BY ROBERT BLOCH-- The Show continues, and we pursue the writers of classic supernatural fiction, particularly those of Farnsworth Wright's WEIRD TALES magazine, as well as writers who flourished among the Pulp fiction periodicals of their era. Visitors include KrOB and artist David Normal. Straight from the pages of WEIRD TALES comes Robert Bloch's story, A Question of Etiquette. We read this tale of a census taker caught up in Witchcraft when interviewing an actual Witch, which involves the flight through the air to the Sabbat and its Master, Satan Mekatrig. KrOB reminisces about Sinbad's 7th Voyage, as we are both wont to do. Then David brings in an enormous box of plastic-wrapped Pulp magazines-- and we read samples from them, from the sublime Clark Ashton Smith to the irrepressible Pulpmeister Robert Laslie Bellem (from the extinct publication HOLLYWOOD DETECTIVE). 'Tis a cozy scene, lasting for an extra hour, four hours in all. We seem back on track, but the End of the Line could be reached at any time, of course, if recent struggles offer any guidance. Try us again next week. And also try, won't you, the next iteration of ASK DR. HAL! --the Home Edition, an online interactive video presentation. The Webinar begins at 6:00 PM Pacific Time, or for East Coast participants, 9:00 PM. It's on Twitch via Zppm. but all you need to do is go on Sunday at Six to www.askdrhalshow.com --we have cartoons, Monster Movie Moments-- we set the whole megilla in magnum motion. See you there!

MUST SERVE until these problems are taken care of, if ever. Without music, even without poor old "DJ Otto," we're left only with vaguely recollected song fragments, rambling spur-of-the-moment improvised remarks-- not the formula for anyone's idea of entertainment. Then hear KrOB come in, diagnose station troubles (Diagnosis: dismal and perhaps unfixable) and join us, setting up his more than able personal device. Then it's entertaining, in its way, until the end-- at least more so than the beginning. This posted show does not even include the first hour, which is only a fruitless struggle. There are 3 hours because we run until 2:00 AM. No intro; it couldn't play anyway, and this archived podcast begins in medias res. Yogg-Sothoth grant that we will surmount these endless obstacles next time...

WITH NO MUSIC or sound effects, still continued, thanks to followers on the Chatterbox who kept us going by posing questions for us to answer for three lo-ong hours. The arrangement of studio devices had been scrambled by other users and there was no time to trouble-shoot before beginning. When the Studio's not configured for the show to run there's little we can do. Only the fans made it possible this time. We're hoping to guarantee our next podcast by bringing in not only a guest but also a technical expert who will make sure we're connected. All these show failures... it's not us-- it's the equipment! Yet, "it's a poor workman who blames his tools." We hope to get back to the level of content we used to enjoy. GAK-K-K-KK!

BY DONALD WANDREI, originally published in the old ESQUIRE back in the day-- that reading began this five-hour episode. Special Guest David Normal, head of the cat-worshiping Cult of Holofelinity, was our studio visitor this episode. Moreover, KrOB put in an appearance. And so five hours flew by. Much is discussed of interest to fanatics of other stripes. Still, the Leopard does not change his spots, eh? It checks out. Dots and dashes and lots of flashes! --as Walt Winchell was wont to say. The story "Lukundoo" is by Edward Lucas White. "It Will Grow on You" has a similar theme. We also vicariously participate in a "Terror Safari" and encounter with a "lust-crazed Giant Gorilla." But you have to be there.

