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Drabbleclassics 23 – Synesthesia (92)

By Charity Helton

On August 23, 2015

In Action, Drabbleclassics, Drama, Horror

They called it “Synesthesia.” It’s when the senses got mixed up and you started to hear colors or taste sounds…

Norm begins this with a warning concerning graphic violence and gore. We return to one of the Drabblecast’s favorite topics, the Zombie Apocalypse. The theme receives a fresh airing, which is just as well, as it was starting to smell. Sal Lemerond, veteran of the horror webzine “Necrotic Tissue,” posits the connection between drug addicts and zombies, in a 100-word drabble. Norm chimes in with a tasty public service announcement about the nutritional value of your brain on drugs. In the feature story, J. Alan Pierce whose work has appeared in Kaleidotrope, as well as twice on the Drabblecast (#18 “The One that Got Away” and #31 “Beekeepers”) – takes us through a zombie plague via the eyes of an early victim. The condition first manifests as Synthesesia, the scientific name for the ability to taste colors, smell sounds, and other bizarre sensory hallucinations. The story culminates in a family dispute and a choice betrayal.

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Drabbleclassics 1 – Clown Eggs (115)

On June 8, 2014

In Drabbleclassics, Strange

Author Jay Lake knew about the devil and he knew about the clowns. When his story, Clown Eggs, first appeared on the Drabblecast, listeners said things like “This might be, hands-down, the weirdest story I’ve ever heard on [The Drabblecast]. I think I’m going to have nightmares forever. Can I send my therapy bills to you guys?” (Thanks, Talia)

In other words, people loved it.

Since then, the Drabblecast has produced three other outpourings from Jay’s singular vision of the world (or a world – or some worlds, but hopefully not our own). In fact, Jay’s last professional sale was “The Goat Cutter,” Drabblecast 321, the story from last April about the Devil in Texas. You remember that story- you can’t forget it, even though you’ve tried.

Jay lost his battle with cancer on Sunday, June 1, 2014. In tribute to Jay, we’re kicking off Drabbleclassics with several weeks of Jay Lake’s stories.

And now: Episode 115, Clown Eggs, first published May 25th, 2009.

The spring tide rolled across Momus Beach, tossing the flaccid corpses of clowns like so many torn balloons. Weathered to a dispirited pallor, they twisted in the foamy surf with the eternally surprised expressions of the dead..

The Drabble describes either an apocalyptic event, or a simple machine. The feature introduces us to old “bull” clown Uncle Swarmy. It’s not just another day at the beach. Learn more about the clown life cycle than you’re comfortable with!

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 260, Trifecta XXIII, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 260 – Trifecta XXIII

On October 19, 2012

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Horror

You don’t remember anything, do you? Selective memory loss; what an achievement for a mind as young as yours. Locked in a cupboard of your consciousness, the guilt will eat at you from the inside…

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 258, Brown Dust, by Amber Carky

Drabblecast 258 – Brown Dust

On September 29, 2012

In Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy, Horror

“Adao, no.” Teo, the older boy’s second-in-command, lays a staying hand on his master’s arm. “The stories I told you about this one… they’re true.”
“True?” Adao casts a skeptic’s eye over Santos. Can those flimsy ribs cage anything as fugitive as truth?

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 250, Trifecta 22, by Liz Pennies

Drabblecast 250 – Trifecta XXII

On July 25, 2012

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

My name is… John.

I am…

I have a wife and a daughter. They are visiting me today. Their names– Alice. And Anna.

I can see, sort of. Everything is blurry. I am submerged in a coffin, a clear coffin with green water. There’s a tube in my mouth so that I can breathe, machine-like.

My legs are transparent. I see veins and arteries, thin muscles that look like spiderwebs bundled together. The doctors say my memory will be fuzzy. It’s supposed to come back quickly.

I am…

The theme of this Drabblecast Trifecta is “if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.” In Faithful Servant, a long-suffering butler’s poorly timed fit of temper is nearly the end of him. In Selfless, a man with an incurable illness goes to great lengths to ensure his wife and daughter enjoy a normal, happy life. In Prophecy Negotiations, a fateful farm boy learns that if you want to rise to a new station, it pays not to accept the first offer.

