March 28, 2016
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Podcasts
Bob Mackey, Gaming, HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, Jeremy Parish, Podcasts, Retronauts, review
Retronauts
Hosted by Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey
Retronauts.com
For a long time, video games have been trying to rise as a medium from frivolous entertainment to serious art form. Some notable successes have been achieved, but also success hasn’t been universal. Something similar can be said for video game podcasts. While many gaming podcasts fall into the ‘bro-gamer’ subculture that seems to permeate the internet, Retronauts rises above the field by mixing intelligent analysis with nostalgia.
Nominally hosted by gaming news site USGamer.net , Retronauts covers games from the dawn of the medium up to about ten years ago. Hosted by two veteran game reviewers and bloggers, the cast is in-depth and smarter than it needs to be. It not only provides a dose of heady nostalgia, but historical analysis and design critique as well. The main show updates every two weeks considering topics such as specific games or series, but also topics like a retrospective on the career of Final Fantasy score composer Nobuo Uematsu. These episodes go in-depth with three or four guests, running one to two hours.
Alternate weeks update with shorter microsodes that focus in deeper on more obscure, but none the less interesting topics like the groundbreaking but often overlooked survival horror adventure ‘Clock Tower,’ or the music of the SNES port of Sim City.
Host Bob Mackey and Jeremy Parish, who is also the talent behind Game Boy World, really know their stuff, and have plenty of anecdotes and inside information that really sheds a light on the game design and development process.
As someone who spent much of his childhood with an NES controller in hand, but usually couldn’t afford the latest generation system, I am a dyed-in the-wool retro gamer. This podcast is my jam. If you prefer pixelated nostalgia over the latest shooter, Retronauts might just be the gaming podcast you’re looking for.
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March 26, 2016
hughjodonnell
Podcast, Uncategorized
Bad movie, CCR, hugh, JRD, Opopinax, Podcast, review, Rich The T T, The Gorilla
Hugh and the rest of the Chrononauts endure 1939’s “The Gorilla.”
Click HERE to listen online.
This podcast was originally published at Skinner.fm on March 15, 2016.
Chrononaut Cinema Reviews is presented by http://skinner.fm and Way of the Buffalo, and is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.
March 17, 2016
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Fiction, Uncategorized
Audible, audiobook, Claudia Gray, HLF, Hugh Likes Fiction, Lost Stars, Pierce Cravens, Star Wars
Lost Stars
Claudia Gray
Penguin/Random House Audio
Narrated by Pierce Cravens
Lost Stars is one of the new Star Wars novels that does what I like best about the new Expanded Universe. Following two aspiring young pilots from the backwater mountain world of Jelucan, it updates the events of the original Star Wars movies with delightful new characters and fresh perspectives.
Marketed as a YA Romance, it follows the relationship of of Ciena Ree, a peasant girl from Jelucan’s valley settlement, and Thane Kyrell, the son of an urbane, upperclass ‘Second Wave’ family from childhood friendship to budding war-time lovers, and finally to conflicted enemies as they find themselves caught on opposite sides of the Rebellion. Thane, awakened to the Empire’s cruelty, defects to the rebels, but Ciena, bound by a strong sense of honor, stays at her post.
Much like Chuck Wendig’s Star Wars: Aftermath, Gray infuses a sense of darkness and nuance into the new Star Wars cannon that is both welcome and refreshing. She spends a significant portion of the book following Ree and her fellow Imperial officers throughout the events of the film trilogy. She does a great job giving these characters a human face and exploring the hard choices that living under a military dictatorship necessitates. Furthermore, she manages to thread the needle of doing so without excusing the atrocities and loss of life that result from those choices.
I experienced this book as an audio book via audible.com Narrator Pierce Cravenss does an excellent job with the text, bringing characters to life without slipping into exaggerated voices. He is supported by a mix that incorporates moments of the films’ iconic scores and sound effects.
Star Wars has always worked with romance at its heart. Ciena and Thane’s story is a worthy addition to the canon for new and old fans alike. This is one flight I heartily recommend.
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March 16, 2016
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Comics, Uncategorized
DC, Gotham Academy, HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, review
Gotham Academy Vol. 1
Written by Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher
Drawn by Karl Kerschl
Published by DC Comics
“Gotham Academy” is a boarding school mystery set in the DC Universe, and with Batman appearing in atmospheric, gothic offerings like Scott Snyder’s run on the book and the Arkham Asylum video game franchise, it feels like a perfect fit for his world. Much like the well-beloved “Gotham City Central,” this comic rarely features the Dark Knight, but his shadow falls heavily over the book. And while a YA take on the gritty police drama seems bizarre at first blush, it works very well.
Sophmore Olive Silverlock is returning to Gotham Academy with some problems. The first is a mysterious incident over the summer that left Olive with a spotty memory and unfocussed anger at Gotham’s resident superhero. The other is her freshman mentee ‘Maps’ Mizoguchi. Maps is inquisitive, obsessed with gaming, and the kid sister of her boyfriend Kyle, who would likely be her ex if she could work up the nerve to speak with him. When Olive gets caught in the middle of a ghost-hunting mania sweeping campus, will she find answers to her own mysteries, or just more trouble?
“Gotham Academy” is a great comic for new readers and hardcore Batman fans. An original story that needs no prior knowledge, it is also littered with tantalizing easter eggs for observant fans. Such as 60’s villain Bookwork working as school Librarian. Fletcher’s art, and the lush, shadowy coloring seal the deal. This is an all-ages mystery filled with likable characters and believable high school drama. Of course, it can’t fully escape the towering fantastical elements of Gotham City, but it arrives as a refreshing antidote to DC’s ‘New 52’ sturm and drang. You can pick up Gotham Academy digitally from Comixology, or in trade paperback and single issues from your local comics shop.
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March 8, 2016
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Fiction, Uncategorized
Catherynne M Valente, HLF, Hugh Likes Fiction, review, Sci-Fi
Radiance
Written by Cathryne M. Valente
Published by Tor
Where does cinema end and the real world begin? Can a camera really film the truth? And which is more real? Life, or the film that captures it? These are the questions that overshadow the life of documentary filmmaker Severin Unck. Filmed from the moment she appeared as a baby in a basket on the doorstep of Gothic director Percival Unck, she has constantly rejected his brand of fantasy in favor of the truth. Living in an alternate reality where movies never advanced past black-and-white silent films and every planet and moon in the solar system is both habitable and welcoming, she documents food riots on Mars, end of the world parties on Neptune, and of course, her own larger than life childhood. But when Severin disappears on an ill-fated voyage to document the destruction of a Venusian settlement, the truth may be the one thing that is indistinguishable.
Compiled from witness interviews, abandoned film treatments, and radio transcripts, Radiance is an ambitious and strange epistolary novel about the life of a realist documentarian in a fabulist universe. The novel rarely follows a conventional prose format, and when it does, the authenticity of these sections is explicitly suspect. But the fascinating worlds that Valente creates make sifting through the story puzzle she creates a sheer delight. The walls between the events of Severin and her associates’ lives, and that of their film counterparts jumble together in an epic spanning a night flower-carpeted Pluto to a tropical Venus that is home to the Callowhales, island-sized aquatic creatures whose milk is essential for long-term survival in space. But of course, they aren’t really whales, and their milk isn’t really milk.
In this novel, Valente invites us into an editing booth and lays out all these pieces in a lush, fantastic sci-fi mystery. Like Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, It leaves the challenge of constructing a linear narrative to the reader, and leaves the reader not with the satisfaction of a completed story, but the wonder of a messy, complicated, and beautiful life. This novel is not to be missed.
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March 7, 2016
hughjodonnell
Podcast, Uncategorized
Watch along with the Flash Mob as we confront the 80’s musical puzzle that is Purple Rain.
Click HERE to listen! Note: This is an audio podcast. Video of the film Purple Rain is not provided.
This podcast originally aired at Skinner.fm on March 5, 2016.
Thanks for listening!
March 6, 2016
hughjodonnell
Podcast, Uncategorized
hugh, Interview, Lauren Harris, Pat, Podcast, The Way of the Buffalo
Hugh and Pat interview author and audible narrator Lauren ‘Scribe’ Harris.
Click HERE to listen
This podcast originally aired at wayofthebuffalopodcast.blogspot.com on March 1, 2016.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it, or leave a review on iTunes. You can also join my Patreon for exclusive content and early releases.
March 2, 2016
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Comics, Uncategorized
HLC, Hugh Likes Comics, Iron Fist, Marvel, Power Man, review
Power Man and Iron Fist #1
Written by David Walker
Drawn by Sanford Greene
Colored by Lee Loughridge
Published by Marvel Comics
I haven’t read much of the original Power Man and Iron Fist comics from the ’70’s, but I’m a big fan of the concept, especially the way the characters relate in modern Marvel comics. So needless to say, I’m onboard with Power Man and Iron Fist’s 2016 incarnation.