... WHO IS ALWAYS WELCOMED by our Show. And, sure enough, Mr. Peppe appears and stays throughout the length (4 hours) of this episode. We talk of this and that, some ordinary and trivial matters and, interspersed, subjects which partake of the unusual profundity our guest deals with almost casually. Then there are moments of contemplative silence, when only the music carries us forward. It is an uneven journey, and we must mention that M. Peppe actually becomes ill about halfway through the proceedings-- he rushes to void the contents of his stomach in the Radio Valencia toilet, conveniently located nearby. There follows some discussion of dyspepsia and, generally, "tummy troubles" --not congenial as a subject to some listeners. It is not a disease we speak of, but basically a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and other conditions. This dyspepsia is a common problem, affecting particularly those who combine different intoxicants unsuccessfully. Perhaps it was the Fernet Branca. Here the symptoms included bloating, discomfort, feeling too full, nausea, and gas. It must be emphasized that in most cases, such reactions happen after eating or drinking. Other causes may include medical conditions, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and the use of... certain medications. Ask your gastroenterologist how to avoid these pitfalls. What? You don't have a personal gastroenterologist? GERD up your loins and prepare to go into battle. By the end we are discussing things less potentially offensive, such as Frankenstein-like experiments in, say, keeping severed heads alive, a technique referred to as Perfusion...

...AND HIS DEED TO RESTORE THE REPUTE of the great House of Tarquin. Yes, "Horatius" again, but here, for the first time, the entire thing. In 506 BC, the fires of rebellion burned bright in Rome. The tyrannical reign of King Sextus Tarquinius the Proud had been extinguished by his wide infamy, particularly his rape of the noblewoman Lucretia-- and he sought refuge with Porsena, powerful king of the nearby Etruscan city of Clusium. Enraged by the expulsion of his ally, Porsena marched on Rome at the head of a mighty army.

The Etruscan forces concentrated their attack on the western bank of the Tiber River. They stormed the Janiculum Hill, a strategic point overlooking the city, and established a garrison there. Their next objective – the Pons Sublicius, the sole bridge across the Tiber. This vital link offered the only path for the Etruscan army to breach the city walls.

The Roman forces, led by consuls M. Valerius Volusus and T. Lucretius Tricipitinus, braced themselves for a desperate defense at the bridge. However, Porsena’s army vastly outnumbered the Roman forces. The initial clash was fierce, but the tide soon turned. Both Roman commanders were wounded and carried from the battlefield, sparking panic among their ranks. The Roman line faltered, and soldiers began to flee in a desperate scramble for the bridge.

Three Roman heroes stood firm on the bridge – Spurius Lartius, Titus Herminius, and Horatius Cocles. Together, they formed a desperate but unyielding shield against the Etruscan onslaught. Their unwavering defense bought precious time for their comrades to retreat across the bridge. As the last Roman soldier reached safety, the order came down – sever the bridge!

With a thunderous crash, the Pons Sublicius began to crumble into the Tiber. Lartius and Herminius, their duty fulfilled, scrambled back to the Roman side. But Horatius Cocles remained. In a display of unparalleled courage, he plunged into the churning waters of the Tiber, his heavy armor a perilous burden.

Despite the raging current and the hail of Etruscan arrows, Horatius Cocles fought his way back to the opposite shore. Exhausted but unbroken, he emerged from the river a living legend. The grateful City erupted in cheers. Horatius, forever marked by his sacrifice – some say he lost an eye in the battle – could no longer fight. Yet, Rome showered him with honors. He received a hero’s crown, a lifetime of public food rations, a vast plot of land tilled by a grateful citizenry, and the ultimate symbol of Roman valor – a bronze statue erected in the heart of the city, in the Comitium.

Experience it all on this show-- a performance, not necessarily the ideal one. Next week we expect to feature MICHAEL PEPPE!

...NO TRICK of wiring or cross-connection-- no Technical Difficulties at all... this time... It was not needed, for once, for KrOB to swoop in and with his supernal skill and understanding undo whatever complication happens to be blocking the inception and regular performance of this feature. All was ship-shape and squared away. Eventually, herein, we come to a nearly complete recitation of John Milton's apostrophe to Melancholy, IL PENSEROSO. This poem explores the theme of contemplative philosophical solitude, contrasting it with typically fleeting and delusive joys. The poet here rejects shallow pleasures in favor of "divinest Melancholy," an introspective state of heightened intellection, and describes the qualities of Melancholy as wise, holy, and descended from "bright-haired Vesta," daughter of "Solitary Saturn." He invites Melancholia to join him in ascetic ratiocination, accompanied by "Calm, Peace and Quiet," "spare Fast," "retired Leisure," and, presiding over all, guiding "the fiery-wheeled Throne," the "cherub, Contemplation." Seeking solace in Nature, music, and the pursuit of knowledge, an experience of recondite rapture is suggested-- and then reached. The whole megilla aligns, they say, with a literary trend popular during the 17th century, highlighting the exploration of inner emotions and search for meaning in solitudinous transcendence. And there's more stuff, including some zippy musical selections. Just as long as the gizmo, which is to say the dingfutzer, whatchamacallit, contraption or doohickey at this soi-disant station continues to function, this... this can all go on.

