PHXCCC: Do You Even Podcast? Panel

On the last day of Phoenix Comic Con 2016, Logan from The Paper Robots, Matt from Absolute Geek Podcast, & Bandrew from The Bandrew Says Podcast ran a panel titled "Do You Even Podcast?".

In this panel, they briefly touched on their podcasting motivations and history, and then dive into Q&A with an awesome audience. The topics covered range from what's the best audio gear to start a podcast with to how do you host your podcast to how do you prepare for a podcast episode. If you are new to podcasting or if you plan on starting your own podcast, this is a must watch.

BSP-017: Why Are Actors Paid So Much?

00:00 - Intro
00:32 - Business Communication Etiquette
04:31 - Apple’s Quarterly Earnings
07:06 - SpaceX Mars Mission
14:03 - Silicon Valley
16:36 - Crash Plan
18:20 - Fitbit Charge
20:05 - Why Are Actors Paid So Much!?
30:32 - Outro

On todays episode of The Bandrew Says Podcast, I tell you what I believe to proper business communication etiquette, and then discuss the current financial goings on of Apple followed by some AMAZING new from SpaceX.

I talk about Silicon Valley, testing an online backup service, testing the FitBit Charge, and then finally I discuss the justification behind actor's high wage.

Do You Even Comic: Daytripper

Hello and welcome to another edition of Do You Even Comic. This month we are looking at the wonderful title, "Daytripper" by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba. The Vertigo title was printed in 2010 then hit #1 on New York Times Charts and won the Eisner Award for "Best Story Arc" in 2011.   

The Story

Enough awards and praise, lets get into the story of "Daytripper." The story follows Bras de Oliva Domingos, the child of a world famous Brazilian author, who wants to be an acclaimed writer himself. The story is beautiful as each chapter follows a different part of his life, but at the end of each chapter he dies. 

Daytripper is all about quiet moments and the journey of life, the reflections we take and the paths we go down, it looks at each path and says "what if that was it"? Its these quiet moments, these little moments that I love in stories. The story of a man living life, but told so magically. The book has rhythm and words like lyrics. The art is surreal at times and always amazing. 

Why this book?

This book was my first exposure to the twin brothers that created this story and my first time really seeing non american art. It would be a few years after reading this book that I could see the influence of Brazilian art style like Daytripper seep into American comics and I am so delighted it has. This art help capture the emotions and moods of a story like nothing I had seen before. Daytripper is for those of us that day dream and get lost in emotional journeys. Its for storytellers and all of us that think about the "what if."

Check out more by http://fabioandgabriel.blogspot.com/ 

If this sounded like a book for you then get it here:

Book: Daytripper

Bandrew's Top 5 Films of 2015

This was another great year for film. Lucky for me, and you, there was a tremendous amount of great Science Fiction. Before we get into it I want to include the disclaimer that this is based on the films that I have seen. I know that there are some amazing films out there that I simply did not have time to catch. With that being said, let's go ahead and look at my Top 5 films of 2015.

5. Chappie

This is the latest film from Neill Blomkamp, and it was amazing. It seems that a lot of critics were not fans of it, but I found almost all aspects of this film to be excellent. There is some very strong social commentary about being forced to adopt traits to survive depending on your socioeconomic surroundings. On top of this important message, I found the acting to be superb. Die Antwoord did a great job in this film (although I wasn't surprised because their roles in Umshimi Wam were flawless) and the VFX department did amazing work with Chappie. The only thing that left me wanting more was Hugh Jackman's character. I felt like his story line was a bit rushed, but over all, this film has a really great story with an important message, and it is an all around a fun movie to watch.

