Finger Food # 11 - Beowulf

This week the guys over at the Legends Myths and Whiskey Podcast have graciously accepted our request to guest write an installment of our Finger Food Blog.  For those of you who are not familiar with the show, head on over to iTunes and check them out!  As always if you have comments or suggestions please hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.  Thank you and #StayTwined

The Anglo-Saxon epic-poem of Beowulf is old. Like, really old. Like, over 1,000 years old. Sure there are older manuscripts out there, but there aren't any older poems written in Old English out there. So aside from being the incontestably greatest hero of all Scandinavia, Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, is also the oldest existing bastion of the earliest days of verse; at least where the English language is concerned. Beowulf is, however, unique and special for more reasons than just these - one reason being the focus of this article.

The Humanization of Beasts

Art by Paolo Puggioni. Designed for Beowulf: A Mythosymphony by Satyr Productions.

Beowulf is the work of an unknown author, and we can't assume that much about him (indeed there is much debate over the poem's authorship). What we do know is that the epic-poem of Beowulf has a decidedly Christian slant for being written in a Pagan world. The work clearly posits the Christian God as the supreme decider of human fate and takes several potshots at the ineffectiveness of paganism. In spite of this however, Beowulf has a very unique theme running all the way through it: This Anglo-Saxon epic-poem makes constant concession for its villains by giving them incredibly human traits. By forcing us, when we study them closely, to identify with them in ways we shouldn't.

This is unheard of.

Why would a Christian author, clearly competing against the pagan religions for dominance in Europe, spend time showing us the mind of Grendel? Spend time illustrating the good heart of Grendel's beastly and horrific mother? Convey a dragon as anything less than repulsively evil? The Bible doesn't do this. The Bible tells us that an evil entity simply is evil and simply does evil things. But in Beowulf, evil has a mind, it has a reason beyond itself for acting as it does, and it seems to have a good heart in some places. Grendel attacks because he is kept awake by the constant noise of bad neighbors; not because he likes eating Danes. Grendel's mother mourns the death of her son in a visceral way and even goes so far as to endanger herself to in order to make him complete again in death. The Dragon does no evil until it is stolen from, it lives happily atop its hoard; sleeping for days at a time, feasting not on the flesh of Gaets.

Art by Paolo Puggioni. Designed for Beowulf: A Mythosymphony by Satyr Productions.

The hero Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, may treat these beasts with the edge of his sword, but the author treats them as complete characters and goes out of his way to ensure they explain themselves through his narration. This is worth discussing.

What else might be hidden in this story?

Now that I've got you thinking, you may be super interested in taking a second look at Beowulf; to see for yourself what you may have missed all those years ago. At the same time, it may sound like the most daunting task you can imagine: sitting down to parse through ~120 pages and then deeply analyzing their hidden or missed meanings.  But you're in luck, we've made something just for you and people like you.

Beowulf: A Mythosymphony

Art by Paolo Puggioni. Designed for Beowulf: A Mythosymphony by Satyr Productions. Album cover.

Recently I got together with two friends of mine and started a production company: Satyr Productions, LLC. We produce the tri-monthly Legends Myths and Whiskey Podcast and recently we've begun creating and releasing Mythosymphonies. A Mythosymphony is a story set to a completely custom soundtrack from start to finish. But that's not all. Spaced out between the chapters - and at various intervals - are commentary tracks featuring discussions just like this one (including this one, actually) intended to provide context and insight which is difficult to gain when reading on your own and without spending hours on research.

So if you're interested in giving Beowulf another go, and in learning more from it than you have before, pick up a copy of Beowulf: A Mythosymphony today on iTunes or Bandcamp (Google Play soon). We'll finish this discussion when you get there! See you soon!

Questions? You can find us on Twitter & Facebook and we're always in the mood to talk mythology; so reach out! Thanks for reading!

Patreon and Stuff

Today we posted our 3rd installment of our Fireside Chat which is available on Patreon at the $5 dollar level.  In each chat we spend time talking about recent episodes and heading off on tangents.  It's great fun! 

Anyway, we would love for you to head over and check out the reward levels, and help us keep the lights on.  

Plug in the following website (http://www.patreon.com/entwined) into your browser and you will be on your way to a bonus content extravaganza. 

For those of you who love Podcasts but hate Podcast Apps McKay has a solution for you.  We are on Youtube! I posted our most recent episode (#13 - The Atomic Goose) just in case you wanted to check it out.  

