Binary System Podcast Archive

Original broadcast date February 28, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/02/binary-system-podcast-166-wtnv-142-ufo-sighting-reports/

While this week's Night Vale recap had a lot of UFOs, shape-changing trees, and french fries, it also had a lot to say about life and loss and grief. So to switch gears we talked about some of the Oscar Nominated shorts, one of which is also about life and loss and grief. Right. So we pitched the recaps out the window and talked about Vampire Diaries instead, because if we're going to talk about death we'd like there to be vampires, thank you.

This week's outro music is a clip from Out of Time by Tryphème.

Correction: well, clarification really. We recorded this two weeks ago and didn't realize it would post after the Oscars. So you'll just have to trust us when we say we picked "Period. End of Sentence" as the best Documentary Short two weeks before it won. https://www.netflix.com/title/81074663

When we talked about the Netflix movie End Game https://www.netflix.com/title/80210691 we mentioned a gentleman who'd lost his legs and an arm and now champions a cause to change how we look at death. His name is BJ Miller and his Ted Talk is here. https://www.ted.com/talks/bj_miller_what_really_matters_at_the_end_of_life It's only 19 minutes, and you should check it out, it'll make you feel better, honestly.  

Original broadcast date February 21, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/02/binary-system-podcast-165-the-oscar-nominated-animated-shorts/

In what's quickly becoming an annual tradition, the Binary System Podcast (with special guest Nathan Adams) watched the Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts at our favorite cinemas, and we're here to give you the details. Which short do we think will win? Which short would we like to win? Which short wasn't our favorite, and which "Highly Commended" short was absolutely robbed, ROBBED, through no fault of its own? (We're assuming it was for something that wasn't the creators' fault. Problematic Russian politics aside, there's no reason we can see why "Tweet Tweet" shouldn't have blown the competition away.)

This week's outro music is a clip from "Goodbye Outer Space" by Cairo Braga http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Cairo_Braga/Qualquer_Arte_Ruim__Melhor_Que_Arte_Nenhuma/07_Goodbye_Outer_Space?fbclid=IwAR3gX5GKKrV1ycLz1xoSh-y3L0l9MjspNIfjsfSUGwXEqLCCKWlWHLg6vlY

The entertainingly bizarre video we mentioned  (witches flying through a city) is Jan Kounen Gisele Kerozene.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0XuE9DtBzM&list=WL&index=10&t=0s

The article Elizabeth mentioned, about some of 2018's best animated shorts not getting nominated, is at cartoonbrew.com. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/oscar-shortlist-for-animated-shorts-snubbed-most-of-2018s-best-shorts-167961.html

Original broadcast date February 14, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/02/binary-system-podcast-164-websites-that-help-you-watch-movies/

Technically this podcast is about websites that help you watch movies, but aside from the RunPee app (and what a glorious invention that is) it’s mostly about sites that can give you a heads up about triggers in movies.

Here at Binary System we've never been sure what to think of trigger warnings, but we're fascinated by websites that categorize movies by every potentially traumatizing thing you can think of: snakes, bugs, car crashes, clowns, damaged teeth; you name it, there's a site that can tell you if a movie has it. So this week we're going over some of our favorite finds (including the RunPee app, which counts if you think being super uncomfortable for the last twenty minutes of a movie is traumatic, which we do.)

This week's outro music is a clip from W-ITEM GLITCH by Kanji Kinetic. (Fair warning: the song goes RIGHT off the rails after the clip we used, but we liked the beginning.) http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kanji_Kinetic/Saishiken_EP/02_W-ITEM_GLITCH

Correction the first: Elizabeth called doesthedogdie.com “crowdfunded.” She meant “crowdsourced.”

Correction the second: Elizabeth would also like to apologize to Jesse Williams for forgetting he was in Cabin in the Woods. Obviously it's been way too long since she watched it. She's going to go fix that now...

Original broadcast date February 7, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/02/binary-system-podcast-163-wtnv-141-save-dark-owl-records/

Yay, Welcome to Night Vale is back from hiatus! To celebrate, Night Vale is having a party this week at Dark Owl Records!

Well, it's more of a fundraiser than a party (the new music store in town, Burger Barn Gladtown Records Express, is affecting sales at Dark Owl Records and owner Michelle Nguyen HAS OPINIONS ABOUT THAT.) Plus, the host of the party really hates parties, and there may be a shambling horror from underneath the store about to slaughter all the guests. But there's plenty of cake and iced coffee, so come on over and dig for the latest records! Through the dirt. With your bare hands.

