RN Podcast Episode 6: Our First 80’s Show

Chrisloc1701 is joined once again in the 'Batcave' studio with Sound Engineer Sebastian, sister Brianna and Mr Tyler Kluin. In this 80's decade themed episode the podcasters discuss 80's TV shows, what should stay in the 80's, 80's TV that has made a comeback and 80's Canadian TV.

This podcast is a proud member of The Atomic Geeks Podcast Network.

This Weeks League Assignment!

This weeks assignment from The League Of Extraordinary Bloggers: Post a photo of a shelf of items that displays your love for pop culture.


Ok, easy enough assignment. But just one picture? That is kind of tough because I have a lot of geek stuff on my shelf. So I have 4 pictures I would like to share with you.

My DVD collection including the original He-Man TV series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Buffy The Vampire Slayer series, and various other DVDs. Castle Greyskull and my Edmonton Eskimos (original replica) helmut. Also my framed Alex Ross He-Man postcard (framed)

A shelf displaying my favourite books. 2 toy Daleks, 2 Hulk postcards, R2D2 toy, some of my collection of trade paperbacks.

My He-Man rebuild collection. The Heroes pictured.

My He-Man rebuild collection. Villains pictured.




Be sure to check out the other blogs that are part of the league including:

www.greenplasticsquirtgun.blogspot.com

www.monstercafesaltillo.blogspot.mx

www.coolandcollected.com

See you next time!

Gary Bettman and a solution to the NHL Lockout!

I seen a poster on Gary Bettman on facebook saying he should be fired. 3 lock outs in 17 years under his watch. I am no fan of his by any means, but this lock out is not solely his fault, in fact I would go so far as to say I'm a little more on the NHL's side than the NHLPA. I don't agree with everything Bettman does but he is not the devil in this situation.

My solution is this: the NHL severs all ties with the NHLPA. A new Hockey Players Association is formed! There are millions of great unappreciated aspiring hockey players who would love to play in the NHL, even if it is less pay than the previous NHLPA was getting. The money saved by the reduced salaries of the hockey players is passed down. Arena workers all get a raise (from arena ticket people to Zamboni drivers), fans pay less for tickets (at least a 60% reduction in ticket prices), more money goes towards fixing up the arenas, more money given back to community support services, etc. 

Hockey players play for the love of the game, not the size of the paycheque. When their career comes to an end most will have to get another job, just like they used to do. I recently seen a post again on Facebook that stated 'a solider should make more money for serving his country than an athlete playing a game'. And I couldn't agree more. Get back to playing hockey, leave your greed at the door. 

Captains Table 1: Interviews with Richard Rehder, George Pappy Jr & Tyler Kluin

Susan Oliver as 'The Green Girl'

In the first 'Captains Table' Interview episode of the Random Nerdness Podcast: Host Chris Lockhart chats on the phone with fellow 'Geek Fallout' host Richard Rehder about their work on Geek Fallout, The Atomic Geeks Network and family. In the second interview on the episode Chris chats on the phone with George Pappy about his upcoming documentary 'The Green Girl', a doc about the life and times of actress Susan Oliver. And in the last interview segment Chris is joined in studio with his friend Tyler Kluin and they discuss Tyler's attempts (and future attempts) to get on the Canadian reality series 'Big Brother: Canada'.

Susan Oliver

Random Nerdness is a proud member of The Atomic Geeks Podcast Network.

RN Podcast Episode 5: I'm Ready For A Nap

Chrisloc1701 is joined in the 'Batcave' studio with Swedish Sound Engineer Sebastian, Sister Brianna and Step-Sister Meghan. In this exciting episode (recorded on Canada's Thanksgiving Weekend) they discuss brains & lobotomy's. We discuss 'South Park' and 'Person Of Interest'. We talk about worst jobs ever, 'Sports Sack' discussing the NHL lock-out and we discuss Thanksgiving memories and our ultimate Thanksgiving menu. 

The Random Nerdness Podcast is a proud member of The Atomic Geeks Podcast Network.

Download us from iTunes or stream at: www.randomnerdness.podbean.com

This Weeks League Assignment: What If George Lucas from an alternate universe had made the franchise starting from Episode 1?

This week’s assignment from The League Of Extraordinary Bloggers: “What if…? — Write an alternate turn of events for a pop culture storyline.”

Well this is fascinating. Love these scenarios. A year and a half ago I came up with an alternative version of ‘Star Wars’. So I’m going to use that here for this assignment.

What If George Lucas from an alternate universe had made the franchise starting from Episode 1?

Star Wars Episode 1: Fall of Skywalker
In this universe there was no prequel trilogy, Alt/Lucas started from the beginning. In Ep 1 Anakin Skywalker has been training as a Jedi Knight since being found on Tatooine as a young boy. After re-uniting with Padme Amidala he falls head over heels in love, but the former Queen turned Senator has eyes for Anakins older Master, Obi-Wan. Count Fooku has created a separatist movement and goes to war against the Republic. Chancellor Palpatine re-organizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, he authorizes the use of a robot drone army to battle the Separatists clone army. Obi-Wan falls in love with Padme and they do the nasty. Anakin is unaware of this as he is on a top secret mission for the Chancellor. Qui-Gon Jinn and Yoda head the Jedi Council. They learn of Obi-Wans actions and he is expelled from the Jedi. Anakin gives into his dark emotions and finds the evil Count Fooku and kills him a lightsabre battle, even though his orders were to capture him alive. Anakin returns and learns of Obi-Wans actions and is outraged with jealousy. Chancellor Palpatine is pleased that Anakin is giving into his emotions and creates evidence that Obi-Wan is a traitor to the Empire and orders Anakin to hunt him down and kill him.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Drones
The Empire/Separatist wars wages on with drones battling clones and the Jedi Knights acting as Generals in the war. Darth Sidious's apprentice's, Darth Maul (same as our universe) and Darth Crilock (disgraced former Jedi Master Mace Windu) serve as the leaders of the Separatist forces. Obi-Wan is in hiding with Padme in a Jedi safe house on Hoth. Anakin searches for Obi-Wan on Tatooine and learns that his mother is being held for ransom by Jabba The Hutt. Jabba has learned she is the mother of prominent Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and wants money for her release, which the Jedi refused to do which outrages Anakin. Anakin seeks the help of former slave owner Watto, together the undertake a mission to save Anakins mommy. But she is slain during the battle at Jabba's palace by Jango Fett. Anakin slays Jango and Jabba in outrage, he has turned to the dark side of the force. Qui-Gon Jinn undertakes a secret mission to find the Separatist Leaders and capture them. Obi-Wans love for Padme grows and she falls head over heels for him. Qui-Gon finds Mace Windu and he manages to kill Winu but Maul escapes. Obi-Wan and Anakin meet up and battle. Anakin kills his former master, he then uses his force mind control to seduce Padme and they have sex, he then returns to the Chancellor with Padme. She is arrested and charged with treason. The Chancellor knows Anakin has turned to the dark side and wants revenge against the Jedi for allowing his mother to suffer. The Chancellor reveals himself as Darth Sidious and to be Anakin's father. The Jedi council lied to them when they told Anakin he was born from the force. Anakin is named Darth Vader and together they vow to destroy the Jedi.

Star Wars Episode III: Return Of The Sith
Sidious organized the war as a means to gain ultimate power over the Republic now Empire. The Separatists clone army and fleet have suffered great losses and are on the verge of surrender. He orders Maul to have the Separatists fleet come to Corucsant in a last ditch effort to capture the Chancellor, Maul being unaware that the Chancellor and Sidious are one and the same. Clone forces storm the capital planet, killing and destroying everything in sight. Yoda, Qui-Gon and the rest of the Jedi lead the robot drone forces against the clones. Meanwhile Anakin has disappeared. He is now Darth Vader and is acting as a Jedi hit man for the Emperor. He engages individual Jedi one on one and kills them in lightsabre battle. Qui-Gon finds Darth Maul as he attempts to capture the Chancellor. Maul and Qui-Gon battle with Qui-Gon killing Maul by slicing him in half. Qui-Gon is taken by surprise by the Chancellor and is killed shortly after Sidious reveals himself to Jinn. Sidious sends out order 66 to his drone troopers who in turn kill their Jedi Generals. Padme is in prison, pregnant with Anakins babies. Senator Organa and other secret Rebel conspirators rescue Padme and take her into hiding. Yoda confronts Sidious and they battle, but Yoda is overmatched when Vader arrives to assist his Master. Yoda strikes fatal blows against Anakin but is forced to retreat and goes into exile. Anakin's life is saved as he is fitted with robot drone components (much like our universe). The Separatists surrender and their fleet and army are absorbed into the Empire thus strengthens Palpatines grip over the galaxy. Yoda meets up with Senator Organa. Padme has died giving birth to the twins, Luke and Leia. Organa adopts them both and he takes them back to Alderaan.

Star Wars Episode IV: Star Destroyer
Set 25 years after Ep III- There is great unrest in the Galaxy, many star systems have left the Empire and gone independent. Many have joined up with the Rebel Alliance in an effort to restore the Republic and democracy to the Galaxy. Leia and Luke Organa are at the head of this alliance against the Empire. Sidious has a plan in the works to bring these systems in line. He has created a massive star ship called 'The Star Destroyer' which has the ability to collapse stars thus destroying the planets in that star's system. Luke has spies in the Empire who have the information on the star destroyer that could be used to destroy it. Luke arranges to meet his spies on Tatooine. Lukes ship is shot down over Tatooine by the Empires fleet, but Luke manages to escape the wreckage on the planet before being captured. He is rescued from the sand people by former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano, who was sent by his father Bail Organa to rescue him. Together they manage to get the Intel on the Star Destroyer, they hook up with Smuggler Frans Solo and his crew of the Millennium Hawk. The Hawks crew consists of Wookie first mate Chewbacca, communications droid C3-P0 and mechanic droid R4-D2. The Hawk escapes the Empires fleet and they deliver the intel to Bail and the Rebel Alliance fleet. Bail reveals to Luke and Leia the truth about their past and he asks them to go to Dagobah and seek out the training of Master Yoda, they leave. The Rebels attack the Star Destroyer. Ahsoka Tano with the help of Frans Solo and his crew manage to board the Star Destroyer and sabotage it. But Tano is ambushed by Darth Vader and is killed, Frans and crew escape. Vader knows the Star Destroyer will self-destruct because of the computer virus they put into the main frame. Vader orders Grand Moff Tarkin to the Alderaan system to destroy that star. Vader leaves. Tarkin carries out his orders, Alderaan is destroyed and the Star Destroyer self-destructs shortly after. Bail Organa and the rebel leaders manage to escape with their fleet and their resolve to destroy the Empire is solidified. Bail convinces Frans and crew to join with them. Luke and Leia arrive on Dagobah to begin their training with Master Yoda.

Star Wars Episode V: The Sith Strikes Back
6 months after EP IV-
The Emperors spies have uncovered evidence that Bail Organa's children are in fact the offspring of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. Vader and the Empires fleet continue in their search for the Rebels. The Rebels have withdrawn to the planet Hoth, using a former Jedi safe house as their base of operations. Vader and his fleet find them and attack. Meanwhile Luke and Leia continue their gruelling training with Master Yoda. Bail Organa and Frans escape on the Millennium Hawk, but the rebel fleet is crushed by Vader and most are tortured and killed. Frans takes the Hawk to Bespin (Cloud City) to hide from the Empire. But they are tracked there by the Empire and Vader goes there to capture them, now aware about his children and knowing he can use Organa to flush out Luke and Leia. Vader tortures Bail Organa and Luke has a vision of this. Despite Yoda's warnings Luke rushes off to save his Dad, Leia remains behind. Luke battles Vader, Vader bests Luke and offers Luke to join him and his Grandfather the Emperor in ruling the Galaxy. Luke refuses and is beheaded by Vader. Leia senses the death of her twin bro but continues her training with Yoda. Lando helps Frans to escape and Bail Organa sacrifices his life to allow them to escape on the Hawk. Yoda promises Leia revenge for the deaths of her adopted father and brother.

Star Wars Episode VI: Revenge Of The Jedi
5 years after EP V-
After long training Leia is a Jedi Master. She and Yoda make contact with Frans Solo who comes to Dagobah to pick them up. Their mission is simple: Destroy Vader and the Emperor. With the Rebels crushed and no one to help them many star systems have re-joined the Empire. Without Sith to train the Emperor has created a personal crew of clones that do his bidding. 'The Trinity' are three evil corrupted dark Jedi clones of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Luke Organa. They intimidate the other systems leaders into falling in line and to re-join the Empire. Yoda and Leia first seek out this 'Trinity' and put an end to them. Leia must fight past her emotions and destroy the clone of her brother, while Yoda too must destroy the clones of his former friends. Former friend to the Rebels, Admiral Ackbar assembles a small fleet to take Leia and Yoda to Coruscant. Ackbars fleet fights against the Empires ships while Yoda and Leia manage to make it to the capital in secret. They battle Vader and The Emperor, destroying them in an epic battle which also costs Yoda his life. Leia escapes undetected. Leia's blood line is confirmed and she is named Empress of the Empire in place of her now deceased Grandpa and Father. With her new found power and authority she dissolves the Empire and it's forces, restores the Republic and democracy and steps down in place of the elected Chancellor. Leia creates a new Jedi Academy and begins to train the next generation of Jedi Knights.
Check out these other great blogs that are a part of the league. Go to Cool And Collected and check out the other blogs that are part of the league! (including the following):

 www.coolandcollected.com

www.cavalcadeofawesome.com

www.dorkhorde.blogspot.ca

League of Extraordinary Bloggers: “jump the shark”

After a week off, I hope everyone is rejuvenated and ready for a new assignment from the League of Extraordinary Bloggers…

 

 

—

At what point did a pop culture series “jump the shark” and lose your interest:

 

For me I could ramble on about 'Star Trek: Voyager' but for this assignment I have decided to talk about another series which I loved, then they blew it big time. That series is 'The X-Files'. I loved that series on so many levels and for so many different reasons:

 

- Aliens abducting humans are real....Awesome and scary at the same time.

- Government Conspiracy's: Who isn't suspicious of big brother?

- The FBI has a department for investigating paranormal cases called the 'X-Files'...very cool.

- Special Agent Dana Scully was all kinds of special, in every good way...

- Agent Fox Mulder believes, and his own sister was abducted by aliens when they were kids and he witnessed it. Scary cool.

- Mulder was buddies with a group of conspiracy junkies who are smart, have high tech knowledge and are funny as hell: The Lone Gunman

- The series had a central bad guy, almost a 'Darth Vader' like quality to him. And as it turns out he is the father of the hero (Vader/Luke). And he smokes cigarettes all the time, he speaks a dozen languages, he assassinated JFK, he was shot and somehow survived, he has a way with the ladies and aliens, he is The Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM) & (CGB Spendor)

- There is a global syndicate which is working with the aliens to colonize our planet, in order to save themselves and their families

- Mulder had cool 'Obi-Wan'- like ad visors who were working against his Father. They were known simply as 'Deep Throat' and 'Mr X'.

- Being a Canadian it was exciting to have a hit TV series filmed in Vancouver, Canada! With many known Canadian actors making guest appearances. 

 

 

 

Moments where the 'Shark Jumping' Began...

