Jan 172012
 
Play

This is the first installment of a four-part retrospective that we like to call Geek Century, in which we examine the evolution of nerd culture in the past hundred years. In this episode, we take a look at some examples of fantasy, science fiction and horror from 1900 to 1925: namely, the works of L. Frank Baum, George Méliès, H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Then, we (finally!) play some voice mails that our listeners have left us, and are left to deal with the psychological traumas they inflict. Put on your beanies and get ready for a blast from the geeky past!

(Show notes after the break.)

Continue reading »

Nov 082011
 
Play

The streets of Tokyo run red with gallons and gallons of stage blood! Hot girls fart shuriken at their enemies, wield arm-stump-mounted machine guns, and deal with psychological trauma by slicing themselves with razor blades! Engineers, robotic geishas, and disgusting alien parasites — not to mention ruthless yakuza lords — have taken over! If this sounds like something you can stomach, then come along with the Rag-NERD-rok crew as we delve into the gore-streaked depths of Japanese spatter films such as Machine Girl, Tokyo Gore Police, RoboGeisha and Meatball Machine. Afterwards, we’ll sit down with our friend Will for another hilarious interview, and find out exactly how much Alex will put up with when he presents a new RPG campaign to Meyer and Erik. This episode will be a real blast, so much so that someone is sure to lose a limb in a shower of pressurized blood.

(Show notes after the break.)

Continue reading »

Oct 252011
 
Play

On Oct. 13 to 16, The Rag-NERD-rok crew attended New York Comic Con, the convention where dreams and nightmares come true in equal measure. In this episode, we’ll give you the rundown of our experiences at the con, including tales of how we met the stars (and were shot down), the panels we attended, and the unimaginably long lines we waited on. Later, we’ll give our reviews of this year’s NYCC, and Erik presents a segment of interviews he conducted with cosplayers at the Javits Center. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and pack your own food, because Comic Con is happening again on this week’s episode of Rag-NERD-rok!

(Show notes after the break.)

Continue reading »

Oct 112011
 
Play

In this week’s episode, Ed has been consumed by a horrifying transformation that split him into two women, our guests, Allyson and Alicia! They join the rest of the Rag-NERD-rok Crew for a walk down memory lane to revisit all those fondly remembered franchises from our childhoods that are now making a comeback. Why is this happening? Who is responsible? And what, exactly, makes a franchise reboot successful? We tackle these questions and more in our discussion about nostalgia. Later, Alex and Meyer pay tribute to the “Gears of War” video game series, and we read some very special comments that are just too “good” to be posted on the site. Enjoy!

(Show notes after the break.)

Continue reading »

Oct 052011
 

For those of you who were expecting this update to my earlier post over the weekend: I apologize for the delay. I promise, dear readers, that I shan’t ever mislead you like that again. Now, without further ado, let’s get back to my discussion about pretty pastel ponies, shall we?

On a humid, overcast morning in late September, Erik and I joined almost 300 fellow Bronies for BroNY Con, an event organized by Purple Tinker and her New York City Meetup.com group to celebrate all things pony. What follows are my impressions of the panels and feature events that Erik and I attended. It was a magical day of rainbows, friendship and Brony love, not to mention gobs of My Little Pony merchandise (both fan-made and official), artwork, costumes, videos and fan fiction. Abandon all hope, ye haters who enter here — there be ponies.

Continue reading »