 

Thank you and #StayTwined

Finger Food #10 - Who’s Afraid of Ghosts?

Mckay and I are pretty excited about the Finger Food this week because Diane Student of the History Goes Bump Podcast agreed to guest author this weeks article.  Diane has been tremendously helpful to us and we are excited to have her as guest contributor to the website.  Diane is a very talented woman and you can find her podcast HERE.  

Diane Student of The History Goes Bump Podcast.

Ghosts. They are a controversial subject and something one does not typically bring up in polite company, similar to politics and religion. But I have found that if you are in conversation with just one or two people in a corner of a room somewhere - away from the main party - once you mention ghosts, the floodgates will open. Normally, people will not share a haunting experience they have had due to a fear of being thought of as crazy. Once they hear that you might be a true believer, they are all too willing to share and pick your brain about theories.

Ghosts and the unexplained started early in life for me. I was always that one kid with my head stuck in a “Mysteries of the Universe” Time-Life Collection or checking out books from the Fortean section of the library. And no, there was no real Fortean section in my local library, but I knew where to find all the weird stuff. I enjoyed Halloween far more than was probably healthy and not just because of the load of candy I hoped to obtain. I did my own make-up and enjoyed scaring other kids. I put those sentences in past tense, but who am I kidding? I still love Halloween more than is healthy, I still do my own make-up and I love to scare any little kids above the age of seven when they come to my yard on Halloween night.

My first unexplained experience came as a teenager. My sister and I were watching a scary movie on a weekend night when my folks were out of town. Halfway between Jason jumping out of a closet with a machete and Freddie Krueger slashing some sex crazed teenager with his finger blades, we heard the padding of a dog’s paws across the linoleum floor in the adjoining dining area. This would not normally be a startling experience except for the fact that we did not currently own a dog, nor had we ever. I remember glancing at my sister to see if she heard it too and she was looking back at me with eyes wide as saucers. We confirmed with each other that we had both heard a dog. We would certainly have been amusing for the casual observer to watch, as we crept to where we could look into the dining area. We saw nothing, of course.

So what did we hear? Was it our overactive imaginations playing with us as we watched a scary movie? Was there a ghost dog walking around the house looking for scraps? We will never know. How could we? Science has tried for decades, perhaps even centuries, to prove the existence of the human spirit after death. Parapsychologists and ghost hunters have all used ever changing devices and tests to capture evidence. Some believe they have. But in a world where the scientific method requires corroborating a theory by having it repeat itself over and over in a controlled environment, proving that ghosts exist is an impossibility. But grab a couple people at a party and ask them if they believe in ghosts and many will claim that they do, at least in part. That topic of religion that is as taboo as the topic of ghosts, lends itself to some people believing in spiritual existence after we die. Spiritual people believe that there is a soul that continues on after death. Is this what a ghost is, just a soul after death wandering around aimlessly looking for the door to Heaven or Nirvana? Why do they seem to just stay in one place and say really weird, incoherent things on tape? And what’s with the poking people? I thought that was just supposed to be a Facebook thing. What if ghosts aren’t really human spirits or any kind of spirit? What if this is some kind of time slip phenomena? Or some kind of crossing of dimensions? It all gets very science fiction when trying to explain something that goes bump in the night and is not seen.

So, do I believe in ghosts? I always say that I’m an open-minded skeptic. I’m open to the possibility, but even after having quite a few unexplainable experiences, I’m not ready to declare that what I have experienced is a ghost. The Spiritualists of the Victorian Era and the ghost hunters on reality television have made it hard on those of us that take this kind of stuff serious. We do not want to appear silly or crazy. I have almost reached that age where I do not worry much about what people may think of me. And I’m getting closer to that point in life where one really starts considering what happens next. Whether I get a punch card into Heaven or get to aimlessly roam the hallways of my home after death, the one thing I hope for, is that some part of me continues.

So when people ask if you believe in ghosts or if seeing or feeling a ghost would scare you, consider what you think a ghost may be and you more than likely will not be afraid. For me, ghosts symbolize hope and that cannot be a bad or scary element. But I do admit, a full-bodied apparition would get me to run, just like Scooby Doo.

entwined Ghost Writer?!

Oh, do we have a surprise for you!

