Nerd Tutorial Podcast

Topic: Gundam Unicorn review This week, we discussed Gundam Unicorn, an ‘approachable’ entry in to the Gundam franchise.  Now granted, there is quite a bit of previous knowledge that would be helpful coming in to this, but it’s possible to follow along without knowing all the details.  I know because I only intended for Mom to watch a little bit of it, but instead, she watched it all.    Fan Wiki Before getting started, we wanted to talk about fan wiki’s.  Wiki themselves are large knowledge bases on a website that is user created and managed.  The largest, best known Wiki being Wikipedia.  Fan wiki’s are no different, but rather than focus on a broad topic, they often only focus on one fandom or topic at a time, covering all the details of it to the best of their ability.  Some great Fan Wiki include: Wookieepedia – Star Wars Alpha Memory – Star Trek MTG Wiki – Magic: the Gathering Marvel Wiki – Marvel Gundam Wiki - Gundam   Highly recommend visiting the Gundam Wiki, particularly the article on Gundam Unicor

Topic: Gundam Franchise Tutorial So no more Star Wars, okay a little, but we promise to be Brief. Thanks to a generous Christmas present from a younger brother, we have our Next topic for this week and the next. We’re talking about one of the most popular franchise of giant robots series, We’re talking about GUNDAM. Tutorial To understand Gundam, you must know about the history of Giant/Super Robo/Robot series and Real Robot Series• Giant/Super Robo/Robot series have their giant robots in a more fantastical element, where the physics and logic are not explained and are not treated with in realistic or believable sense. It’s the argument, “Magic Happens.” Star Wars as an example.• Real Robot series, as originated by Gundam, attempts to explain/rationalize their physics and universe. Aside from a leap in technology or finding some kind of new element or power source, the series is treated as though it could happen. Star Trek as an example.   Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) Also known as (Gundam 0079) During the Univ

Topic: 2019 Topics in Review   It’s been a wonderful year, 2019.  We saw a lot great movies, cosplayed together, found out that mom’s a Dinklette, even went to Japan for two weeks to see what that was all about.  This time around, we’re reviewing our favorite things we learned about this last year.  Some of the topics might surprise you.     #3 Mom : Prowrestling Surprise by the skill necessary Loves the acting and athleticism Overpowered by the crowd’s activity in the show.   #3 George : World of Warcraft Loved showing Mom one of his Favorite Games Found happiness in watching Mom’s reactions to the world Fun to be able to share a game together, excited for when she has more time to play   #2 Mom: World of Warcraft Surprised by how fun it was to create a character and play Enjoyed escaping in to another world, leaving this one behind Something she’d definitely do again when more free time opens up   #2 George: Cosplay Has always wanted to try doing Drag, happy to have the opportunity. Always enjoyed Cosplay a

Topic: Star Wars Episode 9 Review + Future of Franchise   It’s finally here, we spent the entire month of December getting to this moment, so we welcome the new year with the long awaited review of episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker.  First thing outside of the theater, we were trying to figure out what happens next?  Does the Story continue?  Does it pause for a while?  Where does Rey and crew go from here on out?  Mom’s got opinions, come find out.   Spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.   Ep9 The Rise of Skywalker   Emperor Palpatine is alive? Kylo Ren finds him and learns that the Emperor had been building a huge fleet of star destroyers.  Kylo Ren Agrees to kill Rey as the Emperor requests, leaning that he created & manipulated Snoke. Rey is training with Leia, when they learn that Palpatine intends on launching his fleet in the next 16 hours. Rey, Poe, Finn, and Chewy go to find a Sith beacon that will lead to Palpatine. Crew a clue in a dagger that has Sith language, but learn that C-3PO can

Topic: Star Wars Episode 7 + 8 + Solo Review   The Month of Star Wars continues, and we move on the most recent collection of movies.  We’re discussing Solo: A Star Wars Story, Episodes 7 and 8, and we’re watching Episode 9 this weekend.  Mom shares her distinct objective going in to Star Wars this time around.  She’s such a nerd now… it’s awesome.  Come hear Our thoughts of this, and leading up to Episode 9!   Solo: A Star Wars Story Orphans Han Solo and Qi’ra(Kira) are trying to escape Corella and Gangster life. They bribes the Empire to escape, but Qi’ra gets apprehended. Han vows to return and enlists with the Empire. Han fails to become a pilot and becomes an Imperial infantry man. He meets a group of criminals and tries to convince them to let him join up. He fails and is arrested and thrown in to a prison with Chewbacca.  They eventually get recruited by the criminals Criminals try to steal Coaxium, starship fuel, but fail due to interference from pirates and most of the team dies. Han and Chewbacca le

