PodtoberFest with 7 Days A Geek

This past weekend, from Saturday 10am EST until Sunday 10am EST, the 7 Days A Geek live 24 hour PodtoberFest took place.

What started as a less than serious suggestion in the after-show of a regular Friday night live show--from Bill Sweeney podcast host and friend(The Wicked Theory Podcast)--quickly turned into a full fledged collaborative team project. Jason "The Angry Ginger" along with his co-host Grant immediately embraced the idea of running a 24 hour live show of their podcast, both to drum up content for their 30 days of Podcasting fundraiser in November and to just see if they could pull it off. Bill, the instigator, was roped in to head up the writing team responsible for coming up with enough content to fill 24 hours and then some. The rest of the writer's room comprised of: Jason aka Agent Palmer (www.agentpalmer.com), myself, The Tech Support, Road, Daisey. Also assisting Jay and Grant with securing guests during the show, was Jay's friend and producer Althea.

For the past month or so, we had been hard at work with organizing content for two 3-hour morning shows sandwiching 18 individually themed hours. Skype and Google hangout meetings were held, minute details were discussed and plans with backup plans were created.

We each used our individual talents to turn this idea into a reality and I feel both privileged and proud to have been a part of it.

The show was not without its minor hiccups, which is expected for a live online hosted show, but was otherwise a roaring success. Bill, Palmer, and I all committed to staying awake for the entire  24 hours, in order to assist with production and to support Jay and Grant. Bill even flew from Staten Island, NY to Grand Rapids, MI to be "in studio" with Jay and Grant. Palmer and I joined in remotely, from our respective laptops.

This is a good moment for a side tangent about my laptop. I got home after work and a trip to the grocery store on Friday night, to find my laptop doesn't want to turn on. I try several times to get it to function all to no avail. I immediately reach out to friends on Facebook asking if anyone will lend me a laptop for the weekend, I knew that without a laptop it would severely cripple my ability to help with the Podcast. I never panicked, one because I don't ever panic about anything. Two, I knew that worst case scenario, I would be unable to actively help with the podcast, but could still listen on my phone. While that would have been a bummer, it would still have been better than nothing. Luckily, everything worked out and I wound up with an awesome new laptop. But back to the main point, PodtoberFest.

The morning show started off with the hosts (Jason and Grant) discussing the idea and creation of the 24 hour podcast. They also took some time to introduce their sponsors. Bill, originally producer, quickly took on the role of co-host as time progressed. It's hard not to when there's a microphone near your face. Although sometimes, it would have been helpful to Palmer and I if a chat window or a phone had been close to Bill's face. It certainly would have made getting a hold of him a lot easier, but we forgave him. There was a lot going on.

With 18 different themed hours full of discussion topics, games, and sponsor promos--there was never a dull moment. In fact, there was more than enough content to fill the 24 hours. Fellow remote producer and writer Palmer actually calculated that at the end of the show there was still at least another 12 hours of unused content left over. It had been the goal to come up with more than enough stuff for the show in case there were any moments were a topic fell short or there was dead air. But, luckily, that rarely happened and there was only one hour where things didn't quite go according to plan. Games involving sounds is something to improve on for the future.

Twitter was a huge focus during the show, everyone with a Twitter account was sharing the show and promoting it, in an effort to increase listenership. Mixlr even let you send out tweet through the chat room hat provided a direct link for people to access the show as it went along. A cool and really exciting (Twitter related) thing to happen during the show was discovering that the hashtag PodtoberFest (#PodtoberFest) was trending on Twitter. What that means, for those of you not hip on the Twitter verse, Twitter hashtags are a means to track popular topics and search through the ocean of tweets for related tweet on the same topic. Basically, whenever a hash tag is used, someone can type in that hashtag and Twitter will pull up all tweets containing that hashtag. Once a hash tag is used repeatedly and continuously, it begins to "trend", meaning a lot of people are either looking up that hashtag or using the hastag. Sometimes across the country and even the world. Twitter will then put out the list of trending hashtags that are popular for that day in the country and the world.

Nearly halfway through the 24 hours and after the live reading of Sidekicked the radio play (written by Jason the Angry Ginger), Jason was checking his Twitter and excitedly revealed on air that PodtoberFest was trending on Twitter above Jessica Jones. Jessica Jones is the new Marvel/Netflix show who's trailer premiered that same day. So needless to say, it was pretty cool to hear that we were basically beating the Jessica Jones hashtag for popularity.

I must admit, staying up for 24 hours was easier than I thought it would be. I did have it a bit easier than the guys did; instead of 10am to 10am, I only needed to stay awake from 7am to 7am. Being three hours behind the rest of the crew helped in that aspect at least. It wasn't hard to notice the point when sleep deprivation and caffeine overload took their toll around the 20 hour mark. But thanks to time spent with late addition guests (Matt from Reasons Are Several Podcast and Dave from Podcasts without Borders), the boys found themselves rejuvenated enough to knock out the last few hours of the podcast, the second morning show. With that, the 24 hour live podcast was over and the rest is history, as they say. The boys broke down all the equipment and went to sleep at some point, while I was in bed at half past 7 ready to catch up on some glorious sleep.

Now it would be a remiss, if I did not give a special shout out to the unsung hero of this endeavor--Grant's wife Beth. Not only did she allow all the shenanigans to take place in her basement, but she also spent a lot of time in the kitchen prior to and during the 24 hour broadcast. She was the only one in the house to get some sleep that night, but it was well deserved. Beth made sure the boys were well fed and hydrated in order to keep going. She even ensured that Jay had a birthday cake at midnight. Out of everyone involved, they could not have pulled this off without her.

Now, I bet you're asking, how do I listen to this epic 24 hour podcast? Well, you're in luck. All 24 hours of PodtoberFest will be released in hour segments, during the month of November, for 7 Days A Geek's 30 Days of Podcasting. Normally, during the 30 Days of Podcasting, Jay would release short daily episodes in an effort to gain Patreon support to help keep the podcast going. This year, thanks to PodtoberFest the majority of the content is taken care of, plus anyone who was not able to tune in on the 24th will be able to hear everything they missed...or relive it all over again. I know I will be. Enjoy and while you're at it, check out the 7 Days A Geek website, s7evendaysageek and Monkey Poo Studios.

The Supernatural Great White North: Vancouver

Back in August, I returned home from one of the most gorgeous places, if not the most gorgeous place I have ever been to in North America. Vancouver, British Columbia--the western coastal city in Canada. Nestled amongst the mountains and ocean bays just to the north of the American border of Washington state. It's unique beauty derived not just from the city itself but also the diverse surrounding areas. It's no wonder that Vancouver is a popular location for film studios. Tall pine forests, flowing rivers, mighty mountain ranges cutting through the clouds. I never would have expected to fall in love with a place so quickly and so completely.

I now understand why my friend Lucy is trying so hard to get permanent residency and continue to live in this amazing city instead of returning to her native country of England. I would emigrate to Canada in a heartbeat if I had guaranteed work in Vancouver and it wasn't so damn difficult. But alas, as much as I would love it, I rather prefer being further east than moving further west. Heading to the East Coast has been an ambition for a long time and something I hope to accomplish eventually. Airplane tickets to Germany would be so much cheaper...but I digress.