Many of you know that in the weeks where we do not publish a podcast we release a blog post which we call "Finger Food" on the website.  The name is weird, i get it, but It absolutely gets at the idea that we wanted to give you small nuggets of content less involved than the episodes we released two times a month.  As McKay mentioned on Episode 12 we have covered all sorts of topics and each week we seem to end up going in a different direction. Its a nice supplement to the audio episodes.

Diane Student of the History Goes Bump Podcast

So what does this all mean for you? Well, we a are super excited to announce that on September 5th the 10th Finger Food article posted to this blog will be written by Diane Student of the History Goes Bump Podcast. Exciting right? 

Diane is part of a tag team podcasting juggernaut.  She works with her partner Denise Moormeier to create interesting and spooky content.  I listen to the History Goes Bump Podcast weekly and my favorite episode to date is the one about Lucile Ball and can be found in iTunes as Episode 105. The attached link sends you to their new YouTube Channel but their show can be found wherever you get your podcasts.  

So come back on Labor Day and check out what Diane as put together for the 10th Finger Food Installment!!

#StayTwined

Finger Food #9 - Time to Create?

Life does go by fast!

The 7 year old version of you likely spent hours and hours wandering around and pestering people out of pure boredom.  As that little kid grew up those idle moments were slowly filled with friends, sports, girls (or guys), work and life.  There would always be sections of the day or week not color coded on the week’s agenda but as you inched closer and closer to adulthood you struggled to place your finger on the discrepancy.  I mean you were getting older which meant you were finally ready for prime time and as you found a career, a trade, or whatever, the space time continuum seemed to betray you. 

Now you have hit adulthood, signified by a kid or two, a mortgage, a student loan, a bar-b-que your mom didn’t buy you, and a job doing something that doesn’t allow you to sleep until 1pm.  You might have looked around and noticed that the only real thing you have in common with your new group of friends is that your wives know each other.  The adult you is exponentially more responsible than the kid version, yet you can’t seem to kick the desire to eat cheese out of an aerosol can.  Tick tock, tick tock, time just keeps rolling along and your days end just as fast as they started.

The time you have to spend on you has reduced to mere minutes in a day and you find it impossible to even consider the dreams you held as a kid.  I mean, life hasn’t beaten you down, you are NOT miserable, but in the pursuit of survival you have eliminated a few non-essential activities.  The kid version of yourself was creative.  How do I know, well it’s just part of being a kid.  As an adult you worry about who to vote for, and how much to spend on dryer sheets.  As a kid, you worried about having fun.  Growing older didn’t balance everything out, it completely tipped the scale. 

Working on this Podcast has taught me a few things and the first is that it is actually possible to balance a career, a family, and a creative project.  Somedays it feels like I have no time and I realize that how much time I have I truly relative.  If I reflect on my youthful days rowing an inflatable down a creek after a heavy rain, or maybe bobsledding my 1989 Ford Tempo down the street then yes, yes I have no time.  But if I look at life, my family, and my job a little closer... and pull back the kid filter, I am pretty much punched in the face with opportunities. Opportunities to be a better dad, opportunities to be a better husband, opportunities to be a better employee or whatever. 

I guess what I am trying to say here is that freaking seize the day.  Don’t allow time to be an excuse do to something creative, to do something you love.  There are enough reasons out there which already keep us unnecessarily grounded and topping that chart is fear followed by money. Time, well it always ends up on that list as well. In fact, just yesterday I heard this conversation between two strangers,

Tall guy:  Hey man those shoes you customized look sweet!

Young guy:  Thanks, thank you.

Tall guy:  Where did you learn how to do that? I mean the airbrushing looks super professional.

Young guy: I don’t know, I just do it I guess.

Tall guy: Well they look great, you considered doing it more often or trying to market yourself?

Young guy: No, I just do it now and then, I just don’t have enough time.

Yes, this was a real conversation which I attempted to replicate as best I could.  The gist was that the younger guy has real talent and the tall guy noticed it.  So many people spend time skirting around their dreams that they never really grab hold and give it a go.  Now I am not advocating that anyone reading this should quit their jobs but simply stating that we all have a lot more time than we let on.  Being creative is so important and doing this Podcast has taught me it’s possible.  If I can find a way to do a Podcast you should be able to manipulate that space time continuum a bit to allow yourself to do whatever it is you want. Make time to write, to record, to dance, or draw.  Make time to run, or fly, or build.  Find a few moments to recite, to snap, to sketch, or to play.  Know that the tiny version of yourself is out there somewhere counting on you to figure it out. 

