Idle F***in' Thumbs Podcast

"M'bohls"

Episode 41

I wouldn't want to be a felon in a town patrolled by sniper cop.

I might have to give the Martian chronicles a go. I read Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars. The book left me a little cold in general but the description of the colonists waking to their first morning on the surface of Mars has stayed with me.

Layton panic attacks. Really? Poor guy.

The call at the end about anti-Wizard marriage was great.

"All I know is there's a lot of livestock in that child."

That guy nearly killed me.

Higgledy wrote:

Episode 41

I wouldn't want to be a felon in a town patrolled by sniper cop.

I might have to give the Martian chronicles a go. I read Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars. The book left me a little cold in general but the description of the colonists waking to their first morning on the surface of Mars has stayed with me.

And "Red Mars" is the best of the trilogy. "Green Mars" kind of turns into whacky, progressive political wank fantasy (and, I'm progressive so I should found it appealing) and "Blue Mars" is just an abysmal slog. Kim Stanley Robinson is one of those sci-fi / fantasy writers that is in desperate need of a strong editor that says, No, every now and a gain.

Either that or he just needs to write a book about Space Sniper Cops.

Chris Remo (Idle Thumbs) was a guest on GamerDork UK (Episode 16). Very interesting topic of addiction and gaming. I really like the GamerDork podcast, and Chris Remo is not only very funny, but he is also very well spoken. It is a good listen.

This past week's episode had me cracking up a number of times. Maybe it was the mood I was in, but there was some funny stuff in there. I've been turned from being turned off by the language to staying for the laughs.

IMAGE(http://quick.dezro.com/BatmanBegins.jpg)

Oh man, I loved that segment. I almost lost it in the middle of the office when he said "Spiderman."

LobsterMobster wrote:

Oh man, I loved that segment. I almost lost it in the middle of the office when he said "Spiderman."

I did lose it. At work and around other people.

Again.

I need to stop listening to this at work.

When he finished, I actually stopped it and listened to it again because I'd been daydreaming a bit when it first started. I was in tears by the end of the second play.

The description of the Resident Evil 5 player that Remo was playing with was hilarious. Especially, the mental image when they said that every once in a while he would stop walk back and *pssfft* give them a health pack. I don't know why I thought it was so funny, but I busted out laughing in my car.

Thin_J wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

Oh man, I loved that segment. I almost lost it in the middle of the office when he said "Spiderman."

I did lose it. At work and around other people.

Again.

I need to stop listening to this at work.

When he finished, I actually stopped it and listened to it again because I'd been daydreaming a bit when it first started. I was in tears by the end of the second play.

I almost lost it on a plane! It's intensely awkward to be sitting in the middle of 100 people all trying to politely pretend nobody else on the plane exists, while wanting to laugh hysterically at a terrible Batman playing card.

I laughed my ass off at that Batman thing.

WiredAsylum wrote:

IMAGE(http://quick.dezro.com/BatmanBegins.jpg)

Damn you, I just burst out laughing at work again from reading that.

So far while listening to this podcast:

  • I've pulled a stomach muscle (literally) from laughing.
  • I've almost had a wreck driving to work from laughing so hard.
  • Lost it at the pool where my sons have swim team and got the oddest looks from the other parents

I can't listen to this at work - my co-workers would think I am (more) insane.

This is almost ahead of the Giantbombcast in my podcast listening order.

I have all you guys beat with my stupidity. Earlier this year I was listening to an episode at the gym (sick of listening to music at the time) and was in the middle of a barbell squat when the routine about Joe Pesci in Left 4 Dead was on, which made me totally lose it. I was more worried about composing myself while the entire gym was staring at me losing my balance while laughing like a lunatic, and it wasn't until the next morning when I discovered that I punctured a nerve and it took almost two months until I could completely feel my left thigh again.

Needless to say, I only listen to NPR podcasts while working out now.

I hope Chris Remo still pops in from time to time. I bet he'd get a kick out of these horror stories of the horrible physical injuries he has caused (and almost caused).

Thin_J wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

Oh man, I loved that segment. I almost lost it in the middle of the office when he said "Spiderman."

I did lose it. At work and around other people.

Again.

I need to stop listening to this at work.

When he finished, I actually stopped it and listened to it again because I'd been daydreaming a bit when it first started. I was in tears by the end of the second play.

