The Flopcast

While preparing for this week's solar eclipse (with special glasses and coffee milk), Kevin and Kornflake catch up on their latest goofy summer activities, including: The Aquabats and CJ Ramone together in Boston; Niki Luparelli and the Gold Diggers under the stars at a science museum; Micky Dolenz and Billy West at the Boston SouthCoast Comic Con; Elvis Costello and the Imposters in Providence, Rhode Island; a visit to Alice's Restaurant in Stockbridge, Massachusetts; Petty Morals and Elettrodomestico (with Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's!) in Plymouth; and the Retro Futura tour, featuring a heap of classic 80s performers (Katrina, Paul Young, Modern English, English Beat, Men Without Hats, and Howard Jones). Then it's the shocking conclusion of our ten-part High Feather series review! In this week's "Food Follies" episode, our summer campers are singing, dancing, and hiding behind giant vegetables... and perhaps it's for the best that this is the end. Also: The return of Robolar! It's been decades since we last saw our favorite Boston-accented, Earth fruit-chomping Martian from that classic PSA, but now thanks to some friends of the Flopcast, Robolar is back. This is crazy. We're also celebrating the 87th birthday of Sean Connery (you remember him from such films as DragonHeart and Zardoz), and we wrap up this extra-long show with some Chickens in the News, as a giant angry chicken balloon arrives in Washington to join the resistance. Next week, at last: Our DragonCon preview. Get ready.

As we creep ever closer to DragonCon, we're celebrating National Badge Ribbon Day. (And yes, we'll have our ridiculous Flopcast badge ribbons at DragonCon, available for the very reasonable price of one human soul.) We also take another trip into the Pudding Pages, and learn of a shocking pudding-themed incident in Kornflake's past. And then, of course, we look at High Feather episode 9, featuring chocolate-covered tennis players, jelly sandwiches, and a little dog named Scruffy. Just one more High Feather episode to go, kids! Then we can all get on with our lives.

Another goofy little summer show this week: We're celebrating Duran Duran Appreciation Day (despite being kicked out of the Union of the Snake years ago); Kornflake recommends My So Called Podcast (it's 90s-themed!); we play a long overdue round of The Pudding Pages (also 90s-themed, possibly Newsies-themed); we look at High Feather episode 8, in which the kids go to the county fair with a Micky Dolenz look-alike ne'er-do-well; and we learn that Kornflake once spent a week at Yogi Bear camp, where presumably the main activity is picnic basket theft, and the dress code is hats, ties, and collars only.

It's a summertime catch up episode, before we completely shift into frantic get-ready-for-DragonCon mode! Discussed this week: Spider-Man Homecoming (they made another Kornflake-friendly superhero movie!), a Pink Floyd tribute show from Niki Luparelli and the Gold Diggers (called "The Blonde Side of the Moon," of course), TV Guidance Counselor live at Philly Podfest (you know we're always up for a crazy road trip), an online concert by Marc With a C (including an obscure Monkees cover, which we always appreciate), the Everyday Ethics podcast (Kornflake's podcast pick for July), and the dangers of singing in rounds (just don't risk it, kids). Also: Episode 7 of High Feather! Yes, we're still doing this. Sorry.

We're gonna need a bigger podcast, because we're celebrating Shark Week with a ridiculous shark-themed Top 4 1/2 List! We have shark cartoons, shark TV shows, shark songs, shark candy, and perhaps even a real live shark. We also look at episode 6 of High Feather, in which our goofy summer campers get lost in the woods, end up at a scary farm, and meet a bunch of cows and chickens (but alas, no sharks). So has the Flopcast finally jumped the shark? If next week's show is hosted by Ted McGinley, you'll have your answer.