--AUDIBLY AND IN REAL TIME this episode. Once again, after numerous failed attempts made in the previous weeks, it seemed as if the instrumentalities of Radio Valencia would not permit Ask Dr. Hal! to go on. And, in fact, as KrOB later discovered, a significant piece of equipment was inert-- lifeless. Remediation was beyond our ability, though naturally we tried everything possible. The hookup by person or persons unknown would not give us the access to our archival sources we need. Week after week, this snarled-up situation persisted, with always a different origin point-- the enormous difficulty of performing any show under these circumstances causes a feeling of futility, a dispiriting erosion of the will to persist. Nonetheless, here we attempt to do a show with no extras, until, like a Deus ex machina, KrOB appears, examines the equipment and immediately restores all control unto us. We couldn't do it alone. Three hours, including the stripped-down beginning and the lush sequel. But what of next week? The problems are not solved-- when we come in we have no idea what to expect...

...AND THAT'S WHY I PLAYED FREBERG. Yes, Stan Freberg. He worked with Bob Clampett of Warner Bros. cartoons fame. Throughout this episode some of Stan's great audio gags may be heard. This presentation, however, is mainly devoted to Eschatology. No, not Scatology. Leave the low-comedy guffaws to bleary-eyed, belching barflies, and understand we are on the topic of the Doctrine of the Last Things; the End of the World, the closing of the Time of Humanity-- these concern us here. Eschatology was originally a Western term, referring to Jewish, Christian and Muslim beliefs about the end of History, the Resurrection of the Dead, the Last Judgment, the Messianic era, and the problem of Theodicy. No, not THE ODYSSEY of blind Homer, though we do mention that-- but more in passing-- we do come to refer more thoroughly to Virgil's great later poem, THE AENEID, as we wander through our subject matter. Eschatology classically refers to the vindication of God’s justice. Historians of religion have applied the term to similar themes and concepts in the religions of non-literate peoples, ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures, Eastern civilizations and deliberately misled, pig-ignorant Republicans. Genuine Eschatological archetypes also can be found in various secular liberation movements. Sure, burn it all down; it's coming to an end anyway. That is NOT the train of thought(lessness) endorsed by the Ask Dr. Hal! Show. No indeedy. We DO admit to being all over the map, as usual. But what a map! And we are the most interested in the unexplored regions shown upon the map, the unknown realms at the edges. F'rexample, "Here there be Dragons--" we reintroduce the topic of the preferred taxonomy and probable biology of the Dragon-- the Western Dragon, or Wyvvern. Let's hope that the whole megilla doesn't, well, drag on. Get it? Ahh, you're a lousy audience. No, just kidding.

Hey, WATCH the online ASK DR. HAL! Show THIS SUNDAY the 17th, also St. Patrick's Day, Faith and Begorra. 6:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time. Go to www.askdrhalshow.com and... and that's all you have to do! It's FREE! Unless, that is, you wish to PARTICIPATE by asking Dr. H. Owll (financially) sponsored Questions. We got monsters, a cartoon (seasonally featuring Leprechauns), Ray Harryhausen's Hansel and Gretel (Dr. Hal Show version), Michael Peppe doing his great Behaviormusik at the S. F. Art Institute back in the day... and much more. Watch from the beginning so's not to miss any of our mind-breaking Special Effects. Then join us in the Chat Room afterward to congratulate, gloat or commiserate. Miss the show? There's no prob, with "Bob!" From that selfsame web site youse can download ANY of our shows, at any time. This will be our 35th Episode.

