1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 2: Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind a listener mail. 3 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 2: This is Robert Lamb. 4 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 3: And this is Joe McCormick. And it is Monday, the 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:19,840 Speaker 3: day of each week that we read back messages from 6 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 3: the Stuff to Blow Your Mind mail bag. If you've 7 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 3: never gotten in touch with us before, why not give 8 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 3: it a try, give it a I was going to 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 3: say try and chance, at the same time, I think 10 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 3: I said give it a chie Uh yeah, well, why 11 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 3: not give it a try or a chance or a 12 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 3: chi at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. 13 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 3: Whatever you want to send us, fair game. We of 14 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 3: course always appreciate feedback on recent episodes, especially if you 15 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 3: have something interesting to add to a topic we have 16 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 3: talked about. I guess this is the first listener mail 17 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 3: we're doing since the New Year, and we've got it. 18 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 3: We've got a backlog. A lot of messages came in 19 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 3: before we were out for the holidays, so so a 20 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 3: lot of them have tags like happy Holidays and such. 21 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 3: That is the reason. 22 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, Now, before we get into the mailbag proper, I'm 23 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 2: gonna go ahead and throw a couple of things up 24 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 2: here at the top of the episode. First of all, 25 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 2: you know, we haven't really been hammering this in a while, 26 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 2: but if you like the show, rate and review the 27 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 2: show wherever you have the power to do so, that 28 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 2: helps us out a nice gesture that you can do. 29 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 2: Another thing, if you listen to the show on an 30 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 2: Apple device through some sort of Apple app or what 31 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 2: have you, go in there and check out the settings 32 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 2: and all. Make sure that you are still subscribed to 33 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:33,479 Speaker 2: the show, make sure you're still getting downloads and so forth. 34 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 2: Just another thing that our internal departments have told us 35 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 2: to flag for listeners. 36 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 3: And to be totally clear if you're wondering why, the 37 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 3: reason is Apple sometimes stops auto downloads for people who 38 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 3: are intending to be subscribed to the show, So that 39 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 3: may have happened to you. Just make sure that you're 40 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 3: still getting the automatic downloads that you want. 41 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, just make sure, yeah, everything is the way 42 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 2: you want it to be. That's all we ask. All right, Joe, 43 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 2: what do we have? What do you want to kick 44 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:01,840 Speaker 2: things off with? Here? 45 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 3: Let's see, Well, maybe you should read the first one here, Rob, 46 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 3: this is about your monster. 47 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:07,080 Speaker 2: Fact? 48 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 3: Is this about DC's Dracula or some other kind of 49 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 3: vampire related Monster fact. 50 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,360 Speaker 2: Oh yes, yes, yes, this one comes to us from Mike. 51 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 2: It might be I think it might be your response 52 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:21,239 Speaker 2: to Yeah. I think it's a response to something on 53 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:29,240 Speaker 2: the Monster Fact so, Mike says, in this week's Monster 54 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 2: Fact episode, you mentioned the mythos around vampire's obsession with counting. 55 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 2: This also came up in last week's Doctor Who episode 56 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 2: Wild Blue Yonder, the Doctor is able to delay two 57 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 2: evil aliens by convincing them that they had to follow 58 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,519 Speaker 2: the rules of monsters in our universe, which includes vampires 59 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,799 Speaker 2: having to count the grains of salt. The Doctor poors 60 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 2: on the floor in front of them. I also gained 61 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 2: a new appreciation for Sesame Street from the episode of 62 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 2: Monster Fact in last week's Doctor Who. I always thought 63 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 2: the count you know one two was just a clever 64 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 2: play on the word count and the name Count Dracula, 65 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 2: but now I realize this character was actually based on 66 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 2: real vampire mythos. Thanks for reading, Mike. So yeah, I 67 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 2: think this was a talking about the magic of knots 68 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 2: in this episode and about how you know you have 69 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 2: this one. There are a lot of ideas regarding vampires 70 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 2: and the sort of folkloric and fictional worlds, but you 71 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 2: do encounter the idea that if you leave a complex 72 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 2: not out, they will have to untie it and maybe 73 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 2: they'll get caught up when the sun rises, and then 74 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 2: you know, presto, they're burnt to a crisp or leaving 75 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,840 Speaker 2: out grains of something for them to count as another 76 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 2: variation that they will be compelled to do so and 77 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 2: it might delay their escape from the sun. 78 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 3: That in itself is interesting, but I don't know if 79 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 3: I've ever come across an explanation for like why vampires 80 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 3: would be thought to display this obsessive, compulsive type behavior, 81 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 3: the need to count or the need to untie. 82 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 2: I'm not entirely sure either. But you see, you know 83 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 2: variations of this and other creatures and other lures, and 84 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 2: I think, particularly with knots, it comes down to like 85 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 2: the just the very old magical tradition surrounding knots. We 86 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 2: talked about this in some of our core episodes as 87 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 2: well recently. The idea that you know, on a very 88 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 2: basic level in these in magical thinking, you know, to 89 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 2: tie a knot is to transform something, it is to 90 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 2: bind something. And when you extrapolate that through the world 91 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 2: of magic. You know it can. It's something that can 92 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 2: take place across time, across space. It can bind wills, 93 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 2: it can bind souls, and it can command monsters. 94 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 3: All Right, we got a bunch of messages in response 95 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,440 Speaker 3: to our series on Nott series. It was just one 96 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:51,279 Speaker 3: episode on rattings, the idea of rats that have become 97 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,119 Speaker 3: tangled at the tail or have their their tails tied 98 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 3: in knots. I guess this actually connects to the same 99 00:04:56,279 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 3: thing the episode where you were talking talking about knot 100 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 3: and vampires having to untie knots. 101 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,119 Speaker 2: Would a vampire have to untie a rat king? Well, 102 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 2: it remains to be seen. 103 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:09,840 Speaker 3: Good question. And of course one thing that came up 104 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:13,920 Speaker 3: in the rat kings episode is the question of whether 105 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 3: rat kings occur naturally or whether they are all of 106 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 3: a combination of false reports and hoaxes. And I think 107 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 3: we could not settle that question entirely, though I in 108 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 3: the end was mostly persuaded by a couple of sources 109 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 3: we were reading that came down on the side of 110 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 3: rat kings probably do occur naturally. Probably it occurs when 111 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 3: rats of a specific species of Rattus ratus, the black 112 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 3: rat huddle together in a nest, they get their tails 113 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 3: entangled and stuck together somehow, maybe stuck together with a 114 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 3: sticky substance or frozen together somehow, and then they by 115 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 3: their natural movements kind of make the problem worse and 116 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 3: tie their tails in a knot, ultimately that they are 117 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 3: unable to escape. But there's still a question as to 118 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 3: whether this does happen in nature or whether it's people, 119 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 3: you know, taking rats and doing some kind of weird 120 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 3: surgery to them to create these Jenny Hannover type sort 121 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 3: of taxidermy hoax objects. Jim has some commentary on that. 122 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:22,559 Speaker 3: Jim says, Hi, Robert and Joe, season's greetings to you both, 123 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,359 Speaker 3: your families and your listeners. Love the show. Been a 124 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 3: long time listener from Canberra down Under. In regards to 125 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 3: the rat king episode, I can see how very young 126 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 3: rats may get their tails tangled in a nest, especially 127 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 3: if the nest is small and high populations of rats 128 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 3: are inside the nest. But as an environmental and domestic 129 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:47,040 Speaker 3: pest controller, I've destroyed hundreds of nests and never seen 130 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 3: this in a nest. I've used an arrangement of traps 131 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 3: in order to control these populations. With this method, we 132 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 3: will sometimes trap the rats by their tails, and one 133 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,039 Speaker 3: hundred percent of the time the rats will warning here 134 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 3: gnaw off their tails. Why I'm a bit skeptical is 135 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 3: that the tales range from juvenile tales to large adult tales. 136 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 3: Just thought I would add my experience to this one. 137 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 3: Take care and keep up the great work. Cheers Jim. Well, 138 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,239 Speaker 3: thanks Jim. That is interesting information, and I would wonder 139 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 3: I guess, first of all, what species of rat your 140 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 3: experiences are with, because, as I was saying a minute ago, 141 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 3: basically all of the credible reports of rat kings are 142 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 3: Rattus ratus, aka the black rat, and not some other species. 143 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 3: So if it's true that Ratus ratus will somehow gnaw 144 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 3: off or otherwise detach its tail when trapped by the tail, 145 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 3: I think that would make me more skeptical of the 146 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 3: idea that rat kings do occur naturally and that the 147 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 3: reports of people finding them are naturally occurring objects, because 148 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 3: why wouldn't they just detach their tails like they do 149 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 3: in these other situations where they become trapped. But that, yeah, 150 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 3: that's interesting, Thank you, Jim. 151 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, it's always great to hear from folks who 152 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 2: have I mean sometimes grim obviously from folks who have 153 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 2: expertise in a given area, but it's always always great 154 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 2: to get that added level. I mean, this is one 155 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 2: of the big reasons we have a listener mail, so 156 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 2: we can hear from people out in the field or 157 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 2: even in the fields, if that's applicable to this situation. 158 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 2: All right, this next one comes to us from ghost Rock. 159 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,240 Speaker 2: Ghost Rock, says Hi Joe and Rob longtime fan ghost Rock. Here, 160 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 2: I wanted to chime in on the rat King episode. 161 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 2: My favorite pop culture reference to rat Kings is from 162 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 2: the Terry Pratchett Discworld novel The Amazing Maurice and his 163 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 2: Educated Rodents. I have not read this one. The book 164 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 2: combines stories of the rat King with the legend of 165 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:48,640 Speaker 2: the Pied Piper of Hamlin. I won't go into too 166 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 2: much detail, but the book could be almost a standalone 167 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 2: novel in that it doesn't involve recurring characters like the 168 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 2: night Watch or the Witches or any of the events 169 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 2: that occur in Discworld, and could be a generic low 170 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,079 Speaker 2: man fantasy world. A cat, the titular Maurice and his boy, 171 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 2: along with some magically enhanced mice, are running a con 172 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 2: game throughout the country where they scan the local officials 173 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:13,120 Speaker 2: into believing there is a horrible rat infestation, and then 174 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 2: the boy will play his flute and magically rid the 175 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,839 Speaker 2: town of the pests. But actually the educated mice and 176 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 2: the cat are the brains behind the scheme, and the 177 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 2: boy is more or less along for the ride. Trouble 178 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 2: comes when they hit on a town that has a 179 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 2: real rat infestation that is being controlled by a rat king. Hilarity, tension, 180 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 2: and danger ensue. Thanks again for the show and all 181 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 2: your hard work. I look forward to each episode. Gats Rock. 182 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 3: Oh, I like that premise it I'm picturing it in 183 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 3: the same visual style. Is that is that illustration from that? 184 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,720 Speaker 3: I think seventeenth century book we looked at, you know, 185 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 3: with the guys with the batons. One of them seems 186 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 3: to be about to beat a rat king and the 187 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:56,280 Speaker 3: other ones like hitting a bush. 188 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. I've never, like I said, 189 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 2: I haven't read this particular book, but I have read 190 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 2: some Terry Pratchett books in the past, and I've really 191 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 2: enjoyed the books of his that I've read. And I 192 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 2: also really enjoyed the two thousand and six mini series 193 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,959 Speaker 2: or like a two part series TV adaptation of The Hogfather. 194 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 2: That one is a semi regular holiday viewing in my household. 195 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 2: It has a great cast. You have Michelle Dockery as 196 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,199 Speaker 2: Death's daughter, susan Ian Richardson is the voice of Death, 197 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 2: David Jason is Albert, Mark Warren is Mister t Time, 198 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 2: and David Warner is Lord Downey, who's like the Lord 199 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,560 Speaker 2: of the Guild of Assassins. So it's a lot of fun. 200 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,520 Speaker 2: But anyway, ghost Rock, thanks for writing in. And yeah, 201 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 2: I'll have to move some Terry Pratchett up on the 202 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 2: reading list, all right. This next one comes to us 203 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:49,200 Speaker 2: from Daniel Daniels. Has a very interesting email here regarding 204 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 2: the Nutcracker episodes. Says, Hi, I listened to your Nutcracker 205 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 2: episode and remembered an incident that I remember from my childhood. 206 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 2: We went to visit my grandmother and I noticed she 207 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 2: had a nutcracker on the table I'd never seen before. 