Nerd Tutorial Podcast

 Topic: Full Metal Alchemist Review   Part 2 of the Experiment is always seeing the results.  After reading some of the Manga, watching 2 different anime, and then the movie, it’s time to see what mom’s Opinions of these various versions are.     Manga: Chapter 1-2: Liore Incident The primary point of these chapters, along with introducing the Elric Brothers, is to show the Manipulative nature of Religion/Cults, which comes up later throughout the series. Chapter 3: Youswell, Coal Mine This chapter also shows more the folly of man, as the government isn’t perfect and has a lot of corruption from within, something that is hinted at much later.  Chapter 4: Train Hostages A bit more action to the chapter, it shows off the beginnings of the military, along with the power they might supplant. Chapter 5: Shou Tucker, Introduction of Scar Shou Tucker and Nina are meant to be a warning of diving too deeply in to science and forgetting about your humanity.  This also introduces Scar, whose religion plays an active poi

Topic: Fullmetal Alchemist Tutorial/Experiment   Ep 82: Fullmetal Alchemist Tutorial/Experiment   An Experiment: This week, we’re asking mom and our audience to not only read some Manga, but also to watch some anime, and a movie.  All of these things are the exact same things.  Which makes it even more interesting.  Namely, Fullmetal Alchemist, which is not only a long running manga series that ran for over 9 years, but also two Anime, and a Japanese movie.  So, what happens when print media becomes a TV series and a Movie?  Let’s see what Mom thinks.       What is Fullmetal Alchemist? Hiromu Arakawa is the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist.  She was born in 1973 and grew up on a dairy farm in Hokkaido.  From young age, she loved manga and would collect it whenever she had money from her allowance.  She initially went to agriculture high school, a theme she would later revisit for her next Manga “Silver Spoon”.  After graduating, she spent another seven years working on her parent’s dairy farm before moving to T

Topic: Nerdy Collectables   Nerds LOVE, I do mean, LOVE their collectables.  We love collecting stuff, and who doesn’t?  Everyone has a collection, but nerds have collections that seem to always seem odd and befuddling to most.  So here’s some follow up ideas for what you can give your favorite nerd this Christmas.     Funko Pop Started in 1998, the brand was founded because its creator, Mike Becker, wanted a Big Boy Restaurant Mascot coin bank, but couldn’t find one that was affordable.  He created his own company and licensed the brand to make it.  This eventually led to them making Bobblehead of the Big Boy Mascot, which in turn eventually grew to other smaller brands.  In 2005, Becker sold the company to Brian Mariotti, who began aggressively licensing the bobblehead concept to other companies.  By 2011, the Pop! Vinyl line of figures came in to existence, which is what the company is most known for.    The Pop! Vinyl is the company’s best selling product and most often thought of when thinking of Funko. 

Topic: Gift Giving Guide (2020)   The holidays are among us, and now is a great time to consider what to get for Christmas for that special someone in your life, or just a nerd you happen to know.  This week we’re discussing gift giving for the nerds in your life.   See our Previous Episode Here!   Party Games Jack Box Party Pack Cards Against Humanity / Apples to Apples The Resistance Among Us Betrayal At House On The Hill     Game Consoles Playstation 5 Releasing on 11/12/20 Backwards compatible with 99% of PS4 games $399 for Digital Version $499 for HD Blu-Ray Drive Opinion: New system means Playstation Exclusives will come out only for it, but right now, there isn’t any brand new ‘Killer App’ that makes the system a must get now.  The PS5 is useful to get as an upgraded PS4 if you already have a lot of games for the PS4, but not necessarily worth getting at this time.  Like Buying a new car, but not necessarily any difference in where you’re driving to and from.     Xbox Series X/S Releasing on 11/10/20 S

Topic: Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone Review   Finally a chance to see if Print matches Film!  I’ve wanted, and probably some point will, to do this with Anime as there are numerous examples of printed comics (Manga) being turned in to animated shows (Anime), and sometimes the differences are stark, and sometimes, it’s a One to One copy.  This isn’t the case, as Harry Potter itself has numerous changes to it that take an 8 hour read in to a 2 hour film, and with a shortened run time, some liberties are necessary.  So here’s our thoughts on it.   Quick Run Down Harry potter is dropped off to the Dursleys after Voldemort’s defeat It is shown how poorly Harry is Treated and the weird stuff that happens around him Letter being sent to Harry about being accepted to Hogwarts are stopped by Dursley, Hagrid introduced and explains how Harry is a Wizard Harry is introduced to the wizarding world, gets his supplied, Hagrid picks up the Philospher’s Stone Harry Travels to Hogwarts via Train, befriends Ron Harry is so

