Keep on Truckin' to Yosemite
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, I took my dad back up to Yosemite after far too long an absence. It was amazing trip filled with check engine lights and giant sparks of joy. QUOTE: "I flew up that freakin' thing!" CAST: Blayney, Jay Leno, Tom Bopp CAMEO: Ming Ming LOCATIONS: Yosemite, Oakhurst, Mariposa, Big Bear, Inland Empire, Central Valley, Yosemite Valley, Rusty's Pistons, Raley's, Chocolate Soup, Marisposa Arts, Mariposa Creek, Yosemite National Park, Wawona, Pioneer Village, South Fork of the Merced River, Curry Village, Ahwahnee Hotel, Half Dome, Tunnel View, Lower Yosemite Falls, El Capitan,...
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GenX: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
Verge of the Dude
Hey Dude, an old flyer for a show I did back in my NoHo Arts District days, leads to a serious questioning about whether GenX is really my generation. QUOTE: "[To a] person born in 1980. Hey, what did you think of the 70s?" CAST: Ming Ming, R2-D2, Ken Dougherty, Dan Klass, David Letterman, Spalding Gray, Brother Theodore, Elayne Boosler LOCATIONS: NoHo Arts District, SoHo, Performance Garage, New York City, Hollywood, North Hollywood, North Hollywood High School, PROPS: GenX Singles, Late Night with David Letterman, Star Wars, Star Wars Generation, True Detective, Pulp Fiction,...
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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...
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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...
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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:...
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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...
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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,...
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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"...
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"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"...
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"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_outlineHey Dude, I took my dad back up to Yosemite after far too long an absence. It was amazing trip filled with check engine lights and giant sparks of joy.
QUOTE: "I flew up that freakin' thing!"
CAST: Blayney, Jay Leno, Tom Bopp
CAMEO: Ming Ming
LOCATIONS: Yosemite, Oakhurst, Mariposa, Big Bear, Inland Empire, Central Valley, Yosemite Valley, Rusty's Pistons, Raley's, Chocolate Soup, Marisposa Arts, Mariposa Creek, Yosemite National Park, Wawona, Pioneer Village, South Fork of the Merced River, Curry Village, Ahwahnee Hotel, Half Dome, Tunnel View, Lower Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Bakersfield, Grapevine, Santa Clarita, Los Angeles
PROPS: Ford Ranger, Highway 99, Model T, Napa Auto, gully, NSFW
SOUNDS: wind Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes (more cowbell), birds
PHOTO: "Blayney Half Dome" shot with my iPhone XS
RECORDED: May 12, 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: 23:57
FILE SIZE: ~ 23 MB
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.