Adapted from original artwork by Brandon Wilhelm

Regarding new media to get into: *deep breath* Okay so let me make my pitch for why should listen to the podcast Malevolent. If this is the first you've heard of it, it's a Lovecraftian horror mystery series about a private investigator named Arthur who gets partially possessed by an eldritch entity who takes over his eyes. It very cleverly solves the podcast dilemma of how to narrate surroundings in an audio format naturally, because the entity has to describe everything to Arthur. They have to work together to try to figure out what happened to them, and encounter spooky things along the way. The writing, voice acting, and sound design are some of the best I've ever experienced in an audio play, and it is all done by one extremely talented creator.

I think you will like it because Arthur and the Entity start off as adversaries but then become wildly codependent and Not Normal about each other. You've heard of enemies-to-lovers, get ready for enemies-to-allies-to-enemies-to-friends-to-ememies-to-secret-third-thing-(married bastards). Though the nature of their relationship is up to interpretation (queer platonic or romantic are both valid readings) their love for one another is canonical and the crux of the show.

As a warning, the series dives deeply into themes of grief (specifically child death) and how to survive and find peace after traumas. It is handled with grace and care, but can often be heavy. I suggest you check out the content warnings, to be safe.

If any of this is interesting to you, I hope you check it out. Selfishly, I'd love for you to join this tiny corner of the internet, largely because I have always admired your storytelling. Thanks!

Huh. You know, it's not the first time I've heard about this show. One of my SNM friends is also wildly into it, lmao.

I've avoided listening to it thus far because... well, being real with you, I've never actually enjoyed anything described as "Lovecraftian" up to and including Lovecraft. (Oops.) Something about cosmic horror just... kind of bores me, if I'm being honest. I think... small things in horror might interest me more than big things, maybe?

That said, I do like codependent relationships and horror mysteries, and it looks like the site does have transcripts. (I'm kind of hard of hearing, haha.) I can't make any guarantees because, again, it's not a kind of monster I'm usually into, but next time I cross-stitch I'll give it a try. Maybe I'll like it.

(Also thank you, that's really sweet. ;;)

About

Honestly, he’s a canon character so I will assume that you already know the basics of who Alastor is if you want to interact. I have some headcanons that portray him a little different than canon, though I stick to the events as they happen in the series. I reserve the right to update and change things as needed in the future as more information/seasons come out. You can view his information on the wiki here. Relevant Headcanons:

As it hasn’t yet been revealed in canon who currently owns him, as referenced by Husk and the season one finale, I am keeping this intentionally vague. Generally I lean towards Lilith, but I'm keeping it open and thread-specific.

My Alastor has some Cluster B personality stuff going on, specifically a blend of Narcissism and Antisocial Personality Disorder. This doesn't mean he can't form friendships or care about others, but he finds it much easier to not care about things than to actually care. Generally he views everyone as props, ensemble, or supporting cast in the show that is his life, up until they're around enough/he grows fond enough to upgrade to 'main cast'. Appeals to emotion generally won't work on him unless he considers you a close friend, but he can be convinced by a good argument.

Link to long-ass write up of how I view his radio broadcasts/ownership of the radio in general.

My Alastor does not practice Voodoo/Vodou/Vodun/Hoodoo or any variation thereof. Instead, his abilities are inspired by it as a nod to his roots/misdirection. He still has sigils and shadows and stitched together shadow dolls, but it's not associated with any real-life practices. Basically he dabbled in the usual stuff when he was younger and then went racing off to dark, forbidden, eldritch things that Mankind Was Not Meant To Know. I cross him over a bit with the Lovecraft Mythos, taking some cues from the overall stories and the Call of Cthulhu TTRPG.

Specifically I associate him with Hastur/The Yellow King. This means he follows a bit of a mad artist trope - his medium happens to be the screams of his victims in his broadcast. There's a near compulsive need to find just the right combination of screams. It's always there in the back of his mind, like an earworm he can't quite get rid of. In addition, his association with the King is where he gets most of his magic - he gets a big power boost, so long as he is Entertaining, whether that be playing the Fool, or the Villain, or anything else. The magic he practices does affect how he perceives the world, and since he's been messing about with mind-bending things, he's not 100% sane. He Perceives the world differently (think of it like Second Sight - it is his perception of your muse, not necessarily indicative of your muse itself), though I won't always get into it for every reply since that can make for exhausting reading and writing. References to this may be made in replies, but knowledge of the mythos isn't necessary. A lot of this is just flavor text. If it's relevant, I'll explain in tags or in character as part of the response. If you have questions about this, feel free to ask!

I place significant emphasis on him as the Radio Demon, a minor eldritch staglike creature intrinsically tied to airwaves and any radio frequencies that exists in multiple dimensions. Sometimes I'll refer to radiospace which is just a fancy way of saying the airwaves but treating it as its own separate dimension almost. Anything with the radio is innate to him and completely separate from the shadows/puppets/sigils/etc. Generally when I say Radio Demon, I'm referring to him as that rather than the dapper deer demon. Really he's more this creature, what everyone knows as Alastor is more of a meat-suit he uses to interact with people who cannot perceive to the 14th dimension. Basically - he's high grade Nightmare Fuel if you have any form of Second Sight. Something with too many antlers, teeth, eyes and hooves, impossible to say how many of each there are, as the amount visible keeps changing. He reeks of the fear and blood of a slaughterhouse on a metaphysical level, triggering a primal urge to run in those that don't know how to deal with it unless he's purposely keeping it tamped down. Even then the blood-scent still lingers. He's constantly listening to everything that goes on within the range of a radio, though he ignores most of it and has to focus to actually interpret what he's hearing. Riding the airwaves, he can get to anywhere in seconds, so long as a radio wave can reach it (which is pretty much everywhere in the Pride Ring, unless precautions are taken). As a Sinner, Alastor's physical form is stuck in that Ring. From his tower he can broadcast his shows to the other Rings as well if he chooses, as I'm opting to take Vaggie's lines from the pilot literally. On his own, he can eavesdrop on any radio in the Pride Ring and speak through it, much like Vox can project onto any TV. If a radio transmission within the Pride Ring can reach you, so can he. Same as above - if you have questions about this, feel free to ask and I'll be happy to elaborate/clarify.

He isn’t a wendigo. He shares some traits like he's always hungry and cannibalism. He is only not hungry when he's eating. He can make do with animal meat for a snack, and loves the irony of eating deer, but will eventually need people meat. He will not at any point be referred to as a wendigo. 

On his accent and known languages - he is fluent in English and only knows a little bit of French (though some references may be made to fictional magic languages like Aklo at times). His French is just stuff he's picked up over the years and by growing up where he is so he's unlikely to wow you with his command of the language and dip into it randomly. Also he has Committed To The Bit a little too hard and his natural accent is the Transatlantic one. He's spoken like that for a good 90+ years - the accent he grew up with is long gone and he'd have to make an effort to mimic it, it won't come naturally.

