viddyviddy

Hey, you're cool, right?  Of course you are, just look at you, brimming with coolness (I like that shirt, good color on you).

So that means you like cool things, right?  Naturally.  Your instinctive good tastes lead you to coolness like a lightning bolt to a tragically unconcerned golfer.

Well it just so happens that I have a cool thing that you should take a look at.  It's not really my cool thing, but it was made by cool people who subsequently want to share their coolness with other cool people.

Like you.

It's a documentary (hang on, I'm getting to the cool part) about comics.  Trust me on this one.

Check out their cool video, which is also totally sweet:



Those cool people made the documentary and now it is up to cool people like me and you (you are cool, right?) to help them get the money they need to properly finish it and make it the epitome of cool.  We're not talking star-swipes left here, kids.  This documentary will be so cool, you'll be able to take your DVD of it (which you can get when you back this project with $25 or more) tap it on a broken jukebox and make it work.

That is, if you're cool.  You're cool, right?

Kickstarter Page.  Drop a few bucks, make something cool happen, get cool stuff in return.

StarTalk Radio Show with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. 

Neil DeGrasse Tyson... I think I recognize that name.  Where have I seen him before?

Maybe it was on one of his many interviews on The Daily Show and Colbert Report?

Perhaps I've seen him in a totally sweet science-based jam?

Oh, that Neil DeGrasse Tyson!

Now you and I get to know him via the magical world of podcasts with the StarTalk Radio Show.

Although I probably shouldn't use the world "magical" in regards to a podcast steeped in progressive scientific thinking... so, uh, join me, won't you, as we travel into the realm of audio-based digital media that is StarTalk.

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Want to know something about how the universe works?  Submit a question!

Twitter!
Archive!
StarTalk itself lacks a store, but feel free to check out some Neil DeGrasse Related items here.


You may have gathered that StarTalk is focused around the discussion of discoveries both recent and past, information regarding and just some cool facts about space.  StarTalk has featured throughout its many episodes meteorologists and astronomers to help explain what we can see from earth as well as astronauts and astrophysicists that can reveal all the interesting things that are busy existing in the greater universe.  

Tyson:  What's your most indelible memory from the entire Apollo era?
Roger Launius:No question, it's the moon landing.  It was very exciting but I got to tell you, as Neil set foot on the moon I was sitting on the hood of a car listening to the broadcast on the car radio, there was a girl beside me and let me tell you what was going on on the moon was not my first priority.

Content Rating:  As clean as the room they built the Hubble telescope lens in.  Which, from what I understand, was incredibly clean.  To be honest, there is a fair bit of innuendo-y jokes, but nothing that should make you blush.

Average Episode Length:  Kept tight around forty-seven to fifty minutes. 

I would be remiss in my review if I didn't include all the various guests that StarTalk boasts.  Neil Tyson DeGrasse manages to hook Jon Stewart, John Hodgman, Morgan Freeman (!), a bevvy of respectable NASA-related scientists, more astronauts than you can shake a stick at and when he's not talking to a guest he is chatting with his co-host Lynne Koplitz.  Koplitz provides an "everyman" voice for the podcast, making sure Tyson provides explanations for whatever topic he brings us and keeping him on his toes with witty banter.  It feels like Tyson does best when he has someone to talk with, rather than if he only had the listening audience to talk to, so Koplitz really helps make the show excellent. 

Tyson:  I love July!
Koplitz:  I love July, I love July in New York, it's a lot of fun.
Tyson: Why, what do you do?
Koplitz:  'Cause the men are so distracted by all the breasts that are out, it's just hilarious.  You can almost make taxi cabs wreck.
Tyson:So do you have notches on your bra for how many taxi cabs you've wrecked?
Koplitz:  I have notches on my bra for a lot of things but let's get on with the science, shall we?

Release Schedule:  StarTalk earns its status as a Radio Show by being broadcast live, every Sunday at 6pm Eastern. 

Music:  The opening song is ready to GET YOU PUMPED for astrophysics!

Drinking Game:  Take a drink everytime:
a) A Latin word is used.
b) Someone says an acronym.
c) An astronaut is interviewed.

Tyson:  What's your favorite element, by the way?
Jon Stewart:  I'm a huge carbon fan, I enjoy the molecular slut of the table of elements.

Unintentionally Good Part:  BILL NYE.  Most shows have a little introductory thing by Bill Nye!  Shut up, you know that's awesome.


Unintentionally Bad Part:   Well, this is one more nerd podcast so if you're not into DISCOVERING THE MAJESTY OF THE UNIVERSE, I guess you might not like it.  If things like AMAZING SCIENCE and FASCINATING INNOVATIONS don't catch your attention, then this podcast will not intrigue you.

Neil Tyson DeGrasse's love of discovery and science and math and all that kind of crap is palpable, and his enthusiasm is etched into this podcast.  His guests are erudite and often funny, it is just the right length for its content, and space is awesome.  So go give it a listen, won't you? 

