viddyviddy

You damn kids these days with your XBox360s and your smart phones and your technological cocoons from which you pretend to have a social life despite any actual interaction beyond a "Like!" or an amusing meme.  Back in my day, if you wanted to play a game, it had to exist in a physical manifestation!  Oh, those were dark days, back when we were forced to walk uphill, BOTH WAYS, just to have the chance to play a tattered game of Monopoly.  We lived for the days that the Game Wagon would roll into town just for the chance to find a Uno deck with most of the cards still in it.

And we liked it!  We loved it!

But now brighter days have returned for table top gaming.  Nerd Messiah, Wil Wheaton, has a YouTube show all about them called TableTop.  BoardGameGeek can point you in about a thousand directions that all lead to great games.  Thanks to this newfangled Internet, people with cool ideas can get their games funded through Kickstarter and send them straight to the people who want them.

All you have to do is know how to play.  That's where, go figure, the How To Play podcast steps in.

Relevant Links:
How To Play Main Site
Support the Show!
Episode Archives

How To Play podcast doesn't throw up any smoke and mirrors when it comes to its premise:  each podcast covers a game's rules and gives a thorough explanation on how to play.  Host Ryan Sturm takes it upon himself to explain a veritable plethora of games to his audience.  A teacher by trade, Sturm's language and method of introducing and explaining each piece of a game are clear, understandable and obviously thought out.  There is a good deal of effort put into How To Play and I think it pays off really well.

Content Rating:  Clean, and tagged so in iTunes.  It's a bit funny to imagine this show with explicit language though.  "JUST MOVE THE #&$*@ PIECE, IT'S NOT THAT HARD!"

Average Episode Length:  I don't want to give you the normal median time for How To Play.  It really depends on what kind of game Sturm is describing.  Simple games require less time, while more complicated games take more time.  You can probably judge the intricacy of a game just by checking the episode's time. 

Drinking Game:  Pick one of the following words, and drink each time it is used:

• Dice
• Card
• Hand
• Banker
• Board

  That should get you there pretty quickly.

How To Play is a podcast of great use to anybody who has ever tried to learn, or teach others how to play a game.  This is a great way to break down what can be daunting instructions (I'm looking at you, Fantasy Flight) and lists of errata into a functioning rule set.  If you have trouble explaining rules, How to Play can help you by either teaching you how to teach others, or you can just play the episodes for your friends while you set the game up.

On top of that, you also get to learn about strategies for how to win each game.  Uh, you don't have to let your friends listen to that part of the episode if you don't want to. 

Music:  A little guitar music that I believe is performed by the host.  Very nice!

Release Schedule:  Monthly, with more episodes if there are expansions to a game that are covered.


Unintentionally Good Part:  Honestly, I really like the guitar music.  It's calming.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  If you don't have, or are not interested in a particular game that is covered by an episode, you're not going to listen to it.  Shortens the library of possible episodes considerably for me, but this really isn't a fault of the podcast in the slightest.  I just need to buy more games!

Unrelated rating:  Three top hats out of three scottie dogs.

Reddit!  It's a thing on the Internet.  I am not a redditor, or one who uses Reddit, because there are already enough time sinks I participate in that if I pick one more up I will literally become one with my computer chair.  And since I don't feel like submitting to a life of wet-wipe baths, I probably won't sign up for an account.

But I did click around randomly, and it's pretty cool!  People post things, other people decide if that thing is cool or not, and the best things float to the top of the screen.  At least, I think that's how it works.  Am I close?

I'm just gonna... keep clicking on things... ha!  Oh, that's a cool thing, lemme click on that... 

Anyways, there's this podcast called Seven Day Cooldown and it came from reddit so let's check it out, shall we?

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
Seven Day Cooldown on Reddit which could also be the main site?
Twittah!
The podcasts!


Content Rating:  Explicit!  Naughty words ahoy, but not particularly foul content. 

Average Episode Length:  Let's say about 56 minutes?  Yes, yes, let's say that.

hah, okay so the /r/aww is super-adorable         
   there's one just for cats?
                       little kitty-cat, gonna pet you with my mouse icon

What?  Right.  Podcast review.

Seven Day Cooldown is a podcast that consists of people who play video and computer games, talking about video and computer games, with people who make video and computer games.  An interview show in format, Seven Day Cooldown provides the Qs while their guests provide you with all the As allowed by their current NDAs.  You like moving pixels around on a screen so that you can score points in an arbitrary system?  This podcast is the one for you. 

The interviews are thoughtful, interesting, and open up a lot of industry discussion that ought catch your attention.  There is an odd sense of decorum in this podcast that I really like:  hosts are treated with respect, and in turn they provides lots of cool words about games they work on. 

