The Secret Lair

That shrieking, agonizing wail you just heard was all the clocks at The Secret Lair springing forward. We are now free from the vile grip of Daylight Saving Time, but at what cost? All this bouncing around backward and forward in time takes a heavy toll on mind, body and soul. Not to mention minions. The clocks in the Lair are all perfectly synchronized, but synchronizing with an atomic clock is terribly pedestrian. Cesium atoms may have been fine for 1955 but this is the twenty-first century, and we have standards. We also have a tachyon transference array that may or may not be of extraterrestrial origin. This gives us heretofore-unprecedented chronometric accuracy…so long as you never change the clocks. And so, twice a year, we cross our fingers and hope that the temporal slingshot effect won’t send all or part of the Lair hurtling anywhere from a few seconds to a few thousand years past the mark as we spring forward and fall back. If you’re reading this in the spring of 2010, it means we’ve survived another time change more or less intact, and it’s time for another gripping and informative episode of The Secret Lair.

St Urho’s Day is a celebration of a fictional fellow who drove all of the grasshoppers out of Finland. From Wikipedia:

The legend of St. Urho was the invention of a Finnish-American named Richard Mattson, who worked at Ketola’s Department Store in Virginia, Minnesota in spring of 1956. Mattson later recounted that he invented St. Urho when he was questioned by coworker Gene McCavic about the Finns’ lack of a saint like the Irish St. Patrick, whose feat of casting the snakes out of Ireland is remembered on St. Patrick’s Day. In fact, the patron saint of Finland is Henry (Bishop of Finland).

Promo: The Command Line podcast.

Discussion: The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross

• The Atrocity Archives is the first book in Charles Stross’ Laundry series; it contains two stories: “The Atrocity Archive” and “The Concrete Jungle”. The second novel in the series is The Jennifer Morgue. The third novel, The Fuller Memorandum, will be released later this year.
• Overlord Johnson really enjoyed Glasshouse and Saturn’s Children, but felt that The Atrocity Archives was essentially a pulp novel that explains too much.
• Overlord Miller recently reviewed Halting State and is currently reading Iron Sunrise. He classifies The Atrocity Archives as “hacker pulp”.
• Our friend Gus has a review of the audio edition of The Atrocity Archives on his blog.
• The Atrocity Archives may not be the best introduction to Stross; the Overlords recommended checking out some of his non-Laundry novels first.

Promo: Kronos by Jeremy Robinson.

Lairkeeping

• Our blog, you’re reading it.
• 140 characters? Try our StatusNet.
• More than 140 characters? Try our community site.
• Our next selection for The Secret Library is The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell.
• On our next episode: A special preview of Project Truth from Evil Overlord Games.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:55 — 28.3MB)

In this episode of The Secret Lair, we’re joined by hacktivist and digital culture commentator Thomas “cmdln” Gideon and a bit later in the episode by author and DIY enthusiast Matthew Wayne Selznick (Brave Men Run). The topic is one near and dear to our hearts: free content. This time out, we’re looking at free content from the perspective of the podcast novelist, and we begin our discussion with the announcement that J.C. Hutchins, one of the most popular podcast novelists, will no longer be offering new content for free.

