That's right, research shows that romantic comedies can be hazardous to your love life! And Fox can be hazardous to Watchmen fans, even though it looks like Fox may be right and WB may be wrong (you can find the surprisingly-easy-to-read court ruling here). Join Erik, Ren, and our newest host, Ned, in our first RandomChatter of 2009!
RC_026: Romantic Comedies Will Ruin You!
Download MP3 ♦ Subscribe via iTunes ♦ Listen Now!
We've pretty much gotten to the point where none of the hosts' schedules are compatible with each other's due to various holiday commitments, so we're signing off until the end of the year. But I've recorded a very short holiday message I'd like everyone to listen to. I'm putting it in all four feeds to make sure everyone gets it, but it's the same file, so you only need to listen to it once.
Please check out our brief holiday episode. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for great things ahead in 2009. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
RC_2008: Happy Holidays!
Download MP3 ♦ Subscribe via iTunes ♦ Listen Now!
We've got multiple movies for you this week -- and I when I say "we" I mean "they." Ren and I (Erik) were unable to make this recording. But fear not! Andrew and Morgan discuss Milk, The Day the Earth Stood Still, some Jesse James movie, Noir, umm.... and some other stuff I don't remember, because this episode is just way too jam-packed! It's eXtreme!.
P.S.: Yes Morgan, you're correct. There is sometimes a "C".
P.P.S.: Yes guys, I am still listening. You do realize the outtakes are almost as long as the actual episode, right? 
P.P.P.S.: You have fake blood all over your walls? How did you manage to.... ahh, nevermind.
MC_030: Milk, The Day the Earth Stood Still
Download MP3 ♦ Subscribe via iTunes ♦ Listen Now!
I'm sure those of you who visit the site have seen my Attitudes Are Contagious rant. This is a follow up.
Today Ren wasn't working, so she was going to finish up our Christmas shopping. She went to the mall. Walked in. Went down the escalator.
As she's going down to the lower floor, she noticed a man leaving the Hallmark store, leaning over and clutching a rail. A woman slowly walked out after him. The woman put her hand on his shoulder. He turned toward her, face ashen gray, then fell over unconscious.
Ren rushes over. She assesses that he's unconscious, has a pulse, but is breathing dangerously slow and isn't getting enough oxygen. She stars doing "rescue breathing" (the breathing part of CPR, but without the chest compressions) to ensure he gets enough oxygen and doesn't die.
"Ma'am, does your husband have any health conditions?" Ren asks (for those who don't know, Ren's a registered nurse and a certified EMT).
"Umm... I was just in there shopping, and this guy complained of chest pains, and... umm... umm... umm..."
"Okay. Has anyone called 911?"
"Uhh... I don't think so. Should we do that?"
"Yes. Now would be a good time to call 911," Ren says.
The lady left (back into the store, I think...?) calling 911. Ren continued breathing for the guy and continued monitoring his pulse. The EMT's arrived about ten minutes later. Ren explained her credentials and all but demanded a heart monitor (she's a telemetry nurse). Fortunately, they were kind enough to comply though not obligated to do so. The guy's heart stats were stable, though he still apparently wasn't getting sufficient oxygen. They took him off to the hospital.
Here's the great part -- in the ten minutes it took for the EMT's to arrive, not a single person offered to help. And keep in mind, this is a very busy mall (Fair Oaks, for those in the D.C. area).
No, instead, they either walked past or stood way off to the side pointing. Some even took pictures.
I feel a bit selfish bragging about my own wife, but there's no question that she deserves it (even though she'll kick my butt later on for posting this on the site). She's a wonderful person, she's an awesome nurse, she didn't think twice about helping this guy, and there's no doubt she could have handled the entire situation even with no help.
But come on... NOBODY offered to help?
So... remember my challenges from my earlier post? If not, go back and read it. I'd like to add these additional challenges:
Come on. This is YOUR world. YOUR community. Take care of it.
This week we take a look at various mysteries of the island we fear the writers and producers may never resolve.
UPDATE: Check out the comments. Feraledge caught a pretty ridiculous mistake I made. I have no idea how that managed to slip past me for so long. [sigh] Anyway, good catch.
Yes, this is official. No, we don't know what the name of the station is or where it's located (though I have a pretty good idea of where it's not).
Got a triple-header for you this week. Erik and Ren trash Transporter 3, Andrew reviews Australia, and Morgan, Erik and Ren discuss Bolt.
MC_029: Transporter3, Australia, Bolt
Download MP3 ♦ Subscribe via iTunes ♦ Listen Now!
This week on TechChatter:
TC_019: The One with the Hijacking
Download MP3 ♦ Subscribe via iTunes ♦ Listen Now!
Good news! The Guild is back! The bad news is that it's no longer available as a video podcast. They've managed to sign Microsoft on as a sponsor, which is great (funding = more shows), but it means it's only available on MSN Video and XBox Live.
Here's the link to where you can find Season Two -- the first two episodes are already up.
http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&playlist=videoByTag:tag:theguild_season2_1:ns:Xbox_Channel_Gallery:mk:us:vs:1&tab=m1227544861972
But wait, there's more! If you get your web content through RSS using programs such as Google Reader, you can subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified when there's a new episode. I know; it's not as good as a podcast. Still, at least you get notified when new shows arrive.
Here's the RSS link:
As a follow up to my rant below, here's a link to a great post on The Unofficial Apple Weblog called Pay It Forward.
Based on the premise of the movie Pay It Forward, Steven is encouraging the site's readers to participate in a project where they go out of their way to do something for a person or a group in need. Even if you don't follow his specific example, I encourage you to read this post and come up with your own way to contribute.
Leave a comment »