Mac Sledge is no Don Draper

Hey Dude, I come to terms with the fact I'll never be Don Draper, but the truth is I'd rather be Mac Sledge.

QUOTE: "Obviously I don't look like Don Draper..."

AUDIO LINK

CAST: Ming Ming (cameo), Don Draper, Jon Hamm, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Mac Sledge, Sanford Meisner, Jeff Goldblum, Lawrence Fishburne

LOCATIONS: Ming Ming's Barn, New York City, Neighborhood Playhouse

PROPS: toupee, Country Western, litmus test, Meisner Technique, Westerns

MOVIES/TV: Mad Men, The Godfather, The Great Santini, Apocalypse Now, True Confessions, Colors, Tender Mercies

SOUNDS: Ming Ming, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes (more cowbell), birds, planes

PHOTO: "Mac Sledge Googled" via YouTube shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: February 27, 2026 in "Ming Ming's Barn" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 16:12

FILE SIZE: ~ 16 MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

Broken Hearts and Beautiful Voices

Hey Dude, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm attracted to women with beautiful voices. My maddest crush is on Brandi Carlile who is also my favorite contemporary artist.

QUOTE: "She's GenX adjacent..." 

AUDIO LINK

CAST: Brandi Carlile, Howard Stern, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Kermit The Frog

LOCATIONS: The 5 Freeway

PROPS: SNL, GenX, CBS Sunday Morning

MUSIC: "Right on Time", rock and roll, folk, country, gospel, jazz, standards, classical, popular music, Grammys

SOUNDS: gravel, footsteps, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes (more cowbell), fast car, birds, planes

PHOTO: "Right on Brandi (and The Twins)" via YouTube shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: January 24, 2026 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 12.21

FILE SIZE: ~ 12MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

Gallery at the End of the World

Hey Dude, while exhibiting my photos at the "Gallery at the End of the World" in the Mariposa Junction, I reconnected with Altadena through art, community and the power of podcasting.

QUOTE: "Frankly, I didn't want to have to go through the whole committee process."

AUDIO LINK

CAST: Dick Van Dyke, Ben Mc Ginty, Dave Lovejoy, Stacey (Sacred Silver), Ming Ming (aka "My Buddy")

LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, "Moorpark Church", Studio City, Gallery at the End of the World, Altadena, Mariposa Junction, Cafe de Leche, The Last Bookstore, Altadena Hardware, Altadena Library, North Hollywood High School

PROPS: Spring, Autumn, Eaton Fire, History of Podcasting Project, Zoom, show notes, Altadena Junction, LA Podcasters, Podcast Hall of Fame, Christmas

RELIGIONS: Unitarian Universalism, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, atheism

SOUNDS: birds, gravel, footsteps, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes planes, trains and automobiles

PHOTO: "Photo Sold" shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: December 13, 2025 on the "Wawona Lawn" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 15:36

FILE SIZE: ~ 16MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

Self-Portrait at 60

Hey Dude, I try to sort through my messy milestone birthday, perfectly captured in my super funky selfie that inspired the call.

QUOTE: "There's a lot of strands in the old duder's head..."

AUDIO LINK

CAST: Modesto, Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani, The Dude, The Doors, Bill Murray

SPECIAL GUEST CAMEO: Ming Ming

LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City (UUCSC), Paris, France, Smoke House, Ernie's Taco House, Toluca Lake, Casa Vega, Hill Street Cafe, St. Leon Armenian Cathedral, Bob's Big Boy, In-N-Out Burger

PROPS: Facebook, #MoreDoubles, podcasting

FILMS: The Big Lebowski, Caddyshack

SONGS: Dancing in the Dark

LULLABY: The End by The Doors

SOUNDS: gravel, footsteps, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes helicoper, Ming Ming, jet, wind

PHOTO: "Self-Portrait" shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: October 18, 2025 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 17:14

FILE SIZE: ~ 17MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

Raiders of the Lost Open Mic

Hey Dude, I goof on myself about my recent disastrous performances at an informal open mic at my church.

QUOTE: "Well, that went so well, why not?"

AUDIO LINK

CAST: George Clooney, Vince Vaughn, James Franco, Harrison Ford, Chef Ben Ford

LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City (UUCSC), Studio City, Studio City Theater

PROPS: androgyny

MOVIES: Rocky, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blade Runner

SPECIAL GUEST CAMEO: Ming Ming

SOUNDS: gravel, footsteps, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes bird, Ming Ming

PHOTO: "Raiders Googled" shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: August 23, 2025 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 13:45

FILE SIZE: 14 MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.Hey Dude, I goof on myself about my recent disasterous performances at an informal open mic at my church.

"Oh Lord, Stuck in Lodi Again"

Hey Dude, I rave about basking in John Fogerty's light at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus I ask your advice about how to tell some of my saucy stories with songs.

QUOTE: "If there's a Heaven, he's gonna be there rockin'!"

MUSICIANS: John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Belinda Carlisle, Go-Go's, Kittens for Christian, Alicia Silverstone, Richie Valens

VENUES: Hollywood Bowl, Hamburg, Germany, UCLA, Burbank

INSTRUMENTS: Beauty and the Beat, Volkswagen Bug

LULLABYE: "Lodi" by John Fogerty

SOUNDS: wind, gravel, footsteps, saw, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes

PHOTO: "John Fogerty Sees the Light" shot with my iPhone XS

AUDIO LINK

RECORDED: July 16, 2025 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 12:32

FILE SIZE: 13 MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

"Long As I Can See the Light"

Hey Dude, the amazing Reverand Rick retired at the top of his game to become an artist, while the jury is still out for me.