I flew into Vancouver on Tuesday August 25th, by way of LAX (Los Angeles). Longest layover ever, literally. I've never before spent over six hours at an airport. It was rough, but considering I got my flight for free (I used mileage points) I couldn't complain. The flight from LA to Vancouver I was originally supposed to take--at around 1pm-- was cancelled. I was left stranded from 11am until 5pm, when I could finally take the next flight. I tried to keep myself occupied with my phone and a book to read but the worst part was the uncomfortable seating. The best part was the good music floating over from the bar in the corner of the terminal. I arrived in Vancouver at just after 7pm . I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel and met up with my friend Sandra. Despite being exhausted, we went out in search of dinner and took the first fast food restaurant we could find--Wendy's. Now being in Canada, this Wendy's naturally served bacon covered poutine (fries with gravy and cheese curds); I was excited but my friend Sandy was not impressed. It was every where, not surprising, it is Canada. There were Ruffles poutine flavored chips at Subway, the fast-food version (not bad, but I've had better in America) at Wendy's, a delicious were-chicken version at The Stormcrow Tavern. No, it wasn't actual were-chicken, that's just one of the awesome titles that the Stormcrow uses for their dishes. It's the greatest geeky tavern I have had the fortune to eat in. There are geeky references galore: sci-fi, fantasy, pop-culture. You can drink beer, eat and play games. You can even roll dice for shots and take a chance at winning a shot glass. I would live in that place.

Our first full day, Wednesday, we took the bus to Stanley Park and spent most of the day at the Vancouver Aquarium. It wasn't cheap to get in, but once you paid you got a stamp that allowed you to leave and re-enter if you wanted. We took lots of photos: fish, jelly fish, dolphins, otters. The otters were probably the most interesting and cutest things in the entire aquarium. The 4D Experience about prehistoric ocean dwelling dinosaurs was really cool as well and I highly recommend waiting in line to get into the theater for that one, if you ever find yourself in Vancouver.

After the aquarium, we wandered through Stanley Park down to the sea wall. The sea wall is literally what the name says, a rock wall along the bay that you can walk or bike along and enjoy the ocean. We took the sea wall out of the park to the city, walking back to the hotel instead of taking the bus again. We discovered when we took the bus earlier that day, it was a walk-able distance. We saved five dollars and enjoyed an easy and pleasant stroll.

Thursday we took a trip to Granville Island, off a recommendation from our friend Lucy. This involved another (this time longer) bus ride; we spent the day walking around checking out a bunch of little stores and a very large indoor market full of mom and pop food vendors. Tasty fish and chips (or fries) were eaten followed up by gelato. I also did a bit of souvenir shopping for myself and family. After the bus ride back to the hotel, we took a rest and later went to the convention center so Sandy could register for the Salute to Supernatural Convention. Part B to our trip was the convention, while Part A was doing the tourist thing and wandering around Vancouver. I and our friend Lucy waited until the next morning to register because we were lower levels of admission and didn't feel like waiting until late at night in a long line. There would be enough waiting in long lines through out the weekend.

The first day of the convention rolled around and we were up early in the morning on Friday, ready to face a day of panels and photos. The panels were all great and entertaining as is usual for Supernatural cast panels, which I have only experienced in person twice (two conventions including Vancouver, the other here in Phoenix) and seen in many YouTube videos. The cast is a group of funny, humble, just awesome people who enjoy speaking to the fans as much as they enjoyed or enjoy working on the show. The conventions are known for including actors that have already left the show but are still just as popular, if not more, with the fans as they were when filming the show. A prime example: Richard Speight Jr. He was in five episodes of Supernatural in the entire 10 year run, but he has become a fan favorite for his lively and entertaining MC-ing of every single Salute to Supernatural Convention. He introduces every actor, opens and closes the convention, and is a master of Friday Night Karaoke. Similar to Rich, Rob Benedict has also been at nearly every convention. He is known for playing Chuck (with hints of him being God) in the show, Supernatural. He and his band Louden Swain have performed as house band for the conventions and he assists with MC-ing duties. These actors have not had much to do with the show in these past years but they come to these conventions and fans love them for it and they are not the only ones, proving that a character and actor can have an impact regardless of how long they are part of a show.

The day ended with the big karaoke show. The sign-up line was massive and I braved it only to not have the opportunity to sing, but that is often the case. So many people sign-up and then attendees are chosen at random to be sprinkled in with a lot of the cast: Rob and Rich, Gil McKinney, Erica Carroll with Ruth Connell, Theo Devaney, Osric Chow, Tyler Johnston, plus special guest Brianna Buckmaster. She was the life of the party and hadn't even been officially invited to the convention. She was invited by Rob and Rich. It was an awesome evening spent cheering and singing along with every single song until my throat bled (no, not really, but the vocal chords were angry the next day). Man I love karaoke.

