Saturday, September 22, 2007

An Assassin Falls, A Monster Rises

Episode 38 of 40 in The Meditations of Diogenes The Cynic. Thanks to this week's readers, director, engineer, special effects designer, make-up artist, public relations associate and genius.

To hear the story, tickle the monster


This week in The Prattler, Greenspun.







To read the story, knock the chip off the assassin's shoulder.

37 comments:

TLP said...

WOW! I am amazed, bedazzled, and all that good stuff! Great reading of the story. Story was great too.

*applause applause*

Nessa said...

This was a production worthy of Steven Spielberg. Excellent and very entertaining.

Splendiferous.

Minka said...

When is it gonna come to a theatre near us?

That was brilliant, whoever that was...that was dedication to the episode.

ther eis little one can say really, except quickly comment something and then hit the play button again...

wow!

Tom @Icy?

tsduff said...

Standing ovation way out here in Walnut Creek... bravo bravo... *throws roses at the stage*

Somebody from Ohio? ? ?

Blows kisses at the bowing couple... magnificent!

I like the monster... what a great rumble :)

mireille said...

So good! Very affirming. I ♥ Alice. xoxo

javajazz said...

okay, that was really funny.
love the creative sound effects!
they made me giggle,
and that guy's voice
is way too sexy.

Anonymous said...

I am impressed. Joel and Neva may read to me anytime they desire.

Anonymous said...

Has to be Joel and the Puppy, Shirley. Especially given the treatment of the Döppelganger joke, Fronkensteen. And I think we've seen this media approach before from this part of the Tri-State Area. Nice job!

SPLENDOR, n. What you hope lies waiting behind Door Number 3, Monty.

Minka said...

Should we call him AL?

It's driving me a bit nuts, I knwo Al is a bit of a technical "freak" and I mean that in the best way possible *looks quickly right to left*.

Al said...

Call me anything you want, Minka.

Including guilty.

Minka said...

Al...that was funfriggin'tastic. My reagrds to that lovely wife of yours, who it seems read for Alice?!

Bravo!

Ariel the Thief said...

It was scaring. I climbed under my desk while listening!

Ariel the Thief said...

I beg the person hit this blog googling for "ariel penis poster" tell me who it was. I swear I tell nobody. I just want to say thank you for the laughter. I'm still in tears.

Anonymous said...

Minka, it was indeed Margie. I know for sure, because she's been walking around grumbling "I hate my voice, I hate my voice" for about two weeks now.

I'll tell her you said she can stop now, Thanks.

TLP said...

Came back to see who it was. Wonderful treatment. Loved it. Good job Al and Margie.

Anonymous said...

Well, I got that wrong. I could say something about New Yawkers all sounding alike, but that would get me in even more trouble than I now am.

Great job Al and Margie! Oh, and you too, Dawg. What're you doing for an encore?

Anonymous said...

That trouble OC is in stems in part from me because now I am walking around mumbling, "I trusted you!"

Great show Al. Thank your Margie for us and tell her we love her and she has a lovely voice. Even though the names have changed the offer still stands. You can read to me whenever you like -- especially if Dawg is writing the scripts.

tsduff said...

I was waiting for all you folks who have met each other face to face to spill the beans because there was no way I could know who that was. Al? Margie? Pleased to hear your acquaintance, and thanks for making the story come alive!! Excellent story Doug - what fun. Well done everyone. Still like the growling... how come you didn't sound like New Yorkers?

Anonymous said...

Splendor: that little extra something that makes a simple "performance" fan-friggin'-tastic!!


just sayin'... that was amazing Al!! you have taken these readings to all new heights, and now the rest of us will either have to bow before you and/or toss you into that pit alongside Cyclops! *claps wildly, takes another stab at that "finger/whistle" thing/fails miserably/resumes applause*

Margie's performance was brilliant, too! oh yeah, and this was a damn fine edition to your clever and oh-so-entertaining tale, Doug. ; )

BRAVISIMO!!

Doug The Una said...

TLP, wasn't that some high production quality for this here humble little site? I clapped too.

Nessa, and I only had to invest $2 million.

Minka, that would be a good guess if you hadn't met the reader. Nice deflection, though.

Terry, you think way too highly of people from Ohio.

Mireille, I'm glad. Maybe the two of you can get together and go on a spree.

JJ, wasn't that cool?

Quilly, they'll be glad to hear that but what about Al and his wife?

Amoeba close (geographically) but no cigar as you now know.

Minka, if you're gonna call him, call him Al.

Al, guilty of pageantry, if you get my drift. And our wife has a great voice.

Minka, I think Al's wife read Polyphemus.

Ariel, that's hilarious. You have two flickr accounts?

Al, tell her I wouldn't have married her if I didn't like her voice.

Absolutely, TLP.

Amoeba, we'll see. Nothing this ambitious until the new year, though. Not that this was ambitious. More that it was effort. Nothing this effortly. You and Quilly up to read some more in 2008?

Quilly, he cooks for you. Would you rather have accuracy or tea roses?

Terry, Al's originally from Philly. I actually don't know about Margie. I thought she sounded Greek.

Neva, they really raised the bar, didn't they? I'm glad I don't have to...d'oh!

mireille said...

Shopping or killing? We can go either way, Alice and me. xoxo

Ariel the Thief said...