1) Watch this YouTube video:


2) Go play a few rounds of Mad Libs.

3) Buy a retro shirt.  Your choice if you want to wear it ironically or not.

Now go pull up your bean bag chair, crack open a Crystal Pepsi and you're ready for Just My Show.

You're listening to Just My Show, your number one source for pop-culture.  Here's Eric!.

Relevant Links: 
Main Site
Download via iTunes
RSS Feed
Twitter
Store


Content Rating:  Clean.  Gets-rid-of-those-waxy-build-ups clean.

Do you remember something from the past that can be conclusively proven to be superior to comparable items that exist now?  Then Just My Show may be the thing to scratch your nostalgic itch.  Unfortunately, I'm not old enough to have actually experienced nostalgia yet, but I am looking forward to it!

Host Eric Greenberg is your guide through the wonderful world of Things That Were and are Still Considered Awesome.  He's got yer Top Gun, yer Wang Chung and yer Burt Young all in one place.  

Just My Show's main staple are the interviews of the celebrities, creators and innovators of the wide realm of past pop-culture.  The interview format is perfect for this podcast:  Eric is an excellent host, guiding his guests as they regale him with interesting stories and tidbits from their careers with.  The interviews are casual in tone and let you get to know the person behind the role they portrayed.  Another bonus is that the people being interviewed are not strangers to a press tour, so they have some practice when it comes to providing an interesting interview. 

And come on, he interviewed the guy behind Underoos!  How is that not interesting?



Average Episode Length: A test sample of 5 shows gives an average time of 52 minutes.  The shows looks like they can vary widely on times:  the shortest show is 7 minutes and 21 seconds, while the longest show clocks in at 1 hour, 23 minutes and 15 seconds.

Drinking Game: Damn, I already used Crystal Pepsi.  Perhaps you can enjoy a delicious Bartles and Jaymes?  

Release Schedule:  Previous releases look to be irregular, but now they look like they're set for a once a month schedule.  Considering that this podcast is highly dependent on reviews with celebrities, that's an impressive release schedule with all the wrangling it must get to record each interview.

Music:  A little opening song, a little ending song, I like it! 

Unintentionally Good Part:  Would it be odd to say that Just My Show has a fantastic website?  Apparently it was recently revamped and it's great!  Visually appealing, easy to navigate and there's lots of little fun tidbits tucked around the edges, like links to retro commercials for you to find. 

Unintentionally Bad Part:  The fact that the interviews are very specific to certain shows or aspects of pop-culture means a subscriber might go a few episodes without having anything pique their interests.  Fortunately this is balance by a fine archive, where listeners should be able to build up a buffer of episodes.

Just My Show: retro a-go-go, on the go... fo'  whenever you... want mo'?  Give it a listen!

Hey!  I've been working on figuring out this whole Web 2.0 thingy that seems to be going on, and I found something cool.  I made a little Amazon.com shop on the sidebar! 

Yeah, I know, shut up.  Uncle ViddyViddy wants himself a slice of that Internet pie he's always hearing about.

The part I want you to know about is that I was able to pick a selection of books written by people who also host podcasts!  If you really enjoy a podcast that's been reviewed on this site, give my store a look.  There's a good chance that the host(s) have a book or two to their name as well.

This site is a chance for me to try and show people things that I enjoy, in the hopes that they enjoy them as well.  I'll try to do the same with the little storefront I've got going on.  Give it a click, ignore it, never see it because you have Adblock installed, pretend to light it on fire, whatever.  I think it is nifty.

Also, I named it "Uncle ViddyViddy's Pit n' Git."  Technology is a wonderful thing, children.

 Once upon a time, long, long ago, some nerds invented the Internet.  Since then the Internet has long been known to be the realm of nerds and their kin.  Some of the major uses of the Internet include:

1. Amusing videos involving either adorable animals or people visiting grievous harm upon themselves.
2. Purchasing items of extreme value.
3. Distractions from worth-while projects.

And that's about it, right?  I think I summed up the main points.

Anyways, it turns out in 2010 some nerds set up a podcast called, go figure, The Nerdist. 

Chris:  Both my parents are sports fanatics and I did not get that gene, I can't be into something if I can't  participate in it, I don't understand it.
Jonah:  I'm resentful towards sport growing up because my dad played football, and he never really forced me to get into sports, but society did because of my size.  Like, every time I'd go to a new school its always like "Okay, you're going to play basketball because you're tall, you're going to play football..."
Chris:  My dad didn't force me to get into it, he just withheld food and hugs until I said that I wanted to put on a uniform.
Jonah:  You know you can go two weeks without a hug?  Scientifically?

