Podcast in A minor

Ok. Film noir, the psyche, and a bohemian walk into an English class…. I would request that they be cool about it … if I were you. It’s the subjunctive mood! A song inspired by a line in a detective novel! That’s what we like. Oh, but don’t worry. This episode quickly veers off-course from grammar to existential blip-blap—but with plenty of examples of the subjunctive mood dangling like chandelier...

Opera of Life got you down? Well, perhaps it’s only a temporary setback—nothing that can’t be soothed by a little music—and television vampires—funny X-files—birthday art—-and what Kung Fu Panda did!  It’s autumn at last—-school is back in session with a vengeance. I think it’s trying to kill me. That’s a terrible opera! The only solution is music—and this grab-bag of funner topics. BREEATHE.

Time for another birthday episode? Can such things be? Did you guess that from the title? Sands through the hourglass! Join your September-birthday host for indulgence and celebration—with donuts! The passage of time! Three ghosts in an abandoned donut shop! Birthday superstitions and poetry! Songs and more songs! And only YOU can help me decide on this year’s birthday cake—very swag. https://para...

Huzzah, September! What better way to usher in the dying of the year than another song about chuckling vampires? OH, but they’re not chuckling this time! They’re going into battle! And sometimes, in a hunt to the death— as in giving birth—a little archaic swearing is absolutely required. Don your raincoats, vampire-romance addicts, and don’t forget the swear jar! Archaic Derogatory Slang www.ancie...

Whoa, hey, impromptu episode as the Muses deliver in the wee morning hours—again! Summer vacation dwindles now for us school-workers, so it’s cramming time! We got another vampire romance confession—we got a brainy Victorian-Edwardian Canadian TV detective—and yes, the miniature box phenomenon of the early 1980’s! So much to say!

It’s Monster of the Week—and it’s BEATNIKS! Are they even monsters at all? No way! Cursed, perhaps, some of them, and writing through the pain!—but hey, 30 years ago, the Muses brought me this weird little poem-to-song, and at last, I’ve decided not to question it! So let’s dig into the Beats, irreverently termed “beatniks” by the popular press—their freedom! Their antics! Plus, we’ll look in on t...

Urban Legend? Cryptid? You decide as we explore the tale of the man with hands of pudding who LURKS—lurks with impunity, leaving all who witness his unusual features and confusing presence…unsettled. https://theonion.com/pudding-factory-disaster-brings-slow-creamy-death-to-t-1819565362/ https://medium.com/@hallowedway/invent-your-own-urban-legend-ccc07abe8101

In the School World, ISS stands for In-School Suspension—when you’ve done wrong enough to be shunned to the Behavior Room for a whole day—or three—where you must sit quietly and do your worksheets. Ever try it with kindergartners? A godless scene! Romper Room goes to hell!! Romper Room! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romper_Room#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%20each,me%2C%20tell%20me%2C%20do.

Come hither, my grandeur, where art thou! How well we artists know the wild ride of the mind from complete certainty of our own radiance to the knowledge that we are no earthly good at all, and back again! How do we tame it? The grandeur cycle itself and the summoning of it? Plus, a quick foray into the mysteries of the Third Eye… Dangers of Opening the Third Eye www.https://thelawofattraction.com...

Cigarettes are sublime—but quite deadly, and how do we want to BE if we are granted a long life? Staggering, gasping, and frail? Or sage and silken, graceful and still singing? So the thing is to quit! But can we, before properly admitting our love for the vice? Cigarettes Are Sublime by Richard Klein https://www.dukeupress.edu/cigarettes-are-sublime

Have a piece of cake! It’s a lost weekend, commemorating my late mother’s birthday, followed four days later by the 10th anniversary of her death. So we cut loose–watch a little “Murder, She Wrote,” honor the incomparable Randolph Mantooth on his journey to the next world, explore “Cakes Men Like,” and find joy of living wherever we can! Come heal your soul with Podcast in A Minor, and maybe a nic...

Riddle me this, my brother—Riddles! Can you handle it? The car-ride quip of a Favorite Anonymous Artist births a song that is a riddle unto itself! Plus, we explore an Ancient Greek riddle, The Riddler’s riddles from Batman, and a few sinister detective riddles from Granddad’s lamp-table copy of Reader’s Digest! And finally—are you the die-hard fan who can solve the riddle of the lost Podcast in A...

Well, as another National Poetry Month dwindles to a close, we take a deep lungful of Surrealist love poetry—with this weird love song! What better anniversary gift for the man who has it all—the wrist bones, the eyes, the eyelash mites…oh! So romantic. We drink ‘em right in, along with love poems from Surrealist masters — AND from your podcast host! Love songs for Weirdos—and it’s not even Februa...

