Nerd Tutorial Podcast

Topic: Doctor Who Tutorial   This week, we discuss the strangest Doctor you’ve ever met.  The series is a long running British TV show, practically a staple of any nerd convention, and with the start of a new era in 2005, a modern fixture of Nerds everywhere.  His name doesn't matter, he's simply the 'Doctor' and for our first British Tv Show, we couldn't have picked a greater show.  Come fine out about Doctor Who!     What Doctor Who is a British Science Fiction TV series about a fictional character, known as ‘the Doctor’ who travels through-out time and space, fixing, interacting, and generally learning about events within history, even those that haven’t happened yet.    Typically, the show follows ‘the Doctor’ an alien creature with multiple lives as he and a traveling companion, or more, transverse the galaxy/time/universe to encounter various species, bad guys, and historical figures and events, either to help interact with them, or to watch them play out.  Following a monster/adventure of the week elem

Topic: How has Nerdy things Changed during Covid 19   Myself and Mom and have skirted around the concern about the pandemic, especially how it's changed just about everything in the world.  As it is now, we've been stuck at home for nearly two and half months, going on three, and probably four or five.  A lot, including myself, have lost their jobs and in this uneasy time, not even our favorite Nerdy passions haven't been effected either.  So, this week, we go in to see what's happened and has changed in light of the world's sudden changes.   Movies Box Office movies as of early March expect to lose $5 Billion US Dollars Many major Studios will no longer be releasing Box Office figures until future date. Nearly a hundred movies have been pushed back to later dates, including some movies set to release either within the last two months or in the near future.  Some movies that were set to release in theatres were instead released on home video immediately.   Released to Home Video/Streaming Early: Frozen 2 Onwa

Topic: Anime for Kids Review We're back again this week to talk about some of the anime we watched with my Sister in Law and mother of my two nieces who are only fledglings into anime. We watched some, but not all of the anime, as children do from time to time. But we talked about some of our shared experiences as well, and found that we’re not too different at all, just that some of us spent a lot more time watching cartoons and the other didn’t have children. Sailor Moon Crystal (Hulu)Card Captor Sakura (Hulu)Kaleido Star (Hulu)Monthly Girls’ Nozaki Kun (Netflix)K-on (Netflix)Cells at Work (Netflix)Glitter Force (Netflix)Teasing Master Tagaki-san (Netflix)Fireworks (Netflix)Violet Evergarden (Netflix)Little Witch Academia (Netflix)

  Topic: Animal Cross Review   We spent a week to let Mom give the Animal Crossing a try.  She actually started atleast a week or so prior to our first episode on the topic, but now that she’s been playing for about two weeks, we come back with more questions and comments about those Darn Raccoons and their plots to steal all of our Bells!       Some Cool Tips https://www.wired.com/story/animal-crossing-new-horizons-tips/   Nook Miles Buy Recommendations: Pretty Good Tools Recipes – 3000 Miles This will give you the better versions of tools, upgrades from your flimsy versions you might have been carrying using before.   Pocket Organization Guide – 5000 Miles There are two of these that eventually come up, but they allow you to expand your inventory from 20 to 30, and then to 40 items.  Which even then, will certainly get filled up fast. The first one comes up after you pay off your house, and once you get the Residential Center, the second one should pop up.   Tool Ring: It’s Essential! – 800 Miles This allow

Topic: Animal Crossing   Like alot of people right now, we've seemed to amass a great bit of time on our hands.  Those fortunate to still be working maybe not, but alot of us have been stuck at home and have been really wanting to find something new to do.  Thus, we offer this topic on Animal Crossing, specifically Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a new game perfect for people who don't necessarily like video games, but also a game perfect for people to relax with.     Nintendo Switch Affectionately called ‘The Switch’ or just ‘Switch’, is Nintendo’s latest console released in 2017.  Unlike Nintendo’s main line consoles for the last few years, the Switch merges the comforts of a home console with that of a handheld console, two markets Nintendo is unique in their mastery in.  What makes it unique is that the console starts as a hand held, with controller on either side of the game screen, but can be docked in a cradle at home, allowing you to connect your device to a larger Tv monitor.  The controllers on the s