The little stitching at the corner of his mouth to keep him smiling is self inflicted. While I've seen other theories like whoever holds his leash doing it, I just really like the idea of him doing it to himself, because of his own beliefs and desires and not because it's forced on him by someone else.

Yes he has a tail. It's cute and he keeps it hidden because it doesn't match the image he wants to project.

On Vox - Alastor is still very fond of Vox. He thinks about him a lot, though he's considerably better at hiding it. If he can't have Vox's friendship, he'll have his disdain. Either way he gets the attention he craves.

Regarding shipping

I love shipping, and am happy to encourage it. However, he's not particularly easy to ship with without discussion. There's a few things to be aware of and what to expect from him:

He's aroace, but he views himself as just having not met the right one yet. That doesn't mean he is actively looking, he's quite comfortable without such complications.

Alastor is not romantic. He may still go through the motions - gifts, flowers, etc - because he's a gentleman and that's what you do when you're courting. Provided he understands you're courting. Naturally he'll default more towards queer-platonic. He wants a partner who is with him because they want to be, not because they're tied by a deal or anything else. He's not really looking for a lover of any kind.

Emotions are hard.

He's not oblivious, but he'll act like it cause it's easier and tends to keep relationships where he wants them.

Understanding how he works and thinks is something he values a lot. Being able to read between the lines between what he says/does and what he actually thinks/his reasoning is important.

I cannot stress this enough - your character MUST be able to read his nonverbal cues and between the lines. If he's comfortable enough around you to stop masking, he may be more difficult to read, not less. I will try to give enough description in the prose and tags, but if you need more let me know.

He has difficulty verbalizing his wants and needs in terms that are not equivalent exchange. He's used to his relationships being transactional - it comes with being a well-known dealmaker and a powerful overlord. People don't usually seek him out for his shining personality, just when they want something from him.

Given the above, he finds it easier to spoil his partner than accepting his partner spoiling him. But it's his version of spoiling, which can be anything from jewelry or flowers you'd like to thoughtfully presented heads of your enemies.

'No' comes easier to him than 'yes', which can cause problems if you're trying to get his consent for something. He doesn't ever do anything he doesn't want to do, and he'll expect you to understand him well enough to know that if he isn't saying no, then it's a yes. He'll get upset if you try to press for a straight answer, as he thinks he's always very clear about his wants and needs (he's not, but he can explain his reasoning behind things if you ask the right questions. This isn't him trying to be purposely obtuse/difficult. Usually).

He's used to his friends pairing off and leaving him as perpetual third wheel (this happened more in Life, less in his Afterlife), making it difficult for him to believe he can offer what anyone wants. To him, it's a matter of time before he's left for someone who can offer more.

You'll be walking on thin ice because he's so used to being misunderstood and misinterpreted in his personal life when not making a deal. He treats everything like a fun game because it hurts less and he can pretend he's 'won' when he's been 'successful' in keeping someone guessing.

He's touch averse - if he's not initiating the touch, he doesn't usually want it. If you want to hold his hand or something, you hold out the hand and let him take it. You want a hug? Open arms for a hug and let him come to you. As he gets more comfortable that will change but it will always be there - sometimes things get too much and no contact will be allowed at all.

If you're with him because of a Deal, it's probably going to be a toxic ship and some of the above things may be reversed since he'd always be in a position of control/not worry have to worry about his pride

On sex -

I'm fine writing smut, but getting Alastor to want to do so will be tricky.

He's not sex-repulsed but he's super disinterested in sex. He'd rather watch paint dry. You'd have to really work at convincing him it'd be fun for him to partake. He does have a bit of a libido but he doesn't see the point in making a production out of it when he can easily just take care of things himself in half the time if he chooses to indulge at all.

October

Books

Finished reading:

Audiobook – Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier, 1938

Book – The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft, 1928

Book – Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush, 2018

Currently reading:

Book – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 1878

Book – Relentless by Deborah Schupack, 2022

Media

Finished watching + listening:

TV series – Only Murders in the Buildings starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, 2021–TBD

TV series – What We Do in the Shadows starring Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, and Harvey Guillén, 2019–TBD

Currently watching + listening:

TV series – Strange New Worlds starring Anson Mount, Babs Olusanmokun, Celia Rose Gooding, Christina Chong, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Melissa Navia, and Rebecca Romijn, 2022–TBD

Animated series – Star Trek: Lower Decks produced by Paramount+, voiced by Eugene Cordero, Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, and Noël Wells, 2020–TBD

Podcast – The Dumbells hosted by Erin McGown and Ryan Stanger, 2016–TBD

Podcast – Stronger by Science hosted by Greg and Lyndsey Nuckols [formerly Eric Trexler], 2019–TBD

Projects

Finished projects:

Cross-stitch – "No Body, No Crime" by Cross-Stitch Vienna, 2023

Current projects:

Recipes – Food and Wine 40th Anniversary Special Edition ed. by Hunter Lewis et al., 2018

Recipes – Appetites by Anthony Bourdain, 2016

Recipes – The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman, 2012

Recipes – The Big Texas Cookbook by the editors of Texas Monthly, 2022

Wine tasting – Wine Folly by Madeline Puckette, 2015

Cross-stitch – Feminist Cross-Stitch by Stephanie Rohr, 2019

Tag 10 People You Want to Know Better

Thanks to @grayeyedandroid for tagging me :)

1. Relationship Status: Single. Have been for 22 years, won't be dating anytime soon. I'm Demisexual so I'm not really interested in dating anyways.

2. Favourite Colour: Pink! :) I also like red, white, brown, and orange. But pink, specifically a rosy or pastel pink (like cotton candy), is my favourite colour/shade.

3. Favourite Food: Ooooh, this is a tough one. I don't think I can choose just one food. :( I really like food. But some top favourites are sushi, pancakes, chicken pot pie, grilled cheese, and fajitas :)

4. Song Stuck in Your Head: C'est la Vie by the Weathers. I feel that song a bit too much right now...That and Twin Sized Mattress by the Front Bottoms.

5. Last Thing You Googled: Choco tacos being discontinued 🥲 When I was about 8, my twin brother and I would buy them from the ice cream truck. We were left alone by our mom while she was at work, and we weren't supposed to be outside at all, but we heard the ice cream truck and we would use all our allowance to but choco tacos specifically. We have them at the store I currently work at but I don't think I'll be able to get one again. I didn't even think about trying them again. It's been such a long time...I guess I missed my chance to relive those memories.

6. Time: It's 3:40 AM as I write this...I'm nocturnal because of my job.

7. Dream Trip: I've always wanted to go to Canada. I come from a military family so I've seen a lot of Europe already. I've never even been in close proximity to Canada, state-wise. Canada was one of my hyperfixations in the past (which I'm sure annoyed way more people than my family) but I just find it so interesting.

