Drabblecast 313, 314 – The Blue Celeb

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Episode 313 – The Blue Celeb, part 1

Feature: The Blue Celeb, part 1 by Desmond Warzel
No drabble for this episode.
Genres: Drama Fantasy Mystery



Monday, February 24th, 2014
When me and Joe got home from Vietnam, we went into business together, cutting hair. Bought a little shop in the old neighborhood and been there ever since. Back then, wisecracking Harlem barbers weren’t a cliche yet — at least not south of 110th Street.

Episode Art: Matt Waisela
Read by: Patrick Bazille
Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 2013

Twabble: “ “Check it out, I got her digits,” Nathan bragged to his friend Steven as he arranged her severed fingers on the tabletop. ” by Cutter McKay

---

Episode 314 – The Blue Celeb, part 2

Feature: The Blue Celeb, part 2 by Desmond Warzel
No drabble for this episode.
Genres: Drama Fantasy Mystery



Saturday, March 1st, 2014
“Get out of sight, Joe.” He hustled into the shop and locked himself in the bathroom. The first cruiser that pulled up had Frank Boone riding shotgun. Less than a minute later, the sidewalk was swarming with cops.

Episode Art: Matt Waisela
Read by: Patrick Bazile
Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 2013.

Twabble: “ Want a good reason not to fly? How about the new TSA rules?
They’re insane. But at least the inspection gloves are ribbed. ” by awgifford

[MartinForgeWorks]

I love the huge variety of sicence fiction read here. Nom Vet barbers. Hell yes. I may live in a world all different from these men. But there story still grabs me. The narration if great, like always.

And what the heck is a celeb. Have to look up that car. I can totally see elcominos eating mullet clad people. But what ever this celeb it, it must be pure ferrous evil.

M Martin

[kathy348]

@MartinForgeWorks:

Chevy Celebrity. I think they say "Celebrity" once and shorten it to "Celeb" for the rest of the story. It was kind of a bigger version of the Cavalier.

[strawman]

Wow. A little more focus required for longer stories for me, but once I engaged, I appreciated that this was a very good story with a strange situation that should qualify for some industry Randomness Award.
The reading was good, too.
Made me realize I have not seen much in the way of strange stories from the hood. I wonder why that is? Whatever, more would be good.
Although the rap at the intermission was long, I couldn't decipher it, and I don't see an attribution.

Finally, a technical observation. Due to my hearing loss, it helps me to read the full story while I listen. Particularly on a long story, putting the play controls after the text means pressing play, then Page Up madly to the text. And if you include the entire text rather than just the episode, how do you find the beginning of Part 2?

But yes, what MartinForgeWorks said. Huge variety. Nom Vet barbers. DC has brains as well as beauty and personality.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Great story, great narration. And now, the cover art makes more sense as the "Celeb" looks quite like a coffin -- with shading that suggests an obelisk.