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Drabblecast 220 – Trifecta XVIII

On October 26, 2011

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Sci-Fi, Strange

Another of the Drabblecast’s vaunted Trifecta series. Three short stories, each with a unique twist. The episode begins with an interview of author J.R. Hamantaschen, Norm runs fingers through his troubled mind, learning of the seeds from which his horrors spring. The theme of this Trifecta: getting the boot – stories of rejection and alienation. First up, Richard Weems’s Bad Habit, in which a nun and a naked pervert do battle (no, really). Next, author Andrew Gudgel (featured on fellow podcasts such as Escapepod) appears with Tags, as read by Kimi Alexander, a story of teenage dares in a technologically submerged world. Lastly, A Happy Family, by author, novelist Nathaniel Tower, read by Abner Senires, in which a family receives a very unexpected bundle of joy (and puzzlement).

Episode Sponsor: You Shall Never Know Security by J.R. Hamantaschen.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 207, Pinion, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 207 – Pinion

On June 8, 2011

In Action, Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

The witness was beautiful, in a way that was almost hard to look at. His face was abstract and fashionable, all eyes and angles, with a luminous innocence too perfect to be entirely sincere…

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 169, The Reenactment, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 169 – The Reenactment

On June 23, 2010

In Action, Drabblecast, Drama

For fourteen years the North Piscataway High School History Department, under my stewardship, has honored the tradition of Duel Day, our annual reenactment of the famous, deadly confrontation of 1804, between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. And for all fourteen of those reenactments, I, Robert Stanley, have taken the role of noble Hamilton, and Paul Vasouvian from the math department has filled the boots of the scurrilous Burr…

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 161, Higher Than Usual, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 161 – Higher than Usual

On April 29, 2010

In Action, Comedy, Drabblecast, Horror

“We’ve got one of them,” he told me gleefully.
“One of what?” I asked, bewildered.
“One of them,” he said, as if that explained it. “Cheeky sod from Accounts came upstairs and tried to get a coffee out of our vending machine. Can you believe it? Out of OUR vending machine!”

Nothing cheekier than a pandemic of murderous intent..

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 148, The Last Great Clown Hunt, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 148 – The Last Great Clown Hunt

On January 29, 2010

In Action, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Strange

It was clown-hunting weather. It was time to gather the musty costumes, clean the slide whistles, bag up the guns, and spin the lures of cotton candy…

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Drabblecast B-Sides 8 – The Elves Hate You

On December 27, 2009

In Action, Comedy, Drabblecast B-Sides, Fantasy, Horror, Strange

“You’re sure that’s not a vulcan?”

Pikachimp, Vlad’s right-arm man shook his head.

“Nah. Them’s elves all right. And the tall one’s been shopping same place as you.”

Vlad’s preternatural sight was perfectly adapted to the club’s dim lighting.

“You’re right. I can’t believe he has the nerve to wear that in here. I practically invented throat-ruffles. C’mon, let’s show those pansies they can’t mess with vampires..”

Drabblecast B-Sides: <a href="http://www.drabblecast.org/donate/">Donate</a>

Drabblecast 122 – The Fallen and the Muse of the Street

On July 11, 2009

In Action, Drabblecast, Fantasy

Angels, fallen or otherwise, weren’t known for their appreciation of human art…

On this episode of the Drabblecast, a Gaiman’esque tale of the urban supernatural from fan favorite Tim Pratt. How will a pair of fallen angels behave on a visit to New Orleans?

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Drabblecast 115 – Clown Eggs

On May 25, 2009

In Drabblecast, Strange

This week the Drabblecast presents “Clown Eggs” by Jay Lake.

It is a story that introduces us to old “bull” clown Uncle Swarmy. It’s not just another day at the beach. You’ll learn more about the clown life cycle than you’re probably comfortable with!

Story Excerpt:

The spring tide rolled across Momus Beach, tossing the flaccid corpses of clowns like so many torn balloons. Weathered to a dispirited pallor, they twisted in the foamy surf with the eternally surprised expressions of the dead..

Podcast: Download

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 112, The Guardian, by Josh Hugo

Drabblecast 112 – The Guardian

On April 29, 2009

In Action, Drabblecast

She sprinted along the sidewalk, the bag bouncing against her back. The sun melded into the horizon, disappeared, engulfing the city in grave dark. Blood-thirsty screams could be heard in the distance, human howls. The gangs and muties were waking, to reclaim the city in their nightly routine…

This episode of the Drabblecast begins with a Drabble News report on a missing core of armed dolphins, trained to shoot people that look like terrorists or suicide bombers. The Navy denies the report: Norm has his own theories. In the feature, a young girl sneaks through the ruins of a post-apocalyptic city at dusk, in search of medicine for her dying brother. A harrowing journey with life and death consequences ensues.