8. Last Book You Read: Alice in Wonderland :) Read it online

9. Last Book You Enjoyed Reading: Alice in Wonderland! I've re-read it so many times since I was a kid but it's such a whimsical and fun book (especially when you understand the jokes and historical references)

10. Last Book You Hated Reading: Oof...I don't know that I've read a book I disliked recently...the last book I remember disliking was probably that collection of HP Lovecraft stories I picked up put of curiosity at the bookstore. I sat there reading, hoping I could figure out why people like his stories so much. God, the stories were so boring and the writing was awful. Then I found our he was, like, suuuuuper racist, so...yeah. Kinda ruined any bit of enjoyment I might have gotten from that.

Bonus

1. Favourite Thing to Cook/Bake: HHHHHNG I LIKE COOKING AND BAKING SO MUCH. You want me to choose one thing??? I love making cookies, pies, pizzas, stew, grilled cheese, pancakes, brownies, cake, soufflés, french fries, gingerbread! They're all my favourite! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME CHOOSE.

2. Favourite Craft to Do in Your Spare Time: Cross-stitching! Or just sewing in general :) Unless drawing counts as a "craft"...

3. Most Niche Dislike: Honey-based candy corn. I like the candy Corn made with corn syrup! But the honey kind? 🤢

4. Opinion on Circuses Now and in History: Love-hate relationship. I love the romanticized idea of the circus, but being aware of the cruelty towards the disabled, POC, and animals in circuses throughout history kinda ruins the ideals of pretty colours, cotton candy, and clowns. I like how circuses now forgo the "freakshow" thing and have started using fake animals, or at least treat the animals better than they did in the past (if they use them at all). I've never really been to the circus (although I've once seen a Circe du Soleil performance). Because clowns are one of my special interests, I know a lot about them and the circus industry. Real circuses are...products of a pretty awful past. And I'm just not a fan of crowds, so...eh. So long as no-one and no animal is being treated cruely, I have no qualms. Romanticized/ideal fictional circuses however? Awesome. Stupendous. Amazing. Love 'em.

5. Do You Have a Sense of Direction and, if Not, What is the Worst Way You've Gotten Lost?: I've never had a sense of direction in my life. I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten lost. The worst times involve going to new schools, which I did often as part of that military family. For the first week I would show up late to many classes, utterly befuddled by the winding hallways, staircases, and rows of lockers that all look the same. Teachers would (usually) understand...on the first or second day. Later in the week (or month), when they realized I couldn't navigate the school any better than most can navigate the school system...well, I saw a lot of Hope leave my teachers eyes before they even started handing out homework.

Tagging: @bailey1rox @nerdgul @cchipk @extravagantnonbinary @benevolentclowns @dat-soldier @goldenteddie @uselessundertalefacts @vintagecandy @yuzu394 Hope to learn more about all of you :D ! 💕

A small Cthulhu cross stitch birthday/Christmas gift for a friend. Pattern by LadyBeta.

Dec. 2020

Christmas gift for a friend

How did you learn to embroider? Are there any good videos, say on YouTube, you recommend for beginners??

Learning embroidery

I started out by imitating pictures in magazines, by looking up YouTube tutorials, and by improvising a lot.

There are many types of embroidery from all over the world. If one style ends up not being your thing, you can always look into different ones.

Embroidery resources:

My embroidery 101 post

How to secure embroidery thread

Embroidery backings

Sarah's Hand Embroidery stitch library

Sarah's Hand Embroidery YouTube channel

Embroidery by Break n' Remake: part 1 | part 2

Stitch Floral's guide to embroidery

HandiWorks' embroidery playlists

Embroidery for beginners by LoveCrafts

The Spruce Crafts' embroidery tutorials (including how to get started and 15 basic stitches)

Everyone has different learning styles, so I added different types of resources. Some of these are written articles, others are picture guides, and the rest are YouTube video's. That way you can look up textual descriptions if you ever get stuck while following a video.

(Image source) [ID: an embroidery sampler in shades of purple and pink. Various lines of embroidery form a heart.]

Cross stitching:

If you don't like all these fancy stitches, you could also try your hand at cross stitching! It requires more focus (in my experience) as it involves a lot of counting, but the base stitch itself is easier.

Check out these tutorials by Phil's Next Kick, Made By Marzipan and Stitched Modern to get started.

(Image source) [ID: a hand holds an embroidery hoop on which a half-finished sprite of the Pokémon Cyndaquil has been cross stitched. In the background lies a cross stitch pattern showing Cyndaquil's entire sprite and a colour scheme.]

H. P. Lovecraft’s “What the Moon Brings” stitched and designed by VigilForTheLight.

“H.P Lovecraft's 'What The Moon Brings', embroidered in monochrome cross stitch and blackwork 🖤 This one took so effing long *weeps* Self drafted arrangement of patterns. Text was created with crosstitch.com/captionmaker/text.”

Press: Elizabeth Olsen and Jurnee Smollett Compare Notes on Genre-Blending Acting and Advocating for Performers on Set

VARIETY: Neither Elizabeth Olsen nor Jurnee Smollett are strangers to having to really stretch their imaginations to dive into complex characters and even more complicated worlds.

Both have superhero films on their résumés: Smollett portrayed Black Canary in DC’s “Birds of Prey,” while Olsen stepped into Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch’s shoes for Marvel’s “Avengers” franchise and then some — including Disney Plus’ first Marvel series, “WandaVision.” They are both now Emmy-nominated for projects that tasked them with jumping through time, blending genres and telling epic love stories (Olsen with “WandaVision,” Smollett with HBO’s “Lovecraft Country”). And, even though they are up in different categories (Olsen in lead limited series/TV movie actress; Smollett in lead drama actress), both of these shows are one-season wonders, leaving the performers and their audiences wanting more.

Olsen and Smollett dissected all that of when Variety brought them together post-nominations to talk about their celebrated roles and surreal playgrounds.

You both had a lot of magical or otherwise surreal elements to interact with on your shows. What did you actually have in front of you to react to on set?

Jurnee Smollett: We were very fortunate on “Lovecraft Country” because the whole VFX team worked so hard to create an atmosphere that was also practical in our space. I remember on Episode 3, the exorcism scene, we shot it over a course of three days and, while there was not a man in real life with a baby head on him, you’ve got the wind machines and the pictures are blowing and all the special effects makeup is being touched up. Atticus [Jonathan Majors] has pretty much turned into a rabid dog and I’m doing this spell with my ancestors and whether they were shooting behind us or shooting the elements, we were at our max capacity regardless because that’s just how we approach the craft. It was such a big sequence to shoot that that’s when the actor in you has to advocate for your instrument. I did go to the director and say, “Can you jump in and cross shoot Jonathan and I?” As an actor it is our job to shoot however many takes, however many angles you need, but then it is also our job to advocate for yourselves. And I love playing in this space because you get to use your imagination you get to go to crazy places. Because even while the practical elements are there; you get to go to crazy places. But I was grateful for the practical elements because it’s just so much easier.

Elizabeth Olsen: Did they have pre-viz so you knew what some of the supernatural elements looked like?

Smollett: With the Shoggoths they not only had a pre-viz for us, but for some of the scenes they had massive sculptures, like a dude standing there in a green suit with a Shoggoth head. The pilot we didn’t have this puppet, but by Episode 8, maybe we got more of a budget or something, but eventually we did get a puppet — which was really cool because you could see, “This is the moment his mouth is opening.” But also, Misha [Green], our showrunner, she just wants more blood, more dirt. She’d try to get them to blow spittle at us.

Olsen: That’s so gross!

Smollett: This concoction of Shoggoth spit, throwing it in front of this wind machine. I find the more practical stuff we have to work with, it just helps so much. And then there were the moments where it’s like, “No it’s just a green tennis ball and an X, and go.” How about you?

Olsen: For all those little things in the air and stuff in the ’50s, it was really important to our director [Matt Shakman] that we did everything ala “Bewitched.” It was all camera tricks, it was all wires. Our head of special effects had a lineage of a father who [did] special effects before him, and so puppetry and wire work and stuff like that were things that were already in his vocabulary, but we would have our special effect guys who are used to blowing things up and putting things on fire just balancing and making sure things aren’t swinging but they have to move. Even in the ’70s when she’s pregnant and everything’s in chaos, we really had a picture on the wall going in circles; they just figured out things with magnets.

When we were filming the finale, it was during COVID, during the fires last summer, and we shot Kathryn [Hahn’s] side at the beginning of the episode when she has my boys with her magic — we had to shoot them out because you always have to shoot the side with the kid out and also Kathryn was doing wires for the first time and of course it was with a corset and it was really hot and really bad air quality and so she had to be sent home by the medic at the end of the day. And so, on my side we were running out of days, and I think we had 35 minutes to shoot my side and my reactions to all of that, and there’s quite a bit of back and forth and throwing myself to the ground and hitting a different mark that will then stitch with the stunt double being pulled. I did a weird one-woman show sans kids, sans Kathryn. Our stand-ins were such a huge part of our show and I was so grateful to have them they’re reading lines with me, and our director, Matt Shakman, was like, “If you feel like you can’t do this, we’ll just do this tomorrow.” That gave an adrenaline rush to me and it just became, “I’m just going to do it.” There’s a lot of fear when you’re like, “Oh I don’t have the elements and I am on my own, literally.” But I’ve had to do this before and I’m just scared to do it because I feel stupid. But I already look kind of stupid — I’m shooting things out of my hands — so why don’t I just lean into it as full as possible and just do it and find it in some core, guttural space of desperation? That day was bizarre, but I was actually very happy that I didn’t put it off. I feel like sometimes as actors when there are things that make us nervous it’s like, “Oh we don’t have enough time to explore so let’s do it the next day if we can,” and then you’re in your head all night about it. And so, it’s nice to just do it, even if it feels silly.

Smollett: I’d imagine surrendering and using the fear and all that that you were feeling probably served you so well in it.

Olsen: And don’t you feel that, though? When you feel unsupported you just want to break down in tears and you’re not supposed to break down in tears or you’re not supposed to have those it’s those feelings in the moment, but there are other times where it is really useful and there’s something freeing about channeling it in some way.

Smollett: Yeah and it’s that word you just used: freeing. Being able to surrender — leap and the net will appear. And you’re right, if you would have gone home, you probably would have come back the next day and you would have overthought it. There’s something about using the adrenaline in that moment that I don’t think you can really teach an actor to do; it’s just experience. Because we go and we prep and we do all these things, and then you get to the set and there’s one distraction, two distractions, and those are the elements that just through experience you’ve learned to use.

But I have to say, when I was little, I used to go to sleep every night watching Nick at Nite and “Bewitched” was one of my favorite shows. I did not expect you guys, at all, to go to land of “Bewitched.”

Olsen: I didn’t either. I’m so grateful to it. I felt like I like forgot my body as an actor. You’re a very physical actor, so I feel like you probably don’t have that experience because you just seem so connected and free whether it’s on stage or doing action. And I really felt disconnected from my body until “WandaVision.” I was like, “Right, I have posture; I can walk; I have legs — all of these things are going to be telling the story and it’s period and so I get to move differently.” It’s been a while since I needed to create quite a different character, and it felt so good to wake up my body to the full character work.

Just watching you in the first episode on stage, I was like, “God damn, I want to feel that free on stage with a song and with an audience.” I’m a self-conscious actor when it comes to extras and things like that. There’s something about it where the crew’s the family, and with extras, I feel so vulnerable. And you seemed so at ease and in control and confident. It made you understand her fierceness and how fearless she was.

Smollett: Thank you so much! It’s so interesting that you point that out because, for me, singing in front of people terrifies me. It truly is one of the things that terrifies me the most. The thing about Misha’s writing is, she finds a way to teach you so much about a character in such a small amount of time. And in that first sequence we learn so much about Leti, from that fearlessness you talk about, the ease that she has in herself and in her person, but then you learn so much about her hypocrisy and the contrasting ideas that are at play inside. She’s a very complex one. In the scene with her sister where she’s talking about having dreams of pioneering into an all-white neighborhood in 1955, but she can’t afford to may for socks. [Laughs.] She didn’t come to her mother’s funeral, and yet she’s here yearning for some sort of family connection. And so, I just remember reading that and feeling so drawn to her and feeling like it’s a side of myself that I needed to unearth — there’s a Leti in me that I desired to actually be, but sometimes am not. And it’s interesting because through Leti, she really forced me to do so many things that I hadn’t done before and really become more fearless, become more unbound. It was just such a very cathartic experience for me.

Olsen: I felt that way with getting to do this sitcom comedy part. I felt like I was touching my childhood version of myself who was a ham doing children’s musical theater, who just who just like played for the laughs or whatever — that part that I don’t access at all, really, when filming. And Kathryn Hahn was such a force and Paul Bettany raised to the challenge, as well, of these comedic performances that were really physically funny. I started to get more comfortable — in the ’60s, ’70s, really got comfortable — and it was so much fun to touch that child that maybe was told too many times, “Oh, you’re such a ham” or you just felt like your big personality as a kid was not OK or wasn’t as appropriate. And so, getting to play with that was really freeing and very fun. As you were saying, there’s a release I needed to have, and through the comedy I was able to have it.

How did this sense of empowerment affect how you carried your own characters’ power? Was there something your character that inspired you to advocate for yourself or did advocating behind-the-scenes inform in-world behavior?

Olsen: I felt very lucky coming into this, because this is a world I know. And so, where my voice of advocacy came in was for actors who are coming into the world — like Teyonah [Parris], wanting to make sure that she had everything that she needed to understand where her character was going because this was a character that’s going to continue [and] if she had everything she needed for stunts. And then similarly with Kathryn, she didn’t realize there was someone who she could use to teach her hand gestures for her magic. And so, she was feeling nervous and lost, like, “How do I do this thing?” And I was like, “Oh, how do you not have that information!?” And then having a conversation with whom you need to on the crew up top and figure out how to keep everyone else feeling like they had everything they needed. And luckily, because this was a show with characters that Paul and I had before, the pieces came together and it was a situation where your voice is welcomed and heard.

