July 30th, 2015: Where Can I Find the One (Youtube Song)

Alright guys. It's another Geeks Rising Vlog day. I had absolutely nothing to talk about so I decided to write a song about youtube. I better do something exciting over the next couple days so I have something rad for next week. Time to start planning and doing and doing and planning on doing. See y'all on Monday! Enjoy the song.

Do you even comic: Essex County

Do you even comic, with Logan Naugle. For this segment I recommend comics that I have read and enjoyed. I wanted to bring back the word of mouth approach, like when you tell your friends to check out a video game or movie, it's not about spoiling the book or recommending stuff everyone has heard of. No; This is me explaining how I discovered the comics and why I recommend them.

Alright, we got the intro out of the way, my first recommendation is Essex County, words and art by Jeff Lemire. The book is a collection of stories of a fictional eccentric farm community in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. They range from a young boy lost in  the world, a nurse revealing the scars of a whole community and two brothers that become estranged.  

The story

Essex County is a book someone let me borrow. This was four years ago and I was passing around the book "Y the Last Man"(by the way go read that too) to all my friends who hadn't already read it. At this point a friend borrowed "Y" and asked if I had read Essex County to which replied "No, what's that?" She handed me the book and said, "It's about people in Canada". I hadn't really read too many non-cape books at this point so I flipped through this book by a writer I had never heard of and art style I had never seen and I was intrigued.

Why this book?

Now this is going to sound a bit pretentious. I explained what Essex County is about, but that isn't all that this book is. This book is more than a few stories about a small town; It's about intimate moments in lives, really focussing in on what is happening at the emotional level, and that's something that made me fall in love with Jeff Lemire's work. Somehow, Lemire can strike the emotional chords of his characters and make you feel for them all. He has since gone on to write Animal Man, and the Justice League as well as several other creator owned projects. 

Essex County showed me that stories can be more than a concept and plot based, and that you can write something interesting without it being huge or grandiose. Jeff Lemire is a writer who inspires me and this book is what exposed me to him.

If you think this is something that interests you or if your open to non-caped comics then click the link below and give this a shot.

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

Book: Essex County by Jeff Lemire

Podcastage Ep. 64: We're Just Looking for a Distraction

Hey Everyone. Episode 64 is up and live and running. I talk about a lot on this one. The first thing I talk about is a couple of celebrities I love and the justification for why I love them. Then I explore the idea of the impacts that social networking has on our professional lives...come to think of it, this podcast will probably get me fired. 

Then I talk about how society is a big fan of miserable people and a hater of happy people. I try to come to some sort of conclusion about why this is, and I have some thoughts, but nothing TOO conclusive. Let me know if you have any better ideas.

OH! And if you want to start a book club, shoot me a note on twitter @BandrewSays and let me know! Lets get our read on!

Excelvan BM-800 Mic Test / Review

It's Tuesday which means it's time for another microphone test / review. One of our viewers "Ugly Potato" has requested that I test out the Excelvan BM-800 which is what I am doing.

What's in the Box

First lets cover what comes in the box.

  1. Cardioid Condenser Microphone (XLR)
  2. Microphone Shock mount
  3. Microphone Cable (XLR to 3.5mm)
  4. Ball Pop Filter
  5. User Manual / Spec Sheet

I do want to remind you that it does not include a microphone stand. It only includes the shock mount. Therefore you will need to invest in a microphone stand, and you can pick one up for about $13 (Neewer Boom Stand).

Performance / Features

This microphone states that it requires 48v of phantom power, however, I have completed multiple tests using a USB audio adapter (which provides a maximum of 5v to the microphone) and it seems to work perfectly fine. It DOES require some amount of power to function, and plugging it directly into your computers microphone port will not work (at least that's what I'm told from many viewers).

This microphone boasts a uni-directional polar pattern, and it works relatively well at isolating the sound source from background noise. The frequency response is 20Hz - 20KHz, and it does a really nice job of capturing the audio.