This week's outro music is a clip from Hot Pink BMX by Lazer Crystal. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lazer_Crystal/Live_on_WFMUs_Talks_Cheap_Aug_17_2010/Hot_Pink_BMX

Original broadcast date January 31, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/01/binary-system-podcast-162-convention-disaster-stories/

Can we just say for the record that if you've attended a convention and been bitterly disappointed, you have our sympathies. THAT BEING SAID, grab some popcorn, because in the wake of the Fyre Festival documentaries (which we adored) we're going to talk about a bunch more conventions that imploded due to inexperience, egos, financial shenanigans, downright mental incompetence, or all of the above. (We don't know why we love Convention Disaster Stories, but we really, really do.)

Listen in as we go over what we know about TanaCon, Dashcon, Nerdcon, RainFurrest, and Universal FanCon, not to mention a bunch of geeking out about Fyre Festival because holy cow that crapfest makes for a great story.

SPOILER WARNING for Better Call Saul at the 5:53 mark!

This week's outro music is a clip from If This Were An Actual Emergency by TeknoAXE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGYsrCNb6uM&index=2&list=LLTLISidXZNOcw-O8EN9m4EA&t=0s

If you're wanting even more Fyre Festival content, the Fyre Festival episode of the Swindled podcast (which came out two months before the documentaries) is very fun, and the intro about a disastrous Christmas Festival is a nice bonus. http://swindledpodcast.com/podcasts/season-2/episode-04-the-fyre-festival/

Original broadcast date January 17, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/01/binary-system-podcast-160-happy-new-year-two-weeks-late/

Well, that didn't take long, did it? Not that we've fallen behind on our podcasts by accident, oh no. We knew it would freak out our listeners if we actually stayed ahead of schedule for too long, so we went back to our tried-and-true method of skipped weeks, delays, and a complete lack of planning. Because we're considerate.

We also have an Arizona convention for Elizabeth to talk about, a new Transformers movie for Kathryn to squee over (best in the series, suck it Michael Bay!) and we really really really need some suggestions for cosplay, because Wondercon is coming up in less than three months and the only ideas we have so far would take, oh, about two years to put together.

This week's outro music is a clip from "of the sky" by Gorowski. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Gorowski/Simulators_can/of_the_sky?fbclid=IwAR0jphiSG46fbqlDJEEODkSedavNR1m0-ysiuBumga4UXfHKIn-roS5B7Lc

Kathryn's note: Since it's the beginning of the year, I thought I'd pull back the curtain and show you how skilled we've gotten at this whole recording thing. And by "skilled," I mean the bit after this week's outro is a solid minute of clips featuring Skype freezing, flubbed lines, Elizabeth's cat being a distraction, and Kathryn trying to describe the sound she was getting whenever the feed cut out.

Original broadcast date January 9, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/01/binary-system-podcast-159-the-haunting-of-hill-house/

So did you watch Haunting of Hill House, or did you skip it and wonder what the fuss was about? Did you love all of it, or did you recognize the parts that were deeply flawed? Did you enjoy the ending, or did the last line make you want to flip a table? Pull up a chair, we've got you covered, as special guest Hannah Wallace returns to help us break down this wonderful yet sometimes bafflingly annoying show.

This week's outro music is a clip from The Haunting of Hill House theme, composed by The Newton Brothers. http://www.thenewtonbrothers.com/

If you want to hear our discussion about The Bent Neck Lady episode specifically, you can find it here. https://pixelatedgeek.com/2018/12/binary-system-podcast-155-get-out-and-the-haunting-of-hill-house/

The Worst Foot Forward Hannah mentioned is here, the Hill House discussion starts right at the 24-minute mark. (Warning, the opening soundbite is IMMEDIATELY and VERY lewd.) https://secure-hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/4/7/b/47beddfd6f881ebb/339728176-worstfootforward-ep-35-tom-crowley-worlds-worst-remake.mp3?c_id=26321660&cs_id=26321660&expiration=1546542594&hwt=1e9af58c6df125c9bc2c17eabf1b24cf

Correction the first: Elizabeth said that the sixth episode was made up of three long, unbroken shots. A few seconds later she accidentally says it's six long shots. According to imdb trivia, it's five. (But it really was six weeks of rehearsal to pull it off.) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6763664/trivia?item=tr4203069

Original broadcast date December 27, 2018. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2018/12/binary-system-podcast-158-wtnv-140-a-blood-stone-carol/

Last week was our Christmas episode so of course Night Vale released a Christmas episode for us to recap the next day. But seeing as how it was a downer of a story about mortality and terror, it's probably good we waited until after Christmas to recap it. And to cheer ourselves up, we also talked about Penguin's father on Gotham, Klaus' predicament after season three of The Originals, and the city of pirate ships in China Mieville's The Scar.

