Praise for Arkle

"...[B]rilliant!" Michael R. Mennenga, Farpoint Media

"I'm just enjoying the f*** out of your podcast." Jack Jaffee, author of Down The Road.

"...[L]isteners, I hope you enjoy it." J.C. Hutchins, author of the 7th Son trilogy

"I've been on [The Casting Game] and it's pretty cool." Christiana Ellis, author of Nina Kimberley the Merciless

31 May 2011

Gilmore Girls Re-watch Podcast Episode 35: A-Tisket, A-Tasket

Voicemail Line: 206.426.5634
E-Mail: brian.d.webber@gmail.com Be sure to include something about Gilmore Girls in the subject line.

Special Thanks To:
IMDB
Gilmore Girls.org

Promo:
I Should Be Writing

Plot Summary: During the annual Stars Hollow charity picnic basket auction, both Lorelai and Rory's baskets have more competition then they both anticipated. Meanwhile Jackson refuses to bid on Sookie's basket leading them to work on their communication. Rory and Lorelai have their own communication problems but work it out after Emily sides with Lorelai's initial reaction to Jess worming his way into Rory's life.

29 May 2011

Regarding my cousin, anger, & grief

ROBIN MELINDA Le SECH Obituary

Like I said on Facebook, it still doesn't feel real. I keep expecting it to turn out to be a creepily real dream or even a really cruel prank. But I am ready to talk about it now.

I wasn't as close to her (or her brother, or my cousins in Texas) as I wanted to be through no fault of my own. In addition to sadness, I feel angry. I feel robbed. Her mother and my grandmother were fighting about something, years ago (like 15 years I think, I know that's the last time I saw Robin). I can't even remember what it was, but as a result, I was basically cut off from a large chunk of my family for a lot of years. Until Facebook, I really had no idea what my cousins Robin, Matthew, Zach, Caitlin and Megan were up to. And even after Friending there, we still didn't talk to each other. I probably should've tried to initiate but I couldn't think of anything to say. As for why they wouldn't talk to me, I would hope that they just had the same doubts I did and this wasn't just some sort of assumption that I was on "Judy's side," whatever that was. I was living with my grandmother at the time, and even though I was like 11 years old, I got caught up in it all against my will. I had Becky and Michael around occasionally, but we started to drift apart too. This family, which had seemed so close when I was a kid was fracturing and I was nothing but an observer, as useless as the Monitors in DC's Countdown. As of early this year, the only cousin I had any contact was Michael, and half our conversations were about weed and why the hell does he like Twilight? I didn't even know my cousin Becky, who'd been like a sister to me, was married and pregnant until she was showing.

I had always hoped that one day I could do something to get all us Webber-Le Sech kids back together. Naive maybe, but there it was. But now I won't get that chance, and I'm sad, and I'm angry, and I'm sad that I'm angry. And I wish I could discuss these feelings with my family (or at least the Webber side of it), but I remember what it was like back then and I fear accusations of "taking the wrong side" or some other bullshit like I would hear when I was younger. So here I am, opening up to people I've never met in most cases except for those of you who've bumped into me at BaltiCon or DragonCon.

This post wasn't planned out. I just needed to say something. I've been relatively quiet on the social networks since Wednesday evening when I got home from work and I got the phone call telling me that Robin, my 23 year old cousin, was dead. I've been thinking about how I feel, wondering why it happened, and going through the motions of listening to my daily podcasts but only half listening. It was time to stop bottling this up. Especially since I record new episodes of Gilmore girls Re-watch tonight and a taciturn Arkle does not make for a good show.

I am going to be OK in the end. We weren't that close, and it had been years since we'd done anything but confirm Friend Requests on Facebook. But that's the thing isn't it? Because her Mom and my Grandma fought about something that can't have been that big of a deal if I can't remember it when I can remember my first act of political activism (at age 6), I never knew, and will never get to know, what kind of person Robin was. She was family, but I didn't get to know her. That's not how it should go, especially when they weren't that many of us to begin with. We're not Catholics, we're not like my buddy Nate at the Moral of the Story podcast who said he's got more than 20 cousins. It shouldn't have been this way, and I shouldn't have had to suffer that lost connection. I was a kid dammit!

