Iteration 215 - Romancing a Q

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We start with a tangent on Doctor Who. Then we do the rest of the podcast. We struggle with the question of whether to be happy that Ewe Bolle has been put in his place. Josh plays Dwarf Fortress and labours at digging through aquifers. Ryan watches Sleeping Beauty with Zoey. Ryan brings up the idea of what happens when the most powerful political entity in the area is an evil fairy queen. And then we talk about as many examples as we can think of when the love interests in a story have an age difference in the hundreds or thousands of years, and how that's dealt with in fantasy and science fiction. We also talk about what it really means for elves to have such extended lifespans.


References and Recommendations:

Han Solo film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/

Iteration 214 - The Lamentations of the Nerdy

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We begin the podcast this week with a bit of a rave by Josh about how cool he finds the Men in Black franchise, but also a conspiracy thought about why a shadowy organization would make a chart-topping R&B dance number. And a discussion comparing and contrasting the worlds of Ghostbusters versus the Men in Black. Then Ryan brings us a discussion about race. We talk about the crows in Dumbo, and Ryan talks over Josh a bunch and it's not particularly satisfying, but hopefully Josh got his point out, even though neither of these guys are equipped for making judgments on what actually is and isn't racist. At this point, we try to make an awkward transition into an analogy between being from a culture that is being appropriated and a comic book nerd whose Batman isn't quite the same as the old Batman. Ryan expresses his inability to properly give a rating to the Batman Versus Superman film.

References and Recommendations:

Galavant! (TV series): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3305096/

Batman Versus Superman: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2975590/

Iteration 210 - Flavourloft Part Two

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Also here: https://archive.org/download/thesimulationist/Iteration210-FlavourloftPartTwo.mp3

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In this iteration, Josh plays Dwarf Fortress and watches the Revenant and compares the two. Ryan and Zoey report on watching another Disney classic, this time Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And we get into another argument, this time about whether the Smurfs are derivative of the Seven Dwarfs. Our main topic this week is a continuation from a couple of iterations ago, about evoking a moody atmosphere for a Ravenloft campaign.

Iteration 207 - Deific Pretensions

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In this iteration: Ryan gets excited about how well Suicide Squad is still doing at the box office, since it means a better chance of getting a Harley Quinn film. This leads to a bit of a side jag onto the topic of superhero costumes in comics versus in film. Josh ponders whether gladiator games from Roman times were creatively scripted the way modern pro wrestling is. Ryan brings us a review of the Lion King, with a little review from Zoey too. And we get a bit in depth as to the meaning and implications of the Lion King story. Then Ryan brings up the topic of pretending to be a god, and when one can consider oneself to actually be a deity.

Iteration 205 - Beauty and the Beast

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In this iteration, we begin with talk about the Waghi tribe of Papua New Guinea who uses The Phantom as a sigil that they draw on their war shields. Then we talk a little bit about Suicide Squad, and the fan-made version of Metroid 2. Josh gets back into Dwarf Fortress, and gets annoyed with it. Josh plays some board games at Interactivity! And for a main topic, we discuss the Disney film the Beauty and the Beast, mainly about the role of Gaston. Ryan thinks Gaston gets short shrift, but Josh is a bit less forgiving. Ryan wants to take the sorceress to task, but Josh thinks the castle staff had it coming. And we ask about the extent of the Beast's curse, and why it seems to extend to the surrounding countryside, because it causes the people to forget the castle.

References and Recommendations:

Interactivity Board Game Cafe: http://www.ibgcafe.com/

Critical Role: http://geekandsundry.com/shows/critical-role/

Iteration 110 - Sleepy Hollow

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follow Josh on Twitter at @Spaceboot1

References and Recommendations:

The Uninvited (1944 film) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Uninvited_%281944_film%29

Sleepy Hollow (1999 film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162661/

Iteration 102 - We Watch Guardians of the Galaxy

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In this iteration of the Simulationist Podcast, Josh and Ryan give their own totally unique take on the movie of the summer: Guardians of the Galaxy. But before all of that, Josh and Ryan recount the week's adventures in video games and roleplaying games (mostly Minecraft). Ryan re-creates Inspector Gadget in the Tri-Stat system, sparking a nerdly discussion on what exactly the limits of Gadget's powers are. Then we discuss neuroplasticity and the Vulcans from Star Trek, and the interaction between culture and biological evolution of brains and behaviour.

Feedback-generating question: imagine you find an infinity gem from Guardians of the Galaxy, and assuming you know for sure what it is, but you don't know any Marvel characters or how to contact them, do you turn it over to your government? If not, what do you do with it?

References and Recommendations:

Guardians of the Galaxy, of course: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/

A build that Josh made in Minecraft: http://imgur.com/a/sSZxB

Tri-Stat Roleplaying System: http://tristat.wikispaces.com/

Steven Pinker The Better Angels of Our Nature http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Better_Angels_of_Our_Nature

Cutie Honey (2004 Japanese film) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutie_Honey_%28film%29

Iteration 054 - The Hunchback of the Opera - 15 Sept 2013

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Discussion Topic: Adaptations, Faithful and Un-

Ryan hates paradoxes

Edward Scissorbody

Excuse Me Mr. Pharaoh

The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame