The SFFaudio Podcast #089 – TALK TO: James Campanella

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #089 – Jesse talks to James Campanella, Ph.D. Jim is an associate professor in the department of Biology and Molecular Biology at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He’s also an audiobook narrator, and podcaster.

Talked about on today’s show:
J.J. Campanella watches very little TV, Lost, The Big Bang Theory, Antarctica, MSU, molecular biology, genetics, plant genetics, philology vs. phylogeny, the Science News Update podcast, “a funny Geordie sounding dude” (Tony C. Smith), duck penises, cloaca, sexing birds, African Grey parrots, ants, What Technology Wants, technology as an extension of evolution, “microscopic brains”, plant intelligence, tropism, phototropism vs. gravitropism, auxins, The Secret Life Of Plants, dowsing, plant signaling (with jasmonic acid), StarShip Sofa, The Merchant And The Alchemist’s Gate by Ted Chiang, knitting and cross-stitching, narrating skills, Uvula Audio, I, Libertine, The Call Of The Wild by Jack London, L. Frank Baum is seriously weird, violence vs. bloodless violence, the Tin Woodsman and his enchanted axe, goiing from cyborg to robot (via a Ship of Theseus metaphor), Sky Island, genocide in kids books, Doc Savage, The Avenger, Lester Dent, Hamlet And Eggs by J.J. Campanella, a comedic detective story, Georgia, 9/11, how to be always wrong, private detectives, The Code Of The Poodles by James Powell, what accent would a talking dog have?, The Friends Of Hector Jouvet by James Powell, Monaco, A Dirge For Clowntown by James Powell, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Divers Down by Hal Gordon, were kids in the ’70s were more respectful?, the Rick Brant series, Tom Swift, The Rocket’s Shadow (Rick Brant #1) by John Blaine, Jonny Quest, adventure, The Venture Bros., The Flintstones, Harold L. Goodwin, serial books, house names, The Bobbsey Twins, Edward Stratemeyer, “electronic adventures”, who read and bought those serial books?, the end of the pulp era, The Mystery Of The Stratemeyer Legacy, Nancy Drew, has paranormal romance replaced kids books?, the Twilight series, the Harry Potter series, Rick Riordan, The Wizard Of Oz, H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, the rich and amazing language of Lovecraft, Miskatonic University, Craig Nickerson, At The Mountains Of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft, Professor William Dyer, The Shadow Out Of Time by H.P. Lovecraft, Brazil, proper Portuguese pronunciation, “lethp listhping”, Doctor Who, Silurians, yithians, Horror vs. Science Fiction, Astounding Stories, time travel, “shoggoths etc.”, The Statement Of Randolph Carter, a really serious (and difficult) question: Are zombies Science Fiction or Fantasy?, Romero-style zombies, 28 Days Later, real zombies in nature (mostly in the insect world), Herbert West, Re-Animator, the source matters, if the zombie was dead then it is Fantasy, why are zombies so popular?, people like the idea of being able to kill without remorse, mummies vs. werewolves vs. vampires vs. zombies, Zombieland, Bill Murray, contemporary Fantasy, Neil Gaiman, comics, sword and sorcery, Elric, the Thomas Covenant series, Stephen R. Donaldson, Douglas Adams, American Gods |READ OUR REVIEW| vs. The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul, James Alan Gardner, Expendable is an “absolute masterpiece”, Star Trek, why are there no James Alan Gardner audiobooks?, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Man Of Bronze is terrible, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson |READ OUR REVIEW|, Jim Campanella describes it as “turgid”, Metropia, “photo-realistic Swedish anime”, baby eyes, Steamboat Willie, the evolution of Mickey Mouse’s appearance, infanticide, why do your big eyes prevent me from kill you?, saccharin, the sucralose story (is in the Dec. 2010 podcast of Science News Update).

