viddyviddy

Dear, sweet, [DEITY OF CHOICE] I love eating things that are horrible for me.  If it were up to the conspiracy that is the part of my brain that deals with pleasure and my tongue, I would eat nothing but junk food for the rest of my life.  I would become so innudated with BHT that I would have to be buried in a lead-lined coffin to prevent the Twinkies and Slim Jims that would sprout from the earth around my grave.

Snacks are so good!  What's your favorite snack?  I think mine might be Starbursts.  Happiness in a wax-coated wrapper.  Mmm.

Let's talk Mike and Tom Eat Snacks (MATES).

"On the Mike and Tom Eat Snacks podcast, if it's not already apparent, what you and I do is:  we pick a snack, each podcast, we eat it, we talk about it, we rate it.  End of podcast."

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Get the podcast!
MATES Twitter!


This podcast combines Michael Ian Black, Tom Cavanagh and a sheer passion for snacks.  Each episode there is a snack, there is intense discussion, there is commentary and insight.  The hosts stay almost disturbingly on topic of discussing the episode's snack, but rest assured that they managed to sneak in plenty of tangents and conversational shenanigans. 

Music:  There is a jamming intro song.  They also have a soundboard, and are not afraid to use it.

"Oh, how you do me Mallomar, how you do me."

Content Rating:  Mildly Explicit.  I'm listening to the podcast now and to be honest, I can't find any specific uses of bad language.  However, the topics can wander into playing with ideas and stereotypes that you might not want to float out of your speakers at work.  Headphones are suggested in public places.

Average Episode Length:  A sample size of 8 episodes (randomly selected) gives us an average time of  thirty-nine minutes. 

I... man, I don't know what to say.  This podcast displays a stunningly earnest and singular attempt to bring snack foods into the mainstream discussion of the world. Packaging is mentioned, the quality of the snack food upon being removed from the packaging, appearance and aroma, the taste of the snack throughout the eating process, and any lingering, chemical aftertastes that might crop up.  And I honestly think you'll enjoy listening to all of this!

The pattern of the hosts' conversation takes an episode to get used to, so give it a few episodes to see if it is a good fit for you or not.  There are some fascinating theories and ratholes surrounding their ideas about snacks.  MATES is ready and willing to fill at least a half-hour of your day with its delightful ramblings.   

Drinking Game:  Drink whenever -

• You can hear a host chewing
• You find yourself nodding in agreement with one of their points about a snack
• EXPRESS MODE - Drink each time they rattle/crush/crinkle the packaging

Unintentionally Good Part:  I really, really just like listening to people talk about food.  It is almost like I'm eating it, but without the caloric intake.  Possible new diet fad?

Unintentionally Bad Part:  You will be unexpectedly upset the first time they are totally wrong in their opinion of the focal snack.  It will ruin your day until you go eat the snack they have spoken against, and restore its good graces in your mind.

Go forth to your listening devices and vending machines!

For Christmas, I recieved the following:

A chocolate bar with a picture of a kitten on it (no actual kitten used in the chocolate bar)
Comfy pajamas (an annual favorite)
Ukulele

A soprano ukulele, to be accurate.  And it's great!  The ancestral Viddy manse has been filled with the gentle plink-a-plonk-a of my attempts at trying to learn songs.  Did you know there are tabs for all the songs you can think of?  There are!

Now when most people think of a ukulele, they think of something like this:


Yeah, yeah the ukulele can do that.  But it can also do this:


And even this:



The river of the ukulele runs wide, and it runs deep.  You're going to want a guide to get to the best ukulele-related content on the web.  You're going to need Ukulele Hunt.

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Get the podcast through iTunes!
Archives!
Twitter!
A Tumblr!  All the cool kids have Tumblrs these days, right?

The Ukulele Hunt website is just chock-full of information from reviews to tutorials and a really swank logo. 

Music:  Funny I should have this category!  Turns out that the Ukulele Hunt podcast's main feature is a veritable buffet of ukulele-utilizing performers.  Classical, silly, pop, sad, saucy, there's a tune for every genre and a few minutes to spare on this podcast for all of them  Host Bossarocker (ain't lyin') leads her listeners through a guided tour of ukulele-related music, pausing along the way to let people stretch their legs and take pictures at scenic parks.  And by "scenic parks" I mean "interviews with people who play the ukulele."

Content Rating:  Explicit.  See "Unintentionally Good Part." 

Drinking Game:  There ought to be a good one for this podcast, shouldn't there?  Okay:

• Drink for each ukulele solo
• Drink each time a song changes, and you didn't realize it until a minute and a half into the new song
• Drink when you're drunk enough to be surprised and charmed by the host's accent.

That should keep you going.  

Average Episode Length:  Approximately 48 minutes (over two thousand seconds!). 

Unintentionally Good Part:  From their FAQ (children look away):

Did you know ‘Uke Hunt’ sounds rude if you say it out loud?
No, and anyone who thinks that has a filthy mind. I’m far too innocent to have any idea about that sort of thing.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Unlike the kazoo, the ukulele is not a magical device that makes any song better.  Given the wide variety of songs, you are bound to hit on some that don't match your taste.  Luckily for us, you can fast-forward through podcasts.  Yay!

More YouTube!:

Ukulele Hunt.  Give it a try!  I promise you'll experience it.

The world's first, best, only, and last talkback-enabled interactive audio podblast.  

The Internet is inescapable these days, as you are already aware.  You use it for entertainment, study, pretending to study, ordering pizzas, posting bizarre Craigslist ads and so much more!  If the Internet isn't already a part of every facet of your life, it soon will be.

So why not embrace it?  If you're ordering your pizza online, why not demand that you be entertained during the process?  If you're going to listen to a podcast then darn it, that podcast should be able to interact with its listeners!

Wherein we turn to Tweet Me Harder.  Per the quote at the top of this review, you can (or could), not only listen to people talking, but talk back.  Not going to lie, it's pretty rad.

Relevant Links:
Tweet Me Harder Main Site!
... and uh, usually I put a ton of links up right here, but these guys did a great job with their site.  All their social media, where/how you can download to the podcast, store, and updates are easy to find.  Who would have thought that two guys who make a living on the Internet would understand how to put a site together, right?

Tweet Me Harder is a podcast that allows the listeners to guide the conversations of the host, Kris Straub and David Malki(!).  Kris and David are already well-practiced in the art of the klatch and have little need beyond themselves, a talking point, and a mic to record it all.  More or less your basic Two Guys Talking style podcast.

But wait, there's more!

This podcast was originally streamed live to an audience that was encourage to participate.  People could respond to questions and calls for fresh subjects by the hosts, as well as record stories that would be later played on the show.  Whatever the audience threw at them, the hosts would take in stride and try to incorporate it into the show.  Usually, this brought about some very interesting topics that get spun into funny conversations.  It also lead to some very interesting topics:  

MALKI!:The human body is only tethered to earth and subject to gravity by virtue of the life force coursing through it and when it dies, it becomes buoyant so you gotta rush that away!  You've got to take that to a funeral home, you gotta pump all that blood out-you can point that nozzle up-what do you think they do with that blood?  Do you think there's a barrel like an oil change place?  No they just put that nozzle out the window and it goes up and seeds the clouds and later on it rains your father.

They're all over the place. 

Music:  A goofy little accordion tune when they change topics, and Kris Straub raps the intro.  I would like to state that this may be one of only a handful of raps-made-for-the-Internet that don't make me cringe.  It's quite good!

Content Rating: Moderately explicit.  To be honest, I can recall any particular swear words, but the topics can be odd enough that you might want to use headphones if your listening at work.

Drinking game:   Oh, let's see... take a drink every time one of the hosts groans at a bad listener contributed pun.

