The Pulp Fiction Paradox
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, I both celebrate Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and defend Rosanna Arquette's legitmate criticism of the groundbreaking film. QUOTE: "I'm willing to stand next to Jon Hamm and take off my shirt..." CAST: Don Draper, Mac Sledge, Jon Hamm, Bad Bunny, Harvey Keitel, The Wolf, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Vinnie Barbarino, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ving Rhames, Rosanna Arquette, Mark Lonow, Patricia Arquette, Nicolas Cage, Nick Nolte CAMEO: Ming Ming LOCATIONS: Jack Rabbit Slims, Improv, Santa Monica, Ventura Blvd. PROPS: Cadbury Bunny, Stanley...
info_outline
Mac Sledge is no Don Draper
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, I come to terms with the fact I'll never be Don Draper, but the truth is I'd rather be Mac Sledge. QUOTE: "Obviously I don't look like Don Draper..." CAST: Ming Ming (cameo), Don Draper, Jon Hamm, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Mac Sledge, Sanford Meisner, Jeff Goldblum, Lawrence Fishburne LOCATIONS: Ming Ming's Barn, New York City, Neighborhood Playhouse PROPS: toupee, Country Western, litmus test, Meisner Technique, Westerns MOVIES/TV: Mad Men, The Godfather, The Great Santini, Apocalypse Now, True Confessions, Colors, Tender Mercies SOUNDS: Ming Ming, (more...
info_outline
Broken Hearts and Beautiful Voices
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm attracted to women with beautiful voices. My maddest crush is on Brandi Carlile who is also my favorite contemporary artist. QUOTE: "She's GenX adjacent..." CAST: Brandi Carlile, Howard Stern, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Kermit The Frog LOCATIONS: The 5 Freeway PROPS: SNL, GenX, CBS Sunday Morning MUSIC: "Right on Time", rock and roll, folk, country, gospel, jazz, standards, classical, popular music, Grammys SOUNDS: gravel, footsteps, (more cowbell), fast car, birds, planes PHOTO:...
info_outline
Gallery at the End of the World
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, while exhibiting my photos at the "Gallery at the End of the World" in the Mariposa Junction, I reconnected with Altadena through art, community and the power of podcasting. QUOTE: "Frankly, I didn't want to have to go through the whole committee process." CAST: Dick Van Dyke, Ben Mc Ginty, Dave Lovejoy, Stacey (Sacred Silver), Ming Ming (aka "My Buddy") LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, "Moorpark Church", Studio City, Gallery at the End of the World, Altadena, Mariposa Junction, Cafe de Leche, The Last Bookstore, Altadena Hardware, Altadena Library, North...
info_outline
Self-Portrait at 60
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, I try to sort through my messy milestone birthday, perfectly captured in my super funky selfie that inspired the call. QUOTE: "There's a lot of strands in the old duder's head..." CAST: Modesto, Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani, The Dude, The Doors, Bill Murray SPECIAL GUEST CAMEO: Ming Ming LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City (UUCSC), Paris, France, Smoke House, Ernie's Taco House, Toluca Lake, Casa Vega, Hill Street Cafe, St. Leon Armenian Cathedral, Bob's Big Boy, In-N-Out Burger PROPS: Facebook, #MoreDoubles, podcasting FILMS: The Big Lebowski,...
info_outline
Raiders of the Lost Open Mic
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, I goof on myself about my recent disastrous performances at an informal open mic at my church. QUOTE: "Well, that went so well, why not?" CAST: George Clooney, Vince Vaughn, James Franco, Harrison Ford, Chef Ben Ford LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City (UUCSC), Studio City, Studio City Theater PROPS: androgyny MOVIES: Rocky, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blade Runner SPECIAL GUEST CAMEO: Ming Ming SOUNDS: gravel, footsteps, bird, Ming Ming PHOTO: "Raiders Googled" shot with my RECORDED: August 23, 2025 in "The Cafe"...
info_outline
"Oh Lord, Stuck in Lodi Again"
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, I rave about basking in John Fogerty's light at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus I ask your advice about how to tell some of my saucy stories with songs. QUOTE: "If there's a Heaven, he's gonna be there rockin'!" MUSICIANS: John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Belinda Carlisle, Go-Go's, Kittens for Christian, Alicia Silverstone, Richie Valens VENUES: Hollywood Bowl, Hamburg, Germany, UCLA, Burbank INSTRUMENTS: Beauty and the Beat, Volkswagen Bug LULLABYE: "Lodi" by John Fogerty SOUNDS: wind, gravel, footsteps, saw, PHOTO: "John Fogerty Sees the Light"...
info_outline
"Long As I Can See the Light"
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, the amazing Reverand Rick retired at the top of his game to become an artist, while the jury is still out for me. QUOTE: "Just do your thing. Come as you are." MUSICIANS: Reverend Rick, Paramahansa Yogananda, John Fogerty VENUES: Studio City, Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, Claremont, Self Realization Fellowship, Echo Park, Altadena INSTRUMENTS: Unitarian Universalism, poetry reading, pandemic, podcasting, Zoom, Eaton Fire, GoFundMe, AA SPECIAL GUEST CAMEO: Ming Ming LULLABYE: "Long As I Can See the LIght" by John Fogerty SOUNDS: wind, birds, gravel, footsteps,...
info_outline
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, my recent reconnection to music makes me travel back in time to 2004, where I was living in a basement apartment in "Eagle Rock" and working on a one person show called "Broken Hearts and Sad Country Songs." QUOTE: "Whatever!" MUSICIANS: Stan Hillas, Kittens For Christian, Bruce Springsteen, Marilyn Monroe, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan VENUES: United Kingdom, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, Sun Valley INSTRUMENTS: spoken word and music, podcasting, Karaoke SONGS: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" "Dancing In The Dark" "Funny How Time Slips Away" SOUNDS: wind,...
info_outline
Hollywood Way to The Valley
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, an innocent Sunday drive to the Hollywood Bowl box office with my dad, turns into a mudslide of deep hometown memories. QUOTE: "If you don't drive through your hometown, are you really in your hometown?" LULLABY: "Hooray for Hollywood" (Whitling/Mercer) MUSICIANS/CAST: John Fogerty, Joan Anderson, George Clooney, Billy Strings, Bob Dylan LOCATIONS: The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, Hollywood Way, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Studio, Universal Studios, Cahuenga Pass, Highland Ave., Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood United Methodist Church, Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood...
info_outlineHey Dude, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm attracted to women with beautiful voices. My maddest crush is on Brandi Carlile who is also my favorite contemporary artist.
QUOTE: "She's GenX adjacent..."
CAST: Brandi Carlile, Howard Stern, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Kermit The Frog
LOCATIONS: The 5 Freeway
PROPS: SNL, GenX, CBS Sunday Morning
MUSIC: "Right on Time", rock and roll, folk, country, gospel, jazz, standards, classical, popular music, Grammys
SOUNDS: gravel, footsteps, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes (more cowbell), fast car, birds, planes
PHOTO: "Right on Brandi (and The Twins)" via YouTube shot with my iPhone XS
RECORDED: January 24, 2026 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California
GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 12.21
FILE SIZE: ~ 12MB
GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional
HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)
DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.