So make a plan and find a way, then get your butt out there a go create! 

Finger Food # 8 - Peanuts

McKay here.   I wanted to bring up something controversial for this entry.  That's right, I know it's been a long time coming but I think it needs to be said:

I was never too much of a fan of The Peanuts. 

I know, this is something rather hard to ponder.  But there were several things about it that I just couldn't get over as a youngster.  First, they never made me laugh.   Weird.  I would always go out of my way to watch the numerous different movies that were shown on the Disney Channel.   Happy New Year, Charlie Brown, Snoopy Come Home.  That one where the gang goes to France and the cartoons break the silent rule of not showing adults in their world.  

And while I was entertained, I never laughed.   It was meant to be a comedy but there was nothing funny about it.  Don't get me wrong, I felt that there was some solid character development.   I mean development enough for a six-year-old to observe. 

Another thing that always bothered me was how terribly the others treat Charlie, with maybe the exception of Linus.   Seriously, have you gone back to those comics?   The cartoons?   Poor Charlie Brown got a fricken rock at every Gee Dee house that they trick or treated at!  Who deserves that??   He was constantly berated and called a blockhead for not catching on as fast as the others, only because the others tried to exclude him as best that could.   And he was their scapegoat when their plans went wrong.  Even when it wasn't.  

Don't you dare get me started on Lucy.   That hell beast played the worst mind games on poor Charlie.   She would berate him one panel, get mad at him for not finding her pretty even though she was not clearly interested in him, and constantly lie that she would let him kick the damned football.   We all know what would happen. 

And she acted as his psychiatrist!   What kind of mind playing monster would try to get inter her victims heads, pretend to help them in their best interest and even take their money, only to help be the source of all their constant failures???

No seriously, she is probably the worst character in all of American literature. 

Speaking of which, there was always the constant source of failure.  No matter how hard he tried, Charlie Brown was never going to truly win.  I know that Charles Schulz' plan with Charlie was to make him the every man.  Showing kids that when you are faced with failure, you pick yourself up and keep going.  Tenacity is what leads to success. 

I respect that and find the goal to be ahead of his time.   But I don’t think the execution was the greatest when your main character is always, and I mean always feeling down upon himself because his so called friends are so mean to him, leading to a form of borderline depression.  

So when I heard last year that the Peanuts Movie was coming out in November 2015, I was lukewarm to the idea.   There was nothing about it that I found appealing and never even slated it into my calendar. 

Its was an afternoon that I needed to give the Mrs. McKay free of children where I decided the movies were the best way to pass the time.   It was a passing note that the movie was playing that afternoon and I figured it wouldn't hurt to bring the kids to introduce them to Charlie Brown and company.  Hey, the afternoon wasn't about me.  It was for the kids.  

And as I watched this reintroduction of these ageless characters on screen, the exploits of Snoopy fighting the Red Baron to save his love Fifi, and good ol' Chuck try to work up the courage to talk to the little Red Haired Girl, something happened to me.   I laughed.  I was touched.   I was completely engrossed in watching Charlie Brown pursue his dreams. 

You see, this movie set out and fixed everything that was wrong with the Peanuts in the first place.   Spoiler alert:  It gave Charlie a chance to finally win.  And when he didn't win, he was recognized for the pure heart and soul he had in his effort.

This is a healing movie.   There was nothing better than watching Charlie chase the Little Red Haired Girl to say goodbye before she left for the summer, only to see him conquer all of his failings, his friends cheering him on.  

And we finally get to see and hear the Little Red Haired Girl, telling Charlie how much she appreciated him for who he was.  Finally, I felt good watching The Peanuts one more time.  I thoroughly enjoyed my children, cheering at the end, knowing they felt just the way I did.   And we all jammed to Megan Treanor's "Better When I'm Dancin" on the ride home, refreshed, and happy. 

I still think Charlie should have gotten a kiss at the end.   But then again, I didn't feel upset when Lucy once again pulled the football on him. 

I figured he had already won.  Let the baby have her bottle.  

Review!

Today we had our 1st official review in a print publication and it was a positive one!. You can follow THIS LINK to read more (page 17). We are so happy to be reviewed as we love the feedback and even more cool - we were reviewed along side The Bright Sessions which is a audio drama both McKay and I love listening too.