Topic: Star Wars Episode 4-6 + Rogue One Review   This week, we’re on to the original trilogy that started it all off.  We’re on to the original trilogy, the ones that it all off for myself and my mom.  Unlike the last ones, we both had more favorable feelings about these movies.  I can’t wait to show her the next set of movies and see her reaction to those movies, see if she likes them or not.     Rogue One Young JynErso is in hiding with her parents, father who is a lead engineer on the Death Star, but the Empire comes and takes Jyn’s Father away to finish the Death Star. Years Later, Jyn is picked up by the Rebels, seeking her father who is helping build the Death Star. Cassian Andor and K-2SO take her to the planet of Jedha to find Saw Gerrera, who just so happens to have a message from her father, mentioning an exploit. They pick up Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus in the process. Death Star above, led by Director Krennic, fires on the planet to test the Death Star. Grand Toff Tarkin takes over Death Star af

Topic: Star Wars Review, Episodes 1-3   This week starts our first review of the Star Wars Movies.  This week, as we’re watching them in the intended order of 1-8, we’re watching the Prequel Trilogy, which came out in 1999-2005.  Fair Warning, Mom did not enjoy these movies, and we get to talk about it.   Warning, Spoilers in Bound Ep 1: The Phantom Menace Obiwan Kenobi & Qui GonJin are sent to Planet of Naboo regarding a blockade by the Trade Federation Obiwan& Qui Gon meet Jar-jar Binks and rescue princess Padme’ Amadala from planet. Their ship is damage and they land on Tatooine. Quigon, Padme, and Jar Jar meet Anakin Skywalker and participate in a Pod Race for parts and Anakin’s ownership. Quigon Fights Darth Maul before leaving Tatooine. Everyone travels to Corusaunt, Padme tries to get Senate to intervene on her planet, while Quigon asks for Anakin to become a Jedi.  Council declines. Everyone goes back to Naboo.  Jar Jar leads a Gungan army, while Padme goes to capture the trade federation repr

Topic: Star Wars   This week, we’re starting our Month long discussion on Star Wars, with the anticipation of the new Movie ‘Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker’.  Get out your light sabers, prepare your wookie roar, and remember that “It’s a Trap!”  Let’s talk Star Wars!     AIDS Life Cycle This upcoming June, our Co-Host, Mom, will be participating in a cycling event, aimed at raising money for charity to support AIDS research and treatments.  This 7 day, 545 mile trek will start in San Francisco, Ca and end in Los Angeles, CA, winding up and down hills and valleys.  My mom’s goal is raising $10,000 and I’m hopeful our audience can help.  If you can assist with her ride and learn more, please visit my Mom’s AIDS Life Cycle Page.     Tutorial   Origins Created by George Lucas in 1977 Originally, George Lucas wanted to do Flash Gordon movie, but couldn’t secure the rights. Element of Joseph Campbells The Hero with a Thousand Faces Secured sequel rights before first film ever released   Science Fiction vs Science Fan

Topic: Gift Giving Guide With the holidays coming up shortly, and the big chance to buy gifts, we wanted to offer some idea and advice when shopping for your fellow nerds.  Some of this will be relevant to some, while others, maybe less so, but the intent is to give a direction to those shopping for their beloved, and professional, nerds. Knowing your Nerd Buying a great present for a nerd can be difficult some times, but the most important thing to know when buying is to understand what the nerd is in to or would like.  Research and talking with your nerd will be a major hurtle to figure out what would be an ideal gift.  If you want to be secretive about it, you might want to try to couch the request as a gift someone else, a cousin, colleague, or something like that.  The better you know the nerd, the easier it will be to pick a present out.   Basic/Necessities Subscriptions Netflix Hulu Crunchyroll Subscriptions   Gift Cards Amazon ThinkGeek Card Kingdom Local Stores Game Currency   Loot Boxes https://bens

Topic: World of Warcraft   This week, we're trying something different.  Because it's a Video Game, and the magic of technology allowed us, we recorded the whole Episode on film!  Okay not real film, but still, we recorded the adventure of Mom learning and trying to play World of Warcraft.  Come find out how we did.   We're uploading the video to Youtube as well, so while the podcast might be a bit misleading if you don't see what we're doing, for those who can't watch us play, you can atleast listen to us play.    

