This week’s episode: Storm is back from staycation, and describes the key to “That Vacation Feeling;” PAX anticipation; Paul recounts the nerd hornets’ nest he kicked over after Tweeting his opinion that The Fifth Element is not a good movie, which leads to a discussion of camp in general; Storm’s “fair” experience in a demolition derby .

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: What do you think a “Big Block Dandy” is? Also, feel free to make your case that The Fifth Element is not a bad movie.

Show #095: Leeloo Dallas Multipass

This week’s episode: we break down the general process that goes into choosing w00tstock locations, which seems to mostly involve herding cats, soliciting the philanthropy of billionaires, and puzzles; picnics and carnivals, and the not-funness of them; fruit muck; and Storm’s lengthy hotel nightmare tale.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: What things do you do that are supposed to be fun, but actually aren’t? Also, do you have any hotel nightmares?

Show #094: Flophouses and Cat Herders

Long live The King.

Elvis Died Today

(click to download, right-click then “Save As…” or however you do it on your particular machine; you should know how to do this by now!)

We’re pleased to announce that we’re bringing our travelling circus back to the nest, with w00tstocks 2.5 and 2.5.1 coming to the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA, on Thursday & Friday , September 16 & 17, 2010. Guest acts and other mayhem TBA, but it’s guaranteed to be just as epic as w00tstocks past. TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE.

For those of you not in the Bay Area or unable to get there, don’t start pissin’ and moanin’ just yet—we’ve nailed down a number of possible dates in October-November, and are now actively working to book venues in various cities across the U.S.—particularly that whole Eastern part we’ve been neglecting—and possibly Canada. (Sorry, UK; we love you, and you’re definitely in our hearts and long-term plans; but it’s probably just not feasible this year.) Unfortunately, no dates are confirmed enough to announce yet; but we promise you all will be the first to know as soon as we do!

This week’s supersized-but-totally-worth-it episode: we are joined by podcasting juggernaut and general techie mensch (and self-described Paul and Storm groupie) Tom Merritt; Tom’s beard is analyzed; we reminisce about the past week, during which we jointly owned the Internets; Tom experiments with his own hashtag meme; the significance of a scientific calculator, a Muppet Movie song and and a “Sesame Street” segment; Paul nails some music trivia; and Tom chimes in on the statute of limitations on spoilers.

Show #093: The Glass of Milk and Honey

Hot on the heels of Storm’s #wookieeleaks juggernaut, Paul’s insomnia and subsequent Twitter exchange with Josh Cagan led him to launch #newyorkerkanyetweets, a mashup of New Yorker cartoons and Twitter n00b Kanye West’s tweets. An e-mail interview with Paul about the meme’s appeal can be found at Urlesque.com, and already it’s been picked up by  The Onion A/V Club,  Paste Magazine the Huffington Post, and, yes, The New Yorker.

UPDATE: Also on Mashable, BuzzFeed, Comics Alliance, and an interview on The Pulse Network.

Check ‘em out on Twitter, or in this handy gallery of mashups by Paul, Josh, and Storm…

http://twitpic.com/tag/kanyenewyorkertweets

UPDATE: All the original New Yorker cartoons (with their original, Kanye-less captions) can be found at cartoonbank.com. (We’re working on linking the individual Kanye cartoons with the specific originals. Eventually)

• Wired.com e-mail interview with Storm from Wednesday about how he thought of it and spread it, with the help of @shanenickerson
• NPR article and interview with Michele Norris, as heard on All Things Considered
• Time.com
• MSNBC article
• AOL News article
• Washingtonian
• New York Daily News
• TheForce.net
• The Atlantic says “Perhaps the best hashtag ever” (guess who’s gonna get a Sugarberry canned ham from us this Thanksgiving)

So special thanks to Shane Nickerson (@shanenickerson) for helping get the ball rolling early on. And, of course, to Chewbacca. What a Wookiee!

Now where’s our sitcom deal?

Sometimes you order a large barrel of Awesome and they accidentally send you the DELUXE MEGA-ECONOMY SIZE. That is precisely what happened at w00tstock 2.4 SDCC. An SRO sellout crowd of around 800 was utterly rocked by each and every performer, as well as a handful of  surprise guests. And we know that this comment is becoming as common as v1agr@ spam, but as much fun as it was for the audience, it was just as exciting for the performers, both on stage and off.

You’ll find plenty of pictures and videos out there, and Wil wrote a terrific first-hand account, so we’ll just hit the highlights and do a bit of well-deserved ass-kissing, more or less in chronological order:

BEFORE THE SHOW EVEN STARTED

Our friends at ThinkGeek kindly offered to coordinate with Ice Cream Man to give out free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to the people waiting in line to get into the show. Let’s say those words again: FREE BEN & JERRY’S ICE CREAM. If that doesn’t illustrate just how much we love you, then nothing will.

(Seriously, we had little to do with it other than saying “hell, yes, you should do that!” to the ThinkGeek folks; many thanks to them for putting that treat together!)

FREE MOLLY!

If you follow us on Twitter you already know that things went haywire well before showtime, with under-21 Molly Lewis being told that she wasn’t allowed to even set foot in the venue because of the terms of the their liquor license (not their fault–allowing an except could more or less shut them down.) She was allowed to perform, but had to be escorted between the side door and the stage, lest the demon alcohol get close enough to sully her soul. But she handled it like a grizzled veteran, and the first Mollystock was held during intermission, during which she took requests from the 200 or so who gathered around her like the world’s most polite, attentive zombie horde. As Wil Wheaton said, this is just another reason why Molly Lewis is a national treasure.

