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In this week's episode, I take a look at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter and Spring 2025. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook versions of my anthologies at my Payhip store: JUNE25 The coupon code is valid through June 17, 2025. So if you need a new ebook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 252 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is May 23rd, 2025, and today we are looking at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter and Spring 2025. We missed doing an episode last week for the simple reason that the day before I wanted to record, we had a bad thunderstorm that knocked down large portions of my fence, so my recording time was instead spent on emergency fence repair. However, the situation is under control, so hopefully we'll be back to weekly episodes for the immediate future. And now before we get to our main topics, let's have Coupon of the Week and then a progress update on my current writing projects.   So first up, Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook version of all my short story anthologies at my Payhip store and that is JUNE25. As always, the coupon code and links will be available in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through June the 17th, 2025, so if you need a new ebook for this summer, we have got you covered.   And now an update on my current writing projects. Ghost in the Corruption is finished. It is publishing right now. In fact, I paused the publishing process to record this and so by the time this episode goes live, hopefully Ghost in the Corruption should be available at all ebook stores. My next main project now that Ghost in the Corruption is done will be Shield of Power and as of this recording I am 15,000 words into it. My secondary projects will be Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest and I'm 97,000 words into that, so hopefully that will come out very shortly after Shield of Power and I'll also be starting Ghost in the Siege, the final book in the Ghost Armor series as another secondary project and I'm currently zero words into that. So that is where I'm at with my current writing projects.   In audiobook news, Ghost in the Assembly (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is now out and should be available at all the usual audiobook stores so you can listen to that if you are traveling for the summer. Recording of Shield of Battle (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) is underway soon. I believe he's starting it this week, so hopefully we will have another audiobook in the Shield War series for you before too much longer. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects.   00:02:17 Main Topic: Winter/Spring 2025 Movie Roundup   And now let's move on, without any further ado, to our main topic. Summer is almost upon us, which means it's time for my Winter/Spring 2025 Movie Roundup. As usual, the movies and streaming shows are listed in order for my least favorite to my most favorite. The grades are based upon my own thoughts and opinions and are therefore wholly subjective. With all of that said, let's get to the movies and our first entry is MacGruber, which came out in 2010 and in all honesty, this might be objectively the worst movie I have ever seen. The Saturday Night Live MacGruber sketches are a parody of the old MacGyver action show from the ‘80s. And so the movie is essentially the sketch stretched out to make a parody of an ‘80s action movie. It is aggressively dumb and crude. Its only redeeming feature is that the movie knows it's quite stupid and so leans into the stupidity hard. I'll say this in its favor, MacGruber has no pretensions that is a good movie and does not take itself seriously and then runs away hard with that fact. For that he gets a plus, but nothing else. Overall grade: F+   Next up is Down Periscope, which came out in 1996. Now the fundamental question of any movie is the one Russell Crowe shouted at the audience in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained?” Sadly, I was not entertained with Down Periscope. This wanted to be a parody of Cold War era submarine thrillers like The Hunt for Red October, I say wanted because it didn't really succeed. Kelsey Grammer plays Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge, an unorthodox US Navy officer who wants command of his own nuclear sub, but he's alienated a few admirals, which is not traditionally a path to career advancement in the military. Dodge gets his chance in a Navy wargame where he has to command a diesel sub against nuclear subs. Sometimes parodies are so good that they become an example of the thing they are parodying (Hot Fuzz and Star Trek: Lower Decks are excellent examples of this phenomenon). The trouble is that the movie takes itself too seriously and just isn't all that funny. A few funny bits, true, but not enough of them. In the end, this was dumb funny but didn't resonate with me the way other dumb funny movies like Dodgeball and Tropic Thunder did. Overall grade: D   Next up is Deadpool and Wolverine, which came out in 2024. Unlike Down Periscope, I was entertained with this movie, though both movies reside on the dumb funny spectrum. Deadpool and Wolverine is basically one long meta in-joke/love letter for the last 30 years of superhero movies. If you've seen enough of those movies, you'll find those movies funny, if occasionally rather tasteless. If you haven't seen enough of those movies, Deadpool and Wolverine will just be incomprehensible. The plot is that Wade Wilson AKA Deadpool gets pulled into some Marvel style multiverse nonsense. To save his universe from destruction, he needs to recruit a Wolverine since in his universe, Wolverine died heroically.   In the process, Deadpool stumbles across the worst Wolverine in the multiverse. Together they have to overcome their mutual dislike and attempt to save Deadpool's universe from destruction at the hands of a rogue branch of the Time Variance Authority. This means the movie can bring in a lot of cameos from past Marvel films. Hugh Jackman's performance really carries the movie on its back. Like I said, this movie is essentially one very long Marvel in-joke. I thought it was funny. I definitely think it can't stand on its own without having seen a sufficient number of the other Marvel movies. Overall grade: C   Our next movie is the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which came out in 2024. This is very loosely (with an emphasis on “very”) based on Operation Postmaster during World War II, when British Special Forces seized some Italian ships that had been supplying parts for German U-boats. It was entertaining to watch but it couldn't quite make up its mind tonally if it was a war thriller or a heist movie about Western desperados recruited into a crew. It kind of tried to do both at the same time, which killed the momentum. Like, the first parts of the movie where the protagonists take out a Nazi patrol boat and then free a prisoner from a base were good thriller stuff, but then the plot fused with the heist stuff and really slowed down through the middle forty percent or so. It was also oddly stylized with a lot of spaghetti western-style music that seemed out of place and some stuff just didn't make sense, like at the end after pulling off the mission, the protagonists were all arrested. That just seems bizarre since if anything, Winston Churchill and a lot of the British wartime leadership were enthusiastic about special operations and probably had too much confidence in the effectiveness of covert operations. So I did enjoy watching this, but I can see why it didn't make a lot of money at the box office. Overall Grade: C   Next up is The Gorge, which came out in 2025. This was a peculiar mix of science fiction, romance, and horror. For the romance part, perhaps shooting zombies together is a good idea for a first date. Before I dig into the movie, a brief rant. In one scene, a character is using a chainsaw with no protective gear whatsoever and she's not fighting zombies or anything in a situation where she has to pick up a chainsaw without preparing first. She's trimming branches to pass time. If you're using a chainsaw, at a minimum you want protective eyewear and headphones. Ideally you'd want chainsaw pants as well to reduce the chance of serious injury if you slip and swing the saw into your leg. Since I became a homeowner, I've used a chainsaw a number of times and believe me, you definitely want good eye and ear protection. This has been your public safety announcement for this movie review.   Anyway, loner former sniper Levi is approached by a high ranking intelligence officer giving him a mysterious job. He needs to guard a tower overlooking a mysterious mist-filled gorge for one year. On the other side of the gorge is another tower, guarded by an elite Lithuanian sniper named Drasa. Like Levi, Drasa has a fair bit of emotional damage and they're officially forbidden to communicate. However, they're both lonely and they soon start communicating over the gorge using telescopes and whiteboard messages. Eventually Levi gets emotionally close enough to Drasa to rig a zipline to cross the gorge and speak with her in person.   Unfortunately, it turns out the gorge is full of twisted creatures that storm out and attack and the job of the two snipers is to keep them contained. If Levi and Drasa want to save their lives, they'll need to unravel the dark secret within the gorge. This movie was interesting and I enjoyed watching it, but it falls apart if you think about it too much (or at all). Like the chainsaw thing I ranted about above. The entire movie runs on that sort of logic. That said, I appreciate how the filmmakers were trying something new instead of something like Deadpool and Wolverine. Additionally, this was an Apple+ movie and it's interesting how Apple's approach to streaming is to just make a whole bunch of random stuff that's totally distinct, from Ted Lasso to Mythic Quest to Severance to The Gorge. It's like, “we have more money than most countries, so we're going to make Ted Lasso because we feel like it.” Then again, Apple+ is apparently losing a billion dollars every year, so maybe they'll eventually change their minds about that approach. Overall Grade: B-   Next up is Click, which came out in 2006. Cross It's a Wonderful Life with A Christmas Carol and the comedic style of Adam Sandler and you end up with Click. Basically Sandler plays Michael Newman, a workaholic architect with a demanding boss and increasingly strained relationship with his wife and children due to his workload. In a fit of exasperation with his situation, he goes to Bed Bath and Beyond, where he encounters an eccentric employee named Morty (played entertainingly by Christopher Walken). Morty gives him a remote control that lets him fast forward through time, which Michael then uses to skip the boring and tedious parts of his life, but he overuses the remote and goes too far into the future and sees the disastrous results of his current life choices. Definitely a story used in A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life but effectively told and I was entertained (rather on the crude side, though). Overall Grade: B- Next up is Mr. Deeds, which came out in 2002. This was actually one of Adam Sandler's better movies, in my opinion. It was a remake of the ‘30s movie Mr. Deeds Goes To Town. In this new version, Sandler plays Longfellow Deeds, a popular pizzeria owner in a small New Hampshire town. Unbeknownst to Deeds, his uncle is the owner of a major media mega corporation and when he dies, Deeds is his legal heir. When the company's CEO and chief lawyer arrive at the pizzeria to inform him of this fact, Deeds goes to New York and soon finds himself involved in the CEO's sinister machinations. Yet he happens to rescue an attractive woman from a mugger, but there is more to her than meets the eye. The movie was funny and not as crude, well, not quite as crude as some of Sandler's other stuff. It had good story structure and several great lines, my favorite of which was “he was weak and cowardly and wore far too much cologne.”   Sandler's movies, in a strange way, are often very medieval. Like various medieval fables had a savvy peasant outwitting pompous lords, greedy merchants, and corrupt clergymen. The best Adam Sandler protagonist tends to be a good natured everyman who defeats the modern equivalent of medieval authority figures- evil CEOs, arrogant star athletes, sinister bureaucrats and so forth. Overall Grade: B     Next up is House of David, which came out in 2025 and this is basically the story of King David from the Bible told in the format of an epic fantasy TV series. Like if someone wanted to do an epic fantasy series about Conan the Barbarian, it could follow the same stylistic format as this show. And of course Conan and David followed a similar path from adventurer to king. Anyway, if one were to pick a part of the Bible from which to make a movie or TV series, the story of David would be an excellent choice because David's life was so dramatic that it would hardly require any embellishments in the adaptation. The story is in the Books of First and Second Samuel. King Saul is ruling over the Israelites around 1000 BC or so, but has grown arrogant. Consequently, God instructs the prophet Samuel to inform Saul that the kingdom will be taken away from him and given to another. God then dispatches Samuel to anoint David as the new king of Israel. David is a humble shepherd but then enters Saul's service and undertakes feats of daring, starting with defeating the giant Goliath and leading Saul's troops to victory and battle against Israel's numerous enemies. (The Iron Age Middle East was even less peaceful than it is now.) Eventually, Saul's paranoia and madness gets the best of him and he turns on David, who flees into exile. After Saul and his sons are killed in battle with the Philistines. David returns and becomes the acknowledged king after a short civil war with Saul's surviving sons and followers.   If Saul's fatal flaw was his arrogance of pride, David's seems to have been women. While the story of David and Bathsheba is well known, David nonetheless had eight wives (most of them at the same time) and an unknown but undoubtedly large number of concubines. Naturally David's children from his various wives and concubines did not get along and David was almost deposed due to the conflicts between his children. Unlike Saul and later David's son Solomon, David was willing to repent when a prophet of God informed him of wrongdoing and to be fair to David, monogamy was generally not practiced among Early Iron Age Middle Eastern monarchies and dynastic struggles between brothers from different mothers to seize their father's kingdoms were quite common, but enough historical digression.   Back to the show, which covered David's life up to the death of Goliath. I thought it was quite well done. Good performances, good cinematography, excellent battles, good set design and costuming, and a strong soundtrack. All the actors were good, but I really think the standout performances were Stephen Lang as Samuel, Ali Sulaman is King Saul, Ayelet Zurer as Saul's wife Queen Ahinoam, and Davood Ghadami as David's jerkish (but exasperated and well-intentioned) eldest brother Eliab. Martyn Ford just looks extremely formidable as Goliath. You definitely believe no one in their right mind want to fight this guy.   Making fiction of any kind based on sacred religious texts is often tricky because no matter what you do, someone's going to get mad at you. The show has an extensive disclaimer at the beginning of each episode saying that it is fiction inspired by the Bible. That said, House of David doesn't really alter or deviate from the Biblical account, though it expands upon some things for the sake of storytelling. Queen Ahinoam is only mentioned once in the Bible as the wife of Saul, but she has an expanded role in the show and is shown as the one who essentially introduces Saul to the Witch of Endor. Goliath also gets backstory as one of the “Anakim,” a race of giants that lived in Canaan in ancient times, which is something that is only mentioned in passing in the Old Testament. Overall, I enjoyed the show and I hope it gets a second season.   What's interesting, from a larger perspective, is to see how the wheel of history keeps turning. In the 1950s and the 1960s, Biblical epics were a major film genre. The 10 Commandments and Ben Hur with Charlton Heston are probably the ones best remembered today. Eventually, the genre just sort of ran out of gas, much the way superhero movies were in vogue for about 20 years and began running out of steam around 2023 or so. Like, I enjoyed Thunderbolts (which we're going to talk about in a little bit), but it's not going to make a billion dollars the way Marvel stuff often did in the 2010s. The wheel just keeps turning and perhaps has come back around to the popularity of Biblical epics once more. Overall Grade: A   Next up is Chef, which came out in 2014. I actually saw this back in 2021, but I watched it again recently to refresh my memory and here are my thoughts. I quite liked it. It's about a chef named Carl Casper, who's increasingly unhappy with his work after he gets fired over a Twitter war with a writer who criticized his cooking. Carl is out of options and so he starts a food truck and has to both rediscover his love of cooking and reconnect with his ex-wife and 10-year-old son. In Storytelling: How to Write a Novel (my book about writing), I talked about different kinds of conflict. Carl's conflict is an excellent example of an entirely internal conflict. The critic is an external enemy, but he's basically the inciting incident.   Carl's real enemy is his own internal conflict about art versus commerce and a strained relationship with his son. I recommend the movie. It was rated R for bad language, but there's no nudity or explicit sexual content and honestly, if you've ever worked in a restaurant kitchen or a warehouse, you've heard much worse in terms of language. The movie also has an extremely valuable lesson: stay off social media when you're angry. Overall Grade: A     Next up is Thunderbolts, which came out in 2025 and I thought this was pretty good, both very dark and yet with quite a lot of humor to balance the darkness. Former assassin Yelena Belova has been working as a mercenary for the sinister director of the CIA, Valentina de Fontaine (now there's a villain name if there ever was one). Yelena has grown disillusioned with her life and career and is suffering from increasing depression since she never really dealt with the death of her sister. Valentina promises her one last job, only for Yelena to realize that Valentina decided to dispose of all her freelance contractors at once, which includes US Agent and Ghost (previously seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Antman and the Wasp). In the process of escaping Valentina's trap, Yelena stumbles across a mysterious man who identifies himself as Bob, who has no memory of how he got there, but shows increasingly unusual abilities. Yelena wants to deal with Valentina's betrayal, but it turns out one of Valentina's science projects has gotten out of control and is threatening the world. The movie was well constructed enough that it didn't rely too heavily on previous Marvel continuity. It was there, but you probably wouldn't be lost without it. It almost feels like Marvel looked at the stuff they did the last couple of years and said, okay, a lot of this didn't work, but makes great raw material for new things. It helped that the central conflict was in the end, very human and about the characters, not stopping a generic villain from getting a generic doomsday device. Overall Grade: A   Next up is The Hound of the Baskervilles, which came out in 1988. This is a movie length episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes television series, which had Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson. The plot deals with Sir Henry Baskerville, the American heir to an English manor set in the Windswept moors of Dartmoor. Apparently there's an ancestral curse laid over the Baskerville estate that manifests in the form of a spectral hound. Local rumors hold that the previous holder of the manor, Sir Charles Baskerville, was killed by the ghostly hound and many of the local people fear it. The local physician, Dr. Mortimer, is so worried about the hound that he comes to Sherlock Holmes for help. Holmes, of course, is skeptical of any supernatural explanation and soon becomes worried that an extremely subtle and sinister murderer is stalking Sir Henry.   Jeremy Brett's version of Holmes is, in my opinion, the best portrayal of the character and Edward Hardwicke's version of Watson is a calm, reliable man of action who sensibly takes a very large revolver with him when going into danger. Definitely worth watching, Overall grade: A   Next up is Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which came out in 2024. The 2020s have been a downer of a decade in many ways, but on the plus side, between Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog, people have finally figured out how to make good video game movies, so we've got that going for us. Sonic 3 was an excellent kids movie, as were the first two in the trilogy. In this one Sonic is living with Knuckles and Tails under the care of their human friends Tom and Maddy, but then a dark secret emerges. The government has been keeping a Superpowered hedgehog named Shadow in stasis and Shadow has broken out. It's up to Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails to save the day.   Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik is in a funk after his defeat at Sonic's hands in the last movie, but then his long lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik returns seeking the younger Dr. Robotnik's help in his own sinister plans. Keanu Reeves was great as Shadow (think John Wick if he was a superpowered space hedgehog in a kid's movie). Jim Carrey famously said he would retire from acting unless a golden script came along and apparently that golden script was playing Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his evil grandfather Gerald. To be fair, both the Robotniks were hilarious.   It is amusing that Sonic only exists because in the 1990s, Sega wanted a flagship video game character that won't get them sued by either Nintendo or Disney. It is also amusing that the overall message of the Sonic movies seems to be not to trust the government. Overall Grade: A   Next up is Paddington in Peru, which came out in 2024. This is also an excellent kids' movie. In this installment, Paddington has settled into London with the Brown family and officially become a UK citizen. However, he receives a letter from Peru that his Aunt Lucy has mysteriously disappeared into the jungle. Distraught, Paddington and the Browns set off for Peru at once. Adventures ensue involving mysterious lost treasure, a crazy boat captain, and an order of singing nuns who might not quite be what they appear. Anyway, it's a good kids' movie. I think Paddington 2 was only slightly better because Hugh Grant as the chief villain, crazy actor Phoenix Buchanan, was one of those lightning in the bottle things like Heath Ledger as the Joker in the Dark Knight. Overall Grade: A   Now for the two best things I saw in Winter/Spring 2025. The first of them is Andor Season Two, which came out in 2025. Star Wars kind of has an age range the way Marvel stuff does now. What do I mean by that? In the Marvel comics and some of the TV series like Jessica Jones, they get into some really dark and heavy stuff, very mature themes. The MCU movies can have some darkness to them, but not as much because they're aiming at sort of escapist adventures for the general audience. Then there are kid shows like Spidey and Friends that a relative of mine just loved when he was three. You wouldn't at all feel comfortable showing a 3-year-old Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Spidey and Friends is just fine.   Star Wars now kind of has that age range to its stuff and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you want to see a dark meditation upon human nature. Sometimes you need something kid friendly to occupy the kids you're babysitting and sometimes you just want to relax and watch Mando and Baby Yoda mow down some space pirates or something. All that said, Andor Season Two is some of the darkest and the best stuff that Star Wars has ever done. It successfully shifts genres from Escapist Pulp Space Fantasy to a gritty Political/Espionage Thriller. We in the audience know that the emperor is a Sith Lord who can use Evil Space Magic and wants to make himself immortal, but that fact is totally irrelevant to the characters. Even though some of the characters are high ranking in their respective organizations, this is essentially a “ground's eye” view of the Rebellion and life under the Empire.   In some ways, this is like Star Wars' version of Wolf Hall (which we're going to talk about shortly), in that we know how it ends already, but the dramatic tension comes from the harrowing emotional journey the characters undertake on the way to their inevitable destinations. Cassian Andor is now working for the nascent Rebellion under the direction of ruthless spymaster Luthen Rael. Mon Mothma is in the Imperial Senate, covertly funneling money to the Rebellion and realizing just how much the Rebellion will require of her before the end. Syril Karn, the ineffective corporate cop from Season One, has fallen in love with the ruthless secret police supervisor Dedra Meero, but he's unaware that Director Krennic has ordered Meero to manufacture a false flag incident on the planet Gorman so the planet can be strip-mined for resources to build the Death Star and Dedra has decided to use Syril to help accomplish it. All the actors do amazing jobs with their roles. Seriously, this series as actors really should get at least one Emmy. Speaking of Director Krennic, Ben Mendelson returns as Orson Krennic, who is one of my favorite least favorite characters, if you get my drift. Krennic is the oily, treacherous middle manager we've all had to deal with or work for at some point in our lives, and Mendelson plays him excellently. He's a great villain, the sort who is ruthless to his underlings and thinks he can manipulate his superiors right up until Darth Vader starts telekinetically choking him. By contrast, the villain Major Partagaz (played by Anton Lesser) is the middle manager we wish we all had - stern but entirely fair, reasonable, and prizes efficiency and good work while despising office drama. Unfortunately, he works for the Empire's secret police, so all those good qualities are in the service of evil and therefore come to naught. Finally, Episode Eight is one of the most astonishing episodes of TV I've ever seen. It successfully captures the horror of an episode of mass violence and simultaneously has several character arcs reach their tumultuous climax and manages to be shockingly graphic without showing in a lot of actual blood. Andor was originally supposed to be five seasons, but then Peak Streaming collapsed, and so the remaining four seasons were compressed down to one. I think that was actually to the show's benefit because it generates some amazing tension and there's not a wasted moment. Overall Grade: A+   Now for the second of my two favorite things I saw, and that would be Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, which came out in 2024, but I actually saw it in 2025. This is a dramatization of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall novels about the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, who is King Henry VIII's chief lieutenant during the key years of the English Reformation. The first series came out in 2015, but the nine year gap between this and between the second series and the first series actually works quite well since Thomas Cromwell looks like he ages nine years in a single year (which may be what actually happened given how stressful working for someone like Henry VIII must have been). Anyway, in The Mirror and the Light, Cromwell has successfully arranged the downfall and execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry's previous queen. Though Cromwell is haunted by his actions, Henry still needs a queen to give him a male heir, so he marries Jane Seymour. Cromwell must navigate the deadly politics of the Tudor Court while trying to push his Protestant views of religion, serve his capricious master Henry, fend off rivals for the King's favor, and keep his own head attached to his shoulders in the process. Since Cromwell's mental state is deteriorating due to guilt over Anne's death and the downfall of his former master Cardinal Wolsey and Henry's a fickle and dangerous master at the best of times, this is an enterprise that is doomed to fail. Of course, if you're at all familiar with the history of Henry's reign and the English reformation, you know that Cromwell's story does not have a happy ending. Rather, Wolf Hall is a tragedy about a talented man who didn't walk away from his power until it was too late and he was trapped. Anyway, in my opinion, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light was just excellent. All the performances were superb. Mark Rylance is great as Cromwell and has some excellent “WTF/I'm SO screwed” expressions as Cromwell's situation grows worse and worse. Bernard Hill played the Duke of Norfolk in the first series, but sadly died before Series Two, so Timothy Spall steps in and he does an excellent job of channeling Hill's portrayal of the Duke as an ambitious, crude-humored thug.   Damien Lewis is amazing as Henry VIII and his performance captures Henry's mixture of charisma, extreme vindictiveness, and astonishing self-absorption. The real Henry was known for being extremely charming even to the end of his life, but the charm was mixed with a volcanic temper that worsened as Henry aged and may have been exacerbated by a severe head injury. Lewis's performance can shift from that charm to the deadly fury in a heartbeat. The show rather cleverly portrays Henry's growing obesity and deteriorating health by having Lewis wear a lot of big puffy coats and limp with an impressively regal walking stick.   Overall, I would say this and Andor were the best thing I saw in Winter/Spring 2025. I wouldn't say that Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is an accurate historical reputation. In real life, Cromwell was rather more thuggish and grasping (though far more competent than his rivals and his master) and of necessity the plot simplifies historical events, but it's just a superb historical drama. Overall Grade: A+ As a final note, I should say that of all the 2024 and 2025 movies mentioned here, the only one that actually saw in the theater was Thunderbolts, and I hadn't actually planned to see it in theaters, but a family member unexpectedly bought tickets for it, so I went along. Which I suppose is the movie industry's biggest problem right now. The home viewing experience is often vastly superior to going to the theater. The theater has the big screen and snacks, but at home you can have a pretty nice setup and you can pause whatever you want, go to the bathroom, and you can get snacks for much more cheaply. That's just much more comfortable than the movie theater.   Additionally, going to the theater has the same serious problem as booking a flight in that you're an enclosed space with complete strangers for several hours, which means you're potentially in a trust fall with idiots. All it takes is one person behaving badly or trying to bring their fake service dog to ruin or even cancel a flight, and the theater experience has much of the same problem, especially since the standards for acceptable public behavior have dropped so much from a combination of widespread smartphone adoption and COVID. The difference between the movie industry and the airline industry is that if you absolutely have to get from New York to Los Angeles in a single day, you have no choice but to book a flight and hope for the best. But if you want to see a movie and are willing to exercise some patience, you just have to wait a few months for it to turn up on streaming. I'm not sure how the movie industry can battle that, but sadly, it is much easier to identify problems than to solve them.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe, stay healthy, and see you all next week.