From “Sorry For Your Loss,” the TV show I did with Facebook, I now have a producer voice that I can’t shut up. I now just need to talk to ADs a lot, and I need to talk to line producers a lot. I realize that I like having — especially if I’m No. 1 on the call sheet; if I’m a primary part — all of the information so I can understand why decisions that seem weird are happening, or else I’m going to get in my head about, “Why are we doing this this way? I just let people know that off the bat now because it makes me less of a control freak, having information. And it is a team effort and I think the actor’s value has changed in that in that respect. There’s a lot more opportunity for women to be vocal now, and so I’m just really seizing that opportunity.

Smollett: It was a very personal growing experience for me. It was time of transition [and] I’m still going through that transition in my life. In order to truly surrender and do the text justice, there was so much I had to bring to the altar every day to sacrifice. I remember talking to Jonathan about that, and he would refer to it as allowing your heart to break and hoping that the Holy Spirit would put it back together. She was essentially a woman trying to navigate her womanhood but she was never actually allowed to have a childhood. She was habitually abandoned by her mother and didn’t know her father and there’s something in that parental-daughter split that I found myself really relating to. Oddly enough like Leti, I was estranged from my father for years. He eventually passed away, really before there was that healing and so, oh man, it brought up so much shit with Leti. How does she see the world? She sees the world through the eyes of an abandoned child. With Leti, that made her overcompensate; with Jurnee, it made me shrink a lot. When you talk about that artist child, those of us who have been in this business for so long, you take on all the sensors. And I found myself just trying to love her a little more. One of the things I admired so much about Leti is this desire to love herself — this real desire to own herself unapologetically in a world that told her she was too Black and female, to exist in her entirety. It’s still a transition that I’m in, but I definitely feel so grateful to have been able to walk through some of that and navigate through some of that with Leti. But that’s, I think, the blessing and the curse of being an artist. You’ve got to be willing to bring your whole mind, body and spirit to it; nothing’s off limits.

Jurnee, the last time you spoke with Variety we were all assuming you’d get to return to this character, but now that HBO has said it’s not being renewed, do you have unfinished business with her?

Smollett: It’s no secret I’m heartbroken. I loved Leti and of course would have loved to continue playing her. But I am so incredibly proud of the work that we all created together — it feels so special and unique — and I am finding peace in that. We’re artists and there’s an endless well that dwells inside us— and there’s so much that’s out of our control. And I think I’ve done this long enough and I’ve experienced enough heartbreaks to know you don’t get attached to the results too much; you just try to stay in a moment. And I feel just so proud and blessed to have been chosen to go on this ride with these collaborators, so I am more so in the place of gratitude than loss.

On the other end of the spectrum, “WandaVision” was a limited series but Wanda Maximoff is a character you have been coming back to for years, Elizabeth. How do you approach that longevity — the changes in her, the changes in you and the interest in revisiting her at all?

Olsen: I’m 32 and I was 25 — so seven years ago — when I did the first one. There’s so much change that I’ve had, even as an actor and how I approach work and, I think, honor work so much more in the last five years, four years of my life. [Jurnee’s film] “Birds of Prey” feels like such a female-empowered thing, so I feel there’s a really incredible energy to beginning it, but then with me you hear people make comments about Marvel movies and it affects your own process. “WandaVision” really shook that up for me and made me reinvest.

Smollett: I so want to know your process with that because the comic book space was new for me. I’d been a fan; I’d seen all your movies and the other movies. How did you navigate all of those voices? Because they can be very loud.

Olsen: Luckily and also frustratingly my character was always this emotional anchor to a piece of the story. It was like the heart, if there’s a heart. Paul and I were the only romance that was really fleshed out in those movies. And so I just treated it like I would anything. And then, we have a really fun time filming “Avengers” And so it’s really goofy and the Russos are great. And so we, it feels light-hearted, and it feels like we have the last laugh at the end of the day. But when it comes to the reinvesting, that’s the whole mind game, right? Because you just hope that it continues to have this quality control, but the more the more things get made, you’re worried about that. Especially because I did a show on Facebook that was scripted, and I didn’t love the way they handled it. And it was hard. And so second season, we went back and we literally, as a team of producers, had meetings with people who ran Facebook Watch about where we thought they could improve. We had a whole presentation for them. And then eventually, they were like, “We’re not doing scripted anymore.” And so I didn’t have the greatest experience being a part of the launch of another streaming service. And so, the Disney Plus part made me nervous and then bringing these characters that are so big to television made me nervous. But Kevin Fiege explained to us that that they were not going to cut corners, and they’re going to try and create the same attention to detail, and they did. And I think it was really important for them to have that care for these first three shows that they were putting out because it was defining a new thing for them. And so, we were taken care of.

I think more for me with this with the reinvestment moving forward, I never had a six-movie or nine-movie thing; it was always two or three at a time — those were my contracts. And so, it’s always a really conscious decision. I wrapped “WandaVision” on a Wednesday and flew to London on a Friday to continue playing this part [in “Doctor Strange 2”]. I could have used getting out of the mindset, though, because they were totally different utilizations of the character and people would have had more time to understand “WandaVision” had we not just wrapped. And so there’s just a lot of, “We covered this in ‘WandaVision…’” It’s bigger than me, there’s lots of threads that are continuing on after me that I’m not aware of, and so it’s always about, “What can I get from this journey with this character that maybe I haven’t tapped into yet with her?” That’s where I keep approaching things from, so that I feel like I have some sort of strap-hang — that I can know that there’s going to be growth of some kind, even though it all maybe looks the same to other people. There is that conscious decision to learn a new element of this woman, or even of myself as an actor — something that I want to explore that I can bring to it.

Your passion for acting is apparent and you both produce as well. What about directing?

Smollett: I would love to one day. I find myself currently being incredibly excited about producing and ushering new voices and excited voices. I don’t know that I would want to direct myself — that’s a whole other skill. I remember watching Denzel Washington, who directed me in “Great Debaters” but he was also in it, and at that point he had such a command of his instrument that he was able to do that. But it’s a lot. And I remember him telling me, before directing himself, he went and made himself watch all his films just so that he could stomach this idea of watching himself in the editing room. And so, I love the idea of storytelling; I’m obsessed with just telling stories, but I don’t know that I would self-direct.

