Kaden: Footloose

I recently sat down with Crystal to give her an hour lesson in using Sony Vegas, my video editing tool of choice. After that I set her loose on the videos we have taken for the past year and she dove in feet first. The video above is her first effort, a compilation of Kaden learning to walk between nine and ten months old. I think she did a great job with just an hour of instruction. She has since followed up this one with others, but those are for another day. Enjoy!

I Own You

Unfamiliar with Charlie Winston, but very familiar with the work of Wax Tailor, I was not surprised in the least that this song caught my attention and interest. Great video too.

I Hit It With My Axe - Ep1 Review

After our raid last night, I curled up to watch I Hit It With My Axe episode one. The first hurdle I encountered was the poor production quality though. Maybe my expectations were tarnished by watching Robot Chicken 19 & 20 first. They (RC) were filmed in HD, with multiple cameras and are mic'ed with lavalieres. By comparison IHiwMA (eww that's an ugly acronym) looks like a home movie. If you are going to film super attractive women (Mandy Morbid...yum), don't make me watch them on grainy video. It is not unwatchable, but they could use a few lights, another camera and a tripod. The audio was better than the video, but there was some occasional popping and feedback that made my skin crawl.

While the audio and visual quality are important, content is king. Maybe it is the nature of the introduction show, but the whole thing seemed very disjointed. They introduced everyone, but there was no narrative. References were made to past in game events that were not explained and no topic broached was expounded upon (rolling their characters, the minis they would be using, character backgrounds, etc). Maybe it was the editing, but I have no clue what the overall game will be like from what I saw last night. Oh and we didn't meet the DM/Cameraman. I know the hook is that they are female porn stars playing D&D, but it would have been nice to meet the dude behind the camera and DM screen as well.

I think the next episode will be the make or break for me. If they dive into their game and take me from point a to b with the story I'm in. If it is more of the same from episode one, I'll take my time and attention elsewhere.

D&D Shows

No, not the cartoon. The reason I got into D&D almost a year ago now was a special edition of the WotC D&D podcast that featured Mike Krahulik, Jerry Holkins, Scott Kurtz and later Wil Wheaton. It lead to me playing in a local game with friends and ultimately DMing my own virtual game. I subscribed to the WotC podcast and have enjoyed some of them, but have been bored by others. Listening to people talk about D&D is some how less interesting than hearing them play it. While that seems odd, it has held true so far.

In that vein, I have been watching the writers of Robot Chicken play with DM Chris Perkins as of late. Yet again in the very same vein, the blog, DnD with Porn Stars has been turned into a web based reality TV show (I Hit It With My Axe). It will run at the Escapist and premieres today in fact. I'm sure the focus of the show will tip towards the attractive women, but hopefully it can offer some good game/nerd moments as well.

Now if the Penny Arcade 4e game would just make it's way to the web in the form of something more robust than the twitter feed. Though that idea has already been shot down, one can dream.

Other Cast Worth a Listen
Fear the Boot
Newbie DM Minicast

Swimming in Media

Ever since I picked up a new iPod late last year I have been swimming in a sea of audio and video media. First, it has been nice to have the space to just store tons of data on one device. Carrying a huge song library plus enough podcast to last me until the battery gives up the ghost is a nice feeling. Second, the amount of good content that exist to what seems to be a very small niche in some cases is astounding.

A Life Well Wasted (audio)
Robert Ashley was by far the best addition to the original cast of Games for Windows Radio. His newest work is essentially the "This American Life" of video game podcast. Slick editing and music intertwined into the stories told from all over videotape culture. The is no "whatcha been playin" news of the week podcast.

This American Life (audio)
I some how caught the This American Life bug a little late into it's lifespan, in the form of the tv series on showtime. Now it that I do not have every TV channel under the sun, the audio show is a staple of my weekly listening and would be regardless of my channel options.