Discussion: Free Content vs. Paying the Creator

• Our discussion was prompted by a blog post from novelist J.C. Hutchins, author of 7th Son: Descent and Personal Effects: Dark Art.
• Podiobooks.com is home to a wide array of free podcast novels, including the entire 7th Son series.
• Dave Slusher at Evil Genius Chronicles: “Publishing 2010: The Beginning of the End or The End of the Beginning?“.
• How is price related to elasticity of demand? Cory Doctorow discusses this in an interview on Beyond the Book.
• Another author who has used podcasting as a springboard to more traditional publishing is Scott Sigler, author of Ancestor, Infected and Contagious, among others.
• Matthew Wayne Selznick asked (on Facebook), “When was the last time you paid for something creative (music, book, movie, art, etc.) even though it was also available to you for free?” The responses were interesting and sometimes eye-opening.
• Does the podcast novel walk a fine line between marketing tool and gimmick?
• How far is podcasting behind blogging on the adoption curve?
• Is there a sense of entitlement to free works among fans of podcast novelists?
• Mike Masnick at TechDirt says you have to (1) connect with fans and (2) create a reason to buy.
• Selznick: Even providers of free content like Jared Axelrod don’t expect to see direct financial return from that same content.
• What is neo-patronage? Matt explains.
• Thomas provides an example of an artist utilizing neo-patronage: cartoonist/animator Nina Paley.
• Matthew points to Another Sky Press, a publisher that lets customers decide how much they want to pay for a book.
• Matthew also mentions Amanda Palmer.
• Chris mentions Magnatune, which allows customers to set their own prices for music.
• Some artists have used The Ransom Model (or crowd-funding) to support their efforts.
  • Jill Sobule’s 2009 album, California Years, was entirely funded by her fans.
• Did the audience J.C. Hutchins created when he released the 7th Son podcasts let him down when it came time to pony up for the print edition?
• Mur Lafferty offers a variety of content for free: novels, short stories, dramatized fiction and advice for “wannabe writers”.
• John Scalzi is another author who successfully used free content to launch a successful (science-fiction) writing career.
• What does a creator owe their audience?
  • Neil Gaiman: Entitlement Issues; or, George R. R. Martin is not your bitch.
  • Matt isn’t currently working on the sequel to Brave Men Run, and he tells us why. While you’re waiting, you may want to check out Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights.
• Selznick: A better, more ubiquitous form of micro-payments would help make neo-patronage more viable.
  • Could Peter Sunde’s Flattr (currently in beta) be that system?
• The community that has sprung up around podcast novelists is very insular, and incredibly passionate, but have we been drinking too much of our own Kool-Aid? We try to put some perspective to the whole business.
  • Emer Sugrue: Websight: Podiobooks.com.
• Harlan Ellison: Pay the Writer (contains NSFW language).

Lairkeeping

• Our theme music is “Skullcrusher Mountain” by Jonathan Coulton.
• Visit us on the web at trip-dubs dot thesecretlair dot com.
• Try StatusNet for those short updates. This service is invite-only, so send us a note if you’d like to join.
• Got something to say that 140 characters just won’t cover? Say it on our community site.
• Coming up on The Secret Library, The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross.
• Did you know that The Secret Lair is powered by WordPress? Well, you should; it’ll be on the quiz.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:26 — 67.2MB)

Love is in the air here at the Secret Lair, and all personnel are advised that rebreathers must be worn on levels A14 through B31, and access to level B32 and lower requires (a) special security clearance and (b) use of an approved Hazmat suit. Once pheromone levels have returned to normal and a cleaning crew has dealt with the mess on B32, special access restrictions will be lifted. In the meantime, if you feel more-than-usually amorous toward your Overlords, co-minions or (in many cases) yourself, please contact Dr. Cmar for a dose of the anti-toxin.

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss the lover’s spat between Amazon.com, the largest bookseller in the universe, and Macmillan, one of the six largest publishers in that very same universe. We also discuss some myths surrounding Valentine’s Day, which looms like a shadow over—I mean, is the second or third most wonderful time of the year.

Amazon vs Macmillan

Apple introduced the iPad which—among other things—is going to be an eBook reader. Why does this cause a fight between Amazon and Macmillan? It’s all about the pricing model.

• John Scalzi breaks it down for us.
• Charles Stross shares an outsider’s perspective.
• Tobias Buckell offers his take on the whole mess.
• John Scalzi presents a deeply slanted play on why publishing won’t die.
• Cat Valente doesn’t want the publishing industry to go away, either.

Promo: Harvey by Phil Rossi

Staff Reports

Chief Medical Officer Cmar files his latest progress report, in which he once again questions our judgment. This seems to be a common theme in The Bad Doctor’s reports. Meanwhile, Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies Jay Lynn seems to be…surrounded.

In our new segment, Ask the Overlords, Don asks about the possibility of purchasing a gently-used space shuttle for a mere $28.8 million.

Promo: I Should Be Writing, now featuring All Write!, a webcomic drawn by Natalie Metzger, our very own Secretary of Artistic Propaganda.

Valentine’s Day

Saints and cards and massacres, oh my!

• The name of that Family Ties spin-off was The Art of Being Nick. Only the pilot was ever aired, and only once.
• That St. Valentine was an amorous fellow. And there were three of him. Does that make him polyamorous?
• What’s a little Lupercalia between friends?
• Lupa: wolf.
• Loofah: not a wolf.
• How do Chicagoans celebrate St. Valentine’s Day? Keep your chocolates and your greetings cards. Don’t bother sending flowers. Instead, say it with bullets.

