This Gun in My Hand

Love at First Sound - Episode 149

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 5 Apr 2026 13:28:00 -0700

How do you convey love at first sight on an audio-only medium? What does that sound like? What in tarnation has got into you? Listen to find out!

Love at First Sound, episode 149 of This Gun in My Hand, was [finger pop from mouth][side of mouth razz][quick burst of siren whistle][GUN_FIRE] by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. This episode is dedicated to Melinda [TING], and to our good friends Patrick and Anita celebrating their honeymoon on Ganymede. [Ting, Ting!] What’s the best way to coax the delicate flower of love to blossom? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. I keep trying to make a joke that shows on shortwave radio are second-rate compared with FM radio. Melinda, being a longtime expert, reminded me that people in our time like Alex Jones, ReviewBrah and various cult leaders have to pay extra to have their shows broadcast on shortwave. So maybe it should be considered a status symbol instead of a mark of weakness.

2. Listeners have already heard The Cherry Pachyderm’s real name, Latthew Morressier, during his first appearance in episode 24, “Consulting Defectives.” He forgot but I didn’t.
https://archive.org/details/tgimh-24-consulting-defectives

3. It came out sounding like I’m dragging hillbillies for hoping their kids take the same job their father and grandfather had, but it’s not what I intended. I think this expectation is similar for people all over the US. Even though my grandfather (the master plumber) and my dad (the steamfitter) would be glad I got an office job instead of following in their footsteps, there’s a part of me that feels like I let them down by taking a different path.

Credits:
Music in this episode came from these public domain films:
The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), Too Late for Tears (1949, aka Killer Bait) and The Big Combo (1955). Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: Run-Out Groove of a 78 RPM Record – Archival Noise Texture by Auroch_Media
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/440733/

Sound Effect Title: Xylo N&D 72 C4.aif by beskhu
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/273879/

Sound Effect Title: Glockenspiel_46_f4_04 by cabled_mess
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/348924/

Sound Effect Title: Piano Note.wav by kelsey_w
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/s/467047/

Sound Effect Title: medium wine glass.wav by Tairblenn
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/549900/

Sound Effect Title: Car_motor_Sound.m4a
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Blizzard123/sounds/504633/#

Sound Effect Title: Traffic mel 1.wav by malupeeters
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/malupeeters/sounds/191350/

Sound Effect Title: Clothing_ShirtsandPants_Rustling.wav by duckduckpony
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/204016/

Sound Effect Title: Heels on Pavement.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/B.Harkins/sounds/683658/

Sound Effect Title: banjo song.mp3 by Prime45
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/522715/

Sound Effect Title: Toy Gun 7
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/giddster/sounds/434720/

Sound Effect Title: laser gun
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Superglue28/sounds/499696/

Sound Effect Title: Horse Whinny 1.wav by GoodListener
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/s/322445/

Music Title: Händel’s Messiah
Composed by Georg Friedrich Händel
Performed by Orchestra Gli Armonici
License: Public Domain
https://musopen.org/music/5876-messiah-hwv-56/

Music Title: Fugato in e minor, BWV 962
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Performed by Gunnar Johansen
License: Public Domain
https://musopen.org/music/45623-fugato-in-e-minor-bwv-962/

Sound Effect Title: Tarzan Yell by Buster Crabbe from Tarzan the Fearless (1933)
License: Public Domain

Sound Effect Title: Boing.wav by juskiddink
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/140867/

Music Title: Munniharppua.ogg
By ElectricToothpaste
License: Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0
via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Munniharppua.ogg

Sound Effect Title: Siren Whistle 02.wav by FreqMan
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/88425/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the cover of Confessions of Love, July 1952, Number 11, art possibly by Manny Stallman, AC Hollingsworth and/or Norm Nodel. Public Domain.

Image Alt text: In colorful comic book line art, a young man and woman embrace and kiss passionately. Both have black hair. He wears a long sleeved red shirt. She wears a blue blouse. They’re surrounded by a green leaves and magnolia flowers and branches with blue jays on them. Above them in script letters are the words “Love At First Sound.”

The Yeast of These My Brethren - Episode 148

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 08:58:00 -0700

How will Falk take down a bank robber when aromatic, freshly minted heroes keep getting in the way? What’s their origin story? You own some carnival rides? Listen to find out!

The Yeast of These My Brethren, episode 148 of This Gun in My Hand, was punched into shape by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and would it kill ya to buy my books? Such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. Why do they always need irradiated chemicals when the best origin is This Gun in My Hand?!

Show Notes:
1. From the Bible, King James Version, Matthew 25:40: “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

2. Obvious mistake I didn’t notice until after recording. Beer Man says he gained his powers last week. Then he mentions using his powers for three months. Continuity is hard! A no-prize will be awarded to anyone who rationalizes those statements.

Credits:
Music in this episode came from these public domain films:
The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and Too Late for Tears (1949, aka Killer Bait). Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Ironized Yeast Tonic radio commercial, vintage unknown, assumed to be public domain.
https://www.oldradioworld.com/media/Vintage%20Commercials%20Ironized%20Yeast.mp3

Sound Effect Title: 22lr Caliber Rifle Shots and Reloading
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/717133/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: Kimmokkeita / Ricochets by YleArkisto
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/YleArkisto/sounds/401921/

Sound Effect Title: Metal Frame.mp3 by TheBoulder3400
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/636096/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: Hose Sounds.mp3 by JazzyBay
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/JazzyBay/sounds/435052/

Sound Effect Title: Spraying water from a garden hose by meisterjaan
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/s/323485/

Sound Effect Title: Leather Car Seat 2 by Filmscore
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/830202/

Sound Effect Title: Car_motor_Sound.m4a
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Blizzard123/sounds/504633/#

The image accompanying this episode is a modified version of a print ad for ironized yeast, assumed to be public domain, date and artist unknown.

Image Alt text: Print magazine ad for Ironized Yeast featuring a photo of a woman in a striped bathing suit next to a comic strip. A word balloon above the woman in the photo has her saying ‘If men “hate the sight of you”--read this–.’ In the first panel of the comic, two young men run past an emaciated woman in a black one-piece bathing suit. One of the men says, “Let’s beat it__here comes that skinny dame.” The second ad shows the skinny dame seated wearing a short sleeve top with possibly ragged sleeve edges. As she reads a newspaper with a prominent ad headlined “GAIN 10 LBS,” she says, “Men hate the sight of me, I’m so skinny. I’m going to try Ironized Yeast.” The third panel has a black arrow labeled “A FEW WEEKS LATER” pointing towards the action. A smiling woman filling out a bikini, no longer a skinny dame, poses with one hand on hip and the other on the back of her hair. A young man in dark shorts holds her bicep in one hand, saying, “You’re gorgeous since you’ve gained weight!” Two other men in the background run towards them. Across the bottom, large letters read, “THOUSANDS OF SKINNY GIRLS GAIN 10 TO 20 LBS.–QUICK!”

