Episode 17.0 Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol in Prose

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In the spirit of the season, The Two Mikes from Doppletown Are gonna try to find the cold heart of horror in Dickens's heartwarming classic. It is a ghost story after all . . .

And then we're gonna drink our Christmas Cocktail:


Bloody Smoking Bishop

First, resolve to mend your miserly ways. Then wash and roast 6 unpeeled blood oranges (or 4 regular oranges and a grapefruit) in oven until brownish. Stick each piece of fruit with 6–8 cloves and place in warmed earthenware bowl. Add 1/4 pound of sugar and two bottles of red wine. Cover and leave in a warm place for 24 hours. Squeeze fruit into wine, then strain mixture into pot. Add 1 bottle port and heat: DO NOT BOIL (in this one case you are allowed to be stingey with the coals). Ladle into heated mugs and serve.


Music: The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

Episode 16.0 Michael Bishop's Who Made Stevie Crye?

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The Two Mikes declaim and mumble about Michael Bishop's metafictional, metahorror novel, Who Made Stevie Crye? (1984). It can be hard to find, but we recommend that, like us, you strive to touch the monkey. If you can't find it, pull out your old Olivetti Lettera 22 and type a nightmare of your own.

It is Cocktail Time!!!

Monkey's Paw Job

In a Collins Glass
Crush 1/4 cup pecans and to it add 1 tablespoon sugar
Wet the glass rim, and rim with pecan mixture ( like salting a margarita).

In a cocktail shaker, add crushed ice
2 shots of vanilla vodka
1 shot banana liquor or schnapps
1 shot of heavy cream

Shake vigorously and pour mixture (booze and ice) into the glass.

Garnish with a banana slice.

Incidental music: Steven Bishop's- On and On from the album The Best of Bish.

Episode 15.0: Barbara Hambley's Renfield: Slave of Dracula

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In this episode the guys wander around the mind of Barbara Hanbley's R. M. Renfield, the bug-eating asylum inmate and Dracula's lickspittle. We laud the attempt to inject life into Bram Stoker's enigmatic character and lament that it only goes so far.

We do, however, create a most vivifying cocktail:

Sparrows and Flies

1 part ale (something hoppy and not too sweet, like Anchor Steam)
1 part Coca-Cola (Coke adds life)
1/2 part gin
a dash of bitters
orange or lemon peel

Serve over ice.

It may not seem palatable, but once you take the first taste, you'll see: it adds life.


End music: Wagner's Ride of The Valkryies

Epi. 14: Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D

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If you don't like the pulp strained out of your horror then join the Mikes as they discuss the manga novel Hideuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D. They re-image the book as a 1960's schlock movie starring the boy from the Courtship of Eddie's Father, Elke Sommer in a black wig and Davy Jones as the "D." All this and you can grunt along to our Anime Sound Effects Theater. There is more mystery to the LEFT HAND than you could ever have imagined.

IT IS COCKTAIL TIME!

Time Bewitching Cocktail
4 fingers tomato juice
2 fingers sake
1 bump of wasabi

Mix with ice and garnish with a stick of beef jerky.

Episode Lucky 13.0 - J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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The guys complete their last semester at Hogwarts with J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is a long sad good-bye as characters will die, graduate or birth little wizards. Is it horror or not? You decide.

If you haven't read the book do not proceed further because this episode is 100% PURE SPOILER.


IT'S COCKTAIL TIME!






1 Shot Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 Shot Goldschlager

Combine, raise your glasses to Griffendor and drink it down.

Music: The Remus Lupins - I'm Going to Hogwarts from Spells from a Broken Wand.

Episode 12.0, Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker's House

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The guys decide to foreclose on Frank Peretti's and Ted Dekker's House. These authors need to be evicted from the horror genre and returned to what they know best—creating products for the "christian" (sic) genre reader and earning a paycheck. Harsh? Yes. This is tough love baby.

Warning: Do not—we repeat—do not read this book. When necessary, we can raise the dead.

Cocktail

We feel so dirty after reading this book that we cannot even drink. It is DETOX WEEK at the Forbidden Books Group!

