Paranoia Happy Hour

Join me for Paranoia Happy Hour with Rachel! Rachel tells the tale of being taunted by a leprechaun as a child. Are leprechauns real? Was it a parent or teacher? Join us for this lighthearted tale and some wild speculation. 

We also have our first uncanny valley dating tale! This dating tale takes place at Breitenbush Hot Springs, where the water is warm and clothing is optional. Fun fact, at age eleven I saw a naked man doing yoga in the sauna at Breitenbush and it was... let's say... educational. Thanks to my god mom, Tillie, featured in happy hour seven, for that piece of education. 

Oh, and I get REAL about dating in this episode.

Rachel’s Boo Club: Ghost Adventures 

Description from IMDB: “Are you ready for the lockdown? Ghost Adventures crew -- Zak Bagans, Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley -- is back to investigate the scariest, most notorious, haunted places in the world. The trio will interview eyewitnesses and historians at each location, arming themselves with the stories of the ghosts they will later provoke and confront during their dusk-to-dawn lockdowns. (Note: They don't always come out unscathed!) Then they'll review and analyze their findings with some of the most respected experts and specialists in the paranormal field.”

Rachel’s Shares not Scares

Lean into the compliment that someone is sharing with you! 

Join me for happy hour fourteen with Marty Schneider, a man more internet than human! Marty is one of 25 people under the age of 70 who cares about the funny pages. Oh, and he was also turned into a comic strip villain and was the target of an online flame war by James Allen, the third author of comic strip Mark Trail. As Marty says, “it’s really weird to open up the paper and see a cartoon of yourself being attacked by a fucking bear.” Yes, Marty, that is really fucking weird. 

This story comes full circle when Marty rightly reported James Allen for disparaging and sexually harassing Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Speaker Nancy Pelosi using his comic strip’s twitter account. Here’s the timeline of events, as chronicled by reddit.com/hobbydrama: The time the official Twitter account of a 74-year-old comic strip sexually harassed members of Congress. 

Marty’s Boo Club

• Wallace the Brave: Wallace the Brave is the best comic in newspapers right now, hands down. The art is amazing, the gags are always good, the characters feel warm and familiar, and the parents actually seem to like being parents! Buy the books!
• Breaking Cat News: A comic strip about cats that report the news. Very sweet, very cute, fun watercolor art style. Buy the books!
• Phoebe and her Unicorn: Another fun newspaper comic strip. A little girl is friends with a unicorn. Hilarity ensues.

Marty’s Shares not Scares

• Listen to Marty’s podcast, Breaking Mayberry, wherever you get podcasts! It’s about Baby Boomer TV, more specifically the Andy Griffith show, and how it really fundamentally broke the brains of a generation of Americans.
• Watch Marty and his fiancee Sarah build LEGO kits and share neat facts every Wednesday on Twitch at BrickSmarties! It’s cute, they’re cute.
• Things Marty cares about: BIRDS! He loves birds, loves bird-ING, and wants more young birders in the world. Go find an audubon society, but more importantly, see if there’s a queer birding, in color birding, feminist birding club in your area! BIRDS!

Article mentioned on the pod: For the LGBTQ Community, Birding Can Be a Relief—and a Source of Anxiety: LGBTQ birders are working together to make the hobby more inclusive and welcoming, while dealing with lingering challenges of acceptance.

Join me for happy hour with Angela! A lighthearted story, the weirdest thing that has ever happened to Angela is getting stuck in a hotel bathroom, which answers the age-old question “What kind of lodgings can you get with $12 and a dog?” The things running through Angela’s mind included “Will I have to eat my arm? Am I going to die here?” 

Some other happy hour musings:

• Should children tip their parents for premium service? We think yes!
• And a life lesson from Meg: DON’T TAKE OUT THE LAST SCREW HOLDING EVERYTHING TOGETHER. This is both literal and figurative.

Angela’s Boo Club Pick

Lois Duncan’s A Stranger with my Face

Check this out for a creepy, good read. There’s twins separated at birth, astral projection, and only the angst and drama that teenagers can bring.

