, 6 am

There are several top notch Val Lewton films also included in the TCM lineup. Hop over to their website and check out the October schedule.

Also, here are some other film titles you might do a search for online or with the old Tivo (many of which I have never seen -- so let the scryer beware):
Thralls, Thirteen Women, Warning Sign, Daughter of the Mind, The Cave, Creature Unknown, The Other, It Waits, Miners Massacre, Larva, Mad Love, Madhouse, Octane, Premonition, Night Must Fall, Necronomicon, Rest Stop

Maybe TCM will reshow Goke, which I missed, and the London After Midnight montage thingee, which I missed for about the third year in a row!

Please feel free to post your comments. Happy Halloween!

Multiverse, We Hardly Knew Ye

In this, the second part of our look at the Infinite Crisis maxiseries going on at DC Comics, we turn our hearts and minds toward the 1980s and the mother of all maxiseries, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Right click/Control Click on the title above and give her a download, or, of course, download via iTunes or podcastalley.com.

And please feel free to let us know what you think about the podcast by leaving a message on this blog!

Thanks!

Infinite Crisis!

Right click or Control Click (Mac) on the title above to download our new episode in mp3 format. Or toddle over to podcastalley.com and search for "ghidorah". Or use iTunes to track us down.

I hope you enjoy comic books, because the next three (maybe four) episodes are like a submarine journey into the depths of DC Comics continuity. The goal is to take a close look at what's going on between the covers of DC's current comic series, Infinite Crisis. But to do it justice requires some serious attention to the story's background. So we start off in this episode in the 1930s and work our way up to the Seventies, surveying the shape of the DC Comics universe as a whole -- because in the late 50s DC Comics editor, Julius Schwartz, revolutionized the way we look at superheroes, their adventures, and whether those adventures have any connection -- in imaginary space and time -- with the adventures of the heroes that came before.

You NEED to climb on board the Infinite Crisis freight train -- or submarine, if you want to stick with that metaphor -- because it is a huge event involving every DC Comics character and comic book. All the hype about "Heroes will DIE! The DC Comics Universe Will NEVER Be the Same!" is actually true. In fact, those words almost seem restrained, because their function as hype is so common we don't take them seriously. The exclamation points just bounce off us with no effect. So, brother, believe me when I say this is a seriously momentous time to be reading DC Comics. It's like being present during a visit from Haley's comet. The last time an event like this took place was back in 1985 and people are still talking about that one!

Visit your local mega-bookstore, wend your way into the graphic novel section, and pick up some of these titles (in order of importance -- #1 being most important, etc.):

1. Identity Crisis
2. JLA - Crisis of Conscience
3. Teen Titans - The Future Is Now
4. Superman - Sacrifice
5. Day of Vengeance
6. The OMAC Project

There are also these trades which I consider pretty optional:

7. The Rann/Thanagar War
8, Villians United
9. The Return of Donna Troy

The Infinite Crisis series itself is coming out in comic book form. So to track that down you will have to brave the wilds of your local comic book shops.

I am also using some online material for research:

"For Mature Readers: The Adult Audience and Superhero Comic Books" by Steven John Padnick
This, his thesis paper, is available for download at http://homepage.mac.com/padnick/writing/thesis.pdf

"Comics Universes as Fiction Networks" by Jason Craft
This can be downloaded at http://www.earthx.org/files/craftPCA2004_ppr.pdf

Also a book titled "Superheroes and Philosophy" and the two "Syntopicon" volumes from the Great Books collection published by Encyclopedia Britannica. Specifically, the section on "World" -- the idea or concept -- and how it is treated in the great books of the Western tradition, alternate worlds, etc.

Fun stuff, right? Well, it's fun to me. Gotta love that Syntopicon.

Please let me know what you think about the first Infinite Crisis episode of "excuse me, ghidorah?"! Or about Infinite Crisis itself. Feel free to post your thoughts at this blog.

Thanks,

Lint

P.S. BIG ERROR FOR WHICH I AM QUITE SORRY: Julius Schwartz passed away on February 8, 2004. Not in 2005 as I reported in the podcast. Sorry, Mr. Schwartz!

Peter Kreeft Part Deux

What can I say? I'm sitting in Peter Kreeft's office. The phone rang. Peter Kreeft answered it -- and proceeded to talk throughout November, December and January! Can you believe it? And I had to go to the bathroom pretty bad!

Okay. I'll fess up. A new episode of Excuse Me, Ghidorah? is now available. Sorry this is getting out so late. (If you don't see it in iTunes yet, try www.podcastalley.com or pc right click/mac control click on "Peter Kreeft Part Deux" above to download the linked file.)

