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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 66, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

Liking abs is not a crime. If it was, I wouldn’t have bothered working on mine. I’ll be the first to agree that men and women are, in terms of sexuality, objects. There’s no getting around that. What need to stop, however, are any claims that these movies have ANY other merit. I absolutely refuse to see New Moon; mostly because I HATE mindless hype around anything. Totally ruins a thing for me. I have, though, seen the first twilight movie many times for reasons I shouldn’t need to explain. Let me tell you this about that: NOTHING HAPPENS. The acting is crap, the effects are crap, and the story is NOT creative in any way. You can barely call these things movies (or books); and if you try to, you’re really just putting an exclamation point on your simple mindedness and disdain for the world of literature and art.

And all the Moms out there sporting girl boners right alongside your pre-teen daughters, that’s fine. We all need to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. But I’d better not see glare-fucking-one if you spot me stopped at a green light in front of your daughter’s high school.

I’ve heard the comment many a time from many a female fan of the Twilight franchise, that this book is all about exactly what women want. This love story is what women are after in life. Fine. I hope you don’t expect me to respect you for it though. You think any man with half a functioning brain cell wants anything to do with you and your desire to be a marginalized, helpless, docile dolt in life? Give your head a shake.

Between Twilight, Transformers2, and all the other shit bombs we’re dropping on our culture, I understand why the terrorists hate us. Our society is quickly becoming the shallow, slug-minded kind depicted in Mike Judge’s Idiocracy, and the “better half” of it is busy feverishly snapping up all the wrong traits to move forward with. They seem to want all of the piggishness, and none of the power.

To summarize, we all should watch what we enjoy watching. Everyone has their guilty pleasures. But that’s just it. This SHOULD BE a guilty pleasure. You should not want to wear this series like a badge. And if you must watch it, ladies, parents, please go home when you’re done and read/watch something with some 3(+)-syllable words in it to offset the damage.

Before I end this post, I have a bunch of Twilight-related images and articles to share with you all. They just kept popping into my Google feed reader, and they’re too good not to share. Before I even get to these though, let me just close my portion of this by making you a little guarantee… Taylor Lautner is a premature ejaculator. Whore it up with the boy if you want, ladies; I’m just sayin’!

…If this weren’t the most empty-headed studio movie I’ve sat through since PURE LUCK, I might be concerned about its racial politics. Instead, I’m delighted by its persistent reinforcement of stereotypes. Anything to tamp the dirt down more firmly….[Click to read whole Ain't it Cool article...]

…”The Twilight Saga: New Moon” takes the tepid achievement of “Twilight” (2008), guts it, and leaves it for undead…[Click to read all of Roger Ebert's review...]

…I don’t hate them because I’m a guy, or because of the excruciatingly bad prose, or the corruption of vampire mythology without acknowledging or commenting on the original, or even because Bella is such a waste of space. I hate them because of the sexual messaging they impart to teens, especially teen girls, robbing them of agency and normalizing stalking and abusive behavior….[Click to read whole YALSA article...]

…Whenever a woman criticizes a man’s lust, aggression, shallowness or any other lesser angel of his personality, the quick-witted fellow can point to the millions of women addicted to the base, insipid, bad-boy-worshiping, misogynist syrup so many female viewers of all ages knelt to this past weekend….[Click for Top 20 Unfortunate Lessons Girls Learn From Twilight...]

…I came out of the movie less smug. I remembered why I had written my original review in the first place. This movie made me sad and angry, just like the last one. Come along on the sparkly adventure to find out why…[Click to read whole Skepchick article...]

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 65, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 64, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Update Nov 9th/09 MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

People screw around with things like XM and Sirius radio thinking they putting one over on standard radio stations. Why would a person not want to CHOOSE what they want to listen to and when they listen to it? Pick a show you like, subscribe to it, receive it as soon as hits the internet, and listen to it when you have time. What is better than this? Nothing, that’s what!

This is how media should be delivered. Individual pieces of content, custom picked by the end user, delivered at their convenience.

I hate to say it, but Apple has done the best job at bringing the world of podcasting to the people. It’s right in the iTunes store alongside the rest of the content.

PLEASE, tech manufacturers, and software designers, consider RSS technology when you’re putting your respective products together. If people gain an understanding of what they’re missing out on, they’ll be all over this kind of convenience! MP3 players, phones, Ebook readers, they all need to be able to access the plethora of free content out there via RSS feed.

RSS, you have a nice logo.. I hope you make to the big time!

Did you know that there’s FREE, no subscription needed programming out there that’s informative and interesting? Organizations like PBS and TED are spending time and money making all of this quality programming available to the public, and 90% of people don’t give a shit. That’s just shameful.

Do yourself a favor and have a look at some of the interesting stuff provided on TED and CharlieRose.com

No time for TV? Do what I do! Bring your laptop to bed with you. You’ll learn something AND it’ll help you sleep, because it’s not loud, commercialized, hype-based BS for your brain!

Charlie Rose doesn’t seem to support embedding, but here’s a sample TED talk…

Hey, fellahs! Really love the show. It’s a lot of fun!

Here’s my prediction(s), and it’s one I’ve been stating for years: In terms of media, our future will be like star trek. And I think we’ll be mostly there before 2017 (arrived at completely arbitrarily.)

We won’t be in a money-less society, of course. Everything will be subscription based. [Hey your show just ended - that was way too short, guys!] You’ll have 4 subscriptions set up, basically like cable companies now offer services; only instead of internet, tv, phone, etc, it will be music, movies, games(a la onlive), and tv. Communications will be 99% internet based by then; no phone service necessary. Price tiers will be based upon the number of users (perhaps a family package or something would be available).

A Natal-style facial recognition system will be in place to block content inappropriately rated for those in the room. This system will be central to the house and obviously would be all wireless. All screens (work stations, living room, etc) will ship with built-in compatibility for this system, and no external boxes will be necessary. Input will generally be done via touch screen or Natal-style pointing.For regular computing tasks, most processing power will be in your central server. And your account (documents, desktop setup, etc) will be presented to you upon facial and/or voice recognition.

Speakers will not exist. All sound will be produced by some combination of focused audio (http://www.ted.com/talks/woody_norris_invents_amazing_things.html) and “invisible speakers” http://techblips.dailyradar.com/video/emo-labs-the-invisible-speaker-system/

My girlfriend in 2000 thought I was crazy when I told her I was waiting for a device to come along that combined phone, watch, music & possibly video. I have a feeling I’m pretty bang-on about this stuff too.

In short, the future is going to be amazing. In Canada however, we’ll still be using zip.ca

Thanks, guys! Keep up the good work!
…And now that I realize that you just split the episode up into parts, I’m happy. We do that almost every time with ours.

-teezeCrost
Winnipeg, Canada
http://hotcakespodcast.com
http://rocketsciencedesigns.com

So we’ve got the Hotcakes Podcast; that’s one thing we do. We’ve got the Sweet-Dick clothing store opening soon; that’s another thing we do. Web sites were created for both of these things, graphics were created for both, and hey- those shirts don’t print themselves. There are a lot skills at work here. I’d be stupid not to advertise them with a little site I call “Rocket Science“.

Here’s where anyone can call on my skills (and those of the designer friends I subcontract to) in everything. Site design, website programming, screen printing, graphic design & layout, photo work, you name it! Rocket Science Designs will treat you right, get the job done, and not gouge you in the process. That about covers what this site is all about.

I’ll close with a quote from the site:

If there’s anything visual you need created, Rocket Science can probably get it done. Be it websites, t-shirts, posters, photo restoration, you name it, contact us and we’ll get it taken care of for you in a timeframe, fashion, and price that fits your needs.

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 63, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 62 Part2/2 MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 62 Part1/2 MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 61, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 60 Pt.3, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 60 Pt.2, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 60 Pt.1, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

You can get the address from hotcakespodcast.com, but why make things harder than they need to be. Here’s the feed address they’ll ask for: http://feedproxy.google.com/Hotcakes?format=xml

Nominate Hotcakes for the COMEDY category starting October 4th!

Also make sure you nominate and vote for the rest of the PGB Crew in the following categories.

General: Stereo Radiation
Mature: The Jamhole
Comedy: Hotcakes
Entertainment: Ear Candy
Best Produced: Bigmouths
People’s Choice: Basement Boyz
Cultural/Arts: Universe of Mystery

Here are the rules for nominating as taken from podcastawards.com.

The Nomination Process:
Starting at 2100 4 October 2009 Eastern Standard Time nominations will be open via website submission.

1. You can nominate the Podcasts you want to submit “One Time Only” (Once you hit Submit your done for 2009).
2. You should “not” submit the same show in multiple categories, aka only 1 show per category is allowed. (See Line 3 for Exception)
3. You can nominate a show for “People’s Choice” or “Best Produced” , and also submit that show to another lower category (This is the only exception to line 2)
4. Do not abuse the system and submit a single show in multiple categories!

The nomination form will contain the following:
-Podcast name you are nominating (Please Try to get this correct)
-Podcast URL.
-Your Name
-Your Verifiable email address
-Comments are critical so the reviewing team understand why a show is deserving of being nominated to the category.

Make sure your e-mail address is valid, as we will be using special validation techniques to check the validity of the account, a percentage of the nominations will receive an e-mail several days after the nomination in which you will have to verify the nomination. No verifications will be sent immediately and not all nominators will receive a verification e-mail.

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MP3: Hotcakes Episode 59 Pt.1, MP3 Download Subscribe:RSS/iTunes If you’re after show notes, email us at hotcakes@hotcakespodcast.com *As always, thanks to 8-bit for our theme music!

