Stand Under the Don’t Tree and Riddle Me This

A few quick notes as I’m importing the CDs of tonight’s show.

First off, Jason Mahoney is a killer co-host. I think there’s a reason that the show he was on (along with Ben Merkel) was nominated. He brings a lot to the table for the video game side of things, and we have a great time in the studio. It’s always a pleasure to have you out, Jason.

He drove me home from the studio, and gave me a bottle of Wild Blue, which is brewed by Anheuser-Busch in NY. It’s a pretty tasty beer, for being kind of a novelty. The blueberry flavor is overwhelming, but I could see myself being in the mood for it again. That said, its 8% alcohol content makes it a solid kick in the gut for being such a fruity drink.

The show tonight went very well, in my estimation. I tried my best to cover the local election results, which were mostly favorable. In short, I’m happy about Issue 9 being voted down. This opens up the doors for serious passenger rail proposals in the area, without conservative interests hamstringing the process. More pleasant was the call-in from Travis Estell from Explore Cincinnati. He was at the No On 9 party, and it sounded like they were having a good time. Certainly, I recommend that you listen to his show tomorrow (Nov. 4) from 4-6pm… And then every week thereafter. Also, subscribe to his podcast in iTunes.

There won’t be a show next week (November 10) due to some important meetings I have to be at, which will likely overrun my prep time for the show. Expect last week’s, and this week’s, podcasts to be up on Friday, and I may produce something for next week outside of the studio.

Here’s part two of the vlog.

In light of the demise of Geocities, I think it’s time for us to return Comic Sans to its rightful place as the official font of the internet.

I am totally serious about this.

Hey everyone, here’s the first vlog from my trip to Austin for the CBI Conference.

Ben Merkel joins me in the studio for a high flying coverage of the Balloon Boy saga, and a discussion of the finer points of Xbox Live Achievements.

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Topics:

News

• Balloon Boy.
• Drew Carrey Twitter Drive.

Portraits of Shame

• Amazon sells sexy dog costumes.
• Louisiana judge disgraced.
• Postal worker caught stealing Gamefly shipments.

What’cha Been Playin’?

• Batman Arkham Asylum
• Resident Evil 5
• Beatles: Rock Band (again)
• Dr. Mario
• Mirror’s Edge
• Rolando 2
• Beneath a Steel Sky
• Final Fantasy XII

Game News

• September NPD Numbers
• Beatles: Rock Band outsells Guitar Hero 5
• Achievements sell games
• Facebook and Twitter on Xbox Live
• EverQuest addiction

Songs Played:

1. “Whorehoppin’” – Eagles of Death Metal
2. “E-Pro” – Beck
3. “Tremendous Dynamite” – Eels
4. “The Far Pavilions” – And You Will Know
5. “King Rat” – Modest Mouse
6. “Get it Together” – The Go Team
7. “Down in the Park” – Foo Fighters
8. “Atlas” – Battles
9. “A Day in the Life” – The Beatles

Embedded above, you’ll find a video of Bionic Commando, rendered entirely in Lego blocks.

Am I clinically stupid for thinking that this would make a killer game? Screw another Lego Indiana Jones. There’s a better way to kill ersatz Nazis, and that’s as Radd Spencer, all swinging around and such.

Not linked is the Lego version of the 2009 Bionic Commando, where Lego Rad’s Lego arm turns out to be his Lego wife.

Bionic Commando — In Lego [Via Kotaku]

A man gets very few opportunities to say this in his life, so here goes…

Orange Juice and Biscuits, you’re going down.

If you listened to this season’s first episode, then you know that Stand Under the Don’t Tree and Riddle Me This has been nominated for a 2009 Student Production Award, through College Broadcasters, Inc.

I’m one of four shows competing in the category of “Best Regularly Scheduled Programming.” This was the only category vague enough to apply to my show. I’m in good company, too. Other contenders include shows run out of UC-Berkeley and Columbia College. In fact, in all categories, I’m the only nominee from an Ohio college.

It’s an unexpected honor. I discovered my nomination while I was in New York City this past summer. On one of my weekends away from interning at As the World Turns, I decided to visit the United Nations. Unfortunately, the tours for that day were filled up, so I decided to kill some time before heading up to the MoMA to watch a screening of Blade Runner. Sitting in the UN’s cafe/gift shop, I checked Twitter, only to find a notice of my nomination posted on the Bearcast twitter page.

I proceeded to shit my pants, and call everyone I know.

To mark this occasion, Bearcast and UC are sending me to Austin, TX to attend the CBI conference and check out the awards ceremony.

I don’t know what my chances of winning are, but being nominated is honor enough. Plus, I get the chance to check out Austin, which is a thoroughly cool city by all accounts. Any town which can spawn both Okkervil River and Shearwater has earned my respect.

I’ll be at the conference from Oct. 29 to Oct. 31, so keep an eye on this page, and my twitter for more details.

This week I was joined by Dennis Furia to discuss internet addiction, the McDonald’s at the Louvre, and the design disparity between Zelda games and newer Eastern-developed games. Also, a belated celebration of Shark Week in the “Strange… But” segment.

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Topics:

• New study on internet addiction in teens.
• McDonald’s is coming to the Louvre.
• Woman arrested for video rentals, 10 years overdue.
• Two animal attacks.
• SHARK TWEETS.
• Advance Wars, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Valkyria Chronicles, Beatles: Rock Band, Scribblenauts
• Jack Thompson sues Facebook.
• PSP GO doesn’t play nice with Macs.
• Hardware pricing outrage.
• Nintendo is apparently the best company in the world.
• Sarah Palin-signed Xbox 360 on eBay for $1.1 million.

Songs Played:

1. “I’m a Loser” – The Beatles
2. “Typical” – Mute Math
3. “Make it Wit Chu (Acoustic)” – Queens of the Stone Age
4. “Fulsom Prison Blues” – Johnny Cash
5. “Imitation of Life” – R.E.M.
6. “7/4 (Shoreline)” – Broken Social Scene
7. “Steady as She Goes” – The Raconteurs
8. “North Col” – Shearwater
9. “Legal Man” – Belle and Sebastian
10. “Bed” – Brand New

I made some postcards for Jordan and Amber’s band, Shiny and the Spoon, for my New Media Studio class. I figured they were sufficiently entertaining enough to post here.

Basic image, created as a general promotional shot. Foreground and background are separated by color temperature, to create some depth in the monochrome image.

Here, I switched their faces.

A little artsy.

Ukulele is serious business.

I hope you enjoyed this brief interlude.

Still in a New York State of Mind (yet still hating Billy Joel’s smug attitude), Kole returns to the mic. Alongside him is Jordan, who was successfully returned to the studio after a successful milk carton campaign to find him. Topics include healthcare, samurai swords, Twilight, hardware redesigns and price cuts, a whole bunch of games.

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Songs Played:

1. “Satellite Skin” – Modest Mouse
2. “Fresh Blood” – Eels
3. “Hotel” – Broken Social Scene
4. “Mockingbirdsing” – Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
5. “O, Dana” – Okkervil River
6. “Oh No” – Andrew Bird
7. “Solitaire” – Wilco
8. “When U Love Somebody” – The Fruitbats
9. “WannaBe in L.A.” – Eagles of Death Metal