Saturday, we slept in a bit. Karaoke-ing the night away will do that. By the time we were ready and had grabbed breakfast (delicious bacon breakfast wraps from Tim Hortons), we had missed a couple panels. But since we were having photos with both actors and one was having another panel on Sunday, we didn't feel as bad about missing them that morning. The rest of Saturday was a blur of panels, autographs and waiting in line for photos. Food was eaten at some point, which is a luxury at a convention, because it's not always a guarantee to have time to eat. Especially if you have jam-packed your schedule to the max. We ended the day with the Saturday Night Special, the Louden Swain Concert. Rob Benedict and his band mates: Billy Moran, Michael Borja, and Stephen Norton; played a fantastic show for the crowd, at times joined by special guests. The real kicker was Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester in Supernatural) showing up to sing Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and rocking the pants off that song (and possibly some fans as well). That was also another night of cheering and singing along followed by a walk in the rain sharing a single umbrella. There was a lot of giggling on the way back to the hotel. Not because we'd been drinking, but it was the type of giddiness you get when you're tired but also brimming with so much energy at the same time. Plus, when you're trying to share an umbrella with someone shorter than you, it's hard not to find reasons to giggle.

Sunday I got to sleep in while my friend Sandy went to the exclusive morning panel. I was general admission, so I did not need to show up as early. I did have a photo that morning so I didn't sleep in a great deal longer than the day before. I also stopped and grabbed breakfast which I ate waiting in the giant line to get in. I found Sandy shortly after entering the main area where the panels were being held, so she could eat her breakfast. Then we waiting until our numbers were called for photos. It was a lot of waiting through out the morning along with the big panel with Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) and another panel with Ruth Connell (Rowena). I think there was a final video contest and an auction as well. But that was basically everything wrapping up for Sunday. Overall, the convention was a lot of fun, more so for the friends that I met (some for the first time, others again) and got to spend the weekend with.

The convention ending was not the end to our adventures though. We purposely made sure to have a couple days after the convention ended to allow for more exploration of Vancouver and the surrounding areas. Our friend Lucy was wonderful enough to chauffeur us around to go location hunting for former Supernatural film locations. We all ate breakfast together at...you guessed it...Tim Hortons. We drove around, we took some photos and sought out several different locations, even though the weather was not so cooperative--it rained...a lot. We also had lunch at a filming location Boston Pizza aka Biggerson's. It was a great time and a fun little adventure for the three of us. The over all trip will go down as one of my top three favorite trips, I've ever taken. So far at least, who knows what new adventures the future holds.

The Witch's Familiar and a Coincidence - Doctor Who

If you couldn't tell, I'm a bit behind on my Doctor Who watching. Well, The Witch's Familiar I did watch when it aired, but I am spending today getting caught up on the last two episodes. I already had a little blurb written up about the second episode so I thought I would settle down and share it with the world. I actually have a BBC America email survey to thank for this.

Every week after the premier of a new episode, I get an email to complete a survey from BBC America to get my thoughts on the episode. It's something that I signed up for, at some point, been so long I can hardly remember when...not at all actually. But that's not the point. I received the survey for The Magician's Apprentice, gave my slightly less than pleased review which much copied my thoughts in the blog post that I wrote. Then the next week, I watched The Witch's Familiar and boy did it make me think. Had I been to harsh on the premier episode of Doctor Who? By itself, the first episode had been average, but the second...oh the second wrapped everything up in a pretty bow of "how could you doubt me? I should go all Scottish on you".

The second episode was what I had hoped the first episode would be. It was a great episode--intriguing and exciting. You got to see the Doctor in action as you expect him to be. There was more emotion from all the characters. Davros was believable all the way up to the point of betrayal. I found myself much more invested and glued to the screen than with the first episode. It was now obvious that the first two episodes were intended to be a two-parter, each relying on the other to bring this portion of the story, the story of the Daleks, to a close. The second episode was definitely the stronger episode for plot and character interaction. So why on earth did they not give us a two hour premier? Instead of having to wait a week in between episodes. The episodes complimented each other so well, it was a shame that they had been split up. It would have made all the difference, two back to back episodes to start the season off right.

