Thursday, September 30, 2021

Vlog Ep. 277: Cartoons for Grown-Ups


This episode of #BaduyPride was another viewer request - this time to talk about different animated projects oriented towards more adult audiences. And this is a tricky item to consider as there are cartoons that appeal to a wider audience but may not necessarily just aimed at adults and there are "adult' ventures that can feel rather stupid and childish.

So we did our best to go over different lists and categorizations that tend to touch on concepts that automatically become considered to be adult. There are shows that get the adult moniker because of excessive violence, profanity, or sexual relations. And there are those that touch on things that aren't fully accepted by the wider public like LGBT characters. There are some gems out there. But there's a lot of crap we could all do better without.

This was a community-contributed topic originally suggested by Kenny! 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, September 28, 2021

Vlog Ep. 276: Pasta vs Noodles


This Tasty Tuesday episode of #BaduyPride is a requested topic to talk all about noodles and pasta! Everyone knows they're related, but of course, there's more to it than that. And so we gave it our usual spin, broke things down into definitions, and just enjoyed the exploration through conversation. Plus really, there are so many kinds of noodles.

And even the classification of noodles and pasta is all very specific. You can sort and parse them based on the main ingredient involved. You can classify them based on their country of origin. And maybe we can further segment them based on popular usage or something - are they eaten with a sauce or as part of a soup? So many crazy options! And I even have my keto noodles as well, so I'm still an active part of this food conversation. 

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by Kenny! 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, September 27, 2021

Vlog Ep. 275: Exit The Game + Puzzle Sets


This Monday edition of #BaduyPride is all about the new Exit The Game sets that come with jigsaw puzzles in them. Gone are the usual decks of riddle cards and answer cards and instead there are four actual jigsaw puzzles in each of these sets. And players will need to assemble these puzzles as part of their virtual escape room experience without the aid of knowing what the completed puzzles are supposed to look like.

We were really excited to try these games out but the actual experience was still a little rough. These games nicely scratch your puzzle itch together with the challenge of solving a series of escape room-style riddles but the over-arching story isn't as strong as it could be. It's decent fun and a good challenge but a lot of the complexity is more due to limited or confusing access to information more than great riddle design. 

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!    

Friday, September 24, 2021

Vlog Ep. 274: New Media and Politics


This episode of #BaduyPride was about the critical role that new media platforms like social media play in our political discourse today. This isn't a new idea, but it remains a very important one, especially with our own national elections just around the corner. And we need to get ready in order to be in the right headspace to handle the inevitable torrent of messages and ads we're going to get pushing for this or that candidate.

It's not easy to be media literate in these turbulent times - no one likes to think that they're not smart enough to handle things as seemingly innocuous as social media. But it is precisely because so many underestimate the impact of such platforms and even our ability to influence those connected to us within our social circles that we should put more effort into being responsible while on the internet. We need to verify everything we read and we need to discuss (and argue) responsibly.

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, September 23, 2021

Vlog Ep. 273: Shire Talk


In honor of yesterday, 22 September, being Hobbit Day, our #BaduyPride discussion for the night ended being all about the amazing fantasy world that is The Lord of the Rings. This was already an amazing series of books that had garnered quite the fan following on its own, but the addition of the Lord of the Rings movies in the early 2000s expanded their appeal to an even wider audience.

And while we're not necessarily the biggest Tolkien fans out there, but we do have a significant love for the film series. Today's discussion also had us celebrating Tobie's apparent love for Tom Bombadil, which I had no idea was as intense as it turned out to be. You gotta love discovering little things about your life partner while in a live stream.

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, September 21, 2021

Vlog Ep. 272: Smoothies, Shakes, and Juices


Tonight's episode of #BaduyPride was all about drinks like smoothies, shakes, and juices and the weird overlap between them. I thought it would be pretty straightforward to determine the proper delineation between them. Juices are generally clear (even with the inclusion of meat juices) but the line between smoothies and shakes turns out to be super blurry and people can't agree if it's just a question of thickness or the involvement of dairy products that makes them different.

We seem to be in the general camp of appreciating these different drinks when they're there but we don't go too far out of our way to get them. Tobie does love trying new variants as long as it remains convenient to do so and he has had more interesting flavor adventures than I have. But maybe we'll get around to helping me find some keto-friendly smoothie analogs to expand what I can consume or whatever. Shakes and smoothies feel like such an "outside" thing to have, which makes it feel super non-essential while we're still in quarantine.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by Kenny! 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.

Friday, September 17, 2021

Vlog Ep. 271: The Magic Behind Magic


For this Friday night episode of #BaduyPride, we dove into the deep end of talking about magic and magicians, and other related forms of entertainment. Tobie and I share quite the love for this particular art form (if you can call it that) and it was nice to look back to shared experiences like the classic David Copperfield televised magic tricks. 

Tobie and I also had magic performances in common. At least Tobie got paid for his stints as a magician as I only performed for free for classmates and family. Super big thanks to that Usborne Book of Magic! That was my friend growing up. Tobie remains more into the continuing progression of magic thanks to shows like Fool Us, because Penn and Teller are awesome.

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, September 16, 2021

Vlog Ep. 270: M. Night Shyamalan Movies


For this episode of #BaduyPride, Tobie and I took a journey through the colorful filmography of M. Night Shyamalan. From his breakthrough cinematic experience that was The Sixth Sense through all the twists and turns of his creative efforts, he remains a memorable filmmaker and storyteller. And his earlier movies remain to be very interesting efforts to tell unique stories in his own way.