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Cover for Drabblecast 100, Trifecta VI, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 100 – Trifecta VI

On January 28, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Strange

The 100th episode of the Drabblecast opens with Norm thanking donors, contributors, and listeners for its success and growth. Norm announces the opening of nominations for the second annual Drabblecast People’s Choice Awards, now including a category for drabbles as well as feature stories. In Cork Ringtone and the Break Dancing Pig, a desperate, Jesus-costumed liquor store robbery, which may be wholly unnecessary when a loan shark experiences an alien-induced vision of god. In Gerri’s Sounds, the events occurring in a torture chamber are experienced in disturbing detail by its sounds alone. In Cupid, Playing, new love is cut short by a deranged cherub.

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Drabblecast B-Sides 2 – 2135: The Year Disco Came Back

On January 12, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast B-Sides, Sci-Fi, Strange

And with a mighty crack the sky opened up! There, sitting on a throne of ivory and omnipotence, was the Lord in all his terrible glory. And God said: “Let there be Funk!”

On this episode of the Drabblecast B-Sides podcast, a semi-lucid prophecy of a musically dominated future. Disco, punk, funk, and more are at odds, as maniacal genre fan devotion rules the streets!

Drabblecast B-Sides: <a href="http://www.drabblecast.org/donate/">Donate</a>

Cover for Drabblecast episode 92, Synesthesia, by Tom Morganti

Drabblecast 92 – Synesthesia

On December 5, 2008

In Action, Drabblecast, Drama, Horror

They called it “Synesthesia.” It’s when the senses got mixed up and you started to hear colors or taste sounds…

Norm begins this with a warning concerning graphic violence and gore. We return to one of the Drabblecast’s favorite topics, the Zombie Apocalypse. The theme receives a fresh airing, which is just as well, as it was starting to smell. Sal Lemerond, veteran of the horror webzine “Necrotic Tissue,” posits the connection between drug addicts and zombies, in a 100-word drabble. Norm chimes in with a tasty public service announcement about the nutritional value of your brain on drugs. In the feature story, J. Alan Pierce whose work has appeared in Kaleidotrope, as well as twice on the Drabblecast (#18 “The One that Got Away” and #31 “Beekeepers”) – takes us through a zombie plague via the eyes of an early victim. The condition first manifests as Synthesesia, the scientific name for the ability to taste colors, smell sounds, and other bizarre sensory hallucinations. The story culminates in a family dispute and a choice betrayal.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Cover for Drabblecast episode 82, An Overgrown Clump of Narcissists, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 82 – An Overgrown Clump of Narcissists

On September 24, 2008

In Drabblecast, Drama

“As you can see, this clump of daffodils is far too overgrown,” said the frail, blue-haired host.” The blooms in the center are starting to suffer as the younger bulbs challenge them for sunlight and nutrients…”

The episode begins with more from the world of the Mega-Beach Death-Match. The Drabble describes warring among fairies. The feature is a grim tale of holiday angst, shame, and the potential for forgiveness (and unforgivable acts). Feedback is for episode 79’s “Low Carb Cheesecake.”

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 81, Snuffles, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 81 – Snuffles

On September 17, 2008

In Action, Drabblecast, Horror

Snuffles’ cave was a marvelous place. It was where his glowing rock lived…

The Mega-Beast Death-Match finals are announced. Stories detail mutants and things that aren’t what they appear to be. The Drabble describes the twitchy, secret side of a husband. The feature is a story of nature in the extreme. A mutant badger? Havoc? Drabblecast goodness! Feedback is for episode 77 “Permanent Detention” and episode 78 “Panel Discussion.”

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 77, Permanent Detention, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 77 – Permanent Detention

On August 20, 2008

In Drabblecast, Horror

“But Dad, he scares me….”
“I don’t care if he’s got three eyes and tentacles. He’s your teacher and you need to pass his class. Case closed…”

High school horrors delight us in this episode. In the news, we learn that Bigfoot is dead, if he was ever alive, which he might not have been, so he might not be dead! Feedback from Exit by Jeff Carlson and All In by Peter Atwood.

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