Welcome to Life Lab Notes, where we review and compare our notes about Life,
what we have in common, what makes humans tick,
and how we can keep from blowing up the lab.
what we have in common, what makes humans tick,
and how we can keep from blowing up the lab.
12 Elves 'til Christmas
You’ve got big plans. Worked out every detail. Thought of every contingency. Except one.
“12 Elves ’til Christmas” is a story about a dream, a machine, and half a team.
Enjoy! (There's one swear word, said twice, bleeped both times.)
“12 Elves ’til Christmas” is a story about a dream, a machine, and half a team.
Enjoy! (There's one swear word, said twice, bleeped both times.)
Congratulations, Whistlebottom! [edit: 7 out of 8 submissions!]
UPDATE: We're so proud of our little otherworld friend. Whistlebottom - a trespasser's tale, has been honoured in the podcast/audio fiction categories of several film and new media festivals, and once in an audio-only festival. At last, we can now rest on our laurels, provided by New Zealand Webfest, New Jersey Webfest, Baltimore New Media Webfest, Bright International Film Festival, Moondance International Film Festival, Cusco Webfest, and Hear Now Palooza. (That's 7 out of the 8 submissions, which is pretty dang cool.) In case you want to revisit this tale of connection and determination, we hope you'll click on the wee player, below. But also, it's available in most of ye olde podcast shoppes.
The New Kid on the ShelfBig news! Life Lab Notes has stumbled upon the remote meeting link and password for the weekly meeting of a certain local chapter of a certain group of elves. Obviously, we cannot divulge our sources.
Listen in as Carol tries to control the bunch, especially Dibbles, who's in a mood. Featuring the voice talents of Claire Barnhart, Keith Ferguson, Ernie Gilbert, Judith Goldstein, Kristen Smith, Inger Tudor, Phil Ward, and Silvie Zamora. Written, directed, produced by Silvie Zamora. Here are the links promised in the episode. Please take a moment to explore the good that's being done - you may be inspired! Court Appointed Special Advocates www.casala.org (Los Angeles County) www.casaoc.org (Orange County, California) www.nationalcasagal.org Whistlebottom - a trespasser's taleAh, Halloween! The perfect time to meet someone average who joined the ranks of hell and became below-average. This is the story of Whistlebottom. Or is it the story of Feengrind? Or...Nadine? Okay, I'll tell you, it's the story of how connected they were. We are all connected.
Episode art by the amazing @jamahartart! Jama Hart is a New York-based illustrator and graphic designer. Her work has appeared in a variety of mediums, including podcasts, web design, and television. You can find more of her work @jamahartart on instagram. There she is! (See below for her; to the right for her brilliant episode art.) 
Chapter Three: Desimmer(There's more than one way to make hot chocolate.)Slowly, guarding herself carefully, Cathy has been opening up to La Señora, but it’s going to take one more episode, one more recipe, to help her open up to herself. This is that episode. This is the last installment in our three-part series, Slow Cooker Chronicles - A Fable in Three Recipes. This is Chapter Three: Desimmer (There’s More Than One Way to Make Hot Chocolate).
We hope you've enjoyed our breathtakingly clever puns. If this were a four-part series, January would have brought you Jan-STEW-ary. Just so you know. We here at the Lab are looking back over this past year, feeling grateful for what we've learned, how we've been able to participate in the lives of our friends, families, and colleagues, and thinking ahead to how we can make positive changes. With great fondness and a reminder that we're all connected, The Staff at Life Lab Notes Slow Cooker Chronicles ReturnsChapter Two: Slowvember (Giving the Seeds Their Heat)In our last chapter, we met Cathy and her downstairs neighbour, a woman who drives Cathy crazy. Dealing with her parents’ divorce, moving to a new neighbourhood and school, Cathy is a kid with a lot on her mind and everything’s getting to her these days. This episode is chock full of flavour and, like any good fable, metaphors. Cathy does remember a little from her last visit with La Señora, but will this month’s Tex-Mex Chile con Carne push her further away from herself?