208 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,319 Speaker 2: This would be the late seventies. It was a big 209 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 2: chunk of clear acrylic the size of an adult fist. 210 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,839 Speaker 2: It was cube shaped with a hole through it big 211 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 2: enough to fit even a walnut. There was a thread 212 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 2: tapped into a half inchish hole bored through into the 213 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 2: center hole from one side of the cube. All right, 214 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:25,719 Speaker 2: I'm in trouble picturing this at this point, but let's 215 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 2: keep up. This threaded hole had an acrylic rod with 216 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 2: a thread and a wing nut style finger grip turner 217 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 2: on it. I was excited to see it work, so 218 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 2: we bought some nuts, and with great anticipation, my dad 219 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 2: began to screw the first nut. There was a sharp 220 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,719 Speaker 2: crack and the cube split into I don't know how 221 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 2: strong the acrylic was, or if there was some sort 222 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:49,439 Speaker 2: of an unseen flaw, but it never cracked a single 223 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,679 Speaker 2: nut despite being a big, beefy chunk of plastic. Maybe 224 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 2: it was one of the decorative, non functional ones you 225 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 2: talked about. I've never before or since seen acrylic used 226 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 2: for a device like this. Love the show, Cheers, Daniel. 227 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:06,679 Speaker 3: I wonder why it would be decorative and non functional 228 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 3: if it was like a big, clear acrylic cube, wouldn't 229 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 3: it be? I could see it being decorative and non 230 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 3: functional if it was like a wooden soldier nutcracker. 231 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean maybe it was. I mean maybe it 232 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 2: was kind of like a prototype and it was never 233 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:21,959 Speaker 2: meant to be used, and they're like, we should make 234 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,200 Speaker 2: this out of steel, and instead just the acrylic version 235 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 2: gets passed down. I don't know, you know, speaking of 236 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 2: the Nutcracker, I have to mention over the holiday break 237 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 2: post Nutcracker episode, my family, my son and I particularly 238 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 2: only able to fit in just a couple of Christmas 239 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 2: stories before the actual Christmas Eve. But we pulled out 240 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 2: the Christmas edition from the Enchanted World timeline book series, 241 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 2: which has some various Christmas things and of course lovely illustrations, 242 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 2: but it tells the classic version of the Nutcracker and 243 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 2: has some wonderful, just terrifying illustrations of of course the 244 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,960 Speaker 2: rat King or the mouse King rather, and then has 245 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 2: these added elements that are believer pulled right out of 246 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 2: the original short story that inspired all of this, in 247 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 2: which the character of the Uncle takes on this added 248 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 2: sinister tone because at the end, the little girl and 249 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 2: her Nutcracker prints, you know, she asked that they be 250 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 2: together forever and he grants her wish, and she's essentially 251 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 2: trapped inside this toy castle that the uncle had constructed, 252 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 2: so it's very haunted. We had a nice, nice haunting 253 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 2: holiday story to share with each other there on Christmas Eve. 254 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 3: Man, they don't make the mail order mythology books like 255 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 3: they used to. Those Time Life Enchanted World books are great. 256 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 2: They are, and I've said it said it before. These 257 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 2: are worth seeking out. They made millions of them, I think, 258 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:54,719 Speaker 2: so you can pick them up for pretty cheap off 259 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 2: the used book market and then these bookstores and so forth. 260 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,199 Speaker 2: Sometimes the writing can make maybe get a little wordy, 261 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 2: maybe a little long winded, but the illustrations are just 262 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 2: amazing and there's there's definitely some great content in there. 263 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 3: Okay, I think we're gonna do some Weird House messages now, 264 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 3: And this one comes from Luisa. Subject line Santa Versus 265 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,160 Speaker 3: the Devil slash First Memories. Hi, Robert and Joe, Your 266 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,239 Speaker 3: podcast is an endless source of knowledge, wonder and entertainment. 267 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 3: But the Weird House Cinema episodes are pure delight. I 268 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 3: have yet to see most of the movies you talk about, 269 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 3: and if I'm being honest, I probably won't no matter 270 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 3: how much I love listening do you talk about them. 271 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 3: Imagine my surprise when you started talking about Santa Versus 272 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 3: the Devil. I had a vague memory of it and 273 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 3: wasn't entirely sure if it was the same movie it was. 274 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 3: I actually went to see this at a movie theater, 275 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 3: probably in the original sp Vanish. I don't remember much, 276 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 3: just the cherry red devil getting burned with a door handle. 