Dans ce nouvel épisode, nous plongeons ensemble dans l'univers des biais cognitifs en formation professionnelle. Nous explorons trois biais clés : le biais de confirmation, l'effet Dunning-Kruger et le biais de statu quo. À travers anecdotes, exemples concrets et stratégies d'atténuation, nous illustrons comment ces biais influencent nos décisions et comportements, que ce soit en formation ou dans nos pratiques professionnelles. Un épisode riche en réflexions, en astuces pratiques et en éclats de rire.Nous avons évoquéLes biais cognitifs : introduction générale, avec mention du système 1 et système 2 de Daniel Kahneman et référence à Thinking, Fast and Slow.La recherche de Christiane Caneva sur le rôle des directions dans l'intégration du numérique dans les écoles suisses.Le codex des biais cognitifs : grande roue recensant plus de 250 biais, triés par catégories (sensorimoteur, attentionnel, mnésique, etc.).L'effet Ikea : référence à l'épisode 35 de CQLP (23 octobre 2023), qui explore ce biais donnant plus de valeur aux choses que nous construisons nous-mêmes.L'outil Perplexity : évoqué pour illustrer comment l'intelligence artificielle peut renforcer le biais de confirmation en fournissant des réponses biaisées.Nos recommandationsNicolas : Lecture du magazine Usbek & Rica (renommé récemment Futur), pour une plongée dans les futurs possibles, les innovations et leurs impacts sociétaux.Lionel : Participer au festival de webinaires “L&D Next” organisé par 360Learning du 2 au 5 juin, abordant les compétences, l'IA et le futur de la formation.Jérôme : Découvrir la bande dessinée Chief Bullshit Officer pour un regard humoristique et critique sur les absurdités du monde de l'entreprise et de la formation.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

As remote and hybrid work redefine the modern workplace, leadership must evolve to meet new challenges and opportunities. In this episode, Wayne Turmel, co-author of The Long-Distance Leader: Revised Rules for Remarkable Remote and Hybrid Leadership, shares invaluable insights on leading in this new era. Wayne explores how leadership has fundamentally changed, the unique challenges of asynchronous and hybrid environments, and what leaders can do to foster strong team cultures and productive collaboration. Packed with actionable advice, this conversation offers a roadmap for leaders and organizations navigating the complexities of remote and hybrid work. See the full agenda for L&D Next, which runs from March 3rd to 6th and register for free today at https://360learning.com/l-and-d-next/2025/ KEY TAKEAWAYS For many, leading long-distance is the new norm. Despite pushback, remote and hybrid working is here to stay. We need to move from monitoring activity to monitoring output. Get back to first principles. Some types of work are best done remotely, while other tasks are better done in the office. Build a strong culture – ensure remote workers work collaboratively and network internally. Have good one to one conversations with remote workers and don’t leave them out of group discussions. Remote workers need to actively demonstrate their value and seek out training and development opportunities. BEST MOMENTS “We are in the middle of the most seismic workplace change since the 1920s and 30s.” “What we do as leaders hasn't radically changed. How we do it has.” “Micromanagement never worked great, and it's actually impossible to do in the modern workplace.” “We need to move from monitoring activity to monitoring output.” Wayne Turmel Wayne Turmel is the co-author of The Long-Distance Leader and a recognized authority on leadership in remote and hybrid work environments. As co-founder of the Remote Leadership Institute, Wayne has dedicated his career to equipping leaders with the skills and strategies needed to thrive in distributed workplaces. With decades of experience in communication and leadership training, he has written multiple books on leadership, team collaboration, and professional development. Wayne is a sought-after speaker and podcast host, known for his practical advice and engaging storytelling that resonates with leaders across industries. https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayneturmel Book and special offers: https://longdistanceworklife.com/long-distance-leader Kevin Eikenberry Group https://kevineikenberry.com VALUABLE RESOURCES The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523 L&D Maturity Model: https://360learning.com/maturity-model/ L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home ABOUT THE HOST David James David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D. CONTACT METHOD Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin L&D Maturity Model: https://360learning.com/maturity-model/ L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective Blog: https://360learning.com/blog L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home

In this special live episode, with guests Lisa Christensen, Hillary Miller and Christopher Lind, we explore their experience and deep expertise on the topics of L&D strategy and team structures - and it’s a masterclass of a conversation. Register for L&D Next 3rd - 6th March for free today at https://360learning.com/l-and-d-next/2025/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Understand what L&D is there to achieve. Team structures have to evolve and be flexible. L&D structure has to be right for achieving L&D aims, so it may be different from other teams in the organisation. Build adaptable teams by focusing on skillsets. Leverage data and hone in on one KPI. Understand which relationships and functions you need to focus on. That will evolve. Work holistically with other areas of the business. BEST MOMENTS “I've never seen a truly centralized model, ever.” “We can get hung up on the hierarchy of things and miss out.” “You gotta know who your players are, their bench strengths.” “We need better data capabilities in learning.” “Figure out what they care about and then lean on that.” Lisa Christensen Lisa leads McKinsey & Company's Learning Design and Development Center of Excellence, a global team of design experts, designing and building the learning that develops McKinsey Partners and professionals, enabling them to deliver incredible client impact. Lisa founded and leads McKinsey's Learning Research and Innovation Lab and sits on the global learning leadership team. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisachristensen Christopher Lind Christopher Lind is a dynamic leader at the intersection of business, technology, and human experience, serving as an executive advisor, AI ethicist and sought-after voice in the L&D space. As a former Chief Learning Officer for ChenMed and GE Healthcare, Christopher has led transformative learning strategies that enhance workforce capability and business performance. A prominent commentator, speaker, and thought leader, he is known for his forward-thinking approach to digital learning, AI, and the evolving role of technology in talent development. https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlind Future Focused: https://christopherlind.substack.com Hillary Miller Hillary Miller is a seasoned Learning & Development leader currently heading L&D at HCA Healthcare. With a passion for driving workforce capability and business impact, she brings extensive experience in healthcare education and leadership development. Previously, as Chief Learning Officer at Penn State Health, Hillary led enterprise-wide learning strategies, fostering a culture of continuous development and innovation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillarybmiller VALUABLE RESOURCES https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523 L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home THE HOST David James David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D. CONTACT METHOD Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective Blog: https://360learning.com/blog L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home

Meredith & AJ In The Morning

Ben Riggs argues that a large active D&D fanbase is what creates a stable RPG environment for everything else and that the issues with the OGL and D&D Next cause unnecessary splintering that may hurt everyone Slaying the Dragon - Ben's book on D&D in the 90s Reading D&D Aloud - Ben's new project

