The Thirteenth Hour Podcast

Originally aired August 8, 2016.

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-52-storytime-reading-of-st-george-and-the-dragon/

This week, we're reading an illustrated adaptation of the first part of Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen - the tale of St. George and the Dragon.  The one we're reading from was illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman (check out a tribute and bio on this blog) and penned by Margaret Hodges.  You can find a copy online at retailers like Amazon or you local library.  There are a few pictures and excerpts includes below.  I'd recommend any of the books written and illustrated by this duo if you enjoy fairy tales and/or fantasy art.

The tale is an abridged version for children of the original, which was a lengthy poem.  You can find a summary of the original Faerie Queen tale and a commentary here.  It's more adult oriented than this version and has more overt allegorical/religious/moral overtones as opposed to this one, which reads more like a traditional fairy tale and mirrors the end of the original poem, a summary of which you can find here.

Personally, I have always wondered why everyone had it in for the dragon, who also fought a good fight, and I kind of felt bad for him.  Here he was minding his own business and ... well, I guess that kind of flips the story on its head, doesn't it.  Maybe someone one day can rewrite the tale from the dragon's point of view.

But that's neither here nor there.  Anyhow, I posted a few pictures from the book on Instagram before from the book, which you can find here:

https://instagram.com/p/BDx0pE7Mg4y/

https://instagram.com/p/BDqIyd5sg7d/

It's also in these pages that we learn that the name George means "Plow the Earth" and "Fight the Good Fight."  Georges of the world, take note and take heart.  You have a fine lineage.

As always, thanks for listening!

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•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books.
• Free online streaming of the growing Thirteenth Hoursoundtrack: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/
• 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!

Originally aired on August 1, 2016.

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-51-musical-interlude-piano-ballad/

For this week's episode, I've included snippets from upcomingThirteenth Hour soundtrack tracks.  I recently wrote an untitled piano theme that I was thinking would become an introspective musical track on the soundtrack.  There's a preview of it in its infancy onInstagram.  Then, about two weeks ago, I toyed with the idea of turning it into a ballad with words.  Once I got to thinking about it, lyrics came to me in the span of a few minutes and became the song featured in this episode, which I finally titled, "Love, Grey Dresses, and Other Things."  There's a a snippet of the final instrumental version and a live performance on the piano included as well.

Still haven't transcribed the lyrics onto the computer.  The most I had at the time when the muse hit were a few pieces of scrap paper, so that's what this "final" version is written on.

The song is written from the perspective of Logan, the main character ofThe Thirteenth Hour, as he realizes that the friendship he with Aurora, his childhood friend, has changed for both him and her.

Final versions of this song, both in instrumental and lyrical versions, can be found in the near future on theBandcamp soundtrack page.

As always, thanks for listening!

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•  Signup for themailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
• FollowThe Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and@the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs fromThe Thirteenth Hour books.
• Free online streaming of the growingThirteenth Hoursoundtrack: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer:http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewingThe Thirteenth Hourfor a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally aired on July 25, 2016.

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-50-reading-of-robert-brownings-poem-childe-roland-to-the-dark-tower-came/

Last week, we read the Old English fairy tale, "Childe Roland."  This week, I'm reading aloud the Robert Browning poem,"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" which was the inspiration for Stephen King's Dark Tower series.  It's quite different from the fairy tale and from King's books, though it shares the dark psychological bent he gave his longmagnus opus.  I found it a difficult poem to read.  Couldn't quite get into a good rhythm, so there are parts that seem more staccato than I would have liked.  It seemed more like one of those works that tries to evoke a series of feelings and images rather than telling a narrative tale.  It reminded me of the Coleridge poem, "Kubla Khan" (In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree ...).  

You can find an interpretation of Browning's poem onSparknotes.  One of the takeaways of the poem is there is always sacrifice in the single minded devotion to a goal and sometimes that leads to some culture shock when others can't quite understand what the goal was all for.  Logan fromThe Thirteenth Hour figures that at the end of his own long quest, as mentionedhere.

Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,by Thomas Moran (clicking on the picture takes you to the Wikipedia entry to this poem).

If you don't know the story of Roland a la Stephen King, I highly recommend reading them or listening to the audio books (which are excellent).  The first novel,The Gunslinger, has a great opening line.  Below are some pictures from the novels in the series.

The beginning of The Gunslinger ...

Susannah Dean takes aim with Roland's revolver, by Ned Dameron.

Jake Chambers and Oy on the attack, by Michael Whelan.

Jake and Roland at the clearing at the end of the path, by Michael Whelan.

As always, thanks for listening!

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•  Signup for themailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
• FollowThe Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and@the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs fromThe Thirteenth Hour books.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer:http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewingThe Thirteenth Hourfor a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

The episode originally aired on July 18, 2016.

This week, we are reading a narrative form of the old English fairytale, "Childe Roland" as he quests after the Elf King in the Dark Tower from this illustrated book:

Click on the picture above to be taken to an Amazon link (book now out of print, unfortunately).

Pictures for this episode can be found on the original show notes page:https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-49-fairytale-storytime-childe-roland/

Illustrations byMoira Kemp that accompany the text:

Childe Roland encounters Merlin.