I lost it in a similar manner. I actually paused it about three times during the segment to gather myself, but it just led to my coworkers in the same office (we're limited in space) looking at me doing that whole snorting-while-trying-to-suppress-a-laugh thing.

Indeed, our goal is physical harm, so I'm glad to see we are succeeding!

For those unaware, we have a blog on our site now, and it includes the Resident Evil 5 footage discussed on the cast: http://idlethumbs.net/blog/resident-...

This thread delivers.

Okay, this article, IGN Acquires Family Game Site What They Play, is weird enough as it is, but here's the thing:

It's written by Chris Remo, featuring a statement by John Davison, about how proud he (Davison) is that What They Play is now be a part of IGN.

Now I don't mean suggest that Chris Remo can't write a serious article (he can), or that John Davison couldn't be happy to be part of IGN (I'm sure he is), or that anything about the story is disingenuous. But after listening to so much Idle Thumbs and 1UP Yours/Listen Up and hearing their more conversational, opinionated, cursing sides, including thoughts on certain big-name games sites, reading the article was like an exercise in reverse absurdism, where all the comfortable uninhibited-ness and opinionated-ness were replaced with this foreign grown-up, responsible communication. And of course I know why that's the case, but when I read that I was just suddenly struck by the difference.

So I guess in conclusion I have to say that gaming podcasts are awesome.

Also, there's a typo in the article, it mentions the erroneous Spiderman: Arkham Asylum.

Gravey wrote:

Okay, this article, IGN Acquires Family Game Site What They Play, is weird enough as it is, but here's the thing:

It's written by Chris Remo, featuring a statement by John Davison, about how proud he (Davison) is that What They Play is now be a part of IGN.

Now I don't mean suggest that Chris Remo can't write a serious article (he can), or that John Davison couldn't be happy to be part of IGN (I'm sure he is), or that anything about the story is disingenuous. But after listening to so much Idle Thumbs and 1UP Yours/Listen Up and hearing their more conversational, opinionated, cursing sides, including thoughts on certain big-name games sites, reading the article was like an exercise in reverse absurdism, where all the comfortable uninhibited-ness and opinionated-ness were replaced with this foreign grown-up, responsible communication. And of course I know why that's the case, but when I read that I was just suddenly struck by the difference.

So I guess in conclusion I have to say that gaming podcasts are awesome.

Also, there's a typo in the article, it mentions the erroneous Spiderman: Arkham Asylum.

Yeah I mean, Gamasutra is a trade publication. It's not really our place to be goofy, and I wouldn't want to be. The entire internet is opinionated and full of bullsh*t to an insane degree, it's important to have news sources that aren't.

(And you actually made me double-check for that typo, haha.)

chrisremo wrote:

Yeah I mean, Gamasutra is a trade publication. It's not really our place to be goofy, and I wouldn't want to be.

Absolutely, and I appreciate what Gamasutra is about. Thanks to its mission, and the blogs and podcasts by yourself, and Davison, and Leigh Alexander, and Kieron Gillen, etc etc, we get all sides of our games journalists. So Chris Remo is no longer just a byline, and John Davison not a mouthpiece in an article; and I can see past your mild-mannered alter egos to the podblasting superheroes whom I know (insofar as one can know anyone they listen to on their iPod) (on the other hand, that does mean you're in my pants a lot).

Also, Firefighter: The Video Game.

I've just listened to that part of the podcast again and now I'm wondering what PC app is good for cutting mp3s, because I just want to listen to Spiderman bit on loop every time I'm angry or depressed.

UCRC wrote:

Also, Firefighter: The Video Game.

I've just listened to that part of the podcast again and now I'm wondering what PC app is good for cutting mp3s, because I just want to listen to Spiderman bit on loop every time I'm angry or depressed.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

The whole Jeff Gone Goldblum segment had me rolling.

UCRC wrote:

Also, Firefighter: The Video Game.

Firefighter: The Video Game: Just Like Real Life.

Rexneron wrote:
UCRC wrote:

Also, Firefighter: The Video Game.

I've just listened to that part of the podcast again and now I'm wondering what PC app is good for cutting mp3s, because I just want to listen to Spiderman bit on loop every time I'm angry or depressed.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Ah, yes.
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1272142/s...

UCRC wrote:

Also, Firefighter: The Video Game.

Firefighter, eh? Hmm. Not sure I'm familiar with the term. Could you give an example?

Good cutting. You have done us all a great service.