In this week's episode, I rank the movies and streaming shows I saw in the first half of summer 2024. TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction, Writing Updates, and Reader Question Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 210 of the Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is July 19th, 2024, and today we are discussing the movies and streaming shows I watched for the first half of summer 2024. Before that, we'll have an update on my current writing projects and then we will go into Question of the Week. So, my current writing projects. I'm pleased to report that the rough draft of Half Orc Paladin is finished at about 81,500 words. Next up, I'm writing a short story called Paladin's Hunt that newsletter subscribers will get for free in ebook form when Half Orc Paladin is out, hopefully in early August. I'm also 23,000 words into Ghosts in the Tombs. I'm not 100% decided what I'm going to write next once Half Orc Paladin is out. I have to make a decision soon obviously, but it's probably going to be either Shield of Conquest or Cloak of Illusion. In audiobook news, the audiobook Wizard-Thief, as narrated by Leanne Woodward, is almost done. It's just got to get through the various approvals at the audiobook sites, so hopefully that should be out in early August. Recording is going to start very soon on Shield of Darkness. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects. We have a question about the Shield War series from reader EM, who writes in to ask: I was rereading Shield of Darkness and occurred to me that Connmar Pendragon would have had a much easier time finding his way to Owyllain if he had a Corsair Lord or whatever they called themselves back then, who had the Hidden Eye navigating for him. Am I right and this will be revealed in the Shield Wars series? No, Connmar did not have a Corsair or anyone with the Hidden Eye ability navigating for him, and he basically found his way to Owyllain by accident. At that time, there were people living on the Isle of Kordain, but they hadn't really coalesced around the Corsairs of the Isle of Kordain as their national identity yet. I mean the process was underway but hadn't reached the form it would by the time of the Frostborn series. And while some of them had the Hidden Eye ability, they hadn't quite fully understood what it meant yet, and they hadn't lived on the isle long enough for the mutilations from the dwarven engines to fully take hold. We'll reveal more details about that in Shield of Conquest when I write that as my next book or the book after my next book. 00:02:26 Question of the Week Now on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is designed to inspire enjoyable discussion of interesting topics. This week's question: subscription services such as Kindle Unlimited, Spotify, Netflix, Thrive Market and Xbox Game Pass are an inevitable part of modern life. If you have a subscription service, which one is your favorite? No wrong answers and bear in mind that “subscription services all cost too much and I hit them all with the fiery consuming heat of 1,000 cores of 1,000 suns” is a perfectly acceptable answer as well. Surabhi said: Disney Plus, because Marvel movies are my therapy. Ray says: I only use Bookbub and Google Play. Justin says: I do not use subscription services. I prefer to purchase the books, games, and programs I buy outright rather than rent them. Connectivity can be a problem where I am so being able to read, work, or play without being tethered to the Internet is a good thing. That is something to keep in mind when considering a subscription service. If you have questionable Internet connectivity in your area, that may not be the best choice to sign up for a subscription service that relies on the Internet. Our next comment is from Venus, who says: I can't afford any subscriptions services, although if Barnes and Noble did one for ebooks, I'd consider working something out. I refuse to support Amazon and don't like the fact that apparently books on Kindle Unlimited can't be anywhere else. That is indeed one of the annoying features of the Kindle Unlimited program, which is why only four of my 153 novels are currently on Kindle Unlimited. Barbara says: my husband and daughter subscribe to some streaming services, but I'm not sure which ones. I don't subscribe to any. I don't watch television. I already own the games I play and I purchased my digital books so I don't have to give them back. John says: I think I get by far the most bang for the buck from Amazon Prime, but my favorite subscription service is probably my local weekly seafood delivery service, Sea Forager. Bonnie says: I gave up the ones I had because I don't watch TV anymore and can't afford it. I have Prime, but only really use it for ebooks. If I need background noise, I use local radio. Local radio remains free, so I suppose that is the most cost effective of all the subscription services. Juana says: Kindle seems to have the most content and good price. I looked at the other platforms, too. Becca says: I have Prime and agree it has a ton of benefits. I canceled Netflix because it doesn't work on my TV. Hulu has some great shows (I recommend Crazy Fun Park, an Australian teen show about ghosts and friendships and changes. Surprisingly mature and well-acted). William says: given the sheer quantity of great Star Wars series that Disney produces, theirs is hard to beat. Gary says: Spotify. David says: for value, you can't beat Prime: movies, free shipping, and music. Netflix is very good for original content and Hulu for old stuff. And Joseph says: I also have Prime mostly for the free shipping. Everything else there is just a bonus. I also have Kindle Unlimited. Totally worth it for me as I read daily and read two or three hundred books a year. That is down from 400 to 500 the first couple years of retirement. It is diverse enough that I can always find a good read. For myself, the one I enjoy most is Nintendo Switch Online. I'll pay for a month of Netflix when they have something I want to see and then we'll cancel again after I've seen it.  I used to have Xbox Game Pass, but all I ever actually play on the Xbox is Skyrim, Starfield, and the first three Halo games, so there is no point in keeping it. But Nintendo Switch Online lets you get the classic Mario and Zelda games from the NES and Super Nintendo era. Given that Nintendo's attitude towards the legacy properties tends to veer between complete indifference and wrathful litigation depending upon the month, it's good that Nintendo offers a relatively affordable way to get them legally because at my age, sometimes the best way to relax at the end of the night is to just play a few levels of the original Super Mario Brothers. So that's it for Question of the Week this week. 00:06:26 Main Topic: Summer 2024 Movie/TV Show Review And now let's move on to our main topic: 2024 Summer Movie Roundup, Part 1. Summer always has a lot of movies, so I usually split the Summer Movie Roundup post in two halves and this would be Part 1. I was surprised at the number of sports movies I watched this time, since, as I've mentioned before, I don't usually follow professional sports all that closely. That said, while the NFL and the NBA might not have quite the cultural hegemony they had at their peak in the 1990s and early 2000s, they're still hugely central to American culture. I don't think you can really understand the United States without grasping the central role of professional sports in mainstream culture. I expect there's a similar phenomenon with association football clubs in the UK and many European countries. Besides, one of the abilities of good storytelling is to make you interested in a story about a topic you might not otherwise care about, like athletic shoes. So here are the movies and shows I watched in the first half of summer 2024, ranked from worst to best. As always, the rankings are totally subjective and based on nothing but my own opinions and observations. So first up is Madam Webb, which came out in 2024. Oofffff. This wasn't quite the crime against cinema that the Internet thought it was, but it still wasn't great. Sony has the rights to a bunch of Spider-man adjacent characters, and the company is holding those in a death grip and has been trying to make a Spider-man Cinematic Universe happen for some time, with mixed results. The Tom Hardy Venom movies had been pretty good, the others, not so much. The plot of Madam Webb: cynical and jaded EMT Cassandra Webb works with her partner Ben Parker (later in the Uncle Ben of Spider-man fame) and is almost drowned in an accident. While drowned, Cassandra starts developing precognition and clairvoyant powers. She starts seeing visions of three young women who will be murdered by a powerful real estate developer named Ezekiel. Turns out that Ezekiel has Spider-man powers that also include precognition, and he wants to kill the girls before they someday kill him. The scenes where Cassandra wonders if she is going mad, but gradually starts to realize that she can see the future were actually quite good and cleverly laid out since they did in sort of a time loop where she experiences the event before it happens. That said, this movie could have been an interesting concept, but it didn't really work. For one thing, the dialogue was just clunky. Dialogue is a hard, hard art to master, both in movies and writing novels (as I know first-hand). But Madame Webb didn't get there. Many of the dialogue scenes were just wooden. Additionally, the movie felt padded and drawn out, which is interesting because the runtime was under two hours. Ultimately, I think Madam Webb succumbed to the illness of a shared cinematic universe. It felt like the incomplete prologue to a more interesting movie, and not every side character in the Spider-man mythos needs an origin story. The trick to making a shared cinematic universe is that each movie must stand alone on its own, especially in the beginning, and the stories have to be interesting. Madam Webb, alas, couldn't quite manage either. Overall grade: D- Next up is The Acolyte, a streaming series which came out in 2024. There is quite a furor about this show on social media, but you can't believe most of what you see on social media. To be blunt about it, I've come to believe that social media is designed to induce mental illness in as many of its users as possible in order to increase their time spent on the site, which in turn raises ad revenue. Very cynical. But I suspect that's the basic business model of Facebook and YouTube, which is why you see so much rage-filled clickbait on both sites, since that's what drives engagement and increases revenue, but that's a problem beyond the scope of a movie review podcast episode. Back to The Acolyte. I would say that The Acolyte wasn't the crime against cinema that YouTube thought it was but instead an uneven mixture of some strong points and some weaknesses. The plot: former Jedi Osha has left the Order and is working as a mechanic on a trade federation starship. Meanwhile, a woman who looks exactly like her has started murdering Jedi Masters. Osha is arrested for the murders, but her former teacher, Jedi master Sol, quickly figures out that the murderer is in fact Osha's twin sister Mae, who has been presumed dead for the last sixteen years. Osha reluctantly tagged along with Sol to help track down Mae, which means she needs to delve into the dark secrets of her past and discover who trained Mae to be a Jedi killing assassin. The Jedi assume a renegade member of the Order must have trained Mae because the Sith had been extinct for a long, long time. Or have they? This show did have its strong points. The lightsaber fights looked good and were fun to watch. Lee Junge-jae as Sol, Manny Jacinto as Qimir, Charlie Bennett as Yord, and Dafne Keen as Jecki all gave good performances. In particular, they stole episode 5, which was overall the strongest episode of the series. The design of the Sith Lord's helmet (dubbed Darth Teeth or Smilo Ren by the Internet) was good. The nods to the old Expanded Universe, like cortosis ore, were nice. There was enough of a compelling mystery -who is the Sith Lord and what actually happened in the twin's past- that can hook the viewer through to the end of the series. The show also did a good job of showing how complacent and political the Jedi had become, to the point where 100 years later the Jedi High Council would meet with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine every day for thirteen years and completely failed to realize that he was in fact the Sith Master who had been pulling the strings all along. That said, I think the show did have four significant problems. 1: the whole good twin/evil twin thing was kind of lame. Playing identical twins is hard for any actor, and sometimes I had a hard time keeping track of whether Osha or Mae was in a particular scene. I kind of wish the characters had been brother and sister, or at least not identical twins so they had been easier to tell apart. 2: As much as I appreciated the nods to the Expanded Universe, I think it relied too heavily on them and assumed the audience had a high level of Star Wars knowledge, like the weird Force cult where Osha and Mae grew up. In the Expanded Universe, there are all kinds of weird half-baked cults with an incomplete knowledge of the Force that run into serious problems when they encounter an actual Jedi or an actual Sith. One advantage of visual media over novels is that it's much easier to show instead of tell, but I don't think Acolyte explained its premises well. The Mandalorian explained its premises better, gradually exposing the viewer to the Mandalorian's culture as he dealt with the Monster of the Week. Mando gradually learned about the Force and the Jedi, a race of enemy sorcerers, as he tried to save The Child from the Imperial Remnant. By contrast, The Acolyte kind of dropped viewers into the middle of things, didn't bother to explain any ambiguities, and simply assumed they would all understand the references. 3: The problem with the Jedi Order is that its philosophy is essentially stupid. The reason for that is that Jedi philosophy is basically a highly watered-down version of 1970s style Hollywood Buddhism, which is itself a tremendously watered down version of actual Buddhism. The Jedi are basically left with “don't feel fear or anger” and “don't get attached to people” but lack the religious and philosophical underpinnings which would allow those concepts to make sense in actual Buddhism. In real life, eventually we learn that both suppressing anger and fear or allowing it to dominate us is unhealthy. Both anger and fear serve useful functions. Fear warns of danger and anger is a good response when one is forced into circumstances where you have no choice but to fight. Anger and fear make for good servants, but awful masters, but Jedi philosophy completely misses that point. 4th and finally: the show was the wrong genre for the kind of moral relativism it had. Moral relativism worked well in Andor, which was a spy thriller about criminals gradually realizing that they had to fight the Empire and do terrible things while doing it. That worked because Andor was a spy thriller. By contrast, The Acolyte was about Kung Fu space wizards using space magic that literally comes in good and evil flavors. Moral relativism works less well in that kind of setting where there is literally good or evil space magic. So I would say Acolyte was a mixed bag. I admit, if there's a second season, I'll watch it just because I want to see what happens, but given Disney's significant financial woes, that seems unlikely. Overall grade: C- Next up is Unfrosted, which came out in 2024. It is an absurdist comedic retelling of the creation of the Pop Tart breakfast food, told as sort of a parody of corporate biopics like Ford versus Ferrari and Air (which we will talk about later this episode). This movie was silly and kind of dumb, but it knew it was silly and kind of dumb and so leaned into it and therefore worked. Jerry Seinfeld plays Bob Cabana, a high-ranking employee of the Kellogg cereal company, which is locked in a bitter rivalry with the Post cereal company for the breakfast market. One day Cabana uncovers everyone at Post is working on something that will upend the breakfast market, a fruit filled breakfast pastry that can be toasted. Alarmed with this information, the CEO of Kellogg, Edsel Kellogg III (played by Jim Gaffigan as a sort of parody of ‘60s era U.S. business executives), launches a crash effort to match Post's effort. Cabana must recruit a heist style team to build Kellogg's breakfast pastry, including numerous obscure figures from 1960s pop culture. The race is on to build the Pop Tart. Anyway, this was an entertaining movie, but it has no connection to factual accuracy. Also, Bill Burr was hilarious as President Kennedy. Overall grade: B- Next up is The Hit Man, which came out in 2023. It is an amusing cross between a dark comedy and a sort of Hitchcockian thriller. Glenn Powell plays Gary Johnson, a mild mannered and somewhat ineffective philosophy professor. Due to his skill with electronics and microphones, he frequently helps out the police with sting operations. One day, the officer who usually goes in for sting operations gets suspended for beating up some teenagers and having it go viral on viral on YouTube. Gary is drafted at the last minute to go undercover as a hit man and get a suspect to contract his services. Gary does it so well that the Police Department uses him more and more and Gary starts disappearing into his roles as various hit men in a sequence which is quite funny. This works well until Gary meets Madison, a woman who wants him to kill her abusive husband. Gary talks her out of it and starts seeing her, a situation which quickly escalates out of control. It was interesting that the movie went through a sudden genre shift about 1/3 of the way through, from dark comedy to love story, a bit darker than I usually prefer, to be honest, but enjoyable nonetheless if you don't mind the strong language. That said, I watched this right after Madam Webb and the contrast between Webb's clunky and wooden dialogue and the much better written Hitman was night and day. What was interesting was that the movie only cost $8.8 million to make. Given the economic climate, I expect we will see more of this: movies that have to be disciplined about keeping the cost down, as opposed to the enormous 295 million budgets of something like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Overall grade: B- Next up is Boss Level, which came out in 2021. This movie is best described as Groundhog's Day but as an action movie. Former Special Forces soldier Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, is caught in a time loop that repeats the same day over and over again, which always ends with him getting killed by assassins that have been hired to hunt him down. This happened after he tried to reconnect with his former girlfriend, a scientist working on a secret project overseen by the sinister Colonel Ventor, played by Mel Gibson. For a variety of reasons, let's just say at this point in his career, Gibson is very believable in a villain role. At first, Roy succumbs to despair in the time loop, but then decides to spend the endless day trying to reconnect with his estranged son. Eventually, this causes him to rally and fight back against the loop and he realizes that his ex-girlfriend deliberately put him into the time loop because he was the only person she knew who could stop Colonel Ventor's evil plans for his project, which turns out to be a time machine. I'd say the biggest weakness of the movie is the opening, which is a sort of record scratch “you're probably wondering how I got here” opening I complained about in Episode 203 of this podcast. Also, I think it maybe should have been five to 10 minutes longer. The ending is sort of implied but it would have been far more satisfying to have actually been shown what would happen. But overall, I like this movie. Solid B-level thriller/science fiction stuff. It's interesting to compare this to Groundhog's Day because Groundhog Day had to spend so much time establishing the premise because the plot idea of a time loop wasn't as widely known back then as it is now, whereas nowadays you just say “Groundhog Day loop” and most people will immediately know what you're talking about. Overall Grade: B Next up is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which came out in 2024. This wasn't quite as good as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, but I still enjoyed it. In this one, Ian Spengler's daughter, her good-natured boyfriend, and her teenage children have returned to New York City to restart the Ghostbusters business. They were bankrolled by original Ghostbuster Winston Zeddmore, who is now a wealthy businessman funding a variety of ghostbusting projects. When one of Zeddmore's employees stumbles across a dangerous artifact holding a powerful ice ghost, both the new and original Ghostbusters must team up to save the day. I really like how the new Ghostbusters films handle the original characters. The original characters are no longer the main focus but they're now mentoring the new characters and providing advice and support. I like this a lot better than the Disney/Lucasfilm approach of the original character as being sad old losers that the new characters must rebel against and then surpass. It was also great that actor William Atherton returned as government apparatchik Walter Peck. Back in the first movie, Peck was an officious EPA inspector who accidentally released a ghost horde upon New York. In the grand American political tradition of tradition of failing upward, he is now the mayor of New York City and still hopes to disband the Ghostbusters. I think the movie's biggest weakness was that it was too complicated and there were a lot of different characters and moving parts to keep track of. Overall grade: B Next up is Inside Out 2, which came out in 2024. It is a terrifying descent into the nightmarish hellscape that has the mind of the average teenage girl. I am, of course joking (though, if you have teenagers, you know that I'm only mostly joking) but Inside Out 2 is a strong follow up to the first movie. In the first movie, the anthropomorphized representations of emotions (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust) tried to control themselves inside the mind of young girl Riley. At the start of the second movie, Riley is now 13 and doing pretty well, but then puberty kicks in. Suddenly new emotions arrive in her head: Ennui, Envy, Embarrassment, and Anxiety. Anxiety in particular runs amuck and seizes control of Riley's mind. As Anxiety starts to send Riley spiraling out of control, the other emotions have to rally behind Joy and find a way to save Riley's mind and sense of self. It is both quite funny and poignant. I can see why this movie cleared a billion dollars. As of early July 2024, is the biggest box office movie of the year so far. Overall grade: A Next up is Ford versus Ferrari, which came out in 2019. This is a biopic of the rivalry between Ford Motor Company and Ferrari in the 1960s, which is an interesting bit of history. In the ‘60s, Ford Motor Company, under the leadership of Henry Ford II (founder Henry Ford's grandson), decided it needed a cooler image, much like how Microsoft bought a bunch of indie gaming studios in the 2010s so Xbox would seem cooler. So Ford Motor Company spent years negotiating with Enzo Ferrari to buy Ferrari's company. At the last minute, negotiations collapsed and Ferrari famously went on a rant insulting Ford as an ugly company that made ugly cars and also called Ford II a lesser man compared to his famous grandfather. This was a major public failure and humiliation for Ford Motor Company, and needless to say Ford II took this very, very personally. He threw a ton of resources behind Ford's racing car project with one goal: beat Ferrari at the famous Le Mans 24 hour race. To pull this off, Ford recruited Carroll Shelby (played by Matt Damon), a former racing driver who turned to race car designing because a heart condition no longer let him race. Shelby needed a driver, so he recruited Ken Miles (played by Christian Bale), a talented driver and mechanic with a combative streak and knack for making enemies. Shelby, Miles, and their team set out to build the GT40, Ford's first proper racing car. Since this is all in the historical record, it's not a spoiler to say that they succeeded in the 1966 Le Mans race. Ford Cars finished in first, second, and third positions, locking out Ferrari entirely from the podium. This was a very enjoyable biopic. All the actors disappear into their roles and give strong performances. The racing scenes all look cool. It is also interesting from a historical perspective to see how the Ford executives had a very bad habit of acting like feudal lords who would dictate their will to the consumer rather than what they actually were, which is merchants who needed to give the customer what they wanted. This attitude was one of several reasons the US auto industry hit very hard times in the 1970s. I'd say the only thing wrong with the movie is that it feels too long, though for the life of me I'm not sure what they could have cut. Overall grade: A Next up is The Last Dance, which originally came out in 2020. I originally watched this back during peak COVID, but after watching Air (which I will discuss shortly), I decided to watch this again to refresh my memory. The Last Dance is a documentary about the Chicago Bulls NBA team and the renowned three-peat champion streak back in the 1990s. I have to admit it is an amusing feeling to have lived long enough that things I lived through are now considered history and have prestige Netflix documentaries made about them. The documentary mostly revolves around the career of Michael Jordan, though it includes interviews with many other people involved in the experience of the Bulls championship run, including brief interviews with two ex U.S. Presidents. The documentary got a lot of criticism for focusing too heavily on Jordan and portraying him in a positive light, especially from the other members of the 1990s Bulls team. Interestingly, I thought Jordan did not really come across all that great on the show. He seemed somewhat vindictive and petty and prone to holding on to grudges for decades. He was presented as the sort of man who is afflicted with an all-consuming competitive streak, who is irresistibly compelled to win at everything he does, even if it's a casual golf game between friendly acquaintances. For that matter, professional basketball players in general all tend to be highly competitive type A personalities who like to win and hate to lose. Getting them all to agree on an account of events beyond the objectively observable facts is probably impossible. Despite that, I suspect the simple fact is that the Bulls would not have won their championships without Jordan. There's no denying that Jordan was probably one of the most famous people on Earth in the 1990s. Honestly, no one can stand up to that kind of scrutiny well, especially after a personal tragedy like when Jordan's father was murdered in the mid-1990s. When Jordan talks about how winning requires complete focus and absolute dedication, I'm afraid that he's right. Winning in the competition at a level like the NBA does require 110% focus, even to the detriment of every other aspect of one's life. I've heard athletes say that champions have no balance and Jordan himself seems to be a living example of both the benefits and the extremely high personal costs of that. Amusing anecdote: when I originally watched this documentary in late 2020, I texted my brother that he should check it out because I thought he would enjoy it. His response was something along the line said he had seen when it first came out on ESPN and I really ought to engage with the culture more. Overall grade: A Now for the best movie I saw in the first half of summer 2024 and that would be Air, which came out in 2023 and is related to our sports documentary topics. This is a movie about Michael Jordan and his family negotiating deal with Nike about the Air Jordan shoe. I didn't expect to like this movie very much, but it turns out it is quite excellent. As I mentioned earlier, in full disclosure, I have minimal interest in the NBA and while I could tell you the NBA team of the US state in which I currently reside, I think if pressed, off the top of my head, I could probably tell you the name of maybe five other NBA teams. Additionally, I lived through the 1990s and had no money for all of it, and so at the time I really resented the peer pressure around Air Jordan shoes and other sports apparel, because that stuff was always so expensive. As I mentioned, I had no money. All that aside, that shows Air was a good movie because it made me care about a story involving a topic in which I have no interest and perhaps mildly dislike. Anyway, the movie's plot is set in 1984. Matt Damon (back again) plays Sonny Vaccaro, who was working with Nike's struggling basketball shoe division. At the time, Nike was the biggest maker of running shoes in the US that had only a minimal presence in the basketball shoe market. Vaccaro has the idea of building a shoe brand entirely around an upcoming young NBA rookie named Michael Jordan. At the time, this was an enormous gamble and had never been done before, but needless to say, it paid off for the company in a big, big way. All the actors gave good performances and the dialogue was sharply written, simultaneously conveying the character of the speaker and moving the plot forward. If you want to learn how to write good dialogue, you could do much worse than to watch Air. I recommend this movie, even if like me, you have zero interest in sports apparel. Perhaps that is one of the functions of art, to give you glimpses of worlds into which you would otherwise never visit. Overall grade: A+ So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you find the show enjoyable and useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave your review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