 

- But as they approached the end of Season 5 the 'Feature Film' was close to being released. This film had been filmed in Hollywood, rather than Vancouver. So when the movie was screened it didn't 'feel' the same as the TV series. Vancouver just has this 'feel' to it that couldn't be reproduced by Hollywood, and The X-Files lost that. Also add to the fact they moved production of the TV series to LA for season 6 to accommodate star David Duchovny. The X-Files just didn't feel the same and it lost it's unique Canadian element.

 

- Season 6 saw the death of the Global Conspiracy Syndicate at the hands of different aliens.

 

- Season 7 saw the death of CSM and abduction of Mulder. Why was Mulder abducted? Because actor David Duchovny wanted to pursue a feature film career. Scully finds out she's pregnant...What?

 

- Season 8 saw Mulder replaced by Agent John Doggett (cool name), played by Robert Patrick (T-1000 from 'T2'). Very awesome casting and I actualy liked his character. But this show was about Mulder, and having him gone just didn't seem right. This is not 'Law & Order', Mulder IS the show, his character cannot simply be swapped out. Also Doggett was a skeptic, much like Scully had been for 7 seasons. But with Mulder gone Scully all of a sudden is a believer in the paranormal... say What???

 

- Season 8 reveals that Mulder is the father of Scully's baby and the pregnancy was planned... huh? Why?

 

- Season 8 reveals a new set of aliens and another slightly different alien conspiracy which just wasn't as interesting or as cool as the Syndicate conspiracy.

 

- Mulder returns to the show in a limited capacity, not actually as a member of 'The X-Files'. Then he and Scully hook-up in the season finale... then Mulder is gone again in the season 9 premiere. Their hook-up was a big mistake and really didn't seem to fit. They made better friends and co-workers than lovers. And Duchovny didn't want to return for another season so he said "See you later" to fans and left (again).

 

 

 

- They kill off the 'Lone Gunmen'...

 

- Season 9 saw unneccessary additiions to the cast which just put a nail in the coffin of the series. Duchovny returned for the series finale fighting against the new alien conspiracy by being put on trial... boring. CSM returns again from the dead, if briefly...dumb. Scully and Mulder live happily ever after on the run from the Government....DUMB. But all is forgiven in the second (pointless) X-Files movie a few years later.....

 

It's a shame what happened with this series. It really was a great show. But it definitely 'jumped the shark'.

 

 

 

Check out these other blogs which are tackling this topic:

 

http://adambobomb.blogspot.com/2012/11/league-assignment-jump-shark.html

 

http://shezcrafti.com/jumped-the-shark-by-introducing-aliens/

 

http://www.crookedninja.com/2012/11/league-assignment-jumping-shark.html

 

And as always check out www.coolandcollected.com

 

Geek Fallout Episode 1

In the first episode of Geek Fallout Richard & Chris are joined by Jeff Brown. In this episode we discuss:

-Arrows premier on the CW

-An all female "Expendabelles"??

-Ipads in theatres for "Second Screen Live"

-Agent Coulson is BACK!

-Walking Dead Season 3

-November Video Game Releases

-Xmen Days Of Future Past

AND MUCH MORE INCLUDING:  Comic book news and discussions, our tech and gaming segment and we finish off with our TOP 5 Countdown of top  Superhero/comic movie babes.

Geek Fallout is a proud member of The Atomic Geeks Podcast Network.

"Keep calm and venture forth into the wasteland."

RN Episode 4: Boldly Goodness & Gas

Chrisloc1701 is once again joined in the 'Batcave' studio with his sister Brianna, Sound Engineer/Brother-In-Law Sebastian and good friend Mr Tyler Kluin. In this fresh exciting episode we give our listeners some shout outs. Trek1701 gets its own segment where we discuss TNG Season 2 on Blue-Ray. On our 'Good Ideas' segment we discuss the best ways to survive a zombie apocalypse. Does methane gas found on Mars an indication of former life on the Red Planet or an indication of current life? And in the Random Rant we discuss Time Travel in TV & film. (and Tyler gulps his beer like a camel...)

The Random Nerdness Podcast is a proud member of The Atomic Geeks Podcast Network!