Angela’s Shares not Scares

The HER Foundation is the global voice for Hyperemesis support and research. Information from their site: “Each year, millions of women with HG across the globe experience trauma, financial strain, debility and/or incredible misery due to severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (Hyperemesis or HG). HER Foundation empowers those managing HG with information and support to minimize suffering, long-term health complications, and pregnancy loss.”

Welcome to our first New York happy hour! Join me for a story with Brenna, who napped through a gruesome murder the first week she moved to the Big Apple. The LAST thing you want is a police officer knocking on your door asking “have you heard anything unusual?” 

Brenna’s Boo Club Pick

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of The Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

Brenna’s Shares not Scares 

OG Yoga’s mission is “to deliver trauma informed mindfulness based yoga through partnerships with non-profit organizations serving marginalized individuals to support healing, resilience, self-development and positive social change.” Check them out at ogyoga.org to learn more! 

Girl Scouts of America! Brenna was a scout through high school graduation and can’t speak highly enough about the sense of community and life skills she learned through the Girl Scouts. Volunteer, donate, or buy cookies to support this great nonprofit! 

An aside: Y’all, I’m sorry. This is my first time recording in my closet (WHICH I DID FOR YOU) and the sound quality is lacking. Next time, it will be better!

Am I lost? Did I just time travel? Am I about to be a human sacrifice in a Midsommar-esque story? Is there tree magic here? These are just a few of the questions our happy hour pal Alvin asked himself when he got lost on a road trip and wound up in Vernonia, Oregon, on the fourth of July.  

Also, this gem of a quote: “You can’t convince me otherwise and you can’t make me put down my dictionary.” - Alvin Ma, Citizen of the World

Alvin’s Boo Club Pick

The Scaredy Cats Horror Show podcast by Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt

Are you a scaredy cat like me? Check out this podcast where two friends explore the horror movie genre and discuss their feels. I highly suggest having a handy human shield next to you for cowering. 

Alvin’s Shares not Scares

Alvin cares about intersectional issues and especially those issues that impact folks of colors and LGBTQIA+ folks. The Oregon Food Bank is just one great nonprofit that fits the bill. “Hunger isn’t just an individual experience; it’s a symptom of barriers to employment, housing, health care and more — and a result of unfair systems that continue to keep these barriers in place. Make a difference: Get involved and help eliminate hunger and its root causes.” Learn more at https://www.oregonfoodbank.org/get-involved. 

Join me for happy hour ten with Liz! In college, Liz lived in cheap student housing with an unexpected roommate (read: sleep paralysis demon maybe?). The things students put up with for cheap housing! Oh, and dating apps are a post-apocalyptic wasteland of dudes offering to pay for your parking in exchange for booty. No, thank you.

Liz’s Boo Club Picks

1. Of course, the OG of horror Edgar Allan Poe. Specifically, Liz recommends The Cask of Amontillado. 

2. American Horror Story - Liz loves this show because of its representation of LGBTQ+ folks. It’s also fucking terrifying.

3. The Sandman, a comic book series by Neil Gaiman. Going through an existential crisis? Look no further for the perfect reading material! 

Liz’s Shares Not Scares

Stone Soup PDX is a non-profit food service training enterprise based in Portland, OR, providing workforce development & hands-on culinary expertise to people at risk of homelessness. Liz volunteers with them and says that “any interaction you have with Stone Soup has a positive ripple effect.” Check ‘em out for volunteer opportunities or to order delicious soup!

Join me for happy hour nine with Rey! We descend with Rey into the bowels of The Bent Pyramid in Cairo, Egypt, for one of the scariest moments of his life. We also engage in some slight panic spirals about being trapped in a pyramid and enjoy some spirited beverages. 