In this week's episode, I rate the movies and TV shows I shaw in Winter 2024. This week's coupon is for the audiobook of GHOST IN THE PACT as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy. You can get the audiobook of GHOST IN THE PACT for 50% off at my Payhip store with this coupon code: MARCHEXILE The coupon code is valid through April 5th, 2024, so if you find yourself needing an audiobook to leap into spring, we've got one ready for you! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 192 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is March 15th, 2024, The Ides of March, which we're traditionally told to beware, and today we are looking at my Movie and TV Review Roundup for Winter 2024. Before we do that, we will do Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing projects, and our Question of the Week. So first up, Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon is for the audiobook of Ghost in the Pact, as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy. You can get the audiobook for Ghost in the Pact for 50% off at my Payhip store with this coupon: MARCHEXILE and that is spelled MARCHEXILE. As always, the coupon code will be in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through April the 5th 2024. So if you find yourself needing an audiobook on this Ides of March, we've got one ready for you. So an update on my current writing projects. I am about 56% of the way through the first edit of Ghost in the Veils. That means the book should be on track to come out before Easter (which is at the end of March this year), if all goes well. I'm also 40,000 words into Wizard Thief, so hopefully that will come out before too much longer after Ghost in the Veils. I'm 11,000 words into Cloak of Titans. So that is where we're at with my current writing projects. 00:01:19 Question of the Week Now on to our new feature: Question of the Week. This week's question is inspired by the fact that I've spent a lot of the last few weeks setting up my new computer and getting it configured properly. So the question is: what is the first computer you ever used? No wrong answers, obviously. Joachim says his first personal computer was an Atari 1040 ST with 1 MB of RAM. I participated in the “religious war” with the Amiga 500 users, which was better and looked down at the MS-DOS PCs, which only has 640 kilobytes of RAM. Justin says: my first computer was a Timex Sinclair. It had two kilobytes of RAM and I forked out $50 for the 16 KB RAM extender module. The manual that comes with it says you will never need this much memory. I use a cassette tape recorder/player to record more programs and it ran a 300 baud. Todd says his first computer was in 1994. I purchased a 486 DX 2 8 megabytes of RAM for use in school. I believe the hard drive was about 250 MB. The monitor weighed a ton. I wrote a bunch of machine code and played Wolfenstein 3D like crazy. Tarun says in 1993 it was a 386 with four megawatts of RAM with Windows 3.1. I played a lot of Prince of Persia and got bad grades in school. Then the computer was locked up. In my educational defense, I did do some Pascal programming. AM says: my first computer was an Apple IIe at school. Getting to play Number Munchers or Oregon Trail on it was some kind of behavioral reward (and a very effective one at that). William says his first computer was a Macintosh SE in my parent's home office, though “using” is an overstatement since all I did was play a few simple preinstalled games. I also have fond memories of playing the original King's Quest with said parents and something like a Compaq Portable. Rich says Commodore 64 with cassette drive. Didn't have cassette the first day. Spent the whole day punching in code for a blackjack game. My sister walks into the room to turn the computer off, erasing everything. That is a bummer. Juana says: a Gateway. My whole family came to gawk at it, and me setting it up! It had 120 megabytes of RAM. Twice what was the ones that used in the college computer lab! I thought I was set for life. Venus says Commodore Vic20. We played Radar Rat Race and Mom gave us a stack of computer magazines and tape recorder, so we played every game that was in the magazines at the time after we typed in the programs and saved them to the tapes. You are the first person outside my family that ever heard also had one. More on that later. Cheryl says: we got our first computer in the early ‘90s: an Amstrad with an AWA printer. I was doing courses for work, so I needed something to print the assignments, but we also played games on it: Wolfenstein, Lemmings, and Stock Markets. They're the only ones I can remember. Craig says: Apple IIe. I'm oldish. With dot matrix printer and handheld modem, dial-up Internet access, the one you had the dial phone into the holding cradle after you called it in. Tracy says: at college we used the TRS80s. I think she may win the award for oldest computer mentioned in this topic. And Perry says: IBM PC clone at school, a friend's family had a Commodore 64. Our first family computer was a Commodore 128. For myself, I had the same first computer as Venus earlier in the thread. That would be a Commodore Vic20. It had 20 kilobytes of RAM and the Word file for the rough draft of Ghosts in the Veils, which I'm editing right now, is 355 kilobytes in size. So to load the Microsoft Word document of Ghosts in the Veils in Microsoft Word format, I would need about 18 different Commodore Vic 20 computers. That's like 1 computer per chapter and a half. So it is amusing to see how computer technology has changed quite a bit over time. 00:04:56 Winter 2024 Movie/TV Review Roundup Now to our main topic. We are inching closer to spring, so I think it's time for my Winter 2024 Movie Review Roundup. I got a Paramount Plus subscription to watch the Frasier reboot and since Paramount owns Star Trek and the Frasier reboot was only 10 episodes long, I ended up watching a chunk of modern Star Trek this winter. This was a new-ish experience because the last new Star Trek I watched was Star Trek Beyond way back in 2016. That was only eight years ago, but it's been a very eventful eight years, you know? I did watch a lot of Star Trek back in the 1990s. If you had held a gun to my head and demanded, you know, if I consider myself a Trekkie, I would say no, because I think Gene Roddenberry's socialist/utopian vision for the Federation that he put into Star Trek is fundamentally kind of goofy. The shows and movies were at their best when they stayed away from it or subverted it, like how the Federation can only be a utopia because Starfleet seems to have a Black Ops section that does all the unsanctioned dirty work and regularly runs amuck. Or like how Starfleet seems to have an actual mad science division that cooks up all kinds of nasty stuff. So anyway, these are the movies and shows I watched in Winter 2024, and as always, my ratings are wholly subjective and based on nothing more rigorous than my own opinions. We will go through these in order from least favorite to most favorite. So the first movie I watched was Now You See Me, which came out in 2013. Last year, I compared Adam Sandler's Murder Mystery movie to a C- student, but a fun C- student who everyone likes for his great parties and goes on to have a successful career as a regional sales manager. By contrast, Now You See Me is the sort of moody art student who always wears a black porkpie hat and thinks of himself or herself as deep and complicated, but in fact, they're just confusing. This is an apt comparison for this movie. Anyway, the plot centers around four sketchy magicians who are recruited by a mysterious organization called The Eye to carry out a series of high-profile heists using stage magic. I have to admit, that concept sounds even more ridiculous as I said the previous sentence. Anyway, after the first heist, the magicians become fugitives from the FBI but keep carrying on shows, sometimes staying ahead of law enforcement. The trouble is that nothing they do makes very much sense, and it all falls apart if you think about it for more than two seconds. Additionally, the movie overall feels very choppy since they rushed from scene to scene very quickly. The actors all gave very good performances that were entertaining to watch, but honestly, that was about the only thing the movie had going for it. Overall grade: D- Next up is The Marvels, which came out in 2023. This movie was logically incoherent, but actually rather charming and funny. It kind of reminds me of those ‘70s or ‘80s style science fiction movies that don't make much sense, though The Marvels was much lighter in tone than anything that came out in the science fiction space in the ‘60s or ‘70s. The movie got a bad rap because it didn't make back its budget, and apparently Disney rather shamefully threw the director under the bus. But to be fair, the budget for The Marvels was an enormous $274,000,000. To put this into context, the top three movies of 2023 (Barbie, Super Mario Brothers, and Oppenheimer) combined had a total budget across these three movies of $350 million, and together they grossed something like 15 times more than The Marvels did. Anyway, the plot picks up from the end of Ms. Marvel when Kamala Khan, Captain Marvel, and Monica Rambeau discover that their superpowers have become entangled. This means that if two of them use their powers at the same time, all three of them switch places randomly. This makes for a rather excellent fight scene earlier in the movie when the three characters don't know what's going on and are randomly teleporting between three different battles, much to the frequently amusing confusion of all participants. Once things settle down, Captain Marvel and her new friends realize that an old enemy of Captain Marvel is harvesting resources from worlds she cares about. So it's up to them to save Earth from this old enemy's vengeance. I have to admit, the plot of the movie didn't actually make much sense, but it was overall much funnier than Ant-Man 3 and Secret Invasion. The best thing about the movie was Kamala Khan and her family. Kamala, Monica, and Captain Marvel also had an entertaining dynamic together and the planet of space musicals was also pretty funny. I think the movie's biggest, unconquerable weakness was that it was the 33rd Marvel movie. There are all sorts of theories of why the movie didn't perform at the box office: superhero genre fatigue, everyone knew it would be on Disney Plus eventually, the lasting effects of COVID on movie theaters and the movie business, Disney throwing the director under the bus, Disney inserting itself into the US Cultural Wars, etcetera. All those reasons are subjective and subject to personal interpretation. What I think is objectively quantifiable is that The Marvels is the sequel to a lot of different Marvel stuff: The Avengers movie, Wandavision, Captain Marvel, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Secret Invasion, and Thor: Love and Thunder. That's like 50 to 60 plus hours of stuff to watch to fully understand the emotional significance of all the various characters in The Marvels. 50 to 60 hours of watching sounds like almost an entire entire semester's worth of homework assignments at this point. As someone who has written a lot of long series, I know that you lose some of the audience from book to book. I think that's ultimately why The Marvels didn't make back its budget. The Marvel movies as a series have just gone on too long and are just too interconnected. Ultimately, I am grateful to The Marvels. Realizing and understanding the concept of Marvel Continuity Lockout Syndrome helped me decide to write something new that wasn't a sequel or even connected to anything else I had written, which eventually led to Rivah Half-Elven and Half-Elven Thief. Overall grade: B- Our next movie is My Man Godfrey, which came out all the way back in 1936. This movie is considered the progenitor or one of the progenitors of the screwball comedy genre. A homeless man named Godfrey is living in a trash dump in New York, though despite his circumstances, Godfrey remained sharp and quick on his feet. One night, a wealthy woman named Cornelia approaches him and offers $5 if he'll come with her. Godfrey is naturally suspicious, but Cornelia assures him that she only needs to take him to a hotel to win a scavenger hunt by finding a forgotten man, which was a term President Roosevelt used to describe people who have been ruined by the Great Depression and then forgotten by the government. I have to admit, Cornelia immediately reminded me of the way the more obnoxious YouTubers and TikTokers will sometimes pay homeless people to participate in dance challenges and suchlike. King Solomon was indeed right when he said that there is nothing new under the sun and what has been done before will be done again. Anyway, Godfrey is offended by Cornell's imperious manner but after he sees Cornelia bullying her kindly but none too bright younger sister Irene, Godfrey decides he'll go with Irene so she can win. A grateful Irene offers him a job as the family's butler. At his first day at work, Godfrey very soon realizes the reason the family has gone through so many butlers: they are all certified certifiably and comedically insane. In addition to these other problems, Cornelia is harboring a massive grudge against Godfrey for losing the scavenger hunt and wants payback. Wacky hijinks ensue. Fortunately, Godfrey has some hidden depths that he will need, which include being much smarter than his employers. Admittedly, this is not hard. 1936 was towards the second half of the Great Depression in the United States, so obviously the movie has more than a bit of social commentary. The characters joked that prosperity is just around the corner and wonder where they can find that corner. The rich characters are uniformly portrayed as some combination of frivolous, clueless, or malicious. I think the movie was pretty funny, if sharply so, but the big weakness was that the male and female leads were so clearly unsuited for each other but got together at the end of the movie simply because it was the end of the movie. Still, it was definitely worth watching because you can see how this movie influenced many other movies after it. I definitely recommend watching it with captions if possible, because while human nature has not changed in the last 90 years, sound technology has in fact improved quite a bit. Overall grade: B. Next up is Charade, which came out in 1963. This is a sort of romantic comedy, sort of thriller that has Audrey Hepburn playing Regina, an American living in Paris who is in the process of getting divorced from her husband. When she returns to Paris, she learns that her husband was murdered in her absence and it turns out that he was in possession of $250,000 he stole from the US government during World War II. Regina had no idea about any of this, but the US government thinks that she has the money stashed away somewhere. It turns out that her late husband also betrayed the men he worked with to steal the money and they're convinced that she has the money as well, and they're going to get it from Regina regardless of what they have to do. Regina's only ally in this mess is a mysterious man calling himself Peter Joshua (played by Cary Grant), who may or may not be one of the other thieves operating under an assumed identity. I liked this movie, but I think it had two structural problems. First, Regina wasn't all that bright, though she did get smarter as the movie went on, probably out of sheer necessity. Second, it had some severe mood whiplash. The movie couldn't decide if he was a lighthearted romantic comedy or gritty thriller, though finally snapped into focus as a pretty good thriller in the last third of the movie. Amusing tidbit: Cary Grant only agreed to do the movie if Audrey Hepburn's character would be the one chasing his character in their romance, since he thought their age gap would be inappropriate otherwise, because he was so much older than Hepburn at the time of filming. Overall grade: B+ Next up is the new Frasier series from 2023. I admit I had very, very low expectations for this, but it was considerably better than I thought it would be. My low expectations came partly because the original show was so good. Some seasons were stronger than others, of course, but the show had some absolute masterpieces of sitcom comedy throughout its entire run. Some of this was because I think the 2020s are a much more humorless and dour age than the 1990s, so I had my doubts whether the new show could be funny at all. Fortunately, my doubts were misplaced. The new Frasier is actually pretty good. It's interesting that the show's generational dynamic has been flipped on its head. In the original show, the pretentious Frasier lived with his working-class father. 20 years later, it's now Frasier who lives with his son Freddie, who dropped out of Harvard to become a firefighter and consciously rejected his father's love of intellectualism and cultural elitism. The inversion of the original dynamic works quite well. It has some moments of genuine comedy because, like his father before him, Freddie is more like his father than he realizes. The show also avoided the pitfall of bringing back legacy characters that Disney and Lucasfilm stumbled into with Star Wars and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Disney brought back legacy characters like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones but made them into sad, old losers. Frasier, by contrast, while frequently an unsympathetic comedy protagonist who brings his own misfortunes onto his own head, is most definitely not a sad old loser. He's famous, respected, and wealthy enough that he can afford to buy an apartment building in Boston at the drop of a hat. If you know anything about the United States, you know that the East Coast is the most expensive area of the of the country. Despite that, he remains the same well-meaning buffoon that he always was, the sort of man who, as a colleague aptly says, always goes that extra, ill-advised mile. There's a story that when Ricky Gervais was advising the creators of the American version of The Office, one of his chief pieces of advice was that Michael Scott could not be as incompetent as David Brent was in the original UK version of the show. American culture, Mr. Gervais said, was generally much less forgiving of incompetence than British culture. I thought of this as I watched Frasier because all the characters were in fact extremely competent at their jobs. Even Frasier himself, when he finally gets out of his own way, is a very good psychiatrist and teacher. Anyway, the show was funny and I think it deserves a second season. We'll see if that happens or not. Overall grade: A- Next up is Star Trek: Lower Decks Seasons One through Four, which came out from between 2020 and 2023. As I mentioned earlier, I ended up subscribing to Paramount Plus for a month after I watched Frasier, so I decided to watch Star Trek Lower Decks, since I'm forever seeing clips of that show turning up on social media. Lower Decks is a pitch perfect, affectionate parody of Star Trek from the point of view of four relatively hapless ensigns on the Cerritos, one of Starfleet's somewhat less prestigious ships. We have the self-sabotaging rebel Mariner, the insecure and ambitious Boimler, the enthusiastic science girl Tendi, and cheerful engineer Rutherford, who nonetheless has a dark and mysterious past that he can't remember. Season Four also adds T'Lyn, a Vulcan whose mild expressions of carefully measured annoyance make her a dangerous loose cannon by Vulcan standards. The show is hilarious because it makes fun of Star Trek tropes while wholeheartedly embracing them. The ensigns run into a lot of insane computers, random space anomalies, rubber forehead aliens, and other Star Trek tropes, including the grand and venerable Star Trek tradition of the Insane Admiral. Starfleet officers always seem to go off the deep end when they get promoted to Starfleet Command. The senior officers are also varying degrees of insane and drama generators. Starfleet, from the point of view of the Cerritos crew, is a vast bureaucratic organization that veers between ineffective idealism, blatant careerism, and whatever crazy project the Insane Admiral of the Week is pursuing. Yet since American sitcom characters have to be competent (like we just talked about above with Frasier), when the crisis really kicks into high gear, the Cerritos crew can pull itself together and save the galaxy with the best of them. I did like how the show grows from an affectionate parody to its own thing, with all the characters experiencing struggles and personal growth in their arcs. I liked it enough that when the 5th season of Lower Decks comes out, I'll subscribe to another month of Paramount Plus (assuming Paramount Plus still exists and hasn't been brought up by Warner Brothers or Skydance or something). Overall grade: A- Next up is Predator, which came out in 1987. When Carl Weathers died in early February of 2024, I realized I had never actually got around to seeing Predator. So I did and I'm glad that I watched it. Predator was an excellent blending of thriller, science fiction, and horror. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Dutch, who commands a team of operators who do Black Ops work for the CIA. Since it's 1987, the CIA is up to its traditional shenanigans in Central America and Dutch is dispatched to help out his old friend Dillon (played by Carl Weathers), who has been ostensibly assigned to rescue a Pro-American cabinet minister from rebel guerrillas in the jungle. Since this is the CIA, naturally there is more than the mission than is apparent on the surface. However, the mission quickly becomes irrelevant when Dutch and his team realize they are being hunted by an unknown creature with capabilities unlike anything they have ever seen before. It turns out the creature is the Predator, an alien hunter who comes to Earth and takes human skulls as trophies. Soon the movie turns into a death match duel between Dutch and the Predator. The movie did a very good job of showing the Predator's capabilities such as stealth, heat vision, and his shoulder laser without explicitly spelling them out for the audience. It was a very well put together piece of storytelling and it is of course the source of the famous Internet meme of a muscular white arm gripping a muscular black arm and also Schwarzenegger's famous line of “Get to the choppa!” Also to quote a famous Internet meme, if you had a nickel for every future governor of a US state who is in this movie, you would have two nickels, which is not a lot, but even two is pretty weird, right? Overall grade: A. Now for the favorite thing I saw in winter 2024. That honor goes to Star Trek: Picard Season Three, which came out in 2023. Honestly, this was so much better than I thought it was going to be. I thought I would watch one or two episodes and then give up. Instead I watched the whole thing in like two days over the New Year's holiday. I watched the first episode of Picard Season One way back in 2020 was free on YouTube, but I didn't like it enough to subscribe to CBS All Access (or whatever the heck it was back then). The first episode also seemed more ponderous and dour in the sort of 21st century realistic prestige television snooze fest than I really wanted to watch. But Season Three of the show got high reviews from people whose opinions I generally respect when it came out in early 2023. Since I had Paramount Plus for a month because of Frasier, I decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did. How to describe the plot? You may remember that back in summer 2023, I watched the Battleship movie. Battleship is objectively a bad movie, but it does have one interesting subplot that would make a good movie all on its own. When space aliens imprison most of the US Navy, a bunch of retired veterans take a decommissioned battleship out to war to save the day. This basically is the plot of Picard Season 3. The plot kicks off when Doctor Crusher contacts Admiral Picard after they have not spoken for twenty years. Apparently, Picard had a son named Jack with Crusher that she never told him about and mysterious assailants are trying to kidnap Jack. On the original show, Picard and Crusher definitely gave off the vibe that they probably got romantic whenever they were alone in the elevator together. The fact that Doctor Crusher got pregnant with Picard's son is not all that surprising. Picard had always been adamant about his desire not to start a family and given that any son of the legendary Captain Picard would be a target for his equally legendary enemies, Crusher decided to keep the boy a secret. Picard, understandably, is shocked by the news, but teams up with his former first officer, Captain Riker, to rescue his son. Jack has an extensive Robin Hood-esque criminal history, so it seems that his misdeeds might have caught up to him. It turns out that deadly weapon is locked in Jack's DNA and the people pursuing him aren't merely criminals but powerful enemies intent on destroying Starfleet and the Federation. Jack Crusher's DNA will give them a weapon to do it, which means it's up to the crew of The Enterprise to save the galaxy one last time. This was ten episodes, but it was very, very tightly plotted, with not many wasted moments. Sometimes you see movies that seem like they should have been streaming shows, and sometimes streaming shows seem like they really should have been cut down to movie length. But Picard's Season Three does a good job of telling a tense story that we've been impossible either in a movie or the old days of network television. The show very quickly plunges into the crisis and keeps moving from new tension to new tension. The gradual reveal where Picard at first feels guilty that he has to ask his friends to help rescue his estranged son and ex-girlfriend like he's living his own personal version of some trashy daytime TV show, only to slowly realize that something much more dangerous and much, much bigger than his personal problems is happening, was put together well. The show was also another good example of how to bring back legacy characters right. All the characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation are older and have been knocked around by life or suffered personal tragedies, but none of them are sad old losers like in a Disney or Lucasfilm project. The new and supporting characters were also great. Seven of Nine returns as the first officer to Captain Shaw, a by the book officer who thinks Picard and Riker are dangerous mavericks. He has a point. Shaw turns out to be extremely competent in a crisis. Amanda Plummer was great as Vadic, a scenery chewing villain who has very good reasons to hate Starfleet and the Federation. Vadic's love of spinning directly in her command chair was a great homage to Amanda Plummer's late father, Christopher Plummer, who played a villain with a similar tic way back in Star Trek VI in the ‘90s. It is also great how the show wrapped up some of the dangling plot threads from the ‘90s, like Picard's strained relationship with his former mentee Commander Ro Laren or the brief return of Elizabeth Shelby, Riker's former First Officer. A few people have complained that Worf is now a pacifist, but he's a Klingon pacifist, which basically means he'll attempt negotiation before cutting off your head, but he is still probably going to cut off your head. Less Conan the Barbarian, more serene Warrior Monk. I think Data had an excellent ending to his character arc, which started with his character's very first appearance way back in the ‘80s and Brent Spiner did a good job of portraying Data's fractured personalities and then how they achieved unity. I'd say the weakest point of the show was how consistently dumb Starfleet command is. The plot hinged around Starfleet gathering its entire fleet together for a celebration and then putting all those ships under a remote control system, which seems both exceptionally stupid and very convenient for the bad guys. But to be fair, this is Starfleet, an organization whose high command regularly spits out insane Admirals and also has an unsanctioned Black Ops/Mad Science division that it can't control, so it definitely fits within the overall context of Star Trek. I mean, that's like half the premise of Lower Decks. And if you've ever worked for a large governmental, military, healthcare, or educational institution, you understand. We all know that working in a large institution under leaders who are either insane or dumb isn't exactly an anomaly in the human experience. I mean, the Roman Empire circa 190 A.D. was the most powerful institution on the planet and the Empire's maximum leader liked to spend his time LARPing as a gladiator in the Coliseum. Anyway, the emotional payoff at the end of Picard Season Three was very satisfying, and how the show wrapped up a lot of threads from Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager was pretty great. It's like the people who were in charge of Season Three of Picard watched the Star Wars sequel trilogy and thought, you know, we can do better and then they did. Overall grade: A So those are the movies and TV shows I watched in Winter 2024. If you're looking for something to watch, hopefully one of them sounds like it will catch your interest. That's it for this week. Thanks for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you that you can listen to all the back episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform or choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Democrat's have mastered the art of the talking points. Over the weekend the Biden Administration dispatched dozens of leftist propagandists to start pushing the bogus mantra that "Trump is a threat to democracy." It is the most hypocritical statement to come from team Biden. We know, that Joe Biden and his weaponized Justice Department along with his assault on freedom is pushing America into the depths that will be hard to recover from. The reality is he has the media to cover for him and push this non-sensical talking point. Margaret Brennan of CBS went on the attack over the weekend. Her bias against Republicans was on full display as she interviewed Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. We break it down. Lastly, we call out Nikki Haley as the flip flopper that she really is. Midasgoldgroup.com Patriotmobile.com/GrantPromo code Grant Defender-gear.com/grantPromo code Grant15 Mypillow.com/grantPromo code Grant The Apple subscribe link is here:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stinchfield/id1648560956 The Spotify subscribe link is here:https://open.spotify.com/show/7y6jgJ3af2ymyDQ79Nk0yv Stinchfield website https://grantstinchfield.com/ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/stinchfield1776/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome, brave adventurers, to Heroes Rise. This is the 250th entry into our chronicle, recorded on Saturday October 28th 2023, and released Wednesday November 1st 2023 over at heroesrisepodcast.com.Folks, we just wanted to take a quick moment to remind you that next episode will be a Dissonant Whispers episode, and we're inviting you all in. We'll be recording at 8pm Central on Saturday 11th November, and the topic will be… whatever you like! We would love for as many of you who wish to join us to do so, and all you need is a microphone and to join our Discord at discord.heroesrisepodcast.com. If you can't join us but still want to take part, just let us know on Discord and we'll take care of it.In this week's Adventurer's Pack, Ostron once again shows us how the other half play D&D… Next we check out some D&D News as we take a look at the latest hardcover release, Planescape: Adventures in the MultiverseAfter that we'll head into the Gnomish Workshop to continue finding out if it's a good idea to be one of us; before finally heading into the Scrying Pool to see what you [all] have to say.Community QuestionsSo now that it's available, what do you think of the planescape resource? Is it a marked improvement over the previous guides and setting resources WotC has put out? Or is it still just a mediocre offering that doesn't do justice to the originals? How much do you love Time dragons? Does everyone agree more Modrons are great? And which side of the Sunflies debate are you on? Given that we now have more details on how and why the characters are jumping to level 17, what's your opinion of the approach? Dice Envy One does not simply use dice as a mere game tool. You need dice that will thrill - that will get youDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showHeroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our content, then send your contact information and experience to sendingstone@heroesrisepodcast.comYou can also follow us on the social media sites! Check us out on Twitter via @heroesrisednd for details of our show times and other fun stuff. You can also join us on Discord! http://discord.heroesrisepodcast.comLiked this episode? Totally hated it? Leave a comment below, or contact us using our handy web form.A special thanks to Vindsvept for making the awesome music you hear throughout the show, be sure to check him out at vindsvept.bandcamp.com; and a special thanks to the designer of our banners and avatars, Lo of Lo's Lair — you can find him on Twitter @Los_Lair and on Facebook at facebook.com/LosLair

