Author Topic: PseudoPod 562: A Howling Dog  (Read 4539 times)

Bdoomed

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on: September 30, 2017, 08:32:18 PM
PseudoPod 562: A Howling Dog

by Nick Mamatas.

“A Howling Dog” is a PseudoPod original. Consider this Wikipedia article while listening to this story.

NICK MAMATAS is the author of several novels, including The Last Weekend and I Am Providence. His short fiction has appeared previously here at PseudoPod three times as well as in Best American Mystery Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and many other venues. His next book is an anthology of flash fiction and cocktail recipes called Mixed Up, co-edited with Molly Tanzer.

Your readers this week include:





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Info on Anders Manga’s album (they do our theme music!) can be found here.



Check out PAPERBACKS FROM HELL by Grady Hendrix. Listen to the interview on the Know Fear Podcast with Grady and Will Erikson about the book and the paperback boom of the 70’s and 80’s.



The app, and associated website, had another name, but it was most appropriate to think of it as Cranki.ly.  It was for neighbors to anonymously discuss neighborly things, but social media was as prone to Gresham’s Law as anything else—the bad conversations drove out the good ones.  It only took three months or so from initial launch for the posts to be all about suspicious dark-skinned men skulking around town “supposedly delivering the so-called mail”, the essential wrongness of mowing the lawn in one’s boxer shorts, and conspiracy theorizing about the next major ISIS attack hitting town… “because the Super Wal-Mart, one of the really nice ones, is just five miles down on Route 5. It’s a juicy target for Jihadis.”

A juicy target, indeed.

The post that started all the real problems in Cranki.ly’s Alameda County Zone 4 was this one, posted one afternoon just a week ago:


Quote
Hey Neighbors,

I’ve been hearing a dog howl/cry at all hours from my apartment close to the corner of Russell and Schiffer. I was wondering if anyone knew who the dog belonged too… It breaks my heart and I’m wondering if the owner knows about it. One of the dogs I fostered a few years back had severe   separation anxiety and would howl for most of the time when I left for work and I didn’t know about it until a neighbor alerted me, at which point, I was able to work on the separation anxiety with her.

Any leads appreciated. Thanks!



Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Gray

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Reply #1 on: October 04, 2017, 08:01:51 PM
Really enjoyed the work on this, excellent story and excellent production. A story with so many anonymous voices really benefited from having co-narrators. Certainly a story I'll be returning to.



Acth99

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Reply #2 on: October 06, 2017, 11:08:15 PM
I had to listen to this one twice. The first time I got to the end and was all, WTH did I just listen to......

The second time I was all, dang it, that is probably what the internets are doing to us.



Metrophor

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Reply #3 on: October 08, 2017, 05:17:23 PM
I really enjoyed this story, and have to admit the ending got a "wait WHAT" reaction out of me- somehow, I didn't see it coming. The only things that bothered me were really just instances of my own brain being a nitpicking pedant (advancing the test after taking ONE result, and declaring it a success? That's just bad science!).

The narration was great; I even wish the story had been a bit longer because I was enjoying seeing how things escalated. Many kudos to everyone involved.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2017, 05:24:53 PM by Metrophor »



Fenrix

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Reply #4 on: October 20, 2017, 06:33:50 PM

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


Bdoomed

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Reply #5 on: October 27, 2017, 03:32:50 AM
I had fun reading this one, and I love how it came together! Great job, everyone!

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Katzentatzen

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Reply #6 on: October 30, 2017, 04:52:10 PM
I’m confused. Maybe if I read this in print I’d understand what happened at the end? Can someone explain it to me?

"To understand a cat you must realize that he has his own gifts, his own viewpoint, even his own morality."
--LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN


Fenrix

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Reply #7 on: November 09, 2017, 07:22:04 PM

I’m confused. Maybe if I read this in print I’d understand what happened at the end? Can someone explain it to me?


Text is now up for this one. Now that we've converted over to the new website, we're including the texts. Our goal is to have the texts for all the original stories by the end of the year.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”