Episode Archive

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 05:37:00 -0700

1. Skee-Ball Racket

2. The Whole Story

3. Not So Heroic

4. Good Guys vs. Good Gals

5. The Quiz Scam

6. Want To Be Heroes

7. The Only Thing That Stops a Few Bad Apples

8. Zildjian's Pal, Lemmy Jolson

9. Invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer

10. You're Tellin Me

11. Curse of the Bubbe

12. Made in The Shade

13. OnlyPhantasm

14. Naked Save

15. Gun Buyback

16. How Many

17. The Long, Dark Night Vision Scope of the Soul

18. Unboxing Murder

19. Sidekickoff

20. Infern-O-Scope

21. The Vaudevillain

22. Caught Offguard

23. Huckster Racket

24. Consulting Defectives

25. Nick Carper and the Evaporating Arsonist

26. This Gun in My Coffin

27. Hardly Boiled

28. Volumes of Daddy Issues

29. Escape From Greektown

30. Army of Emmas

31. Take A Powder

32. The Highwayman

33. The Land Lord

34. 2 Fast 2 Boggan

35. Crypt O' Knight

36. D is for Dirigible

37. Strikeforce Shakespeare

38. Why We Fight

39. Time-Bomb in a Clock Shop

40. Vivant You

41. Dial M for Merlot

42. Pillow Falk

43. The Roan Ranger

44. Here Comes Satanic Claws

45. Can You Say Falk

46. Who Do You Think You Are

47. Heist Row Maestro

48. All Fashion Police Are Fabulous

49. Newsy Duel

50. The Shady Aviator

51. Flinch Zipjam in the Negative Space

52. Goodbye, Honey

53. Struggle Session

54. Look Out, Moon Featuring Captain Rogers

55. This Frog in My Hand

56. Please Kill Responsibly

57. Cultivating Leverage

58. Dew Drop Innuendo

59. Publisher War Zone

60. Hush, Sweet Zildjian

61. The Boy Who Cried What's That Thing in Ya Hand

62. Can We Talk?

63. Eye Captain and The Wannabes of Tomorrow

64. They Don't Call Me Spy Detainer

65. I Think You Better Come See This

66. Fighter Flight

67. Warner Blunders

68. The Three Stugots

69. Heck's Pantry for the Holidays

70. Domestic Harmony

71. The Ink-Stained Corpse

72. Undeniable Narrator

73. Escalating Pitch

74. Fly Away Home

75. A Gross of Goons

76. Trail of Tentacles

77. In The Clutches of The Cuttlefish

78. Speed Detective

79. Shadow Taxi

80. Second String

81. Any Other Name

82. Out of Ideas

83. Multitracks of Madness

84. Falk Meets Fantomas

85. Sultry, Salty and Desperate

86. You Must Remember That

87. Trailmaster

88. Plan of Attack

89. Parallel

90. Nursery Crimes

91. Dungeon of Suspense

92. Falk's Brain

93. A Match Made in Heck's Pantry

94. Seduction of the Ignorant

95. Ad Space

96. Merch and Destroy

97. How Did This Gun in My Hand Get Made

98. Do Androids Dream of His Girl Friday?

99. Rats in a Cage Match

100. Parabellum City Passes a C-Note

101. World of Whispers

102. Fievel Getcha Ten

103. Violent Vacation with Peruvian Guns

104. Watching the Defectives

105. Spoonful of Lugers

106. Murder at the Job Fair for Dicks

107. No Large Bills

108. Zildjian's Away to Shropshire

109. They Can't All Be Bangers

110. This Gun is My Hand

111. Cut Down in His Prime

112. It Was a Dark and Stormy Reading of the Will

113. Don't Kid a Kidder

114. The PunGent Cleans Up

115. The Assassination of Yip Harburg by the Coward Fan Mail

116. Debut Taunts

117. The Chilling Horror That Grinds and Wiggles

118. Scrapping at the Escarpment

119. Hapless Hack of Gazpacho Gulch

120. Journey Into Fiasco

121. Uniquely Heroic Americans

122. Certainly No Angels

123. Go to Health

124. I Have Her MAC-10

125. This Hun in My Gland

126. A Song of Brass and Ash

127. Clash of the Story Boys

128. Lips That Yearn

129. No Accounting for Taste

130. Shoot the Moon

131. Johnny Got His Gun in My Hand

132. A Very Special Thirty-Eight

133. On Her Majesty's Secret Scamper

134. This Banjo on My Knee

135. Falk Meets Mat Ban

136. The Bitter Tears of Petra Wojciehowicz

137. Gold Dentures

138. Black Cats and Bad Habits

139. Bottle Episode

140. Passage to the Orient

141. Bringing a Gun to a Fistfight

142. When the Revolution Scrums

143. Dead End on Holiday Road

144. Humoresce Anecdotage

145. This Wrench in My Gears

146. On the Gunny Side of the Street

147. The Downside of Uplifting

148. The Yeast of These My Brethren

149. Love at First Sound

Mini-Series

Most episodes are meant to stand on their own, but a few are directly connected to each other as mini-series.

Hardly Boiled (episodes 27-31)

The Cuttlefish (episodes 76-77)

Dungeon of Suspense (episodes 91-92)

Unofficial Pilot Episode

The Liability of Keiko (Sept. 7, 2020) - Before I wrote and posted the first episode of This Gun in My Hand on October 14, 2020, I made this one-shot audio drama, a brief exchange between El Hornet Verde and his faithful valet Kato, I mean Keiko.

You might also enjoy The First Kato, a non-fiction biographical piece about Raymond Tokutaro Muramoto, the voice actor who originated the part of Kato on The Green Hornet radio show.

The Downside of Uplifting - Episode 147

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 08:08:00 -0700

Will Falk survive a journey through the gentle but confounding borderlands of the Tealight Zone with a bloodthirsty villain on his trail? Will they put him in gaol? ¿Qué onda, güero? Listen to find out!

The Downside of Uplifting, episode 147 of This Gun in My Hand, was lifted upside down by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my wholesome books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. How do I say goodnight? With This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. The creator and narrator of The Waltons, Earl Hamner Jr., got his big break in Hollywood when one of his scripts was accepted for The Twilight Zone. I swear I didn’t find that out until this episode was half finished.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Hamner_Jr.

2. The actor Will Geer was a bisexual communist who pled the fifth in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951 and somehow managed to come back as the wholesome Zebulon “Grandpa” Walton in the 1970s.
https://travsd.wordpress.com/2019/03/09/will-geer-queer-communist-and-as-american-as-apple-pie/

3. For more stories about Half-Pint stealing a Native American baby and her Pa stealing gold, read Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities by Rob Northrup. Available in ebook and paperback at
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Heist-Woods-Revisionist-Atrocities/dp/B0DPDGW52B/

4. Juan-Boy gets mugged in Wheeling, West Virginia in season one, episode 20, broadcast Feb 8, 1973. I mean, if there had been a tv show called The Wholesomes, that’s when it might have been.

5. Other more or less wholesome tv shows I love are Cranford, Return to Cranford, and Lark Rise to Candleford, which are not mentioned in this episode because they were covered adequately in Episode 108, “Zildjian’s Away to Shropshire.”
https://archive.org/details/tgimh-108-zildjians-away-to-shropshire

6. For the record, I didn’t copy the exact audio of harmonica and xylophone notes from any tv show. I recreated it with an actual harmonica (one chord, not very difficult) and one pre-recorded xylophone note. Took me twenty minutes of manipulation to sound more or less right.

Guest starring Melinda as Abuelita (Esther Wholesome)!

Sound Effect Title: G17-03-Barnyard with Chickens.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/438149/

Sound Effect Title: R24-06-Barnyard Ambience.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/479606/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps on gravel by Joozz
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/Joozz/sounds/531952/

Sound Effect Title: Xylo N&D 72 C4.aif by beskhu
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/273879/

Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot) by Carmelomike
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: Crickets.wav by ItsTheGoodstuff
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/656116/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a public domain etching print titled “Landscape with Six Single Trees and Three Small Farm-Houses” by Augustin Hirschvogel (1503-1553).
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Augustin_Hirschvogel,_Landscape_with_Six_Single_Trees_and_Three_Small_Farm-Houses,_NGA_37108.jpg

Image Alt text: An etching of a farmhouse with trees to the sides, a cart or wagon in front of it, and a mountain or hill rising behind and to the side. The lines are dark brown and all the background is pale custard.

On the Gunny Side of the Street - Episode 146

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 06:23:00 -0800

What if this beautiful day is just a dream? What if it’s a story contrived by someone with ulterior motives? What does a guy gotta do to get some shut-eye around here? Listen to find out!

On the Gunny Side of the Street, episode 146 of This Gun in My Hand, was brought to light by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. With what do I pierce the veil between our illusory existence and the dark truth underlying it all? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. For Cherry Pachyderm’s arguments that chili does not exist, listen to episode 73, “Escalating Pitch.”
https://archive.org/details/tgimh-73-escalating-pitch

2. In an earlier episode, Cherry Pachyderm describes the emblem on his chest as a cherry tree. The elephant is hiding in the cherry tree so you can’t see it. People were confused by his emblem and started calling him “Cherry Tree,” so he changed it to a red elephant at some point. [This is a retcon. Outside of the story, I just forgot what his emblem was and thought it was always an elephant. I caught this mistake before recording the episode and wrote dialog for him to explain it, but it was too boring. Now it’s a little lagniappe for people who read the show notes!]

3. After Cherry mentions the germ theory of disease, I was going to make a dig at RFK jr’s preferred “miasma theory” of disease. But it’s supposed to be a happy story to take your mind off our grim reality.

Credits:
The opening and closing music in this episode came from two public domain films, The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950) and Killer Bait (1949). Most of the music and sound effects are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Perfect SongBirds (Seamlessly Loopable) by DreamSavvyr
License: Public domain
https://freesound.org/s/781115/

Sound Effect Title: Park ambience - mostly birds
License: Public domain
https://freesound.org/people/Mafon2/sounds/274175/#

Sound Effect Title: children1.mp3 by yacou
License: Public domain
https://freesound.org/s/190894/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: FEETHmn-MCU_Footsteps, On Grass_Nicholas Judy_TDC by designerschoice
License: Public domain
https://freesound.org/s/807862/

Sound Effect Title: hamp rope creaks by 6polnic
License: Public domain
https://freesound.org/s/231438/

Music title: On the Sunny Side of the Street
Composed by Jimmy McHugh (some think it was Fats Waller)
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Performed by Ted Lewis and his Band, 1930
License: Public domain
https://archive.org/details/78_on-the-sunny-side-of-the-street_ted-lewis-and-his-band_wave

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail from this public domain photograph:
Title: Detail view of terrazzo floor medallion - National Zoological Park, Elephant House, 3001 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, DC.
Photographer: Rosenthal, James W.
License: Public domain
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detail_view_of_terrazzo_floor_medallion_-_National_Zoological_Park,_Elephant_House,_3001_Connecticut_Avenue_NW,_Washington,_District_of_Columbia,_DC_HABS_dc-777-C-26.tif

Image Alt text: A red pictogram of an elephant on a circular white background, surrounded by more red. The whole thing is shot through with light and dark gray flecks as if rusted or distressed.