Conclusion

To be blunt about it, this mic sounds good. It doesn't just sound good for a $40 mic, it just sounds good for a mic. I did notice that this mic is quite a bit brighter than your typical American microphone, but a difference in tonality is to be expected. Basically, this mic produces a lot more high end than a Shure SM7b. If you want to hear a sample, check out the video above; the whole video was recorded with the microphone.

Overall, this mic is a great starting podcast microphone, especially if you are on a budget. But before picking it up, make sure that your recording device can supply power to the mic, or just pick up a USB Audio Adapter (the one I use is linked below). If you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave them in the comments on this site or on youtube and I will get back to you ASAP.

BM-800 on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LGYo7Z
USB Audio Adapter on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Pe0uyq

Podcastage Ep. 63: Paper Towns

On this episode of Podcastage, I discuss my experience going to the Night on The Towns event as well as my analysis and thoughts on the film and the book. Think of this as some sort of a supplemental report to the Paper Towns Review I wrote for the FNAMBC. 

There's also talk about a recent trip to the National Petroglyph Monument, and the purpose for the visit. The trip also raised the question of should history be lived in or should it be admired from a distance? I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below.

I also field quite a few questions from listeners and friends over at the Adult Nerdfighter Community. Enjoy the episode.

Paper Towns Review

I know, i know, I know. This review is not necessarily the most fitting within the context of the Friday Night Action Movie Book Club. However, full disclosure, I just saw the film, and I forgot to write a FNAMBC earlier...even fuller disclosure. I read the book and liked it, and enjoyed the movie as well. So... that's really why I'm writing about this. I'm sorry I lied. Moving on.

Paper Towns is a movie about a kid named Q who falls in love with his next door neighbor (Margo) when they are 8 or 9. In the years that follow, they drift apart and stop talking. But, as they are about to leave High School, they go on one last crazy revenge adventure, which I think I will call a Reventure.

The next day Margo leaves on her own adventure without telling anyone. This is not hard to hard for anyone to believe because she has run away so much in the past. Very few people seem to care about this except Q and his friends. They go on a hunt for clues to discover where Margo Roth Spiegelman has disappeared to...

I won't say anything more about the plot points, and I won't get analytical and discuss the over arching themes of the film, mainly because I cannot say them as eloquently as John Green. I will try and summarize it though... This film is a mixture of a coming of age film, a mystery book, a love story, and a road trip film. All these different genres, and ideas mix together very well and create a very fun and sweet film that people of any age can enjoy take something away from. I do recommend going to see the film, but only after you've read the book (link below). Don't forget to let me know what you think of the movie in the comments below.

PS: Don't go as a single guy who is almost 30. You will feel weird and get a lot of strange looks. I would know... Actually, screw that. Go and enjoy it anyways! 

PPS: Buy the book here...It's under $6! - http://amzn.to/1CUcHmJ

Podcastage Ep. 62: YouTube is the Greatest

Hey everyone. So episode 62 is out and you may find yourself wondering, why are you talking about why you love youtube? Didn't you just talk about that on a vlog a week or so ago. You're right. I did. But most of you didn't watch it and I figured I wanted to go into more depth than is possible in 4 minutes so I decided to make that the main focus of this episode of the podcast. But I also talk about self doubt, early adoption, and other stuff. Watch the youtube video above after listening to the podcast. You'll understand. Enjoy.

Samson USB Go Mic Test / Review

Tuesday Mic Review time again. I know I am going to regret saying this because I'm sure that tomorrow I will void this statement, but this is my favorite USB mic that I've found that is under $50. This thing runs $40 on amazon and it is pretty cool.

The first thing I noticed is that it has a very sturdy build (or at least it seems that way). Unlike the majority of USB mics in this price range, it is has a metal body construction and has some heft to it. Every other USB mic I've tested in this range feels like a piece of garbage that will break after one use. This one. The exact opposite.

Another thing that sets this mic aside from other USB mics in this range is the ability to switch between polar patterns. This has a Cardiod Pattern and an Omni-Directional pattern. You do lose out on a little bit of the frequency response when using the Cardiod pattern, but it does not sound hollow or tinny like other mics I've tested out.