Release Schedule:  Tweet Me Harder is officially complete!  So...there really isn't a release schedule to speak of anymore, is there?

Average Episode Length:  'Bout an hour. 

Unintentionally Good Part:  The sub-genre of grading bulk rate mail:  Junk Me Harder.  Here, they assign arbitrary values from a made up point system to articles of junk mail sent into them.  There is only one existing entry, but it is a fantastic study in the stupid, stupid minutiae of junk mail. 

Unintentonally Bad Part:  Tweet Me Harder is reliant on listener contributions to steer their conversations.  That's pretty much all the structure that goes into this podcast.  It is a very loose, random talky-talk podcast to behold.  If a current conversation thread in the podcast doesn't catch your attention it can be easy to lose interest slogging through an episode until things pick up. 

As it stands now, Tweet Me Harder is a complete podcast.  No more episodes, all done!  If you haven't heard of it before, this may be somewhat of a bummer as the "interactive" portion of the interactive podcast is now removed.  That being the case, I still really enjoy this episode, despite never hearing a live episode.  The artifacts of this podcast are worth listening to and I highly recommend it.  If you like esoteric humor and social media, then make sure to check out Tweet Me Harder.  Give it a chance, maybe even give it a second chance, and see if you like it.

Beautiful, right?  Podcasts inspire the true artist in us all.

Now that your eyes are bleeding, let's get to it and learn all about the YoGPod!

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Podcasts!
Libsyn link for podcasts!
YouTube Channel!
Twitter!
Store!
They even have their own Wiki!

Everything gets exclamation points because I'm drinking a soda while I'm typing this!!!

Lewis:  How is cheese made, Simon?

Simon:  Well, if you browse Cheesipedia, I'm sure it will tell you-

Lewis:  No, but tell me, just tell me.

Simon:  Since the dawn of time, Mankind has struggled with the greater questions of life.  Why am I here? Why do the stars spin in the sky?  And most important of all, the great question: what is cheese?  This is a question which has puzzled scientists, theologians, and the every day man in the street for centuries.  The very nature of cheese is hard to pin down, Lewis.  What is cheese made of?  Can it be used as a wall insulator?  Is it sentient?

Lewis:  Where are you reading this from?

Simon:  Cheesipedia. Throurough research into the field has answered at least two of these three questions.  We now know that cheese is made from a substance known as milk, the source of which remains yet a further mystery to the nose, ears and eyes of science. With which yields the delicious substance known as cheese when it is churned, fermented, and generally treated badly by a bunch of farmers in a shed.  We now also know that cheese can be used as a wall insulation, albeit a fairly poor insulation and terribly pungent. 

                                               - Episode 23, "Simon's Cheesecake Surprise"

Release Schedule:  It was every week-ish (loose release schedule) up until July 2011 where the podcasts seem to halt.  According to their ever-useful Wiki, there is no set schedule.


So, in another episode of "ViddyViddy is the last person on the Internet to find something" I have discovered the Yogscast.  It features (mainly) the vocal talents of Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley as they wander through their life experiences, fan mail, and favored memes.  Both hosts hail from somewhere in Europe, I think?  Whatever, they have charming accents that improves everything they say by at least twenty percent. 

Taken from their Wiki page under the subsection "Controversy":

It is generally believed and suggested multiple times in the YoGPoD by Lewis and Simon that listening to the podcast over long periods of time will lead you to becoming generally insane. The fact that you tuned into the YoGPoD shows your insanity and the more you listen to it the further you will lose yourself. Despite this theory, many continue to live amongst the common people.

The theory was born when a brave Yognau(gh)t, during a long car trip, listened to every episode that had been released at the time and the results were shocking. He started seeing vans carrying huge quantities of Jaffa Cakes across Europe and almost died multiple times from swerving from laughter. Although nobody has actually died yet, as the number of YoGPoD listeners grows new listeners should be made aware of what YoGPoD overdose can lead to. It is believed that listeners to the YoGPoD can cause a sharp decline in mental and cognitive faculty. This can result in a sharp decline in motor functional skills, swiftly reduce the ability to drive in a linear fashion and cause hallucinations. It is also mentioned that he enters a cloud of thick fog at around the same time the Halloween podcast begins. This may suggest that the YoGPoD may even rip the space-time continuum, causing people to switch over to a 'Silent Hill' type realm.

