Author: Eneasz

Those of you who listen to Hardcore History will be just as excited as I am to hear that Dan Carlin has kindly donated his voice to play the part of Auror Captain Brodski! I’ve gone back and edited him into last week’s episode. This makes TWO celebrity voices in a single episode!

Those of you who don’t listen to Hardcore History may be asking “What’s the big deal? History is in the past, I’m more interested in the future! Has this guy ever, say… quoted Nick Bostrom on existential risk?” First, his delivery of the history is very exciting, and his voice is striking. I could listen to him all day, and it’s a fun listen! Second, something about being forced to repeat the past. And Third, it’s funny you should ask that specific question, because he did that exact thing in the most recent episode. This is forward-looking history. The episodes are long, but with months between them there’s plenty of time for listening.

Having problems. Hopefully will be fixed soon.

We have a new voice for Seamus Finnegan! My Irish accent is cartoonish because I don’t know any real Irish people. My primary vocal role-models are literally cartoons. Specifically, the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, and Simpson’s Grounds-Keeper Willie. And honestly, I’m not even sure if Willie is supposed to be Irish. An Irish listener said my voice made his ears bleed, which did not surprise me in the least. I asked if he could help, and after several months time he graciously did so! Let us all thank Barry Stanton for making the podcast a bit better. :)

We’ve got several new voices actually, including Cornelia Walt, Hagrid, and (back in Ch 41) Charlotte Wiland. And Jay Novella reprises his role as Argus Filch! Stayed tuned, more voices are coming soon.

(minor spoilers for chapter 8)

One of the things I most enjoy about working with others is being surprised by their interpretations of lines. This doesn’t happen that often, generally text isn’t very ambiguous. But every now and then a line that I just read matter-of-factly can take on a whole new meaning with a difference in tone. The most recent example that springs to mind is the Engineer’s line from Chapter 7, “I think we can conclude that this operation is going to be… successful.” I hadn’t thought much about it, and Jai’s delivery hit me out of the blue. It had a deep regret about it, a dread to use that word when describing the destruction of his home planet. I don’t want to dwell on this one example, as all the actors were great and it happened a few times, but that I hadn’t seen that when I read it made it really stick with me. It’s finding things like this that makes these projects so much fun.

Also, thanks again to Locusts of Egypt! They’re a local band in Denver that a coworker introduced me to. Everyone knows someone who knows someone in a band. Small, local groups that make music because they love to do so, while holding down regular full-time jobs. Ask around, and then go see them. It’s a lot of fun, it’s a bonding experience, and often you’ll find some great musicians that you’d never have heard otherwise. Plus, they’re much more likely to let you use one of their songs for background music in your own projects when they know you as a fan and you already have good rapport. :)