Drinking Game:  HEY!  They actually one!  Okay, so technically this is for Reddit, not Seven Day Cooldown.  To make it more relevant, um... take a drink every time a guest has to avoid answering a question. 

Whoops, rage comics!  I'm back.  Let's get the rest of this review over so I can go click on more screenshots.

Release Schedule:  The last podcast was released in May, so I'm going to say this is an occasional release.  This podcast relies on guests, and these guests are of high caliber, so it probably takes a while to schedule shows. 

Music:  Just a tad. 

Unintentionally Good Part: This quote:

If wishes were horses, the Koreans would love us.

Unintentionally Bad Part:  If you are not a child of the Internet, and up to date on your gamer news, than you may not get what they're talking about at some points.  This is "a podcast made for gamers, by gamers" as stated by their Facebook account, and they don't intend to help you play catch-up.

Unrelated rating:  I'd give it an upvote.

They had Gabe friggen Newell as their first guest.  GO LISTEN.  Then go click on things in Reddit.

As a citizen of the Internet, time has a funny way of passing for me.  Here is how I see the past:

Recent Past:  The creation of my favorite meme.

Pretty Decently Past:  Creation of the Internet.

Distant Past:  Long, dark, teatime of the soul, in which people used some kind of carrier pigeon service to get their text messages from one to another, surely.  There were bonfires and cave drawings of the mammoth hunt.  Most likely around 1987, also known as the Mustacheceous Era.

Apparently, or at least so I have heard, there was a time before this.  Like, waaaaay before.  Back when the Internet was still an untapped natural resource.  Since I am easily frightened by new ideas, even new ideas about very old things and people, I will turn to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History for knowledge. 

First of all, aren't the names wonderful?  You have all these wonderfully barbarian German sounding names, um, I especially like one that was just like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. 

Relevant Links:
Main Site - Super clear site, easy to navigate, and has everything you'd want right up front.
Forums
Blog
Download via iTunes!

You want history?  Oh, host Dan Carlin has got your history right here, buddy.  Dan Carlin's Hardcore History knows its way around the history section of every library within of 200 mile radius and isn't afraid to cover the living room in highlighted Xeroxes.  If Dan Carlin's Hardcore History were a guest at a party who approached you for smalltalk, you might first be annoyed, but after an hour you would be totally engrossed by the stories it has to tell.

History!  There is cool stuff in there!  And this podcast wants to share it with you.  Here are some of the topics approached:

• Thor's Angels (this is a cool episode)
• Ghosts of the Ostfront
• History Under the Influence
• Nazi Tidbits

Content Rating: Oh, goodness.  How about I give Hardcore History a Caution Advised.  There isn't any real vulgarity, but history is plenty-full of heinous things that can be disturbing. 

Average Episode Length:  Hoo!  Okay, let's see:  out of a sample size of... you know what?  They're BIG FREAKING EPISODES, OKAY?  There is one I can see on my list that tops out at about an hour, and then there is one that is FIVE HOURS LONG, YO.  I believe there are bathroom breaks involved? 

Music: I don't think so, no.  There's a little blip of an intro and that's as far as I've heard.

Release Schedule:  Occasional.  There are months between episodes and I mean, considering the length of each podcast as well as the amount of research that would have to go into each episode, this is understandable.

Unintentionally Good Thing: Holy moly, did I mention that these episodes are stonking huge?  Quantity and quality are always appreciated!  Hardcore History is like the bulk warehouse store of podcasts, wherein you can learn about history and buy 30 cubic meters of fish sticks at the same time. 

Unintentionally Bad Thing:  This is a podcast that requires the full attention of its listener.  I find it hard to do something as simple as wash the dishes while listening, because I'll get distracted by putting away my meat cleaver and then whammo, I've lost the thread of discussion.  This podcast is most likely wicked excellent for long car rides, but not so much if you are a cubical-dweller who likes to have something to listen to while pondering spreadsheets.

DIS-to-the-CLAIMER:  I don't have the slightest damn clue if anything that comes out of this podcast is true.  There may be bias, mistakes, whatever, and it ain't on me.  Doesn't that make you curious and want to listen?  C'mon!

Bonus Content:  Carlin has another podcast, called Common Sense.  From what I can tell it is political in nature.  I have not given it a listen myself, but perhaps you could be the next bold adventurer to go forth and give it a try!  Let me know if you like it, ok?

Heyheyhey.  Idea!  I'm going to review Ten Minute Podcast in


Great right?  Lemme type out the categories (and the links, because c'mon, give me a chance) and let's see how far I can get. 

Will Sasso (MADtv, The Three Stooges)!
Chris D'Elia (Whitney, Glory Daze)!
 and Bryan Callen (The Hangover, The Hangover Part II)!

