
Thursday, December 5, 2013
We're Not Pirates. I Swear.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Welcome to Night Vale
"WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events. Turn on your radio and hide."What's crazy and creepy and beautiful all at the same time? This podcast. Welcome to Night Vale is a news cast from the fictional town of, you guessed it, Night Vale. This fandom is rather unique to all my other fandoms, in that it is purely audio- no written words or pictures. This is a nice change from the norm, because I'm used to watching or reading. With WtNV, I can sit back and enjoy the strangeness and the beauty. And it is just that. This podcast will seriously make you rethink certain things, while simultaneously terrifying and/or creeping you out. There are so many amazing quotes that I'm having a hard time choosing some to share. Seriously, it's so quotable, both for the profound thoughts and the weird ones. You have this: "The universe is vast. You are also vast. So is an ant. There are different sizes of infinity." and this: "There is a thin semantic line separating weird and beautiful. And that line is covered in jellyfish." If you don't believe me, check out their twitter page, (@nightvaleradio) which is full of crazy, weird, and surprisingly profound tweets.
Because there is no visual to this fandom, the amount of fanart is incredible. The beauty is that you can draw Cecil and Carlos in any way, however you picture them. The possibilities are endless. Plus, there are some really cool drawings out there of the crazy-creepy things in Night Vale. Amazing drawings of the hooded figures in the dog park (Do Not Approach!) the angels at Old Woman Josie's house (which don't exist, of course) the glow cloud (all hail) and so much more. A lot of people draw Cecil as tall, skinny, and blond, with moving tatoos on his arms and a third eye on his forehead; but like I said, no one really knows what he looks like.
What I love most about this fandom is just being able to listen. The writing is incredible, as is the narration. Some of it sounds like spoken word poetry: "I took a walk on the cool sand dunes, brittle grass overgrown, and above me in the night sky, above me, I saw. Bitter taste of unripe peaches, and a smell I could not place, nor could I escape. I remembered other times that I could not escape. I remembered other smells. The moon slunk like a wounded animal. The world spun like it had lost control. Concentrate only on breathing, and let go of ideas you had about nutrition and alarm clocks. I took a walk on the cool sand dunes, brittle grass overgrown, and above me, in the night sky above me, I saw." And other parts will make you laugh out loud: "I think the best way to die would be swallowed by a giant snake. Going feet first and whole into a slimy maw would give your life perfect symmetry." WtNV has made me laugh, (almost) cry, smile, gasp, raise my eyebrows, and so much more. The background music is perfect, highlighting both the beautiful and strange in equal measure. I love listening before bed, because it has the ability to calm me down and put me to sleep, even when Cecil is talking about something incredibly disturbing. Each episode features a weather report with a song from an indie artist. These weather reports are great, because you never know what to expect; sometimes you love it, sometimes you hate it, but you always appreciate it. And I can always find some deep metaphor for life in the episodes, some great lessons, all wrapped in a bundle of crazy. I'm hooked on Night Vale, and I'm always waiting for the first and fifteenth of every month.
I have one disclaimer about this fandom: it must be approached with a very open mind. It is definitely not for everyone. You have to just take everything at face value. For instance, there is nothing abnormal about the fact that Hiram McDaniels is a) a five headed draggon, who was b) a wanted criminal, c) suspected of insurance fraud, and is d) now running for mayor of Night Vale against e) the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your house. If you find anything wrong with those statements, WtNV is probably not for you. Just know that it is sometimes weird, sometimes gross, sometimes creepy, but I think the abstract thinking and profound thoughts are so worth listening. They keep my coming back for more, and it is the reason this will always be one of my favorite things to listen to.
Welcome To Night Vale can be downloaded for free from itunes. There are 37 episodes ranging from 19-32 minutes each. You can find out more at commonplacebooks.com
Good night, followers. Good night.
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