Topic: Harry Potter Tutorial   Eventually we’re going to get to something a bit more literary, and it was a topic that was teased a number of times.  So we dive into Harry Potter and its rather lengthy book series.  Our conversation takes  a bit to get there due to the most recent events regarding the author, but I still felt it was a good discussion.   History Written by J.K. Rowling, she was convinced of the idea while her train from Manchester to London was delayed in 1990.  Between when she finally published the first book in the series, her mother had died, she had her first child, and her husband divorced her, not to mention she was in relative poverty prior to the first book coming out.  She continued to write the books of Harry Potter until 2007 when the final book came out.  She has continued to write books, primarily aimed at young adult, but also some crime stories aimed at adult, under the pen name: Robert Galbraith.   The seven books in total were published from 1997 to 2007, each book encompassi

Topic: Fate Stay/Night: Unlimited Blade Works Review   While mom didn’t watch all of it, she actually kind of wants to now, just to see where the story goes.  This isn’t a bad thing, if anything, another person who will finally understand my undying love for Saber.  Okay maybe not undying love, but atleast sees these complicated characters and world for what they are.      To help people follow along, here’s a list of the various characters that are seen throughout the series, to better allow you to follow along.   Masters: Shirou Emiya A lead protagonist, and Master of Saber.  He has a strong sense of justice and wants to be a hero, despite little to no aptitude for magic. While unfamiliar with the rules and true nature of events, he fights in an effort to stop all the fighting and end the war as soon as possible. Rin Tohsaka Daughter of a prestigious mage family, she is the Master of Archer, and tends to act as a Tsudere type character. (IE, acts very brash and brutish to the main character, before becoming

Topic: Fate / Stay Night Tutorial   Today, we dive deep in to one of my favorite Anime Franchise, the Fate series, specifically Fate Stay/Night and its prequel Fate Zero.  I know that the series is very dense and large, especially when you consider all the spin offs and media that exists out there for it.  And that’s before you get to ALL of the Sabers out there…. Let dive in!     What is it? Fate / Stay Night, or the Fate Franchise, is a part of a large universe of characters and stories in the Nasu-verse, a fictional universe created by Kinoko Nasu of Type-Moon.  Created initially as a Visual Novel in 2004, and the third major work of Type-Moon, the series was an immediate success and quickly spawned a massive franchise that dwarfs many of Type-Moon previous and future works.   While the Fate Franchise is the most popular work, the Nasu-verse comprises of several series, including:   Kara no Kyoukai (jp: Boundary of Emptiness / eng: Garden of Sinners) A series revolving around Shiki Ryogi, a paranormal inve

Topic: Lego Review   We’re back again to talk about the tiny little critters that kill your feet in the wee hours of the dark filled morning, especially when you’re least suspecting it.  We dive in to the Lego Movie, some of our purchasing experiences, and what we built this last week.  Personally, I'm a bit upset with how much I passed up the Lego Movie before this, it's SOOO Good!     The Lego Movie https://youtu.be/lPnY2NjSjrg     What Mom Built: Deep Sea Creatures https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Creator-Creatures-31088-Building/dp/B07GWZNF91/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lego+deep+sea+creatures&qid=1602819969&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-1         What George Built:  Jedi Defender Class Cruiser https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-75025-Defender-Class-Cruiser/dp/B00C57JERG

Topic: Lego Tutorial   This week, we look at the tiniest building material ever, and the rather huge empire it’s spawned as a result.  Both myself and mom have fond memories of this toy, and so what better discussion than Legos!   History of Legos History starts in 1916, when Ole Kirk Christiansen purchased a woodworking shop that had been in business for 30 years prior, primarily building furniture and aiding building houses.  By the time of the Great Depression, he was working smaller projects, but in working on those projects, he was inspired to create toys.  Christiansen held an internal contest to name his company, and Lego was chosen.   Lego, a contraction of Leg Godt, or ‘Play well’ in Danish.  It was later learned that in Latin, it’s loose translated to ‘I assemble’ or ‘I put together’.   After World War 2, with Plastics becoming available in Denmark, Christiansen purchased a plastic injecting molding machine, and set about creating toys with it.  While the idea of an ‘interlocking building cube’ wasn