INCLUDING THE DREAM WORLD-- Late night, and the later the better, allows the greater nearness of the twilight realm of the supernatural and preternatural. With the aid of Gorey (Edward) and Borges (Jorge) among others, we invoke, or appear to invoke, esoteric potentialities. Borges’ use of labyrinths, mirrors, chess games and detective stories creates a complex intellectual landscape, yet his language is clear, with ironic undertones. He presents the most fantastic of scenes in simple terms, seducing us into the forking pathway of his seemingly infinite imagination. And as Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." The Labyrinth allows us to loop back through forty years of radio, and this, of course, we also do.

...OF IMAGINARY BEINGS, a map of the endless Labyrinth of imaginative speculation and its contents, which by some may be considered an amusing tribute to the human gift for seeing the invisible-- and debating whether or not it whistles (we aver it does). Or, a curious but unoriginal compilation of already-told tales, somehow still worthy of serious consideration: bit by bit, like the minute accretion of the Oyster, growing a pearl in secret darkness, this presentation adds disparate elements to its mix to create in its gestalt an entity never before experienced.

In "THE BOOK OF SAND," Jorge Luis Borges describes a volume of inconceivably thin leaves, in which no page is the first and no page the last, so that wherever you open it there is a different story, written in various indecipherable scripts. The narrator becomes obsessed with this extraordinary object and ultimately horrified: "I realized that the Book was monstrous. It was no consolation to think that I... was no less monstrous than the Book."

The short story echoes what is probably Borges's single most famous fiction, "The Library of Babel" (1941), which depicts a library of Astronomical size-- containing everything that ever has been or could be written-- but in which meaning is elusive. The later work, however, written towards the end of the author's life, has a nightmarish quality that is less apparent in the earlier story.

Falling between these two is THE BOOK OF IMAGINARY BEINGS, a compendium of brief, almost stark descriptions and stories about fantastic animals from many older texts and sources, including the Bestiaries of Medieval Europe and their classical antecedents, Chinese and Indian myth, folk tales, the legends of indigenous peoples and the minds of such writers as C.S. Lewis, Kafka and Poe. First published in 1957, at the very time when (as Borges later explained) the vision that had gradually been failing him since birth had deteriorated to the point where he could no longer read or see what he was writing, this quasi-Cryptozoological chiaroscuro, which we draw upon during the show, is one of Borges's great creations.

In it, the Inventory, from start to finish, includes the Upland Trout, which nests in trees and is a good flier but scared of water, as well as the Goofang, which swims backwards to keep the water out of its eyes. What are we to make of the Strong Toad, which has a shell like that of a turtle, glows like a firefly in the dark, and is so tough that the only way to kill it is to reduce it to ashes? In the section "Fauna of Mirrors", we discover what looks like a joke on erudition of (Tristram) Shandy-esque proportions: "In one of the volumes of the Lettres édifiantes et Curieuses that appeared in Paris during the first half of the 18th century, Father Fontecchio, S.J., planned a study of the superstitions and misinformation of the common people of Canton..."

Our study is also populated with creatures that, however bizarre, are upon examination, far from absurd. Notable are the various Dragons of east and west (like Chrysophylax in our last show), creatures of enormous power, but uncertain significance. In truth, we are ignorant of the meaning of the Dragon as we are ignorant of the meaning of the Universe-- but there is something in the Dragon's image that appeals to the human imagination; it is a Necessary monster...

Consider the show something that holds, as it were, a mirror up to dreaming. But where, we wonder, do pleasant dreams shade into nightmares, or those from the past into those of the future? Which dreams are wholly fantastical and which are visions or distortions of what is real-- or has the potential to be so?

It might, for example, to certain receptive listeners, remind them of what is beyond Dream – the real forms of living creatures that exist without human agency. Borges himself acknowledged as much: "Anyone... will soon find out that the zoology of dreams is far poorer than the zoology of the Maker."