Blog #41: Wal-Mart Anyone?

We've all seen the news stories on Wal-Mart, how they are a big evil corporation that destroys small businesses and ruin towns and all that. My opinion is this: Wal-Mart is the best store in the world and I love it. I am not a rich man and my family and I live on a budget. Like most people things come up: kids activities, transmission troubles, cat needs to see the vet, etc. We at times get low on money so being able to save money is extremely beneficial. Wal-Mart has almost everything a person needs at the best prices. 

The Wal-Mart executives are truly marketing geniuses. People can get almost anything they need in one stop shopping. Need new tires for the car? They got it. Need the newest "Elmo" movie for your 2 year old? Its there. Need a new toaster to cook your morning toast or bagel? They got that too. Need some bread and bagels for that new toaster? Yep its there. Need some silk lingerie to spruce up your "Mommy/Daddy" bedroom activities? Yes, oh yes they have that too!!! Plus for us guys who know you should never shop on an empty stomach so everyWal-Mart comes equipped with a built in McDonalds. McDonalds like Wal-Mart gives you what you want at good prices. Some of the newer bigger Wal-Marts now have Tim Hortons. TimHortons , McDonalds and Wal-Mart: 3 of my favourite businesses in the world all under one roof. 

Now about the negative comments about Wal-Mart: 
1: Wal-Mart hurts small business and you should be supporting your local merchants. 
Answer: Before moving to Barrhead I lived in a small community with one local general store. I was looking to buy some cheese whiz. At the local store a small jar of cheese whiz was priced at $6.00 and a large at $10.00. While at Wal-Mart the same small jar of the cheese whiz was priced at $2.50 and the large at $4.70. I'm all for supporting local business but not when their ripping me off. Especially now that I have a family and live on a tighter budget, Wal-Mart at times allows me to get the things I want and need when I might not have been able to get them through local stores. Plus remember Wal-Mart didn't start as a huge corporate organization, it started with one store. That one small business grew to become a multi-store huge corporation over time. It's the poster child for what a small business can become. 

2: They exploit their employees: 
Truth is most employers exploit their employees in one way or another. Plus every time I shop there the employees seem to be happy and content. The managers are not yelling at them or being rude when I'm there. Plus in these tough economic times when people are losing their jobs all around us I'm sure Wal-Mart employees are just happy to have their jobs. 

3: Wal-Mart is an American owned company and we should only support Canadian companies: 
Guess what? Zellers and HBC are owned by a dude from New York. Their no more a Canadian store than Wal-Mart the only difference is they got their start in Canada. Plus if Zellers had been a little more aggressive and gave us better deals for our money they would have exploded and became a world wide retail giant like Wal-Mart. Some visionaries at Wal-Mart corporate had the foresight to come up with the philosophy: Charge less and you sell more. People respond to low prices even if it is only cents cheaper than the competition price, because when added together over the span of say a year it really does add up. Where most other businesses sell at a higher price and gamble at selling less. If they can get away at selling at a higher price it means more profits. Plus American company or not they employ Canadians at their stores here in Canada. If they were bringing in Mexicans to work at their stores then I could see it being unfair but they employ almost 80,000 Canadians across this country. 

Well everyone has their own take on the subject of Wal-Mart but for me I'll be shopping there for as long as they are here.

RN Podcast Episode 3: Have Beer Will Podcast

Chrisloc1701 is joined in the 'Batcave' Studio with his Step-Sister Meghan, good friend Mr Tyler Kluin & Sound Engineer Brother-In-Law Sebastian. On this latest exciting episode we are discussing Bill Mahr, The Atomic Geeks Forum, Lipton Peach Iced Tea, Hires Root Beer, the state of comic book sales & kids, podcaster Q&A, William Shatner, drive-in-movies, Ninja Turtles 2: Secret Of The Ooze. We also 'Random Rant' about places we like to eat.

Random Nerdness is a proud member of The Atomic Geeks Podcast Network