Now, I told BBC America all of this, in my survey response. I told them how much I enjoyed the second episode, how it would have made more sense to have them back to back as a two hour premier rather than split. I even admitted that I was too harsh on the premier episode because of this fact. But also, if the two episodes were meant to compliment each other, the second wrapping everything up--the entire plot being carried into and resolved in the second episode. It should have been clearly defined as a two-parter. I know, the first episode ended in a bit of a cliff hanger, there was obviously more to come. But the first episode left me disheartened. If I had seen a bit more of what was presented in the second episode, I would have felt better about the whole thing. The two episodes together bring my grading of the premier up by a whole letter grade, from an "average" C, to a "hopeful for the future" B.

Now here is where the funny part comes in. When I complete these surveys for BBC America, I never think much is really going to come of them. Honestly, I usually doubt they actually read them. As a matter of fact, I used to rarely fill them out, even though they do promise an entry into their contest for every survey received. I would see them in my inbox, decide I didn't have the time and then delete them. Especially since, I had not been very impressed with the last season of Doctor Who. I like Capaldi, but could no longer stand Clara Oswold (no offense to Jenna, who I'm sure is a lovely person and a talented actress), the character had lost purpose and was under-developed after she stopped being the impossible girl. There was no more interest, I found myself annoyed with her rather than interested. But I digress, because my dislike of Clara is not the point. The point is...I think BBC America listened. The very next week--before the airing of episode three, Under the Lake--I was surprised to find my DVR recording a two-part re-airing of The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar...BACK TO BACK!! I was surprised and pleased. My immediate thought was, "Oh wow, BBC America does read their surveys." It could not have just been a coincidence. But maybe it could and I'm giving my one little survey far too much credit. Or maybe it wasn't just me? There was an outcry for the opportunity to watch these two episodes, as had been intended with no interruptions. Well, aside from the occasional commercials. Either way, well done BBC America, well done.

It's been a couple weeks since episode two, so I won't dwell to much more on it, I have to get on with my post for three and four. But I will share just a few more thoughts. Missy was fabulous, as always, as were her interactions with the Daleks and Clara. You finally got the sense that she wasn't just an enemy of the Doctor...she was so much more. It wasn't all talk, there was definitely more to their lengthy "relationship" than could ever be comprehended or explained in the simple terms afforded by the human language. But isn't that how it should be though? A past full of mystery, there is always something new to discover about the Doctor's life. Then there was the shocking bit, I actually didn't mind Clara as much in this episode, possibly because she was mostly around Missy or for the fact that she was trapped inside a Dalek casing...but still, tolerable. It was great to see the Doctor's plan come to fruition. He technically assisted in the destruction of the Daleks, but it was really the Daleks being wiped out by other Daleks. It was a civil war instead of genocide at the hands of the Doctor. He facilitated, knowing the power would go to every single Dalek, even the ones decaying in the "sewer". This of course causing the suffering Daleks to revolt and come to the surface to destroy the Daleks that has oppressed them and left them to die. It's a classic scenario, the lowly rising up to overthrow an oppressive regime. It worked excellently in the episode.

But all that paled in comparison to the realization behind the true relationship that the Doctor shared with his oldest enemy. I knew he wouldn't have killed the boy Davros, it's not the Doctor's way nor should it ever be. Of course that meant he allowed for a future with the Daleks when he couldn't have stopped them from ever being created. But in doing so, he instilled a sense of mercy in Davros, which would translate into the genetic makeup of every future Dalek. He wasn't entirely evil after all, which saved Clara's life. All thanks to the Doctor exterminating some creepy hands with eyeballs in another time. It was the perfect (hopefully final) end to Davros and his relationship with the Doctor.