Lastly the sound quality. It is surprisingly good. That's really all I can say. I mistakenly used the omni directional setting the entire video and I was pleasantly surprised with how good the audio sounded. I should also note that this mic does have a headphone jack for monitoring. Basically this usb mic will become your audio interface.

One feature that I would have liked to see on this mic is a gain control. With the current build, you have to go into your system preferences and adjust your mics gain that way. That's not the hugest deal, and it really is me picking nits. I really like t microphone and if you're looking for a USB mic under $50, I'll recommend this guy! 

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1MAX5EO
European Mic Adapter: http://amzn.to/1KdYL9I

 

Podcastage Ep. 61: What is Fame?

Hey everyone. Ep. 61 is up and live and ready for your listening. This one is a little bit different than the typical episodes. I did a lot more thought than I typically do before episodes. I had to come up with some valid ideas to explain what I think fame is. I think it turned out pretty well, however, I understand that it is a lot different from previous episodes, so I would appreciate your feedback and thoughts on if you like it or hate it. Also I would not like your feedback on that run on sentence.

Anyways, I talk about another experience where I hang out with my friends in Eyes Set to Kill (spoiler: this time was a lot more fun for me). I then explore what fame means to us and what it takes to be famous and try to find a reason why we even believe in fame and place that ideal on other people. I think it's a good episode and I hope you guys like it too! Thanks for listening...And enjoy the video of the show my friends played up above.

Ant-Man

Ant-Man started development way back in 2006 when "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado was topping the charts and the Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU) was just starting to grow.  Since then it went through several rewrites directors and cast. The movie in theaters today still has the charm that Edgar Wright brought those 9 years ago.

The film follows a cast of insects: there are 2 Ant-Man(s),Wasp, Yellow-Jacket and literal ants. Also it stars some great talent; Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas plus a lot of great character actors. The story is that Scott Lang(Paul Rudd) a former burglar is out  to win back his daughter and must do a heist with help of Hank Pym to stop the secrets of the shrinking technology (Pym Particle) getting out and being weaponized.

I never thought we would see an Ant-Man movie, not after all the drama behind the making of the film and I never thought I would see a movie that includes such a full history of the characters. Paul Rudd nails the sarcasm of Scott Lang and he really is the burglar you can root for. The film isn't packed with over the top action, instead it has some great visual effects for the shrinking fight scenes but also one of the best paced MCU movies.  There are great cameos and nods to other Marvel properties more importantly it's fun.

You can continue to get more ANT-MAN with the new comic:

Ant-Man Vol.1 by Nick Spencer

Podcastage Ep. 60: Cleaning Up My Podcast

Hey everyone. Episode 60 is live. This is a shorter episode clocking in at under 15 minutes. It's like the good old days. On this episode I congratulate one of my friends for hitting a special podcast number. I then discuss the necessity of cleaning up my podcast. I then struggle with the necessity of cleaning up my podcast. I also reanalyze what this podcast really is and provide a couple steps on how to enjoy the podcast properly, and then I answer a couple questions!

Oh I also briefly discuss this big shift from podcastage to geeks rising and how this big shift really isn't a big shift at all. Well, ENJOY!

Tonor SF-666 Mic Review

Okay. It's Tuesday again and that means, another mic review. A viewer of podcastage requested that I review this Tonor mic, and at $16, I couldn't help but try it out.

Lets start with the first thing I noticed. The build. This thing is just a hunk of plastic that feels like a child's toy. The decorative accents are ridiculous and consist of a rubber band. The cable seems like if you step on it once, it will rip out (just like the other tonor mic I reviewed). So, all I can say is the build quality is no good.

The set up is easy. Just plug it right into your mic input and you're ready to go. For what I would want to use this mic for, which would be podcasting, this mic was pretty useless. The audio is overly tinny, and just sounds like it's being recorded on a cheap $16 microphone.

It states that the frequency response is 50hz - 16kHz, however, I don't hear a decent low end at all. It also shows an omni directional polar pattern, but there are a lot of areas around the mic that are quieter than the rest. Over all, I wouldn't recommend this mic unless you have a computer without a mic and you need to record some audio notes. Other than that, I think it's useless. If you do want to pick it up though, I will put the link down below. 