Topic: Anime for Kids   Today, I traveled a very FAR distance to come and visit my Sister-in-Law and discuss Anime with her.  Previously, I showed my nieces 'My Neighbor Totoro', which they loved.  Which sucked for me, because this was AFTER me and mom got back from Japan, where we saw Lots of Totoro just hanging out.  Had I show the girls this before we went, we could have gotten some killer stuff with them in it.  That being said, there's quite a bit of children appropriate Anime out there, and I'd love to get my nieces interested in the medium as a way of expanding their view points, and also having someone new to talk to about anime.  My Sister-in-Law gracious welcomed me in to her home, and we talked anime turkey.  If nothing else, give this woman a round of applause for raising two very well adjusted little girls, and also her first time ever doing a podcast.   What is Anime: In Japan, any kind of animation, whether traditional 2d animation or 3d computer graphic animation, whether from America, Europe,

Topic: Video Games and How to Make Money   As a follow up to last week's discussion, Mom wondered how people make money in video games, and being the clever nerd that has actually spent along time in the meta narrative on Video Game creation and process, I came back with some information to offer.   What does it cost to make a Video Game?   This namely depends on the complexity of the game.  A game with Side Scrolling or 2D graphics will usually cost less than a game with 3D graphics.  But the nature of the game’s content and desire to fulfill it is also necessary.   Staff There are a core number of elements you need to make a game: Game Designers Basically the person who designs the world, mechanics, and fun of a game Programmers Individuals that make the Game Designer’s vision possible via programming and developing tools or systems for the game Graphic Design and Animators Video Games being a primarily visual media, requires people who will be able to create characters, worlds, and animate them in a game.

Topic:  Super Mario Bros Review + Speed Running + Twitch/Streaming So this week, we had some homework that would have been difficult for some to accomplish if you didn't already have any of the included games.  I'll be linking videos for those who couldn't play the games, but this week, thanks to some help, Mom actually played them.  And while she had difficulties playing Super Mario Bros. 1 with out any help, even she admitted she'd get it eventually given enough time.    Home Work: Super Mario Bros. 1 Game picked because in video games, there’s quite a bit of learned knowledge that comes from years of playing video games.  Some of this includes controls, visual language, enemy interaction, and certainly familiarity with the world.  Some example of this learned knowledge is: Jumps are better when you run We always want power-ups Understanding Health Bars Controls in an FPS Pits are bad I also choose it because the Game Design in Mario is very smart, even though it would never feel like it.  It assumes that y

Topic: Super Mario Bros Tutorial   To get us off the rather serious, or rather, semi-serious topic of last week, I felt it was wise to move on to something completely different.  With a lot of people stuck inside as of late, I felt that we should consider video games as an avenue of discussion.  Since a great majority of Nerds love video games, we'll start off simple, and with the most recognizable character in Video Games.  So we're discussing and starting our topic on Super Mario Bros. and it's surprisingly lengthy history.     History of Nintendo Founded in 1889 as a Playing Card Company In 1975, the Company began pivoting toward electronics and Game Cabinets in Arcardes Donkey Kong released in 1981 Jumpman was introduced as company Mascot, better known today as Mario These games are developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, who would go on to be the ‘Walt Disney’ of Nintendo In 1980, Game and Watch series of games released, popular hand held games In 1983, Nintendo releases the ‘Famicom’ or ‘Family Computer’ as a v

Topic: Zombie Review We're back once again, talking about Zombies at point in which it feel all too familiar.  Both myself and Mom felt a bit uneasy watching the movies this last week, but it's a good reminder of what we're dealing with and what're facing right now.  Interesting conversations to be sure. Shawn of the Death (2004)ZombieLand (2009)World War Z (2013)Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies (2016)Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress  (2016)