The YoGPoD is what, in the industry term I just made up, is referred to as a "companion podcast."  This podcast is not their bread and butter, hell, it wouldn't even be their day old pizza left on the counter in terms of their main releases that have garnered them a huge audience.  The Yogscast folks make the YouTubes, and I've lost many an hour to their pixel-based hi-jinks. They are a group of mostly funny, occasionally offensive (not for the wee ones!), creative players of games and muckers-about in geek culture.  Jump into their YouTube channel to see if you like them, get a chance to soak up some of their inside jokes, and if any of that catches your interest then I'm sure you'll like the podcast.

Music:  The opening theme is a jamming little fan-made tune, which I quite like!  Some episodes of the YoGPoD are live-streamed, and music is played through them, but most of it is removed due to licensing by the time it hits the podcast feed.


Average Episode Length:  Forty-ish minutes?  Some run over an hour, some run one or two minutes.  Widely varies.

Unintentionally Good Part:  I feel I say this a lot, but if you enjoy getting little glimpses into the lives of Simon and Lewis, then all their anecdotes will keep you laughing.  These two friends fall into the kind of friendship where they know each other almost too well, and as such are able to bicker and joke with each other on some transcendent level. 


Unintentionally Bad Part:  Per my preference of listening to podcasts at work, I don't like all the little animated shorts that are lined up in their archives.  Can't watch them at work, yo!  That knocks about 20 of their episodes off my available list, although I'm sure my poor iPod appreciates the fact that it has to carry a few less podcasts.

Load it down, turn it up, try it out! 

tl;dr I Should Be Writing is a fantastic resource and font of entertainment for amateur and professional writers alike.


 Are you aware that November 1st is the start of NaNoWriMo?  Are you aware that NaNoWriMo is a event that challenges you to write 50,000 (that's five zeroes, people) words to a story in thirty days, thus proving that anyone can write that story they've always wanted to write?  Are you aware that you can jump into the fun, sign up for free and get writing?

As they say, "No plot?  No problem!"  Check out their site and join in!  And while your thinking up the first sentence of your soon-to-be-written story, I highly suggest you accompany your throughts with I Should Be Writing.

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Subscribe here.
Twitter!
Sponsor the podcast and site here!  Lots of cool stuff for those who donate.

The Murverse, home of host Mur Lafferty's creative works!

I Should Be Writing is a window into the process, thoughts, frustrations, hopes, fears and jubilation of a writer doing their damnedest to make it on their words and wits alone.  Your host is Mur Lafferty, which to be honest is one of the coolest names I've ever heard. 

Mur Lafferty is brutally honest as she grants you access to the trials and tribulations she faces as a "wanna-be" author.  She will admit to you how she is slacking on deadlines, when personal life takes over and shoves creativity aside and will allow you to share in the little victories that come her way in her journey to becoming a professional author.  The episodes are informative and interesting, often featuring interviews with professional authors, more wanna-be's, and all those who attach themselves to the art and craft of writing. 


Release Schedule:  Weekly-ish, with a week or two wait in between some episodes. 

Music:  Some of the best theme musics that I have heard on a podcast.  I have listened to the archives and most recent episodes, so I believe that the theme song occasionally changes.  They're all good, and some are even catchy!

Average episode length:  Typical episode is gonna run you an hour, give or take some spare change.  Feedback episodes are about fifteen minutes long.

