The Thirteenth Hour Podcast

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #455: Enlarging Resin Hoverboards

https://archive.org/download/podcast-455/Podcast%20455.mp3

This week, I’m using a technique I learned from the Crafsman Youtube on the use of mineral spirits to enlarge silicone molds, which essentially allows you to enlarge resin pieces you have to sizes that are about 30 % bigger.  The mold, when bathed in mineral spirits, becomes puffed up and allows to you cast a larger piece from the swollen mold.  If you are happy with the size, you can make it permanent by making a mold of the new piece.

I did this for a small clay sculpt of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour’s hoverboard, Lightning.  I wanted to create a handful of larger ones for future action figures.  

This is the bigger hoverboard I got from the mineral spirits inflated mold.  You can see I’ve started demarcating a section that will be sanded away to make room for a piece of sheet metal so the figures’ magnetic feet can stick to it.

The gray hoverboard above is the original clay sculpt.  Use of the mineral spirts technique increased the size of the hoverboard by about a third.

Though I could just cast a bunch of copies using the inflated mold, the mineral spirits will evaporate in a few days, shrinking the mold back to its original dimensions.  The process started after a day or so, which is why the original mold looks misshapen above.  So, it’s usually a good idea then to make a new mold from the new sized piece.

Two part silicone ready to mix for the new mold.  

The silicone has just been poured into the mold.

Underneath, you can see what it looks like.  The excess silicone will be trimmed.

Once cleaned up, the new mold can be used to make copies.

Here’s the near-final product prior to sanding, priming, and painting.

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #454: Working on a Thirteenth Hour Piano Medley Part 2

https://archive.org/download/podcast-454/Podcast%20454.mp3

Today’s episode follows up on episode 447, which took six Thirteenth Hour soundtrack pieces and worked them together into a flowing piano medley.  With more practice, it’s gotten easier to have them flow from one to the next.  Here are the six songs: 

“Love, Grey Dresses, and Other Things”:

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/love-grey-dresses-and-other-things

“I’ll Fly Away”:

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/ill-fly-away-2

“Aurora’s Theme”:

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/auroras-theme

“Dragons’ Eyes”:

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/dragons-eyes-instrumental

“The Thirteenth Hour Theme”:

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/the-thirteenth-hour-theme-synth-orchestra

“Empty Hands”:

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/empty-hands

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #450: Remembering The Easy Exercise Plan and making a Thirteenth Hour Exercise Card Deck

https://archive.org/download/podcast-453/Podcast%20453.mp3

Lately, I have been making animations for the Logan prison cell workout I talked in episode 450:

While making them, I thought back to the first time I tried to do something similar, when making animations for the first game I tried to make, a Tomb Raider prequel of sort featuring a young adult Lara Croft going on her first big adventure, looking for her kidnapped mentor and a unicorn.  I spent hours on the running animation alone, figuring it was the most important part, though what I didn’t realize at the time was 1.) more frames does not make for a smoother experience, as it just increases the chance of the the frames will get stuck or not load, and 2.) hand drawn animations scanned into a computer will never be as precise as something entirely digital.  But at the time, I had no idea, so hand drew the frames and used tracing paper to transfer it from frame to frame:

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Originally aired on April 8, 2024.

This week, I'm experimenting with artificial intelligence for music.  There's this one track that's been holding up the final stages of the latest Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP - it's written, the backing track was made ages ago ... but it's meant to be sung by a woman (Aurora, the female protagonist in The Thirteenth Hour).  Of course, the obvious thing would be just to find a woman to sing it, but I have a very specific idea in mind for what I wanted Aurora's voice to sound like.  I was thinking about saying the hell with all that in the interest of just getting it done, but then all this AI business started popping up in the last year or so.  I got to thinking - is there technology that could turn my vocals into female ones?  

As it turns out, yes, there is.  Kind of.  It may be more trouble than it's worth.  But I'm discussed two software programs (Voice.ai and ACE Studio) that allow you to create AI vocals that I used to try to turn my voice into that of a woman's.  I had the most success in trying to sing super high first (I basically sounded like Mickey Mouse) and then using the programs to turn that into something sounding more feminine.  

This is the very definition of a work in progress, as I'm still in the learning/experimenting phases, but I thought it would be interesting to document here, as I'm sure the landscape surrounding this topic will change dramatically in the future.

If you haven't gotten the chance to check out last week's episode with fantasy author and podcaster Melinda Kucsera, it's a good one!  Here's a highlight that Melinda featured on her show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8KMR0DV22g

You can find more about her books on her website or on her podcasts. 

