Black & A Half

This episode of Black & A Half features Author C.J. West. C.J. is an author living in Massachusetts.  He discovered our podcast and loved it so much he contacted us to get on. This is our first ever interview via Skype, so please forgive the oddness that comes from not being able to see the person we are interviewing. We talked to him about his life as a self-published author,  acting in murder mysteries, his early life trying to become a golfer, and Manny tries (again) to get a part in a movie.

 

About the Guest

C.J. West is the author of seven suspense novels including The End of Marking

Time and Sin and Vengeance, which was optioned into development for film

by Beantown Productions, LLC (screenplay by Marla Cukor). C.J. blogs at

www.cjwestkills.wordpress.com. You can also find him at www.22wb.com or at

www.facebook.com/cjwestfans

2013 is off to a great start as Black & A Half returns with its first episode of the new year. Episode #5 features Seattle playwright, author and scientist Scot Bastian, Ph.D. He sits down and talks with Manny and Silas about his recent publication of his book “Do Ya Think? Science, Science Fiction, and Skepticism” and discusses his dream of a “science theatre.” They also discuss their favorite bad movies, The Hobbit, ghost hunting and their varying religious beliefs.

Scot Bastian Ph.D. received his Ph.D. in Experimental Patholgy from the University of Colorado just prior to moving to Seattle in 1992.  He has studied molecular biology in several laboratories prior to a major move into the Seattle arts scene beginning about 12 years ago.  He has been active as an local film and stage actor, writer and producer with several local theater groups including DAMN, WARP, and the Artswest Seattle Playwright Studio.  His proudest accomplishments are mounting a stage production of “Scotapalooza: Do Ya Think” a collection of his short works, publication of the Kindle E-book Do Ya Think? Science, Science Fiction, and Skepticism available at Amazon.com  (which will soon be available as a paperback), and publication of the paper “Regulation of the megakaryocytic glycoprotein IX promoter by the oncogenic Ets transcription factor Fli-1” in the journal “Blood.” (and, no,  he didn’t make that up—look it up.) More information is available at scotbastian.com.

This episode of Black & a Half we must got to sit down with singer Scarlet Season (her real name is Aileen Paron).  Aileen is a renaissance woman! Former actor, now singer/songwriter and a volunteer for Rain City Rock Camp for Girls. We got to find all about how Aileen got started, her future projects and we got to geek out with her a bit about superheroes when had her watch the Man of Steel trailer. We also discovered how Manny started a race riot as a kid. This episode was also taped the day after the Newtown tragedy and we did take some time to speak on that. Despite that, it is a very fun episode.

About the Guest

Scarlet Season, aka Aileen Paron, is a one-woman show. Wearing the hats of singer, composer, producer, player and more, this multi-instrumentalist crafts dark and dreamy pop-rock rife with seething bass, lush soundscapes, swirling synths, and pretty pianos. Drawing comparisons to Kate Bush, Bat for Lashes, Tori Amos and Florence and the Machine, she invites listeners over to the dark side on her most recent release, “The Taxidermist.” She is currently hard at work on a follow-up album slated for release in Spring 2013. “The Taxidermist” can be purchased at Amazon.com  and iTunes as well as CDBaby.

Boyd Morrison, author of the hit novels The Ark and Rogue Wave, sat down with co-hosts Manny Martin and Silas Lindenstein to talk about his recent release of his new novel in the USA The Roswell Conspiracy. They also talk odds of winning the lottery, getting into acting, traveling to the Super Earth, and bitter comics.

About the Guest

Boyd Morrison is an author, actor, engineer, and Jeopardy! champion. He started his career working on NASA’s space station project at Johnson Space Center, where he got the opportunity to fly on the Vomit Comet, the same plane used to train astronauts for zero gravity. After earning a PhD in engineering from Virginia Tech, he used his training to develop thirteen US patents at Thomson/RCA. Boyd then managed a video game testing group in Microsoft’s Xbox division before becoming a full-time writer. For non-fiction thrills, he enjoys white water rafting, skiing, scuba diving, and bungee jumping. Boyd is also a professional actor, appearing in films, commercials, and stage plays. In 2003 he fulfilled a lifelong dream and became a Jeopardy! champion. He currently lives in Seattle with his wife.

About the Hosts

Manny Martin is a Seattle based comic who is a regular performer at the prestigious Parlor Live comedy club in Bellevue, WA. He was selected as a competitor in the 2011 Seattle International Comedy Competition.

Silas Lindenstein is an emerging Seattle comedy producer and performer. He also hosts another podcast called Comedic Wisdom where he interviews more experienced comics.

Download Boyd’s Audiobook from Audible.com and help support Black & a Half. Two bird, one stone.

This episode was first published on November 19, 2012
In the second episode of Black and a Half, with hosts Manny Martin and Silas Lindenstein, they sit down and talk with photographer, author and founding editor of SeattleBackpackersMagazine.com. They discuss her book Song of Chomolungma: A Musical Journey Along the Everest Highway, the new documentary Chasing Ice, the election with ensuing Facebook reactions, and they all discuss the worst jobs they’ve ever had.
Erika is a photographer, writer and the Content Director for Seattle Backpackers Magazine, an online publication for outdoor enthusiasts. She has traveled to inspiring places like Newfoundland, Belize and, most recently, spent a month in Nepal, where she accompanied a group of local musicians on a tour along the Everest Highway to the base of Mt. Everest to raise awareness of how climate change affects the region. She was so inspired by the people, culture and landscape that she wrote a 300 page book, Song of Chomolungma, about the journey, including 80 full page color photos. She is a full time mom to two active boys, ages 7 and 11, and can be found often with a backpack and a camera in the mountains around Seattle. Learn more at frommyart.com and seattlebackpackersmagazine.com. 

We are republishing our past episodes to this site. Here is our first every episode from November 7th 2012 : Episode 1 with Maia Strong.
The pilot episode of the podcast Black and a Half with hosts Manny Martin and Silas Lindenstein. This episode they discussed Disney acquiring the Star Wars franchise, the Presidential Election and Maia Strong’s upcoming book releases.