Wwwwhat's up swingaz? On today's show Vethir shows up in drink format, Brewfest has come, and we as usual have some wow trivia, this time in the general category Do you have something you want us to read on the show? Hop over to ThrallsBalls.com. You can leave a review by filling out an anonymous form, find links to our socials, and even join Discord with a simple button click. Microsoft and Activision https://www.wowhead.com/news/cma-issues-preliminary-approval-of-restructured-activision-blizzard-sale-to-335184 Brewfest https://www.wowhead.com/news/brewfest-is-here-new-toy-dragonriding-saddle-transmog-335128 Mixed Drink of the Week (Vethir: Woolly) -1 shot blue curacao -half mountain dew voltage, half sprite -sour candy dropped in (in this case, sour gummy worms) -optional: puff ya vape while you drink it (storm clouds! :D) Next week: Bentolas (Alextrasza) Don't forget you can scope out our new, very simplified website - ThrallsBalls.com where you can join Discord, Send us feedback, and find the show's social media pages. Follow us: @Woolly08 twt insta bsky @Huntergershom twt @Huntergerrshom insta @bentolas_outlaw twt the show: @thrallsballspod twt insta tktk email us thrallsballspodcast@gmail.com bye we love you be good

„Čakal som, že to budú Blues“, hovorí tichý nervák, Dalibor Dvorský. Sex pred zápasom ešte neskúšal - „Pracuje sa na tom“. Brambor: „A nejakú 25-ku v tangáčoch ti neukázali?“, Boris: „Opatrne, Dalibor, opartne, na niečom pracuješ...“ :D NEXT? Liverpool mal hrať v deviatich, ale nehral a vyhral  https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FCspTONPZiQJ5wxlV7yK6?si=NkxTgG63S4S3auy6oqIy2g  * VRAŽEDNÉ PSYCHÉ 100! Epizóda, ktorú nikdy nebudete počuť, ale môžete ju zažiť! Oslavujeme 100 epizód a 10 miliónov vypočutí! Ako predskokan podcast Profil Zločinu s Kristínou Kövešovou. 28. 9. o 19:00 / Edison Park - Bratislava. Vstupenky na  www.zapotour.sk  * Produkcia by ZAPO @zapoofficial  

Nathaniel Webb joins us to discuss William Gibson's "Neuromancer", D&D Next playtests, self-contained cities in a building, people writing fiction written by Chat-GPT, action/heist stories, ninjas and Rastafarians, getting the heist team together, the hacker's role in a cyberpunk game, Tom Clancy novels, quick dramatic actions, player-facing tools, cozy fantasy, and much more!

