PZ's Podcast

Can the mind of man and woman conceive that the subject of Episcopal haberdashery in the movies might be interesting and meaningful? Well, yes, it might be, at least to me. This podcast surveys Protestant Episcopal clothing in the movies and television. We travel in our sound machine from "The Bishop's Wife" to "Family Plot" to "Night of the Iguana" to "The Sandpiper"; and we end up on British tv -- in Supermarionation. Maybe this is completely unimportant. Then again... I dedicate the cast to Fred Rogers, fellow pilgrim and dialogue partner.

Can the mind of man and woman conceive that the subject of Episcopal haberdashery in the movies might be interesting and meaningful? Well, yes, it might be, at least to me. This podcast surveys Protestant Episcopal clothing in the movies and television. We travel in our sound machine from "The Bishop's Wife" to "Family Plot" to "Night of the Iguana" to "The Sandpiper"; and we end up on British tv -- in Supermarionation. Maybe this is completely unimportant. Then again... I dedicate the cast to Fred Rogers, fellow pilgrim and dialogue partner.

Yvette Vickers played supporting roles in two unforgettable 1950's science-fiction movies: "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches". As far as I'm concerned, she stole the show both times. But, Yvette Vickers is now dead. Or rather, she was found dead, on the 27th of April last year (201l). The conditions under which she was found, and the conditions under which she apparently lived her life near the end of it, evoke floods of compassion. They simply have to. How could this have happened? How could Yvette Vickers, our once-and-future (saucy) flame, have ended that way? This podcast -- I wouldn't mind calling it pastoral -- is an attempt to understand.

Yvette Vickers played supporting roles in two unforgettable 1950's science-fiction movies: "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" and "Attack of the Giant Leeches". As far as I'm concerned, she stole the show both times. But, Yvette Vickers is now dead. Or rather, she was found dead, on the 27th of April last year (201l). The conditions under which she was found, and the conditions under which she apparently lived her life near the end of it, evoke floods of compassion. They simply have to. How could this have happened? How could Yvette Vickers, our once-and-future (saucy) flame, have ended that way? This podcast -- I wouldn't mind calling it pastoral -- is an attempt to understand.

This is a theme with me -- the pros and cons (there aren't many cons) of learning foreign languages. Also, how does it actually work? Why is one language easier for a given person to learn than another? Also, what's the relatiion between learning a language to read, and learning a language to speak? And why is psychology so important, personal psychology, in the acquisition of a foreign 'tongue'? Here is 50 years' experience of pain and suffering (and altered states) rolled up into a single half hour.

This is a theme with me -- the pros and cons (there aren't many cons) of learning foreign languages. Also, how does it actually work? Why is one language easier for a given person to learn than another? Also, what's the relatiion between learning a language to read, and learning a language to speak? And why is psychology so important, personal psychology, in the acquisition of a foreign 'tongue'? Here is 50 years' experience of pain and suffering (and altered states) rolled up into a single half hour.

From our house to your house, at the Turning of the Year: a portrait of the dignity that is able to inhere within romantic love -- sometimes. The subject is a short scene, a musical number really, in a late Jacques Demy, "Une Chambre en Ville" (1982). You can YouTube it by typing in "Violette amoureuse". I have faith you will be richly repaid. Try to marry a 'Violette' if you possibly can -- or, if it's too late, tell your children about her.

From our house to your house, at the Turning of the Year: a portrait of the dignity that is able to inhere within romantic love -- sometimes. The subject is a short scene, a musical number really, in a late Jacques Demy, "Une Chambre en Ville" (1982). You can YouTube it by typing in "Violette amoureuse". I have faith you will be richly repaid. Try to marry a 'Violette' if you possibly can -- or, if it's too late, tell your children about her.

Why am I "afraid to say what I really want to say" (Jack Kerouac)? That's a line from "Visions of Gerard", and many could echo it. This podcast is about changing mores, specifically the contrast between a sensational murder case of the 1930s and a sensational case of recent times. Then there's Ken Russell's "The Devils" (197), a charming little movie -- and the shifting sands of killing inquisition. Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead.

Why am I "afraid to say what I really want to say" (Jack Kerouac)? That's a line from "Visions of Gerard", and many could echo it. This podcast is about changing mores, specifically the contrast between a sensational murder case of the 1930s and a sensational case of recent times. Then there's Ken Russell's "The Devils" (197), a charming little movie -- and the shifting sands of killing inquisition. Maybe I should quit while I'm ahead.

This is PZ's Christmas Podcast.

This is PZ's Christmas Podcast.

What constitutes you, as a human being? What are the parts which make you the whole you are? A single sentence from Huxley's "After many a summer dies the swan" can help, together with Fritz Lang's "Woman in the Moon". It's not about the ego. I am so sorry that human education pumps up that flat tire. Is there another way to educate ... ourselves?

What constitutes you, as a human being? What are the parts which make you the whole you are? A single sentence from Huxley's "After many a summer dies the swan" can help, together with Fritz Lang's "Woman in the Moon". It's not about the ego. I am so sorry that human education pumps up that flat tire. Is there another way to educate ... ourselves?

I'm shooting for quality today. In the spirit of earlier podcasts concerning Giant Crab Movies and Journey,this podcast concerns what might today be called "Lounge Crooner Classics". In their day, they were pop songs commissioned to be played over the credits of movies and then sold as singles. We're talking about "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" by Frankie Avalon; "Journey to the 7th Planet" by Otto Brandenburg; "The Lost Continent" by The Peddlers; and "The Vengeance of She" by Robert Field. These are absurd performances of human art and commerce pitched to the highest possible degree. At least in my opinion. Moreover, they can help you with your anger! Few things do more to diminish anger than a feel for the absurd. This podcast is intended to help the speaker, and the listener, with his or her anger. "Come with me, And take a Voyage, To the Bottom, Of the Sea."