This Wrench in My Gears - Episode 145

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 11:23:00 -0800

What could you do to frustrate or delay the jackbooted thugs in your community if you lived under an authoritarian regime? Where can you find more practical methods of sabotage? What’s the hair and salt for? Listen to find out!

This Wrench in My Gears, episode 145 of This Gun in My Hand, was maliciously wrecked by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What do I use on slot machines to avoid developing a gambling problem? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:

1. This episode was inspired by Mother Bone's posts about the Simple Sabotage Field Manual, released internally in 1944 by the OSS (predecessor of the CIA) and declassified in 2018. The concepts could be used today by anyone resisting an occupying force or authoritarian regime. Direct quotes from the manual appear throughout this episode.

https://archive.org/details/simplesabotagefi26184gut/page/n5/mode/2up

2. I have pocket knives with pictures of Tarzan and Lash LaRue on the handles. Here’s a picture of a colorful Hopalong Cassidy pocket knife:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1068482143/vintage-hopalong-cassidy-pocket-knife?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

3. I thought I was being ridiculous imagining slot machines branded with 1930s comic strip characters, but apparently there was really a Blondie machine at some point, and just last year they released a video slot machine featuring The Phantom.

https://www.aristocratgaming.com/us/slots/games/the-phantom

4. Anachronism! Lash LaRue’s first film appearance was in 1944, and he only began to star in Westerns around 1947.

4. Anachronism! The comic strip Sad Sack was first published in Yank, The Army Weekly in June 1942. The generic expression “sad sack” may not have been common until after the comic strip became popular.

Credits:

Music in this episode came from three public domain films:

The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph, 1948), and Killer Bait (1949). Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Heels on Pavement.wav

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/people/B.Harkins/sounds/683658/

Sound Effect Title: School door with metal latch inside.aif by timonunderwater

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/532788/

Fair use brief audio clip of William Shatner taken from outtake of a recording session for the 1993 PC Game Star Trek: Judgment Rites.

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a photograph by Horst Grund from 1943 titled “Sizilien, Reifenpanne mit VW-Kübelwagen.” Italy, Sicily, 1943. A flat tire on a VW-Kübelwagen, soldier with jack going to replace the tire. By Bundesarchiv, Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike Germany 3.0. (Note that the CC Attribution-Share Alike license applies only to this image, not to the text or audio from this episode.)

Image Alt text: Color photo of a soldier in short sleeves and khaki shorts cranking a jack along the driver’s side of a VW Kubelwagen with a flat tire. The hood over the engine compartment in the rear of the car is open. The car is beige, dirty and worn. The background appears to be a large body of water or sea with hills or mountains rising over it. The photo was taken in Sicily, Italy, in 1943. I’m not familiar enough with military uniforms to tell if this is a German or Italian soldier.

Humoresce Anecdotage - Episode 144

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 03:43:00 -0800

What if logicality warping? Source of warpage unknown. Gun hero prancing for answers. Will satisfying resolution evince? Only listeners find out!

Humoresce Anecdotage, episode 144 of This Gun in My Hand, was Tuesday banister by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What if cantina pickle destiny? That Gun Right There!

Show Notes:
1. Madison Standish is the star of Madison On the Air, an audio drama podcast about an internet influencer zapped into old time radio shows. The scripts are taken from actual shows, rewritten to insert Madison and performed by a modern cast. Highly recommended.
https://www.madisonontheair.com/

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Music surrounding or during commercials came from “Journey Into Fear,” an episode of the radio show Hour of Mystery first broadcast on June 9, 1946.

Sound Effect Title: Glitch Element 13.wav by Glitchedtones
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/223311/

Sound Effect Title: Glitch Element 05.wav by Glitchedtones
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/223304/

Sound Effect Title: Glitch Element 06.wav by Glitchedtones
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/223303/

Sound Effect Title: BitCrushedGlitch1.wav by NickR2020
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/s/525050/

Sound Effect Title: wetfart glitch.flac by dudebroman2
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/592181/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: G32-08-Buzzing Sparks.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/438492/

Sound Effect Title: modem_sounds.wav by joedeshon
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/80288/

Sound Effect Title: d_s478_riding.wav by relwin
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/686059/

Sound Effect Title: emmentaler steam train.mp3 by Zozzy
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/56645/

Sound Effect Title: Stomach Rumble
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/yrdn/sounds/473989/

Sound Effect Title: Industrial Buzz 2.wav by DeVern
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/346396/

Music Title: Unus Ex Discipulis Meis (You Are One of My Students)
Composed by Tomás Luis de Victoria
Performed by Anonymous Choir
License: Public Domain
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Anonymous_Choir/Toms_Luis_de_Victorias_Unus_Ex_Discipulis_Meis/Unus_Ex_Discipulis_Meis/

Sound Effect Title: hamster in a jar.wav by Liancu
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/344728/

Sound Effect Title: Mouse Squeaks.wav by shyguy014
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/463789/

Sound Effect Title: Stampede by bevibeldesign
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/350425/

Sound Effect Title: Hand saw by SoundsLikeYukon
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/760611/

The image accompanying this episode is a collage including:
1. Background “VaporwaveWP3Print by Mike Grauer Jr_CC-BY. License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_grauer/26310058937/
2. The comic book figure on the left of the picture is from the public domain comic All-True Detective Cases Number 1 (1952), art by Vince Alascia. The hand with gun is from the same issue, artist unknown.

Image Alt text: A wobbly grid extends across a floor changing from light purple to pink as it moves to the horizon, where it forms jagged, transparent mountains. A too-spherical yellow-orange globe sits on the center of the horizon, the violet sky above dotted with stars. On the left of the landscape, a man in a brown suit and hat seems to halt in the middle of running, his hands splayed to his sides. From the lower right corner of the image, a hand aims a revolver at the startled man.

Dead End on Holiday Road - Episode 143

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Mon, 8 Dec 2025 03:55:00 -0800

Will Falk and Reverend Gusmacher survive the rows of gunbots waiting to receive them in Santopolis? Will they repel the robot invasion? When did rectal digital examination become common practice? Listen in case you might find out!

Dead End on Holiday Road, episode 143 of This Gun in My Hand, was up-armored and driven by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What will the Sandman bring you this year? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Reverend Gusmacher acts like a jerk in some ways. This is not meant as a generalization about the behavior of all clergy or members of his denomination. Any factual errors should be blamed on the characters, not the writer.
2. Why does Falk say “robit” sometimes and “robot” other times? Because he’s making an effort to say it the way everybody else does but forgetting sometimes.

Sound Effect Title: chugging diesel (bus) and rev.MP3
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/CraftyIndividual/sounds/418436/

Sound Effect Title: WaHi Airbrakes blast.mp3
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/chripei/sounds/393663/

Sound Effect Title: Gear Grinding Sound Effect 14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixw7jInQvKo

Sound Effect Title: 38 Caliber Gun Shot 5x
Recorded by Mike Koenig
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/375-38-Caliber-Gun-Shot-5x.html

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: Machine gun.wav by CGEffex
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/101962/

Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot) by Carmelomike
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/

Sound Effect Title: S18-25 Rifle shots battle.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/675666/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the back cover from the public domain Greyhound promotional comic book Driving Like a Pro (1958), artist unknown.
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=31501

Image Alt text: Comic book art of a passenger bus, an angled view near the front door. A smiling man in dark blue uniform and cap holds the door open as he moves to enter it. Behind him, a young boy in yellow and black short-sleeved shirt waves. Near the top, it’s labeled DEAD END ON HOLIDAY ROAD. A box near bottom right is labeled EPISODE 143 OF THIS GUN IN MY HAND. A word balloon aimed at the man says, “Sorry, Billy. I’ve got to weld steel plates on this bus so I can deliver the padre to testify against robot imposters in Santopolis. We can play catch later, if I survive.”

When the Revolution Scrums - Episode 142

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:23:00 -0800

The Revolution has come and it’s interrupting a team meeting. Who are these brave men and women fighting for freedom, wherever there’s trouble? Will Falk stand with them or against them? Would you believe I’m a cyborg? Listen to find out!

When the Revolution Scrums, episode 142 of This Gun in My Hand, was produced by the means of Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. How do I signal the beginning or end of the two week intervals by which we measure progress in the revolution? With This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Thanks to W. Town Andrews for pointing out the mispronunciation of “Tagalog” in episode 140.
2. The Witchy Lion Closet was published in 1950, so Billy must have heard the story from Catch-2022.