We've been absent but now we're back and in a new place :) This week on the Growing Together podcast we dive deep into what this move meant to us and give you a little bit of a recap of our trip. This year has already pushed Cesar and I in the right direction and we are SO happy to bring you all along for the journey. We're just getting started :D Next week we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming but it felt good to give you all an update on what we've been doing in our ab

This week's episode kicks off with the usual rundown of recent activity on MBA LiveWire, which included admits for Cornell / Johnson's Round 1 and interview invites for Berkeley / Haas.  In terms of upcoming dates of note, this week INSEAD has its Round 2 deadline. Graham highlighted the Real Humans pieces for INSEAD, Haas, and Boston College / Carroll as well as a recently published focus on two veterans at NYU / Stern and an interview with Georgetown / McDonough's Career Services Director. Alex and Graham then discussed the recently published employment report for Northwestern / Kellogg (impressive, including 40% heading to consulting and an average starting salary of $165,000); this led to a discussion on whether we are heading into a recession, and its implications for prospective MBA students. Graham also reminded listeners about Clear Admit's upcoming Deferred Enrolment event for this Wednesday; signups are here: https://bit.ly/defermba As usual, this episode of WireTaps features three candidate profile reviews, taken from ApplyWire entries on the site. First up, Alex selected a female candidate from Nigeria who is targeting Round 1 next season. She's an M.D., and has a strong focus on the business-side of healthcare. She hasn't taken the GMAT yet, but Alex and Graham are hoping for a high score so she can target the very best U.S.-based healthcare MBA programs. This week's second candidate works in a family business in India. She's targeting Round 2 this season, and Alex and Graham had a conversation about her overall strategy, and whether it's worth keeping in mind that she might be a stronger candidate in Round 1 for next season. The final candidate for this episode has some somewhat pedestrian numbers, but Alex and Graham really like what's under the surface. This applicant is originally from Central Asia, and plan to return there in the long run, to focus on the sustainable energy industry. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

Eric Devendorf and Tim Leonard reflect on the Syracuse basketball season ahead of senior day and the ACC tournament. They talk about how Buddy Boeheim will be remembered, his career, why Devo says he is the best worker he has ever been around and what to make of how next year is shaping up. The guys discuss whether next year's team should play some man defense, some of Jim Boeheim's recent comments, what Benny Williams needs to work on, Bourama Sidibe's career & much more. Intro music: Cherry Metal by Arthur Vyncke | https://soundcloud.com/arthurvost Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US

In the first hour of the show, Pete talks about the Left going after former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for accused involvement in the Jan 6th riots on Capitol Hill.  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/petekalinershow See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Athletic Vancouver & Elite Prospects' JD Burke joins Abbott & Dhaliwal talk the draft lottery, the play-in round, and the scenarios that may unfold involving the Canucks .

Hey fellow Dark Roast Citizens! This week we breakdown and dive deeper into Knightmare with Batman #67, peel back more layers on the mysteries of Justice League #20, get in some high octane action with High Level #2, and experience heartbreak with Venom #12! But before we talk comics, we got some news for everyone. This episode will be the penultimate episode for our show, which actually kind of works with as it’s episode 52 :D Next week we will have a reflection and predictions episode and it will be the last episode for our show. We both decided that due to the changes that will be coming our way in the near future, we cannot keep up with the weekly scheduling that our show centres on. We decided now would be the best time to bring upon the end of the show. We hope everyone checks back in next week as well. We will have some crazy spicy theories for all the ongoing series we are covering! For our coffee this week we have a brew called Sitio Lavrinha roasted by De Mello Palheta Coffee Roasters. This will be our last week with the guessing game, so let’s see how we close this out! What did you think about this episode? What are your thoughts on the Knightmare arc in Batman? Do you think the future Superman spells trouble? What do you think of the potential retcon in Venom? Let us know what you think!   SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW! Join our Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/182907015663575/   Time Stamps: Intro: 0:00:05 Comics segment: 0:06:40 Start of Batman #67 discussion: 0:09:05 Start of Justice League #20 discussion: 0:20:48 Start of High Level #2 discussion: 0:34:31 Start of Venom #12 discussion: 0:41:48 DUMPLINGS! 0:55:50 Coffee discussion: 0:58:14 The Humble Heroes Agency: 1:01:48 The Cosmic Treadmill / Outro: 1:11:00   Comixology: Batman #67 Click here   Justice League #20 Click here   High Level #2 Click here   Venom #12 Click here   Coffee: Sitio Lavrinha roasted by De Mello Palheta Coffee Roasters http://hellodemello.net/shop/brazil-sitio-lavrinha   The Humble Heroes Agency: We found that there were some awesome fan made superhero ideas out there, and we figured, let’s talk about some of those on the show and have some fun with them! You can find them at the Superhero Fanon Wikia page. If you have any cool superhero ideas that you’d like to share or have featured on this show, send us an email at contact@darkroastcomics.com and we’ll be more than happy to feature it! This week’s new Humble Hero candidate: Jurassic Kid! Learn more about Jurassic Kid here!   The Cosmic Treadmill / Preview for next episode: Stay tuned for next week as we conclude Dark Roast Comics with a predictions and theories episode for all our current ongoing series! We promise it will be a wild one!   Contact Us - Like and Subscribe! Email: contact@darkroastcomics.com Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/darkroastcomics Follow on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darkroastcomics/ Follow on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/darkroastcomics/ Website: http://darkroastcomics.podbean.com

Welcome, brave adventurers...... to the second entry into the Heroes Rise chronicle. This episode was recorded on Saturday, 2nd December 2017, and made available for download on Wednesday, 5th December 2017 at heroesrisepodcast.comThis week, Ostron's joined by Ryu and Lennon who kicks off the show by bringing a tool he keeps in his Adventurer’s Pack -- be warned, it gets a little mathsy. Then we take a look at some D&D News as we take a look at why 2017 is a fantastic year for Wizards of the Cost and what might be coming in the future.Next, we take a Short Rest and get familiar with our Familiars; before finally finishing off the show by looking into the Scrying Pool to see what you have to say.LinksAnyDiceD&D's successful yearFirst draft of next adventure completeXGE Spellcards now availableD&D Beyond patch notesNeverwinter patch notesXGE is the non-fiction best sellerA Short Rest: Tips from the Adventurer's JournalsGetting Familiar With FamiliarsThis Week’s Community QuestionsWhat do you think the Next Big Thing will be for 5e D&D? Is there an older adventure you’d like to see remade? A setting that’s near-and-dear to you? Do you want to see D&D 5e move into a completely different setting entirely?Heroes Rise are always on the lookout for new team members that have a passion for Dungeons and Dragons. Please know that all of our positions are volunteer, but we do offer a well known outlet for your work. If you have a particular skill that you believe could enhance our content, then send your contact information and experience to sendingstone@heroesrisepodcast.comYou can also follow us on the social media sites! We’re on Facebook! Head over to facebook.com/heroesrisednd and say "hi", or check us out on Twitter via @heroesrisednd for detaiSupport the show (http://patreon.com/heroesrisednd)

In this episode we get way too into one of our shared hobbies D&D Next – the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. We somehow accidentally talk about Kid ‘n Play again, delve into GM styles, and try to reintroduce Captain Transylvania. Please rate, review and subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Twitter @SeeingReddit or e-mail […]

Neste episódio teste número 9, nossos aventureiros enfrentam criaturas maiores que os Goblins, conhecidos como Hobgoblins, que se opõem ferozmente trazendo grandes baixas e diminuindo a esperança de sobrevivência de todos...   Com a participação de: Kut - "O mão da morte", um Elfo Negro (Drow) Feiticeiro; Graveto, um Halfling (Toco de gente cabeçudo) Ranger; Rardok, um Anão (e NPC que virou PC) Clérigo da Guerra; Taklin, um Anão (mais um NPC que virou PC) Clérigo da Morte.   RECADOS e AGRADECIMENTOS Caso você esteja se perguntando “Rafael, até quando os episódios serão testes?”, saibam que estamos ajustando o máximo de nossos recursos, para que no lançamento do podcast oficial do RPG Next (ainda sem nome) possamos entregar uma experiência de melhor qualidade do que estas que vocês ouviram até agora. Tenha um pouco mais de paciência, ok? Além do mais, este episódio que vocês estão prestes a ouvir encerra nossa primeira fase de testes.   RPG Next Podcast – TESTE #9 – Este será o fim? Sejam bem vindos a mais um episódio (em fase de testes) do RPG Next Podcast, um podcast ambientado no mundo de fantasia medieval do jogo Dungeons and Dragons 5ª edição. ATENÇÃO! Isto ainda não é o produto final que pretendemos ofertar. Continuem acompanhando nossas experimentações a cada episódio, até eventualmente acertamos a mão na produção... Deixe seu feedback! Ele é muito importante para a melhoria dos próximos episódios. [polldaddy poll="8943044"]   Contato Facebook / Twitter / Google+   E se quiser adquirir livros de RPG, e nos ajudar a manter o site no ar, acesse a loja da Amazon.com.br! (link afiliado)     // Amazon.com Widgets

Neste episódio número 8, ainda em fase de TESTES, nossos aventureiros se encontram em grandes apuros combatendo os Goblins e para piorar as coisas uma grande criatura surge. Agora, o fim parece ser inevitável...   Com a participação de: Kut - "O mão da morte", um Elfo Negro (Drow) Feiticeiro; Graveto, um Halfling (Toco de gente cabeçudo) Ranger; Rardok, um Anão (e NPC que virou PC) Clérigo da Guerra; Taklin, um Anão (mais um NPC que virou PC) Clérigo da Morte.   RECADOS e AGRADECIMENTOS Em recados e agradecimentos, gostaria de avisar que a partir deste episódio nosso amigo e jogador Radalle não estará mais presente nas gravações. Rafa, sua contribuição com os testes foi de extrema importância, principalmente dando uma força com o Maptool. Valeu mesmo cara! Espero poder gravar com você novamente um dia.   RPG Next Podcast – TESTE #8 – O lado negro do Graveto Sejam bem vindos a mais um episódio (em fase de testes) do RPG Next Podcast, um podcast ambientado no mundo de fantasia medieval do jogo Dungeons and Dragons 5ª edição. ATENÇÃO! Isto ainda não é o produto final que pretendemos ofertar. Continuem acompanhando nossas experimentações a cada episódio, até eventualmente acertamos a mão na produção... Deixe seu feedback! Ele é muito importante para a melhoria dos próximos episódios. [polldaddy poll="8943051"]   Contato Facebook / Twitter / Google+   E se quiser adquirir livros de RPG, e nos ajudar a manter o site no ar, acesse a loja da Amazon.com.br! (link afiliado)   // Amazon.com Widgets

Neste episódio número 7, ainda em fase de TESTES, nossos aventureiros resolvem limpar a outra caverna dos malvados Goblins para só então seguirem para Mithral. Mas o que parecia ser algo rápido e fácil logo se torna um problemão diante da quantia de inimigos...   Com a participação de: Kut - "O mão da morte", um Elfo Negro (Drow) Feiticeiro; Graveto, um Halfling (Toco de gente cabeçudo) Ranger; Rardok, um Anão (e NPC que virou PC) Clérigo da Guerra; Taklin, um Anão (mais um NPC que virou PC) Clérigo da Morte.   RECADOS Bom, em recadinhos, gostaria de informar a vocês que, por motivo de força maior, neste episódio não haverá participação do Raphael Sky nem do Fernando. Então os personagens Kut e Rardok serão controlados, consequentemente, pelos outros dois jogadores o Pedro e o Radalle. Mesmo assim a gravação não ficou tão comprometida e é possível dar umas boas risadas com a encrenca que os personagens se meteram...   RPG Next Podcast - TESTE #7 - Invadindo a caverna dos Goblins Sejam bem vindos a mais um episódio (em fase de testes) do RPG Next Podcast, um podcast ambientado no mundo de fantasia medieval do jogo Dungeons and Dragons 5ª edição. ATENÇÃO! Isto ainda não é o produto final que pretendemos ofertar. Continuem acompanhando nossas experimentações a cada episódio, até eventualmente acertamos a mão na produção... Deixe seu feedback! Ele é muito importante para a melhoria dos próximos episódios. Contato Facebook / Twitter / Google+   E se quiser adquirir livros de RPG, e nos ajudar a manter o site no ar, acesse a loja da Amazon.com.br! (link afiliado)   // Amazon.com Widgets

In this episode, Matt and Johnny discuss the D&D Next Player's Handbook and the Horde of the Dragon Queen adventure. Part way through they are joined by Scott as well, who adds his own thoughts as well. Find us on: nerdsdom.comFacebook.com/nerdsdomain@nerdsdomainpatreon.com/nerdsdomainhttp://www.slashloot.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1855

In this episode, Matt and Johnny discuss the D&D Next Player's Handbook and the Horde of the Dragon Queen adventure. Part way through they are joined by Scott as well, who adds his own thoughts as well. Find us on: nerdsdom.comFacebook.com/nerdsdomain@nerdsdomainpatreon.com/nerdsdomainhttp://www.slashloot.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1855

Cerramos temporada con este episodio número 15 cual ventanilla del funcionario de aduana de la República de Astorska en Papers, Please, pero antes de terminar nuestro periplo por nuestro tercer año nos da tiempo a dejaros, en titulares, nuestras impresiones sobre el D&D Next, el E3 2014 y el crowfunding de D€mocracia que Mae apoyó […] The post Episodio #15.- Gloria a Astorska first appeared on Homo Meeple.

In this episode, Richard 'Dungeon Master Dick!' Markert and Megan 'Glimmerdusk' Markert talk about the new Starter Set and the new free Basic Rules for D&D Next(5e). In the coming episodes, you'll meet each PC and their character, as they create them and do a bit of 1 on 1 RP with DM Richard. This will all lead into the upcoming Campaign, which will be streamed live here: http://www.twitch.tv/dungeonmasterdick Find the free basic rules here: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/basicrules

James Introcaso sits down with Alex Basso, Greg Blair, and Vegas Lancaster to talk about the Live D&D Next Q&A from April 25, 2014 and the Legends and Lore article about the new Battlesystem for mass combat. This podcast was recorded on May 4, 2014. Links:World Builder BlogN Crowd+2 Comedy

James Introcaso sits down with Alex Basso, Greg Blair, and Vegas Lancaster to talk about the Live D&D Next Q&A from April 25, 2014 and the Legends and Lore article about the new Battlesystem for mass combat. This podcast was recorded on May 4, 2014.Links:World Builder BlogN Crowd+2 Comedy

James Introcaso sits down with Alex Basso, Greg Blair, and Vegas Lancaster to talk about the Live D&D Next Q&A from April 25, 2014 and the Legends and Lore article about the new Battlesystem for mass combat. This podcast was recorded on May 4, 2014.Links:World Builder BlogN Crowd+2 Comedy

James Introcaso sits down with Alex Basso, Greg Blair, and Vegas Lancaster to talk about the Live D&D Next Q&A from April 25, 2014 and the Legends and Lore article about the new Battlesystem for mass combat. This podcast was recorded on May 4, 2014.Links:World Builder BlogN Crowd+2 Comedy

A Dungeons and Dragons Next adventure GM'd by Symatt from the UK. Advisory, some adult language may be used.