Olsen: I find myself still loving producing so much because I love asking questions and poking holes and thinking about reorganizing of storylines, things that I feel maybe need more structure. I loved writing essays in school so much; it was like something that I found creative because it was about putting so many different sources into a braid that could maybe create this larger conversation or thought at the end. And so, that’s how I look at scripts. That’s really satisfying enough for me, to play that role. I think one day I’ll think about it more honestly, what it what it would mean to be a director. I fear that if I were to do it anytime soon, I wouldn’t have the tools that I would want. I do ask lots of lens-y questions because I’ve really only been working for 11 years and only recently have I tried to really understand the art of what lenses to choose and why and what it makes an audience feel based on what you’re choosing. I want to have a better, more holistic understanding of [that] before attempting [directing] because I do think it’s such an art and just because I understand the structuring of a story or how a set works, I want to be able to provide the the image in my head. I don’t know if I have that skill yet, but I am curious about feeding it and nurturing that.

Press: Elizabeth Olsen and Jurnee Smollett Compare Notes on Genre-Blending Acting and Advocating for Performers on Set was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen

People I'd like to know better

Alias/Name: Desmillz but most call me Des

Birthday: February

Zodiak: Aquarius

Height: 5'3

Hobbies: Roleplaying and drawing mostly. I paint, cross stitch, sculpt things, I own a bass and a guitar and maybe one day I will actually learn to play them.

Fave color: Orange

Fave Book: So many but probably anything to do with vampires since that's most of my collection outside HP Lovecrafts Cthulhu

Last song: A perfect Circle-Passive

Movie/Show: Currently watching Ghost Rider

Recent Read: uh Good Omens a couple years ago

Inspiration: 90s cartoons like invader zim and grim adventures, pop culture, cthulhu, horror, mythical and cryptid critters. I love spooky shit so, the spookier the better. Oh and music of course!

Story behind your url: Not much of a story behind it. I just needed something that said he's Alastors shadow and not Alastor himself

Fun Fact: if you rp with me I will probably draw our characters interacting because I enjoy drawing nonsense

Tagged By: @winters-club

Tagging: everyone? That is an option! So if you see this and you think 'everyone but me' you're wrong, it's everyone and you! Do it!

For the Fandom Snowflake Challenge #14:

Look around your current space, whether digital or brick-n-mortar. Post a pic or description of: 1. a fannish item 2. something round 3. something that is your favorite color 4. the last game you played (video, phone, table top, etc.) 5. a book you are currently reading 6. album art of the first song that comes up on shuffle 7. the last movie you watched 8. TV show you're currently watching 9. the homescreen, lockscreen, or desktop wallpaper from your device 

Alright...

1) the complete compilation of H.P. Lovecraft’s works.

2) a lilac ceramic coin that I was given as a birthday present by an acquaintance. It has a key - my favourite ornament.

3)  the cross-stitched Fourth Doctor I made for Challenge #6 this year. 

4) Monopoly. I won.

5) Gone With the Wind, needs no introduction.

6) ...it was Welcome to the Black Parade...

7) The TV Movie (Doctor Who) with the family. (The family loved it.)

8) Supernatural. Closing the Superwholock triad ten years after the rise of the actual Superwholock.

9) Art to “Through The Gates of the Silver Key” by H.P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffman-Price. Randolph Carter, a dreamer, has a Very Deep Experience.

September

Books

Finished reading:

Audiobook – Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, 1977

Book – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954–1955

Book – The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush, 2023

Currently reading:

Audiobook – Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier, 1938

Book – The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft, 1928

Media

Finished watching + listening:

Movie – Death Becomes Her starring Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep, and Bruce Willis, 1992

Movie – Red, White, and Royal Blue starring Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez, 2023

Currently watching + listening:

TV series – Strange New Worlds starring Anson Mount, Babs Olusanmokun, Celia Rose Gooding, Christina Chong, Ethan Peck, Jess Bush, Melissa Navia, and Rebecca Romijn, 2022–TBD

TV series – Only Murders in the Buildings starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, 2021–TBD

TV series – What We Do in the Shadows starring Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, and Harvey Guillén, 2019–TBD

Podcast – Maintenance Phase hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbs, 2020–TBD

Podcast – The Sporkful hosted by Dan Pashman, 2021–TBD

YouTube series – The Knitting Pickle Podcast starring Laura Penrose at Penrose Knits, 2021–TBD

YouTube series – NE Knits Podcast starring Amy Best at NE Knits, 2022–TBD

Projects

Finished projects:

NA

Current projects:

Recipes – Food and Wine 40th Anniversary Special Edition ed. by Hunter Lewis et al., 2018

Recipes – Appetites by Anthony Bourdain, 2016

Recipes – The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman, 2012

Recipes – The Big Texas Cookbook by the editors of Texas Monthly, 2022

Wine tasting – Wine Folly by Madeline Puckette, 2015

Cross-stitch – Feminist Cross-Stitch by Stephanie Rohr, 2019

Cross-stitch – "No Body, No Crime" by Cross-Stitch Vienna, 2023

Learning Tarot With Memes

Keywords: Inner wisdom, synchronicity, subconscious awareness, divine insight.

Key concept: "Intuition is like reading a word without having to spell it out."

The High Priestess can signify that right now is the best time to listen to your inner voice. In a reading, this could indicate embracing your ability to sense, empathize, and nurture. There is a calm center inside you that whispers the truth even if it can't be put into words.

Key Symbols

Young woman: The card's co-designer A.E. Waite specifically wanted the High Priestess to depict "Shekinah," which is a beautiful concept in Jewish mysticism that means "God’s presence and connection" and is distinctly feminine.

Crown: The crown belongs to Isis/Hathor, the Egyptian goddess(es) of magic, the cosmos, guiding deceased souls in the afterlife, and maternal protection. The crown was originally a solar disk and cow horns, but depicted here, it appears to be three visible phases of the moon. Whereas the sun is fiercely bright and shows everything "clear as day," the moon gently illuminates the dark while always gradually changing.

Robes & Moon: Her veil and robes resemble flowing water, and the moon is at her feet. The equal-sided cross on her chest has been used by countless cultures to represent "unity". In the background, the height of the heavens and the depths of the sea are meeting together at the horizon. In Catholicism, the Virgin Mary is also called "Queen of Heaven," the mediator between humanity and the divine, and she's often depicted with a crescent moon at her feet.

Scroll: On her lap is a mysterious scroll labeled "TORA," which sounds like "Torah". This can also be an anagram for other words: taro (tarot), ator (Egyptian goddess Hathor), orat (Latin for "speaks/teaches"), and rota (Latin for "wheel/cycle").

Pillars: She sits between the two pillars of Boaz and Jachim, which existed in real life at the front of Solomon's Temple in Israel. The pillar “Boaz" represented "mightiness" and "Jachin" represented "stability" (both names of historical people). King Solomon, the son of King David, and was unfathomably wise. It's recorded that the Queen of Sheba couldn't stump him with riddles, and she gifted him with countless jewels and spices. According to legend, King Solomon also had extraordinary magical powers.

