This Gun in My Hand: December 2022

Friday, December 23, 2022

Domestic Harmony - Episode 70

A glowing golden robot on an aqua blue background walks forward with its arms outstretched, menacing a dark haired young man. The man is firing a pistol at the robot. The robot captures the human in the reddish ray projected from its two eyes.

What’s that unbearable sound coming from the basement of Roberto and Jennifer Zapata, aka Wordsmith and The InforMatron? No, not the hum of their supercomputer. What’s that other sound? Will they survive? Listen to find out!

Domestic Harmony, episode 70 of This Gun in My Hand, was composed and arranged by Rob Northrup (just the words, not the music). This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, information on how to subscribe, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. What sound will you harmonize with? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. The horse that Wordsmith bets on in this episode is named after the space ship “We Never Agreed To This” in The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi.

2. This is not a test of the emergency broadcast system. The background operational sound of the InforMatrix is a modified kalimba and the fungal ululation is produced by drawing through the 6th and 7th holes of a Hohner Hot Metal harmonica in the key of G, eventually shifting to just the 7th hole. Technically I don’t think they’re harmonizing, but at least they stop sounding dissonant.

3. Yes, there are annoying background sounds throughout the whole episode, added by design. Please don’t complain about my amateurish audio engineering until you hear the full episode for context. You will receive an instantaneous full refund whether or not you are satisfied, because your cost was zero shekels, zero dogecoin, zero shoplifted bottles of Tide (our preferred currency).

4. When I say this episode was “composed and arranged by Rob Northrup,” I mean it was written, edited, performed and all functions carried out by Rob Northrup unless otherwise noted. I don’t mean to take credit for the amazing “Bouncy Gypsy Beats” by John Bartmann, used as theme music for Wordsmith and The InforMatron, or the other music used in this episode.

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), a public domain film. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Theme for the radio show “Information Wants to Be Free, But For You It’s Two Bits” and closing music this time:
Music Title: Bouncy Gypsy Beats
By John Bartmann
License: Public Domain
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/bouncy-gypsy-beats/

Sound Effect Title: polite_applause_08.wav
By joedeshon
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/joedeshon/sounds/119028/

Sound Effect Title: Sitcom Laughter 9x, Small Audience
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Kinoton/sounds/383207/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: aww.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/phmiller42/sounds/124996/

Sound Effect Title: Dopey Beeps
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/venicesurf/sounds/209363/

Sound Effect Title: Computer Beeps 2
By LPHypeR
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/LPHypeR/sounds/564590/

Sound Effect Title: modem_dial.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/0ktober/sounds/188828/

Sound Effect Title: Rockfall in mine
By Benboncan
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/Benboncan/sounds/60085/

Sound Effect Title: Bricks/Stones/Rocks/Gravel Falling
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/iwanPlays/sounds/567249/

Sound Effect Title: Kitten Meowing.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/lolamadeus/sounds/196251/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the cover of Scientific Detective Monthly, Volume 1, Number 3 (March 1930) by Jno Ruger. Public domain. The entire issue is available to read at https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=39015

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Heck's Pantry for the Holidays - Episode 69

Comic book line art drawing. A frowning man with black hair and a thin mustache ducks to avoid a thrown meat cleaver which has embedded in the wall just above his head. The man is firing a pistol. He wears a gray suit, light colored shirt and red tie and has a large ring on his right hand holding the pistol. Beside him is a brunette woman with 1940s style hair. She wears a yellow-orange blouse with large burgundy buttons. Two gnarly hands reach to grab her head. To the left of all this are the numbers "10¢" in a circle.

How will Petra’s plan for a romantic holiday be ruined by a meet cute? Why is her uncle afraid she’ll kill him? Listen to find out!

Heck's Pantry for the Holidays, episode 69 of This Gun in My Hand, was romanticized by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, information on how to subscribe, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. If you’re still in the mood for holiday pulp adventure, listen to episode 44, “Here Comes Satanic Claws.” What time is it? [Gun shot.] This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Do you realize how much research I put into this show? While looking up Polish dishes for the St. Wladislaw’s Ladies’ Auxiliary fundraiser cookbook, I found a recipe for Bigos (Polish Hunter’s Stew) and cooked it, really in real life.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/polish_hunters_stew/

2. Falk adds the letter “s” to pluralize “gołąbki,” not realizing the word is already plural. The word for one Polish cabbage roll is “gołąbek.” Uncle Verne and I felt it was too complicated to correct him during the show.

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Music Title: O Christmas Tree
By massi_1130
License: Creative Commons Sampling Plus 1.0
https://freesound.org/people/massi_1130/sounds/27706/

Music Title: Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
Composed by Leon Jessel, 1897
Performed by United States Air Force Band of Mid-America, Concert Band
License: Public Domain
https://www.music.af.mil/Multimedia/Music/Public-Domain-Music/

Sound Effect Title: Shop door bell.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/775noise/sounds/494565/

Sound Effect Title: Knife slice
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/NeoSpica/sounds/504610/

Sound Effect Title: Metallic Whoosh.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/MissCellany/sounds/240640/

Sound Effect Title: Swoosh.wav
By Brsjak
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/Brsjak/sounds/482880/

Sound Effect Title: fwunk.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Reitanna/sounds/264149/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: Body Fall2.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/deleted_user_2104797/sounds/325269/

Sound Effect Title: Porte open close.wav
By Slanesh
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/Slanesh/sounds/31768/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire
By GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the front cover of Super-Mystery Comics, Vol. 6, Number 4 (February 1947), public domain, pencils and inks by Warren Kremer, colorist unknown.