Episode 223: How you like that (Fiona) Apple? with Liz Harmer

Michael W. Boyce Episode 223: How you like that (Fiona) Apple? with Liz Harmer
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On this episode of Geek4, I'm joined by Liz Harmer. Liz is an award-winning Canadian writer living in California. Her essays, stories and poetry are widely published. Her first novel, The Amateurs, was called a "near perfect debut novel" by Quill and Quire. Her next novel, Strange Loops, will be released Jan 31 with Knopf/Vintage Canada. It's available for preorder now wherever fine books are sold.

As a a writer - and as a human being - she's smart, witty and thoroughly engaging. We talk about Liz's long lasting love of the music of Fiona Apple and what Apple's five albums have meant to her.

The conversation goes in some fascinating directions (all thanks to Liz) about art and music, and women's art, and mental health. I loved getting a glimpse of Liz's creative process and the role music plays in that.

For those of you in the Greater Toronto area, Liz will be at Flying Books in Toronto on Feb 2 (from 6:30 - 8:30) as part of the launch of Strange Loops . I'll be there and would love to see you. Liz will be other places too, so check out her EVENTS page to see if she'll be speaking close to you.

For information about Liz', check out her website https://www.lizharmer.com. You can follow her on Instagram @harmerliz and Twitter @lizharmer.

Follow me on Twitter  @mwboyce  and Instagram @mwboyce and follow my website michaelwboyce.com/

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @geek4pod and on Instagram @geek4pod

If you liked the show, hit Subscribe and please consider leaving a 5 star review. The more reviews we have, the more we show up in searches. Somehow. I think magic.

Or, tell a friend. Word of mouth is still an effective advertising tool.  

 I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on th traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples

Episode 222: Dressing a Boba Fett with Emily Strand

Michael W. Boyce Episode222: Dressing a Boba Fett with Emily Strand
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I'm so happy to invite Emily Strand back to Geek 4. You may recall that Emily  cohosts the academic Harry Potter podcast,  Potterversity. And when she was first on the show, we talked all about her love of Harry Potter.

But Emily is also a big Star Wars nerd, although she came to it, as she herself says, a little late in the game. She's the co-editor with Amy H. Sturgis of Star Wars: Essays Exploring a Galaxy Far, Far Away, an academic anthology due out in 2023 from Vernon Press. There's also a companion volume coming out on Star Trek from the same publisher. As a Star Wars fan, Emily expresses her love in a very particular way: she uses her skills as a sewist to create film-authentic costumes for herself and others, some of which you can see below.

You can follow Emily on her website (emilystrand.com) or her blog (LiturgyandLife.com). She's on Twitter @ekcstrand

For more information about the Star Wars costumers, check out https://www.501st.com and https://rebellegion.com.

Follow me on Twitter  @mwboyce  and Instagram @mwboyce and follow my website michaelwboyce.com

You can follow the Geek4 podcast on Twitter @geek4pod and on Instagram @geek4pod

If you liked the show, hit Subscribe and please consider leaving a 5 star review. The more reviews we have, the more we show up in searches. Somehow. I think magic.

Or, tell a friend. Word of mouth is still an effective advertising tool.  

 I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on th traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Episode 221: Carrie Dust Fan with Carrie Leblanc

Michael W. Boyce Episode 221: Carrie Dust Fan with Carrie Leblanc
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In this episode of Geek4, I'm joined by my dear friend Carrie Leblanc. Carrie and I have known each other since high school. In fact, she was my prom date. Look at us. So young.

Carrie is a huge Disney fan. She collects things, cohosts a Disney podcast, goes to parks every 6 weeks, and has a HUGE network of friends she's made through that world. And she's made it part of her job. In her spare time, she's a travel agent who specializes in Disney vacations. I wanted to find out all about the magical world of Disney. We talk about how she got into Disney and the appeal, her favourite park (which is my LEAST favourite park) and her bucket list Disney things to do.

Episode 220: Letting Go with Melissa Martin

Melissa Martin returns. Long time listeners may recall that Melissa was one of the first people I interviewed when I started this project a couple of years ago. I was thrilled when she agreed to come back.

We didn't really have a set topic for the conversation and agreed to just hit record and see what happened. What happened was pretty amazing. We talked about decluttering - both Melissa and I have been in midst of some pretty major life changes - and mid life crises. It's an honest, at times frank , and funny conversation with one of my favourite writers.

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A Ghost Story for Christmas

As regular part of his Christmas Eve celebrations, M.R. James, medieval scholar and academic administrator, would read original ghost stories to the delight of his friends and colleagues. James's ghost stories, which were part of much older British tradition of telling tales of the supernatural at Christmas time, are some of finest ghost stories ever written. He abandoned many of the dated tropes that had been common and had become chiched - gothic castles, the aristocracy.

Most of James's stories have a contemporary setting - often the English country side. His protagonists are typically unassuming, some times naive, academics... not unlike their creator.

Michael W. Boyce A Ghost Story for Christmas
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As a bit of bonus content to mark this yuletide, and in light of my conversation withJack Jewers, I'm including an audio version of one of James's most famous stories, his 1904 ghost story "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad' read by the incomparable Michael Horden.

Episode 218: A Spirited Conversation with Jack Jewers

For this episode, I'm joined by Jack Jewers. Jack is an award winning UK-based filmmaker and author whose web series and short films have been screened at film and digital festivals all over the world. His first novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, was published in 2022 and named a Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year by The Sunday Times.

