Welcome all to the very first episode of Remastered. In this show Rich and Jason are going to talk about old things. No, that doesn’t mean they’re going to talk about themselves, it means they’re going to talk about all sorts of wonderful memories we all share from the 80s and 90s. It’s also interesting to see how those experiences differed in the USA and the UK.

We’re starting off with an easy one first of all, why there shouldn’t be a Back To The Future 4.

We hope you enjoy the show. Remember we record live on Tuesdays at Midnight GMT or 7pm EST.

Seriously, she should be more sensitive. This week, we tackle Black History Month, SNL cast members, Married… With Children, Explorers, and that wonderful contraption known as the Commodore 64.

Pollyanna Cowgirl Records Podcast.  Your weekly hour of great music!  Hosted by Tony Pucci

(01:01) 01 – THE CULT – Lucifer
(05:36) 02 – PETER KOPPES – Naked Soul
(09:47) 03 – FINEST DEAREST – Your Hometown
(13:00) 04 – NADA SURF – The Fox
(20:09) 05 – PORCUPINE – Evil Twin
(22:52) 06 – ALL INDIA RADIO – Holy Cowboys (Remix)
(27:25) 07 – HALOGEN – Neon Lights
(31:25) 08 – IKON – Ghost in My Head
(36:16) 09 – THE SUNNYBOYS – My Only Friend
(40:33) 10 – THE DAYLIGHT TITANS – The Pop Idol’s Lament
(43:21) 11 – WIRE – Two Minutes
(45:21) 12 – MEMORYHOUSE – The Kids Were Wrong
(49:26) 13 – KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS – Our Own Dream
(54:18) 14 – HARRY FLOWERS – The Vacancy
(60:40) 15 – KATE BUSH – Wild Man
SONGS FOR JENNY ALS Charity Music Project
HOST: Tony Pucci
CONTACT: pollyannacowgirl@simplysyndicated.com

We start this episode with a saddening but necessary riposte to those who seem to think it’s acceptable to sneer at the world of sport. This will be our only response on the issue so I suggest you listen carefully.

Oh yeah, and we do a show as well. Great sport is often elevated by its setting. And we look at the arenas that show sport in its best light.

Email: sportshistoryshow@googlemail.com

Blog: sportshistoryshow.blogspot.com

Somebody has some big news! It isn’t us though, it’s somebody else.

This week we’re joined by Garry again, who you’ll find at
http://www.youtube.com/user/NGTZombies and http://www.youtube.com/user/mole237 and of course http://twitter.com/#!/hypermole80

The Week We Missed:

RIM Co-CEOs To Step Down; COO To Take The Reins
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/22/breaking-rim-co-ceos-to-step-down-coo-to-take-the-reins/
RIM Reboots: New CEO, New Board, New Plan to License QNX Software
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/01/rim-co-ceos-step-down/
RIM CEO Thorsten Heins clarifies comments on change, rejects Android speculation
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/rim-ceo-thorsten-heins-clarifies-comments-on-change-rejects-and/
RIM stock falls eight percent following CEO transition
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/rim-stock-falls-ceo-transition/
Editorial: RIM’s new CEO isn’t the shakeup it needed
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/rim-new-ceo-thorsten-heins-still-in-trouble/
RIM’s Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 10
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/22/rim-ceo-quits/
RIM’s New CEO Backtracks: “There Is A Lot Of Change”
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/27/rims-new-ceo-backtracks-there-is-a-lot-of-change/
5 Things RIM’s New CEO Absolutely Must Not Do
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/23/5-things-rims-new-ceo-absolutely-must-not-do/
No “Drastic Change Needed”? Looks Like RIM’s Stockholders Disagree
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/23/no-drastic-change-needed-looks-like-rims-stockholders-disagree
New RIM CEO: “I Don’t Think There Is A Drastic Change Needed”
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/23/new-rim-ceo-i-dont-think-there-is-a-drastic-change-needed
RIM Co-CEOs To Step Down; COO To Take The Reins
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/22/breaking-rim-co-ceos-to-step-down-coo-to-take-the-reins
Shocker! New RIM CEO targets existing BlackBerry users for upgrades
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/shocker-new-rim-ceo-targets-existing-blackberry-users-for-upgra/

2012 BlackBerry roadmap leaks, reveals pile of Curves and 3G PlayBook
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/2012-blackberry-roadmap-leaks-reveals-pile-of-curves-and-3g-pla/
RIM Roadmap Leaked, Points To BlackBerry 10 Launch In September
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/24/rim-roadmap-leaked-points-to-blackberry-10-launch-in-september/

Samsung 2011 Q4 earnings official: $42 billion in sales, $4.7 billion operating profit
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/samsung-2011-q4-earnings-official-billion-in-revenue-4-6-bi/

Apple’s Q1 hardware sales: 37 million iPhones, 15.43 million iPads, 5.2 million Macs, 15.4 million iPods
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/apple-q1-2012-iphone-ipad-ipod-mac-hardware-sales/

