Episode 34 - Total Recall?

Just in time for the holidays, the celebratory 2nd Anniversary Derailed Trains of Thought podcast!

So...instead of working ourselves to the bone (you know, as we usually do, trying to get out one episode every 9 weeks or so), we compiled a collection of our favorite segments from the last year.

I mean, who can forget our discussion of feminism and story, or the history of punctuation, or our treatise on the theological meaning of Looney Tunes? But, if for some reason you have, that's what this clip show is all about.

Sit back and bask in an hour's condensed glory of your premiere storytelling podcast. Also, listen to Nick and Tim nearly break into fisticuffs.

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Episode 33 - How to be Timeless

We're alive! Tim and Nick emerge from their summer hiatus with an instant classic! It's a modern masterpiece! A genre-setting podcast! The best audio entertainment since "War of the Worlds"!

...

Or, at least, we discuss what makes a work of fiction "classic," and that has to be worth something, right?

We follow up with A Bit of Story from the "so-unknown-it-must-be-classic" Story Project and finish with a mini Take on Tales. So, if you've been pining for some Derailed Trains of Thought, we've got you covered. It might not be Shakespeare, but who wants to read that ancient fuddy-duddy stuff anyway?

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Episode 32 - Another World Awaits You

Wardrobes, Deloreans, looking-glasses, ter'angreal, blue phone boxes, linking books...if you want to enter a new realm, there are ways. But, of course, someone has to make the world first. Hence, world-building.

We start this episode with an interview with Dr. Pamela Jordan-Long, Chair of the Department of Professional Writing at Taylor University and Director of the Center for the Study of C.S. Lewis and Friends. (How's that for a title?) We talk secondary worlds, the act of creating a world beyond this one.

In the second half, Tim and Nick have a go at impromptu worldbuilding. So, if you ever have a longing for Faerie-land or perhaps a world reached by stepping just left of this one, listen in! We're sure you'll come back refreshed.

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Episode 31 - You Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth?

This episode we discuss colorful language, and we're not talking purple prose. (And unless you're Sergeant Snorkel from "Beetle Bailey," @!&%#$! probably isn't going to cut it.) So, while Nick tries to avoid swearing like a sailor, we come to the question: when, if ever, is swearing appropriate in fiction and film?

Afterward, join us for a Take on Tales where Tim discusses immortal alchemists living as 1930s gangsters (really!) and Nick actually finishes a video game. All this and more in episode 31 of Derailed Trains of Thought, your premiere storytelling podcast.

Great Odin's Raven, what more could you ask for?

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Episode 30 - The Droids You're Looking For

C-3PO. Short Round. Dr. Watson. That funny guy from National Treasure. Just because a character isn't the focus of a story, it doesn't mean he can't make an impression. So, Timothy Deal, with sidekick Nick (or is it Nick Hayden, with sidekick Tim?) take a look at what makes good supporting characters and why they're so essential.

Also with us is our own supporting character, Brian Scherschel, who presents Frank Capra's Lost Horizon, a movie that takes the viewer to Shangri-La and back. What more can you ask from the 30th(!) episode of your premiere storytelling podcast? We've been gone awhile, but one listen, and it'll be like we've never left. Like riding a bike. Or something.

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Episode 29 - Of Devils and Darkness

This episode, we muck around in the filth of humanity, in the deep mires of wickedness, in vile dens of...well, you get the idea. Why do we hang around in these places? We examine evil in fiction--is it psychological, a mistake, a cultural reaction, or something else? All the above?

We also present a scene of Satan on trial in "A Bit of Story" and then venture into brighter territory in a whirlwind of other mini-segments. Tune in for philosophical pondering and nerdy silliness in the 29th episode of your premiere storytelling podcast, Derailed Trains of Thought!

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Episode 28 - Of God and Supermen

Greetings, faithful listeners! This episode, Tim and Nick examine how belief interacts with fiction. How does God appear in stories? How do you tell the Truth when you're making things up? Also mentioned: aliens, superheroes, and, as always, the Doctor.

We follow up with Project Update (Taylor Trilogy!) and a Take on Tales featuring Alan Moore and girls who jump through time.

Join us for this episode of the ever-interesting, mostly coherent, exceptionally wonderful storytelling podcast, Derailed Trains of Thought!

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The Taylor Trilogy on DVD!

We promised, we delivered! The 10th Anniversary Edition DVD of The Taylor Trilogy is now available! Check out this spiffy trailer:



If you haven't heard us blather about this project before (probably impossible if you're a long-time listener), it's a series of romantic comedy student films made by Nick, his wife Natasha, and their friends while attending school at Taylor University Fort Wayne. Everyone involved is extremely proud of the result, even if it is a little rough around the edges production-quality wise. This special DVD - packed with lost footage, new trailers, and new commentary - is a project we've wanted to do for a long time and is finally ready for audiences' delight.

If you'd like your own copy of this DVD, please consider making a $5 donation via the Paypal link below to cover production and shipping costs, and then send us an e-mail at derailedtrains@gmail.com with your name and address. Deliveries should arrive in 1-2 weeks. We hope you enjoy!

Episode 27 - All You Need is Love?

Happy Valentine's Day (or Singles Awareness Day)! Seeing as the calendar reads February 14, we finally give up our pride, and our prejudice, and examine the idea of romance in fiction. In Story School, author Dawn Crandall shares experiences gleaned from her first novel to help us guys understand what makes a romance work. Then in Cinema Selections, movie-lover Brian Scherschel presents "Summertime," a beautiful, conflicted example of romance in movies.

So, show your good sense, and your sensibility, and give a listen to an extra-long Episode 27 of your premiere storytelling podcast.

And send us chocolate. Please?

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Episode 26 - Capers, Chaos, and Pythons...Oh My!

KA-POW! In this episode of Derailed Trains of Thought, Tim and Nick--BAM!--fight their way through the--BANG!--dangerous question of what--RAT-TAT-TAT!--makes action awesome. TICK. And what makes it--SNICK! ARGHHH!--just a mess of dead bodies. TICK.

Also,in the return of What If?--WHAM!--Tim and Nick examine the horrifying possibility--TICK, TICK--of Michael Bay directing The Wizard of Oz.

So, find your favorite bomb shelter--ZAP!--and listen to...wait, do you hear....TICK, TICK, TICK....

BOOOOOOMMM!!

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Episode 25 - In Which We Techno-Babble

01001000 01100101...er, I mean, Hello! I write to you through the wonders of electricity, fiber optics, Pentium chips, and other things that work by magic AKA science. This episode, Nick and Tim examine how technology not only continues to change how stories are told, but what stories are told. We also resurrect Our Take on Tales with short stories by Ray Bradbury and a darker anime series.

So, hook up the electronic audio system of your choice and imbibe the first episode of Derailed Trains of Thought of 2012. It's not the flying car you were promised, but it's almost as awesome.

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