You can find our first conversation on Youtube, which is episode 100 of her podcast, Fantasy, Lore, and More (discussing Empty Hands).   https://melindakucsera.com/2024/01/28/fantasy-lore-more-empty-hands/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpv-rLwfRM&t=206s

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/melinda-kucsera/episodes/Fantasy--Lore---More-Empty-Hands-e2f1cvq/a-aat8dd0

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2024/04/08/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-452-experimenting-with-ai-vocals-to-see-if-i-can-turn-my-male-voice-female/

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #452: Experimenting with AI Vocals to See IF I Can Turn My Male Voice Female

https://archive.org/download/podcast-452/Podcast%20452.mp3

This week, I’m experimenting with artificial intelligence for music.  There’s this one track that’s been holding up the final stages of the latest Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP – it’s written, the backing track was made ages ago … but it’s meant to be sung by a woman (Aurora, the female protagonist in The Thirteenth Hour).  Of course, the obvious thing would be just to find a woman to sing it, but I have a very specific idea in mind for what I wanted Aurora’s voice to sound like.  I was thinking about saying the hell with all that in the interest of just getting it done, but then all this AI business started popping up in the last year or so.  I got to thinking – is there technology that could turn my vocals into female ones?  

As it turns out, yes, there is.  Kind of.  It may be more trouble than it’s worth.  But I’m discussed two software programs (Voice.ai and ACE Studio) that allow you to create AI vocals that I used to try to turn my voice into that of a woman’s.  I had the most success in trying to sing super high first (I basically sounded like Mickey Mouse) and then using the programs to turn that into something sounding more feminine.  

This is the very definition of a work in progress, as I’m still in the learning/experimenting phases, but I thought it would be interesting to document here, as I’m sure the landscape surrounding this topic will change dramatically in the future.

If you haven’t gotten the chance to check out last week’s episode with fantasy author and podcaster Melinda Kucsera, it’s a good one!  Here’s a highlight that Melinda featured on her show:

You can find more about her books on her website or on her podcasts. 

You can find our first conversation on Youtube, which is episode 100 of her podcast, Fantasy, Lore, and More (discussing Empty Hands).   https://melindakucsera.com/2024/01/28/fantasy-lore-more-empty-hands/

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #451: Welcome, Fantasy Author Melinda Kucsera to the Show

https://archive.org/download/podcast-451/Podcast%20451.mp3

This week, prolific fantasy author and podcaster Melinda Kucsera joins the show.  We first talked not long ago when I came on her show, and I wanted to have her back on mine to continue the conversation.  We had a chance in this conversation to really get into the world her character inhabit (and have since her childhood).  We also had the chance to discuss a number of things about the creation of stories, book publishing, and a number of other things you might find interesting about the creative process, especially if you are a writer yourself.

Her first novel, Curse Breaker Enchanted, which came out in 2016, introduces the world all her stories take place in and a number of the main characters.  You can actually read it free on Amazon (at least in the US), and it’s almost 500 pages!   Click on the link or picture above to check it out. 

You can find her other books on her website or wherever you buy books.

The cool thing is, if you like the characters, they come back in many of her other books, as well as on her podcasts (the early ones have sections from her books, and there are also guest appearances by the book characters as they are able, through some wizardry a Muggle like me probably can’t comprehend, leave their world and enter ours.  

Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epic-fantasy-adventures-books-lore-more/id1670011250

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xUNSzQmb5ngW6HXi4HOzr?si=c1df61dbc11c4afd

You can find her on a number of social media platforms:

-Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/melindakucsera

-Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@melindakucsera_fantasy

-Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/melindakucsera/

-IG: https://www.instagram.com/MelindaKucsera28/

-Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mkucsera28

You can find our first conversation on Youtube, which is episode 100 of her podcast, Fantasy, Lore, and More (discussing Empty Hands).   https://melindakucsera.com/2024/01/28/fantasy-lore-more-empty-hands/

Thanks for coming on the show, Melinda, and thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #450: Remembering The Easy Exercise Plan and making a Thirteenth Hour Exercise Card Deck

https://archive.org/download/podcast-450/Podcast%20450.mp3

In one section of The Thirteenth Hour, the main protagonist, Logan, ends up in a desert dungeon, where he languishes in a dehydrated and depressed state for some time until he decides he has something to live for, at which points he starts rehabilitating himself by trying to regain his strength bit by bit.  It’s the montage scene of many an old action movie – the wounded hero picks himself up, gets pumped, learns to shoot with his uninjured hand, sharpens his sword, prays, meditates, etc and then proceeds to kick major ass.  I envisioned that in the space of a dungeon cell, Logan, like those heroes of old, really would not much room after having hit rock bottom, but he’d do what he could.  I was writing from experience there, since I’d done some version of a mini exercise plan that could be done in a very small space for years.  In fact, I still do to this day.