WIL LAUNCHES, THE FIRST SURPRISE, and GENERAL FIRST HALF KICK-ASSITUDE!

Continuing the tradition, Wil pumped up the already excited crowd with his opening remarks. He then talked about how a certain Mythbuster would be coming out earlier than some might expect, priming the audience for Adam. But much to the audience’s delight (judging by their sustained high-decibel output), out walked Jamie Hyneman to introduce Yours Trulies. “Opening Band” was sung, designer panties were flung, and Len Peralta set up shop to begin the night’s custom poster.

photo by vissago

The escorted Molly charmed and rocked the audience with the help of Real Rock Star Jason Finn, including a song appropriate to the 21+ incident (Save Ferris’ “Under 21″) that she learned with Jason JUST BEFORE THE SHOW BEGAN.

Then Rifftrax (Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, and Mike Nelson) ripped up the crowd with a live-riff of the highly instructional “Lunchroom Manners”. Surprise the 2nd was Foxtrot writer/creator Bill Amend, who came on to introduce Matt Fraction, whose presentation on his writing inspirations and experiences is an amazing window into how creativity works at its best.

The Nerdist, Chris Hardwick, then demonstrated why he’s become one of the foremost voices of geekdom, absolutely killing during his set and handling the first appearance of Chewbacca (Adam) like a champ. Also appearing with Chewie was Surprise the 3th, Grant Imahara (more on him later).

Next came Wil’s recounting of his first Rocky Horror experience, “When You Dressed Up Sharp and You Felt Alright”, accompanied by Yours Trulies. It’s been inspirational to see how Wil continues to tinker and adjust the telling, bringing out more audience reaction each time with his narrative that demonstrates how even those who think of themselves as outsiders or awkward outcasts realize can, if they choose, find a place to belong.

photo by vissago

During Wil’s set came Surprise the 4th: AARON FRAKKING DOUGLAS, otherwise recognized as Chief Tyrol from Battlestar Galactica, dressed in complete flight deck regalia. Predictably and delightfully, it was a show-stopping moment—one that would have been difficult for most to recover from. But because Wil and the w00tstock crowd’s minds were already thoroughly melded (and because Wil was as geeked out as anyone within ten square miles), we managed to compose ourselves and complete the set.

SECOND HALF: NO STOP TO THE ROCKIN’!

After the Mollystock intermission, things jumped right back to life with Bad Astronomer Phil Plait showing the audience the firmament in a surprising new light, followed by Surprise the 5th: the delightful Veronica Belmont, introducing Marian Call. Mark our words: much like Molly Lewis, Marian is a performer we’re all likely be saying “I remember when she was only…” in the not-too-distant future. She was accompanied during her intense and engaging performance by her guitarist Scott Barkan (amazing in his own right) and a manual typewriter, and we and Molly had the privilege of sitting in during her nerd anthem. It was a true pleasure.

Special thanks to our Dungeon Master (stage manager) “Dammit” Liz Smith for putting out dozens of metaphorical little fires*, to Aleks Barbour for stepping up to the sound board helm and safely guiding us through the asteroid field, and to all of our unstoppable volunteers. Together, they helped make the night as hassle-free and enjoyable as possible for audience and performers alike.

photo by vissago

And of course, thank you to everyone who came to w00tstock 2.4, whose energy and unrestrained joy at celebrating every aspect of nerdery really is what make it into a phenomenon. For those who couldn’t make it (that would be the vast majority of you), we hope we’ll be able to bring w00tstock somewhere close in the near future. And when we do, we promise to bring plenty of Awesome with us.

* Dozens of Metaphorical Little Fires is the name of our Elvis Costello tribute act

This week’s episode: a reasonably thorough breakdown of our Comic-Con and w00tstock 2.4 experience, including such topics as camelcase; the multiple possible con tracks one can enjoy; the Guild Bollywood-style promo video; Mollystock and the maturity of Molly Lewis; Storm was Rockin’ Chewie; and the Story We’re Going to Tell Forevermore Regarding How Joss Whedon Got Turned Away at the Door of W00tstock. Also: Chief, Marian Call, and a new spoiler alert rule. Oh yeah: and JoCo Cruise Crazy.

Show #092: That Time We Almost Met Joss Whedon

This week’s episode: Storm works to overcome his terrible mood (with the help of a German digestif); drunk cats and Ivy Leaguers; a lengthy dissection of the “Double Rainbow” meme, and memes in general; Bastille Day is briefly celebrated; songwriting for deadline vs. writing for inspiration, and the degree to which those two things are compatible or not (also, drugs); and JoCo Cruise Crazy is officially launched.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Ever seen a cat get drunk? How did it happen?

Post-show song: “Double Rainbow Song” – The Gregory Brothers

Show #091: Stupid Like a Cat

Booking starts now for JoCo Cruise Crazy, a 6-day Eastern Caribbean cruise on Holland America’s ms Eurodam, with music and comedy performances from Jonathan Coulton and friends, featuring John Hodgman, Wil Wheaton, Paul and Storm (that’s us!), Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy from Rifftrax, Molly Lewis, and Mike Phirman. It departs from Ft. Lauderdale, FL on January 2, 2011 and returns January 8, with ports of call at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Falmouth, Jamaica; and Georgetown, Cayman Islands.

Did we mention that BOOKING STARTS NOW?

Well, now, thanks to our good friend Len Peralta, we’ve got a logo. (see right) — which is now available as a t-shirt on Zazzle.

