Iteration 190 - The Question of Harm to Animals in Simulations

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Reptilian creatures from space are coming to earth to take our jobs! We talk about our adventures in simulations, the video games we played, the movies we watched, and the random thoughts we had about the Flintstones. For our main topic this week, Ryan brings us his review of Murder at the Zoo, specifically a scene in which a lion fights a cougar. And we get to pondering about the ethics of enjoying fights and suffering, and whether it makes a difference if it's simulated or real.

References and Recommendations:

The Secret World (MMORPG): http://www.thesecretworld.com/

Roll for Initiative Victoria: http://www.rollforinitiative.ca/

Murders in the Zoo (1933 film): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024360/

Sharktopus vs Whalewolf (2015 film): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharktopus_vs._Whalewolf

Iteration 189 - Monsters on the Big Screen

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In this iteration of the podcast, we ask if Ryan was a member of the Paw Patrols, which dog would he be? Ryan's conspiracy moment: muffins are actually three-dimensional cookies. This leads us into a discussion of physics. We talk about visual changes in Blizzard's Overwatch game. We recount our own personal weekly adventures in simulations. We talk about Marvel's weird villain Ruby Thursday. And for our main topic, we were inspired by Ryan's watching of King Kong vs Godzilla, and we wonder why we don't see more screen time for monsters in monster movies?

Iteration 188 - Hag Trouble

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In this week's iteration: we talk about the influence of entertainment companies on politics, and also the game of politics. We compare politics to Call of Cthulhu, Pac-man, and Dwarf Fortress. Josh discovers the joy of forest fires in Minecraft. And recounts his day as an actor in a web short. Ryan plays more of the Secret World and Marvel's Avenger's Alliance. And for our main topic, Ryan delves into Ravenloft, discovering some untold stories of hags, and we ponder why these stories have been left untouched. We talk a bit about the concept of ugliness and beauty, in light of the archetypal hag.

References and Recommendations:

The Age of Persuasion (CBC show) http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/

Iteration 187 - Down with Sickness and Corruption

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We talk about the introduction of Toonz animation software to the realm of Open Source software. We talk a bit about Ryan killing filthy humans in The Secret World, and Josh falling down holes of his own making in Minecraft. We have a short discussion about whether it would be better to stop exhisting or to endure eternal torture with a tiny hope of eventually getting out. Some interesting cosmological theorizing. Our main topic this week is a bit of a takeoff from last week. In this week's "corruption" discussion, we turn to the supernatural, the magical, and the cosmic aspects of corruption. From the undead to the nature of the universe itself.

Bonus: Zoey reviews Zootopia.



References and Recommendations:

Lion King plot stolen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimba_the_White_Lion#The_Lion_King_controversy