What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 08/07/15

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Geek-and-proud

Hey there, folks!

Here's what was going on in my world this week:

I blew through the entirety of this offering this past Sunday with my partner. We also recently watched the famed cult original movie together (I had seen it prior, my partner had not) so we were excited to check out this prequel series. It continues the enjoyable absurdist comedy tradition of the original and many of David Wain and company's work. I definitely recommend watching the original movie and the new series. You'll be glad you did!

I bought an Amazon Fire TV stick recently since I got rid of my PlayStation 3, which served as my media center hub. I now have a Blu-Ray player and media streaming sticks (my other one is a Roku Stick) for my two TV sets. While neither work perfectly, for the price, size, and convenience, I feel very happy with both purchases. Where the Roku is a basic, straightforward experience, Amazon is totally integrated with their digital libraries (television, movies, and music all included). The major caveat being you need to be a Prime member to take advantage of all of their content. Otherwise, you would need to purchase/rent exclusively from Amazon for it to feel worth it. The streaming media game is only going to grow so it is fascinating to see the competition create new ways to get content to consumers.

As I emotionally come to terms with Jon Stewart's departure from the Daily Show, I just started to dig into the podcast for his show (which only features Stewart in the most recent episode) and delves into the behind-the-scences production of the television show. They cover everything from pizza, rejection, bagels, and their veteran immersion program. It's a neat look into a one of a kind show and I know it will help me cope and appreciate a show I love even more.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 04/10/15

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Geek-and-proud

Greetings and salutations!

Here's what is going on in my world lately:

I binge watched the first season of this show with my partner over this past weekend after hearing a lot about it not too long ago. It's the first breakaway Amazon Originals hit that has paved the way for some of their other shows to shine. The premise surrounds a family of adult siblings as their father begins to transition to being a woman late in his life. We learn about the three siblings and their relationships with their father, both as children and as adults. Everyone is a little self-centered, confused about who they are, broken, and ultimately looking for something they can't seem to find. I appreciated how raw and real the show felt. I look forward to seeing more of the show, which I hope is soon to come.

  • Wisdom Teeth

So my partner recently had two of her wisdom teeth removed. I didn't really know what to expect with this, and I tried to do some research about it but I think it is just something that is a little different for everyone. I've been helping her recover from the surgery for the past few days and she has started to get back to normal. She's been having her fair share of pudding, Jell-O, ice cream, and mashed potatoes. I might have to get mine out sometime soon so this is helpful for me to prepare with. Also, it is experiences like this that make me appreciate being able to be here for her to help out with this recovery.

  • Boston

My partner's birthday is next week so we've decided to go drive down to Boston for a long weekend getaway. I haven't been and I believe I've talked about going to Boston before but I'm really looking forward to it now as it has drawn closer and closer. We've started to make some reservations for restaurants, have our Air BnB booked and prepared, and are looking up other local attractions to check out (we'll be doing the Sam Adams brewery for sure, of course!). I appreciate having the opportunity to travel and see new places with my partner. It's nice to have the break and to get out of the bubble of the ordinary day-to-day. I'm sure I'll be processing the trip on here in two weeks after I get back (next week I'll be there so I'll share details the week afterwards).

Thanks for stopping by!

Book Review: i, Geek - Confessions of a Geeky Mind

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"So, to come to my core point: don’t limit yourself. Explore, try new things. Open yourself up to things that are outside your comfort zone. Learn. Live. And love more than just one genre or show."

I read through this book pretty quickly after it was recommended while doing a recent episode of my podcast. It was a book I hadn't heard of before and seemed interesting enough to me (especially since it is available for cheap on Amazon Kindle). The author, Joseph Dickerson, collects blog posts of his from around the Internets and curates them in this book under a few general categories like technology, design, Star Trek, and some others.

The book is a under 200 pages and I'll admit, even with it being very short, I skipped over some of his posts about user interface design, as it wasn't relevant to me at all. It is his day job and I know I like to talk about higher education so I can understand why he put it in there, it just feels out of place. I really enjoyed what he wrote about Star Trek (which is a lot of this book), since it feels a lot like what I have written and feel about the show and what makes it great. Frankly, the whole book feels like something I've been thinking of writing for a while now; simply a collection of my best blog posts curated around common topics.

Much like I have, Dickerson writes about the life lessons learned from a geeky life, and how we can all gleam some morsels of wisdom from video games, books, movies, and television. The above quotes is one of my favorites from the book. We could all use some time out of the ordinary, even if it is taking a chance on a new story (in whatever medium you prefer). I know I've found some awesome things by just taking a leap on something that just feels right.

Especially for the low price on Kindle, I recommend this book for a leisurely read on a weekend with a nice cup of coffee/tea. It has some worthwhile portions and I'm sure others will find certain sections more enticing than I did.

Thanks for stopping by!

Streaming Media & The Democratization of Content

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streaming-media-concept-video-35638709 I consume my fair share of streaming content. Between Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Pandora, Songza, Spotify, and YouTube, I get a lot of my entertainment this way and rely on it every day. It's the way of the future with new original content coming out on some of these services as well as them being an important tool for discovering different content that would otherwise go unnoticed. This is why I'm a big supporter of these platforms. They democratize the consumption of content, allowing for more people to enjoy more awesome things whenever they want and however they want. I see that as a pretty positive thing. Unfortunately there are some critics out there and especially with death knells like net neutrality lingering out there which threaten the thriving ecosystem of the Internet, I feel now is as good a time as ever to reinforce the positives of streaming media services.

Access

As I mentioned before, people are now able to enjoy whatever they want, whenever they want. This could mean that I can watch news on the train, silly videos in bed, or listen to podcasts when I work out. This empowers people to be more informed, relaxed, and makes things like commutes or long drives more enjoyable and bearable. I don't see anything wrong with that! Obviously we all can't binge Netflix all the time, but we now can consume quick bits wherever we are so that we stay connected to what is important to us.

Variety

With the wide open access of content available currently, it is amazing the incredible diversity of content that is out there. Small, independent music, television, and podcasts can reach a wide audience or even just simply connect with their niche of fans. Whatever the topic or genre of content, there is sure to be an audience for it and there isn't an establishment saying that it doesn't track well with the mainstream. We can all be our weird, fun, uniquely authentic selves and it's okay!

Community

A big part of this that I enjoy is the community I see online around YouTube channels, Spotify playlists, or even niche television shows (like Community, House of Cards, Sleepy Hollow, Orange is the New Black, Arrow/The Flash, or even Scandal) where every piece of new content is an event and is talked about, shared, and remixed, mashed up, or fan art is created inspired by it. It's great to see passionate people come together to connect over their mutual love of something. It can be huge for a lot of us lonely geeks and nerds out there who may feel like we are alone in enjoying whatever we're into. It's important to find others to geek out with!

Streaming media services are here to say, regardless of what people like Taylor Swift say or hopefully whatever comes of the net neutrality decision. Support your favorite independent content, share awesome stuff you find with friends, and keep streaming my friends!

Thanks for stopping by!