Topic: Parody Movies, Tv Shows, & Anime   This week, we're reminiscing and remembering plenty of strange and fun Parody shows.  The Idea hit me that we're probably all running out of shows and movies to watch, so why not stuff that makes fun of other stuff, and what's more nerdy than parody and satire?   Definition of a Parody, Spoof, Homage, or Satire: A work that is created to Imitate, Make fun of, and/or comment on an original work.  This is often done via satirical or ironic imitation.    Satire is when you mock people for their short comings, faults, or vices. Irony is when someone does or says something that is the opposite of what we expect them to do or mean.        Example:   Satire – In Galaxy Quest, the actors recoil and act on their cowardly instincts for survival upon first entering and visiting the ship of Galaxy Quest.   Irony – In Little Mermaid, Ariel gives up her voice for legs so that she can meet and fall in love with Eric.  But Eric doesn’t recognize her without her voice, and thus, i

Topic: Pokemon Review   Mom returns with tales of her journey in the world of pokemon.  She have thoughts, Ideas, and our discussion was actually very interesting in the respects of Video Game ideas and philosophy of those that make the game, and where they come from.  It's actually pretty interesting, as we've been doing this for over 70 weeks now, mom is getting quite comfortable and skilled at trying to understand the culture of the people who created the game, which is awesome.  Plus our usual divergence in to Animal Crossing as well.     Homework Review   Spinoff Pokemon Games   Pokemon Stadium Series Console: Nintendo 64 Developed by Nintendo as a response to the popularity of the Pokemon Games, these were the only way to see the Pokemon on the Big Screen. The game was bundled with the Nintendo 64 Transfer Pak, an add-on for the N64 so that you could transfer your Pokemon from the gameboy games to the N64 and use them in the game.  The original intent was for tournaments, so that those watching had some

Topic: Pokemon Tutorial   Today, we're starting the long haul of going through Pokémon.  We're going to discuss mostly the games today and the world of Pokémon, because if we went through the myriad of spinoffs, this would become an even longer episode.  We go over the basics, and try to discuss some of what Pokémon represents as a whole.     History Created by Satoshi Tajiri, the game initially started based off his love of collecting insects as a child.  As the home he lived in started to become more urbanized, he noticed bugs disappearing and children staying in the house more often.  He wanted to create a game that would allow people to catch creatures similar to insects, which he would call Pokémon.      Prior to Tajiri being known for Pokémon, he developed the self-published magazine, Game Freak, which discussed Video Game, and eventually began reviewing them, before becoming a video game development company.   The initial Pokémon game was Pocket Monsters Red & Green in 1996, which was quite popular

Topic: Virtual Reality Review   This week, we took mom in to VR and the many trial and tribulations associated with being in a different WORLD!  Mom was very vocal during the event, and like all good people who look incredibly silly during VR, I decided to respect her dignity and not record it.  Maybe in the future, but it would have been wrong to do so otherwise.  Come listen to what we experienced.     Games Played:   Steam VR Home   Google Earth VR   Steam VR: The Lab   Spiderman: Far from Home – Virtual Reality Experience   Beat Saber     VR Set Ups:   Playstation 4 VR A less confusing and cumbersome version of VR, this is a great route if you already have a Play station 4.  The setup requires a lot less work than typical VR, and if you’re used to purchasing games as you normally might for the PS4, it is an easier setup.  This is designed for people without the fancy PC and is an all in one system designed to be the most hassle free. Needed Components: Playstation 4 Playstation VR Headset Playstation Move

Topic: Virtual Reality Tutorial   This week, we're looking in to Virtual Reality, the concept of going to other created worlds and living in them, either full time or temporarily.  It's also an excuse to put my mom in my HTC Vive next week and have her experience VR as well.  Being the total dare-devil she is, I'm curious as to what she'll think about it.   What is it? The idea of Virtual Reality has meant a different reality that has been created in some way.  The term Virtual itself was a kind of philosophy that meant a reality that was both ideal and real in some way.  Today, we use the term Virtual to describe anything that originates from technology, or more specifically, computers.  When we speak about Virtual Reality, we tend to talk about entering, or existing, in a digital/computer generated environment or scenario, typically through physical means.      Today, we know Virtual Reality as head sets that you are able to view and interact with the virtual world through.  Modern Virtual Reality is being

