Sunday, November 29, 2020

Vlog Ep. 96: Quarantine Check-in - Week 38


As we approach episode 100, today's #BaduyPride episode was another of our Quarantine Check-in videos to see how everyone is, talk about how we've been coping with the world's longest lockdown, and generally take things slow tonight.

The big topic for this period is thinking about the coming holidays and which practices we'll still push through with and which ones may not be as safe to pursue. I know I keep saying that everyone has different levels of comfort with what risks they are willing to take considering the ongoing pandemic and that's obviously going to have a significant impact on the coming holidays. 

We hope that everyone continues to stay safe as best as they can. The pandemic isn't over yet. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Vlog Ep. 95: Saturday Night with Precious Paula Nicole


Despite some technical difficulties at the end, we super enjoyed last night's #BaduyPride episode with the one and only Precious Paula Nicole. We spent a good 2+ hours talking about her artistic career as a dancer and eventually a drag artist. It's a shame that Restream got buggy at the end even after restarting things, but such are the limitations of these technologies.

Here's the second stream and our formal extro for the episode for the record:



We'll definitely schedule a follow-up episode with Precious to continue the conversation along with more interview episode with other drag artists that we love. Last night's episode was a weird reminder that the technical constraints are always going to be there, but for as long as we continue to have fun, we'll continue to try to stream these Baduy Pride vlogs.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Vlog Ep. 94: What We're Grateful For


In line with Thanksgiving in the US, this episode of #BaduyPride was dedicated to everything we're thankful for as of late. And it was kind of amazing that we managed to reach past an hour just giving thanks for the things that have been going generally right despite how "colorful" 2020 has been.

And while we're not exactly embracing something akin to toxic positivity here, we do want to take time to just appreciate everything that's still going right. Counting your blessings is just as important as being on alert to danger and staying cautious given the circumstances. And this episode was a nice reminder for us and maybe for everyone who watched that things aren't as bad as they can seem at times.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Andrei! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Thursday, November 26, 2020

Vlog Ep. 93: Gabbing About Groceries


Today's #BaduyPride was all about groceries, and yes we totally talked about this for a whole hour. But this is what quarantine has done to is all - it has made even mundane discussions about everything things become something worth talking about. So maybe it's not a bad thing.

I know Tobie and I are still quite cautious in terms of how we're managing our supplies throughout the quarantine since we're still not going together and trying to time the grocery runs for when there are fewer people out. But we get by and there are times that it's still an enjoyable activity. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Vlog Ep. 92: Interesting Game Components


We ended up having a Wednesday night #BaduyPride episode and got to talk about board game components that we find interesting! We tried to go beyond aesthetics (because there are so many games with beautiful pieces and miniatures) and went with some really novel ones that just blew our minds.

Some highlights include the unique game components of both Forbidden Desert and Forbidden Sky, the interconnected wheels of Tzolk'in, and of course, the pop-up board of Mythe. My love for Happy Salmon doesn't really count for this category - the fish is just very funnily cute to me.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Macoi! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Vlog Ep. 91: Music We Like


We drew a topic from the suggestion box and today's #BaduyPride episode was all about our top 10 songs! Tobie and I each came up with our respective lists in secret and only shared them with one another during the stream. And believe me, it wasn't easy to limit ourselves to just 10 songs, and we did invest a lot of time during the show to talk about other songs that didn't make the cut.

Our music choices really show how different Tobie and I are from one another. Tobie's list is a lot more eclectic and shows his diverse range of interests. My music choices were a bit more mainstream and closely tied to life events. But together...we're an even weirder couple. What songs do you all like?

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Pico! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Monday, November 23, 2020

Vlog Ep. 90: Making Noise for Clank!


This #BaduyPride episode is about one of the deck-building games that we've grown to love - the Clank! series. This unique game system found a way to combine the dungeon crawling experience with the deck-building mechanic in a fun and exciting way. 

So to recap, we strongly recommending both base games for Clank! and Clank! in Space most of all. These two games alone plus the benefits of the free Renegade app will give you a lot of gameplay experiences and variations and many good game nights for sure. And I say this regardless if you feel you're more a fantasy person or a science fiction person - both games provide solid experiences.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Vlog Ep. 89: Cartoons of the 2010's


Tonight's #BaduyPride episode was all about different cartoons released in the 2010's. We once again relied on a list we found on the internet, but like many crowdsourced lists, it was terribly incomplete and we had to scramble to think of which other shows we enjoyed in recent years to add to the discussion.