Nokia plans board of directors refresh, chairman to step down
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/nokia-plans-board-of-directors-refresh-chairman-to-step-down/

Nokia releases Q4 2011 earnings report: operating profits drop, Lumia sales break one million
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/nokia-releases-q4-2011-earnings-report-operating-profits-drop/

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Google Streamlines Privacy Policy to Integrate its Products
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2012/01/google-streamlines-privacy/
Google Consolidates Privacy Policy; Will Combine User Data Across Service
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/24/google-consolidates-privacy-policy-will-combine-user-data-across-services/

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Strong yen adds to Nintendo loss
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16737858
Nintendo releases quarterly earnings report: 61 percent drop in profit, grim forecast
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/nintendo-releases-quarterly-earnings-report-61-percent-drop-in/
Nintendo Reports US$630 Million Net Loss Between April And December 2011, Announces Wii U For 2012
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/26/nintendo-reports-loss-announces-wii-u-2012/
Nintendo Reports Losses And Lowers Projections
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/26/nintendo-reports-losses-and-lowers-projections.aspx

Report: Nintendo Considering Changing The Wii U’s Name
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/27/report-nintendo-considering-changing-the-wii-us-name/

Blizzard Nixes Plans for BlizzCon 2012
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/01/blizzcon-2012/
Blizzard Skipping BlizzCon This Year To Focus On Games
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/25/blizzard-skipping-blizzcon-this-year-to-focus-on-games.aspx
Blizzard cancels 2012′s BlizzCon in favor of actually maybe possibly finishing Diablo III and other games
http://www.gamesradar.com/blizzcon-moved-2013/
BlizzCon Skips 2012 as Blizzard Focuses on Kicking eButt and Making Games [Blizzard]
http://kotaku.com/5879120/blizzcon-skips-2012-as-blizzard-focuses-on-kicking-ebutt-and-making-games

Diablo III’s senior producer departs
http://www.gamesradar.com/diablo-iiis-senior-producer-departs/

Steam releases app that’ll let you burn cash on tons of PC games
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/01/keep-up-with-ev.php
Steam beta journeys to Android and iOS, for select invitees
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/steam-beta-for-android-and-ios/
Steam Takes First Steps Into Mobile With iOS And Android Apps
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/26/steam-takes-first-steps-into-mobile-with-ios-and-android-apps/
Steam Mobile App Beta Begins
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/26/steam-mobile-app-launches.aspx

Guild Wars 2 Confirmed For 2012, Beta Window Announced
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/23/guild-wars-2-confirmed-for-2012-beta-window-announced.aspx
AreaNet confirms 2012 release for Guild Wars 2 – public beta launching in Spring
http://www.gamesradar.com/areanet-confirms-2012-release-guild-wars-2-public-beta-launching-spring/

Mass Effect 3: Special Forces trailer is all about the co-op killing
http://www.gamesradar.com/mass-effect-3-special-forces-trailer-all-about-co-op-killing/
Get your Krogan Charge on in latest Mass Effect 3 multiplayer vid
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/27/get-your-krogan-charge-on-in-latest-mass-effect-3-multiplayer-vi/
Mass Effect 3’s Multiplayer Turns You into Part of Shepard’s Kick-Ass Strike Team [Video]
http://kotaku.com/5879994/mass-effect-3s-multiplayer-turns-you-into-sheperds-kick+ass-strike-team

Mass Effect Figures Include Mass Effect 3 DLC
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/23/mass-effect-figures-include-mass-effect-3-dlc.aspx
Mass Effect 3 toys come with “slightly randomized” multiplayer DLC
http://www.gamesradar.com/mass-effect-3-toys-come-slightly-randomized-multiplayer-dlc/
Mass Effect action figures include ME3 DLC
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/23/mass-effect-action-figures-include-me3-dlc/
Mass Effect 3 artbook comes with DLC for Xbox 360 and PC
http://www.gamesradar.com/mass-effect-3-artbook-comes-dlc-xbox-360-and-pc/
Mass Effect Figures Will Set a Record for Most Expensive DLC [Mass Effect]
http://kotaku.com/5878284/mass-effect-will-set-a-record-for-most-expensive-dlc

Minecraft For Xbox 360 To Have Frequent Updates… Hopefully
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/21/minecraft-for-xbox-360-to-have-frequent-updates-hopefully.aspx
Mojang Says Mobile Minecraft Is an Experiment, Xbox 360 Version Won’t Be as Buggy [Minecraft]
http://kotaku.com/5879357/mojang-says-mobile-minecraft-is-an-experiment-xbox-360-version-wont-be-as-buggy

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Disable software, warns Symantec
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16740153
Symantec: We Didn’t Know in 2006 Source Code Was Stolen
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/symantec-source-code-hack/
Source code theft prompts Symantec to issue warning to customers
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/source-code-theft-prompts-symantec-to-issue-warning-to-customers/