Trzeci odcinek podkastu o RPG i kulturze, poświęcony wojnom edycyjnym na przykładzie Dungeons & Dragons (w szczególności edycji 3.X oraz 4.0) oraz niekoniecznie poważnemu postulatowi delegalizacji... fandomu.Poza tym w programie kilka słów o D&D Next, dzień z życia wojownika wojen edycyjnych, dwa słowa o starszych edycjach Dungeons and Dragons oraz odniesienie do poprzedniego odcinka Siedzicie w karczmie w kontekście linii wydawniczej World of Darkness.W odcinku udział wzięli Bartłomiej Gajdzis, Mateusz Nowak, Tomek Filip, Bolesław Charkiewicz oraz Bartek Zioło.Podkast wydawany jest przy wsparciu portalu Gry-fabularne.pl. Nowe odcinki podkastu w każdy poniedziałek o 19:00. Zapraszamy również na stronę na Facebooku i profil na Tweeterze, a od dzisiaj również na nasz kanał na YouTube.

After a bit of a vacation, we're back in action with some big Spider-Man movie news and a post mortem on D&D Next. Featuring - Venom is looking at his own movie- Sinister Six film... who we might see- Our D&D Next game is read its final rites- Russell gives a brief overview of Dungeon World- The future of table-top RPGs... rise of the freelancer? Links Spider-Man Production Team Talks Venom and SSD&D Next Playtest infoDungeon World  Subscribe on iTunes!    Follow us on twitter @GiRPodcast or shoot us an e-mail at girpodcast@gmail.com

This Episode: D&D Next Playtest, Cease and Desist Orders, Off Topic Rambling The D&D Next Playtest has come to an end. Tim and Chrispy take a look at how the game has changed and what they can expect from the final version, but mostly just mess around. This Episode Also Known As: "What were we talking about again...?"

In episode 100 (yes, you read that right), the guys are talking about Agents of S*H*I*E*L*D's next crossover experiement and low level characters in D&D Next! Featuring - Lady Sif coming to S*H*I*E*L*D- Does ANYONE care about Skye yet?- D&D Next, low level characters, and you- The importance of the arc Links Thor Warrior Lady Sif coming to AOSLow Level Characters in D&D Next Subscribe on iTunes!    Follow us on twitter @GiRPodcast or shoot us an e-mail at girpodcast@gmail.com

It's the first podcast of 2014 and we're looking forward to the most anticipated things of the year to come! Featuring A brief overview of the bigest events to come in 2014. Here's a complete list! Movies300: Rise of an Empire Captain America Winter SoldierAmazing Spiderman 2X-Men Days of Future Past Tenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesGuardians of the GalaxyDumb and Dumber ToHobbit: There and Back Again  Video GamesSouth Park: Stick of TruthThiefDark Souls 2Diabo 3: Reaper of SoulsElder Scrolls OnlineDestinyThe DivisionWatch DogsOrder 1886Zelda UThe Witcher 3Star Citizen  Table TopD&D NextStar Wars: Age of RebellionTVCosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey Subscribe on iTunes!    Follow us on twitter @GiRPodcast or shoot us an e-mail at girpodcast@gmail.com

We are not dead! In this Iteration we go off on many a tangent about D&D, Doctor Who and conventions in addition to reading some listener feedback.Image Courtesy of ImgurLINKS:Scaldcrow Games' Worlds of Pulp (DrivethruRPG, Kickstarter)AetherConThe Probably Questionable PodcastKent's Extra-Life team, Team IntelsatJim's appearances on RPGRoundtable (Episode 1: Audio, YouTube) (Episode 2: Audio, YouTube)Jim's appearance on Happy Jack's RPG Podcast (Audio, YouTube)In the Bloodstream: an Anthology of Dark Fantasy and Horror(Jim's story in it is titled "Lady of the Manor")RECOMMENDATIONS: Jon recommends the TV show Parks and Recreation. He also recommends Agent to the Stars and Redshirts, both by John Scalzi.PROMO: Ideology of Madness - Ghosts of Reignsboro AP PodcastAlso Mentioned in this Iteration:Wired ImagesDragon*ConD&D 2nd, 3rd & 4th Edition / Epic DestinyD&D Next / Against the GiantsDresden Files RPGMACEDavey BeauchampParsec Awards / Sylvester McCoyThe WEIRD ShowDoctor Who / The Day of the Doctor / The War DoctorThe Five(ish) Doctors RebootFinal FantasyCreative CommonsSin CityFig NewtonsPrincipia MathematicaBacon CatWil WheatonDouglas AdamsOld Man's WarThanksgivukkah Epoch Iteration 12 - We Demand Sanitation Ninjas Download

We get a few clues as to the drop date of D&D Next, plus we're talking about that big secret project! Featuring - DDI tools going in a box. D&D Next is next. - What changes we expect to see from the playtest - The big project: OR20  Links Russell's Open Range writings at Writer Lot   Subscribe on iTunes!    Follow us on twitter @GiRPodcast or shoot us an e-mail at girpodcast@gmail.com  

Dylan and John sit down with author and game designer Robert J Schwalb to discuss D&D Next, his theories on how to make a good game, his history with RPGs, and more.

Pathfinder no Brasil vai vingar? Saiu o último playtest do D&D Next, você leu? Gostou? Aliás, podemos falar sobre o Next ou não?

The D&D Next playtest is practically over... the guys give you an inside look at the process and if the resulting system is worth your time. Featuring - Being polite in GTA IV - The final D&D: Next playtest document - Where we started and where we're ending - Does Next deserve the keys to the castle?   Links Selfies in GTA 5D&D: Next Playtest  Subscribe on iTunes!    Follow us on twitter @GiRPodcast or shoot us an e-mail at girpodcast@gmail.com  

DSA 5, D&D Next, Shadowrun 5, Call of Cthulhu 7: Alle großen Rollenspielsysteme kommen in diesem oder im nächsten Jahr mit einer Neuauflage heraus. In vielen Fällen, versuchen die Verlage auch, neue Wege zu gehen, zum Beispiel mit mehr oder … Weiterlesen →

In this GenCon 2013 special episode we bring you the audio from the D&D Next R&D Q&A Seminar! Enjoy Support the show, shop below... Noble Knight

In this GenCon 2013 special episode we bring you the audio from the D&D Next R&D Q&A Seminar! EnjoySupport the show, shop below...Noble Knight

In this GenCon 2013 special episode we bring you the audio from the D&D Next R&D Q&A Seminar! EnjoySupport the show, shop below...Noble Knight

In this GenCon 2013 special episode we bring you the audio from the D&D Next R&D Q&A Seminar! EnjoySupport the show, shop below...Noble Knight

DSA 5 steht am Horizont, Shadowrun 5 schon im Laden, Cthulhu 7 wird langsam mit konkreten Informationen versorgt und D&D Next steht ebenfalls noch aus – und mittendrin? Der Fandom. Michael und Thomas wagen sich auf die Felder, wo in allernächster Zukunft Magieresistenzgegner und Kraftprobenwiderstandstabellenliebhaber, Widersacher eingeschränkten drahtlosen Hackings und Skillstufen-als-Würfel-Beführworter gewohnt hart aufeinandertreffen werden und fragen sich … warum eigentlich?

DSA 5 steht am Horizont, Shadowrun 5 schon im Laden, Cthulhu 7 wird langsam mit konkreten Informationen versorgt und D&D Next steht ebenfalls noch aus – und mittendrin? Der Fandom. Michael und Thomas wagen sich auf die Felder, wo in allernächster Zukunft Magieresistenzgegner und Kraftprobenwiderstandstabellenliebhaber, Widersacher eingeschränkten drahtlosen Hackings und Skillstufen-als-Würfel-Beführworter gewohnt hart aufeinandertreffen werden und fragen sich … warum eigentlich?

Mike Mearls looks back at the recent D&D Next livestream game of A1 Slave Pits of Undercity. Mike and Rodney discuss the results of the session, especially as it pertained to the deadly fight against the ghouls.

Mike Shea joins us in this episode to dispense advice with us on DMing a D&D Next playtest group. Enjoy! Sponsors: Noble Knight Links: Mike's Lazy DM book

Mike Shea joins us in this episode to dispense advice with us on DMing a D&D Next playtest group. Enjoy! Sponsors: Noble Knight Links: Mike's Lazy DM book

Mike Shea joins us in this episode to dispense advice with us on DMing a D&D Next playtest group. Enjoy! Sponsors: Noble Knight Links: Mike's Lazy DM book

Mike Shea joins us in this episode to dispense advice with us on DMing a D&D Next playtest group. Enjoy! Sponsors: Noble Knight Links: Mike's Lazy DM book

In der aktuellen Folge diskutieren wir, wie Spieler und Spielleiter die narrative Zeit komprimieren, dehnen und manipulieren. Timing und Pacing sind zwei wichtige Stichwörter dazu. Außerdem ein Hinweis auf den Character Sheet Design Contest für D&D Next. Allons-y! Polyeder Podcast, … Weiterlesen →

In this bonus episode surrounding the Mines of Madness, we bring in Chris Perkins to discuss the creation of this adventure and its debut at PAX East. Plus, as the DM Experience column has drawn to a close, we ask Chris about his home campaigns, his advice for fellow DMs, and what he's looking forward to in D&D Next.

In this episode, Mike sits down with R&D's Mike Mearls and Rodney Thompson to discuss the forthcoming D&D Next playtest packet. Mike and Rodney go through the changes and additions to expect, discuss the philosophy behind such mechanics as the ranger's favored enemy, and Mike reveals a dangerous secret about his in-game character.

Olá Jogadores e DMs, Essa semana batemos um papo sobre cura (healing) e como os designers estão falando sobre isso no D&D Next. Além disso, Daniel Anand & Davi Salles também comentam como trazer a ação explosiva de James Bond para suas aventuras de RPG. Infelizmente, a partir de agora, só vou conseguir postar um […]

In this episode, Mike sists down with Chris Dupuis and Rodney Thompson to talk Dungeon Command: Blood of Gruumsh, Unearthed Arcana, and the Original "White Box" Edition of the game. From there, Mike and Rodney move on to discuss the current status of D&D Next, including possible roles and implementation for party leaders.

Olá Jogadores e DMs, Hoje vamos falar de várias novidades do mundo do RPG, como os novos lançamentos para The One Ring, os boatos de Pathfinder em português, as classes marciais em D&D Next, e os lançamentos da Wizards of the Coast. De brinde, algumas dúvidas dos ouvintes! Links Pathfinder em português? Classes Marciais E […]

Comics reviewedLegend of the Shadow ClanThe HollowsG. I. JoeNovaJustice League of AmericaBatmanSuperior Spider-manNews this week:Piperka.netFeatured Web Comic - Dr. McNinjaPenny Arcade StripSearchMegaConPS4 AnnouncementLegend of Grimrock II announcedCOPS: Skyrim new seasonMick Foley on NerdistD&D Next updateGoogle Glass38 Maps You Never Knew You NeededAoM: Leisure Time -> Create and ConsumeMeteorite detonates over RussiaTeen Titans: Trouble in TokyoTabletop DayHunaphu DaySubscribe on iTunesAbout.me/ComicBookTesseract Comic Book Tesseract is presented by thecomicbooknerd.comFor more comic book news check out thecomicbooknerd.com

Olá Jogadores e DMs, Hoje vamos falar dos lançamentos, do novo pacote do D&D Next, que incluiu o Bárbaro, além de outros comentários de Daniel Anand & Davi Salles. Links Podcast sobre os Bárbaros da Wizards of the Coasts Dragon Age RPG no Tabletop Lançamento da Atlas Games para Ars Magica: Antagonists Falando os termos […]

This Episode: D&D Next, Mechanical Short Comings, Etymology Lessons, Norman Rockwell Tim and Chrispy sit down to take a more critical look at the second to last D&D playtest pack from last December. They also talk a bit about some of their personal projects and talk a bit about a new favorite game: Cards Against Humanity. This Episode Also Known As: The Trochee-Filled Misadventures of Tim Jenkins   A Quick Note: This episode gets slightly more vulgar than previous episodes. If you tend to listen with children around and don't want to expose them to vulgar language/themes, you might want to not listen to this one while they're around.

Olá Jogadores e DMs, Finalmente, estamos de volta! Daniel Anand & Davi Salles se reunem mais de um ano depois do episódio 49 para falar do novo formato do programa, das novidades e de suas impressões sobre o D&D Next (até agora). Links Participe do BETA do D&D Next D&D Classics em PDF Concept arts […]

We ramble on about recent events, continue pondering the apocalypse and pine away after movies and kickstarters.Mentioned in this Iteration:Asteroid MemeMaya / 2012 Apocalypse / Maya CalendarApocalypse ListJeane DixonApophis / ApophisClint BlackDragon*ConFriedrich NietzscheThe MetaverseReady Player OneThe Hobbit / The HobbitThe Tolkien ProfessorSylvester McCoyHell Noir / Gregory Weir / Eden RoyceHard MagicD&D NextFate Core / The Dresden Files RPGAtomic RoboMatthew Wayne SelznickJJ Abrams / Star Wars Sequel Trilogy / Star Trek  Epoch Iteration 8 - The Internet Stares Long Into You Download

In this episode, host Mike Robels sits down with Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, and Rodney Thompson to discuss the news surrounding the latest D&D Next playtest, including this packet's barbarian. Plus, what to look forward to in future packets - and a debate on the greatest barbarian of all time!

In this long overdue episode Tim and Chrispy sit down in person to chat about what they're most excited about for D&D Next and what they like most about what's been shown off so far!   This Episode Also Known As: The Ronnie James Dio Moment of Zen

In this episode, host Mike Robels sits down with Jeremy Crawford and Rodney Thompson to discuss the D&D Next playtest, including the current packet's classes and the Isle of Dread. Then, Rodney and Peter Lee run through the latest Dungeon Command faction pack: Curse of Undeath!

This month’s episode is mostly content recorded at Gencon, and finishes with an update on the latest version of the 5th edition D&D Playtest. Feedback can be sent to Podcast@DLnexus.com  We respond to every emailer, and would especially appreciate feedback on our 5th edition D&D updates.   Links! Marvel Heroic Roleplaying: http://www.margaretweis.com/shop#ecwid:category=2262007&mode=category&offset=0&sort=normal Artemis, Spaceship Bridge … Continue reading The post Dragonlance Canticle #56 – Gencon Reports and D&D Next appeared first on Dragonlance Canticle.

This is our first episode in quite some time. The initial discussion of "D&D Fifth Edition" (now officially known as "D&D Next") was recorded in February 2012 and is thus, dated; at the time, the most current news about it was in an article in the New York Times. Many recent podcasts (particularly ones made after Gen Con 2012) have discussed this topic in greater detail. We include this discussion to offer some perspective: this illustrates the various expectations and speculations that have been made about what will be the newest edition of what was once the most popular roleplaying game on the market, when it released in 2014 (or is projected to be at that time).Furthermore, we discuss the dividing line between "indie" and "mainstream" roleplaying games. The line is thinner and fuzzier than many people believe and after you hear our discussion, you will have much food for thought.Finally, we interviewed cartoonist extraordinare Stan Sakai at Montreal Comicon 2011. Mr. Sakai is famous for his work on the Usagi Yojimbo comic and many other fine works.Other linksPolymancer main sitePolymancer corporate web sitePolymancer on TwitterPolymancer on LiveJournalPolymancer on MySpacePolymancer on FacebookRSS feed for DiceCastSubscribe to DiceCast in iTunesDiceCast is available at the iTunes music store. The RSS feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Dicecast.

