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New Machine, New Problems

New Machine, New Problems

TOM HANKSGIVING: Andrew bought a new Mac, so he decides to play No Man’s Sky while D. Bethel is Tom Hanksful for the delightful retro-stylings of the indie RPG, Beyond Galaxyland.

GRIPESGIVING: With all the thanks out of the way, our hosts decide to complete the holiday by complaining about things. Andrew is mad at the new season of Cobra Kai while D. Bethel becomes irrationally furious with the new Wicked movie.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro: It’s American Thanksgiving
(03:34) Andrew buys a Mac Mini and plays No Man’s Sky
(17:59) D. Bethel loves Beyond Galaxyland
(25:19) Outro: Gripesgiving #1 – Cobra Kai season 6 is interminable
(28:27) Gripesgiving #2 – the 3-hour Wicked adaptation is only PART ONE?!
(32:13) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Chekhov’s Honk” (22 January 2021): Where our hosts discuss The Karate Kid, The Karate Kid Part 2, and The Karate Kid Part 3, briefly.
  • Too Many Johnnies” (5 February 2021): Where our hosts dive into Cobra Kai.
  • Nomanski” (24 November 2023): Where our hosts talk about No Man’s Sky.

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FEATURED MUSIC:

My Nude Wall

My Nude Wall

STILL WALKING: Andrew updates us on his traversal through The Walking Dead, finding more surprises even when deep into season 4.

MODERN MARVELS: Three new MCU trailers dropped––Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and What If…? Season 3––and they all look great! Does this, combined with the recent success of Agatha All Along, signal a new breath of life for Marvel Studios?

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Andrew’s The Walking Dead update
(09:18) The State of the MCU
(12:32) The trailer for Captain America: Brave New World––strangely relevant?
(21:31) The trailer for Thunderbolts*––Marvel’s The Suicide Squad?
(28:38) The trailer for season 3 of What If…?––Apocalypse and Storm: Goddess of Thunder?!
(42:12) Outro – Is D. Bethel a villain?
(46:00) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Rogue Staple

Rogue Staple

A CRUE TRIME STORY: Andrew sits down to talk about the glorious successes of the newest Marvel/Disney+ show, Agatha All Along (SPOILERS).

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – EVERYTHING IS FINE
(02:31) Agatha All Along – It mixes things up!
(05:04) The cast and premise of Agatha All Along
(14:08) Joe Locke and Representation in the MCU
(20:40) Agatha All Along and music
(59:41) Outro – Metal Gear Solid mysteries REVEALED
(01:46) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • The Nature of the Gutter” (12 March 2021): Where our hosts, with the help of On-the-ground-DC-correspondent, Taylor Katcher, discuss the ins and outs of the wild show that was WandaVision.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • We realize that the current results of the election may be affecting our listeners, friends, and family with overwhelming stress and anxiety. Please, reach out to your trusted friends and family to make your voice heard. You are important. You are loved.

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Cowboy Energy

Cowboy Energy

DEAD BY DAWN: Our hosts dissect the surprisingly complicated (but very long) second zombie movie from director George Romero, Dawn of the Dead.

TOPICS:
(0:00:00) Intro – It’s ACTUALLY Spookytober
(0:02:43) Discussion of Dawn of the Dead
(0:59:41) Outro – Star Trek: The Lower Decks, Season 5 premiers
(1:01:46) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Brine and Brinstar” (31 October 2014): Where our hosts discuss the first film in Romero’s franchise, Night of the Living Dead.
  • Do the Laugh” (27 January 2023): Where Andrew watches the first season of The Walking Dead.
  • Second Wind” (24 February 2023): Where our hosts share their thoughts on the Max video game adaptation, The Last of Us.

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FEATURED MUSIC:

Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

Awesome Barbecue. Awesome Pool.