And you, our lucky readers, can say that you were there at the beginning. Franchise opportunities will be opening up soon, so don’t miss out! Here are just a few of the exciting features of this high-impact, pie-impact goldmine:

• Award-winning pie recipes
• Themed Splatoriums (Old West; 1918 Bakery; 1922 Bakery; and more!)
• All Splatoriums feature a patented, automated self-cleaning system*
• Expansion opportunities with the rollout of Paul & Storm’s Original Goodtime Piefightery Greatland
• Animatronic Paul and Storm show. You know; for kids!

So act fast, or when there’s a P&S Piefightery in every town, you’ll be lamenting: “I could have been in on the ground floor, but I merely laughed.” Who’s laughing now?

*patent pending

UPDATE: T-SHIRTS NOW AVAILABLE!!!

Take your first step into a larger world, with the Official Paul and Storm Original Goodtime Piefightery t-shirt! Order now!

This week’s episode: we endorse new minion and band friend Scott Meyer’s “Basic Instructions“; Paul’s “Vending Machine Moustaches” project (a.k.a. “PaulStaches”), and musings on vending machines in general; Mike Phirman interrupts; we announce the very exciting news of the upcoming Jonathan Coulton Cruise (Jan. 2-8, 2011); the joy of playing craps (and Storm correctly pronounces “croupier”); and a passing mention of pie fights leads to a lengthy discussion of our potential new franchise, Paul and Storm’s Pie Fightery.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: What shipboard activities should we have for the JoCo Cruise? Also, feel free to suggest other elements/draw an advertisement for Paul and Storm’s Pie Fightery.

Post-show song: “You Give a Little Love” – Bugsy Malone Soundtrack

Show #090: Big Huge Blastie

Have a safe and happy 4th!

Ten-Finger Johnny

(click to download, right-click then “Save As…” or however you do it on your particular machine; you should know how to do this by now!)

This week’s episode: Storm is sick and Paul is recently-sick, and we both lament our situation; cat scratch fever; the return of “Sickey Mickey” and other home cures; sugared cereals and Paul’s exercise routine; Italian ninjas and the Devil’s Bargain of their glass knives; choosing your own death; debating the purpose of one’s life flashing before one’s eyes upon imminent death; “Bewitched” and time-traveling Founding Fathers; and we tease a cool thing for next week.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Do you have any special “cures” or “routines” you engage in when you’re sick? Also, what would be a great way to die? And what memory or memories might restart your brain if you needed to?

Post-show song: “It’s Good to Have Jayne on Your Side” – Marian Call

Show #089: Farmer Brown’s Cheese-aging Pocket

This week’s episode: We talk about nothing for a while (numbers, microphones, and Paul’s Snoopy Wall); waterbeds vs. plywood-style mattresses; real names, ethics, “hippie school,” and a story where Storm learns an important lesson at a young age; the joy of “Weird Al’s” latest tour, plus tracksuits; and Storm’s special Kinks concert memories.

Show #088: Mrs. Elders and The Imaginary Johnsons

This week’s episode: by command of our Übermistress, we talk about our butts—specifically, the scourge that is “sweaty butt” and ShamWow underwear; some light reminiscences of the most recent w00tstocks; our w00tstock guest selection process; Paul makes a comment that will probably get misconstrued as sexist; figuring out why neither of us ever latched on to comic books; favorite ice cream flavors; the origin of our “[X] is my [Y] tribute band” jokes; and Storm’s phone woes. Also, a new little ditty from Paul and Storm!

(Technical note: apologies from Paul for all the peaking; still happened even when I adjusted for it; won’t happen again)

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Do you have any reliable solutions to the delicate problem of “humid kiester?” Also, what got you hooked on comic books?

POST-SHOW SONG: “Incompetent’s Lament” – Paul and Storm (NSFW)

Show #087: Bob’s Big Boy Makes a Mudpie

Some highlights from the shows:

• Peter Sagal’s (host of NPR’s “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me) amazing “I, Henchman” monologue in Chicago. We can only imagine its next stop is “This American Life”
• Working with MST3K vets Bill Corbett & Kevin Murphy (Rifftrax) and Trace Beaulieu (Cinematic Titanic), enjoying and participating in the brand new songs by the former, and laughing hysterically at the later’s readings from his upcoming children’s book (illustrated by our good friend Len Peralta)
• Watching the aforementioned Len draw custom posters, live and on stage, in both cities
• John Scalzi’s monologue as an inter-species high school’s Vice Principle
• Seeing the audiences embrace the comedy of our longtime friends Tim Cavanagh and Tim Bedore
• Watching the crowds (predictably) fall in love with Molly Lewis and her ukule-ling
• Real Rock Star Drummer Jason Finn amping things up throughout the night
• Bill Amend’s utterly hysterical comic page parodies—where “Love Is” and Pedobear collide
• Witnessing as Professor James Kakalios brought the worlds of physics and superheroes together, to thunderous applause
• 36 minute version of “The Captain’s Wife’s Lament” in Chicago (thx to Dan Coulter for the vid), halted only by the rational cursing of Peter Sagal. Epic—and never to be repeated
• Wil’s childlike glee when he saw the custom TARDIS cake
• A successful marriage proposal in Minneapolis, complete with Wil Wheaton video setup. We seriously got teared up. Also never to be repeated, so DO NOT ASK US TO PULL THAT KIND OF STUNT AGAIN!
• Wil setting the tone for the night, and watching him command the crowd during his Rocky Horror story (aided and abetted by yours trulies, which always brings out our inner squee)
• Adam singing “I Will Survive” as Gollum. Yes, it was just as awesome as you imagine it was.
• Neil-effing-Gaiman’s “surprise” cameo. We are ever delighted by his charm and willingness to hang out with miscreants such as ourselves.