Jack joins me to discuss his love of the series A Ghost Story for Christmas, which I discovered a few years ago myself. The original series ran 1971-78 and was revised in 2005. The latest installment, Count Magnus, aired on December 23, 2022 and was directed and adapted by Mark Gatiss.

Jack and I discuss the author M.R. James, the writer of many of the original stories who would read these stories to his colleagues at Cambridge and Eton as Christmas entertainment. We talk about what makes these adaptations so engaging as well as discuss what ghost stories we’d like to see made.

You can follow Jack on social media (Instagram: @jackjewers; Twitter for the time being: @jackjewers; and Mastedon @jackjewers ) and check out his website www.jackjewers.com for more about his writing and filmmaking.

Jack's novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, is available now where fine books are sold from Moonflower Publishing. Maybe ask your local bookseller to order it and support the little guy.

Follow me on Twitter  @mwboyce  and Instagram @mwboyce and follow my website michaelwboyce.com/geek4

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @geek4pod and on Instagram @geek4pod

In the episode Jack and I  mention a few titles that, if you’re a little horror minded, you might enjoy.

Nigel Keane’s Stone Tape is available on YouTube

For more about MR James, the author of many of The Ghost Stories for Christmas tales, here's the Mark Gatiss documentary on YOUTUBE

Demon of the Mind is not, but you can see the trailer HERE

And if you want to hear the great Michael Horden read MR James, you can find several short stories HERE

If you liked the show, hit Subscribe and please consider leaving a 5 star review. The more reviews we have, the more we show up in searches. Somehow. I think magic.

Or, tell a friend. Word of mouth is still an effective advertising tool.  

 

I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on th traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Michael W. Boyce Episode 218: A Spirited Conversation with Jack Jewers
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Episode 217: Chick Your Head with Kerry Ipema and KK Apple

On this episode of Geek4, I'm talking to Kerry Ipema and KK Apple, the performers of Six Chick Flicks, THE funniest Fringe show I have ever seen. We talk about the origins of the show, written by Kerry and Fringe legend TJ Dawe; the appeal of these types of films, which, despite how mockable they may be, bring us back again and again. This was agreat conversation that covered everything from finding door attractive to the overturning of Roe v Wade and its relevance to Dirty Dancing.

Kerry Ipema is a NY based actor and writer. She wrote Six Chick Flicks with TJ Dawe. She's toured all over the world with her solo shows - One Woman Sex and the City and Sex Ed.  She is the creator of Lady Bits, a theatrical fundraiser for Planned Parenthood and somehow has time to cohost two, count 'em TWO true crime podcasts -  Truly Darkly Creep and a new  Lifetime podcast , Crime of a Lifetime.

KK Apple is a writer, performer, filmmaker and choreographer out of Brooklyn. As an improviser, she performers with the Upright Citizen's Brigade and her solo show, The Rhythm Is Going to Get You played sold out runs in New York and LA. Her next short film is a comedy about the launch of Windows 95.

You can follow their show news about their show and upcoming performances at www.sixchickflicks.com and @sixchickflicks on Instagram

You can follow either or both (I recommend both) Kerry and KK on Instagram @kerryipema and @kkapples

Follow me on Twitter  @mwboyce  and Instagram @mwboyce and follow my website michaelwboyce.com/geek4

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @geek4pod and on Instagram @geek4pod

If you liked the show, hit Subscribe and please consider leaving a 5 star review. The more reviews we have, the more we show up in searches. Somehow. I think magic.

Or, tell a friend. Word of mouth is still an effective advertising tool.  

I respectfully acknowledge that I live and work on th traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Photo of Kerry and KK by Lauren Silberma. Used with permission.

Michael W. Boyce Episode 217: Chick Your Head with Kerry Ipema and KK Apple
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Episode 216: Ghosting with Sally-Anne Martyn

I'm thrilled to welcome Sally-Anne Martyn back to Geek4. Sally-Anne is an author, whose first novel, The Clinic , a dark thriller set in an ex-asylum was released in October from Joffe Books. The reviews have been amazing! I'm reading it right now and am loving it.

Last time, we discussed her love of John Landis's An American Werewolf in London (1981). This time we discuss her love of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman's 2017 film adaptation of their stage play, Ghost Stories. Sally-Anne tells about discovering the film and its impact on her. In fact, as she shares, she would often watch this film before getting to work on her own psychological thriller.

Nota Bene: A warning for listeners, we do move into spoiler territory, so be forewarned. 

You can follow Sally-Anne on Twitter at @sallyannemartyn; on Instagram at @sallyannemartyn ; and on Facebook  at sallyannemartynbooks. She often posts delightful pictures of her many animals.

Sally-Anne's first novel, The Clinic, a dark psychological thriller, is available now where fine books are sold. It would make a great stocking stuffer. Order it from your local bookseller.

You should also sign up for her SUBSTACK, Into the Shadows, for her amazing fortnightly newsletters.

Follow me on Twitter  @mwboyce  and Instagram @mwboyce and follow my website michaelwboyce.com/geek4

You can follow the podcast on Twitter @geek4pod and on Instagram @geek4pod

If you liked the show, hit Subscribe and please consider leaving a 5 star review. The more reviews we have, the more we show up in searches. Somehow. I think magic.

Or, tell a friend. Word of mouth is still an effective advertising tool.  


Michael W. Boyce Ep216SAMartyn
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