As you might imagine, this podcast focuses almost entirely on the first new content we’ve received in what seems like years: Razor. We ran long, so we’ll take your calls in next week’s ‘cast. Highlights: we tear into Cain’s motivations for her odd leadership style, discuss culpability and blame, pose numerous theories regarding the hybrid’s prediction about Starbuck, and make some pretty crazy guesses about what’s coming down the pike in season four — whenever that happens. Congratulations, GWCers — you’ve made it all the way to Razor. It’s just three or four more months to new episodes.
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If you hadn’t already seen Razor, you got your chance last night as it premiered on SciFi. A number of us hooked up on the forum to liveblog the event as it happened, and the discussion is still raging. If you’d like to jump in and share your thoughts, you’re more than welcome.
Razor Liveblogging Frak Party [GWC Forum]
We recently took some time to re-watch a sci-fi classic that inspired many young boys and girls to become programmers (and artists!) — Tron. Join us as we discuss the movie and related themes plus take a call and discuss Chuck’s new Transformer toy. Highlights: we hear about how Sean is soon to become the Rev. Sean (though not the *good* Rev. Sean because he’s too cheap), consider building a real light cycle, reminisce about early computers, note how a programmer’s personality really does show up in his or her code, get a kick out of the Dumont turret (or “Lay-Z-Bot” as Sean calls it), remember how back in the day we all thought if computers just got powerful enough they really would start to seem human, wonder why everyone in the ’80s work Buckaroo Bonzai glasses, love the fact that Flynn saves his butt with his knowledge (the mark of any true geek movie), and mourn the now-lost Arcade Hero.
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In this massive last-before-new-content podcast we tackle the re-watch episode Exodus, Part 1 and the final ‘sode. Plus, we take a frakton of listener calls as promised. Highlights: we note how the first half of Exodus is just a big lead-up to the explosive second half, wonder why the Oracle and Hera don’t blow up the way we thought they would last time ’round, clarify skeevy vs. creepy vs. disturbing (read: Cavil, Doral, Leoben), appreciate Athena’s good shooting (for a Cylon, too!), consider the possibility that the Cylon in the museum case might be Larry, show our supoort for the writers’ strike, plead for a finale to Sean’s higher education, and try to remember the original Bionic Woman’s sleep number.
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GWC listener Melissa in NY brought this to everyone’s attention in the GWC Forum last week: Urka, a contributor on the Craftster forum, created this awesome Millenium Falcon cat bed for her cat Chewbacca (pictured). And yes, Chewbacca comes from a long line of sci-fi savvy cats. According to Urka, his mother was named TK421 and his siblings — both white cats — are TaunTaun and Wampa.
But the star of this show is the cat bed, sewn from grey fleece with detailing cut from a black T-shirt. It’s stuffed with Polyfill, and there are snaps on the bottom so Urka can unstuff it and wash it to maintain a clean environment for her feline friends.
And as you can see from the photo, Chewy likes it. So do I!
Millennium Falcon Cat Bed [Craftster] [via]
The suggestions are in and this morning we posted the December GWC Book Club selection poll. If you get a chance, swing by the GWC Forum and vote for the books you’d like to group read next month. Voting will remain open through November 30th, and we’ll announce the December selection on December 1st.
Note: Though we only select the top-voted book each month, the book club poll allows you to vote for multiple books. Be sure to vote for all the books you’d like to read!
December Book Selection Poll [GWC Forum]
Don’t forget: we start voting on the December GWC Book Club selection on the 15th, so you’ve got just a few days left to add your recommendation to the list.
It’s easy. Just visit the Book Selection thread in the GWC Forum and add a post with the name and author of your suggested book as the title. Inside the post, tell everyone a little bit about the book and why you think everyone will enjoy it.
And if you haven’t checked out October’s Dune or this month’s Ender’s Game, don’t feel like you missed out. The discussion forums for these books remain open, and we’re still talking about them.
(Thanks, zimpenfish, for the great CC-licensed photo.)
It’s week thirty-two of our planned off-season re-watch of the entire “re-imagined” BSG canon, and it’s time to move on to the season three episode “Exodus, Pt. 1.” So why not join us here for the GWC online frak party? There’s room for everyone, though you’ll have to bring your own snacks…
Feel free to jump in at any point with your comments on this week’s episode as the re-watch is by definition spoiler free. We’ll be in and out, but we’ll definitely take a look at your comments before we start next week’s podcast.
Note: Though a lot of the frak party will likely take place in the GWC Forum — click [here] to enter and join the fun — we’re going to leave comments open here as well as some listeners and readers have asked us to do so. Enjoy!
Here’s the new weekly presidential approval poll. Remember — even if you voted last week, you’ll want to vote again on this poll as this is a weekly feature and the results will vary from week to week. Let your opinion be heard (for free)!
Remember: This approval poll applies to the current GWC re-watch schedule, which means you should be voting for your feelings circa Episode 301: “Occupation/Precipice.”
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Gaius Baltar is handling his job as president?
- Approve: 65% (116 votes)
- Disapprove: 34% (60 votes)
- Unsure: 1% (2 votes)
Total Votes: 178
This week’s rewatch episode marks the beginning of a brilliant story arc that ends with what Rolling Stone quoted us in describing as “the coolest moment in on-screen sci-fi since the Millenium Falcon arrived at the end of Star Wars.” We also get into this week’s not-so-action-packed ‘sode. Highlights: We discuss Baltar’s incredible approval poll numbers (and the heated discussions that’ve followed in their wake), talk about Duck’s final act and how it fits into the Colonial plan, compare Gaeta’s actions to Baltars, question the Cylons’ ability to handle freedom, note (yet again) that New Caprica is totally a craaaaphole, marvel at the fact that the resistance is run completely by Cylons, review Casey’s true parentage in true hindsight, wonder about the origins of the Cylon basestar we see in the ‘sode, debate how RDM will handle Adama’s possible early knowledge of human-appearing Cylons, and give props to Larry, the underachieving original toaster. Note: We ran long and couldn’t include a lot of the calls we received this week. We’ll get ‘em in next week!
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Martin Leung is a classical pianist with a twist: he plays music from video games. And while the idea of hearing the themes from Mario Bro’s first level on the piano may not sound exciting, I can personally tell you that it’s not only exciting –Â it’s addictive. When GWC reader dxf turned me on to Martin via the GWC Forum, I downloaded some of his free recordings thinking I’d show ‘em off to friends.
But a week later I’m still listening to them, Martin’s performance often conjuring up images of something entirely different than the game from which the piece originated. The Video Game Pianist doesn’t just bang out game themes. He interprets them in the same way he’d interpret Brahms or Debussy. The result is quite compelling.
Of course, now I’m really bummed that I missed Video Games Live when it came through Dallas. Doh!
The Video Game Pianist [Personal Site]
You may not have the Force, but you can have one of science fiction’s most famous starships — in your pants (pocket). Check out this sweet Lego Millenium Falcon — or “Fawlcon,” to those in the know — that’s key-chain sized. No, it’s not the 5,000-piece Ultimate Collector’s version with the four-page manual. But can you show off the Ultimate Falcon when you drive your co-workers to lunch?
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