277 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,600 Speaker 3: For me, this counts as an early memory, and what 278 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,680 Speaker 3: I remember very clearly is how that movie made me 279 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 3: feel confused, uncomfortable, and a bit scared. I must have 280 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 3: been about five years old, so not particularly young, but 281 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 3: it made me go over what I think are my 282 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 3: earliest memories, and all of them are anchored to a 283 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 3: strong feeling I don't remember haha. If you came to 284 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 3: a similar conclusion in your early Memory episodes. Anyway, thank 285 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 3: you so much for your wonderful work. I always learned 286 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 3: something from you. Best regards and happy holidays, Luisa. Well, 287 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 3: thank you so much, Luisa. I love when we hear 288 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 3: from people who saw these movies when they came out, 289 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 3: especially if they were little kids, like seeing them in 290 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 3: the Luisa's so great. It's been a while since we 291 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 3: did THEE Before You Could Remember series, but it does 292 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,600 Speaker 3: seem right that a lot of early memories now. Apart 293 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 3: from us commenting on the accuracy of like the narrative 294 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 3: content of the memories, that a lot of early memories 295 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 3: do have some kind of strong emotional content to them, 296 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 3: that it might be something that made you feel good 297 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 3: and cozy, or made you feel afraid or something like that. 298 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 2: And I have to say confused, uncomfortable, and a bit 299 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 2: scared is probably the appropriate emotional response to this particular 300 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 2: Santa Claus movie, especially if you're a child, but even 301 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 2: if you're an adult, I think it's appropriate. 302 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 3: Oh my god, those reindeer. 303 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 2: Ha ha ha. All right, here's another one concerning our 304 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 2: holiday films, because that wasn't the only holiday film we watched. 305 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 2: We also watched I Come In Piece aka Dark Angel, 306 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 2: which is technically a holiday action film, and we heard 307 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:47,760 Speaker 2: from Walter, Hey, guys, I just wanted to shoot you 308 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 2: a quick message. Maybe I misheard, But did Roberts say 309 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 2: John Savage's mom in The Princess Bride? And true enough, 310 00:16:55,280 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 2: I did misspeak and I said John Savage, which would 311 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 2: have been totally different, did totally different Princess Bride if 312 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 2: you had had then thirty eight years old John Savage 313 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,439 Speaker 2: in the kid role. John Savage, of course, was in 314 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,560 Speaker 2: The Deer Hunter in the Onion Fields and also in 315 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:15,440 Speaker 2: a TV series titled Dark. 316 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 3: Angel, not related to I Come in Peace. 317 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, not related to I Come in Peace. And also 318 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,879 Speaker 2: John Savage, not related to Fred Savage, who of course 319 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:26,680 Speaker 2: was the actor I meant to reference. 320 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,200 Speaker 3: What if you swapped them both is John Savage and 321 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 3: the Princess Bride and Fred Savage and The Deer Hunter. 322 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, I love these games. Swap them out, see how 323 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 2: it changes the finished product. Another fun one is to 324 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 2: think about actors Keith David and David Keith. They've never 325 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 2: appeared in a movie together, but go ahead and swap 326 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 2: him around and see what it does. You know, sometimes 327 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 2: may have no effect, Sometimes it may have a huge effect. 328 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,000 Speaker 2: These are the kind of things that I think about 329 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,640 Speaker 2: as I scroll through IMDb from time to time. Anyway, 330 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 2: Walter continues, it says, but Anyway, the real reason I 331 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,440 Speaker 2: wrote in was because I listened to Crockett's theme after 332 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 2: you both talked it up. I wanted to share that 333 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 2: there is a whole genre of new artists putting out 334 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 2: tracks trying to sound almost exactly like that song synthwave. 335 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 2: I've included a Spotify link to my favorite synthwave playlist. 336 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 2: If either of you are interested in taking a listen. 