Childe Roland getting schooled by Merlin.

Childe Roland on his quest.

Childe Roland tempted by food as his sister, Burd Ellen, is unable to keep from giving it to him.

The King of Elfland.

Next week, we'll read the poem by Robert Browning,"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came."

This story provided inspiration for Stephen Kin's epic fantasy, theDark Tower series.  More on this in the future.  Here are some illustrations byMichael Whelan of Stephen King's version of Childe Roland, Roland of Gilead, the Gunslinger:

Roland and a young Jake Chambers, the real "childe" version of the adult Roland.

Roland looking into a pond, probably contemplating all the sacrifices he's gone through on his quest for the Dark Tower.

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for themailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
• FollowThe Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and@the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs fromThe Thirteenth Hour books.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer:http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewingThe Thirteenth Hourfor a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally aired on July 11, 2016.

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-48-guest-conversation-with-justin-part-2/

Last week (ep. #47), my friendJustin joined the show for a discussion on gymnastics, martial arts, and breakdancing.  He returns this week for more fitness talk. Here's some of what we discuss this week:

-Fad diets such as Whole 30,the Cookie Diet, and Paleo - how hard it is to eat out on these diets and the level of food envy/fixation that go with them

-Aside:While this recipe is probably not kosher according to most of these diets, it is good and relatively carb free, mainly consisting of a spaghetti squash, cheese, onions, and a few other basic ingredients:

• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• black pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can black olives, chopped
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with a thin layer of cooking spray. Place squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet.

Bake squash 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife can be easily inserted. Remove from oven, and cool.

Meanwhile, spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking spray. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, basil, bouillon cube, and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until you have a medium thick sauce.

Remove squash strands with a fork, reserving the shells. Layer each half with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until shells are full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.

-The Latte Factor

-Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (definitely worth a watch, if just for some of the inspiration stories in the film)

-Nomnompaleo- recommended by Justin for good Paleo recipes

-Justin's long term plan - the blue food diet -why eat blue and purple foods?

-A walk down memory lane - Justin,Sherwood,Tim, and I go down to protein shake avenue and leave with GI distress.  In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have gone with the bootleg brand.

-Bill Phillips and the Body for Life transformation experiment in college -my brotherloved listening to Bill Phillips' tape nightly for a time

-Epic bars - an example of trendy, overpriced meat bars.  Want a homebrew example?  Learn how to make your ownpemican.

-Justin's take-away message: keep learning; keep trying new things.  It's never too late to reinvigorate an old hobby or pick up a new one.  Fine words to end on.

Check out Justin's blog (https://dietisa4letterwordblog.wordpress.com/) for a humorous and honest look at fad diets and other thoughts on health and fitness.

As always, thanks for listening!

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•  Signup for themailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
• FollowThe Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and@the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs fromThe Thirteenth Hour books.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer:http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewingThe Thirteenth Hourfor a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally aired on July 4, 2016.

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-47-guest-conversation-with-justin-part-1/

Get ready for a massive interview spaced out over the next two weeks!  One of my best friends from college joins me for a walk down memory lane as we reminiscence about the years we spent training in gymnastics, breakdancing, and martial arts.  If you have any interest in those topics, you'll likely find something of interest in this week's episode.  Some of the topics covered:

-Trying to learn breakdancing by watching old, grainy VHS tapes of pioneer bboys likeCrumbs,Ivan, andStorm

-There was only one or two digital video clips we had access to in the beginning (no Youtube).  We watched this unnamed guy doing windmills in his garage countless times and must have dissected it hundreds more - whoever you are, late 90s windmill guy, we are grateful.

-The bboy crew Justin and started with two other college friends,Sherwood andTim,Sympoh, is still around and continues to amaze us.

-The freeform aspect of hip-hop/beaking vs. the emphasis on doing things a certain set way in gymnastics and many martial arts

-How doing gymnastics is involved in learning your limits and conquering fear, applicable to other aspects of life (i.e. "there are no dumb gymnasts" per my high school coach)

-How to reconcile the "stay tight in the air" philosophy of gymnastics with the "relax in the air" philosophy of martial arts (we don't actually resolve this, but it's an interesting contrast)

-If you were two college kids who wanted to beninjas, what do you do?

-How we found ninjitsu training

-You can still buy thisgrappling hook online (though you may not want to)

-Unlike in our childhoods, you can now easily findninjitsu books byStephen K. Hayes and his teacher,Dr. Masaaki Hatsumu, on Amazon.  The man who taught Justin and I years ago, Jack Hoban, now hastraining videos, referenced here.

-We spend a fair amount of time touching on the process of learning new skills, e.g.:

-What's theDunning Kruger effect?

-What's theFeldenkrais method?  And how can slow, deliberate movements done with good form in optimal conditions counterintuitively help learn new skills faster?

-We debate whether innovation can/should be taught from the get go or should fundamentals be stressed first

-The beginner's journey - even as a "master," hopefully you are still continuing to learn (symbolized by the journey from white belt to black back to white again as the outer coloring of the belt gets frayed with time).

