Self Promotion

[Warning. This post is shameless self promotion.]

So, I love podcasts.

And I love video games.

And yet, I could not find a video game podcast that appealed to me. I couldn't find one that featured men and women, discussing game topics in a way that was both informative and humorous.


So why not do it myself?


I thought I'd have trouble rounding up people to do it with. Nope got it. Check!


Then I thought all the work to put it together would be overwhelming, and something would fall apart there. Yeah, it was a lot of work, but nothing I couldn't handle. Check!

Recording the show itself would ultimately be our undoing. Something would go wrong and we wouldn't be able to record anything decent. Well,  the first time we went to record, things didn't go so well. But we figured it out, pressed on and recorded a good sounding first show.


I wouldn't be able to find affordable hosting. This was the biggest pain. But I found PodBean, and I'm very happy. No complaints.


iTunes would reject our ass. Nope! We are up and listed!


So if you're looking for a different kind of video game podcast, check us out! We're Gamester's Paradise. We've got a blog, a Twitter and a website. Right now I'm promoting all I can, since I worked really hard to get this up and running! 

If you give us a listen, I hope you enjoy what you hear!

< / end shamless self promotion >

Tune In To...Podcasts

So you know what form of media saves my brain on a daily basis? Podcasts. And if you have an iPod or an mp3 player or hell - even a computer - and you listen to any podcasts, then you're really doing yourself a disservice.

Podcasts are basically Internet radio shows. You can find a ton of them on iTunes. And what's great about them is that you can find a podcast on practically any topic - from travel to sports to arts and entertainment and more. What's even better is you can find many podcasts that focus on very specific topics you enjoy - like a certain tv show or car or travel destination or book series. There are also plenty of podcasts that can teach you a thing or two - like history, current events, or even how to speak a language.

But the best thing about podcasts? They're free. Yup. That's right. Free entertainment.

So for these reasons, and many more, I am a big podcast fan. I leave you today with a list of podcasts I currently subscribe to, and I'd like to hear about any you may enjoy - I'm always looking for new ones to download. And if you've never listened to a podcast, I highly suggest you head over to iTunes and give one a try.

The DIS Unplugged - A Disney podcast, and my favorite podcast period.
WDW Radio - Another Disney podcast, great interviews here.
All About the Mouse - Yet another Disney podcast.
Mugglecast - A great Harry Potter podcast.
That's What She Said - A great podcast about the NBC comedy "The Office".
Stuff You Missed In History Class - Great history podcast.
Stuff You Should Know - Always entertaining and informative.
Stuff Mom Never Told You - Another very informative podcast.
NPR's Wait, Wait, Wait Dont Tell Me - Very funny game show involving the news.

This Is How It Is

You know how many times I yearned to write in here? And did I? No. It's sad that sometimes the prospect of just jotting down thoughts is exhausting. There's really no excuse for it. I need to get my act together and talk about SOMETHING - anything - every day, even if it's only for 5 minutes. How successful will I be? Well, I wouldn't put money on it.

Today was just one of those days where everything just annoyed the shit out of me. I hate days like that. Though I must admit the last several work days have been more bearable than usual because I have many new podcasts to listen to. I love podcasts. They save my life. Right now I'm addicted to "Stuff You Missed in History Class". I'm a history nerd, so I downloaded all the back episodes and I'm loving it. I've learned a lot. So I like to think I'm learning while I'm working. Doing two things at once.

I've also been busy rereading the Harry Potter series. I started with the last book, actually - it was the only book I'd only read once. And when I read it that one time it was right after it came out, and I totally rushed through it, just dying to know what happened. I thought it was okay, but I felt kind of hollow when it was over - and not just because the beloved series was over. For me, I just felt like stuff was MISSING. On reading it again I realized just how much of the plot I actually didn't remember. (Though I clearly remembered every last person who died.) And although I found I did enjoy it more, that same hollow feeling remained. I guess I just didn't find the ending fulfilling. I felt like stuff was missing. That doesn't make it bad...it just makes it...hollow.

So then I went back and read "The Sorcerer's Stone", which I hadn't read in years and years. There's so much in that book that you have to really suspend belief a bit to really absorb properly. There were so many moments when I couldn't help thinking "You're first year students!" or "You're eleven!" That really didn't detract from enjoying the book - stuff like that doesn't really get to me too much, even though I do recognize it. Sometimes you have to just step back from logic and enjoy something for what it is. Most of the time, it's not a big deal.

I'm on Chamber of Secrets now, which is one of my favorites. Gotta love Lockhart.

But I did think about something as I was rereading Sorcerer's Stone...if you were a Muggle parent, and got a letter from some school you never heard of, telling you your kid was a wizard/witch and had magic powers, wouldn't you freak out a bit? Would you automatically want to send your child to this school, into this world you know nothing about? I think it would take a lot of convincing in most cases. I'm sure there would be parents who would refuse to send their kids at all.

But, like I said before, it's not a big deal really. Just one of the things you have to let go.