Topic Suggestions

Bucho , you are out of line, wayyy outta line . I was like, out to a concert last night , and like the band was so incredible , I cried and the next moment my All-stars were besmirched with tears . So I flopped my hair in front of my eyes so no-one would ,like notice and I crawled into a corner and sat there ( Skinny-tight jeans and crunched balls) together with like four other despondent kids with whom I, like exchanged phone numbers and now we have started a band and it's called 'the corner-sads' . I'm the whiny keyboardist and Paul's our ecstatic drummer.

This topic would work, I'm sure. Albeit it's a little meaty for one ep. ( or not) .

Hey, I'm all for several-part episodes Rob, whatever it takes to get the job done. The scenester attitude and the multitude of hilarious physical and aural manifestions of that attitude is ripe for a-hurdlin' I say, so now we just need to find a god or gods who'll answer our prayers that it be done. All that remains is that we take care not to be so awed by the inevitable stupendousness of the resulting episode that our very souls are cast into hipster oblivion. (Too much? We don't want to hype this thing to death before the record ... uh .. I mean podcast ... is even made, let alone released.)

We sort of touched on the concept that scenesters are nerds incognito on one of the episodes. Which this website http://www.latfh.com/ does much to prove.

Scene/hipsters will be a part of a wider "music hurdles" episode. Which is planned to include things like musical comedy and musical theatre and heavy (hair) metal.

OK, Rob and Bucho are onto something here. I'm getting a clear vision in my head, and it's something that both Nerd Hurdles and Starbase 66 have touched upon recently.
The hurdle of the multi-episode story arc.

I've never watched "24" or several other shows because I just cannot commit to 20+ episodes where the story is spread out like Thanksgiving leftovers still sitting in their microwave-able Tupperwear. For me, the "in for a dime / in for a dollar" mentality often inspires me to keep the dime in my pocket.

So, and here's the fun part ... after a good half-hour, just before Project Potter winds down, Mandi reveals that she has a sudden insight that would help everyone -- including that GAB guy, but also Rob and Bucho -- overcome this hurdle once and for all.

"Do tell," Jakob prods.
"I'm sorry," Mandi answers, "You'll have to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion..."

Anything that gets you talking music is good by me Jakob.

Music talk? Fer reals? My ultimate, deepest lameness will be revealed. Sigh.

Mandi wrote:Music talk? Fer reals? My ultimate, deepest lameness will be revealed. Sigh.

You would look like a total music nerd next to me.

Mandi wrote:Music talk? Fer reals? My ultimate, deepest lameness will be revealed. Sigh.

Whatever Mandi, it's come to the attention of the masses that you have the ability to talk about things and be entertaining and hilarious no matter what your level of knowledge on it. Besides, I enjoy the music of Pink, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera enough to not change the channel when they come on so unless you're going to out-do me and go full lametard and confess a love of The Jonas Brothers or Miley Ray Cyrus you're not going to be alone in the condemnation zone of the cooly woolies. No matter how much cred my devotion to Dinosaur Jr, Kyuss, The Mars Volta and The Stooges might buy me I undermine my own self right out the door when it comes to this subject.

Luckily, I have almost zero shame and as such have no say in staple subjects like The Guilty Pleasure, because I feel no guilt on account of my ludicrous taste in art and entertainment. And I call upon you to embrace whatever lameness you think you have too, because in actuality the coolest cats are the ones who don't give a shit how other peeps judge their taste.

(I also enjoy Enrique Iglesias, please don't ban me).

Ban Bucho.

Hey man, I have layers, like a donkey. To be honest I've never owned anything from any of those artists of dubious cred but I'm not ashamed that Ill sing along like the half-tarded goofball I am when they're on the radio or tv. I just find the cheese that turns so many peeps off them to be genuinely entertaining. I don't believe they mean a word they sing (except maybe Pink, she seems at least half sincere), but the whole production of sugar-based factory-produced pop music is something I quit fighting and started embracing at some point. When Christina or JT links up with someone like Timbaland or The Neptunes for example, some kind of magic definitely happens for me. It may not be in the same league of potency as a Black Sabbath riff or a Morrisey lyric, but it still grabs me in some mostly positive way.