Poets tell lies? What?? Philosopher Plutarch sure thought so! And occasionally, Bjork! “Many lies the poets tell” said the philosopher—-We’ll dig into all that–AND revisit the 1989 film of films, Say Anything. It’s still National Poetry Month! WOOOT and huzzah! Poets Lie when They Cry—-Plutarch https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2015/09/21/before-you-read-a-poem-know-that-poets-are-liars-plutarch/#:~:...

Where did my vase of 100 pens go? It vanished! Was it burglars? Phroggers? Or did I stash it in the fridge in a poetic haze? OR did the ghosts desperately need pens to write their unearthly sonnets? This episode contains TWO songs on the subject—on autoharp--and will the vase ever reappear? A National Poetry Month mystery! Writers and their favorite tools https://lithub.com/writers-and-their-favor...

National Poetry Month charges headlong into our hearts with a lost poem about a lemon cake—which leads us down the winding path from lost poetry to found poetry to cut-up poetry to Surrealist Automatism to 7-Up Cake! Grab your poetry hat, let’s go!! Transfusion Poetica https://a.co/d/0gy2iYMu 7-Up Cake https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/234867/7-up-cake/ How to Write Found Poetry https://www.youtub...

What are the ingredients of poetry? National Poetry Month 2026 is here at last, so we’d best find out! Well, the ingredients of poetry are legion, but lets start with culture and dreams! Complicated front-yard gardens…dreams about jobs long abandoned…Kansas City as old-movie shorthand for “sleaze”….and a little more Rilke!! Poet’s Bowl https://a.co/d/04KNi5Bs Hot Breakfast Coffee https://a.co/d/07...

The third time Phyllis saw him she exploded!!! What did THAT sculpture look like? Was the summer rather light on Podcast in A Minor episodes? That’s because I broke a little bone in my foot in June, and my healing leaned heavily on old 20th-century horror flicks—one of which germinated into this song! More importantly, National Poetry Month 2026 is right outside the door! Wiping her feet, ringing...

Ahh, the glamorous life of a substitute teacher! The twisting, turning, wholly unfamiliar hallways! The shame of mispronouncing a name! Settle in for substitute horror stories, sub-versive poetry, and a favorite cartoon substitute and her dollhouse murders! Substitute Horror Stories https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/13zx6c4/lets_hear_your_substitute_horror_stories/

It’s the second of two Fridays the 13th in a row! And one more to come this year! Will plague and tragedy ensue?? Enjoy this sinister little minor holiday with an impromptu little song, superstitious icons, eerie books to read, a Friday the 13th dinner menu, and several odd ways to thwart the bad luck! Ahh, memories of those 13-cent donuts on Fridays the 13th gone by! Friday the 13th Reads https:/...

The future is oatmeal! And so is the past! It’s time for oatmeal whimsy---starring Oatmeal Hero Wilford Brimley, Alton Brown’s Emergency Oatmeal Kit, and what’s this? A 2014 horror movie with an oatmeal-ish theme! Jackpot! Weird oatmeal https://fatfreevegan.com/slowmiracle/2016/10/25/my-favorite-weird-oatmeal/ Mr. Breakfast https://www.mrbreakfast.com/recipe_collection.asp?subcategoryid=7 Alton Br...

Substitute teachers! The backbone of the system! After all, there MUST be an adult in the classroom—and there must. Jump into this prequel-to-a-futuren-episode for substitute madness, student madness, poetry, and the terrifying question: what if your substitute teacher is a menacing alien? And APOLOGIES for the janky, clanky "microphone"! Never again will I set it on the music stand!! Al...

Not in love this blessed February? Come sit by me! I may be in it up to my eyeballs now, but I spent many a year disdaining that loathesome heart-choked February “holiday.” Enjoy a haiku—some anti-Valentine’s conversation hearts… and a little Sean Connery, who always seems to pop up this time of year! email String-of-Pearls selfies to: hipnessandoutrage@gmail.com

February again? Thank God! What with all those boxes of chocolate sparkling down the aisles of the grocery stores! A bright beacon in the winter of our world’s insanity. Chocolates in groovy flavors, stunning colors, and unexpected sassy shapes—all befitting a sort-of psychedelic tune. Let’s get chompin’! Daily Dada Eyes and Lips Chocolate Box https://farm2.me/products/the-dada-dozen-truffle-box-6...

It’s February! Still rather a newish year—and will I break the habit of being the occasional sad sack? A chapbook I wrote for a poetry contest opened my eyes! So I’ll put on my lipstick and have a good time! Never better! Will Sarah Vowell do the same? Check out the youtube version for Put on Your Lipstick—a series of portraits I did back in ‘21! Disgruntled Housewife http://www.disgruntledhousewi...