Posted by Jesse Willis

Jake Sampson: Monster Hunter

SFFaudio Online Audio

1936, a Sunday in June. The tides of woe are sweeping in. Today is Robert E. Howard’s funeral.

Gloomy Sunday (1936) by Paul Whiteman with Johnny Hauser |MP3|

That must mean…

there’s a new Jake Sampson serial starting up.

Episode 1 of Jake Sampson: Monster Hunter: The Gods Of War |MP3| is out now!

BrokenSea Audio Productions: Jake Sampson: Monster HunterJake Sampson: Monster Hunter is my favourite original serial from BrokenSea. The show is set in 1930s and features a cast of characters that’s half Indiana Jones half Tales of the Gold Monkey. Throw in plots about Howard Carter, cursed Egyptian mummies, evil South American cults, vampires and the source of Robert E. Howard’s stories and you’ve got the fixins for one heck of a fun show.

Podcast feed: http://brokensea.com/jakesampson/feed/

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[via BrokenSea Audio Productions and Archive.org]

Posted by Jesse Willis

The DATAJUNKIE blog delivers Octoberish audio

Online Audio

Datajunkie BlogThe DATAJUNKIE blog is run by interesting fellow named Hyperdave. On a regular basis Hyperdave posts cool covers of retro books, comics and interior Science Fiction magazine art. He also occasionally posts up “Old Time Radio” or vintage LPs in MP3 format that matches the pics! This week Hyperdave has posted a number of terrific items….

First and foremost there is a downloadable compressed folder full of H.P. Lovecraft audio goodness, to get it check out THIS post. Included in it are a number of cool vintage H.P. Lovecraft paperback covers, as well as an awesome street map of Arkham, MA that includes info on the layout of Miskatonic University. I find this very helpful because apparently all of Arkham has been strategically erased on Google Maps!

The audio content consists of the following…

MindwebsBeyond The Well Of Sleep
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Michael Hanson (Semi-Dramatized)
1 Mp3 File – 26 Minutes 44 Seconds [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: WHA Radio (Madison, WI)
Broadcast: 197? or 198? Sept. 3rd 1976
I hadn’t heard of the Mindwebs radio show prior to this posting, but a little research over at the always reliable OTR Plot Spot turned up this description:

“Not really audio drama in the strict sense of the definition, this 1970’s series out of WHA Radio in Wisconsin featured weekly readings of science fiction stories by some of the genre’s best writers. Nevertheless, since many of the readings were enhanced by music, periodic sound cues, and the occasional character voice, I consider them ‘semi-dramatized’ [SNIP] Besides, the music was so well written, and the performance of Michael Hansen, the reader, so evocative of each story’s mood, that the result was often better than most fully dramatized productions of the period. Precise episode totals are unclear, though at least 150 were aired between 1976 and 1984. Readings varied in length, but most were in half hour format.”

Also on tap in the same downloadable folder are: A strangely semi-dramatized (and slightly scratchy) anonymous David McCallum reading of Lovecraft’s The Outsider (20 Minutes 43 Seconds).

Even better there is a very good straight reading of Lovecraft’s The Rats In The Walls in two parts (running just under 1 hour). This version has the period racial slurs intact too.

And POSTED just today…

Famous Monsters SpeakFamous Monsters Speak
Performed by Gabriel Dell
2 Mp3 File (from an original 33 1/3 LP Record) – Approx. 50 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Wonderland / AA Records
Published: 1963
Product #: AR-3

It looks like all voices on this recording are actually just the one guy, Gabriel Dell.

An Evening With Boris Karloff And His FriendsAn Evening With Boris Karloff And His Friends
By Forrest J. Ackerman; Performed by Boris Karloff
1 MP3 File – Approx. 24 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Decca Records
Published: 1967
Product #: DL74833

A collection of synopses for the classic Universal films that stared Boris Karloff mixed with his performance are sound bites and musical cues from the films Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Son of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The House of Frankenstein.

*Thanks to Roy for the additional details!

posted by Jesse Willis