Written by Vanessa Espino and Silvie Zamora, this episode features Nerea Duhart as Chiquita (Cathy) and Graciela Valderrama as Doña Gloria Marisol De La Cruz (La Señora). Our intro and outro music for this series is by Phil Ward, but that's not all! The ringtone on Chiquita's phone is a snippet of Phil's collaboration with Brett Perkins, A Remarkable Woman, written for Danielle DeFrancesco. Slow Cooker Chronicles - A Fable in Three RecipesChapter One: Crocktober (Or How to Make Chili Without Your Soul)Introducing a three-part fable about finding yourself. We follow the adventures and musings of Cathy, a young woman somehow disconnected from her heritage, her culture, and herself. There's a slow cooker recipe in each episode! Granted, this first one doesn't have soul. But you could add some in - I recommend doing what La Señora says.
Many thanks to our new co-writer, Vanessa Espino! And to Phil Ward for the original music. And, of course, to Nerea Duhart, Graciela Valderrama, Robyn Clark, and Silvie Zamora, for their voice talents. Keep an eye out for Chapter Two: Slovember, which is planned for release before the very last day of November. We'll do our best. How To Feel During the Holidays In the Year-That-Must-Not-Be-NamedWhat can paper snowflakes and a walk through a graveyard show us? Our holiday episode will answer this question.
Many thanks to Christina Wells Campbell, for contributing her beautiful piece, Come Walk With Me, which is the second half of our holiday offering. If you pop over to the Notes! Blog! page of this very site, you'll find her bio and a link to her website. (You should go there, too!) Thanks, also, to our own in-house musician, Phil Ward, who is limitless in his talent and heart. And many thanks to you, dear reader, for being you. You are much appreciated. To Gather, TogetherHow's everyone doing with the hunkering down? Hanging in there? It's tricky. We all need breathing space and being space. Here's a lighthearted little story about the simple joy of leaning on a friend.
At the end, we encourage you to visit our website (you're already here!) and share some ways you're coping with close quarters and missed traditions. Send us an email, won't you? Or tag us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. We'd love to hear about your newly-minted traditions, too! The Backyard - a mini episode for election dayPossibly the shortest podcast episode of all time? Just a few thoughts about how connected we all are, and how hard that is to see sometimes.
Written and read by Silvie Zamora. Some When"What do you mean by this haunting of me?" Othello IV.i.14
It’s been a kind of year-long Halloween, but not the fun parts with costumes and candy. We wanted to hear a simple, unsettling story about unexplained events that didn’t start out as a news story, so we wrote one. This is a story about someone. Some when. (It's up there. Go on and click play. It'll be fine... And then share the disquiet.) Eleven O'ClockIt's the current episode! Right up there ^ waiting for you. Click the triangle. It's time.
(And do head over to the Notes! Blog! page for the transcript and a wee bit more info about this story.) The Twelve Days of Christmas - Regifted!Welcome to our holiday series! We've taken the gifts listed in that famous Christmas carol, and used them as inspiration for twelve original stories. Keep an eye on the "Notes! Blog!" page of this site for more info about our team of superb artists.
Enjoy! Our humble Halloween offering.Part fairy tale, part fourth quarter performance meeting. Don't be late. You don't want to upset the Chairman.
Featuring the brilliant and amazing voice crew of Keith Ferguson, Brian Hall, Pablo Marz, Alina Phelan, Roxy Shabestari, Justin Vasquez, Silvie Zamora, and special guest Keythe Farley as Satan. We hope you thought this was a treat. (For more tricks, please check out our 2018 series, the 13 Days of Halloween. Start with day 1, to learn all about why our dearly departed do what they do.) |
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The first episode of the year.