Mur offers her fellow authors the best kind of advice one can give:  empirical.  She is in the trenches of authorship, trying her best to make it and making sure that the lessons she learns along the way are heard by others.  I enjoy this podcast for Mur's advice as well as her sense of humor and open manner of talking.  Some of the episodes may ramble as she gathers her thoughts on any given topic, but she will make her point as she sees it and offers it to her listeners to take it as they may.  It is always inspiring to see someone else doing what they can to achieve their dreams, and I Should Be Writing is the second best way that all you wanna-be's can spend your time.

What's first best?  Writing, of course!

Unintentionally Good Part:  Oh goodness, let's see...I really like the "Good Cop/Bad Cop" episodes.  They are silly and vulgar, which is often the best kind of silly.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Mur runs advertisements throughout I Should Be Writing.  This is not inherently bad, but some of the advertisements are a bit on the cheesier side.  There may be cringing, but hey, that's what fast-forward buttons are for, right?

Do you NaNo?  Let me know in the comments!  Get to listening!

Books!  Books with mostly words, although some pictures are ok!

This comic © 2003-2011 David Malki !

Ain't literacy grand?  We here at Viddyviddy Corporations have been strong advocates of reading for entertainment and information alike ever since that one time in 3rd grade when our mom made us read James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.  Combine that with the fact that one day that little kid would grow up to be a nerd with a penchant for escapism, and you get a life-long devotee of the fantasy and science fiction genres.

Now, I'm going to take just the most wildest of leaps and assume that one or two of you out there in Internet Land are of similar tastes and would rather fork over the cash for a new paperback book than any other current form of entertainment.  If I'm right about that, than maybe I'm right in thinking you should check out the Sword and Laser Podcast.

Relevant Links:
Main site!
Subscribe to the podcast for iTunes!

Store, featuring lots of books!
Discussion/Forum thing on Goodreads!

I have only listened to a handful of episodes so far, but Sword and Laser seems to have a pretty cool thing going.  From what I can cobble together from their FAQ the origins of Sword and Laser were as a book club, and the podcast was eventually added.  Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt are at the helm of this genre-fueled juggernaut and it looks like they've managed to develop and maintain a community that shares their love of fantasy and sci-fi literature. 

You can go to their Goodreads page right now and see what books are currently being discussed as well as all the other topics that crop up, including discussion about each episode of the podcast.  They welcome one and all to join their community, so go ahead and see if there's anything that catches your eye!  

Release Schedule:  Once a week-ish.  From the iTunes archives it looks like they have a weekly schedule that occasionally gets interluded with a few extra weeks between episodes.  Some of the episodes are recorded at conventions, while others are interviews, so there might be a little extra time when it comes to creating and producing those types of episodes.  Fortunately, there is a big backlog of episodes to catch up on when the release schedule starts to lag.  

Music:  Cute little intro.  And by little, I mean that when you combine it with the opening spiel for their sponsors it clocks in at over a minute long.  oonst-oonst-oonst-oonst

Average Episode Length:  A sample size of 5 randomly selected episodes gives me an average time of 47 minutes (and some spare change).

Hosts Veronica and Tom have great personalities (and I mean that in a good way not the "once you get past their faces they're fun!" way) and they can hold your attention for a host-only episode.  The interviews are well-paced and enjoyable as the hosts provide insightful, questions tailored to each guest.  Some episodes wander away from the topic of fantasy and sci-fi and into the realm of cool websites, television and general geekiness, and that's ok by me! 

Unintentionally Good Part:  The Goodreads thing is really cool!  I've never been able to get into forum discussions, but this looks like it is a bit more manageable and hey, you get to talk about books with other people who like books.

Unintentionally Bad Part: Spoilers.  If you're not participating in their book discussions or haven't already read the book, you may have to skip some episodes where a book's plot is laid open on the autopsy table.

Now go on and grab a mug of tea, your favorite comfy chair and a new sci-fi or fantasy book and get to reading!  Then subsequently get to listening! 

 

What would come to mind if I told you that I have discovered a podcast that will not only help you actuate your high-level functionality, but also ensure that you're "actioning your deliverables" for a future-proof pathfinder project?