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Twitter, partnering with Chillingeffects.org, publishes a year’s worth of DMCA takedown notices (all 4,410 of them)
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/27/twitter-partnering-with-chill.html

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Insane English copyright ruling creates ownership in the idea of a photo’s composition
http://boingboing.net/2012/01/25/insane-english-copyright-rulin.html

Wikileaks announces Julian Assange TV show, world governments fire up their DVRs
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/25/wikileaks-announces-julian-assange-tv-show-world-governments-fi/

Tim Cook says Apple TV is still ‘a hobby,’ can’t live without it
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/24/apple-says-apple-tv-is-still-a-hobby-tim-cook-cant-live-with/
Tim Cook: Apple TV IS Still A Hobby, But I Couldn’t Live Without It
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/24/tim-cook-apple-tv-is-still-a-hobby-but-i-couldnt-live-without-it/

Phones/ Tablets/ eReaders:

BlackBerry Users Least Likely To Score On The First Date… In Canada, Mind You
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/01/blackberry-users-least-likely-to-score-on-the-first-date-in-canada-mind-you/

Asus Padfone To (Finally) Debut At Mobile World Congress | PC Perspective
http://www.pcper.com/news/Mobile/Asus-Padfone-Finally-Debut-Mobile-World-Congress

Google Docs Offline Comes to Android (But No Editing Allowed)
http://www.wired.com/cloudline/2012/02/google-docs-offline-comes-to-android-but-no-editing-allowed/

Motorola’s patent win in Germany forces Apple to remove iPhones
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/02/motorolas-paten.php

Internet:

French court fines Google France 500,000 euros for gratis Maps
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/02/french-court-fines-google-france-500-000-euros-for-gratis-maps/
French court rules that it’s illegally anticompetitive for Google to provide free maps API
http://boingboing.net/2012/02/02/french-court-rules-that-its.html

Games:

Sony patented Wii U-esque controller, has pics to prove it
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/03/sony-patented-wii-u-esque-controller-pics-to-prove-it/

Sony posts dire results for 2011 holiday season
http://www.gamesradar.com/sony-posts-dire-results-2011-holiday-season/

Zynga Accused Of Ripping Off Another Competitor’s Game
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/30/zynga-accused-of-ripping-off-another-competitors-game/

Mass Effect 3 Demo Includes Free Xbox Live Gold [Mass Effect]
http://kotaku.com/5881532/mass-effect-3-demo-includes-free-xbox-live-gold
Mass Effect 3 Xbox Live demo temporarily bumps Silver subs to Gold
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/03/mass-effect-3-xbox-live-demo-temporarily-bumps-silver-subs-to-go/

Fake Batmen, Unite! Gotham City Imposters Lands A Release Date
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/02/01/fake-batmen-unite-gotham-city-imposters-lands-a-release-date.aspx
Gotham City Impostors coming next week
http://www.gamesradar.com/gotham-city-impostprs-coming-next-week/

Rumor: THQ lays off 170+, including VP of tech Mark DeLoura [Updated]
http://www.gamesradar.com/rumor-thq-lays-174-including-vp-tech-mark-deloura/

Computers:

Apple hires former Dixons CEO John Browett as senior VP of Retail
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/31/apple-hires-former-dixons-ceo-john-browett-as-vp-of-retail/
Dixons Retail chief joins Apple
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16808668

Apple releases updated Final Cut Pro X, brings multicam support, broadcast monitoring love
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/31/apple-updates-final-cut-pro-x/

Kinect for Windows now out, SDK supports four sensors for one PC
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/02/kinect-for-wind.php

Social Media:

Other:

Smart headphones know left from right; switch audio for you
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/02/smart-headphone.php

Simpsons role for Julian Assange
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16806630

Questions / Email:

To Finish:

Fleshlipad attaches Fleshlight to your iPad so you can f*ck it
http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2012/01/fkable-ipad-inches-humanity-closer-to-extinction

‘Invisibility cloak’ breakthrough
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16726609
Invisibility’s Next Frontier: Scientists Cloak 3-D Objects
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/invisible-object/

North Korea makes using a cellphone a war crime during 100 day mourning period
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/27/north-korea-makes-using-a-cellphone-a-war-crime-during-100-day-m/

Don’t pretend you’re not excited…..

Bryan Adams Official Site

Craig Bevan Official Site

Help ‘Befall The Aftermath’ – Download Competition

Nathan is back to help us talk about the 2012 Academy Awards Nominations. We go through the noms in the Best Picture category and make our predictions about who will take home the Oscar on February 26th.

The Nominees: The Artist; The Descendants; Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close; The Help; Hugo; Midnight in Paris; Moneyball; The Tree of Life; War Horse.

Photo Friday — I Have Candy, Get In The Van!

Name that candy! Please bear in mind that I would like mostly specific brand names with each candy. However, there are a few that may have more than one name. I’ll accept either.

Send your submissions to ro.rosaka@gmail.com. Deadline is next Thursday, 02/09/2012, at 12AM PST. One winner will be randomly selected and given a shout-out on our next recording.