But yeah, totally a lot of great gems in this decade including big favorites like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Star Wars: Rebels, Ricky and Morty, and BoJack Horseman. And there are still so many shows that we want to get into like Infinity Train and the Harley Quinn series, which we did not know existed until this episode.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, David! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Vlog Ep. 88: One Night with MC Black


I guess we spoke too soon about the anniversary episode being our longest yet. Last night's #BaduyPride live stream ran for over 4 HOURS because we had so much fun talking to fabulous O Diva MC Black! This was a great interview and a beautiful exploration of her career, her thoughts on drag as an art form, and with a surprise performance at the end!

Ever since we got to interview Turing, we knew that we wanted to coordinate with the rest of the O Divas for episodes and we're super appreciative that MC made time for us last night. And the range of topics that we covered and the many insights she shared were outright inspiring not just for drag artists but pretty much anyone wanting to better express their creative side.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!


Thursday, November 19, 2020

Vlog Ep. 87: Book Recommendations I


Wow, we thought tonight's #BaduyPride episode about reading material we'd recommend to viewers would be a quickie episode, but it ended up running for like 90+ minutes. It just goes to show that we read a LOT of different things and given the diversity of our interests, we end up talking about a lot of different titles to cover and consider.

If anything, this episode has inspired me to consider re-reading some books that I recommended to others or double-check whether or not I've finished the older series I cited. Tobie brought up a lot of great comics and/or graphic novels that I've been meaning to read as well as long as I can find the time to do so. Books are the gift that keep giving. 

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Mamyaw! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Vlog Ep. 86: After Quarantine Thinking


Tonight's #BaduyPride was a quirky subject given we decided to talk about our plans (or in some cases just our speculations) for what kind of life we'll be comfy with once the government sees quarantine restrictions further. These aren't quite full-on post-COVID-19 plans since we figure the virus will be around to stay for quite a while before it gets anywhere close to being eradicated, so we'll still need to balance personal safety against social activities and the risks that come with that.

It will always boil down to what risks everyone is comfortable with and balancing that against the people we live with and also need to care for. It'll be a while before COVID-19 is at a truly manageable (read: safer?) level and in the meantime, it means still wearing face masks and practicing social distance as much as possible. But everyone is bound to make special exceptions whether for family, close friends, or even just particular activities that are very important to you. Choose wisely. 

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Andrei! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Eleven Years Together

Rocky and Tobie

2020 hasn't been a great year for a good number of reasons and it has acted like a wet blanket smothering out the joy out of everything ranging from birthdays to annual holidays and related events. All of our celebrations have been muted and certainly scaled back. The main way we've been able to involve friends and family in such festivities safely has been through shared video calls or similar online channels of interaction. 

But there is still a lot to be thankful for and we can't let something as "simple" as a global pandemic get in the way of marketing another great year together. As difficult as this quarantine period has been on everyone's mental health, we still need to appreciate how far we've come and what we still have.

Pardon the pun, but Tobie has been my rock throughout this difficult time. To be fair, he always has been. Even in times when I wasn't sure if I could believe in myself, I know that Tobie would always believe in me and remind me to keep going. When the walls feel like they're closing in, Tobie has always been there to provide comfort and strength. I rely on him for so much and can only do my best every day to offer the same degree of support in whatever way I can. That's just how we work - we constantly cheer one another on. We stay strong for the other when he falters because we are stronger together than apart as individuals.

Tobie helps to make even the most mundane moments feel special - and this goes beyond his cheesy dad jokes, his terrible puns, or his bizarre sexual innuendos. There's just something about him that makes every moment brighter and more joyful and I would not have achieved as much as I have in my life thus far without him inspiring me and uplifting me. He helps me to become better and I hope that I do the same for him whenever possible. 

I love you, Tobie. 11 years have gone by so quickly, but at the same time, they have been so rich, meaningful, and eventual. This year has just stressed that together we have the strength to survive something as crazy as a global pandemic and I know that together we can face anything else that life has to throw our way. And we're definitely not going to waste a single moment, especially once the quarantines finally get lifted and we can live more "normal" lives again. 