With each podcast episode, we strive to illustrate how much we humans share, but this episode is even more personal and universal. You may never have heard of Sam Christensen, but this episode is still for you.
Humans observe things. Nature, and how it changes and cycles back in familiar patterns. Significant life events. Anniversaries of happy times, solemn times, heartbreaking times. We do things, or things happen, then we remember them, over and over again. We return to those times and events, keeping them alive, passing them along.
There are some celebration days in and around December that are pretty significant. Perhaps you've heard of them? When you encounter a human out and about, and you're not sure what they celebrate, feel free to say, "Happy Holidays," just to cover all the bases as you're wishing them well. As you'll hear in the final H.A.B.I.T. episode of the year, we all have a lot in common.
Click on the player above, or head over to wherever you get your podcasts and enjoy the last episode of 2018. And do subscribe, won't you? We're coming back in 2019 with more stories that illustrate, illuminate, and...ummm...illuviate.
There are some celebration days in and around December that are pretty significant. Perhaps you've heard of them? When you encounter a human out and about, and you're not sure what they celebrate, feel free to say, "Happy Holidays," just to cover all the bases as you're wishing them well. As you'll hear in the final H.A.B.I.T. episode of the year, we all have a lot in common.
Click on the player above, or head over to wherever you get your podcasts and enjoy the last episode of 2018. And do subscribe, won't you? We're coming back in 2019 with more stories that illustrate, illuminate, and...ummm...illuviate.
It begins: the quick slide into more holidays as we close out 2018. But let's not think about endings yet. Let's think about beginnings, or at least continuings. Holidays are delightful and stressful, fun and nerve-wracking, and producing a podcast is very much the same. Here, finally, sliding in just under the wire, is our Thanksgiving episode.
Have we mentioned how grateful we are here at the Lab for all of you? We are. Thank you so much for listening, reading, following, commenting, liking, and sharing. Mostly for listening. It means a lot!
Have we mentioned how grateful we are here at the Lab for all of you? We are. Thank you so much for listening, reading, following, commenting, liking, and sharing. Mostly for listening. It means a lot!
Yes, welcome to our humble lab website, but an extra welcome to this particular spot. We are beside ourselves with that excited and exhausted feeling that you only get at the culmination of weeks and weeks of podcast work/play. The 13 Days of Halloween - Invisible is here, with the personal stories of thirteen souls. What do they miss? What do they see? Why do they haunt* where they do? Tune in every day, October 19-31, to find out.
The Life Lab Notes podcast is also available wherever you get your other podcasts. (We sincerely hope you're listening to Radiotopia's The Truth, and 99% Invisible - Avery Trufelman has a brilliant six-part series there, called Articles of Interest.) So, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify. Or you can come here every day and hit the play button on the player above. Make yourself at home! But please, don't knock anything over. We have some very important projects brewing.
*We used the word "haunt," here for clarification; but never use it in front of a ghost. It's offensive. They say, "drop in."
The Life Lab Notes podcast is also available wherever you get your other podcasts. (We sincerely hope you're listening to Radiotopia's The Truth, and 99% Invisible - Avery Trufelman has a brilliant six-part series there, called Articles of Interest.) So, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify. Or you can come here every day and hit the play button on the player above. Make yourself at home! But please, don't knock anything over. We have some very important projects brewing.
*We used the word "haunt," here for clarification; but never use it in front of a ghost. It's offensive. They say, "drop in."
30 July 2018 - Recorded live at the Podcast Movement 2018 conference in Philadelphia.
"Move" (Based on some true stories.)
Many thanks to Talk Shoe and Heil Sound Pro Audio for hosting the Podcast Pavilion, and to Audre Brokes for sharing her cello stylings. The conference was quite an experience, from all of my prep to the days afterward as I percolate what I learned. It was inspiring and downright fun. I met two heroes - Jonathan Mitchell of The Truth podcast, and Julie Shapiro of Radiotopia. (I can't believe I could make a coherent sentence with those two - I was beside myself.)