Super-mega thanks to our Dungeon Master (stage manager) “Dammit” Liz, and  to all of the volunteers who helped everything run mega-smooth, including Mike Lombardo, Michael Cianfrani of Tinyrun and returning talent-wrangler Chris Wright, all of whom are stars in their own right.

Oh, it’s ON!

We have heard the voices crying out in the darkness, and we are pleased to announce that w00tstock will indeed be coming to San Diego during Comic-Con. We’ve sent our flying monkeys out to gather the guests, and don’t know yet who they’ll catch, but rest assured that wsSDCC (w00tstock 2.4) will be epic and every bit as squee-worthy as its antecedents.

So mark your calendars for THURSDAY, JULY 22. 4th & B will be hosting the event, and we’re pleased to announce our first volley of guests:

• Ukulele-wielding favorite Molly Lewis (sweetafton23)
• The NERDIST himself, Chris Hardwick
• Comic book legend Matt Fraction (Uncanny X-Men and Invincible Iron Man)
• Real Rock Star Jason Finn (Presidents of the United States)
• Len Peralta, who will once again dream up and draw a custom poster LIVE on-stage
• Singer-songwriter Marian Call
• Bad Astronomer Phil Plait
• Rifftrax–Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, and Mike Nelson

This week’s episode: we once again podcast from the road, while on the long drive home from our tour of Canada; we are no good with numbers, mis-attributing both the episode number and the number of Minions; we engage once again in the gentlemanly sport of Hypothetical Battles; zoot suits, social diseases and Pigpen; still more poutine; what to call us or not call us; we narrowly avoid the local constabulary—though we weren’t quite so lucky earlier in the trip; eyeball soup and squid; useful crotch hits; light switch and ACE bandage confusion; our particular brand of dumbness; incredible suspense at the toll plaza; and Storm’s further theories on the appeal of Pac Man.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Share your own experiences of embarrassment stemming from language and/or cultural barriers.

Show #086: Pigpen’s Consent

This week’s episode: Special Guest Mike Phirman joins the fray to plug his new CD, “The Very Last Songs I Will Ever Record (Part 1)” and chat about all manner of comedy/music doings; our running personal soundtracks; salsa dancing lessons and gift-giving; child-frightening strategies; his duo’s origins; the obligatory Worst Gig story; stacked entertainment; and the planned tricks on Paul never materialize. Also, a bizarre sound at the 36:21 mark that we’re still not sure what the hell it is.

Songs played (all from Mike Phirman’s “The Very Last Songs I Will Ever Record (Part 1)“): “Chicken Monkey Duck”, “Lollytown”, “Thanksgiving Dinner”, “Clear the Floor”.

Show #085: Rufus P. Bottlesworth

We can’t possibly fit everything into one post without boring you to tears, so here are some of the highlights (after the break)

San Francisco show: big thanks to the rabid crowd who came to the Swedish American Hall to see us do our thing, and to Adam Savage for opening up with 20 minutes of first-rate stand-up comedy. If he hadn’t told us it was only the third time he’d ever done it, we’d never had known. Dude is a natural. (We hate him for that.)

w00tstocks 2.0 and 2.1 – Seattle and Portland: holy effing crap. It feels like this thing is on track to becoming a monster of Cthulhu-like proportions, and very soon. The crowd of 1,000+ nerds, geeks, and other former outcasts was gung-ho from the very first moment, and they NEVER LET UP (even in Portland, which ran nearly 5 hours—never to be repeated!) Same went for all of the performers. If you weren’t there, you missed:

• Wil Wheaton setting the perfect tone as Secretary of Geek Affairs, and reading one of our favorite stories of his, accompanied by Yours Trulies.

• Sketch comedy group LoadingReadyRun (LRR) firing the crowd up with a combination of live performance and videos.
• Molly Lewis continuing her march of awesomeness, uke in hand. (And in Seattle, also in the hands of surprise guest Kristen Shirts!)
• When Hank Green wasn’t making the audience laugh like hell, he was charming the snot out of them. Just days afterward, he even wrote a rap about the w00tstock experience.
• We’ll never see cats the same way again after B. Frayn Masters‘ hilarious presentation about a new feline dating service.
• Mike Selinker and James Ernest of Lone Shark Games did something puzzling in Seattle, complete with world-class juggling, and continued it in Portland in video form.
• Matt Fraction brought down the house in Portland with a funny and thoughtful presentation about his history with comics and comic book writing. Amazing.
• Stephen Toulouse, the Xbox Live community’s chief enforcer (aka “Stepto”) became the most unlikely of rock starts with his dramatic reading from the Book of Enforcement (aided by two somewhat familiar-sounding monks).
• MC Frontalot and his band brought their explosive brand of nerdery to Seattle and, predictably, rocked it HARD.
• Drummer Jason Finn of the Presidents of the United States of America served as Resident Real Rock Star, lending his talent and aura throughout the night.
• And of course Adam Savage delivered big time with a mix of comedy and special narrated sneak peeks and outtakes from Mythbusters.
• We performed, too.
• A whole buncha short films, including the w00tstock-exclusive “Moments with Wil”
• Super-special thanks to Chris, “Dammit” Liz, and all of the on-loan PAX Enforcers and other awesome volunteers for helping make everything run like an android’s dream.