Sound Effect Title: gavel-double.flac
By zerolagtime (Sen. John Kerry recorded from C-Span)
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/zerolagtime/sounds/70069/

Sound Effect Title: 38 Caliber Gun Shot 5x
Recorded by Mike Koenig
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/375-38-Caliber-Gun-Shot-5x.html

Sound Effect Title: Kicking/Forcing/Breaking Wooden Door
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/160213/

Sound Effect Title: Running in boots on wood floors by ayse.j.e
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/785429/

Commercial Song Title: The Fairy Queen, Z. 629
Composed by Henry Purcell, 1692.
Performed by Carl Pini, John Tunnell, Anthony Pini and Harold Lester.
License: Public Domain
https://musopen.org/music/11140-the-fairy-queen-z629/

Sound Effect Title: Wind-up Crank by RICHERlandTV
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/265614/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Sound Effect Title: R02-06-Medium Crowd Applause.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/480682/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: G32-08-Buzzing Sparks.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/438492/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail from The Uprising by Diego Rivera, 1931.

Image Alt text: Painting of a battle between men in beige uniforms and workers in newsboy caps and blue overalls waving red flags or banners. In the foreground, an angry woman in an orange dress carrying a baby pushes away a sabre thrust by one of the soldiers. A man next to her pulls away to avoid the thrust. There’s a man on the ground behind them clutching his stomach or chest.

Bringing a Gun to a Fistfight - Episode 141

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:42:00 -0800

Why is a bank robber giving up so easily in the middle of a gunfight? Why did he bring a crowd of people to cheer him on? Who chose the snacks to sell at this spectacle? Listen to find out!

Bringing a Gun to a Fistfight, episode 141 of This Gun in My Hand, was set-up and knocked down by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. How do I keep lawns tidy? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:

1. The expression “win one for the Gipper” came from the film Knute Rockne, All-American, released in October 1940.

2. This episode was inspired by the 1949 film The Set-Up. Doses of wicked humor between scenes of drama and tension and cynicism.

Credits:

The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950). Music throughout the first commercial came from The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph, 1948), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), all three films in the public domain. Music from the second commercial came from the radio show Hour of Mystery, first broadcast June 9th, 1946. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot) by Carmelomike

License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou

License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: Manwe-metal_tools_on_concrete.wav by Manwe

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/238650/

Sound Effect Title: single classic blink.wav by ShangASDFGuy123

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/795943/

Sound Effect Title: G30-69-Outdoor Crowd Walla.wav

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/438429/

Sound Effect Title: Machine gun.wav by CGEffex

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/101962/

Sound Effect Title: S29-08 Navy ship classic danger whistle siren.wav by craigsmith

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/675782/

Sound Effect Title: Bare feet on wood floor.wav by treblemaker69

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/565609/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified panel from the public domain comic book Web of Mystery, July 1954, issue 25. Artist unknown.

Image Alt text: Line art from a comic book. One silhouetted figure slugs another in the stomach. The background is all yellow, a row of spectators gathered around the fighters. The caption across the top reads “BRINGING A GUN TO A FISTFIGHT!” One of the spectators says, “Don’t listen to that dame, Joe. I been wit ya from the starta your career. Don’t I make sure they take all the butterscotch disks outta the candy dish in ya dressing room?”

Passage to the Orient - Episode 140

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 11:49:00 -0700

Imagine a mild-mannered white guy who takes on a non-white identity to fight crime. Wouldn’t 1939 radio producers do an amazing job with that? Listen to find out!

Passage to the Orient, episode 140 of This Gun in My Hand, was smuggled into your ears by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What martial art is even more deadly than ninyutsu? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:

1. “Castello” means castle in Italian, “Lupo” means wolf, and “roccia” means “rock.” In German it would be something like “Wolfenstein.”

2. Raymond Tokutaro Muramoto, the voice actor who originated Kato on the Green Hornet radio show, was a Japanese immigrant. In real life, he was sent to an internment camp during World War II. Here’s a short bio I wrote about him:

https://archive.org/details/the-first-kato

http://dayjobspodcast.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-first-kato.html

3. Read more about the young political firebrand Nguyễn Ái Quốc after whom Harlan plans to name his radio hero:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh

4. As always, listeners should be skeptical of any claims made by characters in the show, especially if they’re trying to define a term like “code-switching” that hadn’t been coined and wasn’t in use in 1939. The opinions of these clowns do not necessarily reflect my own so I’m off the hook for any lies or mistakes they make.

5. This episode was inspired by Straight Arrow, a radio show broadcast from 1948-1951. An Apache orphan raised by a white couple maintains the identity of “Steve Adams” until it’s time to fight crime as Apache warrior “Straight Arrow.” Elements were ripped off from The Lone Ranger, like the cavern full of gold that funds his crime-fighting. Only his trusted friend “Packy” the crusty miner who sounds like Gabby Hayes knows the truth. Lots of talk about his innate Apache abilities, his keen Indian eyesight, and Straight Arrow drops his voice and speaks haltingly, although not quite in broken English like Tonto.

https://www.radioechoes.com/?page=series&genre=OTR-Western&series=Straight%20Arrow

Credits:

The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Matkustajakone / Passenger plane DC-3 (Dakota) - Sisällä / Inside by YleArkisto

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/406952/

Sound Effect Title: FOLEY_Footsteps_Metal_002.wav by conleec

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/149454/

Sound Effect Title: Wind shaking a tree, loud and muffled gust of wind recorded in Nebraska by felix.blume

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/657003/

Sound Effect Title: Cracking wood by JappeHallunken

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/501302/

Sound Effect Title: dry branches cracking.aiff by SoundCollectah

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/109357/

Sound Effect Title: Foley_Natural_Wood_Barks_Crush_Mono.wav by Nox_Sound

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/558380/

Sound Effect Title: Rustling leaves by giddster

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/437356/

Sound Effect Title: Walking Through Tall Grass by naturenotesuk

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/698895/

Sound Effect Title: dawn_birds.wav by paul.h

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/557332/

Sound Effect Title: Usignolo - Nightingale by danygdanyg

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/234169/

Sound Effect Title: Tuscan Birdsong.wav by gazsound

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/156002/

Sound Effect Title: G57-05-Creature Getting Stabbed.wav by craigsmith

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/438891/

Sound Effect Title: G24-01-Warner Brothers Body Fall.wav by craigsmith

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/438300/

Sound Effect Title: School door with metal latch inside.aif by timonunderwater

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/532788/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: Dropping Body on Hard Ground.wav by jjhouse4

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/203039/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: S16-06 Light wooden door open & close.wav

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/675878/

Sound Effect Title: Kicking rock wall and almost falling. by Edelhanie

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/594623/

Sound Effect Title: Air raid siren in Kyiv by Romaner66

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/676589/

Sound Effect Title: 22lr Caliber Rifle Shots and Reloading

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/717133/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the back cover of Terry and the Pirates (Big Little Book #1156) released in 1935, art and text attributed to Milton Caniff, public domain.

Image Alt text: Colorful line art drawing from the perspective of a pier. In the foreground is a white boat with red cabin. The sail on a single mast is lowered and furled. A man lounges in a wooden chair, tipped back behind the ship’s wheel, his feet propped on the rail of the boat with a fan in his hand. Judging by the small smokestack over the cabin, it has an engine, or maybe it’s a vent for a stove. Close to the front of the boat, we can see the aft and steering oar of a Chinese junk. Both vessels appear to be moored to the pier. A bay with distant strips of land stretches toward the horizon with two junks a short distance away, their sails yellow and green and red. Massive white clouds take up almost half of the view.

Bottle Episode - Episode 139

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 07:17:00 -0700

Why did Falk follow Petra into this stupid walk-in refrigerator? Why are the shelves filled with human heads in bottles? Are you some kind of non-partisan, crime-adjacent figure? Listen to find out!

Bottle Episode, This Gun in My Hand’s 139th, was kept alive and shoved in a jar by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. Which is the real monster, the creator? His creation? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:

1. Falk’s claim about what temperature constitutes “t-shirt weather” in Michigan is debatable. You’ll see some people not of sound minds wearing short sleeves and shorts at 30 F or less.

2. The Technocrat quotes from the Wikipedia entry on Dubstep without giving attribution. He might be a plagiarist but I’m not. This is me, Rob Northrup, giving attribution that I quoted most of a line from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep which “emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended two-step rhythms and sparse dub production, incorporating elements of broken beat, grime, and drum and bass.”

3. Musical subgenres are way too arcane for me to understand so my characters don’t understand it either. I’m not vouching for any of the claims they make.

