''The Ah-Ha Phenomenon'' is a

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

, produced by the

ZBS Foundation ZBS Foundation, a small non-profit audio production company, was founded by Thomas Lopez (aka "Meatball Fulton") in 1970 with a grant from Robert E. Durand as a working commune, located on a donated farm in Upstate New York. ZBS stands for "Zero Bu ...

.ZBS.org
link
(The Ah-Ha Phenomenon) Released in 1977 this is the third of the

Jack Flanders Jac Flanders, full name Jonathan L. Flanders, is the protagonist of a series of audio dramas produced by the ZBS Foundation. He is the creation of writer and sound artist Thomas Lopez and is played by actor Robert Lorick. Jac is an adventurer w ...

adventure series, and combines elements of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

and

Old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

with metaphysical concepts such as Sufi wisdom and

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

Plot

is approached by a mysterious research institute; the head of one of its departments, Jack's uncle Sir Seymour Jowls (brother to Lord Henry Jowls who was introduced in

The Fourth Tower of Inverness ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' is a 1972 radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialo ...

) claims to have discovered the location of the fabled City of The Ah-Has, the source of the great ideas and inventions of the future, in the keeping of the higher powers, for their timely release to mankind. Sir Seymour wants Jack to go to the city and steal the Ah-Ha of the grand

Unified Field Theory In physics, a unified field theory (UFT) is a type of field theory that allows all that is usually thought of as fundamental forces and elementary particles to be written in terms of a pair of physical and virtual fields. According to the modern ...

. Jack agrees only when it is revealed that this city is also the location of the ''Lotus Jukebox'' for which Jack sought in vain through all of his adventures inside

. Seeking the help of Chief Wampum, Jack travels to the land of the City of Ah-Has, meeting a pesky troll and an eccentric wizard along the way before he must face the perils of the great city itself - source of the haunting music (" Angel Baby") that Jack has pursued through dimensions, demons and dire deeds...

Notes & Themes

This adventure concludes

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

's travels in

, and is the adventure in which he finally locates the fabled Lotus Jukebox. The production is made with a minimal cast and is the shortest of all the

stories. The CD is printed with the title ''The AH-HA! Phenomena'' but ZBS refer to it on their website and literature as The Ah-Ha Phenomenon. Chief Wampum's role is clearly a homage, albeit a comedic one, to

Don Juan Matus Carlos Castañeda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an American writer. Starting with ''The Teachings of Don Juan'' in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that purport to describe training in shamanism that he received under the tu ...

, the

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United Stat ...

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

from the writings of

Carlos Castaneda Carlos Castañeda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an American writer. Starting with '' The Teachings of Don Juan'' in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that purport to describe training in shamanism that he received under the ...

Jukeboxes

During his adventures

encounters several

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

es, each with a different theme. * Whirlitzer of Wisdom - This is the first jukebox discovered, and the only one outside of the Fourth Tower. For the price of a dime, it plays various wisdoms by people such as

Ram Dass Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

and

Don Van Vliet Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

(billed as the Venerable Van Vliet). Its name is based on the classic

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

jukebox. * Great Green Jade Jukebox - This is the second jukebox discovered, inside the Fourth Tower. It is able to bring a city to life, replaying encounters in order. In order to reach the next step, track 2 must be played, and so on. * Bodhisattva Jukebox - This is the final jukebox discovered inside the Fourth Tower. It features chants by Bhagavan Das, and listening to it brings understanding. The characters' heads and arms expand, in a way similar to a story of the

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

. * Lotus Jukebox - Source of the haunting music (" Angel Baby"). Although this is what he is searching for in

does not encounter it until The Ah-Ha Phenomenon.

Quotes

Chief Wampum: "No matter what, do not holler Help-um!" Wizard: "You want the Wizard should embellish?"

Credits

Robert Lorick Robert Lorick (died January 2016) was a lyricist, actor, and writer, best known as a Broadway lyricist and for his work portraying Jack Flanders, the lead character in a series of ZBS Foundation audio adventures produced from 1972 until Lorick's ...

* Sir Seymour Jowls - Owen McGhee * Cynthia, Hostess & Archivist - P.J. Orte * Narrator & Troll - Dave Herman * Chief Wampum & Wizard - Meatball Fulton (

Thomas Lopez Thomas Lopez, aka Meatball Fulton (born 1935), is president of the ZBS Foundation and one of the foundation's founders. He writes and produces the ZBS Foundation's audio drama productions. When he was working in radio in the 1960s, Lopez took "M ...

) * Music - Tim Clark * Graphics - Jaye Oliver * Director, Script & Story - Meatball Fulton (

) This project was made possible by donations from the generous Friends & Fans of ZBS.

References

External links

ZBS Foundation

Whirlitzer of Wisdom fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ah-Ha Phenomenon American radio dramas ZBS Foundation