Curtain: Hung between the pillars is a curtain acting as a veil between worlds, and the pomegranates are arranged in a "Tree of Life" pattern. Deep within Solomon's Temple was a curtain at the entrance to the "Holy of Holies" where God's undiluted essence was so strong that it was lethal. The high priest could only safely enter once per year during the Day of Atonement after first undergoing ritual purification. On his ceremonial robes embroidered with pomegranates, there were bells stitched to the hem so he could be heard walking around, and also, a rope was tied to his ankle in case the other priests had to drag his dead body back outside. Several religions have considered pomegranates sacred: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism. Perhaps the most famous pomegranate of all time was eaten by the Greek goddess Persephone, which permanently tied her to the underworld.

Waite-Smith Fun Fact

Arthur Edward Waite had some famous haters. One was Aleister Crowley, ceremonial magician and founder of Thelema, who called him "Dead Waite" in a magazine article and additionally named a fictional villain "Arthwate" in Aleister's novel Moonchild. Also, HP Lovecraft's short story The Thing on the Doorstep had a villainous wizard called "Ephraim Waite," which was said to be named after AE Waite.

Dork Forest 2011-2020 Cheat Sheet

The votes are in for 2020! 

This is a list of Episode Numbers - Guest Name - Dorkdom.  I take votes for faves of the year and then add a couple for variety of topics that I really thought were fun. ALL THE EPS have something for someone and are great but here is a starter list if you’re thinking to start listening to TDF and are not a numerologist completest.

Note: show’s been going since 2006 but I’ve only been surveying since 2011.  The show is on all the platforms. Pandora, Spotify, YouTube. Start here if you like: www.dorkforest.com . Standup info and other podcast is at www.jackiekashian.com

2020 TDF EP 562 - Guy Branum - Mitford Sisters TDF EP 568 - Maria Bamford - Canadian Reality Shows TDF EP 599 - Jen Kirkman - Hallmark Christmas Movies TDF EP 565 - Darla Kashian – COOKING TDF EP 598 - Russ Kashian - Hallmark Christmas Movies TDF EP 549 - Tig Notaro – Veganism TDF EP 581 - Jenny Yang - Comfort Food TDF EP 591 - Amber Preston - Church Cookbooks TDF EP 574 - Ron Funches - Call of Duty and Animal Crossing TDF EP 577 - Barbara Holiday - Escape Rooms TDF EP 558 - Sarah Mowrey - Fleetwood Mac TDF EP566 - Matt Kirshen/Myq Kaplan - Advice Columns  TDF EP 595 - Kristin Key - Mad Libs TDF EP 576 - Robert Jenkins - Guns and Safety TDF EP 588 - Sofiya Alexandra - Wheel of Time books TDF EP 570- Jim Woster – Columbo TDF EP 573 - Robert Hurt - Babylon 5  TDF EP 550 - Danielle Perez - Mariah Carey TDF EP 583 - Dar Vendegna  - PIckleball  TDF SPOILER 3 - Andy & Jackie - Rise of Skywalker 

 2019 TDF EP 523 Lydia Popovich Dolly Parton TDF EP 511 Auggie Smith Dead Comedians TDF EP 535 Christopher Titus Prince TDF EP 530 Phil Kashian Hitchhiking TDF EP 532 Brian Posehn Heavy Metal TDF EP 549 Tig Notaro Veganism SP1 Endgame Spoiler Dork Out TDF EP 503 Wynter Spears Public Restrooms TDF EP 524 Sara Benincasa Frederick Law Olmstead TDF EP 529 Caitlin Gill Murder She Wrote TDF EP 545 Mary Becquet Chinese Ghosts Vampires TDF EP 525 Matt Oswalt Taking Pictures TDF EP 510 Gary Anthony Williams Birds TDF EP 531 Robert Hurt DS9 TDF EP 547 Thom Tran The Flash TDF EP 540 Brian Jacobovitz Cthulu RPGs TDF EP 515 Judith Stephen CosPlay TDF EP 528 Justin Hermann Heroscape TDF EP 538 Dave Ross Zelda and LINK TDF EP 544 Sharon Houston Netflix British Reality Shows TDF EP 505 Kat Burdick Next Generation TDF EP 509 Michelle Biloon NYT Crossowords

2018  TDF EP 487 Amy Miller - Dolly Parton TDF EP 471 Emma Arnold - BEES TDF EP 499 - Erin Foley - Hallmark Christmas Movies TDF EP 481 - Cheryl Jones - Maritime History TDF EP 471 - Andy Ashcraft - GenCon TDF EP 482 - Nato Green - Union Organizing TDF EP 473 - Tamra Brown - Tiki Bars TDF EP 493 - Nina Manni - Air and Hotel Points TDF EP 446 - Carlos Delgado - Great British Bakeoff TDF EP 495 - Alice Wetterlund - Sharks TDF EP 487 - Mark Waid - Superman TDF EP 454 - Open Mike Eagle - Wrestling  TDF EP 457 - Jean Grea - Ikea  TDF EP 447 - Gariana Abeyta - All Genres have Great Movies

2017 TDF EP 390 - Phil Kashian - LOTR and MY BROTHER TDF EP 422 - Steve Agee  - John Hughes Movies. Weird Science TDF EP 426 - Sara Schaefer - Cross Stitch  TDF EP 431 - Jenny Jaffe - Planners. Calendars. Stickers. All the things. TDF EP 405 - Rebecca Sugar - Musicals  TDF EP 438 - Jen Briney - freaking CONGRESS TDF EP 423 - Karen Rontowski - Moth Man TDF EP 401 - Jason Hatrick - Scuba diving  TDF EP 429 - Kyle Clark - Halloween Theme Parks TDF EP 417 - Nat Towsen - Speed Racer TDF EP 402 - Tyler Hinman - Escape Rooms TDF EP 428 - Solomon Georgio - Black Sitcoms TDF EP 403 - Hal Lublin - Saturday Night Live TDF EP 408 - Al Madrigal - Jack Reacher NOVELS TDF EP 435 - Wyatt Gray - HP Lovecraft TDF EP 442 - Doug Stanhope - getting naked and Leisure Suits TDF EP 404 - Julie Dixson Jackson - Geneology  TDF EP 427 - Lisa Allard – Quilting

2016 TDF EP 336 Jim Stewart Allen - Oregon Trail  TDF EP 383 Jenny Chalikian – Xena TDF EP 387 Caitlin Gill - Roald Dahl  TDF EP 358 Wil Anderson - Cricket TDF EP 359 Heather Simmons - Alice in Wonderland. TDF EP 340 Barbara Holm - Buffy the Vampire Slayer TDF EP 380 Beverly D’Angelo - things that Change your Life - Music, Places TDF EP 366 Karen Rontowski - Tarot Cards TDF EP 373 Stu Goldsmith - Boardgames with a STORY  TDF EP 364 Maria Bamford LIVE at JFL Montreal (Bandcamp)  2016 I really liked: TDF EP 385 Jenny Zigrino - Authentic Historical Costuming  TDF EP 347 Riley Silverman - The Potato. Mostly Frozen.  TDF EP 355 Ivan Van Norman/Andy Ashcraft - Zombies & pen/paper games TDF EP 341 Cathy Ladman - Knitting  TDF EP 349 Moon Zappa - The BIG questions TDF EP 368 Martha Kelly - Law and Order SVU TDF EP 367 Phil Johnson - Pirates TDF EP 362 Rory Scovel - Golf (quietly clap) TDF EP 339 Sovereign Syre - Spanish Invasion of Florida.  TDF EP 348 Dash Kwiatkowski - Superman TDF EP 338 TJ Chambers - Chess TDF EP 379 Michelle Thaller – SPACE! LIVE DC Drafthouse (Bandcamp)