Extra Bonus: after the Portland show, most of us hung out at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade, where we all regressed as we played video games and pinball from every period of our ongoing youths. Bonus element: beer!

For a more thorough inside view, Tally Heilke from the LRR machine wrote a terrific article. And of course there are pics and videos all over the internets, soon to be somewhat collected at w00tstock.net.

Nerdist Podcast / Hanging Out in L.A.

Thanks again to Chris Hardwick for having on his podcast, which was an EPIC night of comedy music at Largo. It was great hanging out with him and Mike Phirman and getting to see them perform some as Hard ‘N Phirm, plus seeing writer-actor-comedian Thomas Lennon‘s hilarious blues character.

Oh, and did we mention that one of our dreams came true? Yep, we and the other guests got to perform “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “One More Minute” onstage with him. Yeah, we know! We can’t believe it either! Al was also extremely fun and pleasant company backstage, and more than gracious when we occasionally slipped into lateral-lisp fanboy mode. Thank you!

PLUS: while we were in L.A. we got to hang out on the set of The Guild. And while you can imagine (and you’d be right) how much fun it is to hang out with with the cast, the hidden secret (SPOILER ALERT!) is that everyone on the crew is just as fun to be around. So thank you to Felicia, Kim, Sean and the gang for allowing us to bumble around, and we hope we didn’t bollox anything up too badly.

We also managed some extra hang time with Mike Phirman at his jealousy-inducing garage studio, and did quite a bit of nefarious plotting with Wil over more than a couple of beers. Mwah-ha-ha!

Down in Dixie with JoCo

As if all of that weren’t enough, we then whipped across country to meet Jonathan for a run through Richmond and Raleigh. Tired as we were, the crowds were every bit as charged up as at w00tstock, and they were appropriately rocked.

Finally, stuffed full of BBQ and love, we staggered home up I-95. We will spend the next 7-8 days in our hyperbaric chambers, recharging our electrolytes and prepping for our Great Canadian Onslaught coming up Memorial Day weekend. Stay tuned…

This week’s episode: we record our first “mobile” podcast while driving up I-85; Storm vents his long-held anger at the Hardee’s corporation; we grab a number of highlights of our previous week-and-a-half; we revel in our mutual man-crush on Mike Phirman; Paul laments over his sadly-lacking panelist skills, and attempts to re-tell an anecdote he completely butchered on the “Nerdist Podcast“, to mixed results; Storm analyzes his speaking cadence; and Storm’s travel tales of woe.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Tell us your airport nightmare experiences.

Show #084: I Hate Hardee’s

To all the sons and daughters: if you’re like us, you’ve forgotten to actually buy your mother a gift, or even a stupid card. Why are we such an idiot? Every year we do this! Dammit!

But don’t worry, Paul and Storm has you covered: give your Mom the gift of song! It’s just like a card—someone else has gone through all the trouble of writing and constructing it, and you get to take all the credit.

For a limited time, we are giving away our “Mother’s Day Song” ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Click here to download (do the whole “right click/”Save as…” or whatever the hell)

Some Kind of Charity (or Something)

All proceeds for the sale of this single go to Comic Relief. If you click on the link above (or this one right here), it’ll open up the Rednosenet shopping cart (entirely separate form ours), and your payment will go straight to Comic Relief.

You can find the lyrics here; and below is a complete listing of everyone in the song, in order of appearance:

This week’s episode: we tease our upcoming rednosenet.com charity single; UNICEF, raising money for the pom pom squad, and helping hands for evil; Storm’s childhood moulders away in his car barn, except his bowling patch, a Polaroid, and a Universal Studios guide from 1980; Cylons and Atari Football; and getting tired of podcasting.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: What arcade game or console/computer game(s) was (were) “forbidden” to you? And describe your lost valuable childhood item(s)?

Show #083: SpoonFlinger

Wednesday, April 28 – Barns at Wolf Trap - 8 pm
1635 Trap Road, Vienna, VA
Tickets: http://bit.ly/agzN1Y
with the Bobs

Thursday, May 6 – Swedish American Hall - 7:30 pm
2174 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
Tickets:  http://bit.ly/cuzYYv
with Adam Savage

Friday, May 7 – w00tstock 2.0 - 7 pm
Moore Theatre
1932 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA
Tickets:  http://bit.ly/w00tseattle
with Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and guests

Saturday, May 8 – w00tstock 2.1 – 7 pm
Aladdin Theater
3017 SE Milwaukee, Portland, OR
Tickets:  http://bit.ly/w00tportland
with Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and guests

Thursday, May 13 – Hat Factory – 8 pm
140 Virginia Street, Richmond, VA
Tickets: http://bit.ly/9DUbkg
with Jonathan Coulton

Friday, May 14 – Lincoln Theatre – 9 pm
126 E. Cabarrus Street, Raleigh, NC
Tickets: http://bit.ly/9yGzhH
with Jonathan Coulton

Thursday, May 27 – Just for Laughs Cabaret – 7:30 pm
2101 St-Laurent Blvd, Montreal, QC
Tickets: http://bit.ly/aBraSC
with Jonathan Coulton

Friday, May 28 – Gladstone Theater – 7:30 pm
910 Gladstone Avenue, Ottawa, ON
Tickets: http://bit.ly/92ShRK
with Jonathan Coulton

Sunday, May 30 – Enwave Theater – 8 pm
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, ON
Tickets: http://bit.ly/98K68o
with Jonathan Coulton

