Drabblecast 139 - Let Us Now Praise Awesome Dinosaurs

[Talia]

Absolutely outstanding. OUTSTANDING. My favorite drabblecast ever . Even into the future. (I'm psychic).

Just really hilarious. My kind of humor, exactly. So deliciously absurd.

I so very much want to change my username to Kickyourassasaurus, but somehow I don't think that would fly :p

It wasn't a story.

I must disagree with this. I don't really see how it wasn't a story - long ago dinosaurs left the earth and evolved to the point where they had language and civilization. Then they come back to Earth and become rock star figures of a sort - people loved the savagery of what they used to represent. And peole love spectacles. Thus something like the described car event would for sure be a popular draw.

All this was just the staging though, the story was the splinter group that was kidnapping dinosaurs and forcing them to fight as their "true" selves not the cultured people they became. This was a group that further adhered to what the dinosaurs had observed - that people were interested in the dinosaurs of the past, not the present. And not even of the true past, just what the dinosaurs had become in human mythology These were just extremists. The monster truck sabotage was another allusion to the extremism that had developed.

Weirdly, I kinda think it was more a tale about how humanity's mindset works than it was about dinosaurs, persay.. in a way.

Maybe I'm stretching it though.

[tbaker2500]

Word. I'm on board with Talia's take on the story. Insights into humanity don't have to be dark and intense. Why must all heros be dark and moody? Why can't they enjoy motocross?

[Mr. Tweedy]

I don't demand dark and moody. ("Jelly Park" is still my favorite DC story.)




Not that I mind dark and moody, of course.

[Richmazzer]

Best short fiction story and audio production on the internet, hands down IMO. I thought this was just extrodinarily cute, hilarious, exciting and insightful. Everything was top-notch about this, a keeper on ipod playlists everywhere no doubt.

How funny to have Earl Newton from Stranger Things play an evil internet filkmaker? Classic! He did great with it too ("a war pigeon!") as did everyone involved (Goodspeed clearly has a top-of-the-line radio voice.)

I agree with Talia's take on the story. It did seem on the surface level to be bouncing from un-related events, but underneath they were tied together with the idea that humans need to have heros and we need to have them on our own terms. Obama comes to mind, dangerously apotheosized, and maybe Oprah too.
But at the same time, if/when our heroes morally fail, those failures are absurdly sensationalized and the fallen demonized (Michael Phelps pot-smoking, Bill Clinton/Monika Lewinski).

The dinosaurs are willingly exploited from the get-go, yet they are subject to all sorts of contradictory prejudices by mankind throughout. You could parallel this to several different ethnic/cultural groups if you wanted to get all fiction seminar on this one. The story opens with Tark not being able to buy a gun because of the assumed prejudice of the shopkeeper that dinosaurs want to cover-up homicides as admittedly ubiquitous human ones. The story ends with obtuse legal strangling of the dino's in a human/dino cannibalism charge, showing that the dinos can and are held to whatever situational standard pops up at the time or best expoilts them.

Tark is convinced the truck rally incident is a setup. He's Johny Cohcran playing the "race card" at OJ's trail. Entippa is the wiser of the two, admitting the willful participation he and all dino's played in entering human-kind's sensationalist "myth-game." Dinofights, cow sharpshooting, monster trucks and motocross are the scene-vehicles that the author uses to navigate the shameless exploitation that the humans present and the dino's almost always volunteer for.

In this world, cultural exchange has never surpassed this surface level circus-show level, despite the fact that the dinos presumably have much greater technology than us and have essentially redefined our entire understanding of the sciences, natural history, religions etc by popping up as a rediscovered civilization living on Mars. In this way the story is a parody, on top of all the other great things that it is.

[TheJebi]

Okay, I’ve been far too mired in twabble-land to remark on this edition yet, but I freakin’ loved it. Great narration (as usual), and excellent sound effects. It took itself just seriously enough. I just finished listening for second time. Highly enjoyable.

[Rish Outfield]

The dude who voiced the announcer was AWESOME, yo! I want him up front on game shows and late night talk shows, tellin' the people what is what. You hear, my brothas?