Finger Food # 7 - Ghosts of 88'

Anyone who has played or watched baseball has probably lived out the dream of coming to the plate in the bottom of the 9th with the game on the line in a back yard somewhere in America.  Most, if not everyone reading this post, has never had the chance to have the final at bat of a World Series game with the crowd cheering and everything to lose.  As kids we craved it, and the visualization of the moment wasn’t enough, we had to act it out.  Over and over and over again.  Up at the park, or a green belt somewhere telling your buddie to throw you another one, and another one, and another one, until you finally got ahold of the one that could make over the fence. I mean, how cool would it be to hit a home run to win the game as everyone in the stadium (or city park) screamed your name. 

I grew up in the East Bay of California.  I was raised to be an Oakland Athletics fan and was fortunate enough to enjoy season tickets during the days of Dave Stewart, Mark Mcguire, and Dennis Eckersley. It was a great time to be Bay Area Sports fan because the Athletics who are the only team to wear all white cleats seemed to always bring home a win.  At least that’s what the 10-year-old me thought.

Then this happened.  I was devastated.  Yes, I am talking about the moment which Dodger fans choose to relive and Athletics fans choose to say was rigged, a trick, magic, or cheating. That moment, the one which brought home a win from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series was something I can never forget.  Go ahead watch the video if you must. 

So if it is still painful 28 years later then why in the heck am I talking about it.  Good question.  Well, as a baseball fan, and a lover of cinema I am a huge fan of the movie “The Natural,” which starred Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs.  “The Natural,” was a movie from a different time and had nothing to do with Kirk Gibson or the Los Angeles Dodgers, or the Oakland Athletics.  Or did it?

The Natural is a long movie and I won’t spend time recounting the entirety of the film because it’s a movie many of you have seen and for those of you who have never seen it – the important clip is attached to this post.  So Roy Hobbs, a fictional character, and one of the greatest to ever play the game steps up to the plate in the bottom of the 9th.  Hobbs is nursing a gunshot wound and as the viewer it’s not clear what is going to happen despite the extreme desire you feel for him to hit one out of the park.

Hobbs is at the plate and gets hold of one that lands just foul down the right field line.  As he walks back to home plate is the devastated to see his bat, his hand made bat named Wonderboy, split into two pieces. Hobbs clearly needs a new bat and asks the bat boy to “pick him a winner.” The bat boy returns with a bat that Hobbs helped him make.  Hobbs battles the pitcher but in the end crushes one into the lights while the music brings him around the bases.  In the 9th, with the pennant on the line, an older, injured Hobbs smacks one out of the park, giving viewers the warm fuzzies as the screen faded into black.  If you are confused, stick with me for a little bit longer.    

The video at the top, which is unfortunately a historical document, lays out the 88 Series relatively well.  Dennis Eckersley comes in to close out the game and gets two quick outs before walking Mike Davis.  So there you go, two outs, bottom of the 9th, every kid’s dream, and it was happening to Kirk Gibson. Kirk wasn’t totally healthy and this was a pinch hit appearance for him with game 1 on the line.  Gibson worked the count to full and Mike Davis ended up stealing second.  Now, I am pretty sure Gibson interfered with the catcher on the steal but I will let you make that call as you watch the tape.    

So here we are again.  That familiar situation.  Bottom of the 9th.  Full count.  Two outs and everything on the line.  Gibson would later say he knew what pitch was coming but, hey, we all did.  The back foot slider was one of Eckersley’s best pitches – especially when there were two strikes.  So Eck did what Eck does and threw the back foot slider, one heck of a pitch, but Gibby was ready, and he smashed in into right field.  Jack Buck, or Vin Scully, it doesn’t matter – the ball still went over the fence which ended Game 1.  Then as Kirk Gibson rounded the bases, a wounded man, doing that ridiculously memorable fist pump, I cried.  

The bench coach for the Dodgers immediately saw the connection to the movie “The Natural,” so he went ahead of Gibson into the Locker-room to adjust the name plate over his locker.  When Gibson finally made it off the field he would arrive at his locker to find the name “Roy Hobbs” where his name used to be.  Yes folks, Kirk Gibson pulled a Roy Hobbs, and I was there, glued to my couch, able to watch every terrible second of it.