Topic: Zombies Tutorial This week, recorded on April 1st 2020, I decided to have a topic that felt a little too close to home.  We're talking about Zombies, mostly because it's probably as close to a virus outbreak as we are now.  This episode is less to scare us about the COVID-19 concerns, but more or less a metaphor and possible future we can expect ourselves in.  Movies and media have always painted the future to come, so maybe there's something we can learn from Zombies as a whole.   Tutorial What is a Zombie Zombies are Dead humans who have been reanimated.  Depending on the origin, the reanimation process originally was due to magic: a Sorcerer would reanimate the dead and the death of the Sorcerer would end the reanimation.  More modern telling have the reanimation process involving some kind of science fiction, including carriers, plague, parasite, radiation, pathogens, disease, etc.  Some modern telling never actually go in to the logic or origin, leaving it vaguely defined or undefined.   Zombies a

Topic: Kamen Rider & Super Sentai(Power Rangers) Review I gathered up my little brother, secluded ourselves in a bunker, and we watched some Super Sentai and Kamen Rider.  I think we have differing views on the material, which is a good thing, never a bad thing, but you'll have to listen to find out.     Episodes 1-4 of Kamen Rider Ex Aid   Episodes 1-4 Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger   I also wanted to throw in some additional information on Bittorrent, as a primer if you're interested.  

Topic: Kamen Rider & Super Sentai(Power Rangers)   This week, we move on from Drama to entirely different type of drama.  Granted this one is far more interesting to me because of Explosions, Cool Poses, and Brightly Colored Uniforms.  We welcome back my little brother to discuss Toei’s most popular Tokusatsu series: Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, better known in the west as Power Rangers.   History:   Shotaro Ishinomori Father of Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Cyborg 009 Started as an Assistant to Osamu Tezuka (Astroboy, grandfather of Manga/anime) Developed his own popular manga, Cyborg 009 in 1963 – 1984. Late developed Skullman in 1970, a one off manga volume that told story of a vigilantly hero of Skullman trying to find the murder of his parents, and stop an evil organization. Developed Kamen Rider initially as a live action version of Skullman, but later adapted look of a Grasshopper to make new series Fathered the Henshin style super hero in Tokusatsu series Created Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, first S

Topic: Bachelor Review While I typically write up about 4-5 pages on a topic, that's not the case this time.  Mom had a lot of great information, and our discussion, felt like we were just having a typical conversation about the Bachelor.  It was great that she chimed in on stuff, but this week is light on background information.  I will share some of the things, but you'll have to listen to the Podcast this week to truly understand our Love/Hate for Bachelor this season.   OMG, Peter's Mom!  Best Villain!  

Topic: Bachelor Series Tutorial     This week, the roles are reversed, and rather than our typical host being in the driver's seat, Mom is instead.  That's right, Mom is leading this week's Tutorial, along with next weeks Review of the Bachelor series.  A show that frankly I was watching but didn't have a huge amount of knowledge or background on.  I'm watching it for the Train Wreck that it is, Mom's watching it though... for the Train Wreck that it is, but she knows so much more about than me for once.  Come watch as I learn something this time around.   Inception: Debuted March 25, 2002   Seasons: Bachelor  24 Bachelorette  16 First 4 years Bachelor filmed two seasons per year   Bachelor films mid-September to mid-November Bachelorette films mid-March to mid-May Each airs approximately 10 episodes + After the Final Rose, sometimes 11 25-30 Contestants; takes 6 episodes to get down the “Final 4”                 Homes Town Dates                 Fantasy Suites                 Men/Women Tell All               

Topic: Batman Media Review   We’re back to discuss the films that I got mom to watch for homework.  What struck me more about the conversation wasn’t the story, but the psychology of Bruce Wayne and the ego mom found fascinating in the character.  Certain one of the most interesting conversations I think we have ever had, so you should definitely check it out.     Dark Knight 2008, Sequel to Batman Begins Christian Bale – Batman Heath Ledger – Joker Michael Caine – Alfred Aaron Eckhart – Harvey Dent / Two Face Gary Oldman – Detective Gordon Many of the Joker’s actions were unscripted and improvised by Health Ledger, including when Hospital Explodes, Clapping in Jail, and licking his lips. First comic book movie to break a Million Health Ledger won Oscar posthumously, second person to do so, First comic book movie to win award Character of Reese was an allusion to the Riddler     Batman Under Red Hood Tells story of mysterious Red Hood arriving in Gotham to clean up crime through violence and murder.  Bruce Gr