We’re still deducting points from Ro’s total as of this hour. Expect a full accounting at the end of Q1 2012.

In this episode, we welcome Nate Hasiak of the Moral of the Story podcast for some talk about top-selling PC games, Minnesota pop culture, transvestites in movies, Emmy Awards, actors and actresses, and Tim Burton. You guess, dear listeners, which category Omar picked. I dare you.

For Those About To Rock are very happy to announce a link up with it’s sister ship Metal Memories. Presented by Proffs Boz & Casey

LEARN YOU FUCKERS!!!!!!

It’s the Groundhog Day Lost Radio Tapes AND by our interview with Stephen Tobolowsky aka Ned Ryerson, in this newly mashed up Groundhog Day classic special.  This is what the rest of that morning radio show sounded like.  If you enjoyed this, please Tweet us a vote for the Shorty Awards!

3 out of 5 *****

Self-obsession isn’t an attractive quality. Self-delusion less so. Well, Young Adult gives us a lead character who has an overabundance of both. Charlize Theron stars as Mavis, once the popular girl in high-school, who has moved from a small town in Minnesota to the more bustling municipality of Minneapolis – even though how small does your hometown have do be to regard Minneapolis as the “big city”?

Now a divorcee, Mavis is a writer of fiction novels that can be found in the “young adult ” section of bookshops (as you can see, the film’s title has a double-meaning). However, she is unsatisfied with her lot in life, and rather than write, she spends most of her time drinking heavily and watching trashy reality TV shows that specifically focus on women – which I’m sure is deliberate. She may look at the likes of “tweens” in beauty-pageants and feel superior in their vacuity, but at her core, Mavis is no better. The only difference between her and Kim Kardashian is that she has a diploma.

Mavis is emotionally stunted. Her idea of being healthy is gorging on Diet Coke to ward off her periodic morning hangovers. She gets an email from her former boyfriend Buddy (Patrick Wilson), informing her that his wife has just had a baby. This is the catalyst for Mavis to jump in her Mini Cooper, drive back to her old hometown and set about rekindling the fires with Buddy. While there, she has a chance encounter with Matt (Patton Oswalt), a guy who had the locker next to Mavis’s in high-school. Matt was lower down the totem-pole back in their teenage years, so much so that he was beaten up by jocks for being gay – the fact that Matt isn’t gay was irrelevant. The assault was so severe that Matt now needs the aid of a crutch to be able to walk.

Matt and Mavis strike up an unlikely friendship – he later explains that, “guys like me are born in love with girls like you”. He warns Mavis against trying to resume her past relationship with Buddy. But Mavis lives in a fantasy land of her own vaingloriousness; as far as she’s concerned, she’s the star of her own story. Mavis thinks she’s in a fairy-tale where the princess returns to the kingdom to claim her prince. But everyone else is too busy with their own lives to play supporting roles in such a fantasy. Her fairy-tale gradually collides with the reality of where her life is actually at.

This is the second collaboration between director, Jason Reitman and writer, Diablo Cody. Their first, Juno was a resounding success. However, while I loved it, it was a divisive film in some circles. Cody has a stylised manner of writing that people tend to like or dislike. Personally, I find her incongruous way of generating humour a delight; some of the movie’s best laughs come from a dreadful cover band made up entirely of new mothers, and the town’s, “popular cripple”. And Reitman has already surpassed the directing achievements of his auspicious filmmaking father. His last outing, Up In The Air, was arguably the best film of 2010.

Theron does a fine job in the lead role, believable as a former prom-queen gone bad. She’s written to be unlikeable and Theron looks to be having an absolute hoot playing an egocentric bitch. Patton Oswalt (who’s stand-up work I highly recommend) is also impressive. There’s a reason why many felt he should have been Oscar nominated. It’d have been so easy for him to be the, “stand-up guy who’s only there for comedy relief”, but he gives the movie a solid thread of pathos.

The problems with the film are more on the technical side. The poor editing means the pacing suffers badly. Young Adult is only 93 minutes long but the running length feels like it’s at least 2 hours. There’s a lack of an impactful score, and Cody’s script – while funny – could have done with one more rewrite. Mavis eventually gets a sliver of self-awareness, but it arrives too late, and some audience members may be completely turned off the character by then.

All told, Young Adult is an uneven film. But while it may have fallen short in what it set out to achieve, I for one am grateful that stories like this have a place in cinemas. Better to reach for the stars and fail, than wallow in the cultural sewer.