End music: "Old Time God," an unsourced gospel masterpiece found on the Net.

Episode 11.0: Joseph Delaney's Last Apprentice Series, books 1 and 2

click either book to listen

With episode 11 the guys bounce back from their lethargy and enthuse about Joseph Delaney's The Last Apprentice, his growing series of young adult horror fantasies. Sort of a more spooky and gory Harry Potter, this series is just getting rolling, so we decided to jump on board. We discuss both book 1, The Revenge of the Witch, and book 2, The Curse of the Bane, and make all sorts of wise pronouncements about the young people of today. (We may devote another 'cast to books 3 and 4 when they come out.)


This week's cocktail:
Village Girls with Pointy Shoes
1 shot of Irish whiskey
2 shots tawny port
1/2 cup of Young's Chocolate Stout (cold)

Pour together in a beer glass, taking care that the stout forms a head (but not too much). We're told this is particularly tasty with a revitalizing meal of babymeat, but you can enjoy it any witch way you like.

Episode 10.0: Brian Wilson Aldiss's - Frankenstein Unbound

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Yes - #10! The guys buck the malaise that has overtaken them and slog through time and space with Brian Aldiss's Frankenstein Unbound. They learn that Mary Shelley was one hot eighteenth-century babe and stand perplexed by the ins and outs of monster-making gynecology.


Cocktail



Doin' Mary Shelley




1 part gin
1 part Pernod
2 parts cranberry juice
whatever body parts you desire

Serve over ice.
We created it, but now we despise it.


Music Recommendations: Adolph Hofner - South Texas Swing (because the book starts off in Texas).

Additional Music by Harry and the Potters - "The Foil (Malfoy)"

Episode 9.0 Brendan Connell's - The Translation of Father Torturo

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The guys take on Brendan Connell's horror tour of Italy. They ponder the deficiencies of the Roman Church, the road to sainthood, the Seven Deadly Sins of Poor Editing, and a title change to "CLERICS GONE WILD."



Cocktail

The Irish Italian
1 shot strong espresso
1 shot good Irish whiskey
1/2 shot half and half

Toss into a blender with a few cups of ice and set to frappé. Pour. Drink. Plot your revenge.

Episode 8.5, Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box

Listen to 8.5 - NOW


This is the second half of a very special episode of Necronomipod!

Episode 8.0 - Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box

Listen to 8.0

The Mikes had so much to jaw about Joe Hill's breakthrough novel that this episode is super-sized and broken into TWO mind-numbing segments. Enough to choke a Doberman. Download them both and be astounded by the discussion of patricide, southern creepiness, urban superiority, and goth girls.


Cocktail Time

Y The Heart Shaped Box

1 shot -Vodka
1/2 shot- Kirshwasser
1/2 shot - Creme de Cacao or Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

Shake with ice, strain, garnish with a cherry.
(or, better yet, just skip this one and pour two fingers of good bourbon over ice and drink.)



Music this week: Mike M. recommends Chris Garneau- Music for Tourists.
Mike S. recommends Grinderman, Nick Cave's latest project.

Episode 7.0 Michael Cisco's - The Divinity Student

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This time Mike and Mike take on the dreamy word feast of Michael Cisco's The Divinity Student. They make solemn vows to read something less erudite next time and shamefully beg for listener email. With not a little Pecksniffery, they create The Formaldehyde Mist cocktail and refuse to drink it.


The Formaldehyde Mist

1- Mason jar of locally produced Moonshine (or Everclear)
1- Pickled Onion
1- Pickled Okra
1- Pickled Pattipan Squash
a splash of organic tomato juice.

Chill the Moonshine in the freezer, pour into a glass, add pickled bits, and a splash of tomato juice.


Music by the Two Mikes

Episode 6.0 - David Lindsay's Voyage to Arcturus

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A rousing, rambling triad about Lindsay's seminal psychedelic novel. Mike(x2) take on Gnosticism, Mormonism, and Peter Max-ism as they make hay out of this philosophical kill-fest. The cocktail recipe comes at the end. We suggested drinking before you read the book and while listening to the podcast in a nod to state-dependent learning.