Topic: Batman Tutorial   We’re moving on from Gundam, and in to… The Batman!  This is the first of what will be coming in the next year of Focused Topics, as where previously, we had been broad in discussion about Anime, Manga, Star Trek, and such, we’ll be diving in to more focused parts of geek culture, namely the heroes, villains, and key elements of certain media.  Batman being one of the most ubiquitous comic book heroes in almost all media from Comics, to TV, to movies, and even anime and music, I figured this was a good place to start.   Tutorial   DC vs Marvel Continuity Marvel’s continuity is never explicitly mentioned or referenced, since Marvel deliberately doesn’t mention when events occur.  In most cases, Events in Marvel happened a few years ago usually.   DC continuity is often the Story.  Namely that it has changed, reshaped, and modified the continuity endlessly over time.  There’s been numerous major events that reshape the world and universe of DC to the point that it’s hard to talk about s

Topic: Gunpla Building & WWE Smackdown 2/7   We’re back once again, but we’re multitasking.  Go figure.  We’re still working on building our little RX-78-2 Gundam model, but we also had the chance to see the WWE in town once again!  So we’re doing a little bit of both this week, talking about what we saw, but also working through our Gundam.  We recorded our Gundam being built, but we lost some of the footage along the way in the beginning.  Check out our video version of the podcast on our Youtube Page.    WWE Smackdown 2/7  Miz and Morrison were interrupted several times during the return of “The Dirt Sheet”  The Usos def. Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode  Elias def. Cesaro  Roman Reigns attacked King Corbin after Corbin humiliated a WWE fan  Goldberg eyed the Universal Title and called out “The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt  Daniel Bryan def. Heath Slater Shinsuke Nakamura sent a message to new Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman Sheamus def. Apollo Crews  Carmella def. Dana Brooke, Naomi and Alexa Bliss to e

Topic:  Gunpla Tutorial & Building   This week, bolstered by the understanding and knowledge of what Gundam is and its historical significance to the Anime and Japanese media landscape, we dive in to the hobby that still keeps the company in business.  Gunpla itself is the ancient art of folding American firearms, or Guns, into unique shapes and…. Okay this joke didn’t work on my Mom so much, but come ‘Watch’ us build a Gundam!   This week, we recorded the Podcast once again.  So we recommend visiting our Youtube Page to see the build process and progress we made. You can visit this week's Video Version Here.   Tutorial: Gunpla = Gundam + Plastics Gunpla kits are prepackaged with various part trays or ‘Runners’.  These much be snapped or snipped off in the order of the included instructions to be built properly.  Some kits also include stickers, decals, and water stickers for further decorating.  While the original kit includes all you need to build a Gunpla model, there are various ways to improve the ba

Topic: WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Review  As mom stated before in our round up episode from just a few weeks back, one of the things she found herself willing to revisit was WWE and how infectious it was to be a part of.  I couldn’t agree more, and so this time I wanted to introduce her to one of the more fun and interesting events in WWE’s calendar of events, the Royal Rumble.  She seemed to enjoy herself, come listen to our opinions on the matches. Review: Roman Reigns vs King Corbin Falls Count Anywhere (No Disqualification, can be pinned anywhere, usually out in the arena/stadium)   Women’s Royal Rumble Winner gets to challenge for any highest level title on any of the currently running shows at Wrestlemania.  IE: Smackdown Women’s Championship, Raw Women’s Championship, or NXT Women’s Championship.  Rules: Two Superstar will Start In the Ring Every 90 Seconds(Approximately) another Superstar will enter Superstars are Eliminated by going OVER the Top Rope Both Feet must Touch the Floor to be Eliminated Last re