Lairkeeping

• Visit the blog. Oh, wait, you’re already here.
• Try StatusNet for those short updates.
• Got something to say that 140 characters just won’t cover? Say it on our new community site.
• Coming up on The Secret Library, The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:09 — 45.0MB)

Tonight, on a very special The Secret Lair…

Dr. John Cmar, our Chief Medical Officer, takes thirty minutes out of his busy schedule to discuss the facts and fictions around the current news cycle darling: the H1N1 virus.

• He is a bona fide Medical Doctor.
• We stick to the science.
• Wash your hands.
• Get Vaccinated.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:06 — 28.5MB)

We are joined in the Lair by one Mick Bradley, who can be heard on the Canon Puncture podcast discussing all manner of things related to tabletop gaming. These are apparently games that can be played using little more than the top of a table and your boundless imagination. From what I’ve heard the whole thing smacks of a scam, as neither the table nor the boundless imagination are included in the purchase price.

If Mr. Bradley’s name resonates with some of you, it is likely because the conditioning wears off over time and you should report to the nearest Retcon Reinforcement Center for additional therapy. I assure you that Overlord Miller and I never, ever appeared on a podcast known as The Round Table from the House of the Harping Monkey, and on such podcast we never discussed the monomyth as it applies to gaming and popular culture. Not ever.

Staff Reports

• Voicemail from Captain Tortuga of the S.S. Isopod. Our RCPJs have been delivered! Our RCPJs have been delivered! Royal Canadian Painted Jackalopes? Oh, no. Far more insidious.
• Ken Newquist reviews Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers for the Xbox 360. Sounds great, but is there an add-on that allows me to slip the digital cards into mylar sleeves to keep them in near-mint condition?
• Chief Medical Officer’s Progress Report. The bad doctor reports that we had a bit of a run-in with NASA (again). Meanwhile, if that ointment were any closer to our Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies it would bite him.

Discussion

One word: storygaming. I still think that’s two words, but the man threatened to hack off my thumbs if I hit the spacebar when I typed it, so we’ll leave it as written. Long time listeners may know that Overlord Miller and I have been carrying around a chip on our should regarding so-called “story games” (shut up; that’s totally two words) for some time now. We’ve brought Mick Bradley in to hug…er, talk…it out and see if we can’t get over it already.

• Ron Edwards. Game designer (Sorceror). Co-founder of The Forge, and indie-RPG community. Author of “System Does Matter“.
• Vincent Baker. Game designer (Dogs in the Vineyard).
• Storn Cook. Artist. Former co-host of the Sons of Kryos podcast. Rabble rouser.
• Judd Karlman. Former co-host of the Sons of Kryos podcast.
• Jeff Lower. Former co-host of the Sons of Kryos podcast.
• Paul Tevis. Upstanding citizen. Host of the Have Games, Will Travel podcast.
• World of Darkness. Vampires and Werewolves and Wraiths, oh my! Role-playing game/world originally conceived by Mark Rein-Hagen.
• Dungeons & Dragons. The mother of all Lord of the Rings rip-offs and the stereotypical “traditional” RPG. Created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
• Primetime Adventures. The story game that started the whole kerfuffle. Created by Matt Wilson.
• Story Games. An Intartube forum where hemp-shirt-wearing hippies gather in drum circles to talk about their feelings. Allegedly.

Promo

• 7th Son: Descent by J.C. Hutchins.

Lair Keeping

• Our theme music is “Skullcrusher Mountain” by Jonathan Coulton.
• Join our new anti-social network, The Secret Community.
• Follow us on Twitter.

Staff

• Secretary of Artistic Propaganda: Natalie Metzger.
• Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies: Jay “The Kingfish” Lynn.
• Chief Medical Officer: Dr. John Cmar.
• Commandante of Airborne Legions: David Moore.
• Minister of Suspicious Substitutions and Unreasonable Facimiles: The Cynical Optimist.
• Minister of Secrets and Subterfuge: Classified.

Story gaming. Ha! OW!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:40 — 62.0MB)

Greetings from 1982! I hope these show notes reach you in time to be included when you post The Secret Library discussion of the Time Traveler’s Wife. I’m placing my hand-written notes in a safety deposit box at a Swiss bank (what with me being in Switzerland and all, I thought that was the best option) with instructions that they are to be delivered by special courier on Tuesday, October the 6th, 2009. That is, as near as I can recall, the date the episode in question is supposed to be posted. The account number and passphrase you will need to give the courier in order to authorize delivery of the show notes is [REDACTED].