I was kind of surprised by the fact that I've seen pretty much all of his movies at this point. And I think I was more surprised that Tobie hadn't seen a few that I had assumed he had already covered - which is only surprising given he has been more of a fan of his work than I ever have. But on the whole, it was nice to talk through his different projects and still celebrate the great things about his different films, even the much-reviled ones.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by Karlo! 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, September 14, 2021

Vlog Ep. 269: Meat Matters


Tonight's food-related #BaduyPride topic for this Tasty Tuesday was all about meat! Totally not a vegetarian or vegan episode for sure. But we just wanted to spend some time to talk about the role that meat plays in a lot of people's diets along with the challenges that come with meat consumption.

It's funny how this ended up being not just a discussion about meat but also the future of food. We're all very aware of the sustainability issues that plague almost all meat consumption whether we're talking about land-based animals or fish from the sea. And maybe our idea of some sort of sustainable alternative protein source at an affordable price may save us all in the long term. It might even taste like chicken. 

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!    

Monday, September 13, 2021

Vlog Ep. 268: Exploring Mystery House


Tonight's featured board game for this #BaduyPride Monday is the innovative deductive mystery game Mystery House: Adventures in a Box. This is a 1-5 player game that was created by Antonio Tinio and published by Cranio Creations. The central mechanic of this game is the box framework that allows the creation of a 3D maze based on the scenario you're playing. Thus players have something physical to literally explore in order to solve the puzzles and riddles of the game.

We only have the base game to discuss and with its two scenarios, it's a good representation of the potential game. But this first foray is a little shaky with a few kinks in the system, mainly around the app experience and how it doesn't fully enable richer storytelling and other silliness. But it's a good effort and maybe we'll get around to getting the other expansions in time.

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!    

Friday, September 10, 2021

Vlog Ep. 267: The Power of Nostalgia


This episode of #BaduyPride was all about the power of nostalgia! We know it to be a feeling often associated with things like old photo albums or school reunions. But have people ever really sat down to just think about it and examine why we feel the way we do? That's exactly what we ended up doing during today's discussion.

Nostalgia is some pretty powerful stuff and we found an article that stated our brains are literally wired to reward us when we feel nostalgia. And it's a shared experience, so talking about old stories with friends and family has a sort of snowball effect where the good vibes just build and build. It's neither good nor bad in itself. But it can be helpful in many cases but also tricky in other instances. 

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, September 9, 2021

Vlog Ep. 266: Growing Up With The New Mutants


Tonight's episode of #BaduyPride is all about celebrating Tobie's love for the New Mutants, as this was a book that he has loved since his younger years. And while most of our episodes have us talking about things we both know a fair bit about, this was definitely Tobie's show, and I was more than happy to let loose and talk about all the nuances of his love for this comic and its unique assortment of characters.

And based on how the discussion went, there is a LOT to get into when it comes to this comic. Like most other readers who didn't necessarily read this title, we may have encountered one or more of the New Mutants in their various appearances with other teams or stories. But going back to the start and exploring what made the book do distinct definitely has me finally wanting to get around to read the original stories as well. And I hope that this video helps others discover the comic as well.

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, September 7, 2021

Vlog Ep. 265: All About Nuts


This episode of #BaduyPride was all about nuts! This was a viewer request that we thought would be a pretty simple discussion. But it turned out to be a very revealing one as we had to sort through the differences between the botanical and culinary definitions of what nuts are and learning new terms of drupes

As always, the joy of the episode came more from the live discussion with the viewers and we super thank everyone who chimed in for this nutty topic. Sure, there was no stopping Tobie from enjoying making all those silly puns left and right, but that's just part of his charm. I suppose.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by 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.

Monday, September 6, 2021

Vlog Ep. 264: Neuroshima Hex!


Tonight's episode of #BaduyPride is all about one of the few tactical games we've really dived into as of late - Neuroshima Hex! by designer MichaÅ‚ Oracz and published by Portal Games. This 1-4 player game features surprisingly fast tactical combat within 30 minutes using one of more than 20 possible armies given all the expansions this game has.

We're fortunate enough to have The Year of Moloch edition of the game to showcase in this episode and this has also motivated us to play the game more as of late. And while we didn't have time to discuss every single faction in the game, we still enjoyed sharing our enjoyment for the system and we hope that this encourages more people to consider getting their armies on as well.

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!

Friday, September 3, 2021

Vlog Ep. 263: Resolving Arguments


For this episode of #BaduyPride, we took another viewer request and expanded a conversation about how to win arguments into a more general discussion on resolving conflict. And thus we decided to tackle the many levels and forms of arguments we're likely to get into whether at work, online, among friends, or even at home with your family or your significant other. 

Given how we don't create outlines for these episodes beforehand, it was interesting that the resulting approaches we discussed followed a consistent pattern across relationship spheres. It's important to stand up for what you believe in but also to pick your battles and try to consider the perspective of other people. It's not always easy, but it can be a lot more fulfilling in the longer term.

This was a community-contributed topic originally shared by 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.

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Vlog Ep. 262: The Fantastic Four


We had a lot of fun with this comics-related #BaduyPride discussion all about the Fantastic Four, starting with their comic book origins, skimming across their different adaptations, and postulating about the future. And given the extensive history of the comic book series alone, we had a LOT of ground to cover.

We really enjoyed the discussion especially with all the user feedback during the session, which is why we ended up recording for over 2 hours. That is a credit to the franchise as a whole, but maybe more the strength of the characters associated with this book. Just look at how much time we spent geeking out over the different villains the Fantastic Four have faced - we spent more time on that versus talking about the FF itself. Good stuff all around - and Doom 2099.

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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