Credits:

The opening and later music clips were from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Large Refrigerator compressor hum 1 by FOSSarts

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/740110/

Sound Effect Title: Hissing.m4a by TheScarlettWitch89

License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

https://freesound.org/s/415287/

Sound Effect Title: School door with metal latch inside.aif by timonunderwater

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/532788/

Sound Effect Title: School door with metal latch inside.aif by timonunderwater

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/532788/

Sound Effect Title: Heavy_door_lock.wav by beerbelly38

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/197305/

Music Title: You’re Driving Me Crazy

Composed by Walter Donaldson, 1930

Performed by Lennington H. Shewell and Allan McIver.

License: Public Domain

https://archive.org/details/VictorThereminRecordingsCollection1925-1935/You're+Driving+Me+Crazy+1930+VIctor+Theremin+-+Victor+216559.mp3

Sound Effect Title: techloop7.wav by fons

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/62441/

Sound Effect Title: TECHNO LOOP 1.wav by adamskitek

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/33585/

Sound Effect Title: TECHNO LOOP SPEEDY J STYLEE.wav by adamskitek

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

https://freesound.org/s/33614/

Sound Effect Title: Kick Bass Bassline OffBeat Loop F#1 142bpm PsyTrance Vol3 SYNDRM.wav by SYNDRM

License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

https://freesound.org/s/612061/

Sound Effect Title: Drum & Bass Drum Loop 02 by TheEndOfACycle

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/660537/

Sound Effect Title: Edm Strontium Sweep with reverb.wav by LeeNath

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/277409/

Sound Effect Title: bass_line_drums_jz22.mp3 by JoaoSantaCruz

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/s/649209/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav

License: Public Domain

https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a panel from the public domain comic book Forbidden Worlds, Number 33, September 1954. Pencils and inks by Lloyd Cynwald.

Image Alt text: Line art panel from a comic book. A man with red hair wearing green scrubs and holding a scalpel leans over a man on a gurney or table, covered by a white sheet. Angled skylight windows are behind the surgeon. A light hangs low over the table. Dark glass jars like you might see in a laboratory are in the foreground, connected to each other by tubes. Caption across the top reads “HOW WILL FALK AND PETRA ESCAPE – THE BOTTLE EPISODE!” A word balloon pointing to the surgeon reads, “OH MY GOD, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TECHNO! THE TEREMIN INFLUENCE COMES FROM PETROGRAD, BUT ANY IDIOT KNOW THAT DUBSTEP EMERGED AS A UK GARAGE OFFSHOT BLENDING 2-STEP RHYTHMS WITH SPARSE…” The font in the word balloon gets smaller and smaller toward the end.

Black Cats and Bad Habits - Episode 138

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 06:31:00 -0700

Another day, another public brawl on the streets of Parabellum City. Will Falk quell the unrest and clean up the streets? Are there laws requiring reporters to have alliterative names and film critics to use French terms? Listen to find out!

Black Cats and Bad Habits, episode 138 of This Gun in My Hand, was Rob Northrup crossing your path. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What contains several bits which can form a fragmentary story when used together? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. The Black Cat in this episode is NOT a rip-off of the Marvel comics character with the same name. It’s a rip-off of the public domain superhero Black Cat who first appeared in Pocket Comics #1, August 1941, and had her own title from Harvey Comics with various name changes (Black Cat Western Comics, Black Cat Mystery Comics, Black Cat Mystic) until 1963.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_(Harvey_Comics)

2. When Wordplay took his second play “Shoot” on tour, he found it was not as popular outside of Parabellum City.

3. Lana Krang presumably uses a paper or cardstock folder for her Bits file. Mine is digital but the filename is “Bits.”

4. If I was trying to cheer up Miss Krang, I’d remind her of some artistically and monetarily successful novelists who were late bloomers: Umberto Eco wrote a lot of non-fiction before his first novel, The Name of the Rose, was published when he was 50. Alan Bradley was 71 when his excellent first novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, was published. Many such cases.

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the transitional and closing music were from The Big Combo (1955), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: The cat begs for food. Meowing.wav by tosha73
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/548352/

Sound Effect Title: HARP GLISSANDO DOWN.WAV
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/olver/sounds/505064/

Sound Effect Title: Cat Eating Dry Food by qubodup
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/218181/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: Kicking/Forcing/Breaking Wooden Door
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/160213/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: Foley_Phone_Old_PickUp_HangUp_Mono.wav by Nox_Sound
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/559475/

Sound Effect Title: Clean phone tones.wav by FreqMan
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/24371/

Sound Effect Title (coin drop): Pay Phone.wav by everythingsounds
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/197141/

Sound Effect Title: phone rotary dial number.flac by kyles
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/637751/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified version of a public domain postcard painting by Frances Brundage, via Wikimedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frances_Brundage_schwarze_Katze.jpg

Image Alt text: Painting from an old greeting card by Frances Brundage shows a rosy-cheeked little blond girl in a black hat with a red ribbon and bow around it, somewhere between a witch’s hat and a Puritan’s hat. She holds up a distressed black kitten with a huge red bow and ribbon around its neck. The girl wears a white shirt with sleeves to her elbows and a red shawl.

Gold Dentures - Episode 137

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sat, 6 Sep 2025 03:01:00 -0700

How much is a set of gold dentures worth? How many people have to die before this lovable American scoundrel in Havana and his lovely, smokey-voiced ward decide “will they or won’t they?” Listen to find out!

Gold Dentures, episode 137 of This Gun in My Hand, was crafted and gilded by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon.

How do I sound like someone from a foreign land? This Gun in My Hand! (Wait, I don’t mean they fire guns more often. How could anyone have more guns than Americans? Never mind. This Gun in My Hand.)

Show Notes:
1. If you haven’t heard the old time radio drama Bold Venture, you should give it a try. It ran from 1951-1952, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, set in pre-Castro Cuba.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Bold_Venture_Singles

2. The part of King Moses in Bold Venture was performed by Jester Hairston. One of the first black students to attend Tufts University, Hairston studied music at Julliard, collaborated with Russian composer Dmitri Tiomkin for 30 years, wrote the song “Amen” that became a hit for The Impressions in 1964, and acted in tv and films like The Alamo, To Kill a Mockingbird, In the Heat of the Night, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and Being John Malkovich.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester_Hairston

3. Music for the Bold Venture radio show was composed by David Rose, who later wrote music for films and tv shows like Leave it to Beaver, Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. If you think of the jazzy trombone song that has become a cliche of burlesque, you’re probably thinking of Rose’s composition “The Stripper,” which hit #1 in 1962.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Rose_(songwriter)

Credits:
The opening and transitional music clips were from episodes of the public domain radio show Bold Venture. Closing music was from the public domain film Killer Bait (1949). Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Ocean waves white noisy BAHAMAS 180520.wav by TRP
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/573179/

Sound Effect Title: R28-47-Man and Woman Screaming.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/482833/

Sound Effect Title: 38 Caliber Gun Shot 5x
Recorded by Mike Koenig
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/375-38-Caliber-Gun-Shot-5x.html

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps in Sand by kessir
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/264124/

Sound Effect Title: 22lr Caliber Rifle Shots and Reloading
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/717133/

Music Title: rmr morphagene reels - latin_guitar by jjbbllkk
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/530725/

Sound Effect Title: 05 - Swing doors by 14GSionJ
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/419387/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: custom_TMNT_punch_sounds_part_2_12242024 by Artninja
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/779939/

Sound Effect Title: Coconuts hit together then fall onto a wood floor by JHo3000
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/693517/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified version of a 1940s postcard, artist unknown, presumed to be public domain.

Image Alt text: A colorful postcard labeled “Souvenir of Havana, Cuba” with a rectangle in upper right that says “PLACE STAMP HERE” and a few lines to write an address. A photo of the National Capitol Building in Havana colorized to highlight flowers, palm trees and a cloudy blue sky in the background.

The Bitter Tears of Petra Wojciehowicz - Episode 136

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 06:14:00 -0700

Has Petra finally given up her pursuit of Falk and found a new love? Is he man enough for her? Is he a man? Is stress a killer? Listen to find out!

The Bitter Tears of Petra Wojciehowicz, episode 136 of This Gun in My Hand, were dispensed from the coin-operated intelligence Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. Into what mesmerizing object do I gaze to view the future? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Anyone who grew up within broadcast range of Detroit tv in the 1980s will remember Ben Franklin’s unlikely proverb from the ubiquitous Highland Appliance commercials on Presidents’ Day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6waErG4Qwc

2. The commercial for Ghost Detective was inspired by “The Thing in The Tunnel,” an episode of Weird Circle radio show originally broadcast March 4th, 1945.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Weird_Circle_Singles

3. In November-December 1997, Burger King kid’s meals contained toys promoting the animated feature film Anastasia, including the white bat Bartok who spoke three phrases. One of the phrases was “Stress, it’s a killer.” Due to the cheap mechanism that played recorded phrases, a parent claimed on tv news that this delinquent toy was telling her child, “Hey, have a tequila.”

