Writer and Podcaster
February 7, 2016
Podcast CCR, hugh, JRD, Opopinax, Podcast, Rich The T T Leave a comment
In this episode of Chrononaut Cinema Reviews, JRD, Rich the T. T, Opopinax, and Hugh expirience the absolutely terrible 1940 film, “The Fatal Hour.”
Click HERE to listen.
The original post was published on 02/04/16 at Skinner.fm.
Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it, or leave a review on iTunes! You can also support my Patreon for more content!
February 1, 2016
Hugh Likes Podcasts, Uncategorized HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, Nerdy Show, review Leave a comment
Nerdy Show
Hosted by Cap Blackard, and others
Nerdyshow.com
Nerdy Show is a podcast that spawned a network. Originally a college radio show ran for and by central Florida geeks, Nerdy Show has expanded into a network of podcasts, videos, streaming music, and articles that strive to cover every bit of fandom and nerd culture.
The central podcast has changed formats a few times over the course of its run, but currently consists of a podcast feed with a titular main show every two weeks, and a variety of additional programming. These other podcasts include Flame On, a podcast about gay nerd culture, Wicked Anime, an anime fan show, Dungeons and Doritos, a popular role playing live reading/audio drama, and even a book club!
One of Nerdy Show’s strengths is that it is inherently positive about nerd culture. The podcast casts a wide net and has a little bit of everything, but still seems to find the good. Geek culture is about having an unabashed love for something, and that love shines through, whether the topic is Star Wars, tech news, or voice actors of the eighties. As their motto says, if it’s geeky, they’ve got you covered.
Their fan community an outreach is also really well maintained. Through their own forums, social media, and even now Patreon, Cap and his crew have an amazing outreach to their fans, and their fans keep them afloat. Nerdy Show is as much a community as it is a podcast, and even has their own unofficial headquarters in Orlando, Florida’s nerd-themed hang-out The Geekeasy.
Nerdy Show is a team of geeks creating their own network of geek entertainment, and delivering a high quality set of shows. No matter what your nerddom, there is something there for you, so go check them out at nerdyshow.com.
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February 1, 2016
Podcast, Uncategorized hugh, Podcast, The Freelance Hunters Leave a comment
This podcast originally appeared at Thefreelancehunters.com on July 15, 2015.
Click HERE to listen.
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it or leave a review on iTunes. You can support my podcasting by signing up for my Patreon feed. Patrons get early access to episodes, exclusive content, and more!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
January 28, 2016
Podcast, Uncategorized CCR, hugh, JRD, Movie Review, movies, Opopinax, Podcast, Rich The T T Leave a comment
JRD, Opopinax, Rich the T. T. and Hugh discuss the 1920 Silent Film “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
Click HERE to listen
The original episode can be found at Skinner.fm.
January 25, 2016
Podcast, Uncategorized Blocked, Fiction, Podcast, The Freelance Hutners Leave a comment
Today’s podcast is “Blocked!” a Freelance Hunters short story that originally appeared at TheFreelanceHuters.com on June 30th, 2015.
Click HERE to listen online.
If you enjoyed this story and want more content, please visit my Patreon page to help support the podcast. Patrons of $1 a month or more get exclusive podcasts and short fiction as well as early access to podcast episodes.
January 4, 2016
Uncategorized, Writing 2016, New Years, Writing Leave a comment
Happy New Year, everybody! 2015 is over and it is time to look ahead to the new year. But first, let me consider and retire the Page of Awesome for 2015. The Page of Awesome is the little tally in my notebook where I set my goals for the year and keep track of how I do. And this year, my eyes were bigger than my productivity.
I put up a little tracker at the side of this blog, and as you can tell, I didn’t make most of my goals. I wanted to publish over 400 blog posts, and I fell well short of that. Partially that is because last year at this time I was working on “The City,” and I expected to release more daily drabble serials. But after I completed the first one, I stalled out on two more. In 2016, I might finish and release more of them, but if I do, I don’t know if a daily blog post is the best format. And if it is, I won’t start until the work is finished.
I did better on podcast fiction, and even cleared my goal of 50! I kind of slacked off on them in the later half of the year, though. In 2016, I’ll be trying to collect all of my podcasts in one place for convenience. The Way of the Buffalo, Freelance Hunters, and Chrononaut Cinema Review podcasts are all hosted in different feeds, and while I plan on keeping all of those going, I’m a bit jealous of my friends with Uber-feeds, and I’d like to have something here on this site. That should be launching this week.
I didn’t write as much as I wanted to this year. I particularly didn’t edit as much as I needed to. As a result, I didn’t make either goal for short story submissions or self-produced ebooks. I still have some things to get out the door, but if 2015 taught me anything, it is to not write checks my ass can’t cash. I think it is better to be a mysterious author and leave you all in suspense rather than promise more than I can deliver.
Which is why I am NOT publicly making any goals this year. The Page of Awesome will continue, and I’ll be making brand new and exclusive (for at least a little while) content for my patrons over at patreon.com/hughjodonnell, but I’ve been thinking a lot about goal-setting as a metric of success, and I’m not sure it’s good for me at this stage. I’m obviously not great at setting goals, and failing to reach them made me feel bad, even though I didn’t do too badly. I still had a lot of blog posts and story submissions this year. I want to stay positive in 2016, and thus, I’m only announcing my results, not goals.