So it was with quite some amusement and good humor that I recently found a little volume I’d written for my parents as a gift in 1993.   It was a collection of exercises I’d used myself, probably influenced by the ones we did in my martial arts classes as well as a little volume I had in my room, one of the Royal Canadian Air Force exercise plans, which had progressively difficult, short calisthenics routines designed to be done without any equipment in about 11-12 min per day (I actually found a scan of a volume very much like the one I had as a teen – you can find it here – a lot of the advice and perspectives are as valid now as they were when first designed, decades ago in the 1960s, and the final line, “wishing is not enough” is so good I have nothing else to add).

My own, more humble, handwritten “Easy Exercise Plan” ended up back in my hands again the last time I went to see my folks, after which I apparently put it aside to look at later.  But it ended up getting left in a pile that sat collecting dust, and I didn’t have a chance to go through it until just yesterday.  And, lo and behold, there were a lot of the same exercises I still to each day!  I guess some things just don’t need to change very much if they work.

In this episode, I envision what would happen if I combined these exercises with a card deck – one exercise per card, 52 total, 13 per segment: 1.) loosening up, 2.) body weight strength, 3.) martial arts, and 4.) cool down stretches and meditation.  I figured you could draw a few random cards from each section (coded by four different colors), and string them together, giving you a multitude of short, bite sized workouts that can be done without any equipment and in very little time.  I think my eight grade self would find this pretty handy.

Turns outs this approach to exercise even has a trendy new name – “exercise snacking” … who would have guessed?  Is it the same a formal, longer workout?  Nope.  But something is better than nothing, to my way of thinking, and if doing something more frequently since it takes less time means that you then are more active, on the whole than you used to be, then win, win, right?  

If you’re interested in beta testing this game with me (I just need to make the artwork), email me!

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #449: Welcome My Brother, Jeremy, and Adam Crohn as Talk About The Ice Pirates (1984)

https://archive.org/download/podcast-449/Podcast%20449.mp3

I’m joined this week by my brother, Jeremy, and Adam Crohn, both of whom have been frequent guests here, to discuss the 1984 film, The Ice Pirates. 

If you haven’t seen it, it’s kind of a combination between old school serials, Star Wars, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and Space Balls.  Check out the episode on Flash Gordon (where Adam also makes a guest appearance) for a film with a similar feel.

Thanks, Adam for coming on the show.  Check out his illustrations over at ACDrawstuff as well as his main page at ACToyDesign. Check out his Patreon on https://www.patreon.com/adamcrohn/posts

Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!  

And, as an aside, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is available on Etsy!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well. 

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

ynth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

Stay tuned.  Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #448: Thoughts on a New Thirteenth Hour Story and Card Game

https://archive.org/download/podcast-448/Podcast%20448.mp3

In the end of The Thirteenth Hour, there was a sentence that hinted that there were significantly more adventures that could be been described but for the sake of brevity, they weren’t.  I always thought I might come back one day to fill in that section with a short interlude, and I also thought it would be a fun one for a stand alone DnD adventure, short story, and/or a card game.  The premise of the story is that Logan and Aurora would like to be married in a place called the Fairy Chateau, but it’s very popular (and expensive), so they have to do some convincing to be able to essentially waltz in there and pull off an impromptu ceremony with zero notice.  The fairy staff there might be convinced if they can solve a vexing problem of a fairy king gone rogue and a haunted, misty, maze-like forest surrounding the chateau.

I think these were the only pictures I drew of that part of the story, so I’d need to create some new art, but luckily, that would actually be pretty straightforward – a wild wood, a dragon, fairy warriors – these images are evocative enough that they almost draw themselves! (At least in my head.)

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #447: Working on a Thirteenth Hour Medley

https://archive.org/download/podcast-447/Podcast%20447.mp3

Today’s episode attempts to take six Thirteenth Hour soundtrack pieces and work them together into the same piano medley where they flow from one to another, at least somewhat seamlessly.  Not all the tracks are in the same key, however, so I am still working out the best way to manage the key change.  I managed to (kind of) do it but it will take quite a more practice if I want it to sound smooth.  Here are the six songs and the (key) they are in: 

“Love, Grey Dresses, and Other Things” (C):

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/love-grey-dresses-and-other-things

“I’ll Fly Away” (G):

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/ill-fly-away-2

“Aurora’s Theme” (G)

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/auroras-theme

“Dragons’ Eyes” (A)

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/dragons-eyes-instrumental

“The Thirteenth Hour Theme” (C)

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/the-thirteenth-hour-theme-synth-orchestra

“Empty Hands” (C)

https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/empty-hands

Thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

Follow along on Spotify!  There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