For we who live in the light of what Paleontology, evolutionary biology and genetics are revealing about living forms, our response to the real may – will, if we are truly awake – be one of astonishment and wonder at life's inventiveness. Even ordinary-seeming animals are marvelous in the light of Evolution. Extraordinary examples make those in the pages of a Medieval Bestiary seem poor indeed. Compared to the Leafy Sea Dragon and the Sea Slug (Elysia chlorotica)-- which photosynthesises with genes stolen from the algae it eats, and is as green as a leaf-- the mythical Barometz, or vegetable lamb of Tartary, might seem to the uninitiate to be a dull affair.

It is our thesis that the contemplation of Natural History allows us to marvel at our place in the Universe. As Charles Darwin wrote early in his career, "If, as the poets say, life is a dream, I am sure in a voyage these are the visions which serve best to pass away the long night."

We will advise that the realm of this lore is anything but tiresome whimsy, and casts in fact the looming shadow of the Future – a phantasmagoric counterpart to the Anthropocene, the epoch in which humans may be transforming life as radically as anything since the Cambrian explosion about 530 million years ago. A global rise in average temperature of 4 degrees Centigrade-- or more-- by the end of this century, which many scientists now consider quite likely, will lead to a disruption of the biosphere. Such a rise in temperature created the greatest of all extinctions at the close of the Permian. Similarly, one of the biggest extinction events in the history of life may be unfolding at this protracted (to us) geological instant. At the same time, however, we appear to be on the cusp of the creation of new forms of non-human Life, as well as new ways of being human (children with DNA from three parents, reproduction without the union of male and female gametes, greatly extended lifespans and other neo-blasphemies). Such endeavors may open up countless new ways to imagine and to be.

The Kabbalists sought to rearrange the letters of the ineffable Names of God in their attempts to make new life. Today, there are those who are tinkering with the near endless potential variations in the letters of DNA. How hopeful will the resulting Monsters be? How much light, or darkness, will they bring? "The light which puts out our eyes," wrote Thoreau, "is darkness to us."

And so, in our own way, we toss stone after stone into the subterranean caverns of the reader's mind. Come with us along passageways and around corners to reveal strange shapes and images, some of which may precede and outlast anything conceived. If we are attentive, the reverberations can help us trace the dimensions of those spaces. In the midst of Darkness, we glimpse pulses of Light-- and are then engulfed in sudden dazzling floods of it.

Three hours, including archival remixes and poetic recitations in the usual manner.

AEGIDII AHENOBARBI JULII AGRICOLE DE HAMMO, Domini de Domito, Aule Draconarie Comitis, Regni Minimi Regis et Basilei mira facinora et mirabilis exortus-- or, (in the vulgar tongue) The Rise and Wonderful Adventures of Farmer Giles, Lord of Tame, Count of Worminghall and King of the Little Kingdom. I, Dr. H. Owll, after suffering the profoundest defeat on the Friday previous, the 16th of February, when it pleased God that it was not granted unto me to be able to employ the engineries of Radio Valencia in dutiful performance, and offer as expected the Ask Dr. Hal! Show, owing to the inimical configuration left for my use by users previous, had to make my way back to my domicile in grievous distress and woeful disgrace. When this new show began, it soon befell my lot to encounter the same barriers, once again left in place. Then, though taken once more aback, did I vow and resolve to continue even ungirded, without the needed musics, to fill the next three hours with only my voice withal. I began the tale of Farmer Giles of Ham, and did advance the lay to the moment when Aegidus discharged his blunderbuss directly into the face of the Giant from the Wild Hills. And it was then that KrOB did enter upon the scene. Surveying the Board with his most expert vision, he discovered that a small row of gray switches had been left on which were preventing the needed elements of the show from being heard. These being turned off, all ability was thereby returned unto my hands, and so fortified, and with God's help and KrOB's, I eventually related the full and entire tale of the victory of Aegidus over the dragon Chrysophylax and even the King of the Little Kingdom, Augustus Bonifacius Ambrosius Antonius Pius et Magnificus, dux, rex, tyrannus, et basileus Mediterranearum Partium.

AND FREEZING HUNGER. Come into my Hand, by your Mild Power descending Down the Nerves of my right arm And from out the Portals of my Brain, Where by your Ministry the Eternal great Humanity Divine planted His Paradise, and in it caus'd the Spectres of the Dead to take sweet Forms in Likeness of Himself.