Pollyanna Cowgirl Records Podcast.  Your weekly hour of great music!  Hosted by Tony Pucci

(00:57) 01 – VOWS – Parallel
(05:48) 02 – KATHLEEN EDWARDS – Empty Threat
(09:20) 03 – THE DELTA RIGGS – Counter Revolution
(11:41) 04 – BABY BOYS – All of My Friends
(15:09) 05 – FORT WILSON RIOT – Generation Complex Pt. 2
(19:21) 06 – GUIDED BY VOICES – The Unsinkable Fats Domino
(21:13) 07 – SLEEPERSTAR – Losing You
(24:18) 08 – THE RED FLAGS – Sorry Look in You Eye
(28:24) 09 – THE GOOD NATURED – Wolves
(31:52) 10 – JESSICA LEE MAYFIELD – Kiss Me Again
(36:01) 11 – SLOUGH FEG – The 95 Thesis
(39:10) 12 – SHELOOM – Bolero
(42:24) 13 – STORYHILL – Mary on the Mountain
(46:26) 14 – PRETTY POP – Cut Flowers
(50:42) 15 – ROSIE THOMAS – The One I Love
(54:45) 16 – VOWS – Winter’s Grave

This week’s featured CD: VOWS – Winter’s Grave

SONGS FOR JENNY ALS Charity Music Project
HOST: Tony Pucci
CONTACT: pollyannacowgirl@simplysyndicated.com

This week the Admiral’s friend Keith returns to chat about all things Tolkien.

Show notes:

He’s not Canadian, but his name starts with a “K,” and his prowess as a sensei of the Ring Trilogy and Beyond makes the Admiral’s friend Keith a favorite returning guest here at the Starbase! Join us as we talk all things Tolkien with Keith, learning along the way what he thinks makes Tolkien such an enduring contributor to the fantasy genre, his thoughts on Peter Jackson’s cinematic interpretation of the trilogy, what he hopes for and expects from the upcoming Hobbitses movie, and other shocking revelations (including one about Xander Harris that knocks the resident Bajoran so off her game that she’s just now getting to this episode’s show notes)!

Humblest apologies for just now getting to this entry, listeners. In light of our (read: The Prodigal Bajoran’s) lateness, here are some fun “accessories” to go along with your listening experience:

The Little Pod of Horrors will be re-launching soon! Two out of three Starbase officers adore the horror genre, so while the third is hiding in his quarters, we’re looking forward to joining Gordon and Boz in their weekly dish on all things dark and diabolical!

The Trek game whose name eluded Ro for the duration of this episode was Star Trek: The Next Generation–A Final Unity. Tedious battle scenes aside, the Bajoran remembers this being a fairly entertaining game, and it was obviously a major studio investment…voiced by the original TNG cast and packed with what was the best of the best in CGI for a 1995 release. We’re not sure how well the story or game play would hold up 17 years later, but we do remember a great deal of antici…pation at the Bajoran outpost for the release of more TNG.

Finally, enjoy this lovely photo of Dame Helen Mirren. We spoke fondly of her in this latest episode, and since she and others have voiced a serious interest in her donning the title of The Doctor whenever Fez Boy finally moves along home, we feel her presence here at the Starbase is more than appropriate.

I really didn’t see this one coming, but there’s no denying that it actually happened. Suddenly every box under my TV streams video. I feel a little bit behind the times with this one because there have been streaming video products available for a long time, it’s just that now it seems everything is a streaming video player, and more importantly, that there are lots of places to get the video.

For a little while you’ve been able to put your hands on things like a PS3, or XBox 360 that had some sort of video rental service. To be fair the PS3 has always been ahead of the XBox in terms of the available video services. The PS3 has had LoveFilm and BBC iPlayer for some time. Smart TVs and higher end BluRay players have had similar functionality.

Now that functionality has expanded all over the place. With the recent dashboard update the XBox did what so many people are doing these days and added apps. You can now download the Netflix app, the LoveFilm app, the 4OD app, and the list goes on. There’s even streaming live TV from Sky.

In addition to that it isn’t just high end BluRay players that have all the streaming services any more. I just got a Sony S380 for just £89 from Amazon and that comes with pretty much everything you’ll find on a PS3 except the ability to play the games of course.

And there’s more. Today Sky announced that their Anytime+ service is now available to all Sky+HD customers. Before it was only available if you had Sky’s broadband service, but now that’s no longer necessary. On hearing that I did rush to stick an ethernet cable into the back of our Sky box but I don’t know how to make the Anytime+ thing work so I can’t tell you if it’s any good or not. I’ll write something else about it when I get it working. Perhaps the most surprising part of their announcement is that they’re going to have BBC iPlayer content available over the system.

Through all of this iPlayer is a service that is now conspicuous in its absence. We’re told that it is coming sometime this year to XBox, just as Sky say the content is coming to their system sometime this year. the fact remains that unless you’re a Sony fan (hello to that person) putting iPlayer on your TV is one of the hardest things to do. Before the BluRay player, I was doing it with a hacked AppleTV.

Ah but what of Apple? For a long time they have had a much loved but maybe undersold runner in this race. The Apple TV. The product that some people love so much, they think that there’s going to be an actual TV set made by Apple. I have just seen my Apple TV die this last week, not too upsetting as it is so old that it must have been part of the first run of the device. The current model is very small and very cheap. It streams content from your iTunes library to your television more easily than any other device on the market, although others can perform the same basic task. It will even let you rent movies from the iTunes store, which has the same basic new movie selection as the XBox, PS3 or the growing number of smarter TVs and BluRay players. It also has Netflix and YouTube functionality much like all the other streaming video players.