Cocktail
Voyage to Arcturus:







1 shot blue curaçao
1 shot Galliano
1 shot Campari
1 shot Chartreuse
1 shot Jägermeister.

Line them up in front of you. Think cosmic thoughts. Knock back each shot in quick succession and soon you will be on a voyage to Arcturus. Hang on to your third-eye tentacle.


Music: Something the Mikes did themselves.

Episode 5.0: Jack Williamson's Darker Than You Think

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A quick and dirty discussion of Jack Williamson's classic werewolf novel Darker Than You Think. We unbuckle our Jung and Freud on this one (please forgive us, we're the products of our over estimation of our education). Plus, the Two Mikes make solemn pledges, just like the good boy scouts they were.

Cocktail

The White Wolf Daiquiri
2 parts white rum
2 parts unsweetened coconut/pineapple juice
1 tsp powdered sugar

Shake with ice and strain into martini glass. Six of these and you'll be doing terrible things to your friends too.


Music: Graveyard by Outside.

Episode 4.0 Brian Lumley's Necroscope

Listen

4/22/07

A no-holds-barred smackdown over Brian Lumley's genre-stretching break from his orthodox Lovecraftian roots. Mike S. hates it then kind of likes it. Mike M. loves it then hates it then forgets what they were talking about. Enjoy the table pounding and glass clinking as the guys continue to suss out the mysteries of audio production. We blessedly edited out the ear-blasting poodle yapping.

Cocktail

The Mobius Stripper
2 parts gin (lending a properly English refinement)
1 part Becherovka (to add a cloven Eastern European air)
2 parts Campari (made from only the bloodiest of oranges)

Shake well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Put on your vampire teeth and enjoy.

Music : Release The Bats by The Birthday Party

Episode 3.0: Fritz Leiber's Our Lady of Darkness

listen...

2/25/07

Rambling discussion of Fritz Leiber’s award-winning novel of the supernatural, with frequent reference to Leiber’s Conjure Wife. Mike invents a new drink and the other Mike hides his shame after opening a bottle of horrible Romanian wine. The conversation comes to a complete halt when the boys are overwhelmed by the novel's kitchen-sink approach to storytelling.

Tonight's potion

Our Lady of Darkness

1 part kirschwasser
1 part Kahlua
1 part good vodka
1 cherry

Shake all ingredients (except cherry) with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add the cherry top and serve.

This Evening's Wine
Werewolf - Merlot
We give this wine 2 claws down. Drink it and you will be cursed whenever a glass is full.

Music by
Cher - yes Cher: Dark Lady ( dance to her gypsy music till her brew is done - or else.)

Episode 2.0 Fritz Leiber's Conjure Wife

listen

2/25/07

Discussion of Fritz Leiber’s 1943 novel of witchcraft, the world of academia and the hoodoo that lives in every women and the sometimes reluctant man.

Music: Aer Enim - Performed by Virgin Ground
Written by Linda Kachelmeier

This evening's libation ...

The Frisky Witch
1 part Vodka
I part Sambuca

Mix Logistics
Pour into shaker of ice, shake, strain and enjoy.

Episode 1.25 Max Brooks's World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars

listen

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Our discussion of Brooks's book continues and then sort of peters out. We futz with audio problems and drink our cocktails. Total freakin' disaster.

Canadian Zombie - grrr- arrrr

2 cl Vodka
3 cl Dark Rum
3 cl White Rum
1 cl Grenadine
1 cl Green Curacao
Lemon Juice
Orange Juice

Mix-logistics
Fill collins glass halfway up with ice. Add white and dark rum. Fill up with half orange- half lemon juice. Pour grenadine and curacao along rim of glass. Top with 151 proof rum.

Episode 1.0 Max Brooks's World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars

Listen
Sunday, February 11, 2007
In which the Two Mikes expound upon Max Brooks’s sideways sequel to The Zombie Survival Guide, discuss zombies in general, make references people you don’t know, and learn some hard lessons in audio.