In the Marvel tradition, this is a getting the band back together sort of story, but while it builds on older continuity, it didn’t leave me lost. Years ago, Jennie Royce was the office manager for Luke Cage and Danny Rand, the Heroes for Hire. When she was tried for killing her ex-boyfriend, they did everything they could to help, but she was still convicted. Released from prison, the former partners reunite to meet her at the ferry. Luke has moved on since then, and has started a family. Danny is still fighting crime by night as Iron Fist. When Jennie asks them for a favor, the return of a necklace she says was stolen by gangsters, they get pulled back into street-level crime-fighting. And while Danny is happy to relive his glory days, Luke is less enthusiastic.
While Walker is setting up a nice little crime story, what really sells it is Greene’s art. He uses design and body language to give reinforce the plot and sell the characters. Even something as simple as putting Danny in his Iron Fist jumpsuit while leaving Luke in his vest and collared shirt says volumes about where these characters are and what they want. I particularly like the way flashbacks were drawn. They hover in the negative space above the figures, and it is both unusual and effective.
Power Man and Iron Fist #1 tells a nice little crime tale, while setting up a larger story to come. Check it out on Comixology or in your local comics shop.
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February 29, 2016
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Podcasts, Uncategorized
HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, Kevin Sonney, review, Ursula Vernon
The Hidden Almanac and Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap
Kevin Sonney and Ursula Vernon
Hiddenalmanac.com and http://kuec.libsyn.com
“The Hidden Almanac” and “Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap” are two very different, gloriously odd podcasts from Hugo Award-winning author Ursula Vernon and her husband Kevin Sonney While Ursula is a children’s author these podcasts, particularly the later, are not for kids and they are two of my favorite new additions to my podcast playlist.
“The Hidden Almanac” is a micro-fiction podcast staring Immortal plague doctor Reverend Mord, played by Sonney in a delightfully creepy monotone, and his assistant, the enthusiastic and rarely sober Pastor Drom, played by Vernon. Every few days, a five-minute or so episode drops, in which Mord intones the historical importance and Saint’s feast of the day from a world that is very much not our own. He also fills the listener in on the status of his garden, which is filled with plants both fantastical and mundane. Drom assists in much the same way that gasoline assists a campfire. Episodes are written by Vernon, and the humor on display is similar to her popular comics.
“Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap” is a much longer podcast in which the couple test out a variety of prepackaged instant food and snacks. If you can’t stand the sound of chewing, this podcast isn’t for you. However, the presenters, particularly Ursula, are hilarious in their reviews and so colorful in their language that sitting through these two-hour episodes is a joy. Ursula recently described one food choice as tasting ‘like an independent bookstore.’ The couple often goes on smart, funny tangents that are as entertaining as the food reviews. Running the gamut from ‘healthy’ snacks including organic and gluten free items, to the most basic instant fare, these two food critics are sure to entertain with their common sense wisdom and curmudgeonly wit.
Whether you prefer your podcasts in short bursts or marathon sessions, check out these selections in itunes or your preferred podcast player.
February 15, 2016
hughjodonnell
Hugh Likes Podcasts, Uncategorized
HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, Maximum Fun, review, We Got This
We Got This With Mark and Hal
Hal Lublin & Mark Gagliardi
Maximum Fun Network
“We Got This” is a podcast that sets out to settle the very small questions. Hosted by Thrilling Adventure Hour regulars Hal Lublin and Mark Gagliardi, it tackles the cultural debates that hover over bar rooms and gaming tables. From what state has the best barbecue to Best Star Trek film, they hash out the data and come up with a definitive answer to life’s least pressing debates.
One of the things that makes this show really work is the chemistry between Mark and Hal. As cast members of the long-running stage show and podcast “Thrilling Adventure Hour,” their camaraderie and friendship is in evidence. And as working actors and bonafide nerds, their pop-cultural cred can’t be questioned. While many of the show’s topics are suggested by fans through the Maximum Fun Reddit page, there is a sense that they are returning to arguments they have hashed out before over backstage drinks and diner food.
But where one of them is lacking expertise, they never fake it. There is a genuineness to this podcast that is quite charming, even when you want to shout corrections into your player. They have had an excellent set of guest experts as well. A recent episode debating Star Trek vs. Star Wars, which was recorded live, featured Mythbuster Adam Savage and Internet Judge John Hodgeman, for example.
Thrilling Adventure Hour may be complete, but Hal and Mark are still making great podcasts. If you’ve missed your Work Juice Player fix, this is a great show to pick up. And even if you have never heard of the hosts before, their charm and sagacity is sure to delight. So if you have some niggling pop-culture question, check their archives. Chances are, They’ve got this.
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