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August 1999 August 1999
The Growler Tapes
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"to be frank, paul had to change his name." (Oldold)
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in this issue:
- - GROWLER RADIO 22: The Noise Thief is available.
This story gives a new meaning to "sound bite."
- - GRIST: Fred openly blasts price increase for Growler products.
- - AMAZING HUHU FACTS: The Deck Of Antiquity, the deceptor.
- - THE GROWLERVILLE TOURIST: A trip into the Forbidden Zone, part 2.
- - UNCLE HUHU'S KNOCK-KNOCK CITY: Some of his favorites.
- - TAPES/CDS AVAILABLE, BUT NOT YET IN THE CATALOG:
GR20 Toxic Obnoxic GR21 Bottomless Bag
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Did you know that our website has 24 age appropriate crossword
puzzles? Go here: The Growler Tapes Crossword Puzzles
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GROWLER RADIO 22, The Noise Thief is now available:
When technicians at the Oldold Institute opened
the vessel containing the mineral sample from the Forbidden
Zone, they were unable to talk or call for help. Just
prior to the incident, the Deck Of Antiquity was seen
nearby. Could it have been working with the Noise Thief
toward some mutual objective?
The kids get tricked by a master of deception and
experience the amazing creature that grazes on sound energy.
Along the way they encounter Grandpa Huhu, who's trying to
get a handle on a potentially bad problem. And then there's
Dr. Growler, who never makes life easy.
Concepts: Sound as a form of life sustaining energy.
Revisits: The Forbidden Zone, GR19, GR20.
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GRIST
"To Bob Sakayama: When I signed on to do these tapes, I intended to stay
out of the politics of the production company, but things have changed. As I
understood it, the original plan was to make high end audio programs for kids,
marketed with a solid price advantage. I agree with that. That's smart. But
now, out of nowhere, you're upping the price, and all for what? You need more
money? So you're taking it from children? From helpless little ones! Shame on
you! I bet you don't print this." Signed, Growler Fred.
Dear Growler Fred: You may have forgotten that this price increase is to
cover your recent contract demands. We need the money, to pay YOU! Of course,
we think you're great and deserve every penny. Knock'em dead, Fred. Signed,
Bob Sakayama, producer, THE GROWLER TAPES.
"To Bob: Don't sweet talk me! And don't blame me for your own
greediness! Of course I'm great! But I don't like how you say it just to trick
me into being friendly! And I don't ever want to see another reference to
'knock'em dead, Fred.' Got it?" Signed, Fred
(editor's note: Bob said to let Fred have the last word.)
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AMAZING HUHU FACTS from GR 22, The Noise Thief)
Fact: An encrusted friend is a powerful ally.
No one is certain where it came from, and very little about it is
understood. We know it precedes our ancestor Oldold, because he mentions it in
his writings as an object of admiration. We speak of the Deck Of Antiquity.
Classified as an unreliable communicator, this ancient deceptor has thrived by
helping other encrustations. It usually appears to be a set of playing cards,
with the word, "Antiquity" in hieroglyphs on the backs. It then may change form
depending on the needs of the Deck, which is known for brilliant deceptions.
The cards reportedly have transformed into counterfeit postcards, signs,
instructions, money, maps, pages in books, flash cards, and has been the cause
of many disputes in Old Maid. It always operates in close proximity to a host
encrustation, which benefits greatly from its helpful services & tricks.
However, unless you are an encrusted form, prepare to be fooled by the
incredible Deck Of Antiquity.
And that's an amazing Huhu fact.
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-- !! PRICE RISE COMING !! -- !! PRICE RISE COMING !! --
On October 1, 1999, all Growler tapes go to $7 per tape
-- !! PRICE RISE COMING !! -- !! PRICE RISE COMING !! --
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THE GROWLERVILLE TOURIST by Mr. E.
The Forbidden Zone, part 2:
Traveling around in the Forbidden Zone has given me a new respect for the
powerful forces at play here. Like mountain tops and open seas, this area can
suddenly become extremely hazardous even while it remains beautiful. The
researchers try to minimize risks, but the dangers may be everywhere as well as
unknown. Scientists have mapped out certain areas known to be relatively safe -
meaning that most who enter also return - and these are the areas under study.
