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Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

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LAST WEEK, PART 2: This week, our hosts return to what they rambled about last week. After watching the Netflix show, Heartstopper, Andrew checked out the original comics and was surprised at how closely the show sticks to them. D. Bethel checks out episodes 2 and 3 of Adult Swim’s Uzumaki and develops theories as to the significant shifts in animation quality throughout the episode. Then, Andrew returns to talk about something new: the Backerkit campaign for the classic tabletop RPG, Ars Magica, and how it’s promising to release this new edition in the Creative Commons.

THE TOUCH: D. Bethel also briefly discusses Transformers One, the newest fully animated Transformers movie since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie.

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Plans for Spookytober
(02:43) Andrew reads the Heartstopper comics
(12:08) D. Bethel watches episodes 2 & 3 of Uzumaki
(21:18) Andrew talks about the Ars Magica Backerkit campaign
(33:01) Outro – Transformers One is good!
(35:20) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Extra Obnoxious Protocol” (29 September 2023): Where our hosts discuss writer Bill Willingham’s decision to put his DC Comics-published creator-owned comic, Fables, into the public domain.
  • “Meander in Geek” (11 October 2024): Where our hosts first talked about Heartstoppers and Uzumaki.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Full Kyrun

The Full Kyrun

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THE STROMAN ARGUMENT: Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics and the 4 Tales Podcast joins D. Bethel for this week’s show and they talk a bit about some recent guests Kyrun has had on his podcast.

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Kyrun dives into Alan Moore’s celebrated run on DC Comics’ Swamp Thing while D. Bethel is awestruck by Godzilla Minus One (though, technically, he watched Godzilla Minus One Minus Color).

Follow Kyrun on the following services:

TOPICS:

(00:00) Intro – Welcome, Kyrun Silva!
(11:20) Kyrun’s Week in Geek: Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing
(21:10) D. Bethel’s Week in Geek: Godzilla Minus One Minus Color
(42:46) Outro – A Mini Con Artists
(46:25) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • “Godzilla Fhtagn“: an essay about the 2014 American production, Godzilla, and its Lovecraftian overtones by D. Bethel.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Doctor Ennui

Doctor Ennui

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ALREADY OBSOLETE: This is a short episode––you could even call it a “shortcast”, but why would you––because Dan had to have a little procedure that knocked him out a bit. However, they don’t leave you hanging as they talk about things that have drawn their attention this week. D. Bethel is impressed with the first two episodes of David E. Kelley’s new show, Big Sky, while Andrew dives deep in to the Zyuranger pool.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “The Space Dog and Bacchus Show” (21 August 2014): Where Andrew talks to Kai, game designer and apparent Kamen Rider aficionado.
  • “Dulce Et Utile” (12 June 2020): Where Dan previously talked about this artistic concept.
  • “Films in Quarries” (18 June 2021): Where Andrew first mentions his perusal into the world of The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers/Zyurangers.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • The trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Films in Quarries

Films in Quarries

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WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew dives into the strange patchwork origin of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers while D. Bethel is pleasantly surprised by the Netflix series, Sweet Tooth, an adaptation of Dan’s favorite recent comic series by Jeff Lemire.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “The Space Dog and Bacchus Show” (21 August 2014): Where Andrew interviews indie game developer, Kai Cambra.
  • “It’s Not Crude, It’s Savage” (08 January 2016): Where Andrew and D. Bethel confront the famous sub vs. dub debate.
  • “Starfleet First” (31 January 2020): Where Andrew shares his thoughts on the first episode of the Paramount+ original show, Picard.
  • “I Am the State” (26 February 2021): Where D. Bethel rails against Nintendo and its apparent bias against Metroid.

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Episode 125 – Hot Sauce Box

Episode 125 – Hot Sauce Box

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WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays Project Highrise after receiving it as part of this month’s Humble Bundle subscription service, while Dan reads a book about the history of the Japanese game industry in Chris Kohler’s Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life.

THINK INSIDE THE BOX: With Andrew’s sojourn into the world of subscription grab-bag services, he and Dan discuss the growing phenomenon and where they think the trajectory may end up.

ACCELERATED EVOLUTION: When a YouTube star gets the spotlight from a major industry publication, his world starts to crumble a little bit despite his denial of it. Swedish YouTube sensation, PewDiePie, encountered some issues after an exposé by the Wall Street Journal causes him to lose valuable contracts and allies and seemingly sends him into a strange spiral of denial and self-pity––without losing any subscribers. Andrew and Dan look at this very strange situation and how it connects to the larger cultural issues the news media and celebrity are dealing with while trying to figure out a solution.

WORKS REFERENCED

McAlone, Nathan. “What Someone Who Worked Closely with PewDiePie Thinks About Disney and YouTube Dropping Him.” Business Insider, 20 Feb. 2017, http://www.businessinsider.com/pewdiepie-scandal-came-from-the-way-youtube-works-2017-2 Accessed 20 Feb. 2017.

Ibrahim, Mona. “The Limits of Free Speech (When You Have 50 Million Subscribers).” Polygon, 20 Feb. 2017, http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/20/14675914/freedom-of-speech-censorship-pewdiepie Accessed 21 Feb. 2017.

WORKS CITED

Klepek, Patrick. “PewDiePie Criticizes Wall Street Journal Report, Says Jokes Went ‘Too Far.'” Waypoint, 16 Feb. 2017. https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/pewdiepie-criticizes-wall-street-journal-report-says-jokes-went-too-far Accessed 20 Feb. 2017.

Kuchera, Ben. “PewDiePie and Trump Aren’t Hurting the Press, But They Desperately Want To.” Polygon, 18 Feb. 2017, http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/18/14641952/pewdiepie-trump-anti-semitic Accessed 20 Feb. 2017.

Kuchera, Ben. “PewDiePie Versus the Media: Why He’s So Mad to be Losing the Fight.” Waypoint, 15 Feb. 2017, http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/15/14610652/pewdiepie-versus-the-media-disney-youtube-google Accessed 20 Feb. 2017.

For all intents and purposes, that was an episode recap.

FEATURED MUSIC:

-“Stayin’ in Black” by Wax Audio
-“(The Majestic Tale of) An Idiot With a Box” by Murray Gold (from Doctor Who)
-“Fall From Grace, Pt. 2” by Andrew Hale & Simon Hale (from L. A. Noire)