Through The Wind Door

Part 2 of ?? as I keep putting to audio essay, my ongoing concerns about the positives and negatives of story in our lives. As stories are my primary hyperfixation, I often relate many things back to them. Here is where I have to admit the flaw in that tendency, based on where I've seen it lead elsewhere.

All music is by Kevin McLeod, including "Magic Forest, "Private Reflection", "Resignation", "Heart of Nowhere" and "Babylon"

The beginning of an ongoing personal musing on stories... my endlessly favorite topic. How and why we create gods and monsters.

All music is by Kevin McLeod, including "Magic Forest, "Private Reflection", "Resignation", "Heart of Nowhere" and "Babylon"

The wheel keeps turning. And finally, more Princess Thieves discussion has come. We now delve into the darkest part of the story. Shattering Illusions, telling truths, and confronting the faces of evil. The beginning of our analysis on chapters 15-19 is here.

And so are the ever shifting images... of Kaleidoscope.

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Faci...

The last of our very long discussion on God of War, Ragnarok and otherwise. As before, much thanks to Orion Richardson for joining us. Fimbulwinter lingers in the real world... but we have hope.

Fat Brett-  Atreus, The Making Of A Hero part 2: https://youtu.be/a6mPzKl3-Bg?si=w3ULDUoAmLg0B3wr

Jacob Gellar - Why God of War Challenged Fate, Then Did It Again:
https://youtu.be/zJk-a0Zqwvo?si=TxdHVEGtUDf6JG8R

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me U...

It's horror time, and the invention of a brand new sub show to talk about horror! Today's show is on the 2023 movie "Stopmotion" by Robert Morgan! And yes, there is stop-motion in Stopmotion, so make all the Xibit jokes you want, because Toby is gonna tell us all about it. Full spoilers as always, plus minor potentially triggering stuff in the discussion as well as some sharing by me. But it will be a gay old time, promise

Stop motion references:

"The Hand" by Jiri Trnka - https://youtu.be/wFAoLHXou4s?si=jFC67DfBwZqlC3...

My final words (for now) about the crimes of Neil Gaiman, the influence of him and people like him on our podcast and lives, and how I plan to deal with with the issues raised going forwards.

All music is by Kevin McLeod, including "Magic Forest", "Private Reflection", "Resignation", "Heart of Nowhere", "Crusade", "Babylon" and "Wounded".

Yay, it's an upload! And a very digestible one. A much longer episode is coming soon, but for now, enjoy what is likely the first of many Greg essays that I promise won't go on longer than 15 to 30 minutes. Here is a subshow under the Beyond the Wind Door label like Greg is Afraid, that I am calling Miles To Go Before I Sleep.

In this essay, I will relate an experience with indie visual novel and Uber simulator, Neo Cab. And how a bad ending led me to a sleepless night, emotional resonance, and a busy...

Now we get into the meat of the game itself. It's themes, its characters, its goddamn amazing music, and all the emotions they bring.

Fat Brett - Essay on Brok: https://youtu.be/kxgZyDzZvJI?si=yrWPfYBLb6T_pPaP

Fat Brett - Essay on Magni and Modi: https://youtu.be/1agbhCi-w1Q?si=5RBhlYg_5C3s_aK7

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

Midroll includes:

Tracks from the God of War...

Today we start covering one of the best AAA games Toby and I have played in the last ten years that was *not* a Spiderman game. Recorded during a fierce winter cold snap, this is the God of War: Ragnarok show, guest starring previous interviewee, friend of the podcast and future collaborator, Orion Richardson.

Before we can discuss the game itself, however, we have to get into our respective pasts with God of War 2018, as well as the original Playstation games that game was building off from. So listen to me do my podcast essay thing, Orion...

Our first discussion of New Century in the new year! I hope it's fufilling enough for the wait till the next one! This one is full of character analysis and more of my attempts to use music to create a good atmosphere for literary discussion! Also deconstruction of a Poe boy from a Poe family! Enjoy!

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

 <...

After coming to the end of Toby's list of 2024 things, we get to mine! It's mostly videogames.

But seriously, some emotional highs and lows here. Enjoy. Let us fortify ourselves for the coming year.

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

Midroll include works from:

In Stars and Time OST

Iris and the Giant OST

Cloudpunk OST

Signalis OST

Oxenfree 2 OST

Citizen Slee...

Well... a good portion of 2024 was just an exploding pile of chicken shit. But Toby and I are still here, and we're starting off the new year strong. Join us for a discussion of the parts of the year that didn't suck, and gave us the fuel to get through it.

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

Other music includes:

https://youtu.be/KTmatjyd4KM?si=g87JWOvO2-1eJUOG - "The Wolf Song...

Okay.

Let's try this one more time.

Once more after a too long hiatus, we're back with our retrospective on The Princess Thieves. And while I'll still be working on other side projects in between, the episodes will keep coming, as I've got three more episodes after this - in the can - to process.

