The Projectionist's Lending Library

A dead man in a famous museum
A series of cryptic clues
A mystery leading to the greatest secret in history
(Well, until the next one)

These are the elements that make up Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, a chunky little thriller following Harvard professor Robert Langdon across a danger-filled Paris. It’s a potboiler, a fantasy, and a Grail-quest. It’s a tissue of pseudo-history and lies. It’s adream that could only have been evoked in the early-Twenty-First Century. It’s also the topic of this month’s episode of TheProjectionist’s Lending Library.

With special guest Stephanie Parker

Music: Marie Magdeleine

Lithe and listen, gentlefolk! The year is 1193, or thereabouts, anyway sometime in the reign of “Good King Richard” (the Lionheart, good for some and not so good for others). The place is merrie olde England—more precisely, Nottingham and its environs, under an enormous, ancient tree. The subject: Robin of Locksley, Robin o’ the Hood himself. You know the basic story—robs from the rich, gives to the poor. It’s a story that’s been told many times and in many ways, a story that’s designed to give its poor listeners comfort in difficult times. Well, I don’t know about you but it sure seems like times are difficult, so perhaps we’re ready for another look at the old bandit. He might still have something to offer.

The time: now. The place: here. The subject: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The podcast: The Projectionist’s Lending Library. Pull on your tights, get out your longbow—we’re going adventuring.

For more on the Robin Hood tradition, check out The Rest is History.
Music: Gems from "Robin Hood." Used under a Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Nathanael and Erik continue their brief foray into medieval verse with the late 14th century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the 2021 film adaptation The Green Knight directed by David Lowery and starring Dev Patel and Ralph Ineson. This episode's music comes from the album In a Medieval Garden by the Stanley Buetens Lute Ensemble, available at the internet archive. Nathanael references this youtube video by Novum in their discussion of the film.

A new season begins!

Horror has come to Hrothgar’s Hall. Grendel the monster,hated by God, has laid waste his mead-hall, slaughtered his men.
Now comes the champion, claiming renown: Beowulf the Brave,bringing his band to battle the monster, slay the beast.
Today on The Projectionist's Lending Library, we discuss the epic poem Beowulf, the 1976 novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton, and the movie The 13th Warrior.

Kline and Booth are joined by special guest Mark Brenden to discuss Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men. Mark gives insight into the novel and movie as examples of what he calls "The Bush Western"--a Western written during and responding to the early years of the War on Terror.

Music Used:
The Old Country Church
A Cowboy Serenade