In the meantime, there will be a lot of cool stuff happening around here in 2016, and I hope you stick around.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article, please share it, or support me on Patreon for more content!
December 30, 2015
Hugh Likes Comics, Uncategorized Alberto J Alburquerque, HLC, Mystery Girl, Paul Tobin 2 Comments
Mystery Girl #1
Written by Paul Tobin
Drawn by Alberto J. Alburquerque
Colors by Marissa Louise
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Trine Hampstead is London’s premier Street Detective. She can solve any crime, or answer any question before you ask it. She make a living consulting on the pavements of London, but having all the answers isn’t enough for her any more. When she is asked about the location of an ill-fated Siberian expedition, she takes the job on the condition that she’s a part of the next one. But Trine’s employers aren’t the only one on the trail, they’ve hired a hit-man rather than a detective.
“Mystery Girl” is another charming story story from Paul Tobin, the writer of the superlative “Bandette.” Trine is a refreshingly down to earth character in spite of her oracular talents, and the colorful supporting cast of her customers are just as endearing. Most of the issue is spent introducing her powers and her little interactions with the people of London as she goes through her day. This is more of a magical realism story than a typical super-hero comic.
It’s hard to write a character who knows everything well. It’s not a flashy ability, and it rules out a lot of conflict right off the bat. But Trine has just the right mix of empathy and mystery to make me want to know more about her.
Alburquerque’s art and Louise’s colors are well done as well. The figures really seem to pop from the background, reminding the reader that this is a comic about people, and the setting is relatively unimportant. This is a good thing, because the one glaring error is the comic’s presentation of London.
I wonder if an early draft of Mystery Girl was set in the U.S. or Canada. Although the art is thoroughly British, the dialogue has a lot of Americanisms that weren’t caught before production. For example, Trine is refereed to several times as a ‘sidewalk detective,’ and events are described as taking place ‘blocks away.’ It is somewhat distracting, and English readers will probably be taken right out of the story. Early volumes of Garth Ennis’s ‘Preacher’ had similar problems. I feel like the story is good enough that this wasn’t a breaking point for me, but your milage may vary.
“Mystery Girl” is an great first outing to a new series, that with a closer editing, could become something truly magical. I will certainly waiting to see where Trine’s investigation leads. You can find “Mystery Girl” at your local comics shop or online from Comixology.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this article, please share it, or support my Patreon for more content!
December 14, 2015
Hugh Likes Podcasts, Uncategorized Dave Holmes, HLP, Hugh Likes Podcasts, Maximum Fun, review Leave a comment
International Waters
Hosted by Dave Holmes
Maximumfun.org/shows/international-waters
International Waters is a lot of fun. Ostensibly a panel quiz show, host Dave Holmes pits teams of American and British comedians against each other to determine which country is better. In reality, it’s a thin rationale for pop culture and current events jokes, it is still a joy to hear. You cold think of it like ‘Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me’ without the NPR respectability.
While the humor is often lowbrow, Holmes is a charming host, and the guests are usually quite witty in between the poop and dick jokes. The show is divided into three rounds. First, the panels answer current events trivia. Then, there is a round of games in which the guests try and answer questions about odd bits of the other country’s pop culture. Finally, there is the last and most important round which is a creative challenge of some kind, where the comics have to defend the worst bits of their own culture or attack something beloved of their opponents, such as Doctor Who or Spider-Man. There is a nice variety to the games, and they are quite entertaining.
International Waters is available from the Maximum Fun network and comes out twice a month. It’s a great addition to stand-up fans, Anglophiles, and ex-pats alike.
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December 4, 2015
Hugh Likes Video Games, Uncategorized Gaming, HLV, Mobile Gaming, Monument Valley, UsTwo Games Leave a comment
Monument Valley
UsTwo Games
Played on Android
Monument Valley is less of a game and more of an experience, but it is a damn good one. A sort of meditational challenge, Monument Valley is a M C Escher-inspired visual puzzler for mobile phones. The goal is to guide a figure through a series of ‘monuments,’ physics-defying labyrinths that rely on forced perspective. SImilar to the classic PSP game ‘Echochrome,’ Players rotate, flip, and skew the terrain to guide the heroine to the end of each level.
While the game itself is not overly taxing, the puzzles require players to think visually and strategically, and at its best moments, feels almost meditative. The calm atmosphere is reinforced by top-notch visual and sound design. The princess journeys through spires, caverns, and seas with a painterly aesthetic. One particularly clever level is designed as a puzzle box.
The style of the game helped to alleviate any sense of frustration I felt while playing. This was a little world that I was glad to get lost in.
Although a bit on the short side, Monument Valley is a pocket-sized gem of a puzzle game, and an oasis of calm suitable for hardcore gamers, casual players, and kids. You can find it in the IOS, Android, and Amazon app stores.
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Hugh J. O'Donnell 
Podcast: CCR-The After Hours Commentary Track
January 24, 2016
hughjodonnell Podcast, Uncategorized CCR, Commentary Track, hugh, JRD, Opopinax, Podcast, The Twilight Zone Leave a comment
Hugh, JRD, and Opopinax sit down with classic Twilight Zone episode, The After Hours. Grab your DVD or load up Netflix to watch along with us!
Click HERE to listen!
This podcast originally appeared HERE at Skinner.fm!
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.