-The importance of not giving up too early - fitting given the meaning of the characters forninja (忍者 - "one who endures" in Chinese)

-We discuss how martial arts and these other skills have shaped us as people.

There was a natural breaking point here, so I've split the interview into two parts for ease of listening.  Justin will return next week with more discussion on fitness and healthy eating.  In the meantime, check out his blog at

 https://dietisa4letterwordblog.wordpress.com/

As always, thanks for listening

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•  Signup for themailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
• FollowThe Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and@the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs fromThe Thirteenth Hour books.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer:http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewingThe Thirteenth Hourfor a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally aired on June 27, 2016.

On this week's episode, I recorded a story I read to my daughter,Prince Nautilus, written byLaura Krauss Melmed and illustrated byHenri Sorensen.  We recently found it for sale in a small bookstore while traveling and decided to explore this modern fairy tale, which takes elements of classic tales and puts a few modern spins on them.  You can't see the wonderful illustrations in the podcast, obviously, though I did attempt to describe them to my daughter (since that's what you do with toddlers).  I'm not sure if the book is still in print, but you can find used copies on retailers likeAmazon orAbebooks.

Like the storytime format?  Let me know (see email address below), and I'll do more in the future.

Next week, stay tuned for the start of a massive 2 part interview on martial arts, gymnastics, breakdancing, learning new skills, and more with one of mybest friends from college.

As always, thanks for listening!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for themailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour!
• FollowThe Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs fromThe Thirteenth Hour books.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer:http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewingThe Thirteenth Hourfor a free book?  Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-46-storytime-prince-nautilus-reading/

Originally aired on June 20, 2016.

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=5728

Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) riding a hoverboard in Back to the Future 2.  Clicking on the picture links back to its source page, which is about how Lexus is supposedly designing a real life hoverboard that we can only hope is a piece of valid journalism.  Anything less would be a cruel joke, people!

The Silver Surfer on his surfboard, courtesy of Marvel and this image's host site 

George Jetson's collapsible car

The intro to Talespin, which had a character with a collapsible gliding jetski

Lightning from The Thirteenth Hour

An animated .gif of Lightning collapsing into a portable package.

Logan riding on Lightning.

Lightning's invisible airshield to protect her rider can be glimpsed here at her nose, where you can see the air currents.

Lightning can expand to fit another passenger.

As shown in the picture above and faintly here, when Lightning flies, a rainbow of exhaust is emitted.

Lightning all folded up (#1 in this picture of Logan's everyday carry)

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Starving Artist Section: where I talk about making a few bucks on the internets!  This week’s app is Receipthog, which pays you (via Paypal or Amazon gift cards, albeit very slowly) to take pictures of your receipts, which generates points you can eventually cash in.  Learn more here.

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As always, thanks for listening!

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Originally aired on June 13, 2016.

Today's podcast is all about Zen.

Zen, a philosophy that carries much ado and marketing buzz, really can be summed up in one simple idea - being present right where you are now.  It's obviously easier said than done, but certain activities naturally lend themselves to discovering this state of no-mind easier than others, martial arts being one such avenue.

George Lucas incorporated these ideas into the character of Yoda (essentially a Zen master in a galaxy far, far away) in his teachings of the Force and the way of the Jedi to a young Luke Skywalker, so that's an easy way to think some of the ideas behind Zen if you're familiar with the films but not Zen.

https://youtu.be/GITb6rzpTWM

This synth Yoda-Zen montage clip is from a fellow bandcamper, melodysheep.  You can listen to the full song here and check out the rest of his work at https://melodysheep.bandcamp.com/. 

But you don't have to travel far to find Zen and its applications in daily life.  This episode focuses on a few segments from the book Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams:

There's an excerpt on being present in the moment, accepting your limitations and using them to your advantage, and deep breathing, a gateway to meditative practices.

For years, I've found aspects of tai chi practice helpful as a kind of moving mediation.  I like this particular video since it's so easy to follow along with, as the movements are reversed for the viewer so you don't have to mentally adjust left and right in your mind to match what the instructor is saying (a common issue with learn by video):

Click for an excerpt

Aspects of Zen were behind this particular passage in The Thirteenth Hour, where Logan eventually does the counterintuitive and, after centering himself, relaxes instead of struggling to get out a magic spell that makes him immobile.

No, I won't give up ...

I summoned all my energy and with a shout that rang in my ears long after it had faded, I slowly scooped myself off the stone floor. I fell back immediately. I tried again and managed a short stumble to the wall. I clung to it for support. Tears and bad words. You didn't give up. Good. Now relax. Relax your muscles. They screamed in protest, as did I, with them. Boy, I must have been a sorry sight – sputtering and crying, unshaven and haggard, malodorous and malnourished – but in my own dystonic way, I managed to lurch along, bit by stumbling bit ...

... My arms and legs still seemed incredibly heavy, like lead. I could have made better ground running in quicksand. But by concentrating on relaxing my cramping muscles, I had broken the spell, and with every step I took, the life that I had almost given up flowed back into my veins.

Now that you have a sense of what Zen is, how have you encountered it in your life?  Leave your comments below, and we can  discuss in a future episode.

As always, thanks for listening!

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