The Apple TV is in danger of becoming irrelevant as more and more devices replicate its functionality.  For a long time the Apple TV has been the cheapest of all the streaming video options, at £99 it is a great little device. However that simply isn’t true any more, and it does face another bigger problem. Look at that Sony BluRay player. For a start it cost me £10 less than an Apple TV would have. If I was just looking for a streaming video player then it wins on price alone. The important thing is that I didn’t buy the BluRay player as a streaming video player. I bought it as a BluRay player. That really means that I now have no reason to replace my Apple TV.

On top of that, I didn’t buy my XBox as a streaming video player either, that was bought as a gaming machine, and now it does more video than the Apple TV ever dreamed of. So with all of these devices I’ll not bother replacing the broken Apple TV. There’s just nothing that it does that need to do.

Right now we’re also lucky enough to see the start of a streaming service battle in the UK. We just got Netflix and they are aggressively standing toe to toe with LoveFilm, which is effectively Amazon’s UK based video offering. Both cost around a fiver each month and offer an impressive selection of video content, with more being added to each service all the time. At the moment I feel like Netflix has the edge on functionality, you can happily enjoy your online content through iOS and Android apps, LoveFilm don’t offer such a thing. However LoveFilm has a larger selection of content at the moment, but you’re locked to your TV or computer. Nether are perfect, and they both use Silverlight on their websites which just makes me angry.

So now we’re at the point where if you’ve got some sort of box plugged into your TV then the chances are that you can stick an internet cable into it and get yourself some streaming video. I suppose this stuff still impresses me because I remember our first VCR arriving at the house. Now I can pretty much be watching any film I can think of in the next 30 seconds. We truly do live in the future now.

A few years ago the original series of a little scifi show called Star Trek was released on BluRay. It was the result of a years long project to enhance something that was fiilmed around half a century ago. It was generally accepted that the work they did was excellent. They didn’t only enhance what was there, but they started adding new things. The special effects were completely recreated, the music was rerecorded, and they gave the Gorn blinking eyes. Everybody was happy.

Then we get to Star Trek: The Next Generation. My personal favourite of all the series, it was the one I started with. I do have the complete set on DVD but they have a little problem, they are close to unwatchable. It’s fair to say that TNG didn’t survive the move to a digital format. 

Unfortunately the problem didn’t end there, while the DVDs were bad, it was also just as bad when it was shown on TV. It seemed nobody had a good copy of TNG. Time for the guys that did such a good job with the original series to get back to work.

And so, for several years, some clever people at CBS Paramount have been working away on their computers to make sure that TNG is not only watchable, but looks better than it ever did before.

I’m informed that series 1 will be released sometime in the summer of this year, however as a bit of a teaser, CBS have released The Next Level. This is a BluRay that has four episodes of Next Gen in all their brand new 1080p glory. They have gone back to the original film negatives, cleaned them up and scanned everything in again. The special effects have been recomposited and the sound enhanced to 7.1 surround sound.

I am watching that BluRay as I write this. The crew are on their way to Farpoint Station and stopping off for a little fight with Q on the way.

First of all let me tell you that this looks better not just than the DVDs of TNG, but this is one of the best looking things I have ever seen on BluRay. If you were on the fence about HD technology then this may well push you over the edge. I can see what I could always see much more clearly. I can also see things that I have never seen before, and trust me when I say, I have seen these shows a lot.

Ever wondered exactly how many hairs there are on Picard’s head? Now you can count them. Want a detailed report on how Data’s shaving rash is doing under that silver makeup? You can get that now. I can honestly describe what they’ve done as perfect.

You can see details on the ship models that perhaps the maker would rather you didn’t. You can read text on control panels. You can see detail that just showed up as fuzzy blackness, now displaying as clearly as anything could.

If the point of this disc was to get me excited about the season one release and make sure that I buy it, then it has done the job. You can buy the disc from Amazon for around £6, it’s worth it just for a look at things to come. Here’s a link to the disc on Amazon.

I love a good news story in the world of sport. So I doff my proverbial cap to the Leeds Rhinos, who announced that their cheerleaders will be supplemented by two male dancers for the new Super League season in rugby league.

I confess I’ve never been the biggest fan of this kind of thing. I think it’s one of the increasingly prevalent sideshows that take away from the athletic prowess on the field of play. But there’s no denying that they are very talented.

However, this raises a wider issue. The use of cheerleaders is an exemplar of a larger societal problem. Even in the ostensibly meritocratic world of sport, men are there to be looked at for their sporting skill. Women are just there to be looked at. So anything that helps bridge the gender divide – proving that there is no domain that is just, “for women” – has to be applauded.