2015 TDF EP 303 Matt Saxe – all Vice Presidents. TDF EP 298 Jason Klamm – Vice Presidents and Lego! TDF EP 312 Greg Proops at LA Podfest – 70s Movies TDF EP 320 Wil Wheaton – BEER and Boardgames TDF EP 287 Michelle McNamara – Robert Durst and more True Crime TDF EP 294 Retta – Purses. Handbags TDF EP 323 Chez Amanda – Xfiles. Finally. TDF EP 310 David Koechner – History dork! TDF EP 268 Tammy Pescatelli – Thrift stores and Vampires TDF EP 279 Brian Kiley – Presidential Biographic Minutia TDF EP 285 Ian Abramson – McDonald’s Land TDF EP 316 Breanna Conley – Old time Photo Booth collecting 2015 another 12 that I picked: TDF EP 329 Robert Hurt – Space Ships TDF EP 321 Ryan Stout – Injustice. AS USUAL. TDF EP 324 Suzy Soro – Ghosts. TDF EP 313 Danielle Radford – great “bad” movies TDF EP 305 Murray Valeriano & Monty Franklin – Surfin. TDF EP 269 Christian Brown, Roselle Hurley and Andy Ashcraft - LARPing TDF EP 271 Bridget Everett - Barry Manilow, Richard Simmons & Rudy TDF EP 273 Sean Crespo – DUNE TDF EP 284 Brian Upton - history and aesthetics of gaming TDF EP 293 Live at Bridgetown Branum, Kilgariff and Preston (Bandcamp) TDF EP 300 Amy Shira Teitel – SPACE TDF EP 325 Gail Carriger Live in SF – Anglophile. (Bandcamp)

2014 TDF EP 259 – Laraine Newman - Dubstep TDF EP 245 – Brittnee Braun - Cosplay TDF EP 249 – Brian Regan – Line Mentality TDF EP 215 – Robert Hack – Doctor Who TDF EP 264 – Joseph Scrimshaw – Star War Prequels TDF EP 227 – Emily Gordon – Breakfast around the world TDF EP 239 – Rhea Butcher – Back to the Future Movies TDF EP 260 – Jimmy Pardo – Chicago (the band) TDF EP210 – Corey Olsen – Tolkien TDF EP 258 – Emily Heller – ESM & HS Debate

2013 TDF EP 177 - Greg Proops - Ancient History TDF EP 172 – Janeane/Bamford - Beading/SuzeOrman TDF EP198 – Live Podfest w Kilgariff/Bamford/Anthony/Valeriano - Salad TDF EP 189 – Moshe Kasher - Religion TDF EP 199 – Michelle McNamara - True Crime TDF EP 203 – Ryan Stout - Traffic Court

TDF EP 150 – Gina Yashere - Ghosts/Elevators TDF EP 151 – Craig Shoemaker - Wizard of Oz TDF EP 207 –  Matt Mira - James Bond TDF EP 167 – David Huntsberger - Horses TDF EP 200 –  Andy Peters/Mike Schmidt - Wrestling TDF EP 190 –  Cameron Esposito - Lesbians TDF EP 202 –  Matt Weinhold/Dana Gould/ Shawn Sheridan - Halloween

2012 TDF EP 129 – Live with Michelle McNamara (True Crime) TDF EP 111 – Jim Gaffigan (obscure news personality) TDF EP 117 – Corey Olsen (TolkienProf) TDF EP 142 – Live with Retta, Rajskub, Kilmartin and Scovel TDF EP 94 – Mary Jo Pehl (reading and writing and more reading) TDF EP 133 – Kira Soltonovich (Korean Spas) TDF EP 113 – Jesse Schell and Andy Ashcraft (oh. Video Games) TDF EP 98 – Henry Phillips and Mike Phirman (Guitar Comedy and Music) TDF EP 139 – Joel Hodgson (ventriloquism) TDF EP 93 – Live with Ernie Cline (the 80s and Ready Player One) TDF EP 102 – Dan Telfer (Dinosaurs and science in general) TDF EP 108 – Al Madrigal (Sales and Cartoons) TDF EP 148 – Guy Branum - Canada TDF EP 95 – Live with Kevin Eastman (ninja turtles) TDF EP 97 – Rose Abdoo and John Matta (tiny tiny ART! And The Thing) TDF EP 99 – Asterios Kokkinos (Pokemon) TDF EP 100 – PF Wilson – (history of the various football leagues)  TDF EP 103 – Live with Andy Kindler (“indie” comic books) TDF EP 104 – Merrill Markoe (I feel like we talked dogs mostly)  TDF EP 110 – Patrick Brady (animation)   TDF EP 120 – Erin Foley (NY Giants) TDF EP 121 – Tom Franck (Art) TDF EP 130 – Lois McMaster Bujold (I dork out AT her. She talks writing) TDF EP 138 – Michael Everson (coding fonts for obscure languages)

2011 # 55 Greg Proops – Making Baseball interesting            # 67 Hardwick/Palascak – Harry Potter                       # 37 Karen Kilgariff  - Sandra Bullock                          # 16 Dana Gould – Planet of the Apes                         # 48 Aisha Tyler – girl on girl fandom                          # 24 Jen Kirkman/ Karen Rontowksi – ghosts/UFO                 # 49 Dana/James - HOLLYWOOD                                # 40 April/Vargus – TRIP TO MIDDLE EAST                                                   # 3 Madigan/Kilmartin – the KENNEDY’S  #42 Maile Flanagan/Yuri Lowenthal - Animation #50 Michelle McNamara – True Crime #30 Ed Brubaker / Kermet Apio – Comics #14 Thrilling Adventure Hour – so many things Origin Story – #69 Andy Origin Story - #71 Maria #73 Rich Sommer – Mad Men and Boardgames #77 Matt Weinhold/Ken Daly – Horror Movies #82 Chad Daniels/David Huntsberger – just hilarious #80 Bengt Washburn – Fine art #51 Andrew Solmssen - IT #28 Eric Drysdale - VIEWMASTER #58 Bees – uh, BEES #63 Perfume – and, PERFUME #44 Jim Coughlin – A4 Paper #91 Trains!    

NOTE Premium eps w/o iTunes:  Here’s how to download albums from Bandcamp:

1.    Download the .zip file from Bandcamp. 2.    Unzip the file to your Music folder. 3.    Rescan your Music folder. 4.    Open the music app and listen to your tunes.