4. I’m almost positive Falk has used the expression “love is love” in a past episode. But his memory is as bad as mine.

Sound Effect Title: old pinball.wav by mapleleaf
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/mapleleaf/sounds/34730/

Sound Effect Title: MM Project -10 Pinball by RTB45
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/368767/

Sound Effect Title: money_box.mp3 by Taira Komori
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/212398/

Sound Effect Title: Ticket machine printing a ticket by Licorne_En_Fer
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/772976/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps on gravel by Joozz
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/Joozz/sounds/531952/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: scifi_scare_b.aiff by realtheremin
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/119012/

Sound Effect Title: Squeaky Car Door
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/coltures/sounds/262325/#

Sound Effect Title: S37-24 Car starts; revs; skids; crashes; skids; footsteps; voices sirens.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/675839/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the public domain cover of The Century, Midsummer Holiday Number 1895, from a lithograph by artist Louis Rhead (1857-1926).

Image Alt text: Colorful art nouveau style illustration of a woman in a gauzy yellow dress leaning back against a stone bench. Her right hand holds a huge brown leaf which she’s fanning over her head. Her left arm is draped along the back of the bench. Sunflowers rise behind her. We can also see a large body of water with sailboats in the background, and a small sun-dial beside her. She has brown hair and a wistful expression, maybe pleasant, maybe bored. Letters in the upper right say The Bitter Tears of Petra Wojciehowicz.

Falk Meets Mat Ban - Episode 135

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sat, 2 Aug 2025 04:03:00 -0700

Can Falk vanquish one of the grimmest, darkest, most dangerous vigilantes to ever delight audiences in our grimmest, darkest world? How do you have more than one origin story? Listen to find out!

Falk Meets Mat Ban, episode 135 of This Gun in My Hand, was grimly darkened by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. Good lord, I wrote this script so long ago, it was promoting my previous story collection. For the freshest fiction, buy my novella Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. How do I signal when the story is about to get gritty? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Catafalque Earth Moving Equipment is not affiliated with Monback Brothers Trash Hauling.

2. We did not hit this season’s quota with episode 131. But there’s still time.

3. The often-repeated origin story of a certain vigilante detective in long underwear begins with his parents getting killed after they saw The Mark of Zorro. The Crimson Clown mentioned in this episode was another anti-hero from Johnston McCulley, creator of Zorro. No films of The Crimson Clown were released in our universe, to the best of my knowledge.

4. How many spoonerisms did you count in this episode? I count at least three. I’m particularly proud of Mat Ban: The Narc Right Detournes.

Credits:
The opening music was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

The music for “Come Listen to Mat Ban” is my poor attempt to sound like Joel Mabus’s arrangement of “Blues in a Bottle,” first recorded and released 1928 by Prince Albert Hunt’s Texas Ramblers although the original author is unknown, “traditional.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfT4cJA1n64&t=29s

Sound Effect Title: Rain.WAV by inchadney
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/123703/

Sound Effect Title: Downpipe2.wav by digitfishmusic
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/digifishmusic/sounds/71594/?

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: helmutscream_short.wav by creativeheroes
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/84353/

Sound Effect Title: Wood_Creak_02.wav by dheming
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/177779/

Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot) by Carmelomike
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/

Sound Effect Title: Bouncing Glas Marbles.wav by Cymeon
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/245402/

Sound Effect Title: 06-1 Shovel by 16GPanskaKomarkova_Marina
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/496725/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps on gravel by Joozz
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/Joozz/sounds/531952/

Sound Effect Title: Beep 1 sec.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/austin1234575/sounds/213795/

Sound Effect Title: 38 Caliber Gun Shot 5x
Recorded by Mike Koenig
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/375-38-Caliber-Gun-Shot-5x.html

Sound Effect Title: Punching with ivy by itsadequate
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/s/353676/

Sound Effect Title: Punches.wav by CGEffex
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/s/94679/

Sound Effect Title: G24-01-Warner Brothers Body Fall.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/438300/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a panel from the public domain Suspense Comics Number 6, October 1944, art by John Giunta. Note that whoever lettered this page misspelled the artist’s last name. Everywhere I can find it on the web, it’s spelled “Giunta.”

Image Alt text: Comic book style line art depicts a skeletal grim reaper-type figure and faces of several people inside a black circle. An oversized string of pearls extends from one of the ghoul’s hands toward the bottom of the drawing and back up to his other hand. In the upper left is the head of a woman with black hair wearing a red fascinator. In the upper left is a man’s face with a blue fedora and blue coat collar. Fourteen other faces of men and women appear in and around the pearls. Across the top are the words ‘“...pretty pearls..pretty pearls..”’ Credits on the lower right show “Story by R. Northrup, Art by John Guinta.” It’s spelled wrong, should be Giunta. In lower right large letters say FALK MEETS MAT BAN.

Lyrics to The Ballad of Falk Zildjian (The Parabellum Citybillies Theme)

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 03:27:00 -0700

Come and listen to a story 'bout a fella named Falk
Careful how you say his name or people start to talk.
Well one fine day he was shootin' at some fools
who was counterfeitin' skee-ball tickets in a grade school.

[Spoken:] Abandoned grade school, that is. Boiler room.

Now first thing you know, Falk’s on the radio.
This Gun in My Hand is the name of his show.
Weren’t too long, he had the villains on the run.
Indomitable hero by virtue of the fact that he carries a gun.

Yer gun makes you the hero so you do the best you can.
Papers called him "menace" cuz they couldn’t spell Zildjian.
They said, "Parabellum is the place ya oughta be!"
He said, "I’m already there" and he shot 'em in the knee.

[Spoken:] The bad guy, that is. Not the newspaper men. I wish I could write rhymin' lyrics better so’s I wouldn’t have to clarify with these spoken sections.

Announcer: The Parabellum Citybillies!

Come and listen to a story 'bout some poor mountain folk.
Depression and the dustbowl ain’t no joke.
We packed up our troubles and we headed west fast.
You wanna know more, read The Grapes of Wrath.

[Spoken:] The novel, that is. Steinbeck. Hard times. Injustice.

Announcer: The Parabellum Citybillies!

This Banjo on My Knee - Episode 134

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 06:06:00 -0700

Why have the abandoned farm houses outside of town filled up and why are the squatters shooting at each other? Are they even human? What is a “mam-mama” or a “goomah?” What state is Parabellum City in? Listen to find out!

This Banjo on My Knee, episode 134 of This Gun in My Hand, was farmed and worked by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What musical instrument accompanies my lyrical exposition? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. When I moved from Michigan to Houston for a year, courting my pen-pal Melinda, I heard one of her teen-aged nieces use the term “Mam-mama” for her grandmother. I developed a theory that across the South, they keep adding the sound “mam” for every generation of a matriarch. My theory was wrong. It was just one kid who had trouble pronouncing “grandmama.”

2. “Goomah” is an Americanized pronunciation of the Italian word “comare,” informally used to mean mistress.

3. A great aunt or second cousin in my mother’s father’s family published a book of genealogy and stories about the family, including a poem by somebody way back which included the down-homey line “Now Pa, you’re fabricatin’.”

4. Another mistake I found after recording and editing which I didn’t feel like fixing: the word “this” is a demonstrative pronoun or demonstrative determiner, not a personal pronoun.

Credits:
The opening music was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Interstitial music from the public domain radio show Mystery House, “Dagger in the Dark” broadcast July 5, 1946. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Park ambience - mostly birds
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Mafon2/sounds/274175/#

Sound Effect Title: Shoe polishing - tripple wipe stroke - 221098_AshtiHari_SD100_Term4.wav by 221098HariPotter
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/221098HariPotter/sounds/655571/?

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: 38 Caliber Gun Shot 5x
Recorded by Mike Koenig
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/375-38-Caliber-Gun-Shot-5x.html

Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot) by Carmelomike
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/

Sound Effect Title: 22lr Caliber Rifle Shots and Reloading
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/717133/

Sound Effect Title: gavel-double.flac
By zerolagtime (Sen. John Kerry recorded from C-Span)
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/zerolagtime/sounds/70069/

Sound Effect Title: typewriter18.ogg by tams_kp
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/43558/

Sound Effect Title: G24-01-Warner Brothers Body Fall.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/438300/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the cover of Hillbilly Comics, Volume 1, Number 4, October 1955, by Art Gates, public domain. Full issue available at:
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=12739

Alt Image Text: Comic book line art of six stereotypical hillbillies in a sleek yellow convertible, speeding away from the silhouette of a man jumping in the distance, a word balloon saying “Stop” pointing to him. A man with black beard, no mustache and ragged hat is smiling as he leans over the steering wheel. A beautiful young black-haired woman in a patched and ragged blouse sits in the middle of the front seat with her arm behind the driver. A scowling man with a bowl haircut and grey cap (possibly a Confederate kepi) is in the passenger side of the front seat, his bare feet dangling out the side of the car with a black boar held in his lap. In the back seat are an older, heavy woman laughing widely with one tooth missing, a distressed looking young man sprawled in her lap with his feet out the side of the car, and an excited young man in a coonskin cap with a long-barrelled musket that is firing. A word balloon pointing to the man with musket says, “THIS BANJO ON MY KNEE comics.” A word balloon pointing to the driver says “SOLD TO THE AMERICAN!”