337 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 2: I love the movie recommendations and I can't wait to 338 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 2: see what new Christmas themed movies you two will recommend 339 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,240 Speaker 2: in the coming weeks. Walter, So yeah, thanks for sending 340 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,719 Speaker 2: the synth wave playlist as well. I'm a fan of 341 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 2: several of the artists on this particular playlist, but there 342 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 2: are a number of them here that I am not 343 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 2: familiar with, so I'm always excited to check out new music, 344 00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 2: particularly while working and driving, which is exactly what synthwave 345 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:47,200 Speaker 2: is for in my life. 346 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 3: I've got a thought on this that I think unfortunately 347 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 3: still only half formed, but it's basically like I also 348 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 3: find this type of music very appealing. The kind of 349 00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 3: music that I don't know makes me think of like 350 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,439 Speaker 3: the Terminator soundtrack or something, maybe not exactly that, but 351 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 3: music that is very synth heavy and conjures feelings that 352 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 3: I associate with movies from the nineteen eighties, and it 353 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,479 Speaker 3: makes me feel like when I was watching those movies 354 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 3: from the eighties as a kid. I wonder how much 355 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 3: of the appeal of this genre, the synthwave type music 356 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,919 Speaker 3: is specifically for people our age or older who remember 357 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 3: that kind of media landscape and it's a nostalgic appeal 358 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 3: for that thing, or whether this music might just be 359 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 3: equally appealing. I don't know if it just sounds good 360 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,920 Speaker 3: and is equally appealing to people who don't have those 361 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 3: memories to sort of rejog. 362 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 2: Oh man, that's a tough one to figure out. I mean, 363 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 2: I would guess it's probably both, right. I don't think 364 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:51,959 Speaker 2: you have to have a specialized media diet going into 365 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:57,439 Speaker 2: appreciating something like say Boards of Canada or other maybe 366 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:01,480 Speaker 2: like more overtly nostalgic acts. Yeah, but I. 367 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 3: Don't know if i'd group Boards of Canada and with 368 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 3: the kind of music I'm thinking of the more I 369 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 3: don't know, Like you know, Crockett's theme evocative stuff. 370 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:10,879 Speaker 2: Oh really, have you listened to Tomorrow's Harvest? 371 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 3: Yes? 372 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,479 Speaker 2: I have? Yeah, I mean that directly in some cases 373 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:17,160 Speaker 2: references a lot of the sort of like VHS era 374 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:20,160 Speaker 2: kind of music. So I think those those inspirations, those 375 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,360 Speaker 2: notes are there. But Boards of Canada, I guess with 376 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 2: with Boards of Canada and with a lot of other acts, 377 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,439 Speaker 2: it's like it is part of the tapestry, and the 378 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 2: tapestry of sound is so intricate that you don't need 379 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 2: to be able to identify all the colors, you know, 380 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 2: like there's the experience of identify of there's the experience 381 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 2: of the colors without knowing exactly what they all are. So, 382 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:50,360 Speaker 2: you know, I guess the nostalgia can add to the appreciation, 383 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 2: but of course, the nature of nostalgia is it can 384 00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:54,959 Speaker 2: also make something beautiful a little bit sad. I mean, 385 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 2: that's the whole power of nostalgia. So I don't know. 386 00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,840 Speaker 2: Maybe there are cases where you're better off not having 387 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 2: them nostalgia because you don't get the you don't get 388 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 2: as sweet of a taste, but you're also not getting 389 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:07,600 Speaker 2: that sour or the bittersweet as well. 390 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,960 Speaker 3: I'm gonna keep thinking on this one. But anyway, thank 391 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,640 Speaker 3: you for the message, Walter. Okay, rob do you mind 392 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,639 Speaker 3: if I wrap things up today by going to this 393 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:26,399 Speaker 3: message from Daniel about RoboCop. Let's have it, Okay, Daniel says, 394 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 3: greetings Joe and Robert. Longtime listener, but first time writing 395 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 3: in since I thought I had something insightful to share. 396 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,920 Speaker 3: For once, after listening through the Weird House Cinema episode 397 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:41,240 Speaker 3: on RoboCop and being a sound designer, myself, I was 398 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 3: a bit bummed out over the fantastic sound design by 399 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 3: Stephen Flick and John pospisil never being brought up, which 400 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 3: deserves mention, as in my mind it sits right behind 401 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 3: Star Wars as the most iconic and instantly recognizable in cinema. Fortunately, 402 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 3: the sound design is pretty extensively documented, as they meaning 403 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:08,199 Speaker 3: Stephen Flick and John Pospicial wrote a letter required for 404 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:12,159 Speaker 3: the Oscar nomination process, which has since been preserved online 405 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 3: for all to read and folks at home. I did 406 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,040 Speaker 3: go and read this letter in full. It's worth looking 407 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 3: up and reading because it describes in detail