This weeks episode was an adventure, it was scaring really, especially that I listened to it after midnight. But I finally understand what makes Alice what she is. I raise my hat to her!

Wonderful job Al! please tell Margie that she has a great voice for a poor woman with two husbands! ;-)

Anonymous said...

They really need to do some Regicide at the Netherworld Hotel.
Oh...I guess I mean Roachicide. That Rodney Roach and his friends are really a pain in the butt!
You should come write for the Crappy Times. You'd be so much better than the other lousy writers we have. Except for me, of course! Reading this didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out. I wonder if the cyclops read the Crappy Times and thats why he gouged his eye out.
If you ever need a job come see me. We pay 666 Quatloos per story.

Lila said...

Amazing! Wonderful reading! The bar has been raised. Well done!

*applause!*

Al said...

Margie and I (native Philadelphians, by the way) were honored to have read this fine chapter in Doug's terrific continuing story.

Thanks very much for the kind words, everyone, but the kudos really belong to Doug for his great characters, clever plot, and uniquely stylish prose.

Great fun every week, Doug. Thanks for making us a part of it all.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Margie wants to know what you're making for dinner today.

Doug The Una said...

Why does it have to be either/or, Mireille? Learn to think positive.

Ariel, that's funny.

Fred, I'm putting you in my rolodex. Thanks.

Aral, I'm hoping you'll find this motivating.

Al, I think I recognize a tenor's humility in you. Either way, you guys made an epic and I'm cooking four courses.

Jamie Dawn said...

I don't know Al & Margie, but I am thoroughly impressed by them!! This episode ended much too quickly. I was caught up in the sound effects and voices. SUPERBLY done!!

Doug, I find theology to be filled with SPLENDOR and stupidity. There's so much there to be awed by and to mock.

Anonymous said...

Well, this would explain your blog absence of late - you're doing professional work!

EXCELLENT! Hats off to you and Margie, Al - this was superb. I loved it. The sound effects added so much. I felt as if I was gathered round the radio in the 40's/50's (whenever people did that) listening in to a weekly radio show. Such a nice surprise as after all of Neva's guessing - it is indeed finally Al, with the added benefit of Margie. Great job.

Oh and Doug, nice work too :)O

Al said...

Shucks, thanks, G! And, good point: having just walked past a mirror, and at the risk of dispelling the illusion for "Javajass", radio is definitely my medium.

javajazz said...

see? nothing gets past
an intuitive jazz musician
with really good ears,
regardless of what your mirror said.

javajazz said...

ps, colour me dense,
but is Margie really lucky enough
to be married to both Doug and Al?
(hey, gimme a break,
nobody ever tells me anything
up here in the great White North...
i have to put the pieces together
all by my lonesome...)

Tom & Icy said...

That was a great job by all. I wonder what it cost him to bribe his wife into lending her voice. She did good. All that work is fun when you got a good script. You guys all works so well together.

Cooper said...

The writing and the performance were both exceptional. One can't top the definition either.

Standing Ovation.

Anonymous said...

JJ -- Just joshin'. Doug started that polyandry joke last year, all in fun. In reality, Doug and Margie have yet to meet in person.

Thanks again, everyone.

javajazz said...

hi Al!
oh well, you never know,
with you great pioneers of the mind,
anything is possible...
ps i got thoroughly lost into your
new york world last evening...
i love your blend of knowledge
and way out humour (thats canadian
humor), just neat the way you document
stuff, lots of depth, info, poignancy about
the city's losses...
i remember the first time i landed in new york
after 9/11...the absence of the towers was
so in my face as the plane landed in Manhatten,
i started to cry as i saw that big, sad, gaping emptiness...i felt it all in that moment, and even i was surprised at my reaction, almost involuntary.
your love of that city is pretty evident. you get all its nuances. thank you for putting your creativity into such a labour of love. my maternal grandpa was a 100% new yorker. i feel that city.

Doug The Una said...

Gracious indeed, Actonbell! Short hair becomes you.

Jamie Dawn, those were two perfect descriptions.

G, I was tempted to credit Neva on top for the very reason you gave.

Al, brother, and scriptwriting clearly mine.

JJ, surely Canadians know all Americans are polyandric. (In case you're serious, no, it's an old joke.

Icy, it was a great recording, wasn't it? I had nothing to do with it but posting and even so I'm proud.

Thanks, Cooper. How was the play?

Al, I find marriage much more explanable between two people who have never met.

JJ, I'm glad you found Al's site. It's a lot of fun and very informative. The last time I was in New York, almost everywhere I went I saw something I recognized from Al's blog.

javajazz said...

well, i've heard of Pollyanna, but
honestly, I had to look up polyandry...
(all Americans, Doug?)

yes, Dog, Al's site was a sight
to behold...taking us to places
no man has had the nerve
to go, before...like Broadway
and Beaver?? now i just want to
know where that is!
not that i didnt stay 2 hotels
away from ground zero
and walk around the spooky
deserted business area at night
by myself checking oot the city....
not that i didnt stay in the heart of
chinatown in my 20's visitng a neato
jazz trumpeter friend...oh, i've
been downtown alright. and i've
also been to the hightest heights
of that beautiful city...but Al knows
some stuff...