So lets see more about what our guardians of Keledor get into, hmm?

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

h...

It feels like this one has been a long time coming.

Closing out our trilogy, we bring you the 1998 movie straight to cable movie called Montana, a movie that's hard to find and no one talks about, in spite of its star studded cast. Maybe our shared appreciation of this at times comedic crime drama will spark others to make an effort to find it. The movie poster to assist:

And here as promised is the venn diagram of our trilogy:

Movies With Mikey (Filmjoy) - Is N...

Well, where's an exciting one. A little indie title that few will have heard of, delving into the idea of social anxiety horror: All My Friends Hate Me. Listen to me, Toby and Alejandra gush about this one in part 2 of our themed trilogy. Spoilers await: I highly recommend watching this beforehand! Here's some images to entice.

Super Eyepatch Wolf - Social Anxiety Horror:

https://youtu.be/V0lDtJIlUnc?si=eKSecnDsDHhQtZfW

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "L...

Greeting, true believers! The B-Team is back as The League of Supervillians, here to talk about some tragic movies with common themes! This week, we discuss the Terry Gilliam classic, Brazil, the black comedy about a hapless hero trying to survive in a future dystopia! Join me, Toby, and Alejandra Vargas for zany fun!

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

Outro is "I Can Dream About You" by Dan Hartman from "Streets of Fire".

 <

Today is the music episode! Or well, mostly the music episode. We go in depth with a lot of the most important or notable tracks in the Princess Thieves sound track, though more conversation is down the road as tracks come up in the story.

We also have more character discussion, specifically with regards to Meg and The Nag, but also a pivotal conversation between Baltus, Duke Coriolanus, and Mortimer Wilson, as we continue to unpack the motivations, feelings, and character of the Grand Duke.

Outtakes at the end... and a little something extra.

Okay! Let's try this again, one more time. After an extended hiatus due to circumstances beyond our control, it's Princess Thieves time again!

This time covering the events of chapters 6-10, including discussions of dreams, masks, identity, goals, the dichotomy of being safe and yet craving freedom, the main streets and parks of London, and the magic of finding someone that truly sees you.

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Ne...

Well, this one took way too long to finish. It's also almost 2 hours, which is part of it, but well... an editorial insert will explain more.

Listen to Husband and Wife discuss the songs of Sarah McLachlan and Taylor Swift, with brief glimspses into a few others along the way:

Sarah McLachlan - 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy', and 'Black And White'

Taylor Swift - 'Anti-Hero' and 'Willow'

Special mention to the songs 'Fear', 'Posession' 'Look What You Made Me Do', 'Can't Hold Us Down', 'King of Anything', and 'Say You're Sorry'.

Once more, I team up with my wife Maureen to take on a piece of media together. This is us reflecting on the path that brought us to watch Inside Out 2 in theatres and then record on how it made Us feel, as well as reflect on the previous movie, and how these movies echo our own lives and emotional journeys. Join us. Full spoilers, natch.

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

Midroll is the OST...

A deeper look at the events of the first Five Chapters of The Princess Thieves, through a deep dive at our main cast! Listen to us discuss all the characters that have been introduced so far: Gwen, Viola, Robin, Oberon, Scarlett, Captain Baltus, and finally Grand Duke Coriolanus, wherein we start looking for answers to a question I started pondering back in 2019!

Enjoy yourselves... and listen to the very end. If you fidget, if you look away, if you forget any part of what I tell you...

The promised picture of Gwen:

Our final entry in our Stop motion shows, where we bring it back to the movie that began this exploration into the medium, Kubo and the Two Strings. 

I not only love it, but it may be one of my favorite movies, same with Toby and Maureen. Full spoilers for the movie, but also we gets into some hints of problems behind the scenes with Laika at the end, so content warning for that as well.

Outtakes after the end music!

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/<...

We're back, guys, gals, and non-binary pals! Season 6! Welcome to our Princess Thieves retrospective!

We begin with an overview of our beginning, discussing it's roots, storytelling framework, it's tone, and some of the story elements of the prologue and Chapters 1-5.

Drop your door handles and grab your pouch of sweeties. It's crime time.

(Many thanks to Laureta Sela, Maya Souris, Spencer Leeb, and James Batchelor)

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.p...

Originally meant to be an outtake, here's a brief snippet of me and Toby discussing my first foray into watching Pokemon media, spurred by a challenge from Nama Chibitty of the School of Movies discord. While a full episode is not forthcoming as I didn't really gel with what I was given, I clearly had Something to say. So here's the entirity of that. Enjoy.

Outro is "Carry On" by Kygo ft. Rita Ora.

Holy cow, part 2 came out quickly!

Listen to our takes on this seminal Tim Burton Classic, and comparing it to Chicken Run! Spoilers: didn't work for me. Listen to my reasoning and yell at me!