[ROU Killing Time]

The dude who voiced the announcer was AWESOME, yo! I want him up front on game shows and late night talk shows, tellin' the people what is what. You hear, my brothas?

You guys keep collaborating on stuff like that, eventually someone in the "real media" will take notice and steal you away from all of us who love ya so much.

Bastard TV executives.

Seriously, kudos to the entire cast of this weeks episode.

The "Stranger Things*" dude makes me feel not so bad about self-promotion. Shucks, who can beat him in that regard. (Self-promotion is cheaper than actually hiring someone to do it for you.)


*Damn, I can never remember that guys name...

[deflective]

great fun. this awesomely fills in background character for robot dinosaurs

[the mighty twix]

Great story. I was sold as soon as I read the opening for the story. Why would a dinosaur need a gun? Self-defense! It was this kind of humor that carried this story forward. I don't know if this one was my favorite of all year but it is pretty damn close.

[cammoblammo]

Jeepers, it's been four or five months since I graced these boards. Time was when I'd spend several hours here every day.

Anyway, I really liked this story, although I was listening to it while jogging and my brain wasn't in a place to catch any of the nuance. I just assumed I kept missing stuff because of all the stuff Mr Tweedy said. Still, you can appreciate a good 'Kickyourassasaurus' double entendre when your heart rate's up at around 180 bpm, so I'll take the social commentary as advised.

In fact, I'll go with a few others and say that this is one of the best DCs of the year so far (I have been listening...!) I'm not sure how you can compare it to 'Babel Probe' though. They're just so different.

[tbaker2500]

Cammo! You're back!

[strawman]

I can hear Norm's little Donor-of-the-week soundclip:

Yay!!!

[moonowl]

You know that feeling you get when you turn on the mp3 and you know this is going to be a good one? I mean it had dinosaurs in it. Anything with dinosaurs is aces. Martian dinosaurs trying to drive a car? Even better.

[internalogic]

The dinosaurs are willingly exploited from the get-go, yet they are subject to all sorts of contradictory prejudices by mankind throughout. You could parallel this to several different ethnic/cultural groups if you wanted to get all fiction seminar on this one. The story opens with Tark not being able to buy a gun because of the assumed prejudice of the shopkeeper that dinosaurs want to cover-up homicides as admittedly ubiquitous human ones. The story ends with obtuse legal strangling of the dino's in a human/dino cannibalism charge, showing that the dinos can and are held to whatever situational standard pops up at the time or best expoilts them.

Nice analysis, Richmazzer. There was this one quote near the end that could have been straight out of a Spike Lee movie. It was this little soliloquy by Antippa saying something like, 'They need us to be monsters...' or something, and then it went on from there. I definitely like my poignancy best when it comes with gun-wielding dinosaurs and exploding trucks.

This drabblecast episode was so good that I just found myself saying nothing at all about it. This time I was smart and listened to it at home in a locked room. I don't know how other people interpreted the odd laughter coming through the door. This episode was so good that it was unbelievable. The amount of personality in those dinosaurs was ridiculous.

People all over the world should be forced to listen to this one. They should be rounded up in stadiums and forced to listen to this and then released without any explanation.

that would shake things up....

Nigel

[Beth Peters]

The amount of personality in those dinosaurs was ridiculous.

People all over the world should be forced to listen to this one. They should be rounded up in stadiums and forced to listen to this and then released without any explanation.

that would shake things up....

Nigel

I've been hovering the forums a while but needed to post here. Yes. I totally agree with Mazzer and Logic. This is the kind of story that punctures ideology with it's ridiculousness. I felt like the movie Wall-E did the same thing to me, but totally different and obviously more mainstream.

Clearly the way to speak to the masses is by humor, silliness and parody. We've known this for some time, yet after decades of liberal vs conservative bullcrap we silently ignore Drabblecast as the Savior of all.
Not that I'm trying to start a cult or anything, but who's with me?

[ROU Killing Time]

I've been hovering the forums a while but needed to post here. Yes. I totally agree with Mazzer and Logic. This is the kind of story that punctures ideology with it's ridiculousness. I felt like the movie Wall-E did the same thing to me, but totally different and obviously more mainstream.

