Brave Men Run Podcast - Episode Four Chapts. 11 - 14
Hey there! It’s Episode Four! Let’s see, here…
Chapter Eleven:
– “Your eyes are totally glowing right now.”
Nate just happens to have a tapetum lucidum in each of his eyes. This is a membrane of reflective tissue on the back of the retina that helps enhance night vision. Your kitty and doggy have it, too.
– Ronnie James Dio pulled “Holy Diver” out of his diminutive frame.
Honest to heck, I really think this is the last time I sing on the podcast. Seriously. If you want to hear better(?) examples of that sort of thing, explore here.
Ronnie James Dio is one of the great heavy metal vocalists, with a career that’s spanned thirty years. Notably, he was the singer for Rainbow (1975 - 1978) and Black Sabbath (1979 - 1982.) The song Lina and Nate listen to for half a second is from his 1983 album of the same name.
– “Lina said, “Did you know Brian Ferry has, like, his very own island in the South Pacific or somewhere?”
I recall hearing this on MTV, back in the day. I’ll be damned if I can confirm it, though. Anyone?
– “”I always wondered if that was the same voice as the one on “Dark Side of the Moon.”
Lina’s comparing those female vocals to the ones on Roxy Music’s “Avalon.” They’re not the same person. According to MusicTap, the singers on “Avalon” were Fonzi Thornton and Yanick Etienne. The singer on “Dark Side of the Moon” was, according to ProgFreak, Clare Torry.
Are you fascinated yet?
– “… she looked at her Day-Glo Swatch watch.”
I tried to find some decent pictures of a Swatch watch from the eighties… the Swatch site is justifiably focused on its current collection. Try this, if you don’t remember them.
– “Then, the wind shifted. It carried the smell of Polo cologne and male sweat.”
I had a girlfriend, briefly, in 1984, who insisted I wear Polo cologne. I hated it, like I do all colognes. So I made Byron wear it.
Chapter Twelve:
– “Teslowski used a stage whisper. “Not now, dude. What about tomorrow, at Romita Park?”
Named with love for both John Romitas, Senior and Junior, in appreciation for all their amazing work.
– “Lina put a hand on my shoulder. “You didn’t really introduce me to your buddy Flash, there.”
All right, I admit it. I cheated. I broke the fourth wall. Lina’s making a joke about Flash Thompson, who was Peter Parker’s schoolyard nemesis in the early Spider-Man comics. Only thing is, as you’ll see in later episodes, there’s no way Lina could know who Flash was, since there are no Spider-Man comics in the Sovereign Era universe!!!!
It was an easy shot. I took it. Artistic license.
By the way… do you know I had absolutely no problem finding several web pages devoted to this guy? I am not anywhere near the kind of geek I could be.
Chapter Thirteen:
– “I closed the window and exhaled. “Depends on where we want to go, I guess. Left is the Marine Base. Right is Kane Park, eventually.”
If anyone’s playing the “Where is Abbeque Valley” game, this is a major clue. Of course, Kane Park — named for the legendary comics artist Gil Kane — is called something else in real life.
– “The DJ recommended we put on our headphones, as some sort of ceremony was about to begin.”
The DJ would be Jim Ladd, broadcasting from 10 PM to 2 AM on KMET, 94.7, all over Southern California. He used to play long, free-form, thematic sets of music, mixed with spoken word and poetry, and I dug it alot when I was Nate’s age.
– “… I mean, I can go all punk rock like Raymond Pettibon, and stuff…”
She’s talking about this guy. And it’s just now that I’m realizing I’ve mis-spelled his name in the print edition of the book. Oops.
– “Oh, Carson and I have known each other since we were little kids. He’s got this band, Jesus Horse.”
I’ve “known” Carson as a character for many, many years — since he appeared in a story I wrote for a creative writing class in my Junior or Senior year of high school — and in all those years, I’ve never been exactly sure what the name of his band was.
For a while, it was “Meunbeam” — Car’s last name is Meunetti — but that’s just stupid. Then it was “The Water Huskies,” and I don’t have any idea what that means.
Then, one night, I saw a Saturday Night Live episode that spoofed one of the ongoing Intelligent Design debates, and Jimmy Fallon gave me the name. I laughed and laughed and laughed, I did.
Chapter Fourteen:
This will be one of Nate’s last almost-perfect nights for a long time to come…