OK, it's time to stop this now. But I felt I had to write something, so I did. It's probably not very good, but then again did it have to be?

The next time you hear from me it will be about happier things. Be seeing you.

24 May 2011

Gilmore Girls Re-watch Podcast Episode 34: Richard in Stars Hollow

Contact Us:
Voicemail Line: 206.426.5634
E-Mail: brian.d.webber@gmail.com Be sure to include something about Gilmore Girls in the subject line.

Special Thanks To:
IMDB
Gilmore Girls.org

Promo:
The Gamma Quadrant

Plot Summary: Newly retired Richard is driving Emily crazy, so Lorelai is coerced into taking her father for a day in Stars Hollow, where he proceeds to drive both Lorelai and Rory batty while criticizing every aspect of their lives and refusing to let Rory accept the car that Dean has built for her.

19 May 2011

Announcing the Songs for the June 11 episode of Singular Achievement Phenomenon

  1. Groove is in the Heart by Deee-Lite (1990)
  2. Who Put the Bomp (In the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp) by Barry Mann (1961)
  3. Collide by Howie Day (2005)
  4. Cry Me A River by Julie London (1955)
Again, the episode will be coming out June 11 barring any technical difficulties. See you then.

17 May 2011

Gilmore Girls Re-watch Podcast Episode 33: Secrets and Loans

Contact Us:
Voicemail Line: 206.426.5634
E-Mail: brian.d.webber@gmail.com Be sure to include something about Gilmore Girls in the subject line.

Special Thanks To:
IMDB
Gilmore Girls.org

Promo:
Best of the Left

Plot Summary: Lorelai's concern over the fact that she can't afford to repair her home's extensive termite damage turns to anger when Rory tells Emily about their problem and Emily again offers Lorelai a loan.

Also, the hosts make it clear that none of them cared for Game of Thrones. Let the fanboy rage begin!

11 May 2011

Singular Achievement Phenomenon #1: Sh-boom, Who Let the Dogs out?, Cars, and Smooth Criminal

Theme Song: One Hit by Cap
Available At: http://music.mevio.com and http://www.myspace.com/capishmusic

Promo: The FUMP: http://thefump.com

Songs Discussed:
Sh-boom by The Chords: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh-Boom
Who Let The Dogs Out? by The Baha Men: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Let_the_Dogs_Out%3F
Cars by Gary Numan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cars_(song)
Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_Criminal#Alien_Ant_Farm_cover

Videos (where applicable):








Contact the Show:
Arkle: arkle@comcast.net
T.M.: tmc@tmcamp.com

Guest Co-Host:
Voicemail Line: 206-HAM-LODGE

10 May 2011

Gilmore Girls Re-watch Podcast Episode 32: The Bracebridge Dinner

Contact Us:
Voicemail Line: 206.426.5634
E-Mail: brian.d.webber@gmail.com Be sure to include something about Gilmore Girls in the subject line.

Special Thanks To:
IMDB
Gilmore Girls.org

Promo:
Geologic Podcast

Plot Summary: While Rory struggles to keep the budding rivalry between Dean and Jess under control, Lorelai invites most of the citizens of Stars Hollow to an elaborate feast complete with Elizabethan costumes and horse-drawn sleigh rides, during which Richard announces to Emily that he has retired.

03 May 2011

Gilmore Girls Re-watch Podcast Episode 31: Run Away, Little Boy

Contact Us:
Voicemail Line: 206.426.5634
E-Mail: brian.d.webber@gmail.com Be sure to include something about Gilmore Girls in the subject line.

Special Thanks To:
IMDB
Gilmore Girls.org

Promo:
Geek Out! with Mainframe

Plot Summary: When Rory and Tristan are cast as Romeo and Juliet in a school play, a jealous Dean insists on attending every rehearsal, forcing Rory to beg Tristan not to tell Dean about the time they shared a kiss, while Lorelai has to put up with Luke's teasing after she dates a much younger guy.