Hope you enjoy this month's episode. It's kinda personal.
"Move" (Based on some true stories.)
Many thanks to Talk Shoe and Heil Sound Pro Audio for hosting the Podcast Pavilion, and to Audre Brokes for sharing her cello stylings. The conference was quite an experience, from all of my prep to the days afterward as I percolate what I learned. It was inspiring and downright fun. I met two heroes - Jonathan Mitchell of The Truth podcast, and Julie Shapiro of Radiotopia. (I can't believe I could make a coherent sentence with those two - I was beside myself.)
Hope you enjoy this month's episode. It's kinda personal.
It's here! The third episode in the H.A.B.I.T. series! Krraz and L'Seth Navi have some technical issues, and they don't immediately turn to logic and reason.
14 May 2018 The Young Writers Project (Available on ApplePodcasts, RadioPublic, Google Play Music, Spotify, and Stitcher. Here's the ApplePodcasts link, to get you there quick.) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/lifelabnotes/id1191581962?mt=2&i=1000411530419
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Here's the latest episode, which is fairly late, indeed. (Two performances of the Young Writers Project at Theatre of NOTE have already passed us by. But we've got two left! May 19 and 20, at 11am. Tickets are free or pay what you can.) You should still have a listen to the podcast, because in it, we talk with five of the student writers who participated in the Young Writers Project, but whose one-act plays were not selected for performance. We talked about the value of doing a thing, even if it's a struggle, even if it's challenging, even if it doesn't "win."
For info about the Young Writers Project performances (five plays written by high school students, directed and performed by professional actors) please visit TheatreofNOTE.com. Theatre of NOTE is an award-winning ensemble theatre company in Los Angeles, that produces original works. They are amazing, and I do mean they genuinely amaze.
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Here's the latest episode, which is fairly late, indeed. (Two performances of the Young Writers Project at Theatre of NOTE have already passed us by. But we've got two left! May 19 and 20, at 11am. Tickets are free or pay what you can.) You should still have a listen to the podcast, because in it, we talk with five of the student writers who participated in the Young Writers Project, but whose one-act plays were not selected for performance. We talked about the value of doing a thing, even if it's a struggle, even if it's challenging, even if it doesn't "win."
For info about the Young Writers Project performances (five plays written by high school students, directed and performed by professional actors) please visit TheatreofNOTE.com. Theatre of NOTE is an award-winning ensemble theatre company in Los Angeles, that produces original works. They are amazing, and I do mean they genuinely amaze.
You can hear the podcast right there! Up! Just under the banner...yes, that's the spot. Click the play button for five-ish minutes of the light-hearted look at life that is the new H.A.B.I.T. series. You will meet two lovable aliens (well, one is lovable; the other will be lovable over time) and they'll be meeting you, too, sort of. You can also take us on the road via RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and Apple Podcasts. (But if you listen via the well-curated and helpful RadioPublic app, Life Lab Notes gets a wee bit of change to put back into podcast production. Do you know how much it costs to spy on alien spies?)
Happy New Year! The lab has been recuperating from the exciting and heartwarming fun that was the month of December. We re-released the 2016 Audio Advent Calendar's daily holiday treat, and we began work on plans for 2018.
We moved slowly.
It's good to leave the ground fallow for a bit, so that's what we did. Fun stuff is coming up soon, accompanied by a superb logo for a new radio play series. For the soon-to-be-released logo, many thanks to the very talented and cool Karen Miller of Wishing You Happiness. Artist, photographer, designer, and all-around awesome part-time lab assistant. Check out this fun article about the Halloween costumes she did for her son and their dog. They match!
And watch for our first episode of our new series. Just...watch...wait for it...couple of weeks away...
We moved slowly.
