So...Podcasts

Lemme try that one again. So!? PODCASTS!!!

Yeah, that's more like it.

I am now addicted to podcasts. It's like a personal AM radio, only, well, without all the crappy and creepy stuff you'd find on AM radio.

Now, keep in mind we here at the Bigredrobot keep it real. We kick it old school. Unlike all you playa haytahs with your DSL and cable and whatnot, we roll with "the dial-up." Which means that podcasts are something that I should not be addicted to, but I am, cuz I'm crazy like that. Y'know, like a nonconformist and stuff.

Anyway, so here's a list of the podcasts I currently attempt to keep up on:

Ask A Ninja (video podcast): Basically, it's exactly what it says it is: you e-mail a question to askaninja@gmail.com and a man in a ninja suit answers your questions. This is a podcast that deals with the issues, like "Are there midget ninjas?" (Yes. They're called Minjas) "Can ninjas love?" (Yes. They love killing.) "Do ninjas have any conventions?" (Yes. It's called Killacon and it's secret and deadly, thankyouverymuch.) Anyway, it's hilarious. Check out the site or search it on iTunes. It's gold.

iFanboy.com Pick of the Week Podcast: Three college buddies meet each week and discuss the state of that weeks's comics. Intelligent and funny, this is far and away the best comic's podcast out there. As research for my BFA project, I decided to check out a couple of comics podcasts and after a horrible experience with another podcast (Comic Geek Speak, I think it was called) which turned out to be everything I had hoped it wouldn't be: basically the nerdy geeks that work in comic stores sitting around for an hour and a half (!) revelling in their own geekiness. Not my bag. Luckily, the other one I sampled was this one. These guys are smart, funny and professional and though they have an obvious proclivity for "street level" or "realistic" superhero books (i.e.: Identity Crisis, anything Bendis or Bendis-like) and a sort-or anti-Morrison bent (most notably his X-Men run, which, despite its shortcomings is still amazing superhero comics), I admire their ability to look past hype and preconception and give honest reactions in an intelligent manner. Here's the site.

Jack Black's Nacho Libre Confessional (video podcast): Yeah, I am totally owned by this movie. You had me at Jared Hess, y'know? You didn't have to go and add Jack Black and Mike White, co-writer of School Of Rock to it, too. This is a bunch of short video diary clips of new daddy Black's experience on the set of a film that I am sure is going to be, if nothing else, very funny. My favorite on is #13 where Jack bemoans the fact that his manhood looks too small in his tights. Here's the official movie site. Not as brillaint as the Napoleon Dynamite site was, but still quite good.

LOSTCasts: Their motto is "We read the forums so you don't have to," which is fairly accurate as a big portion of it is (retrospectively) off-the-mark speculation, but that's half of the fun of Lost, right? A bit long, but still a decent little filler that's more a help than a hinderance in unlocking the secretsof the Island. The site's here.

NPR: All Songs Considered: A weekly show that sheds some light on music worth listening to. If you can get past the fact thet Bob Boilen's an fairly dorky NPR deejay with a serious love for female singers, you can find some cool stuff on here. Plus, they do a monthly free concert that they then podcast. Last time was the Walkmen and before that Mogwai, with Sonic Youth on deck. There's at least one band you hadn't heard of that's pretty decent in each half-hour or so episode. The site.

The Official LOST Podcast: Yeah, so I'm addicted to Lost. This is ABC's podcast and while the fluff pieces on the cast and crew are entirely disposable, the Q&A with producers Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse are always entertaining (though never as entertaining as Damon and Carlton think they are) and interesting. The official Lost site's riiiiight here.

A special nod goes out for the Ricky Gervais Podcast which my cousin Jesse tipped me off to when I was out in NYC. It's wrapped up and is now an "audiobook," which means it's not free, which sucks.

And that's it for now, I guess.