Well, that’s dumb, isn’t it? I mean, including the account number and passphrase in the contents of the delivery. How the hell are you supposed to know about the credentials if you can’t read my message until after you’ve authorized delivery? Damn it all, I hate time travel. Tell you what: I’m just going to proceed under the assumption that you’ve done what I would do in your shoes; namely, haul the courier off to an interrogation suite and convince him (or her, I suppose) that you are, in fact, the intended recipient of the message.

Right now, you’re probably thinking, I know for a fact that Kris isn’t in Switzerland in 1982, I just spoke to him on the phone not half an hour ago. That’s very true. As you read this, I’m sitting at home, studiously not writing the show notes. By the time I remember that I was supposed to be doing that tonight, I’ll be in the Lair tomorrow morning—on the verge of accidentally tearing another hole in the fabric of the space-time continuum. In fact, that’s the precise moment it will occur to me: right as I’m being pulled through the wormhole. Oh, crap, I’ll think as I tumble through hyperspacetime, I didn’t write the show notes. I knew I shouldn’t have played Left 4 Dead all evening.

But that, as they say, is all spilled milk at this juncture. Water under the bridge. An excited neutrino burst through the temporal displacement matrix.

Moving on…

I’m not going to trouble you with the details of what I’ve had to go through over the past three and a half months to stabilize the little temporal hiccup that’s had me careening about through time-space like a pinball; I’ll save it for my memoirs. Suffice it to say that there was a time when I was not in Switzerland (or anywhere remotely as…Swiss) and now—well, now for me—I am. There will come a time when I’m once again not in Switzerland and (if my calculations are correct) no longer in 1982; instead, I’ll be in Cleveland in 2009 and and the tiny little hole I ripped in the great big space-time continuum will have been sewn shut. With time thread.

You should know that my previous efforts to contact my pre-10/07/2009 self in order to prevent the incident from occurring have all failed. I’ve also given some serious thought to what would happen to me—the me in 1982 Switzerland, that is—if I succeeded, and I think we’re all better off if that doesn’t happen. So, rather than focus on what I can’t and don’t want to change, I’ve decided I may as well try to set this one thing to right. As such, the show notes for our discussion of The Time Traveler’s Wife are attached.

Believe me, I appreciate the irony in that. I really do.

Staff Reports

Chief Medical Officer’s Progress Report. In which the Bad Doctor
speculates that the Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies ought not be involved in our plan to demoisturize the moon.

Discussion

We are joined by our lovely wives to discuss The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

• There is chili. And there are Fritos. And SPOILERS.
• Everyone talks about time travel as metaphor, but what if it’s actually a simile?
• Chris discusses the difference between men and women. He says it’s all about the potential versus the kinetic. Or something.
• We explain why Prisoner of Azkaban is the best book-to-film translation of Harry Potter to date.
• Chris issues a challenge to Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Anansi Boys).
• Kris was right about the “R”. The movie version of Clare Abshire is portrayed by Rachel McAdams.

Promo: Serving Worlds by John Mierau.

Lair Keeping

• Our theme music is “Skullcrusher Mountain” by Jonathan Coulton.
• Join our new anti-social network, The Secret Community.
• Follow us on Twitter.

Staff

• Secretary of Artistic Propaganda: Natalie Metzger.
• Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies: Jay “The Kingfish” Lynn.
• Chief Medical Officer: Dr. John Cmar.
• Commandante of Airborne Legions: David Moore.
• Minister of Suspicious Substitutions and Unreasonable Facimiles: The Cynical Optimist.
• Minister of Secrets and Subterfuge: Classified.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:56 — 44.8MB)

It occurs to me—as I utilize an experimental thought-to-text transcriber to write these show notes, my office cooled to a pleasant 293.2 degrees Kelvin by air that has passed through the center a glacier—that much of what I encounter on a daily basis here at The Secret Lair is made possible by technology that (a) I don’t fully understand, and (b) is not considered “feasible” by much of what passes for the scientific community in this, the first half of the twenty-first century.¹ It also occurs to me that it doesn’t really matter whether the Lair is air-conditioned by an array of turbofans and semi-stable Arctic wormholes or by a frost giant and a wind elemental, locked in an eternal struggle and held captive in one of our subterranean holding chambers by two dozen mages who channel eldritch energies into complex and subtle wards of holding…as long as I’m comfortable.