On Her Majesty's Secret Scamper - Episode 133

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 07:10:00 -0700

Summoned by a young woman, Falk returns to a mysterious estate in Shropshire that simultaneously exists in Parabellum Heights. Will Falk foil the royal kidnapping plot? How does the outcome of this adventure hinge on the undergarments of rodents? Listen to find out!

On Her Majesty’s Secret Scamper, episode 133 of This Gun in My Hand, was governed by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What do I dip in the water to propel a longship? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Melinda challenged me: “The ultimate would be [an episode about] Hamster Panties brought to you by Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.”

2. Yes, Penelope is named after the character from the animated series Hamtaro, released in the US in 2002.

3. Why does “Card Sense” Jimmy Barnes sound like a bad Ronald Coleman impression in episode 95, but like a bad Christopher Connelly impression in this episode? Because just like that other action hero known for his skill with cards, the character is sometimes British and other times American.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQJOAiukFkI

4. Falk’s earlier dalliance at Vulverwood Hall and the first appearance of Miss Carlotta Shaywood were in episode 108, “Zildjian’s Away to Shropshire.” If you can’t get enough hamster adventures, listen to episode 78, “Speed Detective.” Or “The Hamster Caper of Curtis Cleever,” a 1979 episode of Sears Radio Theater narrated by Cicely Tyson.
https://archive.org/download/sears-radio-theatre_202008/790628%20104%20The%20Hamster%20Caper%20of%20Curtis%20Cleever.mp3

According to Wikipedia, the anthology series had a different theme for each night of the week, and a different host. Tyson hosted “Love and Hate Nights” on Thursdays.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Radio_Theater

5. Shropshire borders Wales so I spent an extra few minutes finding bird call ambience recorded in Wales for the bit while they’re in Shropshire, and North Devon bird calls for the bit talking about Hemsford pansies.

Sound Effect Title: R23-42-Rowing or Rapids.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/480844/

Sound Effect Title: (Simulated) Underwater boat oar sounds by jay_mar
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/561314/

Sound Effect Title: CRWDBatl_Crowd Grunting, Exerting, Metered, Rowing_ShaneVincent_GSC24_BIN-AmbeoVR.wav by ShangusBurger
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/763939/

Sound Effect Title: R27-37-Metal Clanks and Hits.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/486295/

Sound Effect Title: R29-39-Chinese Screams in Battle.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/479582/

Sound Effect Title: R28-51-1940s Hollywood Japanese Soldiers Scream.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/482804/

Sound Effect Title: R28-44-Women Screaming and Rapid Talking.wav by craigsmith
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/479894/

Sound Effect Title: Car_motor_Sound.m4a
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Blizzard123/sounds/504633/#

Sound Effect Title: Squeaky Car Door by coltures
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/262325/

Sound Effect Title: Screeching Tyres by iainmccurdy
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/650934/

Sound Effect Title: Margam Park Bird Song (processed) by g.strange42
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/684191/

Song Title: Wassail Song, aka Here We Come A-wassailing
Performed by the chorus of U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own", led by Colonel Thomas Rotondi, Jr. (Leader & Commander) and CSM Debra L. McGarity (Command Sergeant Major) c. 2010.
License: Public Domain
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Army_Band_-_Here_We_Come_A-wassailing.ogg

Sound Effect Title: North Devon Birds - Summer 2015 by nlux
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/625889/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps on gravel by Joozz
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/Joozz/sounds/531952/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

The image accompanying this episode uses modified details from Pep Comics (Number 66 , March 1948, pencils and inks by Bill Woggon), and Marmaduke Mouse (Number 11, Winter 1948, artist unknown), both comics in the public domain. You can view full issues of both at digitalcomicmuseum.com.

Image Alt text: Comic book line drawing of a brunette female paper doll wearing a black and yellow striped bikini top and some kind of matching wrap around her waist. Around the edges are costumes that can be used on the paper doll including cowgirl, majorette, Arabian dancing girl, blue dress and harlequin outfit. Also the main paper doll has the face of a cartoon mouse.

A Very Special Thirty-Eight - Episode 132

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 06:17:00 -0700

How will Falk solve problems like social disease, substance abuse or stranger danger? What happened to the villain at the end of the episode? Maybe if you listen, you’ll find out. Did you ever think of that?

A Very Special Thirty Eight, episode 132 of This Gun in My Hand, was written, voiced and edited especially by the only member of its cast and crew, Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What prevents me from suffocating in an unventilated chamber? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. “The nonsense rat is endemic to the Nicobar Islands” in India, inhabiting “tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests,” according to Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonsense_rat
2. I’m not sure if enough people were flying across the USA in 1939 for coastal elites to have developed the insult of “flyover states.” Let’s pretend they had.

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Other interstitial music was taken from the public domain radio show Bold Venture. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Park ambience - mostly birds
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Mafon2/sounds/274175/#

Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot) by Carmelomike
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: FX_Footsteps_Outside_Pavement01.WAV by PeteBarry
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/647403/

Sound Effect Title: Traffic mel 1.wav by malupeeters
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/malupeeters/sounds/191350/

Sound Effect Title: Old refrigerator door.m4a by ckjzam
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/421626/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a public domain print advertisement for the International Harvester Defender Refrigerator, found in the 5 October 1946 issue of Australian Women’s Weekly. Artist unknown.
https://archive.org/details/1946-advertisement-for-international-harvester-defender-refrigerator

Image Alt text: Painting from a 1946 magazine ad shows a woman in a sleeveless red blouse and yellow skirt with flowery decoration near the waist, gesturing with her left hand towards an open refrigerator beside her. Maybe she’s in a showroom because she’s holding a curtain with her right hand. The fridge is packed with milk bottles, jars, soda or wine, a platter of fruit, a bundt cake, a whole chicken on a plate. Across the top of the image it says “THIS GUN IN MY HAND PRESENTS.” An unrolled scroll in the bottom left reads “A Very Special Thirty-Eight.”

Johnny Got His Gun in My Hand - Episode 131

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Wed, 4 Jun 2025 11:34:00 -0700

Where am I? How could they leave me alone with my thoughts? You know it’s matrilineal, right? Listen to find out!

Johnny Got His Gun in My Hand, episode 131 of This Gun in My Hand, was encased and basketed by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. How do I disperse powder with deadly results? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. The floor cleaning solution we used at Taco Bell in 1995 was labeled “degreaser/desengrasadora.” It was not a brand name but it sounds flowery. Just in case someone in our darkest timeline really uses that brand name, let me remind you that the audio and text of This Gun in My Hand are works of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Sound Effect Title: bustle in the pub
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/organicmanpl/sounds/403285/

Sound Effect Title: HARP GLISSANDO DOWN.WAV
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/olver/sounds/505064/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire by GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: House Front Door Inside 3.wav
License: Public domain
https://freesound.org/people/saturdaysoundguy/sounds/388027/#

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the cover of Dime Mystery Magazine, Volume 28, Number 2, January 1943, art by Milton Luros. In public domain.

Image Alt text: Painted pulp magazine cover. A red-haired woman in yellow blouse pulls back startled from a bony, possibly undead creature in a sarcophagus in front of her, raising a knife toward her. She’s dropping a small box with Egyptian drawings on it. The walls behind her show Egyptian style figures. Along the top it says 10¢, “JAN” and has “A Popular Publication” logo which looks like a skull. The title across the top is “THIS GUN IN MY HAND ZINE.” A small label in lower right shows a blue eagle and “BUY WAR BONDS AND STAMPS FOR VICTORY.” A larger box in lower left shows white letters on red background: “AN IMAGE THAT’S ALMOST COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THIS EPISODE. EXCEPT THERE IS A SARCOPHAGUS IN IT SO THAT COUNTS.”

Shoot the Moon - Episode 130

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sat, 24 May 2025 07:15:00 -0700

Can Falk and his friends stop a careless rocket launch in the heart of Parabellum City that could damage buildings and injure citizens? Which heroes or villains will guest star on this season finale? Does the Moon have air? Listen to find out!