Sunday, June 6 – w00tstock 2.2 – 7:30 pm
Park West
322 West Armitage, Chicago, IL
Tickets:  http://bit.ly/w00tchicago2
with Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and guests

Monday, June 7 – w00tstock 2.3 – 7:30 pm
Guthrie Theatre
818 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN
SOLD OUT!
with Adam Savage, Wil Wheaton and guests

This week’s episode: we have new recording equipment, and Storm has an awesome desk; we loll around in the doldrums, and discuss how to get out of them; the Red Elvises, Neil Innes and Len Peralta’s Geek-a-Week are praised; instances of correcting teachers (and Paul mostly whines and invokes Marshall McLuhan);

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Draw us a picture of, and/or describe, your “cool door.” Also, which laptop should Storm purchase? (see poll below)

Show #082: Amish Hoverboards

$3,655.06

for the Arlington Food Assistance Center. And remember, they currently have a matching grant from the Feinstein Foundation; so we have in effect raised $7,270.12. You people ROCK!

And finally, as you may recall, every dollar donated converted to a chance to win one of two $100 ThinkGeek gift certificates. The drawing has been held, and congratulations to our two big winners, Rich Graham and Sarah K.

We’re glad that together with ThinkGeek, Arlington Carvel, GeekDad, and the Interwebs, we were able to turn a spur-of-the-moment moronic stunt into a Force for Awesome (which is the name of our Andrew W.K. tribute band)

This week’s episode: we take part in an April Fool’s Day prank; the Sid & Marty Krofft stable of theme songs; the full story of how Storm came to eat an ice cream cake for charity; Paul’s talent for enlightened self-interest; and classifying the world via laundry.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Please take part in the laundry-themed poll below.

Show #081: Underwear and Not-underwear

Finally, you still have time to donate for FudgieThon 2010! Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm EST on April 11th.

UPDATE: FudgieThon Flickr gallery gallery and video by attendee Joshua now available for those who missed it! (original Ustream is probably lost to the ages

What started out as a cheap stunt to gain 200 Twitter followers turned into a great party at ThinkGeek, a Ustream broadcast, Storm successfully eating an entire Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake, and so far over $3,000 being raised for a food bank (donations gratefully accepted through April 11.)

So thank you to ThinkGeek for helping pull together what amounted t0 a full-blown telethon within 36 hours, Carvel and Carvel Arlington (VA) for playing along and providing ice cream, GeekDad Matt Blum for helping out and live-tweeting the event, everyone who came out to witness the spectacle, all of our cool famous friends who spread the word much, much wider, and everyone who cheered and jeered along the way.

And last but very importantly, a HUGE thank you to everyone who was able to contribute to the charitable cause. As promised, 100% of the proceeds will go to AFAC under a 2-for-1 Feinstein Foundation matching grant, which will be put to immediate use to help feed families and individuals in need. We’re completely blown by the collective and individual generosity shown in beating the arbitrary $2,000 goal–thank you.

After the break: Paul and Storm answer some of the common questions that came up about the event.

Will the Ustream broadcast be available to watch?

Unfortunately, no. We’d never really used Ustream before, and in the frenzy to just make the event happen no one realized we had to hit a “Record” button. We’re looking for anyone who might have recorded it–please e-mail us if you did–but otherwise it’ll just have to live on as legend.

Why Fudgie the Whale?

The whole thing started because Storm was bored and decided to take it out on our Twitter following. He was going to toot something about Cookie Puss (another Carvel cake), but he couldn’t think of anything that didn’t amount to “Gosh, do you remember Cookie Puss? Ha-ha! Cookie Puss is great!”

At that poing he noticed our following was only ~200 away from the magical 10,000 mark (round numbers are pretty terrific), so he decided a moronic stunt was in order. Initially he thought the stunt would be eating an entire box of Twinkies, but that just didn’t seem very impressive (I mean, he does that nearly every day.)

So he returned to Cookie Puss, but despite Storm’s considerable appetite, it seemed like a bit much to tackle. Fudgie the Whale, however, looked to be a worthy challenge that would not kill him.

Why the charitable cause?

As word spread throughout Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere about the challenge and we quickly blew past the 10,000 follower mark, we thought that with all of the attention we were getting, it was a great opportunity to do some good. Storm and his wife have been involved with their local food bank for a number of years, and it seemed like a great fit given the nature of the event. One fan likened it to a carbon exchange for competitive eaters. (sorry; we’ve lost track of the exact quote and who actually said it!)

So did Storm not eat anything all day to prepare?

There was no fasting for Storm. After reading some interviews with Adam Richman (host of “Man vs. Food” on Travel Channel) and getting a “good luck” from him, Storm decided to make sure he got a lot of exercise and stay hydrated by drinking plain ol’ water in the 24 hours leading up to the event. He ate a regular dinner the night before, a light lunch day-of, and a granola bar whenever he felt really, really hungry until zero hour arrived.

Was brain freeze a problem?

Surprisingly, no. The key was realizing that there was no cake.

How long did it take him to eat it?

Around 35 minutes, eating at a steady pace pretty much non-stop.

Was Storm completely wasted afterwards?

Double-surprisingly, no, but what you didn’t know is that Storm’s apetite is a registered superpower. He did experience some odd tingling sensations in his joints and extremities, but that was probably just the sugar destroying his nerve endings. And there was a considerable headache the morning after, which was dispelled by coffee and a plain omelet.

Will there be a rematch?

We’ll just have to see, won’t we?