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

Midroll is "Sally's Song" by Amy Lee

Outro is "I Miss You" by Bink 182

Once more, beyond the Wind Door! Today is part one of a discussion comparing three stop motion movies and our experiences with them. Today we discuss Chicken Run from 2000 by Aardman Productions! Join me, Toby, and my wife Maureen on this journey!

Stagefright - by Steven Box (Aardman Prod)

https://youtu.be/XcVc-hMniUE?si=mToOkPqXbcn2T21X

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

Outro is "Flip, Flop and Fly" by Elias Hall...

I hope you like Pitch Meetings. Because this episode has one and it was the thing that took the longest to do!

Our final thoughts on the biggest book of New Century.

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro and Outro are "One Headlight" by The Wallflowers.

Look, its not a great title. But it's what I came up with.

Lacking other side content to share, I decided to try something new: discussing favorite music with my wife. Songs from the long ago 70's and 80's, to far more current media. You'll probably note some through lines running throughout as we talk about what these songs mean to us (links to relevant music videos). For this week:

Paul Simon - Boy In The Bubble:

https://youtu.be/Uy5T6s25XK4?si=5ctdF5WSSMEgQ3ns

Simon and Garfunkel...

Our final thoughts on this, the longest journey. The Journey of Steamheart.

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro and Outro are is "My Silver Lini...

Out of the Wind Door and into the Wide Blue Yonder... 

Or wait, no, we're actually covering The Giggle this time. But really, here is part 2 of a discussion on Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials, so discussion and spoilers covering The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle. And listen to the end for a hell of a plot twist! Special guest stars Kevin Veighey and Jesse Ferguson!

The visuals from the Craig Ferguson Doctor Who opening skit:

https://youtu.be/M9P4SxtphJ4?si=U0QGeKkcTrnI9_7F

Th...

An essay I wrote in 2019, after interviewing Alex and Sharon for Steamheart. The first creative writing I'd done in a while. And needed practice for the podcast I would eventually do with Toby.

The essay now includes Music and an epilogue to my personal little story. Spoilers for certain story elements of The Good Place, but specifically for Season 4, episode 9 of that show.

Midroll is "Clean Soul" by Kevin McLeod

Outro is "Answer" by Sarah McLachlan

Here's the rest of it and it's extra long. But only slightly because of what I added.

As before, spoilers not just for Steamheart, but for all New Century books released by 2019, including and especially The Princess Thieves.

It's amazing to think so much started here. Enjoy.

Toby's Blog: https://www.tumblr.com/theinquisitivej

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "The Future is Ours" by Scott Holmes of Free Music Archive

Outro is "Let Go" by Beau Young Princ...

This Wind Door once more opens next to a TARDIS! Lacking his Real Life Doctor companion, Greg invites Kevin Veighey back to Dish on the Doctor, plus time travel expert Jesse Fergusson to be our foil!

Today we cover The Star Beast and Wild Blue Yonder, though there will be discussion of overarching themes of all three 14th Doctor Specials, so expect potential spoilers for all! Allon-sy!

Catherine Tate Comic Relief Skit!

https://youtu.be/WxB1gB6K-2A?si=HJld5GftspIPM7Df

The Importance of Doctor Who's Trans C...

Late 2019, Alex was making the post Steamheart materials after the release of the final episode of the audiodrama. Then he had a banger of an idea: why not ask two fans to interview them instead of just doing content with the cast?

Little did he know what he started.

4 years later, I rerelease these interviews that began with me and Toby and our crappy mics. Complete with added editorials from me, reflecting on how those old interviews sound now, and reflections on what we did and what's to come.

Spoiler warning: We discuss...

The last episode before our wrapup, covering details from chapters 40-42!

It's been a long journey. The end is nigh.

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Together We Stand" by Scott Holmes of Free Music Archive

...

The end of our deep dive on Spidermen:Proving Ground! And by the end, I mean ANOTHER 2 HOURS OF US TALKING. So hope you like what we have to say!

I love all the work we've ever done discussing New Century. But that has just prepared us to make these episode really special. Thanks...

The final chapters of Steamheart 40-42. The Beginning of the End.

All this and more.

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

The New Century Multiverse Podcast Feed:

https://newcenturyshow.podbean.com/

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

A deep dive into the new Insomniac Spiderman game, full spoilers, including:

All this and more.

The Fireside Alliance Podcast Network: 

https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "Light Me Up" by Audiorezout of Free Music Archive

O...

The chaotic ending! In part 2 we discuss the rest of Alejandra's reading order:

Followed by final thoughts and hopes for future New Century stories!

The New Century Multiverse Website:

https://www.newcenturymultiverse.com

Fireside Alliance: https://firesidealliance.squarespace.com/

Intro is "All Sta...

Well, here's another first. Dr. Skeels-Jungius and I are covering a videogame! But it's a video game we feel strongly about, both in the original experience, as part of a series of games, but also as lovers of Spider-Man and his extended mythology. (Because the name is confusing, we also refer to this game officially as Spider-Men: Proving Grounds)

This is a spoiler free episode, and today we discuss: