But I love visiting!! I have never been much of a podcast listener, preferring to listen to music, but a friend and colleague has turned me onto the podcast, Welcome to Night Vale. I just adore it!
Welcome to Night Vale is "a podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale. It was created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, is voiced by Cecil Baldwin, and is published by Commonplace Books. The podcast airs twice a month, and consists of 'news, announcements and advertisements' from the desert town, located 'somewhere in the Southwestern United States'" (Wikipedia). During every episode, a piece of music by an independent artist is introduced as the "weather report". As of late July 2013, it became the number 1 downloaded podcast, surpassing This American Life.
Night Vale is truly a very weird town. It features announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the
night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and bizarre cultural
events. It is definitely something to be experienced and cannot be accurately described. If you love Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, and/or surrealism, this podcast is for you. There are currently approximately 30 episodes, each of which runs from 20-30 minutes - perfect timing for my drive to work. "You can subscribe to this podcast via iTunes or Stitcher or Libsyn or Feedburner or Soundcloud" (Commonplace Books). Give it a listen.
Fun fact of the day: Have you ever heard of a "Vernepator" or "Turnspit" dog? I had not until earlier today. This dog was a short-legged, long-bodied dog bred to run on a wheel that turned meat on a spit so that the meat would cook evenly. Due to the exhaustive work, pairs of these dogs would work in shifts. It is possible that it is through the hard work of the turnspit dog that the adage "every dog has its day" was coined.
On Sundays, these dogs didn't even get a break as they were often taken to church to serve as foot warmers. "One story says that during service at a church in Bath, the Bishop of Gloucester gave a sermon and uttered the line 'It was then that Ezekiel saw the wheel...'. At the mention of the word 'wheel' several turnspit dogs, who had been brought to church as foot warmers, ran for the door" (Wikipedia). This breed of canine is now extinct. A photo of a stuffed 19th century turnspit dog, "Whiskey", can be found on the website, Gathering the Jewels.
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Fun fact of the day: Have you ever heard of a "Vernepator" or "Turnspit" dog? I had not until earlier today. This dog was a short-legged, long-bodied dog bred to run on a wheel that turned meat on a spit so that the meat would cook evenly. Due to the exhaustive work, pairs of these dogs would work in shifts. It is possible that it is through the hard work of the turnspit dog that the adage "every dog has its day" was coined.
On Sundays, these dogs didn't even get a break as they were often taken to church to serve as foot warmers. "One story says that during service at a church in Bath, the Bishop of Gloucester gave a sermon and uttered the line 'It was then that Ezekiel saw the wheel...'. At the mention of the word 'wheel' several turnspit dogs, who had been brought to church as foot warmers, ran for the door" (Wikipedia). This breed of canine is now extinct. A photo of a stuffed 19th century turnspit dog, "Whiskey", can be found on the website, Gathering the Jewels.
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| Notice the dog at work. Illustration from a book published in 1800 entitled Remarks on a Tour to North and South Wales. |
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