Although the cake has been eaten, you still have time to donate (all proceeds benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center) and enter to win one of two $100 ThinkGeek gift certificates. The drawing will be held on Monday, April 12. Click on the button to the left to donate now!

UPDATE: FudgieThon Flickr gallery gallery and video by attendee Joshua now available for those who missed it! (original Ustream is probably lost to the ages

Felicia Day, creator of The Guild web series, recently signed a deal (we’re still can’t say with whom yet until we receive official word we can do so) to create an animated spinoff, called Lil’ Guildies. She was kind enough to ask us to create an opening credits theme song for it.

We went over various ideas back and forth for a bit, and demo’d up a theme song for her. We signed a couple non-disclosure agreements, and that was actually the last we had heard about the project until this morning, when a few people started forwarding us links to the leaked opening credits video, and then we saw Felicia’s Twitter post and this article short while ago.

So to officially answer to several folks’ questions:

• Yes, that’s us singing and playing the Lil’ Guildies theme song.
• No, we don’t really know any more about the series than what is reported in the article; we were basically just hired guns on this.
• Yes, they are adorable.

I guess we’ll all be finding out more about the project soon enough…

Because we don’t want to be seen as Wasteful Americans who have so much extra food lying around that we regularly eat 12-serving desserts all by ourselves, we are turning the event into a fundraiser for an area charity we have been working with for a while, the Arlington Food Assistance Center. And not only can you take this opportunity to donate to a good cause, but you can WIN COOL STUFF!

As such, we proudly present FudgieThon 2010!

Here’s the deal: click on this button right here…UPDATE: sorry; donations no longer being accepted. You can still donate directly at the AFAC website.

…to donate and sponsor Storm in his cake-eating attempt. (You know, like a walk-a-thon, just with less exercise and lots more cake) When Storm eats the entire Fudgy the Whale (and he will), 100% of all donations will go to AFAC—which, as it happens, has a matching grant right now through the Feinstein Foundation to “Help End Hunger in America”, so every dollar donated will actually equal two.

But that’s not all: every dollar you donate will count as a single “chance” in a random drawing to win one of two $100 ThinkGeek gift certificates. We will continue to take donations, even after the event has finished, until Sunday, April 11th at 11:59 pm. Two winners will be selected on Monday, April 12th. So if you donate $5, you have five “chances” to win; $10 gets you ten chances, etc. (See how that works?)

Our goal is to raise $2,000 to help feed families and individuals in need. We also heartily encourage making a donation to a food bank in your local community. So go donate now, and often, and tell your friends!

So, funny story…late last night (Monday), Storm noticed that our Twitter feed was just a couple hundred followers shy of 10,000. So he did what any normal person would do: challenged Twitter that, if we passed the 10k follower mark before 12 noon EST today, he would attempt to eat an entire Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake.

Twitter knows a good thing when they see it, and so we passed the 10k mark before 8:30 am. And since Storm is a man of his word, he is following through with his promise, and shall attempt to eat an entire Fudgie the Whale this Thursday, April 1st. (We thought the date most appropriate.)

And now, the fine folks at ThinkGeek have agreed to host the entire event, which will be streamed live on our Ustream account. And YOU COULD WIN A TICKET TO SEE THE WHOLE THING LIVE. [UPDATE: sorry--tix have all been assigned!]

There will be a tweetup audience of 35 lucky geeks cheering Storm on at  ThinkGeek HQ in Fairfax, VA, and he’ll commence eating at 8 p.m.  EST. The event will be broadcast live on our Ustream channel, MC’d by Paul himself starting at 7:45 p.m. EST, and it will be live-tweeted by Geek Dad‘s Matt Blum on a special @FudgieThon feed.

UPDATE: follow all of the Battle Fudgie / FudgieThon Twitter feeds from one handy Twitter list!

As if watching Storm attempt to devour a 12-serving chocolate ice cream cake weren’t enough, there will be contests for viewers and live attendees alike throughout the event, with prizes provided by ThinkGeek, Carvel and Storm’s local Arlington Carvel Ice Cream & Bakery. Follow ThinkGeek’s Twitter feed during the event to participate (Ustream viewing is not required.) So EVERYBODY WINS! (Except Storm’s tummy, of course; may the spirit of Adam Richman be with him.)

Many thanks to Carrie and everyone at ThinkGeek for helping put this all together so quickly. Together we can unite to DESTROY FUDGIE THE WHALE*!

*You’ve been generous and a great sport, but sorry, Fudgie–you’re still gonna get all eated up.

DOUBLE-SECRET UPDATE: because we feel guilty about one of us gobbling up a whole cake when many of our neighbors can’t afford to feed themselves properly (especially now), we’ve decided to harness this Awesome to raise money for a food bank. Please click this link to find out more, and how to donate!

The eightythth episode of our podcast, Paul and Storm Talk About Some Stuff for Five to Ten Minutes (On Average), is now online. And it’s a looooong one!

This week’s episode: we break down our PAX East experience at length (as expected); discuss feeling at home in the world’s largest den; Paul makes some chicken nuggets; Storm’s “Dragon’s Lair” expertise; the joys of collaborating; $19 worth of meme emulation; and we are beset by technical challenges yet again.

Show #080: The Man Who Buys the Carpet

Also, here is the original “Trololo” video we talked about:

…and here is the version we did with Wil Wheaton:

This week’s episode: Paul is doing things, so Storm reiterates the upcoming w00tstocks, expresses excitement for PAX East, and gets straight on to Emily and the Really Sexy Vampyre, Part 4.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Would you come to a w00tstock during Comic Con in San Diego?