Topic: World of Warcraft   This week, we start the process of learning about one of my favorite games of the last decade, and Mom gets to come and journey with me on it.  We’re learning about World of Warcraft, and while we can’t talk about everything, we’ll certainly give you a good idea of what it’s all about!   Tutorial   MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Developed and Created by Blizzard Entertainment, now Activision Blizzard Interactive. Based on previous MMOs, like Runescape, Ultima Online, Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, and many other game. Personal Favorite were Phantasy Star Online and Ragnarok Online Blizzard knows how to distill the core, fun elements of a game, rebuild it in their own image and what is fun about it, and then paint a rich narrative over the entire game to bring it to life. Blizzard is well known for their Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo franchises. A good studio that puts out quality games.   History Beginning development in 1999-2000 around the same time as d

Topic: Magic: The Gathering   We disappeared at the end of last week, planning on playing some games of magic.  We did that and mom did some additional research of her own, and found a wealth of knowledge is out there for anyone interested in learning about the game and wanting to play it.  It’s amazing how much is out there, but it’s Time to hear my mom’s thoughts and questions in this review episode.   Review:   Magic: The Gathering https://magic.wizards.com/en   Magic: The Gathering Arena https://magic.wizards.com/en/mtgarena   Level One https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/level-one/level-one-full-course-2015-10-05   Card Kingdom https://www.cardkingdom.com/   Tolarian Community College https://www.youtube.com/user/tolariancommunity   Loading Ready Run MTG https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCicNMfc3PGR1H2yPOxFJrLA   Magic: The Gathering https://www.youtube.com/user/wizardsmtg  

Topic: Magic: The Gathering This week, we’re diving in to our first real game that we’ve ever talked about on the show. We plan on talking about other games, notably Fortnite/PUBG, Warcraft, and sometime in November, I want to do a buyer’s guide for nerds. But this week we’re talking about Magic: The Gathering, a long running collectible card game with lots of history in the nerd world. Tutorial HistoryOriginal concept and idea created by Richard Garfield. Worked as an Adjunct Professor at Whitman College in 1991, while working his doctorate in mathematics as University of Pennsylvania. He approached Wizards of the Coast about producing a different game, but was asked to make a game that was portable to play. This developed in to Magic: The Gathering. Originally known for testing purposes as “Magic”, but after trademarking “Mana Clash”, people continued to call it magic. It was rebranded as “Magic: The Gathering”, in order to copyright and secure the name. Released in 1993, it was an immediate success and sta

Topic: Post Japan - Tips and Tricks Okay, finally, we finished talking about what it was that we did on this two week vacation, now we get to share our knowledge and what we learned for anyone else traveling.  We really do hope this is useful to someone traveling to Japan, as we think this is some of the most useful information we can immediately think of outside of the language.  Next week we’re planning something else, but we felt this was important things that could help make Japan much easier to navigate. Tips and Tricks: Wifi Router / Sim CardWe highly recommend getting a Wifi Router while in Japan.  You can make arrangements prior to arriving to Japan to get a Wifi Router for multiple devices.  In our case, I made arrangements to pick it up at the Airport when we arrive and then drop off at the Airport before we left.  It’s amazingly useful to look up maps, information, or just to stay in touch, as we purposefully turned off our mobile data plans while in Japan so we could avoid roaming charges. In Our

Topic: Post Japan Trip Part 2 We're back with again with our tales from Japan. This week we discuss Mount Fuji, Capsule Hotels, and all the various stuff we did in Tokyo. We had such a great conversation, that next week, we're doing a special on what we learned while in Japan. Day 7Capsule Hotel Day 8Travel to Mt. FujiFujisan Onsen Hotel Kaneyamaen Day 9Walking around Lake YamanakaTravel to TokyoTokyo Metropolitan Government BuildingShibuya Crossing Day 10Sumo PracticeOld Tokyo DistrictZuiryo-no-Matsu ShrineToro-San MuseumAkihabaraMaid Cafe Day 11Tokyo Disney SeaOdaiba / Gundam Statue Day 12Asakusa Shrine/TempleShoppingRobot Restaurant Day 13Traveling Home