Monday, November 16, 2020

Vlog Ep. 85: Shufflebuilding with Smash Up


Monday nights are tabletop game nights for #BaduyPride, and today we ended up talking about the diverse worlds of the Smash Up card game created by Paul Peterson. On the surface, it can feel like an easy enough game to learn with a lot of diversity. But the attention invested into each of the factions provides a lot of depth of gameplay as well and there's a little something for everyone.

As much as we are the sort of gamers who like collecting all expansions whenever possible, Smash Up is definitely a game that has reached a point where one can just get factions based on interest without being a completist. Focus on the ones that interest you the most before you decide to commit to the line as a whole, I suppose.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Mitch! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Vlog Ep. 84: Intro to Theater Appreciation


Tonight's #BaduyPride episode on theater appreciation went on a lot longer than expected, which just goes to show how much we miss watching live stage productions. But the conversation ended up being really enjoyable, especially with all the friends who participated in the session and added their inputs as well.

We may not be theater experts, but we are certainly passionate fans and we hope this video helps to get more people curious about and eventually interested in live theater, especially with so many online options available during this time of social distancing. The videos are a decent way in to get a feel for what types of shows one may like or dislike. But when the theaters re-open, I hope more folks will support the arts and help keep this medium alive.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Vlog Ep. 83: The Pre-Anniversary Episode


Last night's epic 3.5 hour #BaduyPride episode was so much fun and honestly felt like the best way to celebrate our upcoming 11th anniversary together with the special participation of our anak, Nico! We knew we'd have a fun time since we smuggled in Nico to join us live, but I don't think we were prepared for the many friends who join to join the stream and all the interesting and challenging questions they made us answer!

This quarantine period hasn't been the greatest time for celebrations, but everyone who have become regular viewers and participants in these live stream sessions helped to make last night's episode extra special. We love you all and we hope that we helped to make your Saturday night a little brighter.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Vlog Ep. 82: Our Sorta Lifehacks


We had to reschedule our special #BaduyPride episode featuring the fabulous O Diva Precious Paula Nicole to 27 November, so instead we ended up talking about our different little "lifehacks" (if you can even call them that) in terms of how we make our day-to-day routines at the Sietch a lot easier.

Beyond the typical domestic stuff that we had partly covered in other episodes like Who Does the Chores? and Cleaning Geekily. But we threw in some of the many ways that we also leverage online tools like YNAB and of course the different Google apps to cover all our bases. This episode may have also inspired a future episode dedicated to just talking to our Google Home Mini unit the whole night or something.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Vlog Ep. 81: Post Ulysses Check-In


Given the impact of Typhoon Ulysses (International Name: Vamco) across Metro Manila and Luzon as a whole, we figured it might be nice to do a check-in episode for today's #BaduyPride episode instead of something less relevant. The show has become one of our ways of socializing and keeping in touch with others and we wanted to reach out to everyone who regularly supports the show.

We hope that things get better for everyone sooner rather than later. We all need to do our part to help one another recover from this storm and continue to be more prepared for the next one. Our government response has been less than ideal more often than not, so in the interim we also need to do our part for the safety of our friends and family. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Vlog Ep. 80: Geek Storage Problems


Tonight's #BaduyPride episode was all about the challenge of geek storage! It's hard enough to deal with one geek's collectibles, but what more two geeks who support one another fully and indulge them their individual and shared collections! 

I think our ultimate takeaway from this episode was to geek responsibly, really. Live within your means, maximize the potential of vertical storage solutions, like getting more shelving, and of course knowing when to decongest, digitize, and all that good stuff. 

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Mark! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Monday, November 9, 2020

Vlog Ep. 79: Local Tabletop Games in Our Collection


Tonight's #BaduyPride episode was a celebration of local tabletop games - or at least the ones we own physical copies of in our collection. And we did this because this week also marks the Indie Fiesta, which is a mini-exhibition of independent games (both digital and analog). They've taken the event fully digital this year, which is a great way to still celebrate these creators.

