Rob and Don have been at this for a year, and take a show to look back on 28 episodes of the Department of Nerdly Affairs and how far they’ve come. They discuss the origins of the show, some behind the scenes thoughts about the different episodes and their guests, and finish with a special announcement. (No, the show isn’t ending.) So, come on in and join us to celebrate one year of the Department of Nerdly Affairs!
- Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt
Things Discussed:
Check individual episodes for show notes.
A few random comments…
You mention your cooperative process to initiate and name the podcast, but I wonder about your relationship prior to that. Don and Rob, you have exceptionally different personalities and speaking styles; how did you first begin working together?
I need to copyright “OobleSquawk” before Don beats me to it. Regarding naming conventions, it is very difficult to find something which doesn’t already appear somewhere in the World Wide Web. For example, I named my personal business “CADrobot,” but that was after I had already researched a whole page of other possibilities.
Media is always a reflection of the culture which created it. I like to watch older movies sometimes just to analyze the values, assumptions, and conventions shown by the plot, characters, and actions. It’s almost like cultural forensic anthropology, and often this mental exercise is more challenging and entertaining than the story.
I had thought maybe I was the only reader on the planet who still remembered classic science fiction writer H. Beam Piper, and I still have a whole shelf of his paperback books in my vast library. I borrowed his ultrasonic “Yeep!” of surprise from his “Little Fuzzy” books for my own character, SnowBuni.
Dick Tracey certainly did some extra-planetary travel, and even brought back an alien girl from the moon who figured prominently in a long story arc until her untimely demise. Google “Moon Maid” sometime. She’s a blonde alien cutie with electric antennae and swirly hypnotic eyes, at least in her original incarnation.
Thanks for the shout-out. Always happy to work with youse guys, I’ve found you both easygoing and non-judgmental, and I’m always amazed at the depth and breadth of your nerdly knowledge. We still haven’t chatted about small press publishing, although to do it properly I think we should all crack a beer in our respective location and enjoy some suds together, separately.
>how did you first begin working together?
Accidentally. WAAAAYYYYY back at the U, we’d have all night discussions/debates/arguments on all sorts of things. Usually weird, almost non-sequitur stuff that’d eventually come around into a strangely coherent conclusion.
>it is very difficult to find something which doesn’t already appear somewhere in the World Wide Web.
Holee Smokes, yes! That’s one reason I sort of wonder if it’s morally better to remake stuff, or create something new. Does every creation drain a little something from the universal pool of potential imagination?
>Media is always a reflection of the culture which created it.
Well…. yeah; but it also amplifies…. which leads to all sorts of oddness. That’s a big reason for the “zeitgeist” of any era/event/production. It’s one of the reasons it can be difficult to get into older, or foreign, entertainment: the context isn’t there. So…. it’s tough for people under the age of 40 to understand just what a big deal the original Star Wars was. It wasn’t just a triumph for effects and marketing…. it wormed it’s way into EVERYTHING; and changed a great deal of how we saw (and consumed) movies.
>I like to watch older movies sometimes just to analyze the values, assumptions, and conventions shown by the plot, characters, and actions. It’s almost like cultural forensic anthropology,
I think that’s exactly what it is. I like older stuff because it’s different, too. I know EXACTLY how the latest Hollywood blockbuster is gonna play out…. I’m climatized to it. But a 70’s exploitation film I haven’t seen yet? TOTALLY different beast.
>often this mental exercise is more challenging and entertaining than the story.
HAW! Yeah…. sometimes. The only downside to watching a lot of old stuff is that eventually you get hip to THEIR formulas too.
>I had thought maybe I was the only reader on the planet who still remembered classic science fiction writer H. Beam Piper, and I still have a whole shelf of his paperback books in my vast library.
Rob’s more the classic sci-fi expert than me; but back in the day I had a friend who was WAY addicted to the Little Fuzzy stuff. So I absorbed a fair bit through osmosis.
>Dick Tracey certainly did some extra-planetary travel, and even brought back an alien girl from the moon who figured prominently in a long story arc until her untimely demise.
Yup. She married Dick’s son, and their kid (Honey Moon) is a semi-regular in the current comics. ( I seem to recall you saying that the current writer for the strip…. Mike Curtis…. is a HUGE fan. It shows, since they`ve been doing a lot of follow ups and returns for old characters.)
>She’s a blonde alien cutie with electric antennae and swirly hypnotic eyes, at least in her original incarnation.
…. there’s another one too; who I THINK they’re calling Mysta. She was altered to look like the original as part of a wacky mad scientist’s plan.
Wait! I have the internets!: http://dicktracy.wikia.com/wiki/Moon_Maid?li_source=LI&li_medium=wikia-footer-wiki-rec
>I’ve found you both easygoing and non-judgmental,
I’m actually REALLY judgemental. I just have a strong sense of perspective.
>I’m always amazed at the depth and breadth of your nerdly knowledge.
I come from a long line of folks who were into the weird and fantastic. So I was exposed to a LOT of stuff at an early age.
>We still haven’t chatted about small press publishing,
We got into some of it…. you seem to know everybody…. but there’s a lot of ground to cover for the small press. At least some of it is gonna come up again and again as we zero in on specific topics and ideas. (And we’re always open to suggestions for topics….)
Don C.
For suggested topics, I’d still like to hear you two chat with Phil Foglio. Besides his amazing artistic talent, he’s a really gregarious, fun guy, too. I can’t recommend him enough.
>I’d still like to hear you two chat with Phil Foglio.
Me too! He’s on the list. He’s done a lot of stuff I like…. tons for different RPGs; like “What’s New?” in the Dragon, and the art for “GURPS: I.O.U.”
Matter of fact; more than a few of your old crowd worked in gaming. I’d love to know the connection.
Don C.
Game designers/artists that I knew personally include Tom Verre, Kyle Miller, and Phil Foglio… and all of these guys drew SnowBuni for me at one time or another (I used to reflexively ask folks for artwork; I don’t do this anymore without discussing payment first so that there are clear expectations on both sides). Cartoonist Mike Sagara has also designed/produced games as an independent (not working for a company).
I’m not sure what we have in common, other that an affinity for cartoon art. I once did a survey of my contributors, just for fun, and found that responses were all over the map. Right wing, left wing, fundamentalist, atheist, waffles, pancakes, vegan, meatasaurus rex. Amazing that all of these people communicate together with continuity art.
>I once did a survey of my contributors, just for fun, and found that responses were all over the map. Right wing, left wing, fundamentalist, atheist, waffles, pancakes, vegan, meatasaurus rex.
Yeah…. they really are a mixed bunch. You could tell through their art; SO MANY different styles, types of writing, designs, themes….
>Amazing that all of these people communicate together with continuity art.
Yeah…. but that was long ago…. nowadays may be different.
Wait…. you know WAFFLE people?!?! But…. they’re the worstest people on Earth!
Don C.