While the appearance of male cheerleaders isn’t uncommon in North America, in Britain they’re about as common as introspection in a Michael Bay film. Cheerleading has an unpleasant association with being a softcore ogle-fest, scopophilia for people who want to go to to strip clubs, but are worried about being caught by their spouse.

The addition of male dancers gives eye-candy for everyone, although I hope it may be able to transcend the lustful part of the punters brains, and allow them to admire the dancers (of both genders) for their rhythmic skills, rather than be stored in the “bank” that dare not speak its name.

It’s only a little thing that the Rhinos have done, but sometimes that’s how equality suffuses itself throughout society. An act of moral decency eventually doesn’t become noteworthy, but humdrum. Let’s hope that this is the starting point for an era where a story like this will no longer be a story, as it’ll be too ordinary to warrant a mention.

Stain by Living Colour

Go The Fuck To Sleep as read by Sam Jackson

The best of our radio days, with Lewis Black, Jim Breuer, Jay’s first ever breaking of Art’s balls, the infamous Halloween prank, Harry Carey, the Art Blues and more. Think of it as the Masters Of None prequel.  Also, if you’re on Twitter, please help us win a Shorty Award by voting via tweet at http://shortyawards.com/MastersOfNone

Yeah the people who make Pot Noodle.

This is becoming a bit of a pet issue of mine, as this is something I have personally run afoul of in the past. Two incidents come to mind. The first was when one of our listener meet ups ended up at FAB Cafe in Leeds, only to be thrown out because it’s “illegal” to take photos in a nightclub, it isn’t. And the conflict continued as I took photos of the bouncers from the street, also not illegal.

Then there was the incident just before Charistms when somebody thought you can’t take pictures in a public place so much that they got into my car and tried to take my phone off me.

For some reason we seem to be living in a world where those of us who lack the ability to think are under the impression that taking photos is somehow a bad thing and is therefore illegal. They also forget that when they’re in public, then they’re in public and have absolutely no right to privacy. If you don’t want to appear on camera then stay home.

And so in following the above video I put in a call to Golden Wonder and got a lesson in how not to handle questions.

First of all I was given the name and number of the security company that supplies the guards. It’s a very common thing for companies like Golden Wonder to not directly employ their own security guards. It’s much easier for them to out source it to a private security company. Such companies exist because it’s such a common practice. Nothing wrong there. However by directing me to talk to Kingdom Security, Golden Wonder are essentially saying that they accept no responsibility for this matter as they don’t employ the individuals in the video. That’s all well and good, but I’d personally say that if somebody is on your company grounds, and is being payed to be there, and is carrying out the instructions of the company, then the fact that Golden Wonder doesn’t directly pay their wages is irrelevant.

After pointing out to GW that simply directing me to a different company is the same as not accepting responsibility for what happened I was transferred to the HR department. Then it got even more crazy. Just like the security guards in the video, there were a lot of contradictions.

First of all it was made clear to me that GW don’t have a problem with people taking photos of their factory and have invited the man in the video back to take all the photos he likes. That’s very big of them considering that that have absolutely no legal right to have a problem with people taking photos of their factory. I was also informed that the two security guards have resigned. Note, not fired, resigned.

Apparently GW are doing nothing more about this matter and have left it to their security company to do an investigation. Given that the two people in the video have apparently resigned I do wonder what that investigation with involve and what any possible results could be. To GW I have to ask why they are so caught up with this security company? Personally as soon as the video hit YouTube I’d have been on the phone to any other security company to replace the one I was using. Isn’t it that simple? If a company is providing you with a service that is not up to par, you use a different company. Yeah, it’s that simple.

GW also said that the incident needs putting in context because we don’t know what happened before the video started. They suggested that the photographer might have provoked the security staff in some way, might have set foot on their property, or attempted to stop cars entering the car park. I asked what hypothetical events might have occurred before the video started that warrented the response the man got from the guards, and got no answer. If he was stopping cars entering the car park, why weren’t the guards talking about that? If he was actually trespassing, why didn’t the guards talk about that? If he had done anything other than take photos, why was none of it mentioned in the video?

GW also seemed annoyed that the faces of the guards were visible in the video. They said that the BBC had played the clip on the news and had blurred out the faces of the guards, so based on that it was obviously a legal requirement to do so, and if it wasn’t, why did the BBC do it? Well, it isn’t in any way a legal requirement, for the same reason that it isn’t illegal for the photos to be taken in the first place. If you’re stood on a public street in the middle of the day you have absolutely no legal recourse against somebody either photographing or videoing you. It seems they haven’t learned their lesson, but seeing as they’re doing nothing about it themselves, that isn’t hard to believe. Perhaps the security company will learn that rule.

So in conclusion I’d say that Golden Wonder handled this about as badly as it could be handled. Perhaps they could do an investigation in to that.