As amazing as the ending to the movie “The Natural,” was it is even more amazing to know that the book which the movie was based on ended in a totally different way [thanks Mom].  In the written version of the story Roy Hobbs strikes out and basically fades away.  In the book Roy steps up as a pinch hitter and ends the game only to allow the other team to walk away with the pennant.  In the book version maybe Eckersley throws that back door slider a little harder and Gibson is too hurt, or maybe he on-the-take and swings and misses.  In the book version I imagine the Oakland Athletics go on to win that game, and likely sweep the series.  

Finger Food # 6 - Elmer

McKay here!  And so is summer, my favorite season of the year.   Yeah, I know most people either like the fall or spring, but summer always had my heart.   Summer meant freedom.   School is out, I had time to myself and to just explore the outdoors.   Being a father myself now, I extend that excitement to my children because now it means we can take vacation.  

And the family and I are fresh back from Yosemite.   It's a family tradition that we picked up after several years off.   If you haven't been, you need to do yourself a favor and cross it off your bucket list because it is quite honestly the most beautiful and friendly national park in the world.  

There is just something about the smells of camping.  The tents going up, the wood burning, the trees rippling in the wind that it sounds more like water.   And the flow of the Merced river which was the highest I had ever seen it in ten years thanks to El Nino this year.   It's a tradition I plan on keeping with my family for as long as is possible. 

And speaking of traditions, I noticed something that was different this year.   At dusk, every evening as the fires are at their highest in the camps, and the families are working on their dinners and getting relaxed for the evening, one can hear in the distance the beginning of a chorus of calls.

               "Ellllllllllllmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr!

And usually without fail, another campsite begins the call again.  

               " Ellllllllllllmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr!"

And another campsite will take the call.  And so on.  

But for some reason, that didn't happen very much this year.   I don't know why.   It was extremely disappointing.   We even attempted on several nights to start the call ourselves to be met with silence and weird looks from our neighbors.   Could this tradition have been dying?

Not on my watch.

So who is Elmer?   And why do we call his name every evening at twilight, the same time the sparkly vampires like to come out?  It starts with the Fire Fall.   At the beginning of the 20th Century, much like now, most of the camp sites were located on the eastern end of Yosemite Valley.   This area is particularly beautiful.   The meadows open up and you are surrounded by the sights of Yosemite Falls to the northwest, Glacier Point to the south, and Half Dome to the east.   These are all mountain walls that are right on top of you.   And three thousand feet up, at the top of Glacier Point, park rangers would have a huge bonfire going for several hours leading up to sunset.  The flames could be seen from the valley floor.   As the sun would set, camping families would set their blankets and gather in the meadow.

A wonderful memory of this lost tradition was described here.   It would begin in the valley, "Hello Glacier!"

And from the top of Glacier Point, "Hello Camp Curry."

And the campers in the meadow would yell back, "Let the fire fall!"  Then Glacier Point would comply by slowly letting the bon fire coals fall down the cliff side, three thousand feet above Camp Curry.   The picture here gives a good idea of what it looked like.   For 10-15 minutes, Camp Curry would be treated with this light show as the stars began to emerge above them.  

How does this relate to Elmer?   Well, one of these nights, shortly after the falls had completed and everyone was gathering their things, a woman began calling out Elmer in the meadow.   She had lost her young son in the growing darkness and was franticall running through the crowd calling out his name. 

Other campers began to help immediately calling out Elmer's name as well.   With the gathered help, Elmer's name rang across the valley and the young boy was soon found and brought safely back to his family. 

The very next night, some called out

"Elllllllllllllllmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrr!"  

He wasn't lost again.  A tradition had been born.   And while the Fire Falls ceased in 1968, as the dusk settled in, campers would still call out to Elmer, making sure that he found his way safely home.  

So, if you are fortunate enough to find yourself camping in Yosemite, remember, make sure to get Elmer home.   

It's Coming...

We have been live for just over two months and are so humbled with how many of you continue to subscribe and return to listen to show after show.  Thank you!  We love creating this podcast and couldn't do it without you.  Episode 8 drops Monday and although I am not going to reveal the content the image above gives you a good idea of the direction McKay wants to take us in this week.  

For those of you looking to support the show please head over to our Patreon page or check out the support section of the website.  Remember on Patreon you are able to earn rewards for your support in the form of color transcripts [Click the above Image for more info], additional shows, and behind the scenes content.  It really is easy.... If you like the show consider supporting our creativity for as little as 1$ a month.