Rey’s Boo Club Picks

• Binti by Nnedi Okorafor - From Maria Haskins’ Amazon review: “Nnedi Okorafor’s science fiction novella Binti is a suspenseful and exhilarating read that plunges you headlong into a future world where space ships are living creatures, and humanity is just one of many space-faring civilizations.”
• The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin - From The Broken Earth website: “In this Hugo-Award-winning series, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations for the resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.”

Rey’s Shares not Scares
Check out the Darajah Music Initiative! Rey volunteers with them teaching clarinet to children in Tanzania. In addition to education, their mission includes conservation of the Mpingo, commonly referred to as African Blackwood or Grenadilla, which is the wood used to create clarinets and grows in Tanzania. 

Buckle up and join me for happy hour eight with my guest Mouna! We hear the tale of her stay at one of Taipei’s most haunted hotels, the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan. Suffice it to say, she did not get much sleep during her business trip. Y’know, because of the haunting. 

We also enjoy some ghostly speculation. Are ghosts echoes of time travelers? Or just messing with us? We have no answers, but we sure had a good time. 

Mouna’s Boo Club Pick

We Are Lady Parts! A show about an all girl, Muslim punk band that is one of Mouna’s favs. Here’s the description from Peacock: “We Are Lady Parts is an anarchic, joyful and irreverent music comedy following a Muslim female punk band – called Lady Parts – who are on a mission to find a lead guitarist and maybe, just maybe, get a proper gig.”

Mouna’s Shares not Scares

Check out Canine Companions for Independence (CCI)! Here’s some information from their website: “Canine Companions is leading the service dog industry so our clients and their dogs can live with greater independence. We provide service dogs to adults, children and veterans with disabilities and facility dogs to professionals working in healthcare, criminal justice and educational settings. Since our founding in 1975, our dogs and all follow-up services are provided at no cost to our clients.  

Independence shouldn’t be limited to those who look or live a certain way. Disability reaches all races, classes and backgrounds, and Canine Companions will too.  Clients come to Canine Companions because of our reputation, the quality of our dogs, the experience of our training staff and the desire to lead life with greater independence. We are committed to providing services to all qualified clients.”

Join me for happy hour seven with my godmother Tillie! Tillie tells us about a frightening encounter scuba diving to recover a ship. Oh, and that time her Grandma’s ghost came to visit and make good on a promise. 

Tillie’s Boo Club
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. From the book description: “Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.”

Tillie’s Shares not Scares
Check out the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska! Each year, Tillie donates $100 to cover the expenses of a musk ox named Mandy. Here’s more info from muskoxfarm.org: “The non-profit Musk Ox Farm is dedicated to the domestication of the musk ox, an Ice Age mammal that once roamed the earth alongside saber-tooth tigers and woolly mammoths. Known to Alaska Natives as “Oomingmak”, which means “The Bearded One”, this once-endangered animal produces an annual harvest of qiviut (kiv'-ee-ute), the finest wool in the world. 

We welcome visitors to the farm for a close up experience of these magnificent Paleolithic ruminants with guided tours, engaging exhibits, a gift shop featuring some of the world's only gently hand-combed qiviut fiber, qiviut yarn, and qiviut garments.  We also host community fundraising events and educational programming throughout the year.  Visit our picturesque farm surrounded by the majestic Chugach and Talkeetna mountains. Our historic 1930s-era Colony farm is located just 45 miles north of Anchorage in the Matanuska Valley, the heart of Alaskan agriculture.”

Join me for happy hour six with Jamie Grimes! Jamie shares the story of her dog Mochi’s final, spooky goodbye and that time she saw the Phoenix Lights when she was a kiddo. 

Happy Hanukkah, all! 

Jamie’s Boo Club Picks:

• Phoenix Forgotten - a shaky cam movie (ala The Blair Witch Project) of the Phoenix lights sighting!
• The Ring - With children climbing out of wells and tvs, this is one of the more frightening movies we’ve both seen. And, yet, here we are recommending it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Shares Not Scares:

• Go visit Jamie at Slabtown Barbers! As her Slabtown Barber’s bio says, she keeps you “looking fresh or tastefully scummy!”