It's good to leave the ground fallow for a bit, so that's what we did. Fun stuff is coming up soon, accompanied by a superb logo for a new radio play series. For the soon-to-be-released logo, many thanks to the very talented and cool Karen Miller of Wishing You Happiness. Artist, photographer, designer, and all-around awesome part-time lab assistant. Check out this fun article about the Halloween costumes she did for her son and their dog. They match!
And watch for our first episode of our new series. Just...watch...wait for it...couple of weeks away...
Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a partial list of what we're thankful for here at Life Lab Notes.
1. The ability to express. The forum, the time, the ideas, the team we work with - everything that goes into this podcast.
2. Podcasts! We get our inspiration from Ear Hustle, 99 Percent Invisible, The Allusionist, The Memory Palace, The Truth, This American Life, and we keep finding new ones that make us think and touch our hearts.
3. You listeners and followers! We love to hear from you and we get giddy when you share episodes.
4. The planet. Yup. The whole planet. The whole spherical planet. It's a beautiful, diverse home and we are grateful for all it gives and teaches us, and for the privilege of caring for it for future generations.
5. Hmmm...maybe everything is covered under number three.
Don't hold back on your gratefulness, folks. And give some to yourself, too.
1. The ability to express. The forum, the time, the ideas, the team we work with - everything that goes into this podcast.
2. Podcasts! We get our inspiration from Ear Hustle, 99 Percent Invisible, The Allusionist, The Memory Palace, The Truth, This American Life, and we keep finding new ones that make us think and touch our hearts.
3. You listeners and followers! We love to hear from you and we get giddy when you share episodes.
4. The planet. Yup. The whole planet. The whole spherical planet. It's a beautiful, diverse home and we are grateful for all it gives and teaches us, and for the privilege of caring for it for future generations.
5. Hmmm...maybe everything is covered under number three.
Don't hold back on your gratefulness, folks. And give some to yourself, too.
It's October! Pumpkin spice season! That crisp air, cozy sweater weather we Southern Californians dream about.
Speaking of dreams, pumpkins, and October, here's the latest from Life Lab Notes: The 13 Days of Halloween! Thirteen stories that revel in the comedy, horror, and mystery of the season. This sometimes funny-sometimes creepy, audio fiction series runs from October 19th through the 31st.
How will you find it, you ask? (I wish I could say, in a kind of a monster-y growl, "Oh, it will find you.") But, the truth is, you will easily find it on iTunes, Stitcher, and RadioPublic, starting the 19th, with a new episode each day.
Soon, lots of cool info about the brilliant cast that voiced life into the characters will be posted here. There will be a new button to push! So stay tuned, won't you? (Monster-y growl: "Oh, you will.")
Speaking of dreams, pumpkins, and October, here's the latest from Life Lab Notes: The 13 Days of Halloween! Thirteen stories that revel in the comedy, horror, and mystery of the season. This sometimes funny-sometimes creepy, audio fiction series runs from October 19th through the 31st.
How will you find it, you ask? (I wish I could say, in a kind of a monster-y growl, "Oh, it will find you.") But, the truth is, you will easily find it on iTunes, Stitcher, and RadioPublic, starting the 19th, with a new episode each day.
Soon, lots of cool info about the brilliant cast that voiced life into the characters will be posted here. There will be a new button to push! So stay tuned, won't you? (Monster-y growl: "Oh, you will.")
Wondering about that Audio Advent Calendar button? Go on - push it! Well, first go to iTunes and subscribe to our December podcast, the 2016 Audio Advent Calendar. Just like a real advent calendar that's got a treat for you everyday as you count down to Christmas, this is your daily dose of holiday-themed fun. You'll hear a short story, a bit of sketch comedy, or a heartwarming and thought-provoking memory, every day from December 1st through the 25th. Catch up on last year's Audio Advent Calendar before the new one comes out!
Click on the bow; it takes you to iTunes!
Click on the bow; it takes you to iTunes!
LifeLabNotes is produced by Silvie Zamora. ©SilvieZamora2017