We're back from Minnesota with a full report on CONvergence, an annual gathering of awesome crazy people who are really into convention badge ribbons. (We may have given out more Flopcast ribbons this year than ever before! It's the boldest fashion accessory of the season.) Our report features: Convention panels (on podcasting, Flash Gordon, Jack Kirby, Legends of Tomorrow, and the Star Wars Holiday Special), performances (from Beth Kinderman and the Player Characters, Karl Brown, Joseph Scrimshaw, and the Nerdlesque dancers), birds and snakes (from the Raptor Center and the Herpetological Society), life on Mars (hello, Robolar), an amazing Bea Arthur costume, and a field trip to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden to visit a giant blue chicken. Meanwhile, Kornflake survived a dark and stormy night at Fenway Park, where she partied like it's 1991 with Paula Abdul, Boyz II Men, and her beloved New Kids on the Block. Also: We reach the halfway point in our High Feather series review with episode 5, featuring more summer camp ceramic mug-making action than you can possibly handle. And it's World Emoji Day. But instead of sending little smiley faces to your stupid friends, just send a turxt.

Our excruciating all-summer-long review of High Feather continues! In High Feather episode 4, the kids publish the camp newspaper (using incredible technology like mimeograph machines and typewriters), and we learn a goofy apple-picking song too. (How did this show not sweep the Emmy Awards?) It's also National Gummy Worm Day, which makes us ponder the existence of gummy skinks (because creepy lizards just make everything better). And we review the list of celebrity contestants on the new Battle of the Network Stars, a revival of the classic (and ridiculous) Howard Cosell-hosted show from the 70s and 80s. The new show promises to be ridiculous too, but the players include Greg Brady, Danny Partridge, Daisy Duke, the Incredible Hulk, Isaac the Bartender, Electra Woman, and a couple of Facts of Life girls. So yeah, they have our attention, even if this is seriously cutting into our High Feather time. Next week: We'll be back from CONvergence! Hopefully!

Kornflake tells us about Boom Box Parade Day (probably the biggest American holiday celebrated on July 4th), so stock up on D batteries and take to the streets. Meanwhile, Kevin and Kornflake's recent activities include a trip to Vermont (featuring frogs, whistlepigs, and cheap CDs), a trip to New Hampshire (featuring wine, painting, and the music of Eddie Rabbitt), and live shows from Joan Osborne, Rifftrax, and The Great Molasses Flood. Then it's time to review High Feather episode 3, in which we learn that you can eat all the Hostess Cupcakes you want, as long as you're the Six Million Dollar Man. (These High Feather health tips just keep getting weirder.) Also: You can find Kevin on a couple of other podcasts this week: The Batcave Podcast (for a tribute to Adam West) and Earth Station One (for an ESO book club discussion of Watchmen). Now we're off to Minnesota, and we're bringing turkey ribbons. See you at CONvergence.

Meteor Day is this week, and it's a painful reminder that we can never remember which ones are meteors, which are meteorites, and which are meteoroids. (There must be a better way. Let's just call them all meat-balls.) Meanwhile our summer-long review of High Feather (a forgotten TV series about summer camp) continues with a look at episode 2, featuring ceramic snakes, pickleball, Cookie Crisp, a carrot cake song, and a disturbing ritual known as "Frenching the bed." We also look ahead at one of our favorite conventions: CONvergence is July 6-9 in Bloomington, Minnesota! Kevin will be appearing on several panels there, on subjects including comic books, podcasting, the Flash Gordon movie, and yes, the Star Wars Holiday Special. (We're celebrating Life Day in July this year. Deal with it.) And in our "What's in the Bag?" segment, we reveal the fabulous prizes we'll be handing out at CONvergence, FlopFest, and beyond. (Here's a hint: They're sort of stupid.)

Flopcast listeners follow up on last week's turtle list with some favorite turtles of their own (yikes, we missed some good ones); Kornflake attends a Jim's Big Ego house concert along with her close personal friend Mr. Peanut; we loved the new Wonder Woman movie, even though the invisible plane was missing (or was it?); and it's Hike With a Geek Day, but we're encouraging geeks everywhere to stay inside and watch High Feather. Yes, we're starting our summer-long review of High Feather, an obscure 1980 educational TV series about kids at summer camp. You probably missed it, but this is your big chance, because the Mayor of Chickentown has set up a High Feather playlist on our new Flopcast YouTube channel! Now you have no need to leave the house all summer long. You're welcome.