Topic: Post Japan Trip, First Half Mom and me returned from Japan. To say we had an Amazing time would be a lie because it was so much more. Here's the first half of our trip, with the second half forth coming next week, along with some trick, tips, myths, and things we learned while in Japan. Day 1Arrival to OsakaJR PassesUniversal StudiosDōtonbori Day 2Nara Deer Park Day 3KishiwadaDanjiriMatsuriKishiwada CastleOsaka Castle Day 4KyotoFushimi Inari ShrineKyoto Manga MuseumKyoto railway MuseumPokemon Store Day 5Gion– Geisha DistrictHop On / Hop Off BusKitano-TenmanguShrineKinkaku-ji – Golden PavilionImamiya-Jinja shrine Day 6Sagano Bamboo ForestTenryuji TempleToei Studio ParkLaundry Day 7NagoyaOsu Kannon TempleNagoya CastleSake TastingCapsule Hotel Visit www.nerdtutorialpodcast.com for more pictures from our trip!

Topic: Pre-Japan - What we're going to be doing!   At this point, we're less than a week away from being in Japan.  Mom is finally learning some of the details of what we have planned for this trip, and we get to discuss it in this latest Podcast!   Day 1 Osaka Arrival Dōtonbori   Day 2 Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri Kishiwada Castle   Day 3  Nara (Japan's first permanent capital) Nara Deer Park Todaiji Temple (Larges Buddha statue) Horyuki temple (Oldest Wooden buildings)   Day 4 Kyoto Toei Kyoto Studio Park Fushimi Inari Shrine   Day 5 Kyoto Free Day   Day 6 Kyoto Kyoto Railway museum Kyoto Manga Museum Sagano Bamboo Forest   Day 7 Nagoya Nagoya Castle Osu Kannon Temple Sake tasting   Day 8 Mount Fuji Bicycle Around the area Hot Spring hotels   Day 9 Tokyo Free Day Temples   Day 10 Tokyo Akihabra Maid Cafe   Day 11 Tokyo Disney Tokyo Sea   Day 12 Tokyo Sumo Wrestling Robot Restaurant   Day 13 Tokyo depart

Topic: Pre Japan Tip - What Do We Know   We're going to Japan.  We've mentioned this before, but Mom and me are heading to Japan in less than two weeks, and we're both super excited.  We've been preparing in different ways, from trying to learn the language, watching Youtube videos, to learning about the culture.  Come learn what we've been up to this past year. Tutorial: Why we’re going? What we’re doing to get ready! Language understanding What we kind of know already? Special travel knowledge!

Topic:  Manga (Japanese Comics) This week, we pick up the discussion yet again on Japanese Manga, diving in to a list of various comics that you’ll enjoy.  There’s a bit of everything from just about everything, so we had a lot to discuss and a lot of thoughts.   Review Full Metal Alchemist 1 & 2 Death Note 1 & 2 Kuroko No basket 133 – 135 Card Captor Sakura 1 & 2 Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun 1-3 Shokugeki no Soma 1 – 3 Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai 1-3  

Topic: Japanese Manga   In route to our trip to Japan in September, by special request, Mom wanted to learn more about Japanese comics, otherwise known and Manga.  To me, reading manga is one of my most favorite past times, so to share a few great titles, I figured was the least I can do.  I'm probably looking forward to our review episode, because just like our Anime one, this ought to be fun!    Tutorial: Manga dates back to old times, in which the term manga was used as early as 1798. Grandfather of Manga: Osamu Tezuka Created Astroboy, Black Jack, Kimba the White Lion, and many more. Machiko Hasegawa created first female based manga “Sazae-san”. A manga about a House Wife, unusual that the house wife isn’t necessarily Meek or obedient to her husband Modern MangaTypically manga falls in to one of five categories:Kodomo – Young childrenShonen – Young Men/BoysShojou – Young Women/GirlsSeinen – Mature/Adult themed MalesJosei – Mature/Adult themed for Women Various varying Genre in-between 4 Panel/Yonkoma Comi