Now we are in possession of the proper equipment, we are freed from being hobbled to a single channel. All praises be to Michael Cook and Dr. Penny!


Then Milton rose up form the heavens of Albion ardorous.
The whole Assembly wept prophetic, seeing in Milton’s face
And in his lineaments divine the shades of Death & Ulro.
He took off the robe of the promise, & ungirded himself from the oath of God.

And Milton said: ‘I go to Eternal Death! The Nations still
Follow after the detestable Gods of Priam, in pomp
Of warlike selfhood, contradicting and blaspheming.
When will the Resurrection come to deliver the sleeping body

From corruptibility? O when, Lord Jesus, wilt thou come?
Tarry no longer, for my soul lies at the gates of death.
I will arise and look forth for the morning of the grave;
I will go down to the sepulcher to see if morning breaks;

I will go down to self annihilation and eternal death,
Lest the Last Judgment come & find me unannihilate,
And I be seiz’d & giv’n into the hands of my own Selfhood.
The Lamb of God is seen thro’ mists & shadows, hov’ring

Over the sepulchers in clouds of Jehovah & winds of Elohim,
A disk of blood, distant; & heav’ns & earths roll dark between.
What do I here before the Judgment? without my Emanation?
With the daughters of memory & not with the daughters of inspiration?

I in my Selfhood am that Satan; I am that Evil One!
He is my Spectre! In my obedience to loose him from my Hells,
To claim the Hells, my Furnaces, I go to Eternal Death.’

A three-hour Show goes in its own Direction.

OR, FIRST USE of the New Equipment-- Forever-to-be-honored Friends of the Ask Dr. Hal! Show actually provided the very equipment we needed and have complained of lacking, when we were in despair after the station publicly announced they'd NOT replace the broken stuff in the RV Studio-- just to recap. Yes, Michael Cook of Tennessee and Dr. Penny of California (Pomona) both actually purchased and mailed us new CD decks! In this episode, rather like trying to ride an untamed horse for the first time, using these devices give a somewhat rocky start to the beginning of the program, all quite audibly... The Solons at RV had hooked them up, well, counter-intuitively, let us say. It was a stroke of divine mercy that KrOB appeared at just the right time to guide us through the Labyrinth and even re-wire to some degree the needed controls. Then, after you hear him giving the needed remedial instruction, you'll also hear a continuing collaborative presentation by KrOB, who remained with us for a full extra hour. Next week, er... it may go SLIGHTLY smoother...

ACCORDING TO SOME; others swear that it is. More struggles with the maverick "radio" equipment are here are in evidence-- all is essentially an epiphenomenon of these efforts. Next show will be a rerun, as Dr. H. Owll expects to be away in the mysterious East, e.g. Nevada City. But after that we just might have our path eased by the TWO CD changers donated by Friends of this Show-- the redoubtable Dr. Penny and Tennessee's Michael Cook --ideally solving the mixing problems we have mourned so bitterly in previous episodes. Poems by C.A. Smith and Willie the Shake. Christ's malevolent Miracle of zapping the Fig Tree. Apocryphal Miracles from the Nazarene carpentry shop. Our Action for Your Satisfaction. The Exercise of Memory; Michael J. Peppe's spiritual summoning in a trove of Archival Material... Not a Broadcast, a Podcast. The Invisible City of Hypatia. Incursions from boors and Bozos during mixing struggles. The Travels of Ibn Batuta: the Indian Rope Trick an actual, inexplicable thing observed by the author in Medieval Baghdad, and Batuta's encounter with that horrifying mountainous bird the Rukh, or Simorgh, while at sea. Blake's Garden of Love. Humpty Dumpty's rage poem about the little Fish. And so forth, and so on. Three hours of this for those who can receive it... And, we hope, until we are (perhaps) "cancelled," more of the same in forthcoming episodes.