QUOTE: "Just do your thing. Come as you are."

MUSICIANS: Reverend Rick, Paramahansa Yogananda, John Fogerty

VENUES: Studio City, Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, Claremont, Self Realization Fellowship, Echo Park, Altadena

INSTRUMENTS: Unitarian Universalism, poetry reading, pandemic, podcasting, Zoom, Eaton Fire, GoFundMe, AA

SPECIAL GUEST CAMEO: Ming Ming

LULLABYE: "Long As I Can See the LIght" by John Fogerty

SOUNDS: wind, birds, gravel, footsteps, saw, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes 

AUDIO LINK

PHOTO: "Ricky's Last Word" shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: July 2, 2025 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 13:36

FILE SIZE: 8MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

Hey Dude, my recent reconnection to music makes me travel back in time to 2004, where I was living in a basement apartment in "Eagle Rock" and working on a one person show called "Broken Hearts and Sad Country Songs."

QUOTE: "Whatever!"

AUDIO LINK

MUSICIANS: Stan Hillas, Kittens For Christian, Bruce Springsteen, Marilyn Monroe, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan

VENUES: United Kingdom, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, Sun Valley

INSTRUMENTS: spoken word and music, podcasting, Karaoke

SONGS: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" "Dancing In The Dark" "Funny How Time Slips Away"

SOUNDS: wind, birds, gravel, footsteps, "The 5 Freeway", planes, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes

PHOTO: "Lonesome Lyrics" shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: June 21, 2025 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 12:35

FILE SIZE: 8MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog, confessional

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

Hollywood Way to The Valley

Hey Dude, an innocent Sunday drive to the Hollywood Bowl box office with my dad, turns into a mudslide of deep hometown memories.

QUOTE: "If you don't drive through your hometown, are you really in your hometown?"

LULLABY: "Hooray for Hollywood" (Whitling/Mercer)

AUDIO LINK 

MUSICIANS/CAST: John Fogerty, Joan Anderson, George Clooney, Billy Strings, Bob Dylan

LOCATIONS: The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, Hollywood Way, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Studio, Universal Studios, Cahuenga Pass, Highland Ave., Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood United Methodist Church, Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood High, Burbank High, North Hollywood High, In-N-Out Burger, Director's Guild, Laugh Factory, Laurel Canyon, Mt. Olympus, Laurel Canyon County Store, Mulholland Drive, San Fernando Valley ("The Valley"), Fryman Canyon Park, Capenter Avenue School, Ventura Blvd., Thrifty's, Studio City Theater, Carney's, Pinz Bowling Alley, Sportsman's Lodge, Weddington Golf & Tennis, Harvard-Westlake, Ringside Liquor, Henry's Tacos, Woodbridge Park, Jennifer's Coffee, Tujunga Village, Ernie's Taco House

PROPS: Saturday Stairs, "The Californians", Little League, "Rocky"

MUSIC: "All Along the Watchtower"

SOUNDS: birds, gravel, footsteps, "The 5 Freeway", Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes

PHOTO: "Fogerty at the Bowl" shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: May 26, 2025 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 16:29

FILE SIZE: 9MB

GENRES: storytelling, personal storytelling, personal journal, journal, personal narrative, audio, audio blog

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.

California Sober at The Hollywood Bowl

Hey Dude, I took my dad to see Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival at The Hollywood Bowl and it somehow magically restored my faith in my own home town.

QUOTE: "I would call it a borderline spiritual experience..."

LULLABY: "California Sober" by Billy Strings

AUDIO LINK

MUSICIANS/CAST: Willie Nelson, P-22 (mountain lion), Ricky Gervais, Sierra Hull, Billy Strings, Bob Dylan, Cate Blanchett, Deadheads, Jimi Hendrix

LOCATIONS: The Hollywood Bowl, Ventura Blvd, Universal City, Burbank, Griffith Park, LA Zoo, Greek Theatre, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, LA County, Hollywood HIlls, California, Hollywood, Cahuenga Pass

PROPS: pandemic, Saturday Stairs, Hollywood Sign, Hollywood Cross, American Flag, California Flag, pot, weed, vaping, contact high, threading

MUSIC: "Whatever", The Beatles, "California Sober", "All Along the Watchtower", John Wesley Harding

SOUNDS: plane, gravel, footsteps, Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes wind

PHOTO: "Hollywood Bowl Outlaw" shot with my iPhone XS

RECORDED: May 18, 2025 in "The Cafe" under the flight path of the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California

GEAR: Zoom H1 XLR with Sennheiser MD 46 microphone.

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 19:28 FILE SIZE: 10MB

HYPE: "It's a beatnik kinda literary thing in a podcast cloak of darkness." Timothy Kimo Brien (cohost on Podwrecked and host of Create Art Podcast)

DISCLAIMER/WARNING: Proudly presented rough, raw and ragged. Seasoned with salty language and ideas. Not for most people's taste. Please be advised.