All Things Awesome Episode 5, Part 1: Movies

Download it here: All Things Awesome Episode #5-1 (right click and save as)
(recorded: Sunday 7/27, hosts: Schmitty, Mike, Foz, Tim, Shawn, Judge) duration: 50 minutes, 22.8mb)

Could it be? Our very first tecnnical issues-free podcast? Huzzah! Since we had a lot to catch up on and a big cast, we went pretty long this week, so we'll be dividing this episode up into 3 parts posted over the next few days. Stay tuned, and enjoy!

0:00 – 1:00: We’re back!

1:00 – 7:00: Movie trailers, no one wants to watch Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Watchmen trailer gave everyone giant boners, Zack Snyder done good? (well except making women in look dumb in 300)

7:00 – 16:30: Hollywood’s getting comic movies right… why?, the new generation of comic movie makers and fans, we need a hero ‘cause the world sucks?

16:30 – 22:45: Marvel remaking failed properties: new Hulk, new Punisher, etc., diluting the marvel brand name? Pushing the Avengers Initiative

22:45 – 32:00: Heath Ledger a shoe-in for a posthumous Oscar?, different takes on the Joker (check out the NPR In Character podcast), there were some other actors in The Dark Knight too…

32:00 – 36:15: WALL-E and other movies without much dialogue, environmental undertones dividing the audience

36:15 – 41:00: Indy 4 sucked!: our picks for worst parts, the power of Shia LeBeouf’s hair, George Lucas, please stop raping our childhoods

41:00 – 44:45: More Uwe Boll hating on the Dungeon Siege movie, Postal may be good?, pissing on Gary Coleman

44:45 – 50:00: X-Files’ anti-Catholic, anti-homosexual agenda, anyway, The Happening 2: What a Twist!, … annnd racism!

All Things Awesome Episode #3

Episode 3 is up!

Download it here: All Things Awesome Episode #3 (right click and save as)
(recorded: Saturday 3/8, hosts: Schmitty, Foz, Tim, Shawn) duration: 1 hour 38 minutes, 45.0mb)

We had some more technical issues on this one. The quality came through better, but whenever Shawn talks, you can hear some crackling static. It's mostly just a minor nuisance in the first hour, but then gets horrendously bad. Unfortunately it was unfixable, so for some this will only be an hour show. Eventually we'll get all this crap worked out.

0:00 - 11:15: Intro, Mike and Judge are dead, more importantly, Gary Gygax is dead, our role-playing beginnings and influences: Schmitty's Raistlin, Tim's middle-school D&D, Shawn's boxes (gotta catch 'em all), the legacy of Fosberry torment, "Juvenile" vs. "Mature" D&D

11:15 - 22:00: Nerd Heroes: Jeff Hannes of Inquest, FRP vs. LARP, Joss Whedon, Monte Cook stories - he has real magic power

22:00 - 31:40: Gamer rituals, Tim's annual/semi-annual Evathon (Neon Genesis Evangelion marathon), camping out, geek hierarchy, dark side gamers, why do we hate things that people like?

31:40 - 40:00: Flavor vs. Mechanics vs. Style in games, Tim remembers to talk into his mic, Deadlands, Doomtown and HKAT, flavor in 4th Edition

40:00 - 54:45: Flavor vs. Mechanics continued: Magic vs. Legend of the Five Rings TCGs, Tim grows as a person, lack of flavor and frustrating mechanics and WoW?

54:45 - 1:00:00: Researching flavor outside of games, L5R's metaplot, Tim dishonors his family, AEG gets a thumbs up

1:00:00 - 1:05:50: Flavor vs. Mechanics: Video game and movie edition: Silent Hill, Crackdown, From Hell, The Matrix, Sin City

After our second break, Shawn's mic issues intensify significantly and he sounds like a staticy robot. You can still understand him for the most part, and everyone else comes through clearly, but it may be unlistenable in parts, as Shawn does have a lot to say about 4e. Nothing we can really do for it at this point though. We'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

1:05:50 - 1:21:00: More D&D 4th Edition talk from the D&D Experience, roll vs. role playing, Robo-Shawn attacks!, striking the balance between simple and interesting, Tim's guns, the CCG-ificiation and MMO-ification of D&D, Vancian spellcasting

1:21:00 - 1:38:30: The problems of high-level D&D, "quest rewards" and magic items in 4th, the chicken-standard economy, more complexity concerns, 4th Edition and OGL