LENTICULAR SPIRALS, and the newly apprehended Bean formation. Science is re-examining Galactic shape with the new visual information provided by space probes. The mechanism of a mosquito's bite. Classic "Nose-Hair Lint Gland" show recordings from the late Dr. Pete Goldie, Founder of Reloadio. Voices of Puzzling Evidence, KrOB, Philo Drummond, Mobius Rex, Michael Peppe and others. "September 1st, 1939" by W. H. Auden. Pellucidarian travel notes. "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat!" Banished joys of narrow-gauge filmmaking. Koolasuchus-- prehistoric amphibians, Crurotarsalia and Stem reptiles. The dragon-like Smok wawelski. Origins of Insect flight. The great Pedro and his life-- and death. All interrupted and distorted by the usual "glitches." Bon Appetit!

TAXONOMY, ANATOMY AND PSYCHOLOGY, with notes on the views of the late Professor Thurgood Elson concerning the genus. In Rhedosaurus harryhausensis, Pelycosaur characters are synapomorphic-- unexplained and challenging crossover features. The Coracoid process in prehistoric reptiles. Rhedosaurs as sauropodomorph predecessors. This would be the result of convergent evolution, since we classify Rhedosaurus as a kind of Sphenodon, a Rynchocephalian. Not a dinosaur! Eventually KrOB appears and adds immeasurably to the colloquium.

OR, RIGMAROLE ROUND-UP. Beginning with Clark Ashton Smith, we bring many voices to the presentation in this last of 2023. The departed as well as the living make their appearance. And as it is written, based on the calendar we use, in a few days we will be celebrating the end of a year and welcoming a new one... on we go, through lustrums and epicycles of Cosmic time. But sinister forces are gathering. Be sure that the Ask Dr. Hal! Show is only on the side of righteousness and truth. KrOB's voice at the end is on-site, not a recording. And so, we yield to the descending curtain. Four hours.

YES, WE VISIT a few. Although we mention in passing the Amphisbaema, we save for another presentation a discussion of its attributes, as well as the verdict in the writings of the learned Dr. Browne, who pointed out the improbability of the creature, which had a head at each end, because both Ends are Anterior. We do devote time to the Cockatrice, known to some as the Basilisk (which has Biblical verification). Eventually, after a lot more of this, KrOB makes a welcome surprise appearance. We also play from our collection of recherché Christmas Music, in this, the year's penultimate production.

A REMINISCENCE about the Sonora bioregion and its curious inhabitants, remembered and expanded, may be found within this episode. We dilate upon the Solfugidae, called in the Great Desert "Sun Spiders." Menacing as they seem, these Sun Spiders lack venom and are considered by many to be for the most part harmless. More study, we maintain, is needed-- particularly their array of toxic urticating bristles... The yellow/tan arachnids appear to have ten long legs; technically, they have eight legs like a spider but also two long, forearm-like pedipalps and vicious, enormous, side-mounted twin bug-crushing chelicerae (jaws) tipped with poisonous looking pincers. They will indeed deliver a painful bite with these if aggravated, a bite to be avoided at all costs. The jaws and pincers help capture, mince and consume the creatures' insect-based diet-- with the serrated pair they can eat their way right into the bodies of some of their victims. According to one Arachnological specialist, these creatures are, in a way, "a cleaning crew for the over-represented cockroach community."

The silver dollar-sized (or larger) nightmare-weaver can grow between one and six inches in length, and has been clocked at crawling speeds up to 10 miles per-hour, meaning it would be able to keep up with you while you're driving through a school zone. When encountered the creature can amaze and disturb when it disconcertingly displays the ability to move at apparent lightning speed. Despite the friendly-sounding colloquial cognomen, the so-called "Sun Spider" actually detests sunlight, and, when exposed, scuttles frantically for shade and shelter. It is when blocked even briefly from this retreat to a dark corner that it can evidence a fierce, hostile and aggressive attitude. It'll also gun for light during the evening, making a bee-line (or Solfugid-line) across your sandals on the way towards a porch light. Keep your eye on those sandals, by the way, and it wouldn't hurt to prepare to move fast! Also: bee stings and other indignities. Steer clear of the Giant Desert Centipede. Hear how one disrupted a nude swimming party. All this and more.