The Oldold Institute's mandate is to study the resources of the Forbidden Zone
in an effort to improve the lives of the community. Although the Institute was
formed in ancient times, only recently have some realistic benefits from
research actually been within reach. I ask for a demonstration of these
promising results and they are eager to show me when we get back.
Now, we're headed toward the huge system of waterfalls called Silent Falls, so
named because it really is completely silent. The sensors on our vehicle were
all showing the presence of large numbers of encrusted forms. As we get closer,
the effect is even spookier. The falls are huge! This place should be roaring
with water sounds. My hosts point my attention toward the shoreline below the
falls. I see tiny wet forms slowly moving toward dry land. Very cute little
creatures. I am told that these are Noise Thieves like those we experienced
earlier as they grazed on our sounds, making it impossible for us to speak.
Normally, they are invisible. But when they get wet, they become not only
visible, but also unable to consume sound. Silent Falls is laden with paradox:
because of the loud sounds created by the falls, the Noise Thief thrives here,
creating silence. As the Noise Thief moves closer and closer to the source of
the sound, it gets wet, becomes visible, and can't eat sound! Then it moves
away, dries off, etc. One of the researchers climbs out of our vehicle and
picks up a vulnerable, wet Noise Thief. She brings it back in a damp towel and
I get a close up look. So cute and tiny. They're bringing this one back to
study. It gets put into an isolation canister with it's own tiny sound system -
but this sound system provides sustenance for the Noise Thief! I'm told they
like all kinds of music.
We head into more hilly terrain and the research team stops to point out the
barren flat land ahead. They pull out maps and from their discussion I learn
that yesterday there was a large encrusted forest in this place. Since the
sensors show no encrusted forms nearby, the absence of the forest is not
alarming the crew, but I feel a little creepy. They conjecture that the forest
is just behaving naturally - disappearing or traveling somewhere in response to
things we don't understand. Someone suggests that this may be the famous Time
Forest, that moves around in time seeking more favorable conditions. They take
a lot of pictures and we move on. I can see we're headed back because I
recognize the formations along our trail.
The scientists teach me some of the historical background on the Forbidden Zone.
For most of the historic past, the Forbidden Zone was actually that: forbidden.
No one was permitted to enter it. The Parents of Antiquity, whose documents
are one of the foundations of Huhu Law, declared harsh penalties for anyone who
entered what they called the "Sacred Reservoir," which was reserved only for the
highest elders who sought to make peace with the incredible forces known to
reside there.
However, when valuable and rare minerals were rumored to be easily available, it
became acceptable to sneak into the Forbidden Zone to go treasure hunting. The
first substance of recognized value to be taken commercially was a gem called
"Glitch." It's visual beauty is stunning, and an entire industry developed
around mining this mineral and selling it as jewelry. But it was a perilous
occupation, and many of these miners never returned from the zone. The
government at first tried to protect the citizens from the apparent dangers of
the zone by increasing the penalties for illegal entry. This strategy
boomeranged by driving the value of Glitch to new highs. Glitch jewelry became
the fashion rage, and caused the number of arrests & imprisonments for illegal
entry to the Forbidden Zone to skyrocket, leading to a political movement which
would drastically change the way society viewed the zone. The Ancient Huhu
Council finally reversed itself and declared the Forbidden Zone open to anyone
foolish enough to enter. The government strongly advised against entry, and
provided free counseling to anyone who felt compelled to go in, but there would
be no more punishments. As it became widely available, the value of Glitch
collapsed to the point where today the mineral is no longer considered valuable,
except as antique jewelry.
The new law opened the eyes of a young Oldold, who had been perfecting processes
involving the creation of substances with encrusted properties. With a small
handful of undo enchantments as protection, Oldold entered the Forbidden Zone
and started gathering information on every encrusted form he could identify.
His findings led him to believe that society would someday benefit from the
proper harnessing of forces available in the zone. The Oldold Institute was
founded with this purpose in mind.
Nowadays most keep their distance from the Forbidden Zone. The huge statues,
although they look ancient, are really very new, put up to remind wandering
Growlers that they're too close to the zone. The Growlers themselves lobbied
for the statues when it became apparent that they were by far the biggest
victims of the Forbidden Zone, mostly a result of unintentional wandering.