Show #079: Emily Part 4

Enjoy the podcast? Maybe donate, why don’tcha?

This week’s episode: revisiting “lost” technology; a scandal is (hopefully) defused; a discussion of teachers covers bobsleds, phallic symbols and Henry David Thoreau; Paul uses the word “ascetic” more or less correctly; doing things; a full recounting of our respective jobs; carpe-ing the diem in college; and a bit o’ Peeps.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Did you ever have any annoying or unusual teachers?

Show #078: Racing the Pizza

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This week’s episode: a meta-analysis of the three branches of content our show tends to take; ruminations on birthdays, surprises, a wonderful birthday movie, and getting older; the NEW CD (!), “Do You Like Star Wars?” is on its way (with artwork by Molly Lewis), along with a new t-shirt and USB drive; recounting the last half of our West Coast trip, including terrible Canadian coffee; and w00tstock 2.2 in Chicago and w00tstock 2.3 in Minneapolis are officially announced. (Hooray!) Also, absent technology.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: What “milestone” birthdays did/will affect you? And what technology was better/available previously and worse/unavailable now (a la Concorde)? Also, if you’re a minion and didn’t receive notice of the “Joss Whedon Birthday Message” prank, send us your e-mail address (along with your minion designation, so we can match them up).

Show #077: Dozens of Fake Joss Whedons

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The question is, what song(s) should be there? We can’t put them all up—that would take too long, and several of them are not very good. And some songs, while fun, are not very “Rock Band”-able. (For example, “The Captain’s Wife’s Lament” and “Nun Fight“, while a blast, are mostly just vocals, making things very boring for the people playing bass and drums)

So we turn to you, dear readers: please take a minute to look at the following poll. We’ve chosen a few of what we think are our most RB-friendly songs; let us know which (if any) you’d like to see on the Rock Band Network. Or feel free to suggest other songs. (Only ones we’ve written, please)

UPDATE: Please note, “Opening Band” is already available on Rock Band.

So I turn 40 tomorrow. (Hooray for me.) As it turns out, my devious (read: wonderful) wife planned a surprise party for me this past weekend. As part of this celebration, my life partner Storm put together this awesome birthday video for me.

While I’m never very good at sincerity, I genuinely wish to thank all our friends who took part, and the many more who couldn’t but sent their well-wishes. (Hey, Hodgman: still waiting on that pen you promised me) If a man must get a year older every 365 days (give or take), this is the way to do it.

And SUPER-THANKS to Storm, who spent a lot of time assembling this thing. Also: watch your back, Swarthy Stage-Left Man; you’re next.

So please enjoy; it’s about 19 minutes long, but well worth your time if you like funny things.

Thanks, everyone!

- P.

(P.S. Trying this new WordPress 2.9+ “auto-embed” thing; in theory, the video should appear just below this text; let us know if you can’t see it)

Friday, May 7: The Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA – http://bit.ly/w00tseattle
Saturday, May 8: The Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR – http://bit.ly/w00tportland

Sunday, June 6: Park West, Chicago, IL – http://bit.ly/w00tchicago2
Monday, June 7: Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN – http://bit.ly/w00tminneapolis

NOTE: If you wish, you can avoid Ticketmaster extortion surcharges by purchasing tickets at the venue box offices. Contact The Moore / The Aladdin / Park West / Guthrie Theater box offices directly for details.

This week’s SOOPER-SIZED, extra-special episode: a rare “in the same room” podcast in (of all places) a casting office, along with good friends Kim Evey (producer of “The Guild” and star of “Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show“) and Greg Benson (of the hilarious Mediocre Films); scallions and spring onions; childhood near-death experiences are dwelt upon; pitying child actors; adventures in miscasting; Paul climbs up his own arse again, but turns it around and climbs up Kim’s & Greg’s instead; paying attention to comments (or not); viral videos (boobs);

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: Should we put up the video of the four of us sitting in a room?

Show #076: I Should’na Even Stopped Here!

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In celebration of the holiday, we offer our song “Lose the Gonads” for ABSOLUTELY FREE! Please feel free to download it and share it with all your friends—we just ask that you please share the link to the Humane Society’s Spay Day page at the same time.

Enjoy, and please spay and neuter your pets!

Lose the Gonads

Using three different designs from Uncle Storm’s animated children’s story, “The Five Little Pickles” (artwork by Len Peralta), range of shirt styles and colors is available, including some just…FOR THE LADIES.

Also available as a stylish mug.

You can browse the three options in our CafePress Store, cleverly labelled Option 1, Option 2 and Option 3.

See you tonight, Desert People!

Watch in native Flash (best quality*), or on YouTube (could potentially generate us some revenue).

And of course it’s released under a Creative Commons license, so share the joy!

* HOWEVER: if you have a slow monitor (like Storm does), you may experience some lag if the video window is blown up large.

This week’s rather introspective episode: we recount our Texas adventures (both culinary and travelary) and respective health setbacks; salsa and Paul’s travel luck; mutual bitchin’ about snow, and a tortured metaphor; embarrassing moments involving Al Haig and flying beer (not necessarily both at the same time); and a super-secret (shhh!) announcement about the next w00tstock shows. Also, werewolves, and Paul’s phone rings.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION ALERT: whom would you suggest as possible guests for our upcoming Seattle and Portland w00tstock shows?

Show #075: Reclining Up

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Check it out below, or click right here. You can also watch the hi-larious behind-the-scenes hijinks. Show business!