Episode 20 – 022206

Ultimate Avengers MovieA fifth can come in handy … even if it’s only of 100.

This week Crank ponders the economics of the big city while Mike prays for the Olympics to end. We discuss our viewing of the Ultimate Avengers Movie and whether or not Mike should ink himself. Finally Mike talks about hiding in his own apartment while Crank searches for a new phone … there’s also listener email!

Music by the Mydols and the Passarounders.

Comments here, mail here and friendship here

ta!

Download the show!Episode 20
Time: 1 hour
File Size: 27.5mb

9 Responses to “Episode 20 – 022206”

  1. groble Says:

    hahha yeah mike should totally ink himself, he’d look good with a nice shade of blue

  2. groble Says:

    wow that show sure ended on a downer. thanks for th help crank, i’ll look into the wordpress thing =D

  3. Sean McKeever Says:

    Mike, I always had the same problem with surround sound. I just bought a Sony Dream Theatre home theatre system with my projection LCD and I don’t have that problem nearly as much. It has happened once or twice, but it’s much, much, much better.

    Hope you’re having fun in NYC!

  4. Stefka Says:

    You want to talk about expensive? Living in London has caused me to pre-sell the organs of my future children. US$5 for a coffee!!!

    Forget roller-derby. I’d like to see curling-derby. I think that would be awesome. There’d be someone sweeping and then you could totally run up to them and pile drive them into the ice. Gold medal baby!!!!

    Great job guys. ;-)

    (PS: You’re not pathetic Mike)
    (PS2: Sorry, I do international relations. Not economics. I can’t add.)

  5. David Thornton Says:

    Chris,

    The economic concept that was stumping you while talking about plasma TVs is called Economies of Scale. For more information, drop by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale

    Regarding which economic theory is seen in your Life in the Big City example, I’d hazard a guess that this is an example of the Supply vs. Demand theory because the greater the concentration of people in a particular area, the greater the demand on the area’s limited resources, such as fuel and water.

    For example, the price of a gallon of water from an aquifer that is 100 miles cubed will be lower when the auqifer is used by one person than when used by a million people.

    Plus, there are city management expenses, such as equipment and salaries for public services, to consider.

    I’m happy to hear that you recommended Gantz, which I ordered as a blind buy and just received Tuesday.

    Although I haven’t seen an episode of Sigma 6, I have to disagree with you that the entire Sunbow series was a 30-minute commercial.

    Besides the really snappy dialogue between the characters, which sets the series above any commercial, Sunbow’s writers excelled in character development. The early episodes have the standard good vs. evil theme filled with action sequences, but the series took an atypical turn by spotlighting characters for an episode.

    For example, re-examine the richness of the following characters and their spotlight episodes: Shipwreck in “There’s No Place Like Springfield,” Leatherneck in “Let’s Play Soldier,” Steeler in “Worlds Without End,” Mainframe and Zarana’s Romeo and Juliet affair in “Computer Complications,” Lifeline in “The Million Dollar Medic,” Low-Light in “Nightmare Assault,” Quick Kick in “Lasers in the Night” and Mutt in “Cobra CLAWs are Coming to Town.”

    Bottom line: characterization is developed through a story; and if there is a story, then the episode is not a commercial.

    Was the series, which featured characters and vehicles available as toys, financed by Hasbro, a toy company? Yes.

    Does the presence of an animated series guarantee an increase in sales? No. (See: Visionaries and Inhumanoids to name a few.)

    Mike,

    Before you toss out your speaker system, see if your favorite DVD retailer carries or rents Digital Video Essentials (DVE). The DVD does an excellent job helping you configure your TV and sound systems through some diagnostic tests and offers some pretty cool tips, like aiming the speakers to the sweet spot (the area where you will be sitting).

    After I used DVE to tweak my sound system, I dropped in a DTS track disc from the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series and actually found myself involuntarily flinching as the sound of a helicopter’s blades moved from the back speakers to my front speakers.

    Hope you have fun in NY :)

    Looking forward to your next show,
    David Thornton
    http://davidmackguide.com
    http://joeguide.com

  6. Paul D. Storrie Says:

    Arrrrgh!

    Man, I get crazy when people start in on how Captain America from the Ultimates is more authentic, more like a guy from the ’40s would be! The guy from the Ultimates acts like a jock bully. He acts like he’s always been a big, burly guy who pushes people around.

    Except he WASN’T. He was a frail, skinny, sickly little guy (likely one who was bullied) whose willingness to sacrifice himself for his nation led to his becoming the symbol of the American Dream.

    Roger Stern nailed the more likely, more “realistic”, portrayal of Cap — a “New Deal” Democrat, an idealistic guy who gets a chance to put his ideals into practice and does.

    PDS

  7. crank! Says:

    Groble, no worries man WordPress is an easy system to set up as long as your host provides you with a database. I think most do these days, but if not check out Dreamhost.com. I’ve been with them for a few years and have been quite happy at the pricing and service.

    Hi Sean!

    Stefka, were you stalking our Mr. Seeley again and wound up here? Curling Derby … there’s a thought. It might liven up that shuffle-board experience.

    David, thanks for the economics info – that is certainly not one of my best subjects. I believe you’ve expanded on what Mike was trying to tell me, so he’ll probably count crow.

    I’m with you on the Sunbow stuff, it wasn’t all *just* a commercial. “Worlds Without End” has always stuck in my mind as being an exceptional example of what they could do with the characters and I still pull out the Inhumanoids to watch. I think you’re trying to say it wasn’t a commercial at all though, b/c it was a well done story, and that I have to disagree with. Hasbro knew what they were doing with that media blitz for Joe and it paid off well. The fact that we got good material out of it was a bonus, but doesn’t exclude the intent. Don’t get me wrong here, I really did enjoy the show and I’m not trying to cast doubts on it’s merits …. I’m just splitting hairs. *chuckle*

    Paul, good points made. This many years later I guess it’s easy to forget that Cap was originally the guy in the ad that got the sand kicked in his face.

    thanks for listening all,
    crank!

  8. Stefka Says:

    No, darling! I was on the board (after stalking Tim… okay, and Mike) and then was wondering what you were up to. Low and behold I see you’re famous now. Do you mind if I start stalking you too? Although you’d probably have to come to London. These flights are killing me.

    And for something somewhat relevant – who cares if it was a commercial? I didn’t make my parents run out and by a bridge-layer. I just enjoyed it. Besides, my friend’s brother Luke had the bridge layer. And how often are you going to lay bridge?… wait… that sounds… weird…. Hmmm.

  9. David Thornton Says:

    Chris,

    No worries on splitting hairs :)

    Hasbro’s intentions were quite obvious – to saturate the minds of millions of kids with visions of the Joes and Cobras so that they buy the company’s toys.

    But like Neil Gaiman’s story for Sandman #19, which was so well-respected by literay critics that it won a World Fantasy Award in 1991, I believe Sunbow’s series became something more, that it grew beyond the category of The 30-minute Commercial thanks to the many high-quality episodes.

    Not sayin’ the series is on the same level as The Sandman, just that it’s better than most of the other animated TV series that were thought of as extended toy commercials :)

    I agree with you on Inhumanoids; it’s a very cool show. Picked up the R2 DVD set along with Visionaries not too long ago on Amazon.co.uk.

    Looking forward to your next episode and Mike’s thoughts about the NY convention. Hopefully, he wasn’t locked out at any point.

    Best,
    David Thornton
    http://davidmackguide.com
    http://joeguide.com