Author Archives

Melissahttp://www.missmeliss.com

TBM-2005.04 – Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

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Description:

#audio. #essay A piece I wrote last year that was supposed to be a didactic dialogue about gun violence. It’s neither didactic nor a dialogue.

Excerpt:

Before that day, neither of us even knew his name.

Before that day, we were typical American kids, who sometimes pretended we were holding rifles or pistols when improvising scenes or re-enacting favorite bits from action films.

Before that day, I had no problem playing video games that involved blasting alien ships out of the sky.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Photo by Daniel van den Berg on Unsplash
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:57 — 9.6MB)

0893 - Twirly Girl

TBM-2004.30 – Twirly Girl

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0893 - Twirly Girl

Description:

#Audio. #flashfic #photoprompt Twirling isn’t just for little girls.

Excerpt:

When she opens her eyes, she thinks she’s become one with the earth, because she can feel the world spinning and see the clouds circling above, and she thinks it’s the best feeling ever.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Photo efrom the Facebook Flash Prompt group.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:00 — 4.9MB)

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TBM-2004.27 – Recipe for an Easter Eve

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Description:

#Audio. #recipe #covidsmetamorphosis My version of a really simple Neopolitan classic.

Excerpt:

Always, on Easter Eve, with the kitchen smelling like vinegar, and our fingers stained blue, green, purple, we would make aglio e olio, which in our New Jersey, Neapolitan dialect becomes something  more akin to “ahlya awlya.”

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Photo by Youjeen Cho on Unsplash
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:20 — 7.6MB)

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TBM-2004.23 – Family Planning

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Robot head looking front on camera isolated on a black background

Description:

#Audio. #flashfiction #covidsmetamorphosis When your partner is a synthetic lifeform, family planning takes on a whole new dimension.

Excerpt:

“We lost a son,” I corrected. And we had, two years before Elizabeth was born. Our son, Jake, had been stillborn. There had been no discernible cause. Sometimes, even with all the technology of many, many worlds, horrible things just… happened. “We are not building a replacement.”

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Photo by stock photo from 123rf.com
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:33 — 4.5MB)

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TBM-2004.20 – One Perfect Sentence?

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Description:

#Audio. #essay #covidsmetamorphosis What determines whether or not a sentence is perfect?

Excerpt:

Maybe it should have seventeen syllables, all stretched out in a line like Hemingway wrote for warm-ups. “American sentences,” he called them.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 4:06 — 4.2MB)

rompope

TBM1912.31 – FelicesFiestas07 – Cidre, Ponche & Rompope

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rompope

Description:

#Audio. #essay #sliceoflife #holidaysinbajasurmexico The three drinks of Christmas are cidre, ponche, and rompope.

Excerpt:

Since it’s New Years Eve, it seems appropriate to talk about the three drinks that are used to celebrate Christmas in Mexico: Cidre, Ponche and Rompope.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:05 — 3.1MB)

tamales

TBM1912.30 – FelicesFiestas06 – Tamales

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tamales

Description:

#Audio. #essay #sliceoflife #holidaysinbajasurmexico “Tamale season” is my favorite time of year.

Excerpt:

But the reality is that whether they’re wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves, tamales predate Christianity, so it’s more likely that the olive represents the seeds we plant for future harvests.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:07 — 2.1MB)

Mazapánes

TBM1912.26 – FelicesFiestas05 – Mazapánes

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Mazapánes

Description:

#Audio. #essay #sliceoflife #holidaysinbajasurmexico Mazapánes are a Mexican holiday tradition, and that’s not all that’s special about them.

Excerpt:

When Mom brought these around at her posada, all the Mexican guests immediately lit up, recognizing the special holiday treat. The American and Canadian guests had to be introduced to this new delicacy..

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:35 — 2.6MB)

Buñuelos

TBM1912.25 – FelicesFiestas04 – Buñuelos

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Buñuelos

Description:

#Audio. #essay #sliceoflife #holidaysinbajasurmexico Fried dough exists in every culture, but at Christmas in Mexico, you eat buñuelos.

Excerpt:

Traditionally, these are caseras  – homemade. You can’t typically buy them in stores, though sometimes you might pass someone selling them on the street. (We had Lupita make a bunch for us, both for the posada we hosted on Saturday evening, and to eat with hot chocolate this morning.) Also traditionally, you make them and gift them to other people.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:41 — 2.7MB)

Lupita's Pico de Gallo

TBM1912.25 – FelicesFiestas03 – Lupita’s Frutería

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Lupita's Pico de Gallo

Description:

#Audio. #essay #sliceoflife #holidaysinbajasurmexico Lupita’s Frutería is the source of the best pico de gallo.

Excerpt:

Now, pico de gallo itself is not a difficult thing to make. It’s just tomatos, onions, chili peppers and cilantro, maybe with a little bit of salt.

Links and References

Credits:

  • The Bathtub Mermaid: Tales from the Tub is written and produced by Melissa A. Bartell, and is recorded and produced using the Auphonic iPhone app and Audacity.
  • Bathtub Mermaid album art was created by Rebecca Moran of Moran Media
  • Sound Effects are from Freesound.

Contact:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:09 — 3.2MB)