One of the levels allows you to receive a t-shirt or tank top so you can represent entwined wherever you go when you are not listening to podcasts.  Check out the images below to get an idea on the shirts level of awesomeness. 

I know it sounds silly but reviews really do help the show move up the charts so others can easily find us.  Please remember to review and rate the show in iTunes. For those of you that have already done this, thank you.  For those of you who want to complete a review please click the image below and head on over the iTunes.  Thank you and #StayTwined

Finger Food # 5 - My Cousin Vinny

You voted and the winner was My Cousin Vinny! In what seemed like a lifetime ago I was given a homework assignment by one of my High School English Professors to bring in a clip from our favorite movie.  In 1993, that movie was My Cousin Vinny and I elected to share the following clip with my class. WARNING: These clips are from a Rated R movie and may contain potty language unsuitable for children. 

For this week’s Finger Food I wanted to share some cinematic connective tissue with you.  The video clip I shared in the fan vote post over a week ago had several actors sharing time on the silver screen.  For those of you who didn’t catch the vote, or have yet to watch this wonderful film I have included that clip again here:

Joe Pesci played the lead role as Vinny. Joe has a very interesting filmography which includes a role in the Movie Moonwalker. Moonwalker is billed as a sequel to Captain EO and stars the late Michael Jackson and is basically a collection of music videos from his Bad album. Pesci plays the role of Mr. Big and shares time on the screen with a kid by the name of Sean Lennon. Yeah, Sean Lennon is John’s son and although he hasn’t done much in the way of movies he did end up in this role.

The Karate Kid, I mean Ralph Macchio, has been in several movies over the years. In 2009 he ended up in the film, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead, which is a weird movie that attempts to connect vampires to Shakespeare and the Holy Grail and was met with similar reviews as Moonwalker. Macchio found himself in a film which was scored by none other than Sean Lennon.

Marisa Tomei did an amazing job in this film and took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Tomei, like Macchio and Pesci ended up in a variety of roles over the years but is connected to Sean Lennon in a very different way. Tomei’s father, a trial attorney much like Vinny, filed a 10-million-dollar lawsuit against Sean Lennon because a tree on his property caused damage to their home. A few other interesting tidbits? Yeah why not!?

Mitchell Whitfield played the role as Macchio’s friend in the film. The two have an interesting dynamic and banter back and forth throughout the film. The two men are different but it is the similarities which make the dialogue work. Whitfield played his part well as you can see from the scene above but i bet you would be shocked to find out who else was up for the same part in the movie, none other than Will Smith. Can you imagine this film Getting’ Jiggy With It?

Fred Gwynne plays the role of the Judge in My Cousin Vinney and is seen in two of the clips above. Gwynne is best known for his role on the Musters. I will always remember him for a book he wrote and illustrated in 1970 which was aptly titled, The King Who Rained.  Gwynne used homophones and idioms to delight children for decades.  The librarian from my elementary school read this book to my 3 grade glass and I wasn't able to stop laughing at how silly each page seemed. 

Check back next week to see what P.S. McKay has cooked up for the next edition of Finger Food

Patreon

We are so excited to already have people supporting us on Patreon.  We love doing the show and we absolutely could not do it with out you, the listeners.  In excahnge for your support we are offering some pretty cool rewards which include; A full color transcript with images, behind the scenes content, bonus Patreon only exclusive shows, and apparel. 

To see a sample magazine style color transcript please CLICK HERE.

On the Horizon

Episode #7 is scheduled to release on Monday and to help get you excited we thought we would put out a few teaser images of locations which may be mentioned on the show.  We have loads of ideas and are just as excited to create content as you are to listen to it.  If you haven't yet had a chance to rate the show hit the button below and head on over the iTunes to give us some feedback.  

Finger Food #4 - Welcome to the Matrix

The Matrix was a solid movie. Not only was it a game changer for showing the next level of movie effects but it operated on another level of existentialism. They even asked the question several times in the movie: What is the Matrix?

For these people, it was their existence. They lived in the computer world. A world of comfort and by all accounts their reality. And what if I told you that by many, many accounts, the matrix is our reality? Our lives, our existence are established in some very large and very advanced computer. And before you mock it, understand that this theory is accepted by one of the world's most brilliant minds, Elon Musk who recently confirmed that we have a one in billions chance on living in a base reality.