Clearly the way to speak to the masses is by humor, silliness and parody. We've known this for some time, yet after decades of liberal vs conservative bullcrap we silently ignore Drabblecast as the Savior of all.
Not that I'm trying to start a cult or anything, but who's with me?

What she said.

"I'm right and your stupid" has always seemed to be a device that is intended to bolster the belief systems of the person putting forward the argument. It rarely, if ever, sways the person you are talking to.

While I make it a habit to avoid cults (unless blue oysters are involved) I am a proponent of drabblevangelism. Not that I want everyont to think alike, (as my grandmother used to say, "Where everyone thinks alike, no one thinks at all") one of the great things about this forum is the diversity of thought and dialectic exchange that goes on with mutual respect when differing views are put forth.

So, as long as Norm doesn't start passing out kool-aid, I'm gonna be sticking around.

[strawman]

Unfortunate what Jonestown did to the Kool-Aid brand. Otherwise you might consider the DC Cult using various flavors for categorizing forum posters. In case you're wondering:
Past and current Kool-Aid® flavors in the United States:
-- Apple
-- Bedrock Orange (a FLINTSTONES tie-in)
-- Berry Blue
-- Black Cherry
-- Blastin' Berry Cherry
-- Blue Moon Berry
-- Blue Raspberry
-- Bunch Berry
-- Candy Apple
-- Changin' Cherry
-- Cherry
-- Cherry Cracker
-- Cherry-Lime
-- Cherry Subway
-- Cola
-- Eerie Orange
-- Golden Nectar
-- Grape
-- Grape Berry Splash
-- Grape-Blackberry
-- Great Bluedini
-- Ice Blue Island Twist
-- Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade
-- Incrediberry
-- Jamaica
-- Kickin' Kiwi-Lime
-- Kiwi Strawberry
-- Lemon
-- Lemonade
-- Lemonade Tea
-- Lemon-Grape
-- Lemon Ice
-- Lemon-Lime
-- Mandarina-Tangerine
-- Mango
-- Man-O-Mango-Berry
-- Mountain Berry Punch
-- Mountain Spring
-- Oh-Yeah Orange-Pineapple
-- Orange
-- Piña-Pineapple
-- Pineapple-Grapefruit
-- Pink Lemonade
-- Pink Swimmingo
-- Punch
-- Purplesaurus Rex
-- Rainbow Punch
-- Raspberry
-- Red Fruit
-- Root Beer
-- Raspberry Reaction
-- Rockadile Red
-- Scary Black Cherry
-- Scary Blackberry
-- Sharkleberry Fin
-- Slammin' Strawberry Kiwi
-- Soarin' Strawberry-Lemonade
-- Solar Strawberry Star Fruit
-- Strawberry
-- Strawberry Falls Punch
-- Strawberry Split Punch
-- Strawberry Tea
-- Sunshine Punch
-- Surfin' Berry Punch
-- Swirlin' Strawberry Starfruit
-- Tamarindo
-- Tangerine
-- Tropical Punch
-- Watermelon Kiwi
-- Watermelon-Cherry
-- Wildberry Tea
-- Yabba Dabba Doo Berry (a FLINTSTONES tie-in)
Other Kool-Aid® flavors worldwide:
-- Frutas
-- Frutas Vermilhas
-- Grape Blackberry
-- Grosella
-- Guarana
-- Kolita
-- Lemon
-- Lemonade Sparkle
-- Orange Enerjooz

[ROU Killing Time]

Wow, you REALLY know your kool-aid. So, what flavor am I?

Regarding trade-mark damage, this reminds me of one of SNL's faux-commercials that mimicked(is that how you spell that?) the Nike "Revolution" commercials. Hand held video footage going through the "Heavens-Gate" compound focusing on all of shoes and running suits emblazoned with the Nike logo, while the Beatles played in the background.

The screen goes black at the end of the commercial and the words "Keds. Worn by level-headed Christians." appears.

(I do have a soft-spot for tasteless black-humor...)

[tbaker2500]

You know, this episode had a little bit of Quentin Tarantino in it.

[ROU Killing Time]

You know, this episode had a little bit of Quentin Tarantino in it.

Was it his liver?