Author Topic: Pseudopod 142: Camp  (Read 12041 times)

Bdoomed

  • Pseudopod Tiger
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5891
  • Mmm. Tiger.
on: May 15, 2009, 08:42:35 PM
Pseudopod 142: Camp

By Jeremy C. Shipp
Read by George Hrab

My muscles tighten. My teeth clench. My irritable bowel is seriously pissed off.

I’m no good at sitting.

“Hold it together,” my dad tells me. Not physically here, of course, but why would that stop him? Hold it together—that’s easy for him to say. He’s made of steel bars and rivets and bolts. Me, I’m held together with Elmer’s glue and pushpins and chewing gum.

Memories vibrate. They fall and crack open.



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?


gelee

  • Lochage
  • *****
  • Posts: 521
  • It's a missile, boy.
Reply #1 on: May 16, 2009, 02:11:05 AM
First of all, the writing in this piece was top shelf.  The flow and feel of the narrative, and especially the dialogue, were great.  I also loved the idea of summer camp for psycho-killer-cannibal kids.
On the other hand, character reactions just didn't seem to click.  I really couldn't swallow that the protag would face his own torture and execution so calmly, even if he does, at some level, accept it as the norm for his particular slice of society.  I can see people conditioned to accept murder and torture as normal, but can people, especially kids, be trained to accept their own torture and murder so dispassionately?  I don't know.  Maybe I'm just naive.
Still, I'd have to call that a minor quibble.  Great story.  This would make a really great screen play.

Great reading by George Hrab, but...Nigel was not your best voice.  I kept seeing Bevis in my head every time he spoke.  Other than that, a great delivery.

[corrected attribution error]
« Last Edit: May 16, 2009, 02:26:46 AM by gelee »



oddpod

  • Matross
  • ****
  • Posts: 305
Reply #2 on: May 17, 2009, 08:37:56 AM
a note on al's outtro

i went to the diehard scout groop in Clayton in my younger days and learnt many things  :-

how to play a particularly brutal variant of the game "bulldogs charge",
the pros and cons of using a reservoir over-flow  channel as a water slide
and never EVER fall asleep in the back of the van


thare are many others and in time i shall pass then all on to my childeran

card carying dislexic and  gramatical revolushonery


gelee

  • Lochage
  • *****
  • Posts: 521
  • It's a missile, boy.
Reply #3 on: May 19, 2009, 10:54:01 AM
Um.  Did you eat people?  Just wondering.  I always wanted to be in Scouts, but my Dad wouldn't go for it.
« Last Edit: May 21, 2009, 04:56:29 PM by gelee »



oddpod

  • Matross
  • ****
  • Posts: 305
Reply #4 on: May 21, 2009, 07:25:24 AM
i culd tell you but that wuld put you on the menue :-)

card carying dislexic and  gramatical revolushonery


DKT

  • Friendly Neighborhood
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 4980
  • PodCastle is my Co-Pilot
    • Psalms & Hymns & Spiritual Noir
Reply #5 on: May 21, 2009, 05:34:45 PM
Wow, that was twisted and really fucked up. Well done! Hats off to everyone involved in this production.


Zathras

  • Guest
Reply #6 on: May 21, 2009, 05:56:28 PM
I was creeped out by the bus ride in.  Everything else seemed more like action to me.  I still liked this one a lot.



stePH

  • Actually has enough cowbell.
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3906
  • Cool story, bro!
    • Thetatr0n on SoundCloud
Reply #7 on: May 22, 2009, 07:02:21 PM
a note on al's outtro

i went to the diehard scout groop in Clayton in my younger days and learnt many things  :-

how to play a particularly brutal variant of the game "bulldogs charge",
the pros and cons of using a reservoir over-flow  channel as a water slide
and never EVER fall asleep in the back of the van


thare are many others and in time i shall pass then all on to my childeran

Did oddpod really write this post?  I have a doubt.  :P

"Nerdcore is like playing Halo while getting a blow-job from Hello Kitty."
-- some guy interviewed in Nerdcore Rising


Zathras

  • Guest
Reply #8 on: May 22, 2009, 10:29:50 PM
I miss Oddpod's avatar.   :'(



deflective

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1171
Reply #9 on: May 23, 2009, 03:32:20 AM
if someone's going to put on airs by pretending to have a british accent why would they go with liverpool?  maybe a beatles fan, i guess.



oddpod

  • Matross
  • ****
  • Posts: 305
Reply #10 on: May 23, 2009, 06:04:40 PM
a note on al's outtro

i went to the diehard scout groop in Clayton in my younger days and learnt many things  :-

how to play a particularly brutal variant of the game "bulldogs charge",
the pros and cons of using a reservoir over-flow  channel as a water slide
and never EVER fall asleep in the back of the van


thare are many others and in time i shall pass then all on to my childeran

Did oddpod really write this post?  I have a doubt.  :P

i did !
some times, when the stars are alined i feal that somthing i say is worth saying well and spell check it :-)

card carying dislexic and  gramatical revolushonery


Cerebrilith

  • Palmer
  • **
  • Posts: 62
Reply #11 on: May 24, 2009, 04:30:19 AM
Deliciously twisted story.  Perhaps the first one I've listened to twice.  The first time through I thought the "sheep" on the fire was the kind that grows wool, I loved the moment of realization that came later.