It goes like this: As a civilization develops computer technology that is more sophisticated, that society uses its computers to simulate its environment. We use this in weather models and even video games. And as the program becomes more sophisticated, it becomes self aware and makes its own simulation. This cycle continues and when you think about it, the chances are really high that the screen your reading this on is nothing more than bits of information created by another simulation.

Take a turn with this Ted Talks. Oh, and rest easy tonight when you go to bed.

Astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize winner George Smoot studies the cosmic microwave background radiation - the afterglow of the Big Bang. His pioneering research into deep space and time is uncovering the structure of the universe itself. He has also made a cameo appearance (as himself) in an episode of the 'Big Bang Theory.'

Support the Show

It takes time to research, write, record, and edit one of our shows.  Each show is different but we spend between 10 and 15 hours per show from the moment we start researching an idea until you press play. We absolutely love doing the show and are incredibly pleased you may consider being a part of it.  We do this show while having families and full time jobs and listener support is critical to the growth of the podcast.  

We would love to generate enough support to cover the cost of the website, equipment, contests, and improve our podcast hosting.  Click the image below to check out the rewards we offer on our Patreon page.

Giveaway Time! Enter to Win!

Yesterday we posted our 6th episode and have been live for just over 6 weeks.  To celebrate our first few months we wanted to host a T-Shirt giveaway.  We will be giving away ONE original entwined shirt to a lucky listener for doing a very simple task. 

All you have to do to be entered is pick your favorite episode from the list below and tweet or share it on Facebook with the Hastag #StayTwined.  Everyone loves a cool shirt.

Scroll down a bit and find your favorite episode, click the link, and then the share icon at the bottom of the page. Then just select twitter or Facebook and remember the Hastag! If your profile is private please make sure to tag us in your post so we will be able to view it. Here is an example of a Twitter post:

The winner will be randomly selected on June 10th which means all tweets and posts must occur before 11:59pm PST on June 9th. The winner will receive the shirt pictured above (Size Large).  The entwined shirt is almost as cool as Mabel's light up sweatshirt from Disney's Gravity Falls.... Almost.

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More Milestones! Again!

Today was a big day for us here at entwined.  Today is the first time we appeared on the iTunes "New & Noteworthy" section under Society & Culture.  We have goals, and it feels pretty darn good to reach one of them so early. 

There are a lot of shows that find a home in this section and we are so pleased to be included.  In the image below you can see us on the right, highlighted in yellow.  Every time you subscribe, rate, and review the show you help us move closer to the top and who knows, maybe someday onto the top shows section.  Thank you!

Finger Food # 3 - Grammar

Here at entwinedpodcast.com we feel responsible to release content to the news feed which has been properly spell checked 27 times and then reviewed for grammatical mistakes by a witch, three chickens, and some guy who knew Dave Grohl’s college roommate.  Yes, we know what an Oxford comma is, and how to use one, wait, I mean where to use it, or is it when to use it. Nevertheless, people now a days tend to get more information from Facebook then they do from any other place, and the difference between a serial comma, and an Oxford comma are entirely unimportant.

Social media posts are littered with grammatical mistakes.  One poster took the time to update his status about his boss, proclaiming that “Your an idiot!!!”  Now I am absolutely in love with the multiple exclamation marks, but the employee who posted the loving remarks about his boss fails to hit the mark with his usage of the word “Your.” If you’re looking at the disgruntled post and wondering what could possibly be the mistake in the sentence above, well, you’re in a safe place.  No judgement here.  People can be harsh, which in most cases stems from their desire to grandstand on the one portion of 8th grade English they are able to remember. Your and you’re sound almost identical in conversation, and the employee’s post above, although hilarious for its (not It’s) mistake, doesn’t really matter.

I was fortunate enough to stumble across this amazing clip from the television show, The Big Bang Theory, which pretty much sums up how absurd, how fun, and how hilarious grammar can be.  We are not perfect, we do our best, and here at entwined we love to dangle our participles with the best of them.

Just Come Pick Em Up!

I stayed up past 1:00am trying to find a relevant post for today and kept getting stuck on this clip which has nothing to do with anything. Happy Tuesday!

Truth!

That awkward moment when you hear your recorded voice and wonder how its possible that you even have friends.  Happy Sunday!  Episode 5 drops tomorrow morning.