While we do have a good number of local games, there are still so many others out there we've yet to find copies of or even try. It's a lot harder for these creators to even just produce these genes, what more figure out marketing and distribution. So little efforts like this can still help them get the word out and hopefully help them find more players and thus expand their audience.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Vlog Ep. 78: What We're Watching This November


As has become our monthly habit, today's #BaduyPride episode was all about the different shows and movies we've been watching as of late and what we're looking forward to. This included the end of our journey through the many, many episodes of Forensic Files and gushing over the new season of Star Trek: Discovery

But had to dedicate time to gush about the magical experience that was Kylie Minogue's Infinite Disco live stream event. Seriously, this was one of the best things we had experienced all quarantine and was fairly right up there when we watched her Aphrodite concert when it came to Manila. It was a concert and yet not a concert. It was a truly digital experience but also one that still felt as powerful as a live performance. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Vlog Ep. 77: Different Likes


Tonight's #BaduyPride was a lot of fun as we talked about the areas where Tobie and I like different things. From Tobie's love of the horror genre to my massive collection of books, our differences are just part of what has brought us together to be even more awesome together.

I'm surprised that this episode ran as long as it had given we were talking about our differences. It was already quite the colorful discussion when Tobie and I were hashing out the list of things over dinner, but it certainly made for a fun episode overall.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, David! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Vlog Ep. 76: Tabletop RPG Superstitions


This episode of #BaduyPride was all about Tabletop RPG Superstitions that both players and GMs seem to have. Personally, I don't think that Tobie and I have too many of these, so we made sure to look up some lists of popular superstitions just to see what else might be out there. And wow, people do have a lot of interesting habits.

But I do stand by one of my latter points in the video - the best superstitions are the ones that you share with your gaming group and end up celebrating together. You hang out with these people on a regular basis for hours on end and sharing these sorts of quirks and idiosyncrasies. Just thinking about them makes me miss playing with our friends in person. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Vlog Ep. 75: 80's Cartoons


Tonight's #BaduyPride episode was a fun nostalgic exploration of the many 80's cartoons we grew up with! We try following along a list so we didn't just focus on our favorites and it made for a crazy exploration of our shared childhood experiences.

Yes, I probably remember way more about these shows than I show given my random ability to still sing snippets of the different cartoon theme songs. And while Tobie and I had exposure to different shows, it's clear that we still had a lot of similar interests or at least similar tastes when it comes to which shows we liked the most from this era.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Pico! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Vlog Ep. 74: Work Stories


Wow, we totally weren't expecting this #BaduyPride episode to run for over an hour, but I guess talking about our different jobs over the years and our respective career journeys was a lot more relatable to people than expected. And we super appreciate everyone who joined us for this episode and gave so much life to the discussion.

So for people who want to cut to the chase, Tobie works in the field of game design and I (Rocky) work in digital marketing operations. It took us a while to get to this point and we got lucky that we were given opportunities to take our careers in these directions. Work is also a journey of discovery in itself.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by our friend, Pico! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured in a future video.

Monday, November 2, 2020

Vlog Ep. 73: Gardening with Takenoko


Mondays are generally board game discussion days for #BaduyPride and today we talked about the ever-adorable Takenoko created by Antoine Bauza. This game combines a variety of interesting game mechanics including tile-laying, scoring objective cards, and other fun stuff all in one beautifully designed game.

Takenoko is always a welcome part of any game night for us as it's easy enough for newer players to get into but still provides a good challenge for everyone regardless of skill level. And as we repeatedly mentioned in the video, the beauty of the game makes it highly Instagram-friendly, if you're into that sort of thing for your games.

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Vlog Ep. 72: Quarantine Check-in - Week 34


After the limited Halloween festivities and the stress over the ongoing typhoon, we figured another quarantine check-in episode for #BaduyPride was warranted to slow things down and reach out to our regular viewers. These episodes are very free-flow in format and the discussions pretty look, but we do honestly want to support everyone in our own way given the craziness of our present circumstances. 

Halloween was very different this year but we still had a good time in our own way. I hope that everyone else also enjoyed their weekend one way or another - we all deserve reasons to smile and feel good about life. And it would be prudent to think about online shopping plans for the holidays in order to not get too bogged down by the Christmas rush. 

While we chose today's topic, we're always open to suggestions! If you have ideas for future video discussions, feel free to fill out this Google Form and your idea may be featured as the focus for an episode!
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