Relevant Links:
Main Site
The Podcast via iTunes
Podcast Archive
The Nerdist Book!  That's pretty cool.
Wikipedia Page
Nerdist Twitter 

The Nerdist podcasts covers subjects which are, go figure, tucked within the realm of all things nerdy.  There's mention of table-top gaming, technology, Firefly and whatever topic they wander into.  Hosted by Web Soup's Chris Hardwick and his accomplishes Matt Mira and Jonah Ray, a trifecta of entertaining banter is formed between them.  According to their wikipedia pages, they are all practiced comedians and that really shines through in this podcast.  The hosts nimbly toss jokes back and forth, lining one another up for punch lines and working to get a laugh.  The touch of professionalism gives The Nerdist an edge over some of the other "friendly banter around a mic" podcasts because they have their comedic timing down from the first episode.  

To be honest (because transparency is just one of the core values of this blog) I've only listened to a handful of episodes from The Nerdist's mighty backlog.  From what I can tell it looks like one of the main draws for this podcast is a veritable plethora of guests hosts.  Taking a gander at the episodes it appears to be a fine stable of comedians, which I believe Chris mentioned in one of the later episodes were all basically friends of his.

So you can expect a typical episode to provide about an hour of friends, who happen to be comedians, making jokes and talking about things they like for an hour?  C'mon, that is the only selling point we need, people! 

Music:  The Nerdist theme song is by Anamanaguchi!  It if fully of blips and beeps and I find it charming.

Average Episode Length:   A husky podcast that clocks in at no less than forty minutes and manages to breach the two hour mark on occasion. 

Content Rating:  Explicit.  Some vulgaaaaar stuff sneaks in there. 

Unintentionally Good Part:  Episode 90, about 1:12:10 into it (just nearly the end).  There is a spontaneous song that pleased me greatly.  



Unintentionally Bad Part:  As it is with anything that features a variable that constantly changes, the guest hosts can provide and issue with your listening enjoyment.  One of the first episodes I listened to had a guest host that I did not like, and I almost dropped the podcast then and there.  Shop around, riffle through the archives to find the guest hosts you like, and delete the episodes you dislike.  Easy solution!

Nerds, talking about nerd-type subjects and cracking jokes all the while.  Give it a chance, I think you'll like it.  Nerds!

Before we get down to the review, a caveat, dear reader.

The Savage Love Cast is by no means an all-audience podcast.  If you're familiar at all with Dan Savage's articles at The Stranger, you are already aware of this.  If you are not, allow me to give you a brief summary of the podcast's contents.

This is, in general, a sex advice podcast.  You should read this review if you are interested in learning about a podcast that discusses, in no vague terms, sex and sex-related... stuff.

You should not read this podcast review if you are:

1. Not interested in what goes on in other peoples' bedroom.
2. Grossed out by hearing about... shall we say atypical inter-personal relationship techniques.
3. My mother-in-law.  Or anyone related to me or who knows me in person.  Seriously.  I will not look you in the eyes until 2014.
4. If you are not interested in the following body parts being discussed:

Relevant Links:

Android Ap! This is a free download for Android-based phones. It offers access to Savage's articles, full podcast library and "exclusive text and video content.Savage Love Article
Dan Savage's Blog at The Stranger
Dan Savages' Wikipedia Page
Wikipedia's List of Episodes
It Gets Better Project From the site:  "In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better."

It's got George Takei backing it, so you know it's a good thing.
  
Content Rating:  Excruciatingly obscene.  Not even joking.  In fact, to properly discuss this podcast, the rest of this review will be put behind a jump.  You know, to guard the childrens' eyes.

Gentle Reader,

The time has finally come when I am forced to realize that my podcast-listening habits have fallen into a rut. My listening device is currently packed with 24 podcast that make up my standard listening rotation and that's fine for me.

But that's bad for me as well. It is easy to fall into habit when it comes to things you like. I can listen to a single podcast several times over, and with a big enough backlog of episodes a single podcast can keep me sustained for a week. There is little motivation for me to seek out new podcasts.

Which is bad, because, y'know. This whole "podcast reviewer" shtick would end pretty quickly if I just reviewed the same podcast over and over again.

The Internet is a big place when it wants to be, and trying to discover new podcasts to listen to can become an infuriating game of hunt-and-peck. A lot of podcasts unfortunately fall into a "Quality, Regularity, Entertainment: Pick Two" category. If you manage to find something that is relevant to your interest there is a highly likely chance that they either only have 10 episodes, or it sounds like they were recorded on Xbox live headphones.

There's iTunes, yes, and you're sure to be able to find all of the top podcasts that are currently sweeping the headphones of the nation. Sticking to their most popular podcasts will most likely reward you with a slew of high-quality, highly entertaining podcasts.

But A quick Google-ing brings me to these directories:

Podcast Directory

NPR Podcast Directory

Podbean

Podseek - After clicking around for thirty seconds, my path brought me to a podcast about book making! Neat!

So I want to know, reader: where do you find your podcasts? Do you have some secret cache of forums that keeps you in the know? Word of mouth? Podcast review sites that aren't mine (you hussy). Give me some new hunting grounds so that I can find new and untamed podcasts to review for you. Let me know where you go!

Please?