The thing is, Excuse Me, Ghidorah? hasn't really taken the form of other homespun podcasts. So far, it isn't really conversational and spontaneous. Rather, I have leaned toward providing really meaty, involving, sometimes complex and challenging material that you can sink your teeth into. I can't really knock that out. But maybe I'll give the other approach a try and just blab a bit about what I have been thinking about lately, etc. That's sort of like providing the challenging material, except you have to sort through the blather to get to the good stuff -- which is a process I usually go thru when writing an actual article.

It might be fun. So this approach will begin with a look at the Infinite Crisis going on over at DC Comics. This is a universe-wide event involving every single freakin' DC Comics character. There is a specific series named "Infinite Crisis". But this is just the skeleton of the thing. The rest consists of storylines working through various series -- so that you get Wonder Woman's side of the story, Superman's side, even the various super villians' sides of the story! It's really quite amazing. I almost hesitate to recommend it, though, because any attempt to keep up with the various plotlines as well as the meta narrative (whatever that is -- I hope to find out and share the joy) lobs a pretty big grenade into one's wallet. But I figure if it stirs up enthusiasm as well as a sort of pleasant consternation in me it's probably worth it.

Some recommended podcasts:

Comic Geek Speak

Comic Book Noise

wordballoon

The Golden Age of Comic Books
(noticing a pattern here?)

Collected Comics Library

NPR: Story of the Day -- specifically download "NPR: 'My Lobotomy': Howard Dully's Journey". It is excellent.

Catholic Exchange's Rock Solid with Mark Shea

Franciscan Voice

Podcasting Priest
(There's something flukey about the connection -- but give it a try just to get ahold of the three podcasts featuring homilies delivered by Father Richard John Neuhaus at Columbia University.)

Narnia Unbound

A new edition of Excuse Me, Ghidorah? has been uploaded. As Brak would say, "I hope you luv it..."

You can find it thru iTunes or at podcast.net. It should show up at podcastalley.com pretty soon, too. Or you can hit the link to the right here.

This edition -- "Narnia Unbound" -- is an interview with Peter Kreeft about C. S. Lewis and the Oxford Globetrotters (otherwise known as The Inklings). The discussion ends up hashing out some basic assumptions about the sense of wonder -- prompting the listener to wrestle (I hope) with whether wonder is illusory (a whiff of something cooking where there is no actual meal), or a sound struck in the soul by an insistent Reality.

The outcome of that wrestling match, I believe, determines whether we "pass by the dragon" on our way to "the Father of Souls."

I understand St. Cyril to imply the dragon is the devil and the dragon's claws, teeth, and fiery breath are temptations. The wrestling match over the nature of wonder, I believe, has to do with a particularly sneaky sort of temptation. The temptation to believe wonder and beauty are flimsy and false is simply part of the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age, and we embrace it by osmosis. As Flannery O'Connor once put it, "If you live today you breathe in nihilism. In or out of the Church, it's the gas you breathe. If I hadn't had the Church to fight it with or to tell me the necessity of fighting it, I would be the stinkingest logical positivist you ever saw right now."

When each of us faces a moment of ultimate choice -- when we hurt, it seems, more than we hope -- it won't be our ability to recite Christian formulas that will save us. Rather, it will be our allegiance to the reality those formulas clarify and preserve. It will be something like loyalty to or friendship with that reality. It will be the degree to which we actually honestly believe God is good and the degree to which we are personally, unbreakably loyal and affectionate and partial to Jesus. It will be a deep test of the will. In the face of a catastrophe, when the last thing I feel is "good" or "worshipful," do I still say that the beauty in this world is not a cruel joke, but an expression of ultimate reality? Do I still say that evil is a temporary and parasitic thing, that the Good is real and everlasting and ultimately unshakeable?

It helps to hear someone explain that evil is a "dependent reality." It helps to know that disorder and disease cannot exist at all unless order and ease arrive first on the scene. It helps to know that if order and ease arrived first it follows that all things were good, that the whole of creation was good, before anything came along to take a swipe at it. It helps to have this as a reference inside yourself when nihilism sits on your chest and refuses to get off. This isn't dualism we're talking about here. That Imp of Nihilism sitting on your chest does not represent an Evil which is equally as powerful as the Good. No. At best, that Imp represents a blip in eternity. A terrible, painful, neverending and insurmountable blip it may, at times, seem. But anything that can be said to have begun right here on this day and eventually to end right there on that day is a piece of time and thus a blip when compared to eternity -- even if said blip consists of ten thousand "of your Earth years."

That's why endurance is so important on our end, rooted, as we are, in time and space. It is an endurance based on hope, a hope based on truth, and a truth that is commended to us by beauty and wonder (and, I think, whimsy, for lack of a better word).

In "Excuse Me, Ghidorah?" I hope to bring our presumptions out into the open. So that we know what we believe. So that when the dragon catches our scent, we already know what our response will be.

At the end of the podcast, I mention another podcast: The Golden Age of Comic Books. Look for it in iTunes or go to http://goldenagecomics.libsyn.com/. You won't be sorry.

Lint