Finally, it occurs to me that whether we used Skype to call our guest on his iPhone or cast a tethering spell to channel his words into our terrible homunculus is entirely unimportant; what matters is that we were able to speak to Earl Newton despite the many miles between Detroit (where he was) and Cleveland (where he was not, but we were).²

Earl Newton, as it happens, is the creator of the video science-fiction anthology, Stranger Things. I daresay it could be argued that Earl has had ample experience blurring the line between science-fiction and fantasy, and one need only look to most any episode of Stranger Things for evidence.

Promo: The Inner Chapters, Volume 1 by Thomas “cmdln” Gideon, available at Podiobooks.com.

Discussion: You’ve Got Your Fantasy in My Science Fiction.

• “Has Sci-Fi Become Too Infected by Fantasy?” by Graeme McMillan.
• “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” — Arthur C. Clarke.
• Is Chris Miller a wizard? He’s certainly cast a spell on me.
• Chris says the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is a fine example of good, plausible hard sci-fi.
• Wikipedia says, “Science fiction…differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature.” Also: no elves.
• Chris wants to see more sci-fi/fantasy slashfic. Though he doesn’t specifically mention R. Daneel Olivaw and Dolores Umbridge, I think it’s implied.

Staff Reports

• Chief Medical Officer’s Progress Report No. 3. In which the Bad Doctor (who exudes a flavor of smugness that can only be derived from hindsight) doesn’t appreciate our efforts to bring some damn culture to the primate-equine hybrid habitat. To Cmar’s credit, there are actual facts in his report. For more information on primate banana bartering, you should read this article.
• Ken Newquist reviews The Day After Ragnarok, a Savage Worlds RPG setting from Kenneth Hite and Atomic Overmind Press.

And Another Thing…

• What the hell is Avatar all about?
• We’ll be discussing The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger soon. Possibly even in the next episode.
• Kris is reading The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines.
• Chris is reading Singularity Sky by Charles Stross.
• The “one with the cleavage on the front” is Saturn’s Children, also by Charles Stross.

Lair Keeping

• Our theme music is “Skullcrusher Mountain” by Jonathan Coulton.
• Our Secretary of Artistic Propaganda is Natalie Metzger.
• Our Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies is Jay “The Kingfish” Lynn.
• Our Chief Medical Officer is Dr. John Cmar.
• Our Airborne Legions are led by Commandante David Moore.
• Our Minister of Suspicious Substitutions and Unreasonable Facimiles often operates under the pseudonym The Cynical Optimist.
• Our Minister of Secrets and Subterfuge is classified.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:51 — 42.0MB)

1. Or what we will eventually come to call “the top of the twenty-first”. [↩]
2. For the record, it was Skype and an iPhone, but we do have a terrible homunculus that bears an uncanny resemblance to Earl. [↩]

Truth be told, we probably could have returned to The Secret Library sooner, but I’ve been avoiding it. Why? Two words: late fees. See, a couple of months ago I checked out a copy of Getting Things Done by David Allen and promptly set fire to it. No book will mock my character flaws in such a manner, do you understand? I will not be mocked!

As it turns out, our android librarian is equipped with neither a sense of irony nor any compulsion toward forgiveness. Nor the slightest inclination to waive a replacement fee, for that matter. However, the whole unpleasant mess has been resolved and we are now prepared to discuss Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore.

Promo: The Inner Chapters, Volume 1 by Thomas “cmdln” Gideon, available at Podiobooks.com.

Discussion: Lamb, The Gospel According Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

• SPOILER ALERT! Chris suggests that if you’ve not read Lamb, you should stop listening to the episode and perhaps listen to something else instead. One possibility: Gray Dancer’s Ropecast, and believe me when I tell you the site is very Not Safe For Work (or Boy Scouts).
• Lamb fills in a very significant gap in the life of Jesus Christ, a 20-plus-year period of the Messiah’s life that is strangely missing from The Holy Bible. I blame the editors.
• Chris spots a similarity with Tom Stoppard’s excellent Hamlet spinoff, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Chief Medical Officer’s Progress Report #2: The Bad Doctor returns to blame yet another new strain of yet another virus on our meddling—we prefer “fiddling”, really—with equine-primate hybridization. As a side note, bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) really are very cute; it should have worked, dammit!

From the Ministry of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies: Jay is in Hong Kong attempting to procure a wolf-child, but important details seem to have been lost in translation somewhere.