When you’re out and about taking pictures, you’re entirely allowed to do that. You can take photos of people and buildings, even police officers and that’s all there is to it. Ignore everyone who tells you that you aren’t allowed to do it. The only situations that I’m aware of where you could very well be moved on from, is if you’re trying to take photos of milatry

Name that Atari 2600 game with the cover provided. Perhaps this will be worthy of Scott Rubin of GeekNights since he likes challenging trivia. Perhaps I may even see a submission from him.

Send your submissions to ro.rosaka@gmail.com. Deadline is next Thursday, 02/02/2012, at 12AM PST. One winner will be randomly selected and given a shout-out on our next recording.

After taking a break from our regular rotation to deliver the review of the year shows, we return with a half and half episode.

Shane talks about Chris Boardman’s Gold Medal in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics, as well as its impact on British Cycling – the rewards of which the country is reaping now. He would go on to be the only British cyclist worth talking about until the emergence of David Millar in the late 1990s.

Jonathan talks about Super Bowl III and Joe Namath’s promise to win the game despite playing for the huge underdogs New York Jets. This was the first time an AFL team beat the NFL.

Email: sportshistoryshow@googlemail.com

Blog: sportshistoryshow.blogspot.com

Nerd Hurdles returns to the Underworld. It triggers an argument about body image.

3 1/2 out of 5 *****

One could argue a brief look at the publicity for Like Crazy is something of a marketing disaster; the trailer, the mawkish poster, even the title. You’d be right in surmising that Like Crazy is a love story, but it’s not the love story that the first wave of advertising would have you believe. Jakob Rehlinger – from the Nerd Hurdles podcast – argued that this same problem beset the movie, Hanna.

The couple is question is Anna (Felicity Jones) and Jacob (Anton Yelchin). Anna is an English college student in Los Angeles and takes a shine to classmate, Jacob. Sure enough a whirlwind love-affair swiftly develops between the two of them. While I’d imagine that they have been in relationships before, they approach this one with the wide-eyed wonder of a child who’s opened their Christmas presents to find that Santa has brought them exactly what they wanted.

But where’s the drama in two people who love each other in trouble-free togetherness? The major hurdle Anna and Jacob have is geographical. Anna is only in America on a student visa, and her stay in the country is far from infinite. The test comes from sustaining their love despite being in two different continents. Not only do they have to surmount this, but the quixotic rush of the early stages of the relationship dissipates, and the story explores just how well these two people are suited to each other.

The opening 20 minutes of the movie may cause some to roll their eyes with lassitude. We get the montage that we often see when people fall in love – whimsical walks on a beach soundtracked by an indie/pop guitar act. However, writer/director Drake Doremus still makes it bearable by his skillful direction. In conjunction with his cinematographer, John Guleserian, the shot arrangement is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The composition of Like Crazy is exquisite.

As the film progresses, things become increasingly complicated. Its depiction of the interaction between Anna and Jacob is handled with class and maturity, which is in some ways ironic, as one of the best things Like Crazy does is highlight the immaturity intrinsic in falling for someone. The way people can idealise a person they’ve just met makes adapting to their less pleasing qualities a wearying slog.

Using the process of the initial high of meeting a mate, the film explores issues that its characters would prefer not to face; What will it be like meeting your spouse’s friends and relatives? How do you keep things fresh when you have to focus on your career? What do you do when the sex stops and the talking begins? And how hard are you willing to fight to keep your love alive when fate seems to have other plans? Anna bemoans the fact that the intermittent nature of their relationship means they have to keep “starting again”.

Not only is the film superbly shot, but Doremus and fellow screenwriter, Ben York Jones, make a shrewd decision in not scripting the dialogue too specifically. Capturing the verbal and physical nuances of people falling in love, and trying to stay in love, are far too delicate to orchestrate in a screenplay straitjacket. It may work for Kevin Smith, Steven Moffat or Aaron Sorkin, but it would have choked the life out of a movie such as this. Instead, Doremus allows his actors room to improvise and it allows a more naturalistic feel, which empowers the performers to take control of their characters. I particularly loved how the film exposed the monosyllabic avoidance couples communicate in when they’re trying to prevent themselves getting into an argument.

The strong casting ensures that each performance strikes the right note. Jones and Yelchin dovetail well together, even though Jones is the film’s shining light. She was the best thing in Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant’s, Cemetery Junction, and has an easy radiance about her, which – if she chooses her projects wisely – should thrill audiences for years to come. There’s also a small, but noteworthy appearance from Jennifer Lawrence; if you don’t recognise the name, chances are you will this time next year after her role in the upcoming Hunger Games adaptation.

Like Crazy bears comparison with two of the best romance films of recent years, Blue Valentine – in terms of narrative and (500) Days of Summer - in terms of tone. It shows that not every love story has to have the emetic reductiveness of Sex & The City. Audiences will probably feel moments of recognition, and moments of awkwardness. The chances are that Like Crazy will remind you of someone you know, if not remind you of yourself. It shows us a part of life that is often rousing and painful, and at times discomforting, which is the requisite of any substantive piece of art. After the average cinema we got in 2011, Like Crazy gets 2012 off to a strong start.