Episode 21: Good Day by Saul Lemerond
Tim’s life is in shambles, what with the bitter divorce, problems with his kids, his meddling mother, his job, and the ever-increasing suicide rate. But he’s got a good attitude, and that makes all the difference between misery and, well, a particularly good day.
Warning: Today’s Dunesteef story is particularly twisted. Sick, even. Listener discretion is advised.
Also, Big and Rish talk about twisted and sick things, and try to discover when one has crossed the line.
Special thanks to Melissa Hills for the episode art.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/dunesteef/Dunesteef_21_Good_Day_by_Saul_Lemerond.mp3%20Right click to download the episode HERE.
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January 30, 2009 at 12:17 am
That story did make skin crawl a bit, but I still enjoyed it in a perverse sort of way.
My first accepted story was one that I now feel is too sick, and it hasn’t been reprinted since. My sister read it and wouldn’t talk to me for the rest of the day.
January 30, 2009 at 6:59 pm
this story is a masterpiece of twisted fantasy; the kid/girl voices were bizarre and heightened the sense of something gone terribly awry…
January 30, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Thank you (?)
January 31, 2009 at 3:08 pm
That story did make me laugh. It also reminded me of how they teach you in psychology that a person who has decided to follow through with a suicide attempt will have a sudden lift in spirits because they’ve made a decision (and as a medical provider, you should beware that unexplained lift). I thought the story might actually have some psychology realism to it – the unperturbable nature of true despair.
Also, the chatter afterward was some of the most interesting you’ve done.
January 31, 2009 at 10:22 pm
On the subject of donations, have you given any thought some sort of rewards program or something? I know a webcomic where the creator made a new seperate comic in the first comic’s style and then asked for donations. His threat was that if donations didn’t go over a certain amount by a certain day, the main character would die. This continued for months, and the character never died because the donations way exceeded expectations. Maybe have some content that you will only post if you reach certain donation goals?
February 1, 2009 at 10:52 am
This is the best episode of the Dunesteef thus far. It has it all, funny, sick, funny, dark, and funny. From beginning to end, this episode had it all. Great opening skit -if it was- twisted and funny story, with some nice new voice work, and very interesting / entertaining chatter after.
Derek may be on to something. May I suggest the follow donation price list.
Punch – $5
Break a bone $10
Cut off a finger $20
Golf club to the head $35
Cut off a hand $50
…and so on.
You could bring in 100 or 200 bucks in a month or so. Might need a new co-host by then, though.
February 3, 2009 at 3:14 pm
This one wasn’t over the line for me. Now that you mention it, not much is. The only thing I really can’t take is the graphic depiction of sexual violence. Just makes my stomach flop.
February 3, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Great bit of surreal absurd-ism. Loved it. Nice way to turn the world upside down instead of money/plastic surgery/being thin/being cool/etc being the answer, it was killing yourself.
Keep up the good work.
February 4, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I agree with all the comments. Nice piece. Dark and absurdly funny. Way to go.
And the banter was good too. Fine episode!
~Doug
February 5, 2009 at 3:46 pm
That was fantastic.
February 9, 2009 at 9:49 am
That was a really interesting story. Normally, I’d find a story about a man who takes pleasure in watching his family commit suicide offensive, but for some reason this seemed… meaningful.
The story was really well-constructed. I liked that an explanation for the suicides was given, but in an off-hand way that didn’t seem arbitrary, like such explanations usually do. Very good buildup, going from the breakfast table to the empty highway in short, plausible steps. Very competent writing.
I think the reason this didn’t offend me was because I take it as a commentary on the breakdown of Western values. It seems like–in regards to our personal relationships, to our social institutions, to the way our government operate, to the way people regard each other in general–we’re getting to this point where we look at other humans as problems to be solved. I think it’s an interesting coincidence that this story came out the same week that that the third most powerful official in our government stated the birth control = economic stimulus. Fewer Americans makes for a better America.
People are a problem. If we could just figure out some way to get rid of all these damn people, all the problems would be solved. I just see that attitude reflected in so many places, on so many levels. This story took that attitude and ran with it satirically, depicting a world where no one care about anyone at all and where just getting rid of people is an acceptable solution to solving personal problems. Timely.
February 23, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Wow. This is my favorite Dunesteef story so far. Very darky, funny and witty. The off-hand way with which some story details were presented worked very good, made it both extra dark and very funny at the same time. Niiiiice!
February 24, 2009 at 9:36 am
I enjoyed the irreverent tone.
PS: the only story I can’t finish reading anymore is a Stephen King story, “Sun Dog”. It STILL scares the crap out of me.
April 1, 2009 at 2:28 am
You know, I remember reading a Variety article years ago that said they were going to do “The Sun Dog” as a 3-D IMAX short film. It never got made, though.
June 29, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Great story.