A very happy new year to everybody!

This week's outro music is a clip from disparition's theme at the end of episode 140 of Welcome to Night Vale, if you want to hear the whole thing you can find it here. https://youtu.be/h0YeaqlD6K8

Correction (or clarification) - we guessed right: when Cecil talked about the radio station being hijacked this time last year, he was talking about Kevin and “All Smile’s Eve,” one year ago to the day. https://youtu.be/8nwpPXbDzOM

Original broadcast date January 24, 2019. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2019/01/binary-system-podcast-161-bumblebee-and-other-transformers-topics/

It sure doesn't happen very often: both the East and West Coast branches of Binary System actually saw a movie before it left the theaters. But it was a Transformers movie, and the reviews were great, so how could they NOT go see it?

Spoilers ahoy! Listen in as they break down everything they loved (and a couple teeny tiny things they didn't) about Bumblebee. After that they segued into...more Transformers stuff, including the Transformers The Movie mini-documentary that Kathryn recommends, IDW's Transformers: Historia, and, you know, all the other IDW Transformers books that they loved.

The mini-documentary Kathryn mentioned is called Really That Good - Transformers: The Movie (1986), and it takes a very in-depth look at how something that was basically a series of toy commercials leading to a ninety-minute toy commercial ended up being so meaningful to an entire generation of children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9iab0z6Kyg

The Youtuber who talks about The Male Gaze and how it applies to the Michael Bay Transformers movie franchise is Lindsay Ellis https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG1h-Wqjtwz7uUANw6gazRw, and her whole Transformers Film Studies series is really, really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRXI__Wixas&list=PLJGOq3JclTH8J73o2Z4VMaSYZDNG3xeZ7

Correction: We referred to the main character in Michael Bay's first Transformers movie as Spike. His name was actually Sam. We got it wrong because we don't actually care.

Original broadcast date December 20, 2018. The original podcast post is here: https://pixelatedgeek.com/2018/12/binary-system-podcast-157-incredibles-2/

Only a few days until Christmas, it's almost the end of the year, and we're finally getting better at movies! We managed to watch a popular film only six months late instead of, um, how long did it take us to see "Tangled?" Two years? Anyway, we watched "Incredibles 2" this week, and we have comments. Listen in as we fangirl about the animation, the characters, the powers, the Jack-Jack vs. Raccoon fight, and the treasure trove that is the IMDB Trivia section.

We also talk a little about the film "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" (stunningly beautiful visuals, but pretty much everything else is a big ol' nothing burger),"Gotham," the penultimate season of "The Vampire Diaries,"  the cancellation of ALL THE MARVEL NETFLIX SERIES (okay, that's an exaggeration. BUT NOT MUCH OF ONE.), why Common Core Math is supposed to be a good idea, and the similarities between binging a TV show and waiting to buy a comic book until the graphic novel comes out.

This week's outro music is Christmas on Mars by Spinningmerkaba. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/spinningmerkaba/~/SantaAintComin256

Here's a link to the article we mentioned about Common Core math, and why it's supposed to encourage students to solve problems from many different angles, rather than just with memorized formulas that don't really teach how numbers interact with each other. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/09/05/why-did-the-approach-to-teaching-math-change-with-common-core/?sh=7cfa68379ff2

Correction the first: Elizabeth at one point mentions Frozone and "Mr. Fantastic." She meant Mr. Incredible. She keeps doing that.

Correction the second: At the time of recording we still thought all the Netflix Marvel characters were going to be in another big group show together. Once this news story https://screenrant.com/netflix-marvel-disney-reboot-daredevil-luke-cage-iron-fist/ was released, that became less likely, but we're still hearing rumors it could happen. https://gizmodo.com/disneys-already-floating-the-idea-of-reviving-netflixs-1831201804