Bdoomed

  • Pseudopod Tiger
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5891
  • Mmm. Tiger.
Reply #12 on: May 24, 2009, 06:13:30 AM
a note on al's outtro

i went to the diehard scout groop in Clayton in my younger days and learnt many things  :-

how to play a particularly brutal variant of the game "bulldogs charge",
the pros and cons of using a reservoir over-flow  channel as a water slide
and never EVER fall asleep in the back of the van


thare are many others and in time i shall pass then all on to my childeran

Did oddpod really write this post?  I have a doubt.  :P

i did !
some times, when the stars are alined i feal that somthing i say is worth saying well and spell check it :-)

still missed childeran, but i gotta say im impressed :P
i also miss your avatar!

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


Zathras

  • Guest
Reply #13 on: May 24, 2009, 07:23:43 AM
a note on al's outtro

i went to the diehard scout groop in Clayton in my younger days and learnt many things  :-

how to play a particularly brutal variant of the game "bulldogs charge",
the pros and cons of using a reservoir over-flow  channel as a water slide
and never EVER fall asleep in the back of the van


thare are many others and in time i shall pass then all on to my childeran

Did oddpod really write this post?  I have a doubt.  :P

i did !
some times, when the stars are alined i feal that somthing i say is worth saying well and spell check it :-)

still missed childeran, but i gotta say im impressed :P
i also miss your avatar!

When I said oddpod's avatar bugged me, it was a back handed compliment!  Bring it back!!!



oddpod

  • Matross
  • ****
  • Posts: 305
Reply #14 on: May 24, 2009, 09:52:59 PM
sadly i am an idiot and that avatar is now lost for all time in the murky depths of the internet , let us morn its passing :-(

card carying dislexic and  gramatical revolushonery


Listener

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3187
  • I place things in locations which later elude me.
    • Various and Sundry Items of Interest
Reply #15 on: May 26, 2009, 01:04:27 PM
I agree that this was a very well-written story. Very vivid writing. The writer really got into the mind of a brainwashed kid being fostered by a serial killer as part of a serial killer collective. The kid's unassailable "rightness" of what he was doing was great.

Geo's reading was good except that the voices of the two adults tended to blend, and at the end Kent's voice sounded like the narrator's.

Second week in a row there's been poop references. Hmm...

"Farts are a hug you can smell." -Wil Wheaton

Blog || Quote Blog ||  Written and Audio Work || Twitter: @listener42


Bdoomed

  • Pseudopod Tiger
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5891
  • Mmm. Tiger.
Reply #16 on: May 26, 2009, 05:45:40 PM
sadly i am an idiot and that avatar is now lost for all time in the murky depths of the internet , let us morn its passing :-(
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
:(

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


Loz

  • Lochage
  • *****
  • Posts: 370
    • Blah Flowers
Reply #17 on: June 03, 2009, 05:37:25 PM
So, let me see, Hamilton was Yogi Bear right? I didn't recognise Kent. And was Englund Spinal Tap, or the Ruttles perhaps? Otherwise, I liked this story, especially how it's not obvious what the camp is for until halfway through, and even then it's matter of fact. I suppose that, in a society of killers, the rebel would free the captives. However, I do have some problems with the last scene, the narrator seemed to be fluctuating between stoicism and fear but I think this needed to be clearer. And seriously, a society of serial killers and they're going to look for reasons for someone getting killed and not considering that there's a sociopath amongst them?



csrster

  • Palmer
  • **
  • Posts: 31
Reply #18 on: June 19, 2009, 06:46:27 AM
Definitely one of the most totally fucked-up pseudopodcasts ever. Way to go!



Russell Nash

  • Guest
Reply #19 on: July 28, 2009, 11:08:20 AM
I went to this camp when I was a kid.  That was the last time I let my mother choose the camp.



Bdoomed

  • Pseudopod Tiger
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5891
  • Mmm. Tiger.
Reply #20 on: July 30, 2009, 04:07:34 AM
interesting story... didnt really like it tho... seemed... pointless.

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


Unblinking

  • Sir Postsalot
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 8729
    • Diabolical Plots
Reply #21 on: August 19, 2009, 09:28:31 PM
Super creepy.  A tale of a sheep in wolf's clothing.  I've got to second the sentiment that the friend sounded like Beavis, and other than that it was a good reading as well.  It did get to a pretty slow start, because the nature of the camp hadn't been explained yet, but the buildup was worth it.



David Steffen

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 14
Reply #22 on: October 16, 2009, 02:02:41 PM
I'm not sure if this is the best place to mention this--if not, let me know.  This might be better suited for "About Pseudopod" or possibly the Writing Forum.

Jeremy C. Shipp has agreed to an interview for my site,  Diabolical Plots:  http://www.diabolicalplots.com
Among other things, I'll ask him a question or two about "Camp" (and, of course, include a link to his story on Pseudopod).

If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask him about that story or about anything else, drop me a line and I'll try to work them in.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2009, 02:04:25 PM by David Steffen »



Bdoomed

  • Pseudopod Tiger
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5891
  • Mmm. Tiger.
Reply #23 on: October 17, 2009, 01:00:16 AM
I'm not sure if this is the best place to mention this--if not, let me know.  This might be better suited for "About Pseudopod" or possibly the Writing Forum.

Jeremy C. Shipp has agreed to an interview for my site,  Diabolical Plots:  http://www.diabolicalplots.com
Among other things, I'll ask him a question or two about "Camp" (and, of course, include a link to his story on Pseudopod).

If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask him about that story or about anything else, drop me a line and I'll try to work them in.
eh, I'll allow it, seems like a good enough place :)

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


David Steffen

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 14
Reply #24 on: November 02, 2009, 09:32:03 PM
And the Jeremy C. Shipp interview, as promised.  :)
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=717