This is obviously devolving into my usual pointless rambling now, and I still love to hear intelligent and passionate music fans rail against manufactured pop and the evil music industry, just because I like to hear intelligent, passionate people express themselves. Which is why I'd love to hear Jakob and Mandi have at their personal music hurdles no matter how much I share their tastes.

You do have a propensity to ramble, but it's certainly not pointless. This is a glorious discussion forum after all , one on which one is supposed to cathartically spout one's deepest most-innermost-inner-most-inner secrets. ( Notice the repeated use of one? It's a conspiracy ). Now I don't know about you but I've got a 'James Bond Greatest hits ' CD which I occasionally give a spin to accompany , yes, my secret agent style moves . One of my principal occupations when I find myself in front of a mirror , alone . Flex flex ! Shoot.

I'd like to divulge one more hidden fact which segues into the pop/celebrity topic, I was in terrible dismay when I discovered Scarlett Johansson featured in one of Timberlake's tawdry music videos. That's when she lost her magical sparkle of divinity . Her spotless image, forever stained ( tainted? ) by this horrific discovery! I fell on my knees and cried out primal tears , tinged with eternal hopes and ephemeral fantasies. Oh ever-flowing vat of youthful misery , brimming with filthily unctuous pop-songs and lost glitters of a broken reverie. I lost a chip of my Byronic heart on that day and shall never regain it ,ever . My innocence had been shattered by a projectile of Cupid's B-stock arrows . Lost , divested of wistful dreams , the morning dew poisoned . Relegated to the harsh perennial cycles of existence and never again to be awoken in spirit.

I gave it a try, is it pointless enough ? There's quite some truth in the above actually.

If something so superficial could turn you off of Scarlett, then you never truly loved her in the first place.

With respect to my music lameness, it's arguably worse than Top 40. We're talking musicals and comedic folk groups here. Serious music nerdery.

If it helps with the embarrassment Mandi, I have numerous themes from TV shows and films on my iPod. Probably the most embarrassing being the Airwolf theme. Or it might be a beatbox version of the Futurama theme...

Own it JonnyBoy and Mandi, embrace it and hold your heads up high as you stride through the world bopping to Airwolf with visions of beautiful old Ernest Borgnine and that weirdo JMV and that awesome chopper drifting through your brainbox, or getting amped up for the day with West Side Story or Cats lifting you up where you belong. Your taste is yours and yours alone to decide on and it comes from your unique and noble souls so don't let anyone make your cheeks redden for liking what you like. You are the only you and anyone who disses your taste has a hole in their own selves that they're projecting out, it's not because there's anything wrong with you at all. (This excludes playful banter between pals obviously, in which context dissing is actually a way of saying I love you.)

And see Rob I'm down with JT but I still enjoyed your anti-JT vibe there because you presented it entertainingly. That's the key, because I expect Jakob and Mandi to pour cold water on some of the things I like listening to when they decide to get down to business, but they're always so naturally good and fun at it that I know I'll enjoy the heck out of it anyway.

Heck, I play French folk songs all the time -- many recorded with a child-audience in mind -- and even attempt to sing along. I don't speak the language! (Which may explain why, after all these years, I still am not sure exactly how to plant cabbage ... or exactly what happened to mother's cat. )

Would there be a case for charity songs, celeb songs, cheesy Christmas songs?

Band Aid, comic relief, heal the world, children in need etc all have the crappy celeb/pop songs and no matter how good the intentions are, I just want to stay away from them.

Apologies if this has already been put forward. I'm in the middle of a field watching under 7s football and haven't checked back.

What about one of ultimate literal nerd hurdles... confronting the bully/jock/normies?

Yes, geek vs. geek happens often enough (and surprisingly it's not nearly as exciting as girl vs girl)... why? What makes it safe to argue with your fellow geek that he's misinterpreting the role of the Dungeon Master when modding a game of D&D, but not nearly as easy to stand up for yourself against an ignorant buffoon?

Look at the proliferation of geek debate in the various forums online. However, those same people often mute their passions when in public.

There are some exceptions, and they are nerd legends... underdogs who took it to the man, win or lose, are often celebrated heroes of geekdom. And yet, it's quite the hurdle to follow their lead.