Wrap-up

• Both Overlords gave Lamb high marks: five thousand out of five loaves and fishes.
• We both feel the story is irreverent without being disrespectful.
• The book does contain adult language and adult situations, not to mention Kung Fu.

Next on The Secret Library: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Lair Keeping

• Our theme music is “Skullcrusher Mountain” by Jonathan Coulton.
• Our Secretary of Artistic Propaganda is Natalie Metzger.
• Our Minister of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies is Jay “The Kingfish” Lynn.
• Our Chief Medical Officer is Dr. John Cmar.
• Our Airborne Legions are led by Commandante David Moore.
• Our Minister of Suspicious Substitutions and Unreasonable Facimiles often operates under the pseudonym The Cynical Optimist.
• Our Minister of Secrets and Subterfuge is classified.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:09 — 34.9MB)

In a planning meeting for our demisemicentepisode one of the minions suggested that we ”pull out all the stops”, at which point Dr. Pindar, our Director of Etymological Accuracy and General Nitpicking, pointed out that The Secret Lair does not have a pipe organ installed. This, quite naturally, led to several hours of rational discourse on whether, given the lack of pipe organs, we ought to leave some of the stops in or simply not bother with the stops at all. The discussion concluded, as is often the case, with a face-stabbing. Further planning meetings were deemed unnecessary.

Our special guest is Jay “The Kingfish” Lynn from the Metamediocrity audio comic book. Speaking of special and mediocre, our special sauce is Thousand Island Dressing blended with mayonnaise. Jay joins us at the International House of Johnson for a discussion about superheroes and approximately three inches of latex.

Promo: Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell.

Chief Medical Officer’s Progress Report #1. In which the Bad Doctor is extremely disappointed with what passes for a pandemic these days.

Discussion: What is a superhero?

• Are transforming robots from the planet Cybertron superheroes?
• What about androids built right here on Earth?
• Does a superhero have to possess meta-human abilities?
• Can you break Overlord Miller’s brain by suggesting that Batman isn’t actually a superhero?
• Are figures of legend and myth (e.g., King Arthur, Hercules) superheroes?

Musical Interlude: “White Wedding” by The Harvey Girls.

Welcome to the Ministry of Crackpot Schemes and Unfortunate Synergies

• Jay applies the Polly Pocket Principle to superheroes to create the next must-have “action figure” for young boys.
• But would it work?

On the other side of the coin…

• Let’s talk about anti-heroes (or anti-superheroes).
• Are Saw and Jason Vorhees superheroes after a fashion? Are they heroes at all?
• What do horror movies, Grimm’s Faerie Tales and urban legends have to do with superheroes, if anything?
• Are we really just talking about various forms of morality tales?
• You know, I think it’s entirely possible that we’ve begun to digress, just a little. That never happens!

The Secret Library: There’s a rumor going ’round that the Overlords will be discussing Christopher Moore’s Lamb on an upcoming (perhaps even the next) episode, so the MoCSaUS (boy, that’s awfully close to “mucous”, isn’t it?) has suggested that our next book be The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

Lairkeeping

• Our theme song is still “Skullcrusher Mountain” by Jonathan Coulton, because it’s podsafe and has the words “secret lair” in it. Come on, you knew that, right? Speaking of podsafe, did you know that Overlord Miller’s podsafeword is “Terra”?
• Join our forums and stir up some trouble. Go ahead; I triple-dog dare you.
• Phenylketonurics rejoice! Our contact form contains no phenylalanine.
• If you prefer e-mail, you may leave feedback. At The Secret Lair. Dot com.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:15 — 46.9MB)

• @The_Kingfish I like how you used that word, "unscathed". It means the conditioning worked. in reply to The_Kingfish #
• @Nycteris Yes! Yes! I feel the hatred within you! Give in to your…wait a minute, what kind of crime did you have in mind? in reply to Nycteris #
• While we're up here we should erase all evidence of Armstrong & Co., just to give the conspiracy theorists more ammunition. #
• Our next episode features @The_Kingfish as our "guest" and a kickass discussion of what makes a superhero. Look for it later this week. #
• @thebeardedgoose You may be compelled to do so, through one means or another. in reply to thebeardedgoose #
• @radioisopod Though not entirely in the realm of political correctness, we would be very interested in data re: Baby Ninjas vs. Baby Sharks. in reply to radioisopod #
• Hell. It is a bad thing when the beam changes color from red to a sickly green? Where's the manual for this thing? #

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