4. Jurassic World

Come on. Of course this film is going to make it on my list. This is another film that I have heard people say some bad things about. I think that those negative nellys just missed the point. If you watch this film and realize that the entire film is a self satire, and that it is just making fun of itself and the executives that green lit this project, then you will walk away with a newfound appreciation and love for this film. On top of the fact that the writers were able to get away with this premise, Chris Pratt nails it. That dude is way too charming. But seriously, if you did not enjoy this movie the first time, re-watch it now and realize that they're just talking shit about the film that they're making. It's so meta that it's like a Dan Harmon script. 

3. The Martian

What an ambitious film. If you read the book, you know that it was a tremendous undertaking to try and adapt this source material. Somehow they did it...oh yeah...they did it by getting Ridley FREAKING Scott (although some people would say his stock has lost value following prometheus, I would tell them to shut their stupid cake holes and enjoy the hell out of this movie). I'm going to go ahead and say it, Matt Damon is not the star of this film. The star of this film is Mars, and it is awesome. The shots of Mars (yes I know it's not really mars) are some of the most gorgeous pieces of film that I have ever seen. I legitimately thought that I was there for a second while I was watching this in the theater. All around this film is great, but I would recommend reading the book first. 

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I finally am able to understand what it was like to be alive and attending the premiers of the original trilogy. I experienced the feeling of walking out of the theater with your jaw on the floor, and wanting to turn right around and see it again, and again and again. But I digress. Yes. I know that a lot of the tropes are borrowed from previous Star Wars episodes, but that's not what's important in this film. What's important is first off, the characters, and secondly, restoring our faith that Star Wars films can be good. And guess what, they nailed both of those important factors. The new characters in this film are just amazing and I cannot wait to see how they grow over the next few films. There is also some really interesting points that we can speculate about which is great because we can talk about it for the next two years while we wait. Regarding the second factor, I don't think many people can walk out of that film and say "yeah...Star Wars is still dead to me", and if they do, then we know that they are secretly a heartless Robot. If you have not seen this film yet. GET ON IT AND GO WATCH IT!

1. Ex Machina

I love robots. I love beautiful scenery. I love amazing acting. I love stories so good that they can be told with only 3 actors. This film meets all those criteria. Not only did I enjoy this film so much that it made my top spot of this year; I enjoyed this film so much that it is easily one of my favorite films of all time. The premise is that a guy is brought to a CEO's secluded home to help conduct the Turing test on an AI. But there is so much more than that, and I do not want to spoil anything for you. Suffice it to say, craziness ensues. If my poor summary of this film didn't get you excited, let me use the cast to sell you on this film...it has Oscar Isaac & Dohnall Gleeson. Two characters from the new Star Wars film! So these two guys made my top list twice! I just want to tell you that if you have not watched this film, then you need to go buy it, or rent it, or borrow it right now. Once you see it, let me know what you thought of it because I'm pretty sure you're going to love it.

---

What do you think the top 5 movies of 2015 were? Let us know in the comments down below! And here's to another year of AWESOME films!

CAD U1 USB Dynamic Microphone Review/Test

Ladies and Gentleman. I do not like to badmouth a microphone or a company, but in this case I don't think I have any other choice. I tested out the Cad U37, and had an issue with the microphone being too hot (too loud). I assumed that this was a manufacturing error. I got a request from a viewer to test out the CAD U1, and I jumped at the opportunity because it has such good ratings for a $20 microphone.

I ran into the exact same problem as the CAD U37. The microphone is too hot. I set my microphone input gain at 1% and I was still clipping at 3 feet away from the microphone. On top of that, this microphone has no shielding, so you will be picking up radio waves and all sorts of noise. I have even seen people wrapping it with wire to ground it and eliminate a buzz. 

I understand. This is only a $20 microphone, so you can't expect amazing quality, but this is just absurd. Call me crazy, but if you're selling a microphone, regardless of the price, it should be useable. I should note that I have tested these mics out on Mac computers (which it says it is compatible with) and I think that may be a big issue. If I ever get a PC, I will revisit this microphones, but as of right now, I cannot tell you enough: DO NOT BUY A CAD USB MICROPHONE!