The Geekbox (audio)
Ryan Scott was the mute of the GFW Radio show, occasionally when he did speak up though it was worth a listen. So when he resurrected his old website and started hosting his own gaming podcast, I was at least a little interested. The crew talks games for sure, but the tangents to comics, movies and TV are what make it really worth a listen. Plus they record in a comic shop, how cool is that?

Gamer's With Jobs Conference Call (audio)
A more PC focused podcast than the other video game podcast I listen to. Pretty standard save the occasional deeper conversation about making games or the way we interact with them. The host may be a little difficult to identify when you first start listening, but you can pick up on it soon enough.

The Giant Bombcast (audio)
I started reading GiantBomb.com when 1Up was sold off to UGO and didn't start listening to the podcast until two weeks after that. Well, the site is good, but the podcast is great. It usually runs two plus hours, that may seem long, but it tends to be two hours of hilariousness. Come for the video games, stay for the disgusting energy drink taste testing and other hijinks.

This Week in Photography (audio & video)
I mentioned my affinity for amateur photographer in my last post and TWIP is my way to live vicariously through professionals. It is like being a fly on the wall at a photography...uh I don't know...some place photographers hang out. They talk shop and I like to listen.

Make (video)
DIY and hacking geek culture is a hobby I at the very least aspire to participate in. Make magazine, blog and podcast cover almost all of the bases and do it with a passion unmatched on the web. The podcast imparticular has how to videos and stories on makers around the globe every week.

I have been really slack on the blog of late, missed post and late post have been the norm. I'll try and do better, but if you need a fix my Tumblr is update regularly.

Vidcast

See I told you I'd get back to this thrilling topic someday. I started out watching vidcast or video podcast at my desktop in my office, but that seemed like a waste of valuable video game time. Then I made the jump to Crystal's laptop, but that was bulky and I felt bad when I forgot to charge it. Recently I got a hammy down 1st generation Zune from my brother and while it takes ages to sync it is lighter and more portable than a laptop. So that covers how I watch them, but not what I watch...

Fresh Ink
When TechTV came to our local cable provider I was geeked for sure. Then it was merged with G4, shortly after it just became G4 and then finally they tried to make it into a Spike clone. I stopped watching when it lost the Tech TV name, but that doesn't mean it is all bad. I ran across Fresh Ink while looking for comic podcast and was drawn in. They offer a more in depth "online" show every week and sporadically they will put up Attack of the Show segments with the same comic content. Blair Butler (the host) seems to know her stuff, but doesn't feel like the authority that iFanboy is.

Totally Rad Show
I'm sure I have mentioned the show before, but TRS is hands down the best vidcast on the net. The host have a great dynamic, come from different view points and can tangent while remaining focused. The number of topics hit from movies, games, TV, comics and more are right up my geeky alley. The extra curriculars are a joy to watch as well. Want to see Dan fail at drinking tea in London, the guys try out the new DnD rules or take a trip to Comic-Con, it is all there.

iFanboy Mini
The same guys who do the iFanboy audio podcast and a weekly vidcast also do daily shorts about random comic topics. They are usually about interesting topics and they always release on time. The always mix in a quick preview of the comics coming out this week and a pick of the week once said comics arrive. To fill the gaps they have segments where a host guesses the plot of comics he hasn't read in a decade, as well as a bunch of other random comic stuff. The most recent ones have been funny 3 minute clips about bad DC super villains.

Riverside Warm Up

Saturday was a mess most of the day, so we skipped riding in the rain in the morning. Sunday was just as bad, but with a 120 mile two day ride next weekend, we didn't have any excuses. So we (Grant, Mike and I) meet up at Grant's place at 2pm to get some miles in. The rest can be done with photos...

We picked up Landon on the way.

We left the Fan for Belle Isle.

It was muddy on Belle.

Really muddy!

Ze new check on her muddy maiden voyage.

Pants Richmond on Riverside Drive or The Band album cover?

Two hours, 15.5 miles and we parted ways...

It a Video!
Picking up Landon at his apartment we were treated to a hobby even geekier than cycling...



Credit goes to Landon on the guitar.