Smell that? Smells like a new D&D Next playtest. Also, the scent of death. Flash death. Featuring- D&D Playtest 2: Electric Boogaloo- The biggest development out of Gencon- Flash goes terminal.- Derailing trains WWII-style. Links D&D Next Playtest Unlocking the D&D Digital archives Flash: Gone in a Flash Experiments to Derail a Train   Follow us on twitter @GiRPodcast or shoot us an e-mail at girpodcast@gmail.com  

This week Gerry and I went to Gen Con! Gen Con Indy is the original, longest running, best attended, gaming convention in the world. For over 44 years, Gen Con Indy has been setting the trend and breaking records. Last year, more than 120,103 turnstile and 36,106 unique attendees experienced Gen Con Indy. Gen Con is the best four days of gaming! Gen Con’s focus is on board games, role playing games, miniatures, simulations, and card games.  … Read the rest

Tristan, Trampas, Kelson, Carl, Nora, and Arthur discuss their experiences with the playtest of D&D Next. Feedback can be sent to Podcast@DLnexus.com The Kickstarter page for the GM’s Real-World Reference can be found here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1395430458/the-gms-real-world-reference The post Dragonlance Canticle #55 – Playtest of D&D Next appeared first on Dragonlance Canticle.

In this episode, host Mike Robels asks R&D's Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford about the ongoing D&D Next playtest, including what to look forward to at Gen Con 2012. Then Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, and Chris Dupuis join the podcast to discuss the creation and development of Dungeon Command!

Russ has family in town, but that doesn't stop the GiR train. We're talking twitter D&D Next rumors!  Featuring- GenCon blurb leads to a kerfuffle on twitter. Could Greyhawk be back in a big way?- If not Greyhawk, then what?- Why we should bump one of the three core books. LinksThe blurbd20 Monkey's tweetd20 Monkey webcomicFharlanghn Follow us on twitter @GiRPodcast or shoot us an e-mail at girpodcast@gmail.com.  

In this episode Mike Mearls (from WotC) and Dave Chalker (from Critical Hits) join us to talk about how to be a good playtester for D&D Next and what the process is likely to look like as it moves forward. Sponsors: Gamerati Gamerati TV Continue Magazine Amazon (shop through this link to help the show) Links: D&D Next Playtesting Information Critical Hits article on playtesting Marvel Heroic Role Playing (which Dave worked on the playtesting for) Dave: Website | Twitter

In this episode Mike Mearls (from WotC) and Dave Chalker (from Critical Hits) join us to talk about how to be a good playtester for D&D Next and what the process is likely to look like as it moves forward. Sponsors: Gamerati Gamerati TV Continue Magazine Amazon (shop through this link to help the show) Links: D&D Next Playtesting Information Critical Hits article on playtesting Marvel Heroic Role Playing (which Dave worked on the playtesting for) Dave: Website | Twitter

In this episode Mike Mearls (from WotC) and Dave Chalker (from Critical Hits) join us to talk about how to be a good playtester for D&D Next and what the process is likely to look like as it moves forward. Sponsors: Gamerati Gamerati TV Continue Magazine Amazon (shop through this link to help the show) Links: D&D Next Playtesting Information Critical Hits article on playtesting Marvel Heroic Role Playing (which Dave worked on the playtesting for) Dave: Website | Twitter

Die fünfte Folge des Polyeder Podcast wurde kurz nach Erscheinen der Playtest-Dokumente für D&D Next aufgezeichnet. Also bitte verzeiht uns, wenn wir noch nicht alles auf Herz und Nieren durchgetestet haben. Die Themen: Destiny Beginner erscheint in englischer Sprache High … Weiterlesen →

In this episode Mike Mearls (from WotC) and Dave Chalker (from Critical Hits) join us to talk about how to be a good playtester for D&D Next and what the process is likely to look like as it moves forward. Sponsors: Gamerati Gamerati TV Continue Magazine Amazon (shop through this link to help the show) Links: D&D Next Playtesting Information Critical Hits article on playtesting Marvel Heroic Role Playing (which Dave worked on the playtesting for) Dave: Website | Twitter

In DDOcast 255, we have a light DDO news week, but Sig and Anne talk about the latest DDO community, and answer messages in our Lightning Postbox. Shamgars got another Tower of Despair Raid installment on Epic Education. We also got first impressions of D&D Nexts open beta. Were also have another contest for you! Many thanks to Wrenspell of the Dragonknights on Ghallandra, who is our supporting our latest Menace of the Underdark Pre-Order Key Giveaway! Just listen and learn how you can win!(Note: Weve been busy with family-work-life issues, so In an efforts to push episodes out sooner, Im releasing to Cybearears first, then iTunes, followed by show notes on our website & the DDO forums. Also, I've spent less time editing and no time stamps till later.)-----DDOcast Episode 255 (06-02-2012)0:00:39 Intro0:02:10 DDO News: Update 13 Patch 3, Bonus Days, DDO Marketplace0:05:29 Sponser Break0:08:11 DDOcast MOTU Pre-Order Key Code Giveaway!0:11:07 Whatcha been up to in DDO?0:16:57 Shamgar's Epic Education: Part 3 of Tower of Dispair Raid0:29:27 DDO Community News: Gencon, YourDDO, Building Blocks0:37:19 Lightning Post: Healers, Fortification Tips0:56:19 General Gaming News: D&D Next, GenCon, Origins, Guardians of Middle Earth, Skyrim DLC1:07:20 ClosingENDTOTAL TIME: 1:09:22

In this episode of the D&D podcast, Mike Robles in on hand to discuss the D&D Next playtest with R&D's Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford.

In this episode of the D&D podcast, Mike Robles is on hand to discuss the D&D Next playtest with R&D's Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford - including questions you asked via Twitter. Then, we talk to Rodney Thompson about the latest D&D board game: Lords of Waterdeep.

Discutimos a volta de nosso podcast e tecemos nossas opiniões sobre o D&D Next!

Episode IV Economic Order - Crisis - and The Wheel of Opportunity. Dagne: Welcome to Episode IV of the Infinite Potentials Series. Also, this is our first video web cast. So, Adam, experts say that the current economic collapse is the worst since the 1930's. Experts say nothing of this size has ever before happened in the US and world financial markets. Many of those who have money are terrified by their losses and the rest are worrying about how they are going to survive. Can we discuss how the ordinary person can meet the challenge of this mind blowing crisis? A: You and I have also been hit incredibly hard. Maybe we should first find out if we are going to survive economically before we give advice. D: We've done the arithmetic. We think we are probably going to make it. Although, we have had to go from plan A to plan B. We have even discussed a back up plan C. A. I hope we won't need to implement it. D: Before we get into some ideas about what to do now. Can you say something about what you think is actually happening? I don't think most people understand this crash yet. In fact, I think an awful lot of people are in denial about it and don't realize how big it actually is. A: I'm thinking about it as an evolutionary economical liminal moment. Something old is dying and something new is being born. Of course, at times like this everyone wants to find out who is responsible and punish them. But I think we are all to some degree responsible. Some more, some less. Reminds me of the old Pogo cartoon. "We have found the enemy and he is us". But looking at the bigger picture it seems to me that globalization is inevitable and there is no turning back. But globalization grew so fast in recent decades that it has outrun our international and national financial institutions. A rapidly emerging tsunami is sweeping the earth and it is a new world order. This collapse and rebirth of the world wide economic system is a necessary step. Kind of like discovering that wagon wheels are torn to pieces if you attach them to a powerful car and try to drive it 120 MPH. Historians will look on this economic evolution as necessary to create much better economic institutions. But right now, I think you really have to want to survive economically and be ready to work hard at it or chances are you are toast. D: So we need a transformation of financial institutions - an evolution. But what can folks do now to survive and make lemonade out of these lemons? A: Downturns and periods of instability are times of enormous opportunities for those who can think in new ways. D: Where do we start? With the basics? A: When in trouble always get back to the basics. For 15 years or more we have been discussing a concept called Economic Order. Those who were living according to the principles underlying economic order are generally in better shape now than those who were not. Economic Order is one of the areas we focus on in the MindFitness Training. Economic order of some kind is critical to mindfitness and quality of life including happiness. D: We have mentioned The MindFitness Training several times but haven't said much about what it is. Could you explain a bit? A: I assert that a substantial percentage of ordinary people are living extraordinary lives. We discovered some strategies which have worked well so far for us. So we made a study to see if it is possible for others to benefit from what has worked for us. Furthermore, the more individuals unfold their own potential the greater the consciousness of the electorate and a more conscious electorate is the best, fastest way to meet the current crisis, evolve our country and contribute to the evolution of the world. So like many others we set out with the intention of understanding how to bring oxygen and fuel to what we see as a flame of awakening spreading throughout America and the world. Being physically fit is fashionable and easier to do than ever before. It occurred to me that just like physical fitness there are particular, relatively easily learned strategies and principles which can build mind fitness just like physical fitness. So, we registered the term MindFitness® and set out to make those strategies and principles available to as many as I can as inexpensively as possible. That means doing research to discover better ways to learn to enhance mindfulness - quality of consciousness including creativity, sub consciousness, unconsciousness and supra consciousness. We founded the International MindFitness Foundation and the Infinite Potentials Series is one way to share these treasures (these notions, principles) with others. D: Our intention is to bring encouragement - good news to those who can use it. A: Yes. It is fun and besides it helps us unfold our own potentials. D: Could you describe the MindFitness Training a little more and then we can go back to Economic Order? A: I have been thinking about what people can do to reduce the negative effects of the economic crisis and maximize their ability to seize the opportunities. And, you know the basic mindfitness training itself seems to address the challenges amazingly well even though it was developed during a time of unprecedented prosperity. A: One way to describe The Process or Mindfitness Training is to use what I call The Wheel of Opportunity. (Show full wheel) The challenge is not so much availability of information but motivation - the energy, the passion, the vision to take the next usually simple and basic steps. So I envisioned a Wheel of Opportunity which might clarify some of the primary categories of concern and opportunity applicable to most of us. These can be thought of as areas or strategies or principles that can be used to get started. Note they all lead to the same place - the center which represents Infinite Potentials. When coaching an individual I can start with the area that (s)he is most interested in at the moment. Success in the first area can lead to the next step and so forth. Of course, everyone has to start with Mind. (go to blank wheel of opportunity and add mind) Because only mind can generate the energy and focus necessary to begin work on the first area of primary interest (challenge) whatever it is. Of course, if we are working with a group we all work on the same area at once. Logically the next focus is on Stress Science. Reducing unhealthy stress conserves energy and allows mind to quiet itself which can bring economic order. It takes energy and mental quietness to go to the next step Exercise. Exercise further builds energy required to improve economic order and take on the incredibly important principle of enhancing Attention. Even small increases in attention can produce outsized results. Some of the best teachers have said that increasing the ability to attend is probably the highest priority self actualization strategy we can apply. Attention goes way beyond concentration. The Breath Work - learning for oneself how to maximize breathing efficiency through all of the stages of life is common to all of the other episodes. However breathing requires careful (special} attention in order for most to gain the enormous benefits hidden there. Sleep Science is another misunderstood and enormously under utilized opportunity for bringing about extraordinary improvement in day to day quality of life. D: Next, we come to Economic Order. Please define it. A: I like the term because it gets away from the notion of being rich or poor. Economic order is different for everyone. Perfect Economic order as I see it is having the resources that allow an individual to do what (s)he loves to do 100% of the time. D: 100% of the time? What about things like chores and housework and people who are trapped in a job they don't like but are afraid to leave? A: Well, in that sense economic order is relative. I think if people can do what they love 10 or 15% of the time they are usually happy campers. The key is to make a beginning. D: If one love's something (s)he gets better at it and probably improves so much that after a while he can do what he loves 20 or 30% of the time and so on. And so becoming stronger, happier and more grateful. A: Right! One builds from there towards the 100% mark. Of course, there are chores and stuff that may not be easy or fun like working out, paying bills, doing the dishes etc. D: Changing diapers isn't necessarily pleasant but it is part of doing what one loves. The Process of all this changes one's consciousness so that even the chores and tough stuff can become fun. Sort of back to the physical fitness model. The work out might hurt but somehow it hurts good. And you feel so good and energized afterwards...the shower can be delicious. A: Dean Martin was driving into the Beverly Hills Country club and he ran into Jack Benny coming out. So Dean said , "Jack, how was golf today?" Jack answered in his classic dead pan way, "Well, the golf was so-so but the towels were wonderful". D: So, how does one achieve economic order? Lower one's economic goals? A: I'd rather say, one must set wise economic goals and learn to practice voluntary simplicity. (create a slide for this). D: Voluntary Simplicity is definitely the place to start in this economic crisis. Don't you think? How would you define voluntary simplicity? A: OK, but first I'd like to look into a hidden challenge that most of us have when we think about economics. Our culture conditions us to an economic, mental double bind. On the one hand we are conditioned to want to compete and make money and live lavishly. The commercial forces hammering on our brain to buy, buy, buy and conditioning us to judge ourselves based on our economic success and physical attractiveness and popularity are overwhelming. D: It takes awareness, wisdom to free oneself from this kind of conditioning. Mindfulness? A: Right. On the other hand we are often taught that the meek will inherit the earth and that there is great virtue in not wanting a lot for yourself, giving to others, living simply. See the double bind? D: When I was growing up after the New Deal era many people believed that if you got rich you must be stepping on someone and the true salt of the earth is the working class. A: So first thing is to break through that kind of polarizing cultural mythology and eliminate inner conflict because it drains energy. So thinking in terms of economic order rather than rich or poor seems to help many of us rise above the double bind...the cultural trance. D: You were explaining voluntary simplicity. (Growth of volumtary simplicity over time slide?) A: John Naisbit, and other futurists report that voluntary simplicity is one of the ten top trends worldwide..at least in the developed countries. One of the interesting things about voluntary simplicity is that it seems to have begun or at least gained momentum among those who are what the Value Added Survey calls Actualizers. Actualizers are the more educated segment of the population - people with more discretionary income and time. From a psychological perspective they tend to be people who are less conditioned, less disassociative, more mindful. D: Can you give an example? A: Well, typically a person decides to begin practicing voluntary simplicity because he has come to a realization that he or she is working too hard, commuting too far, the kids are becoming latch key kids and relationship with the spouse is deteriorating. So, a decision to change is made which often means quitting a good job or at least making major changes in the way work gets done. Actualizers tend to have marketable skills so they can continue working from home or close to home. They are willing to earn somewhat less money but have a more satisfying life. Interestingly, those beginning to practice voluntary simplicity often do earn less in the start up period but in time they often wind up earning more. D: Because happier people are more creative and productive? Happier people tend to spend less because they are already satisfied with life. Over consumption is a sign of discontent. An attempt to fill a void. A: Exactly. People discover that buying only what is really needed is a more efficient, healthier, a more fun, much freer way to live. So, they begin to generate savings and learn how to invest, manage their portfolios, and earn and spend in tax efficient ways. D: Some wealthy people probably disagree. A: Sure, but we are focusing on people who need to improve the economic order in their lives. Rich people are more likely to focus on other areas of the Wheel of Opportunity. But many wealthy people are increasing their consciousness and quality of life by simplifying as well. In fact the Voluntary Simplicity Movement is often led by people who already earn a decent living. D: Now the ecological movement, inflation, higher fuel and food prices are adding even more momentum to the notion of buying only what we really need. A: Exactly. So one must begin with simplifying one's economic life. Paradoxically it takes a lot of creative thinking and energy to actually make this happen. It can feel like a campaign, a crusade...taking heaven by storm. D: We've been doing this for nearly 50 years and find it a lot of fun and even addictive in a healthy way. How does one get started? A: Practically, this usually means that one must do a careful evaluation of what one's actual resources are. Everyone that I know of who understands how to do a (carefully) meticulous listing and evaluation of personal resources has realized that they have more resources and much more freedom to make changes than they realized before they did the math. That's the first step. The next step is to find out what one truly loves to do. Then start doing that in one's spare time. So far as I can see this pattern almost always leads to increased economic well being. D: What if what you love to do is drink or gamble? A: Plenty of people who love to drink and gamble have reasonably good economic order. If any of us goes too far, lives unhealthily, lose balance then hell emerges. D: But the more you do what you love the better you get at it which leads to more time and resources to follow your dream - do more of what you love. A: That's the principle and strategy. It's a very old idea which has to be rediscovered within the context of each individual's present circumstances. Many people do not yet realize that thinking in these ways is critically important. D: Friends, time is up. We will continue with Economic Order and how to get it in Episode V. Thanks for being with us.