Topic: Minecraft Review   Mom and I deep dived in to our experiences with Minecraft this week.  We come together to figure out what happened during it.  This episode does appear to be a bit shorter than before, but I still think it’s a good episode in the end.   Initial Impressions?   What did we like, or find ourselves, doing?   Complexity?   The Niece/Granddaughter Effect/Experience?   Minecraft VR   As I have a HTC Vibe VR set back at home, I decided to try and give Minecraft VR a try.       

Topic: Minecraft Tutorial   While not as rich a narrative as Sonic, and not as engrossing number of titles as Mario, the undisputed champion of best selling game of all time is currently a game with pixilated boxes and simple, sandbox game play.  A game so simple, my nieces of 6 and 8 play it regularly.  So we need to figure this out, it’s time for Minecraft.    Apologizes that some of the audio was corrupted toward the end of the episode. We left what was salvagable intact for those who want to listen.   What is it? Minecraft is a 3D Sandbox game, using pixilated looking graphics and blocks designed for the world.  Unlike early 8bit and 16bit games of the late 80s - early 90s, Minecraft uses blocks 3d blocks with simple, pixilated graphics to represent various building material and natural resources.  Almost all elements of the game are based off these 3d Blocks, even down to the animals and items you can use.   A Sandbox game is a game in which the player is given creative freedom to progress through the ga

Topic: Sonic the Hedgehog Review   Mom and I return from our adventures both watching and playing Sonic the Hedgehog.  It's also about time we talk about the strange and weird world of Sonic's fandom, which is probably similar to that of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, though perhaps a bit more toxic.     Sonic Mania       Sonic Movie When the initial trailer came out for Sonic the Hedgehog, it was a much different thing than what we were expecting.  Due to the fan/internet backlash over the look of Sonic in the trailer, the movie was postponed from November 2019 to February 2020.    While critics panned the movie as too formulaic, repeats of similar movie tropes, and a basic fish out of water screen play, fans enjoyed the film, and it’s to-date, had a better opening weekend over Detective Pikachu and is currently the second highest grossing movie of 2020.       Sonic Fandom:   What happened in the wake of Sonic Games Much like how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles spawned a number of anthropomorphic ca

Topic: Sonic The Hedgehog Tutorial   This week, we’re discussing the fastest thing alive, or atleast as he was billed in Video Games.  Sonic has had an interesting lifespan, a popular and celebrity status in the 90s, he’s since fallen on to hard times in the transition to 3D and come to 2000s, he’s tried to reinvent himself dozens of time with little success.  But he maybe, arguably, more popular than Mario in some online outlets and circles.  So first, let’s discuss the blue blur and where he came from!     History: By 1990, Nintendo had firmly planted themselves as the leader in Video games, and Sega wanted to catch up.  They believed that Nintendo’s strength lied with its mascot, Mario, and his game titles which helped push sales.  Up to this point, Sega did not have an official Mascot, but several unofficial mascots.  They decided to hold an internal design competition to create their own mascot to rival Nintendo, with a heavy focus on a Mascot that would appeal to a western Audience.  Among the considera

Topic: Dr Who Review   It's been a week or so, and we watched quite a bit of Doctor Who.  Mostly because there's a lot, but we wound up with similar conclusions.  What I've enjoyed about Doctor Who has really been the sense of trying new stuff frequently and often, never staying formulaic, and certain charm of following along characters and seeing what they'll get in to.  We got see all five of the modern incarnations of the Doctor, some episodes explain more than others, but it was a good watch.  Some Episodes are Legit Movies, not in length, but amazing premises, that if they'd only decided to not make it in to a TV show first.  But all of it was very good, and we would certainly watch more!   Series 1, Episode 1: Rose Series 2, Episode 4: Girl in the Fireplace  Series 2, Episode 13: Doomsday Series 3, Episode 10: Blink  Series 5, Episode 10: Vincent and the Doctor Series 9, Episode 11: Heaven Sent Series 11, Episode 3: Rosa