Episode 34 - Ghostbusters Spectacular!

February 4, 2015

Hear about the strange predecessors of Ghostbusters, a fight over which film is better, tons of trivia from the movies, animated series and more!

We jump off with some Nerdy News, with ants eating habits and pyromaniac ghosts.

Then Jarman gives a rundown of the whole timeline of the Ghostbusters franchise; from the TV show it stole its name from, to the films, animated series, video games and comic books, to present day with the impending reboot.

Steve and Jarman then fight over which movie is better, Ghostbusters or Ghostbusters II. Which one was your favorite?!

In an all new spin on the all time favorite A Play On Nerds game, Brooklyn Band or Smut Search, Steve plays Boogie Man or Band, with Jarman, where he has to decide if the given name is a British band name, or the name of a real reported ghost. Hilarity ensues.

For Trailer Reviews this week we cover Fantastic Four (or Fant4sic...), Digging Up the Marrow, and Alien Outpost.

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Episode 33 - Insects! A Bug's Life VS Antz

January 20, 2015

Copy Cat Cinema returns with 1998's A Bug's Life and Antz! Plus lots of insect talk, and the new Ant-man trailer! See? It's all related.

This week we have a insect-loaded episode, I'm sure filled with even more factual inaccuracies. Too bad we can't have an entomologist on the show to school us on this subject!

First up in Nerdy News we cover the new Thync mood enhancer that debuted at the CES convention and the unfortunate trend in Monarch butterfly migrations.

For the first segment, Steve quizzes Jarman on the super powers of real life bugs, in The Best Offense is a Good Defense! Steve names the bug and you and Jarman have to guess what their defense mechanism is. There are some CRAZY bugs out there.

Then for our feature segment we delve into Copy Cat Cinema, with the 1998 doppelganger movies, A Bug's Life and Antz. These films are super alike, but we pick apart the differences, just for you.

Then Jarman names the titles of some crazy insect movies, and Steve tries to make his own zany plot for each one. The real plots aren't any better or worse....

In Trailer Reviews, we cover Ant-Man, Strange Magic, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2!

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Episode 32 - Real Life Rocket Scientist Ian Cohen!

January 6, 2015

PhD Candidate Ian Cohen schools Steve and Jarman on black holes, dark matter, telescopes, gravity, the difference between a meteor and a meteorite, and so much more!

****Fact fix from Ian Cohen on his own interview: The Sun is 8 light minutes away from the Earth, not light seconds.

Please enjoy episode 31 of the A Play On Nerds podcast, where PhD candidate from the University of New Hampshire, Ian Cohen (full bio and experience below), schools Steve and Jarman with finally some correct information about the science of space. If you listened to our episode a few weeks back all about space, man did we get a lot wrong. Ian is here to help us out and better inform you, the listener too! He'll cover many misconceptions about dark matter, the difference between meteors, comets, and asteroids, and so much more.

Ian Cohen is a Physics PhD candidate at the University of New Hampshire. He received his B.A. in Astronomy & Physics from Boston University and worked for three years at the Charles Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston. At UNH, he builds instruments that are launched on rockets to study the aurora and manages the UNH Observatory. He is also a NASA Student Ambassador, NASA Solar System Ambassador, and member of the Aurorasaurus Scientist Network. By far his most important credential is that he received the “Right Stuff Award” when he attended U.S. Space Camp in 1998. When he’s not needing out about space, Star Wars, U.S. history, or video games, he also writes for his blog “At the Center of It All”, which aims to explain the science and societal impact of the field of heliophysics.

We also cover some science-y Nerdy News involving black holes and drunk birds (yes, drunk birds) as well as some Trailer Reviews, where we cover Heart in the Sea, Predestination, and White God... definitely worth checking them out, for various reasons.

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Episode 31 - Asst. Prof. Kristin Bezio - Video Game Analysis and Much More!

December 24, 2014

Interview with Asst. Prof. Kristin Bezio on equal representation in video games, "Gamer Gate" and more! With Nerdy News, Trailer Reviews and a warped game of Would You Rather

In our monster sized 31st episode we speak with Kristin M.S. Bezio, Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond in Virginia. Her background is in technical theater and literature, and her research interests include early modern drama, leadership studies, and game studies. She is the resident contributing games editor for The Learned Fangirl: A Critical Take on Online Culture and Social Media and has written opinion pieces on violence in games and GamerGate for a variety of news outlets, including the Christian Science Monitor and Seattle Times. Recent academic gaming publications include “Maker’s Breath: Religion, Spirituality, and the Godless World of Dragon Age II” in the special issue “Religion and Digital Games” in Online: Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet and “Friends & Rivals: Loyalty, Ethics, and Leadership in Dragon Age II” in Identity and Leadership in Virtual Communities: Establishing Credibility and Influence. Her work explores the intersection of popular media – games, film, television, theater, and literature – and questions of leadership and citizenship in both the early modern and contemporary eras. She currently serves on the board of the Unorthodox Arts Foundation, is a member of Host of Sparrows Aerial Dance, and has worked with the Madison Creative Arts Program, the Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Willing Suspension Productions, and the Virginia Repertory Theatre.

We also cover some Nerdy News with some prehistoric developments about birds and some quantum entangling science news.

There is a quick yet disturbing game of Would You Rather, followed by Trailer Reviews. This time we cover Cinderella, Kingsman, and Terminator: Genisys.

Captain Picard/Star Trek remix of Let it Snow by James Covenant on YouTube.

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Episode 30 - 1984 Pop Culture

December 10, 2014

What was cool 30 years ago in the realms of video games, television, technology, films and music?! Jarman and Steve dive into 1984 to find out!

Before we jump into our hot tub time machine to 1984, we tackle some Nerdy News from our time, including the confirmed Doctor Strange casting and Deadpool film progress, as well as the useful infestation of pests in New York City.

How good are you with your 1984 movie quotes? We'll find out when Steve quizzes us on popular movies from the time, and we have to guess where they came from. Spoiler: Jarman does horribly.

Then we jump into our feature, where we honor our 30th episode by going 30 years into the past and check out the pop culture of 1984. We cover everything from video games, tech news, TV, film, music and more. Along with our usual tangents of course. That was quite an eventful year in pop culture, so be sure to listen in!

Be sure to contact us and tell us what you think! We'll read your comments on the show!

Mentioned on the show:

http://youtu.be/MCJh4a5iAqw

Chase Holfelder – Major to Minor: “Girls Just Want Have Fun”

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