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:

Meander In Geek

Meander In Geek

Amblin’ Entertainment: Our hosts glide through various pieces of news and entertainment that caught their attention this last week. Andrew finds himself lost amid some very strange controversy around the game engine, Godot, while also quite enjoying Netflix’s queer teenage dramedy, Heartstopper. D. Bethel admits he’s a fan of the famed horror manga creator, Junji Ito, and found a lot to like in the first episode of the Adult Swim animated adaptation of his acclaimed work, Uzumaki, though it sounds like episode 2 may not quite live up to the expectations established by the premiere.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Andrew & D. break down The Night of the Living Dead
(04:04) Andrew breaks down the Godot game engine controversy
(12:19) D. Bethel is impressed (for now) with the anime (?) adaptation of Junji Ito’s Uzumaki.
(23:41) Andrew finds Netflix’s Heartstopper very endearing.
(41:09) Outro – D. Bethel & The Amityville Horror
(44:41) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Brine and Brinstar” (31 October 2014): Where our hosts discuss George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.
  • Privilege of Ubiquity” (15 September 2023): Where our hosts discuss some controversy generated by a change in its licensing policy for developers using its engine.
  • A Relaxed Schedule” (20 October 2023): Where our hosts discuss another British sex dramedy, Sex Education.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

High Five Lag

High Five Lag

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew is pleasantly suprised and intrigued by the recent CBS…reboot? remake? metacommentary?…of Matlock starring Kathy Bates. D. Bethel tries to intersect his professional and personal interests with the critical works about video games, comics, and movies from the French publisher, Third Editions. Specifically, he’s started a dive into Decoding The Last of Us: The Remnants of Humanity by Nicolas Deneschau, though they spend a fair amount talking about The Impact of Akira: A Manga [R]evolution by Rémi Lopez.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Our hosts are busy
(03:04) Andrew’s Week in Geek: Matlock
(19:54) D.’s Week in Geek: Decoding The Last of Us: The Remnants of Humanity
(40:09) Outro – That’s Called Friendship
(41:01) Outtakes

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Prime Time Crime” (5 March 2021): Where Andrew finds a lot to like and not like in the reboot of The Equalizer.
  • Attachment Point” (9 February 2024): Where Andrew reflects on five seasons of the Magnum, P.I. reboot.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Sheng Long Distraction

The Sheng Long Distraction

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew watches the new Disney+/MCU show, Agatha All Along, before realizing he’s still all-in on zombie media. D. Bethel, on the other hand, checks out the newest entry into the venerated Alien franchise with Alien: Romulus.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – Agatha All Along first impressions
(11:18) Andrew orders a lot of The Walking Dead
(32:04) D. Bethel watches Alien: Romulus
(51:10) Outro – More Alien franchise talk
(54:40) Outtakes

The two The Walking Dead collections Andrew bought. LEGO minifig for scale.

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Con Artists #09 – CrockerCon Artists

Con Artists #09 – CrockerCon Artists

This year is a big year with the local show, CrockerCon, reaching its 10th show in the Sacramento region. Being ten shows in, our hosts––D. Bethel of Long John and Kyrun Silva of Taurus Comics––get a bit reflective, especially since Kyrun has moved from being an exhibitor to a co-coordinator, giving us a look behind the curtain, beyond our normal look behind the table.

RELEVANT INFORMATION:

OTHER EPISODES:

A Wave of Tires

A Wave of Tires

WEEK IN GEEK: D. Bethel has fallen ill, so our hosts decide to take it easy and share their respective weeks in geek. This week, Andrew watches a very unique television show based on a video game, Knuckles on Paramount+. D. Bethel, meanwhile, checks out some video games, the punishing but intriguing Pacific Drive, and the stylistically retro JRPG, Octopath Traveler.

TOPICS:
(00:00) Intro – D. is sick and it sucks
(02:05) Andrew dips back into The Walking Dead.
(03:44) Andrew’s Week in Geek: Knuckles on Paramount+
(17:33) D. Bethel’s Week in Geek #1: SquareEnix’s Octopath Traveler
(26:15) D. Bethel’s Week in Geek #2: Ironwood Studios’ Pacific Drive
(33:54) Outro – Surviving the Bell Riots
(36:01) Outtakes

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • National Character Counts” (20 October 2017): Where D. Bethel talks about another interesting take on the traditional JRPG formula, Battle Chasers.
  • The Battle Is the Game” (03 April 2020): Where Andrew shares his experience playing Octopath Traveler.
  • Attachment Point” (09 February 2024): Where D. Bethel lays out his opening hours with Sea of Stars.

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