Podcasting is harder than it sounds

Posted on February 3, 2008February 4, 2008 | 4 Comments

Hijinks Ensue giveth and Hijinks Ensue taketh away. Monday it will taketh away a new comic and giveth you a podcast. This initial Podcastery took up most of my weekend, so I’ll only be doing one comic this week (Thursday). Having never done this before, there was a tonne of trial and error. Josh and Eli came over on Saturday to record. We spent about an hour setting up and working through technical difficulties. A few false starts, then we winged it (wung it?). I will post the fruits of our labor first thing Monday.

I am working on the iTunes feed for the podcast but you can have the podcast RSS feed right now. You can also get the podcasts, along with comics and blog posts in the regular “everything” RSS feed.

So how did it go?

Having a funny conversation when no one is listening = easy. Having a funny conversation when you feel like you have to = teh h4rdz. I had plans to talk about topics, read mail from you guys and, oh I don’t know, have coherent discourse that human beings could understand. Well, I forgot all the topics, and forgot to read the emails. Speaking of, I am saving those for next time, so if you emailed with a question I will get to them. I did read and almost answer a question from Kip. I think I came off sounding like I was being a dick to Kip. I wasn’t trying to. I was just confused and frightened.

Things should go smoother next time. I think the more questions we have to answer, the better we will do. So email your questions to podcast(at)hijinksensue.com. You can even email a recording of a question and we might play it on the show.

Of the 3 of us, Eli was the most pleased with how things turned out. He was riding that train wreck off into the sunset with a shit eating grin on his face. Every time I threatened to cut something out, he baulked and insisted “the worse it is, the better it is.” That must be what they teach you in Mexican public schools.

Anyway, give it a listen and let me know what you think. I really do appreciate the emails and comments I got with suggestions and questions. There were some really good questions and I hope to answer them next week.

Update:
You can download/ listen to the podcast here.

I swear to god we’re doing a Podcast

Posted on February 1, 2008February 1, 2008 | 11 Comments

OK, I’ve confirmed this with the brain trust, and we ARE recording a Podcast tomorrow. I promise this is (probably) not a fake out. If it goes well (or goes at all) I would like to make this a regular feature of the site. This inaugural episode will feature the core HE crew (me, Eli and Josh).

How can you contrubite? You can send emails/questions between right now and Saturday morning to podcast(at)hijinksensue(dot)com. What should you submit?

Questions you would like us to answer regarding TV, Movies, teh webz, Comicbooks, Apple, techology, scifi, geek stuff, etc.
Ideas for names for the podcast. YES, you can help name the Podcast
Your recommendations for where you think I should host the podcast. I want cheap-as-free, itunes subscriptions, RSS, little to no adds
Whatever else you can think of that might make for good conversation

Other ideas? Feel free to email or leave a comment. I want this to be fun and… that’s all.

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Comic Book Presale

Posted on January 30, 2008January 30, 2008 | 8 Comments

I’m in a comic book! Sort of (not really).

There is a such thing as a video game. And in that realm of that product that have what we, in the internet, call a WWII FPS MMPORGOMGWTFBBQ. The best of these is a series called “Brothers in Arms” produced by Gearbox Software. They are currently developing the third installment, “Hell’s Highway” (originally titled “Brothers in Arms: Life’s a Beach…Stom It!“)

I care about this:

A) Because every single person I know in the world (including the characters in this webcomic who are NOT me…and not Tom Cruise) is hard at work this very minute making it all happen, and
B) I’m in all three games

In the “Brothers in Arms” series, I play Pvt. Michael Garnett. Garnett dies in the first game, but the circumstances of his death are shrouded in mystery, and possibly shame, and possibly unsportsmanlike conduct. In the second game Garnett shows back up as a zombie time traveler, reanimated by the Nazi’s. Not really, but that would be cool. In “Hell’s Highway” you may finally learn the secrets of his death and who is responsible (I know, but I’m not telling).

My good friend, Mikey, is the writer for all three games and now a comic book title based on the game. This comic looks fucking slick (especially issue 5 which deals with Garnett’s backstory). Even though you can’t hear my voice in the comic, you should think of me when you read it. I asked if we could have those interactive comics, like in “Big,” but Mikey said that was just a movie. Mikey is also the voice of Cpl. Corrion (who doesn’t die in the first game). We might podcast the comics reading only our parts, pausing for the rest (so you can read along) and making tank noises.

The comic is up for preorder here:

The thing that sets this franchise apart from EVERY OTHER WWII shooter is the story. Each and every character has a unique personality, friendships, families and a reason to try and survive (most of them don’t). When you play the game you get lost in the story. You try and keep your men alive, not to get to the next mission, but to make sure your friends don’t die (they die anyway). Playing the game is a sobering experience. It’s confusing, chaotic, and terrifying. It feels like war.

The narrative, the graphics, the whole experience of these games is top shelf. Do yourself a favor and preorder the comic, play the games and rest easy in the knowledge that sometimes when you hear “GET DOWN!” or “KRAAAUUUTS!” it’s me, saying “Hi.”

Don’t forget about the Lost premier tomorrow night

Posted on January 30, 2008January 30, 2008 | 12 Comments

Because I did.

I didn’t actually forget because I never knew about it. That’s weird. Despite that fact that I would have no reason to turn on ABC while Lost isn’t airing, you would think the particular internets I frequent would be buzzing with Lost premier news.

For those that must be in the know, io9.com has extremely detailed Lost spoilers here, here, here and here.

2008-01-30-hurley-lost TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello has some updates on the premier and a few minor spoilers. He also says the writer’s strike might be over with an announcement as early as tomorrow.

Is it just me, or have you all enjoyed this break from TV? I started to realize how little I actually enjoyed some of the shows I was watching (Prison Break), and have been able to let them go. I feel like a contrived, poorly planned, monotonous burden has been lifted from my shoulders.

It will be nice to see the writers getting back to work and the watchable shows coming back to the air. I hope the industry reemerges stronger and smarter because of this ordeal.

I wonder what long term effects the strike will have on shows like Lost that already have odd production schedules. Truncated season? 4 mini seasons instead of 3? 4 deaths per episode? Can they resurrect Niki and Paulo and kill them again?

Nostalgia Side Note:

I started Hijinks Ensue last May with the idea of making fun of geek culture, especially TV. Lost was one of the first shows I tackled. Check out those early efforts here, here, and here.