where a 408 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 3: lot of the sound effects in RoboCop came from. It 409 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 3: like describes the process they went through to try to 410 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,359 Speaker 3: create the sounds, and like things that didn't work, that 411 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 3: didn't sound right, and what they would what they ended 412 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,880 Speaker 3: up using, and in a lot of cases it's very 413 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 3: funny and surprising. And Daniel goes on to describe some 414 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 3: of these in his email. Daniel says, some of my 415 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:46,880 Speaker 3: favorite highlights include, after many iterations, they settled on a 416 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:52,760 Speaker 3: footstep fully made from a prop of truck timing chains 417 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 3: embellished with a low frequency synthesizer thud and a distinct 418 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:02,400 Speaker 3: clink afterwards, meant to evoke the spurs of Cowboy Boots, 419 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,679 Speaker 3: pulling from some of the Western themes present in the film. 420 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 3: It's great, how like you can watch the movie so 421 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 3: many times and never think about the fact that you're 422 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,480 Speaker 3: hearing it and making these subconscious associations still like other 423 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 3: media and stuff. As soon as I read that, I'm like, God, 424 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,359 Speaker 3: that's right. It does kind of sound like spurs on 425 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,080 Speaker 3: Cowboy Boots. There's like a clink there. But I never 426 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 3: consciously put that together, even though I'm sure at some 427 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 3: level I did make that association. 428 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 2: You know, this is one of the things. And this 429 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 2: kind of gets back to the other point about us, 430 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 2: like not mentioning it in the episode, is that great 431 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 2: Foley work, like other great effects in a film, can 432 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,359 Speaker 2: be kind of invisible. You don't necessarily think about them 433 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 2: unless you know you have you know, maybe you know 434 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:48,479 Speaker 2: you have a little more insight into the world of it, 435 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 2: or when it's bad, I stand out or there's something 436 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 2: unnatural about it, But when it's so perfectly executed, you're like, no, 437 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 2: that's that's the sound AD two nine makes exactly not 438 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 2: going to second guess it for a second, or think 439 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 2: about how the magic happens. 440 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,280 Speaker 3: This is why I think in order to learn how 441 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,439 Speaker 3: to make good movies, you should watch a lot of 442 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:13,200 Speaker 3: bad movies to like see see see how things don't work, 443 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:14,880 Speaker 3: and then you can go back and watch the good 444 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,880 Speaker 3: ones and appreciate the difference and understand when they do work. 445 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 3: Because a lot of times when things do work, you 446 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:21,920 Speaker 3: can't You don't even notice them, you don't think about them, 447 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:22,919 Speaker 3: they're just invisible. 448 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, you got to be able to see the zipper 449 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 2: on the monster suit to fully appreciate it when it's 450 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 2: not there. 451 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, But come back to Daniel's message here. Robocops dramatic 452 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,919 Speaker 3: movements like his punches or entering through the door of 453 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:40,000 Speaker 3: the convenience store being robbed, are accentuated with these abstract, 454 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 3: synthetic woshes that were directly inspired by the much more 455 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,360 Speaker 3: stylized and overstated audio of Asian martial arts cinema, and 456 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 3: a style that remains prominent to this day in anime. 457 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 3: I think that's true too. That's great. Like the kinetic 458 00:24:54,880 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 3: sound effects, there are things that are in reality generally silent, 459 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,800 Speaker 3: but you hear them in the movie, there's a kind 460 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 3: of like whooshing or a movement sound effect, a kind 461 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 3: of advancing noise when when something is approaching or moving, 462 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,399 Speaker 3: even though you if you were actually standing there and 463 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 3: literally seeing an object moving in that way, you probably 464 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 3: wouldn't hear anything. It's kind of like in visual animation, 465 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 3: like the movement lines drawn around something. Yeah, Daniel goes on. 466 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,359 Speaker 3: While not explicitly brought up in the letter, the application 467 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 3: of the chorus slash flanger effect on his voice to 468 00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:37,119 Speaker 3: make it sound more mechanical is also cleverly woven into 469 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,919 Speaker 3: the storytelling. As the effect is removed from his voice, 470 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 3: wants his behavior shifts to becoming more human. If I recall, 471 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:49,120 Speaker 3: the specific point is once he confronts Emil Antanowski at 472 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,080 Speaker 3: the gas station. Okay, yeah, I think I can hear 473 