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1JX2zvY

Superhero Sunday: Daredevil

New monthly segment we are starting here at Geeks Rising. Superhero Sunday is a spotlight on a comic book character (male/female/alien/etc). I (Logan) will provide history of the character, my thoughts and recommendations of where to start reading and following the hero.

The History

Daredevil? You mean that blind guy from the Netflix show ( I see a world on fire)? Yes, I do mean that Daredevil. But he wasn't always popular and a part of the mega successful media machine that is Marvel/Disney Entertainment. No, Daredevil (Matt Murdock) first debuted in Daredevil #1 in 1964 created by Stan Lee himself. This first version of Daredevil wore yellow, black and red, it was inspired by the colors of old acrobat outfits but by issue no.5, he was in the iconic double d red costume. I must also note that it was the talented John Romita Jr. that drew this horned hero.

Over the years Daredevil has fought just about every type of villain, from street crime to ninjas to the comical Stilt Man, Daredevil has punched, kicked and hit with his billy club all of them. But from the time of his creation to the late 80s Daredevil declined in popularity. His personality and art would change with the wind and he had done a lot of fighting but nothing with substances.

Then in 1993 Frank Miller and artist John Romita Jr. return to the origins of Daredevil and retcon'ed his history. Daredevil: The Man without Fear is the 5 issue mini series that reboots Daredevil to the story you know and love. It connects Kingpin to the murder of Battlin' Jack Murdock and introduced the Foggy Nelson connection. This new noir influenced tone would follow through until 2014. This led to more success including Daredevil joining the Avengers/Defenders.

The Character

What is his origin? Matt Murdock is a kid from New York growing up with a boxer for a father in Hell's Kitchen(imagine a smaller Gotham in NY). The young Matt is blinded by a radioactive substance when he saves an old man crossing the road. Matt's father is an alcoholic boxer that wants the best for his now blind kid. Jack Murdock is asked to throw a fight to win some money, but he would rather keep his honor then get money. This act lead to his death by the hand of Kingpin. Blind Matt learns he has hyper sensitivity and learns to become more acrobatic, but we don't see him use this til he grows up. Flash to a grown up Matt Murdock, he becomes a lawyer to protect the innocent. The system is corrupt and he turn find justice in the form of Daredevil. This means fighting all the corruption in New York.

Why this hero?

Once Daredevil was rebooted, the talented Brian Michael Bendis did a four year run on Matt Murdock through the eyes of a reporter and this was continued into a story that would reveal the identity of Daredevil and the weight of that story arc is still being played out in the current series. 

The future of "The Man without Fear". With Marvel connecting everything to reach a broader audience it seems we will be seeing a lot more of Daredevil. The character has arguably the best superhero TV show and has had amazing runs in the comic we are going to see him form a team in the show and probably have that reflected in the books. The more blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen, the better.

Recommended Reading:

Podcastage Ep. 59: Support Your Local Artists

On this episode, I go on a rant about the lack of support shown within in local scenes / industries. In order for any small artists or creators to grow, they need your support.

<rant>If you have a friend of family member doing something that you think is valuable, funny, or enjoyable, support them. Don't just support them by writing a quick facebook post. Tell friends to their face if it's relevant to the conversation you're having.

Think about how you discovered bands that you liked before the internet. One of your friends would say "YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT SET YOUR GOALS! THEY'RE AMAZING! IT'S LIKE NEW FOUND GLORY BUT MORE ENERGETIC!"...this method still holds true. Word of mouth seems to still be the best promotional tool. I have tried many, many, many paid promotional tools online and very few have provided any sort of actual long term benefit. So please if you like your friends comic, band, podcast, movie, tell a friend about it. Spread the word! Support them! </rant>

Ex Machina

Okay...So there has been quite a few instances over the last decade where I have been at the theater or watching a film at home and thought to myself "I thought that SFX were supposed to be a way of pushing the story forward, or helping to tell the story, not a way to assault my senses and make the action on screen incomprehensible!" Well I wish this film had existed decades ago and those films had taken note from this film.