Good job, Matt Waisela, on both covers. Alas I fear the pics might be harshly judged on superficially looking quick and crude. But upon reflection, even the style fits for the concept of the car. The more I look, the more clever and fitting the art appears to me.

~~~
"Holly Carp!" This episode cost $500! And that doesn't count volunteer time, and bandwidth costs (which can get quite high for popular podcasts) or overhead (website costs, etc.).

I add up all my donations, plus the costs of maintaining twitfic.net (about $18 per year, not counting my time), and I still haven't paid for one good (double) episode!

I hope everyone is inspired to chip in.

[Dolohov]

That was really, really well-done. Great story, fantastic narration. I listened to it on a long drive, and I don't know what I would have done if I'd passed a Chevy Celeb on the way...

[Adam_Schumpert]

I was re-listening to this story today at work and I've come to the conclusion that this story should be adapted into a movie/short film if it hasn't been already.

And if I also had the ability to cast it I would love to see Morgan Freeman as Bill, Sam Jackson as Joe, and Sam Elliot as Frank. At least that's how I choose to picture it listening to the podcast.


Other than that it was a great story and a great reading. Loved this one

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

I was re-listening to this story today at work and I've come to the conclusion that this story should be adapted into a movie/short film if it hasn't been already.

Yep. It would have to be a short, I think. I'd hate to see the typical Hollywood treatment if they tried to pad it out to feature length. It would be amusing to see it set in New York but filmed in Canada, to save money, like Hollywood execs love to do these days.

Welcome aboard, Adam Schumpert!

[tbaker2500]

This, this was good. Not stereotypical DC fare, and that's why I'm doubly happy. This could be a winner for the year.

I think Norm could've saved money by narrating it himself. I think he can do a weathered black harlem barber voice, right?

The narrator was excellent. Really good choice.

Top shelf stuff, guys!

[jar55]

This episode is the best thing I've ever heard on DC. Although I've been a listener for years, this story inspired me to register for the forum and post. I even plan to donate. Kudos to all involved in choosing and producing this story. Listened to it in the car with hubby and we couldn't finish it; he was so engaged with it, he asked me to play the end of the story in the house later. This is a man who never listens to podcasts, so I think he's now sold!
Thanks, everyone at DC!

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Great! Glad you both liked it and welcome aboard jar55!

Forgive me for the obligatory: "Jar55, where were you"?

[tbaker2500]

Hi Jar55!
It's true, this is really a very GOOD story. Thanks for joining us here, stick around for a while and join in the fun!

ASID, isn't it Car 54? Or is the shift from "are" to "were" you reflective of the 54 to 55 shift?

[Varda]

I'm going to pile on with the love for this story, and starting with the artwork - that shadow bending into the sewer, the streetlight reaching down like an obelisk - basically everything ASID said. Incredibly thoughtful and clever, artist!!

The narrator was also outstanding. I hope Norm keeps him around and trots him out now and then for other stories. His voice is fantastic!

And of course, the story was excellent. It presented an interesting ethical dilemma, perhaps similar to the problem of vigilante justice. At first, the people killed by the cursed car seem to deserve it, since they seem to be such scumbags, but the story goes on to make it more morally gray by the time we get to the homeless guy. And then there's the problem of resurrection, and whether anyone could responsibly manage a resource like the blue Celeb without it becoming just another form of its curse. Good stuff all around.

[Cumbrous&Unlovely]

Hope we hear more from this author! Narrator was all over it! Good stuff!

[sandrilde]

I keep thinking about this story over a month later. This is going to be an all-time favorite.

[tbaker2500]

Yup.

[kennebel]

I'm a bit late to the discussion, fell behind in my listening.

Ultimately, i think the characters did the right thing. Given that the car has a malicious side, what if the "return to life" powers are a balance to the "take life" powers. Meaning, the car has stored up ~4 lives, and can only return to life an equal number that it takes. That would make the use later even more morally complicated.

[PB&Jellyphish320]

This story got me through a a long a terrible Atlanta traffic jam. I loved the readers deep voice too. It was well written, and well produced. I loved the readers voice too.

[Desmond Warzel]

As long as I'm providing "director's commentary," I might as well round out the trio for 2014. Except, apart from thanking Patrick Bazile once more for giving life to my beloved barbers and expressing my gratitude for appearing in four Drabblecast episodes in one year, I don't have much to say about this story that I didn't already say in this interview back when the story was published.

I will add that it was a particular thrill to finally publish in the illustrious Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, a place I've dreamed of seeing my name since I was a kid. I didn't honestly expect to break in with this one. I sent it to Asimov's first (it's atypical for them, but they do publish atypical stories, which they can't publish if they don't get), and Intergalactic Medicine Show--both rejections. I tried for the non-shared-world slot at Grantville Gazette (which involves submission via a forum), and one of their resident wet blankets immediately snapped that it was more than twice as long as it should be (I wasn't surprised, even if I don't share the low opinion most editors seem to have of their readers' attention span and intelligence.) F&SF was the last professional magazine left that accepted stories of this length, so I gave it a shot.

The best thing about selling to F&SF is that they pay on acceptance, so my acceptance letter, which was exciting enough, was wrapped around a check for seven hundred fifty dollars. The only drawback: by the time the story sees print, the money's long gone...

[tbaker2500]

Nice. Thanks for hanging around here, you are a new favorite author of mine.