We make it back to the Institute. As we enter the compound, technicians run out
to meet the vehicle and wash off the dust. They motion for us to follow them
into a laboratory. The door is marked "Noise Thief Studies." Mother Huhu's
crew from the Magic Helpline is cleaning up from an earlier live broadcast and
tells us the astounding news. Every single Noise Thief in the entire lab
escaped from its canister. The researcher who had recently captured a Noise
Thief said, "not every one!" and picked up her canister. But to her surprise,
the canister's door had also been opened from the outside, like all the others
in the lab. They quickly sprayed a little water in the area, but the creature
was gone. Well, readers, guess what just got out of the Forbidden Zone? I
learn that more than a dozen Noise Thieves are unaccounted for! All the
researchers are summoned to emergency meetings and I am left alone with all the
empty Noise Thief canisters in the lab, and suddenly I feel very uneasy about
being back in Growlerville.
Next time:
The Growlerville Tourist uncovers an incredible story of science and
ethics. How and why the Noise Thieves did what they did. The political
repercussions of encrusted life form experimentation and the formation of EAR
(Encrusted Animal Rights). Also some recent revelations about Glitch jewelry
that are less than comforting.
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UNCLE HUHU'S KNOCK KNOCK CITY
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Minviz.
Minviz who?
'Minvizible. Help!
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Justice.
Justice who?
Justice once won't you be quiet?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Snow.
Snow who?
Snow one here but me.
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Thumb.
Thumb who?
Thumb times I just don't know about you!
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REMINDER: available, but not yet in the printed catalog:
GROWLER RADIO 21, Bottomless Bag (GR21): now available
Everyone's looking for Grandma Huhu. Students
enrolled in Time Manipulation 101 reported her missing when
she failed to show for morning lecture. Their greatest fear
is that she might be stuck somewhere unknown in time, which
would be a big problem. But the actual problem is in fact
much, much bigger.
When you see butterflies flying into a Bottomless Bag,
you probably should investigate. This bag is bigger on the
inside than the outside, so it holds a LOT! The kids get a
peek into the past, have a first hand experience with Fast
Fingers, and get on the wrong side of Growler Fred.
Concepts: This story is one of 3 (others are GR11 & GR13) in
which the the beginning is the end. It is also one of
several that provide a model for understanding other
dimensions.
Revisits: 7 fingered glove (Fast Fingers) and Sooner Or
Later. (from GR11)
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GROWLER RADIO 20, Toxic Obnoxic (GR20)
Dr. Growler's maniacal attempt to get rid of darkness
has led him to make some compromises and take some risks.
Like using an encrusted mineral he knows is dangerous. He
miscalculated the consequences of failure and that increased
the risks not only for the Growlers, but civility itself.
The Baby Huhu twins are missing, dangerous objects are
falling from above, and night no longer is a time of darkness.
The kids discover the truth about Project No Night and they
want no part of it. And then there's this comic book that
puts you at the center of the story, and much more.
Concepts: Consequences of experimenting with hazardous
substances, altering the environment by making night as
bright as day.
Revisits: Growlershine, Project No Night (from GT4, GR6)
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All Growler stories are now available on both audiocassettes & CDs.
To order tapes, CDs or a catalog: 1-800-GROWLER or ORDER FORM
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To read more about available Growler tapes/CDs:
The Growler Tapes (Classic Series) I-IV
Growler Radio 1-22
THE
GROWLER TAPES I-IV CATALOG
(The Classic Series)
for kids 4-10
Listen to samples
GROWLER RADIO 1-27 CATALOG
for kids 6-12
Listen to samples
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(ISBNs, reviews,
ordering info)
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Uncle Huhu's
Knock Knock City
Some of the best
knock-knock jokes from
his show Miscellaneous
The Huhu's Who's Who Everyone who is anyone.
Oldold, Ancestor &
Master Of Natural Forces
Learn more about this significant ancient
What Are Growlers?
audiocassettes / cds THE GROWLER TAPES I-IV audiocassettes / cds
(The Classic Series) for kids 4+
audiocassettes / cds GROWLER RADIO 1-27 for kids 6+ audiocassettes / cds
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