I am of course talking about Ex Machina! If you haven't heard about this film, it's about A.I., and it was written by the gentleman who brought us all 28 Days Later & Sunshine! So that's tight!

This film has been getting so much buzz since it was released, and unlike Mad Max: Fury Road, it is actually deserved (Sorry Logan & Pete). This is one of those films where it has a barebones cast, but it is written and acted so flawlessly that they don't need anyone else to help develop the story or the characters. 

So I realize that I have not told you anything about the story yet. I'm running out of space and time so I will make it quick. A computer programmer is picked to go to a facility to run the turing test. That's the test that "determines" if an A.I. is sentient. He interviews the robot and craziness ensues! It is an absolute MUST WATCH if you are a fan of Sci-Fi or just well told stories. GO WATCH IT NOW!

PS: Sorry I didn't talk about the story. I don't want to give anything away. I want you to enjoy it with as little information as possible.

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LV9THY

 

Logitech C615 Webcam for Vlogging

Greetings Earthlings. It is I. Bandrew. I am back with another tech review for you. You may be wondering, why are you releasing a tech review video on Friday!? You only do that on Tuesday, and you're right. I am releasing a review on Friday because I had a request from one of our viewers Gabe, and I wanted to please this young man... ... ... I think I need to choose my words more carefully. Anyways, let's get into it.

I won't talk to much about this camera in the blog as I saw almost everything in the video, but the camera works perfectly fine for $50. You can Vlog, and the images will be great, however the main downside of this is the internal microphone. It sucks. But so does the internal camera on every webcam I have used or tested, so that holds little sway. However, if you're going to pay $50 for a webcam, you might as well pay an extra $20 to get a better webcam that provides slightly better optics and better depth of field (The C920).

I should note that I record all these webcams on my Mac, and I use Quicktime video capture, so I don't have any settings. I do recommend filming in well lit areas as the low light abilities are lacking on these cams. Well here are links to both cameras.

Buy the C615 on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1gkrr45
Buy the C920 on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LTx4Dr

Zoom iQ6 Review / Test / Comparison

Hey Y'all. I'm back with another product test video for you guys. Actually more of a review & comparison video. Today I am talking about the Zoom iQ6, which is a 90-degree XY microphone for your freakin' iPHONE! That's right you heard me, a high quality Zoom mic for your damn iPhone!

Do you want to know what's even crazier than the idea of making a high quality mic for your iPhone? Succeeding and making a damn good mic that you can plug directly into your iPhone. Have I told you that this is a mic for your iPhone?

Okay, so this mic sounds amazing, it's convenient, and has a lot of great features. However, I have one main issue with this. THERE'S NO PASSTHROUGH TO CHARGE OUR DAMN PHONE! So while you're using a mic in the lightning adapter of your phone, and eating up your battery, you can't charge your phone. That seems like one of the hugest oversights of this design! If you're buying a mic like this to record an audio podcast that will last an hour or a few hours, I don't recommend this mic at all because chances are, you will have to stop recording and charge it, or just constantly check the battery on the phone! STUPID!

Another issue I have with this device arises if your'e recording for video. If you record long videos and use this to record the audio, you will most likely run into syncing issues. This is due to the internal clock on the iPhone being slightly different than the internal clock on your camera or computer. You can fix that issue in post, but that's just a nightmare. 

This would be a great mic to plug into your iPhone and record a VLOG right on your iPhone but there's another problem. The mics point straight down, out of the lightning port. You are unable to manipulate them (which they did resolve in the Mid-side version of this mic, the iQ7) and therefore if you're trying improve the audio of your iPhone's video, this model is not the solution.

To be honest, this version of the mic does not seem to serve many purposes. You can't record long audio podcasts. You will run into issues if you record audio for long videos on this. And you can't use it to improve the audio for iPhone video's for a VLOG. I can't necessarily recommend this model, but the iQ7 seems like a GREAT option! It is a mid-side mic formation which I like better anyways. Maybe I can get Zoom to send me a test unit! I doubt it.

Zoom iQ6: http://amzn.to/1KED9TT
Zoom iQ7: http://amzn.to/1NK3Kx6