Together, they made a podcast!  For some reason that I am not entirely sure of at the moment.  Freshly made this February, the fellas have been steadily building up an archive of funny blather for you to listen to.

Bryan Callen:  One's got long hair, the other no hair, they're my friends for life-
Chris D'Elia:  -what does the hair have to do with it-
Bryan Callen:  Chris wears glasses even though he doesn't need them~
                - Bryan Callen "singing" the end song.

Relevant Links:
Main site!
Twitter!
iPod for the downloadin'!

Average Episode Length: For once, a podcast appears to be taking the act of mentioning its length in the title seriously (looking at you Paul & Storm).  Dead on ten minutes! 

Music:  There is an intro song, and a nonspecific end song.

Content Rating:  Explicit and tagged as such in iTunes.  The topics can jump to places you don't expect, so if you're some sort of 1920s school marm, this might be 2 HAWT TO HANDLE.  The rest of us will be fine.
  

Bryan Callen:  You are Samoan.
Will Sasso:  I'm not Samoan.

Unintentionally Good Thing: Bryan Callen singing along to the end song music.

Unintentionally Bad Thing:  This podcast is focused like an arrow.  That has no feathers on the end to guide its flight.  And it's made of Jell-o instead of wood.  Aaaand instead of an arrowhead, there's a marshmallow Peeps somehow adhered to the Jell-o.

_______________

Time!  Okay, well, there you go!  Ten Minute Podcast sure is a podcast, and this sure was a review. 

GO LISTEN TO SOMETHING. 
I HAD TWO SODAS TODAY, THAT IS TWO MORE THAN I AM ALLOWED

One of my favorite things about audio podcasts is their ability to allow me to multitask while enjoying them.  I can do chores, drive, work, shower (iPod outside the shower), and pretend that I'm actually writing and not looking at Tumblr all while listening to a podcast!  They're great that way!  It's a very peanut butter and jelly arrangement.

So, how could I be more excited than when my friend let me know about a podcast where you:
A) Listen to a podcast
B) Watch a movie at the same time?

Lads and lassies, may I bring to the fore of this discussion, Down in Front.  Intelligent movie commentary, fellas that make with the jokes, insightful discussions, how can you go wrong?

Relevant Links:
Main Site!
[This is the spot where other links would go to make your perusal of the podcast as easy as possible, but the Down in Front website is great and has everything I'd typically link to right on top of the front page.  Woo!]

Average Episode Length:  Long.  Like, for-realz long.  All of the episodes I've downloaded so far have been 2+ hours!  How do you like THAT for quantity?

Each episode of Down in Front concerns itself with a single movie.  The movie is discussed by a rotating cast of hosts the lend their expertise to the conversation.  As a listener, you can either listen to their discussion on its own OR sync the Down in Front  podcast with the movie, and enjoy the symbiotic relationship!

[Okay, it would be closer to a commensal relationship.  Happy, Ms. Science?]

This provides an amazing excuse for you to not only watch a movie you love, not only subject your friends and loved ones to watching it again for the thousandth time, but to watch a movie you love with your friends and loves ones (possibly bribed with the promise of never having to watch it again) and listening to other people who watched the movie talk about it!

If one would like, one may even pretend the hosts are talking directly to you.  Attempts can be made to join the conversation at varying rates of success. 

Content Rating:  Explicit!  Considering many of the movies they select are rated R, let that guide your expectations for profanity.  In what I've listened to the hosts are not crude, but much of what they're watching has "adult themes" so, hey, it might crop up. 

Music:  Nah, not really.  Just the lightest touch at the intro.

Release Schedule:  Weekly, with most episodes releasing on Monday.

Unintentionally Good Part:  They have an episode for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" which is one of the best movies ever made and yes I will fight you on this. 

Unintentionally Bad Part:  Some of the reviewers either dislike or are indifferent to Avatar:  the Last Airbender, which is one of the best shows ever made and yes I will fight you on this.  Their opinion differs from mine on this single, unimportant facet of life so that makes them wrong. 

At the very, very least, Down in Front will provide you with a bevy of opinions on movies that you have seen.  Perhaps you will agree with them.  PERHAPS YOU WON'T?!?!  Then you are free to find your favorite forum (or visit the Down in Front forum) and mash your little hands against your keyboard and share your opinion with THE WORLD.

Bonus Features:  Down in Front also features a "shorter" version of their podcast called The Intermission.  This podcast is more of the "potpourri" style where the hosts bring stories from their lives to the table.   Looks like the topics can vary wildly in The Intermission, so just think of it as your own, personal lottery of things you might want to listen to!

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! 

 

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.