In a vain attempt to be topical, Jakob and Mandi miss the iPad frenzy by about a week. They also finish off season 2.5 of Battlestar with the latest installment of Project GalacTALKa.

Expanded shownotes HERE.

Jakob and Mandi get real with the first in a series of episodes devoted to anti-nerd hurdles or, perhaps, Nerds’ Hurdles. Things nerds don’t like because they’re the domain of the normies. Reality TV gets the first whack of the nerd scorn stick.

Project GalacTALKa: Some of the worst TV ever produced, including reality TV, can be found in Season 2.5 of BSG. At least the first half. Specifically “Black Market“.

Shownotes HERE.

Bored? If you’re listening to Nerd Hurdles, you’re clearly the opposite of bored. At least until Jakob and Mandi start playing Star Wars and LOTR Trivial Pursuit.

This week on Project GalacTALKa: Discussion of the half-assed boxset production, fanfic, Adm. Helen ”Mole Sauce” Cain and human anatomy in water (in roughly that order).

Read the expanded shownotes here.

Dances with Smurfs has been declared racist by some people and a technological wonder by others (namely James Cameron). Jakob and Mandi enjoyed it well enough, but mostly as jumping-off point for a fight debate about unions and global economics. Also in this episode, part two of the Battlestar GalacTALKa series.

Read the shownotes HERE.

Mandi was sick and Jakob still hungover from NYE when they attempted to talk about Anime. The unhurdleable dark art from Japan. Did they even try to hurdle this nerd fantasy-land (other than their beloved Miyazaki)? Listen and find out.

Episode 47 also brings you the first installment of a limited series, Project GalacTALKa. If they FAIL’d in discussing anime, they WIN’d at BSG (warning: spoilers).

Read the shownotes HERE.

Kathie What Introduced Mandi to Fanfiction Apparently drops by the Hurdle Hut to discuss the hurdles inherent in internet dating.

Read the shownotes Here.

An early present from Jakob and Mandi. Who wants to listen to a podcast about Christmas movies after Christmas?

Read the shownotes HERE.

One year to the day, Jakob and Mandi (along with Igor and The Banana) celebrate the anniversary of Nerd Hurdles by answering questions submitted by listeners. Tangents, ahoy!

Listen to the shownotes HERE.

This episode was almost called “The Road, Untravelled” since Jakob ditched Cormac McCarthy’s book 67 pages in. It was also almost titled “Apocalypstick” until Jakob realized there’s an all-girl punk band by that name. Too bad because it would have been a nice nod to Wez’s ladyboy’s make-up. Whatever the title, Jakob raves about and Mandi hurdles The Road Warrior as they wander aimlessly through the wasteland of post-apocalyptic movies, books and game shows.

Read the expanded shownotes down this road.

We’re bringing prudish back.

Read the expanded shownotes HERE.

New Moon opened last weekend to record-breaking ticket pre-sales. How could Jakob and Mandi not do a show on it? Quite easily it seems. Instead they talk about a previous vampires vs. werewolves franchise with a cult following.

Read the shownotes HERE.

Only they did take this guy from us. After only half a season. The bastards. Jakob and Mandi discuss (relatively spoiler free) the single best sci-fi television show ever cancelled. By Fox. Period.

Read the shownotes HERE.

A short episode due to Jakob and Mandi being poorly. Though they had the pandemic, the swine flu, pH1N1, the phinny, they managed to hack their way through a conversation about sick-day movies and other flu-related nerdiness.

There’s no dirtier word than “hobby” when it comes to the pursuits of nerds.

Shownotes / related links HERE.

Jakob and Mandi go to the Toronto Zombie Walk 2009 and then watch Dead Snow, Zombieland and I Am Legend to try to understand just why people like zombies so damn much. Not really a halloween episode so much as a return to the ever-popular zombie topic?

Read Jakob’s thoughts on zombie popularity in the show notes HERE.

Tis the season to be spooky. Jakob and Mandi discuss their general Halloween Hurdles and ghostly loves. From decorations to music to candy, they dig deep into the loot sack of terror.

Read the shownotes for this episode HERE.

One step away from the abyss of Star Trek fanfiction is the unsurmountable mountain of official Star Trek novels. Jakob tells Mandi why he’s never read any of the Star Trek novels… or has he?

Shownotes HERE.

Artsy farts. They ruin it for everyone. Especially performance artists. Nothing turns the general public off the arts more than someone gluing their pubic hair to a Volkswagon and calling “Art” (you gotta know it’s been done). Jakob and Mandi braved the all night artsy douchebaggery that was Nuit Blanch Toronto 2009 and managed to get enough sleep to talk about it. This is what the Pixmaven instant art critique generator has this to say about this episode:  “It should be added that the reductive quality of the figurative-narrative line-space matrix endangers the devious simplicity of the distinctive formal juxtapositions.”

Good performace art: Shara Rosko’s Glomerate.

Bad performance art: Darryl Hannah in Legal Eagles.

Aliens, visitors, small greys, buggers or simply LGM (little green men) are well known to be master filkers. That might be why Jakob and Mandi approve or disapprove of their little green ways. Other than some great Pixies songs, what has Area 51 done for you lately?

The whole point was to make ‘Charlie Sheen you shouldn’t wear make-up it makes you look like a whore’ jokes but Jakob and Mandi forgot. Then they got dogmatic and doomy and a bit gloomy.