Prelude: Scandals of Hollywood’s Silent Era
Hey everyone, on in-between weeks (i.e. weeks I don’t publish a podcast episode) I’m resuming blog only posts. The plan will be to run several series on those weeks. The on-weeks will be completely unlinked to the series. The weeks I drop a podcast episode, the subject could be anything; maybe the time Kazakhstan imprisoned […]
Mussolini’s Hat, and the Rise of the Mob
There’s a popular myth that states the 35th President of the United States, John F Kennedy killed the hat. Now there is a tiny kernel of truth to this. A quick glimpse of his inauguration, Jan 20th 1961, it’s noticeable he is – besides Vice President Lyndon Johnson and the man he beat for the […]
Update: This Lime Tree Bower My Prison…
Hey everyone, just a quick update today. As you may know, I’m based in Auckland, New Zealand – the land (one of several) who beat COVID. As some may know, the Rona is back over here for a sequel – and we’re all in lockdown again. If anyone is wondering, seeing I held up the […]
Giovanni Batista Belzoni – Tomb Raider
Hi all welcome to this month’s YouChoose topic. Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first of the Indiana Jones films had just turned 40 the day I was scrambling for a topic – the film released June 12 1981. Influenced by the serial films of his youth – boys-own adventures with cliffhanger endings which played […]
The ‘New Atlantis’?
Hey all, my voice is still very strained, very gravelly – unable to hold together while projecting for more than four words in a row. Were we talking ‘husky’ I’d just hit record, but we’re not… On the upside, I had NO VOICE at all a week ago, so I’m on the mend. I’ll get […]
Update: The Dreaded Lurgy…
Hi everyone just a quick note, I should’ve really posted here first as most of Tales traffic comes directly here – sorry little fluey and not thinking clearly. On that count, apologies – this week’s content is going to be a little late. I’ve caught a nasty cold and can barely speak outside of my […]
Ungern’s Army
Warning! Today we talk of a monster, doing monstrous things amidst a crumbling empire. Today’s tale begins in the Mongolian city of Urga – 1st February 1921. The city, home to Mongolia’s spiritual leader, the Bogd Khan; around 60,000 locals, traders, diplomats – and a private army of Chinese invaders from a little over […]
Update: Back July 28th
Hey all just a quick update – I hope everyone’s well out there. I’m back with some new content on July 28th. First up is a podcast/blog episode on the guy I dropped a few months back – Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg. In the first script – the one I binned – I played the […]
eden ahbez – Nature Boy (revisited).
Hey all I’m doing something a little different this episode. In the early days of the blog I wrote a piece on the Altamont Free Concert, December 6th 1969, where basically anything which could go wrong did go wrong. The show culminated with the killing of a young man named Meredith Hunter. This was one […]
Nellie Bly: 10 Days in a Madhouse
“I would like the expert physicians who are condemning me for my action, which has proven their ability, to take a perfectly sane and healthy woman, shut her up and make her sit from 6 A. M. until 8 P. M. on straight-back benches, do not allow her to talk or move during these hours, […]
Update: Downtime….
Hey all just a quick note today. I’m taking four weeks off publishing the blog posts so I can get ahead of other parts of this channel. In the meantime I’m hoping to get the podcast episodes back on Wednesdays. I’m planning to record two already published blog posts to podcast this afternoon, once the […]
The Sin-Eater
Hey all, please count the following as week ten of this week’s ten week sprint. I’m taking a four week break, though the podcast will continue with two episodes ‘from the vaults’. I’m planning to be back straight after that with the next ten week sprint. This week, I’m keeping it short and sweet. I’ve […]
Lord Lucan
The following is the Tale of the murder which occurred at 46 Lower Belgrave Street, Belgravia – on Thursday, 7th November 1974. It will be performed in four acts. Discretion is advised, this one is about to get messy, and bloody … and full of some really awful people. Act One: The basement, in typical […]
August You Choose Topic: The ‘Real Indiana Jones’
Hey all, the You Choose episode for August will be a choice from one of the following. The newspapers tell me Indy is turning 40 this year – Raiders of the Lost Ark of course released in 1981. My understanding is, while Spielberg and Lucas have spoken at length on the fictional influences on the […]
The Bottle Conjuror
Hey all, just a quick foreword. I’m not sure if I’ll be on track to release the Lord Lucan podcast episode exactly to schedule – besides small technical things like writing appropriate music (the man is/was a huge fan of Bach, which doesn’t reflect the era terribly well + from a technical standpoint is probably […]
Jack Parsons – Babalon’s Rocketeer (Part Two)
Hey all, this post is part two of the two part tale on the rocketeer Jack Parsons. If you’re picking up from here I recommend jumping in to part one first. If you’ve already read part one – welcome back. This week’s tale begins on the Pacific Island of Oahu; the time? – around 7.48 […]
Supplementary Info: Jack Parsons – Two Speeches
Hey all, apologies for the lack of blog post this week. The week has gotten too busy to string anything of worth together. The following document relates to the final part of Jack Parsons’ tale, set for next week. The following is worth perusal – though neither being central to the Tale. I’ve chosen to […]
Jack Parsons – Babalon’s Rocketeer (Part One)
Welcome folks. Sorry to do this to you – I really did want to start this tale out in the Mojave desert, following a magick man and his usurper. One chanting tribally to the God Pan, and the other pretending to see spirits so he could just go home – to the other’s wife… but […]
Update: My upcoming ‘Today in History’ project
Hi all just a quick update. First, apologies ahead of time – this week’s blog + podcast post on rocket pioneer and occultist Jack Parsons may run a little late. It ran longer than expected and will be a two parter. Part one is written up. The podcast episode is recorded and waiting for second […]
Jack Parsons – a prelude
Hey all I don’t know how to tell this prelude without getting into a load of backstory. Thanks in advance for your forbearance. To understand how Jack Parsons – our central figure in next week’s podcast episode – came to public prominence, it helps to know a little about Los Angeles in the 1930s and […]
Moving the Update Page
Hey all I’m just doing some admin – setting up a category page made up of all blog posts with ‘Updates’ ticked. I’m then deleting the Updates page I built in January….Hence the email full of old podcast/blog news. Sorry for the email tonight. The next real blog post is set for next week. – […]
Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen
Today’s tale starts with a meeting at Greenwich palace, a now demolished royal residence – the date, September 1593. The ‘fairy Queen’ of England, Elizabeth I, awaits the arrival of a rival monarch. The two queens have been at loggerheads since 1574; since Elizabeth laid claim to the other’s land. One wonders just what was […]
The Bagradas Dragon
Hey all I’m starting this tale with a personal anecdote … cause why not start a tale with a personal anecdote. Growing up I was crazy for anything historical in nature, but especially mad for Forteana. It should be no surprise that when New Zealand finally got Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World, it was immediately […]
Mithridates – The Poison King of Pontus
Today we join our tale right at it’s conclusion – the year 63 BC. The setting, the kingdom of Pontus – a once powerful Black Sea empire – now a region of Eastern Turkey. Mithridates VI Eupator paces the floor – if you’ll pardon my self plagiarism – like a caged Barbary Lion. Like Hannibal, […]
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