Shoot the Moon, episode 130 of This Gun in My Hand, was launched by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon, which is not owned by the world’s RICHEST Nazi. But he’s kiiiiiinda… With what do I shoot the moon? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. There are too many special guests in this episode to list all their previous appearances. If you’re fanatical, you can look them up in the subject index linked below, which lists character appearances, characters mentioned, locations, music, ads and fake radio shows in the previous 129 episodes.
https://thisguninmyhand.blogspot.com/2022/02/subject-index.html

2. I usually try to restrain myself from pointing out all the pop culture references in episodes of This Gun in My Hand, because if you don’t recognize the reference in the first place, it’s not going to become funny when it’s pointed out. But just to give a sense of the volume, here are all the allusions or subjects of parody in this episode: Buck Rogers, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Moonraker, Batman, Godfather II, Agatha Christie, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Hill Street Blues, Twin Peaks, Barney Miller, Green Hornet, Buckaroo Banzai, Defenders of the Earth, GI Joe, the Secretary of “Health and Human Services” (sic), and that guy who capitalized on his inherited generational wealth and suckered people into believing he’s a genius (sorry, that doesn’t narrow it down, does it?).

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950). The “Spoilers” commercial music was from The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph, 1948). Closing music was from Killer Bait (1949). All three films are in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Pop
Performed by Rob pulling the stopper out of a 60mL enteral syringe

Sound Effect Title: S16-06 Light wooden door open & close.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/675878/

Sound Effect Title: Djembe Hit 13 Hi Rim.wav by carlmartin
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/158957/

Sound Effect Title: Punch.wav
By ztrees1
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/ztrees1/sounds/134934/

Sound Effect Title: EARTHQUAKE OR DISTANT SPACE SHUTTLE RUMBLE.WAV by metrostock99
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/203281/

Sound Effect Title: Rumble 1.wav by Zeraora
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/524489/

Sound Effect Title: Landmass / Earth Rumble by el-bee
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/363122/

Sound Effect Title: Rockfall (7lrs,grnlzr,Eq) 2.wav by newlocknew
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/497206/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the novel cover “And Then The Town Took Off,” art by Edmund Emshwiller.

Image Alt text: Painting shows close-up of a rocket or jet pilot through the clear canopy of the vehicle, high in the sky. Through the side of his windshield we see a massive hunk of earth with houses and buildings on top of it moving through the air, as if it had been removed with a giant ice cream scoop and hurled into orbit.

No Accounting for Taste - Episode 129

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 4 May 2025 10:18:00 -0700

Can Falk bring down an accounting firm with ties to organized crime? Can math lead to redemption? What’s the Croatian equivalent of “bada boom, bada bing”? Listen to find out!

No Accounting for Taste, episode 129 of This Gun in My Hand, was put in the red and written off by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. How do I move data from temporary accounts on an income statement to permanent accounts on a balance sheet? With This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. The absurd street names and Mr. Bellechek’s convoluted plan were inspired by/in homage to/ripped off from the public domain January 31, 1949 episode of Lux Radio Theatre titled “The Street With No Name.” A section of dialog with the boss and mugs repeating his plan were taken almost verbatim from there.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Lux_Radio_Theatre_Season_15_Singles/Lux_Radio_Theatre_49-01-31_643_Street_with_No_Name.mp3

2. I have no opinion about the efficacy or personality of any sport team manager ever and intend no satirical commentary on them in this story. It’s up to consumers of stories how to interpret them anyway. Don’t get me started on “The Death of the Author” theory because I will go off. The audio and text of This Gun in My Hand are works of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons or organized crime families, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No managers were harmed in the making of this story.

3. Most of the absurd street names are taken from titles of actual noir films or old songs.

4. Here’s the wikipedia entry on the Five Families who run the Mafia in NYC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Families

Music Title (background for commercial): Clarinet Squawk
Composed by Anton Lada, Yellow Nuņez and Joe Cawley
Performed by Louisiana Five
Recorded 12 September 1919, Edison 50609-R
License: Public Domain
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Louisiana_Five/Edison_Blue_Amberol_3896/Clarinet_squawk/

Sound Effect Title: HARP GLISSANDO DOWN.WAV
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/olver/sounds/505064/

Sound Effect Title: 38 Caliber Gun Shot 5x
Recorded by Mike Koenig
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/375-38-Caliber-Gun-Shot-5x.html

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the paperback cover of Down and Out by Les Masters, painted by Victor Olson, thought to be public domain.

Image Alt text: Painting of a man in blue suit, white shirt, light blue striped tie, seated behind a desk. He’s smiling slightly with his elbows on the desktop, his hands together in front of him with a lit cigarette. He has dark hair. The desk has a pencil cup and only one paper on it. Beside him is a sliver of window with a view of the nighttime cityscape and a vertical sign just outside the window that reads “ACCOUNT”. Presumably the rest of the word is cut off. Caption in upper right reads “NO ACCOUNTING FOR TASTE.”

Lips That Yearn - Episode 128

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 03:10:00 -0700

Will Falk discover who bombed a residential building in Heck’s Pantry? Can he find someone to punch or shoot for this villainy? What’s the industry standard for radio kissing? Listen to find out!

Lips That Yearn, episode 128 of This Gun in My Hand, was a bomb dropped by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What’s totally useless at pulling out people who are trapped under rubble? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. For excerpts of testimony from the Haas Unreliable Narrativities Commitee, listen to Episode 72, “Undeniable Narrator.”
https://archive.org/details/tgimh-72-undeniable-narrator

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950) and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Other music comes from “Journey Into Fear,” the June 9, 1946 episode of the public domain radio show Hour of Mystery. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Foley_Footsteps_ShedWoodenFloor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/523273/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: Wood Falling - 4 Drops.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Manim8/sounds/577452/

Sound Effect Title: Huge Cinematic Explosion.wav by musicace17
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/486551/

Sound Effect Title: Rubble Trouble by magnuswaker
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/758580/

Sound Effect Title: Rocks Falling No-Reverb Edition 16 Bit. Foley Sound by ALLANZ10D
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/323477/

Sound Effect Title: Wood_Creak_02.wav by dheming
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/s/177779/

Sound Effect Title: S16-06 Light wooden door open & close.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/675878/

Sound Effect Title: Larun_Mountains_Low_QuietWind.aif by nicotep
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/683674/

Sound Effect Title: Creaking Door by eqavox
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/709418/

Sound Effect Title: G28-27-Crowd Fast Walla Applause.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/438387/

Sound Effect Title: Sitcom Laughter with Applause, Small Audience by Kinoton
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/s/371562/

The image accompanying this episode is a detail of “Collapsed structures after the 1935 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake” from 《楊肇嘉留真集》, "Yang Zhaojia's Collection of True Pictures."
License for image: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Collapsed_structures_after_the_1935_Shinchiku-Taich%C5%AB_earthquake.jpg

Clash of the Story Boys - Episode 127

deidzoeb13@yahoo.com (Robert Thomas Northrup) — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 10:10:00 -0700

Will Exposition Boy expose the backstory of Billy Narrator, boy detective? Can Falk prevent them from destroying the whole episode and the sanity of his listeners? Listen to find out!

Clash of the Story Boys, episode 127 of This Gun in My Hand, was narrated and exposed by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. How do I settle creative differences? With This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Thanks to Pete Larsen for the idea for this episode: “I'd love to see a fight between 'Exposition Boy, the Teen-Sidekick' and 'Billy Narrator Jr.'”

2. If you’re going to take six years to develop an international exposition and build an artificial island for it, maybe open it in an off-year when there isn’t an official world’s fair on the other coast. The Golden Gate International Exposition opened in 1939, competing with the 1939 New York World’s Fair. (Spoilers: they did run out of money and closed early in October 1939, then scrounged up a little more to reopen May-September 1940.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_International_Exposition

3. Billy commandeered the show in episode 113, “Don’t Kid a Kidder,” to do his own show, Billy Narrator, Boy Detective.
https://archive.org/details/tgimh-113-dont-kid-a-kidder

4. The Pope’s Rhinoceros by Lawrence Norfolk establishes a deeper backstory than any other novel I’ve read. The first four pages describe glacial and geologic activity that form the lake where protagonists finally come into the story on the fifth page. Literally a glacial age of backstory.

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Exposition Boy’s storytelling music was from “Journey Into Fear,” the June 9, 1946 episode of the public domain radio show Hour of Mystery. Music from the second commercial was from the public domain film Death Machines (1976). Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Traffic mel 1.wav
By malupeeters
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/malupeeters/sounds/191350/

Sound Effect Title: Park ambience - mostly birds
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Mafon2/sounds/274175/#

Music Title: Kitten on the Keys
Composed and Performed by Zez Confrey and His Orchestra
Recorded May 4, 1922
License: Public Domain
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Antique_Phonograph_Music_Program_Various_Artists/Antique_Phonograph_Music_Program_05052009/Kitten_on_the_Keys/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of one panel from the April 28, 1929 public domain comic strip Just Kids by Ad Carter. The title of the comic strip changed to Mush Stebbins and His Sister in 1950.