I saw a spellbinding magic act once - not just amazing, also beautiful. The magician ended his act by saying, "Magic is the most honest profession. It promises to deceive, and it does so." I never want to know how a magic trick is done. That's where my vast curiosity draws the line. I want it to be magic, so I let it be magic.

Today's episode was written by Phinneas Kiyomura and performed by Darrett Sanders.

Find out more about Darrett at http://darretts.com/

Phinneas Kiyomura is a playwright, television writer, actor, former skate punk, and dad living in Los Angeles, CA. He is very happy to be working with Life Lab Notes for the first time ever! [Not the last time! -Editor]
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You know how it goes. You're getting things done. Lots on your mind. You walk into another room for...what was it? It's gone. Some brain scientists would call this phenomenon an "event boundary." But today's episode presents some opposing information. You can decide.

"Threshold" was written by Silvie Zamora and performed by Jenny Flack and Justin Vasquez.

Justin Vasquez hails from Los Angeles. You can find him performing in theatre, film, and improv all over the city. He is quite enthused about being a part of this project. Check him out at justinvasquez.me

​Jenny Flack is an actor/improviser/writer living and working in Los Angeles. She’ll be acting in Cleo, Theo and Wu by Kirsten Vangsness at Theatre of NOTE this Nov/Dec, improvising Shakespeare with Shrew at assorted times, and writing for Geek Girl Authority all of the time. @jennyflack on Twitter and Instagram.
Shrewimprov.com
Geekgirlauthority.com

Day 4 of The 13 Days of Halloween takes us to...the Fourth of July. The beach. Some friends. And a girl he's going to miss.

Episode 4, Sand, was written by Silvie Zamora and performed by Abel Arias.

Abel Arias ain't afraid of no ghost...probably because he hasn't seen one. He is so glad to be working with Life Lab Notes again. When he's not helping keep his son alive, Abel enjoys acting, improvising, and teaching those two things. You can see and hear more from him here: www.abelarias.com and on Instagram: @abelg81. Abel hopes you enjoy the podcast episodes and that your Halloween is filled with full size candy bars.

You're sure you see it. Something. Just over there, for a second. Just out of the corner of your eye.

Find out what it is.

Episode three, Periphery, was written by Silvie Zamora and performed by Keith Ferguson.

Keith has appeared in Life Lab Notes projects many times. He plays Krraz, the lovable alien in H.A.B.I.T. He has played a couple of monsters in last year's 13 Days series. In the 2016 Audio Advent Calendar (the podcast series that started it all for us at Life Lab Notes) he played an exhausted elf, and James Bond. You've heard his voice a lot, even if you're new to Life Lab Notes. He's in video games, commercials, films, and cartoons. But, Life Lab Notes is his favourite. (Okay, we wrote that.)

The scientific world is still learning about sleep and dreams, and the way these complex mechanisms work. Today's episode casts some fairly unsettling light on the shadowy subject. "Maestra," was written and performed by Silvie Zamora.

​Visit voice actor Silvie online at www.SilvieZamora.com for some other audio treats. Silvie is a writer, actor, improvisor, and educator. And podcaster. Can't forget that one!

It's pumpkins. Pumpkins are an excellent source of vitamin A. (But not as good as cod liver oil, which tops the list, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database.)

We're busily and giddily creating this year's podcast series, The 13 Days of Halloween - INVISIBLE. Last year, it was a separate podcast show; this year, you'll find it where you find all of our podcasts, at RadioPublic, Stitcher, Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts, under our very own name (LifeLabNotes). We hope you'll join us as we meet thirteen spirits who visit this side of the grave pretty regularly. The first episode will suddenly appear on Friday, October 19th. The last, on All Hallow's Eve.

While you're waiting, we hope you are enjoying the annual pumpkin spice craze, settled cozily into the school year, and rocking some nice, new fall sweaters.

Soon, the Life Lab Notes staff will be choosing the perfect Vitamin A source to carve our logo into, and there is no way it'll be a cod fish.

Life Lab Notes is gearing up to head to Philadelphia, to the Podcast Movement 2018 Conference. We are as excited as lab assistants can get, because travel is a great way to realize a) we have a lot in common with everyone; 2) there are differences, too, which are fun to explore; and ∆) you can get by with fewer toiletries than you thought you needed.

Philadelphia Freedom was my first record, back in grade school. It was a 45. (Google it.) My second record was Cher's Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves. These started a life-long love of stories. Tales about humans, what happens to them, how they deal with things. Essential, mythic stuff. Humans tell stories.

We have a special piece coming up for July, written especially for the Podcast Pavilion at the conference. If they choose it, it will be recorded right there, with special thanks to TalkShoe (a cool website for user-generated live and recorded voice content) and HeilSound (providing the microphones). If it's not chosen we'll record it when we get back, full of podcast camaraderie and swag.

Although the green, suitcase-style record player that played those 45s a million times was not mentioned in this special July podcast piece, it was there in spirit. So to speak.

Ah, the ever-evolving English language. And all of the other languages, too. Constantly in motion, that's language for you. What is a perfectly serviceable word at one time (like, "behoof") falls by the wayside and we're left with "benefit, advantage." (Obviously, those are also perfectly serviceable, but they don't have the same sudden start, followed by an exhale you can draw out like a vuvuzela call.) 

"Nice" used to mean fastidious.

"Plight" went from "to pledge" to "an unfavourable condition or state." 

You can plain over about change and how fair the old days were, but my rede is to go with the flow, but also  throw in an occasional old-timey word on a freak. (I've been known to be a scapegrace betimes.)

Enjoy the latest episode from the H.A.B.I.T. crew! (It's back on the Welcome Page. We're working on that.)