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:56,399 Speaker 3: this too, that the vocal processing is sort of turned 474 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,080 Speaker 3: down on his voice as he as he becomes more 475 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,160 Speaker 3: and more human throughout the film, JJ, could you put 476 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 3: some chorus on my voice to make me sound more 477 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 3: like a robot? What does chorus on a voice sound like? 478 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 3: I am issuing commands? Now engage Finally, Daniel says, also 479 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:17,119 Speaker 3: after listening to the ratking episode. With both rats and 480 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 3: RoboCop fresh in my mind, I thought an excellent candidate 481 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 3: for a future weird House cinema would be the nineteen 482 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 3: eighty three movie of unknown origin, starring Peter Weller as 483 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:30,320 Speaker 3: a yuppie losing his mind fighting an unusually resilient and 484 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 3: destructive rat hiding in his fancy New York home. I 485 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 3: had a hard time deducing what this movie was trying 486 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 3: to be tonally, as the premise suggests something more psychological 487 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 3: or perhaps comedic in nature, but while watching the trailer, 488 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 3: it was clearly riding on the mood and imagery of Poltergeist, 489 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 3: which had come out the year before Happy Holidays. Daniel, Wow, 490 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:56,959 Speaker 3: I don't know, I haven't seen that. That sounds weird. 491 00:26:57,600 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 3: I wonder if has that come up in another Weird 492 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 3: House episode, Robert, The premise sounds kind of familiar, but 493 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:03,919 Speaker 3: I know I haven't seen it. 494 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,479 Speaker 2: I haven't seen it either, but it has come up 495 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:10,560 Speaker 2: because the director was George P. Cosmotos Oh, the father 496 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,320 Speaker 2: of Panos cosmotos So so we have mentioned it in 497 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 2: passing as being kind of a notable weird film in 498 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 2: Peter Weller's filmography. 499 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:24,360 Speaker 3: Okay, Well Yeah, anyway, thank you so much for this email, Daniel. Excellent, 500 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 3: excellent message, and thank you for bringing to our attention 501 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,400 Speaker 3: all this great sound design by Steven Flick and John Pospisil. 502 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,199 Speaker 3: Absolutely worthy of a mention. And I'm sorry, you know, 503 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:38,239 Speaker 3: we we do often end up focusing mostly on the 504 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,119 Speaker 3: cast when we talk about people associated with the film, 505 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:45,359 Speaker 3: and obviously there are tons of there's tons of talent 506 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:47,680 Speaker 3: that goes into making any great movie, and a lot 507 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,520 Speaker 3: of that is behind the camera, not in front of it, 508 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 3: or is you know, the people who create the you know, 509 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 3: create the things we see on screen or that we 510 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,000 Speaker 3: hear on the soundtrack, but we we oftentimes don't even 511 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,879 Speaker 3: know their names. It really emphasizes how much film is 512 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 3: a team effort and it takes a lot of talented 513 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 3: people to make a great one. 514 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 2: Absolutely. Yeah, we'll have to think about this in the future. 515 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,719 Speaker 2: Maybe we can. So sometimes we like to select something 516 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,880 Speaker 2: based in part on the knowledge of certain individuals behind 517 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 2: the scenes, be at the musical side of things or 518 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,359 Speaker 2: special effects. Maybe we should try and come up with 519 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,680 Speaker 2: a sound effects first selection at some point and see 520 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 2: what rises to the top. 521 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,359 Speaker 3: I endorsed this idea, all. 522 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:32,440 Speaker 2: Right, well, we're going to go and close the mail 523 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 2: bag there, but we'll be back with more next week, 524 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 2: I believe. In the meantime, we'll just remind you hey, 525 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,720 Speaker 2: core episodes of Stuff to Blow your Mind Science episodes 526 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 2: on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, we set all that aside. 527 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 2: We do a little weird house cinema talk about a 528 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 2: weird movie. You get your listener mail on Monday, and 529 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 2: on Wednesday we have a short form episode of one 530 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 2: sort or another that comes out. 531 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:57,040 Speaker 3: Huge, thanks as always to our excellent audio producer JJ Posway. 532 00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:58,719 Speaker 3: If you would like to get in touch with us 533 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 3: with feedback on this episode or any other, to suggest 534 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:03,840 Speaker 3: a topic for the future, or just to say hello, 535 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,160 Speaker 3: you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 536 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 3: your Mind dot com. 537 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 538 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 539 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,680 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.