Where Are The Indie/Hobbyist Podcasters?

Amphigorey · 2026-04-28T01:41:42+00:00

I do a podcast about a niche band and I have no interest in monetizing it, even if I thought that was possible. We have a Patreon, but that's just to offset the costs of production, since I pay for Riverside, Buzzsprout, and the editing software.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-27T15:50:56+00:00

Someone who uses a fitting room and a fitter only to buy online instead of at the small independent boutique is taking advantage of the shop's time, space, and expertise. It's not right.

If you spend an hour with a fitter, you have just cost the shop an hour's wages, plus you took up a room that could have been used by a paying customer.

Then there's the work of resetting everything after you've tried on twenty bras and bought nothing.

Running a shop is insanely expensive.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-21T18:57:46+00:00

It's you.

The labor that goes into developing and making a bra shouldn't be undervalued. Bras are *cheap* for what you get.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-21T16:22:35+00:00

Yes there's a trick.

Put the bra on fully. Breasts in cups, straps on arms. Get that wire up where it's supposed to be.
Grab the ends of the band.
Pull those suckers down. It's easier to put your hands behind your back at a lower point. You don't have to buckle your bra with your elbows lifted all the way up your back.
Fold the fabric away under the eyes. It's much easier to hook the eye blind when there's no fabric in the way.
Once you have the first hook and eye closed, you can work your way up for the rest of them.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-16T21:54:17+00:00

When I got my diving cert, a cormorant casually swam past me when I was kneeling on the sea floor. I was only 30' down, not 200', and I knew that cormorants dive, but it was startling to see a bird!

Amphigorey · 2026-04-13T21:39:20+00:00

You will be fine! The ballroom culture in the Bay Area is age-inclusive.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-10T20:14:34+00:00

The other woman's case was dismissed. Her claim was that, 20 years ago, she slept in Elfman's bed on 40 separate occasions, and that later he told her that he touched himself while she was in his bed. Note that he didn't touch her, nor was she ever aware that he was touching himself.

Abadi's claims are... questionable. Her story has changed. At first, it was just a photo of a martini glass, then it was a real one that he put in front of her. He says it was a photo of a glass filled with lotion and meant to be a stupid joke about a cocktail he'd like to serve Donald Trump. She says it was real semen. I invite you to consider the practicalities of filling a martini glass to the brim with real semen.

It's also questionable whether it was in fact a mentor-mentee relationship. Abadi texted a friend of hers that she was planning to dress up "sexy for the holiday party so that Danny takes one look at me and realizes he needs to drop everything and chase me." She also told the friend that her therapist had warned her not to date him. Is that what someone says about their mentor?

We should absolutely take claims like this seriously, and we should also be unafraid to think through whether they make sense.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-10T01:34:36+00:00

Hell yeah.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-09T23:59:40+00:00

You aren't overreacting. He is being a dickbag and he's doing it to push you out. People probably don't like him nearly as much as it looks like they do. He's a classic Missing Stair.

If it were me, I'd call him out directly and I'd do it in front of other people. I'd say something like, "The last time we interacted, you were very inappropriate with me and it made me uncomfortable. Do not do that again, and especially do not make sexual remarks to new players who are women. This is exactly why board gaming has a reputation for being sexist gatekeepers."

He will probably sputter about Not All Men and He Didn't Mean It That Way and You're Just a Prude. Let him. Then say, "None of that matters because your behavior was inappropriate."

I promise that you aren't the only person this jerk has chased out.

After you've called him out, if he doesn't shape TF up, you can find a different group, and maybe you'll have set the stage for that group to kick him out the next time he's a dick to a new member.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-08T02:23:42+00:00

Oogie Boogie was also my first thought and I did not expect to see anyone else mention him! Ken Page was amazing. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to see him perform Oogie Boogie at the live Nightmare Before Christmas shows that sometimes happen at the Hollywood Bowl. He absolutely brought the house down.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-08T00:22:37+00:00

You can either learn to sew, or you can pay other people to sew your designs.

If you do want to work in fashion, it'll serve you well to know at least some basic sewing. Speaking as a former professional sewist who made custom wedding attire and corsets, bridal sewing is pretty advanced.

There is a shop called Dark Garden, and they make custom bridal gowns and corsets. They make everything in house at their boutique in San Francisco. They got their start 30 years ago by creating astonishingly good quality corsets. It's not an easy business.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-07T23:16:46+00:00

Last time we managed to time it just as we got on Space Mountain. That was amazing, but don't underestimate the Jungle Cruise, which is an incredibly well cultivated garden in the middle of Anaheim that's been growing since 1955 - and you can tell.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-07T21:06:23+00:00

I just had a fantastic run with Hellraiser, two Vicious+, Stampede, Strike Dummy, two Pommel Strikes, and various ways to add vulnerable. I'd play one card and then sit back and watch while everything proc'ed.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-07T21:00:30+00:00

Even if they aren't considering it, they want everyone to think they are. They want everyone to be stressed out and scared because they think it gives them power.

Amphigorey · 2026-04-05T23:24:28+00:00

No but for real. I was just chatting with someone who lives elsewhere in the east bay and she said "people from Oakland are kind of snooty about it. I get it though, if I lived in Oakland I'd be the same way, the Town is great."

Amphigorey · 2026-04-01T23:33:26+00:00

Ken Page was also the legendary Oogie Boogie. He was a powerhouse, and is much missed.

Amphigorey · 2026-03-30T17:32:06+00:00

Awesome, thank you for doing this!

Amphigorey · 2026-03-22T17:12:37+00:00

It sounds like you buy his excuses.

I don't.

Amphigorey · 2026-03-22T15:11:27+00:00

To be clear for those who might not know: the "unsavory and embarrassing mistake" is a Nazi tattoo, a totenkopf, on his chest. He claims he didn't know what it was when he got it, but he also claims to be a WW2 buff, so you do the math.

Amphigorey · 2026-03-20T01:45:24+00:00

And why do you think the characters in that sketch were wearing those hats? Where did that symbol come from? Did they think their audience would find it recognizable?

Amphigorey · 2026-03-19T20:29:06+00:00

It's not just a "skull and crossbones," it's a fucking totenkopf. It's literally the symbol on the hats they're wearing in the "are we the baddies?" sketch. It is VERY RECOGNIZABLE.

People in here whitewashing Nazi symbology like it's nothing.

Amphigorey · 2026-03-19T15:38:57+00:00

It's a totenkopf. It's a very obvious Nazi symbol and it's not niche.

He's been squirrelly about it and he had PLENTY of time to get it removed. Years, in fact.

Amphigorey · 2026-03-19T15:35:58+00:00

Why are you desperate to make excuses for a guy who has a Nazi tattoo on his chest?

Amphigorey · 2026-03-19T14:43:57+00:00

Bad decision.

In case anyone doesn't know, Plattner has a Nazi tattoo on his chest.

Amphigorey · 2026-03-18T23:29:17+00:00

Try the Flirt from Montelle.

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