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus in recent times when it comes to fully submerging myself in any Beastie Boys experience, but to this day I still tell people who ask that my fave musical act is the Beasties. And even though “To the 5 Boroughs” still hasn’t received nearly enough attention from me, I’m feeling very ready for a new album from the boys. I think y’all should watch out for this one. I think Hot Sauce Committee is about to blow some minds, and remind hip hop what makes it great.
Aaaaaah, Bringin’ -bringin’ back that old New York Rap. I can tell you for sure that the Beastie Boys were my gateway into not only Hip Hop, but Hip Hop snobbery. I enjoyed their music from the beginning, but no more than your average clod. Then in high school, “Sabotage” and the Spike Jonze directed video for it hit. I bought the CD twice (due to my 1st copy getting stolen), and when I’d worn it out, I worked my way backwards through “Check Your Head“, “Pauls Boutique“, and “Licensed To Ill“. Each album got it’s own chunk of my teenage years, and deservedly so. Each song spoiled me so much that although not exactly a Hip Hop historian, I became meticulously choosy about what artists I allowed access to my ear drums. The Beastie Boys taught me that good beats and a good time are way more important than bein’ a baller.
It didn’t stop there though. Next came the bootleg CDs, and the Beastie List: the official Beastie Boys emailing list that was in full swing in the late 90’s. This is what went down before online Forums were really big. I met a lot of Beastie Boys fans through there, and got hooked up with many a mail order VHS tape, each brimming with amazing Beastie Boys footage. Ahh the days before You Tube. Also, my screen name became Tadlock, after the Beasties’ tour bus driver (a little factoid I learned on MTV’s Squirt TV in a Beck / Mike D interview) during Run DMC’s Raising Hell tour; and actually, “Tadlock’s Glasses” was almost the title for the upcoming album, before it was renamed to “Hot Sauce Committee”. I made my own Beastie Boys t-shirt too; to wear to the Barrie, ON date of the Hello Nasty tour, which my girlfriend at the time and I rode a greyhound bus 30 hours to get to! It was an amazing time. So many nice people!
So as you can tell, I have a history of being a Beastie Boys freak, and I hope to resume with this next album. I’m pumped that Nas (let alone other guests like Santigold) decided to join the boys on a track (Too Many Rappers -see above), and I think we’re about to hear, yet again, a masterpiece of a record. Enjoy the above track, and the below videos, which are some of my fav beastie bits that I’ve seen over the years! Give ‘em your attention for a minute or two at least. Some of the moments of amazingness take a few to jump on you; the 1st one quite honestly makes me wanna cry tears of joy around 2:06!

Please check Root Down as well. Wasn’t able to embed in page, but great vid.

So I’ve started having smaller, healthier meals, and more of them throughout the day. The abs exercises are still going strong too. But I’ve been feeling like something’s missing from the weekly routine, so I started researching what the muscle heads do for their killer abs, and what I’ve stumbled onto is HIIT.

Perhaps you’ve heard the term before, but High Intensity Interval Training is a new concept to me, and I started it this weekend. It really started to make sense when I stopped to think about how many chubby marathon runners I see on a regular basis, and how jogging for 45 minutes never really felt like it was doing anything; let alone all the times I’ve biked to and from work.

The basic idea is that you do a short burst of high intensity exercise such as sprinting or skipping, then you recover, then you resume. You should be done your whole workout in about 20 minutes, and 3 or 4 times per week should do it. I’ll share what I’ve started off with, then I’ll share some links and you can decide for yourself how you want to take on your belly fat.

On my first day of HIIT, I went out and found a little school yard with not a lot of people around. I have a little dollar store timer I bought a while back, so I set it to 30 seconds and brought it with me along with my cel phone. I would run, jog, and walk back and forth; 30 second sprint, 30 second jog, 60 second walk, repeat. If you’re like me and can’t remember the last time you found a reason to sprint any distance, you’re in for quite the wheeze session, but don’t let it get you down. Just don’t be lazy, and do what you can. By my 3rd set, I found myself extending my walking period quite liberally, but I’m sure this is only a temporary thing. I call the workout done when my cel reads 15 minutes later; I hope to hit 20 within several weeks.

So here’s some informational stuff. Research; enjoy.

- HIIT Wiki Page
- Informative blog post about HIIT

Finished watching it not 10 minutes ago. Wrote a review on IMDB, but they’ll probably reject it cause I plugged hotcakespodcast.com at the end of it. So here, more or less, is what I wrote:

It’s a crime that so few people have heard of this movie, and that so many have SEEN ‘Meet the Spartans’ and ‘Date Movie’. This flick works at such a higher level! Tracy Morgan’s walking techniques, Chris Kattan’s dance routines, and way too many subtle throw-away lines to count, make this movie TOTALLY AWESOME!
The director’s latest movie, The Goods, I found to be only “with its golden moments”. Honestly, if you’re on your way out to see that movie, spend the time to track this movie down instead. You’ll have many more LOLs, and all in the comfort of your living room with whatever snacks you want to bring in!
PS Small Computer, Broken Leg…Look forward!

It spoofs a lot of 80’s movies in well delivered, seriously funny ways. Seriously do yourself a favor, everyone. And let me know what you thought in the comments after you do! Just don’t tell me it was stupid, cause, OBVIOUSLY!

I’m talkin “Crazy Stuff”!

I can’t believe this was a VH1 made-for-TV!

First of all, you don’t need to watch as much TV as you do. There aren’t that many good shows out there at any given time, and you’ll discover this as you cut off your ability to just “flip around” to see what’s on, and start to purposely download your programming. Have all the episodes you want of your favorite shows right at your fingertips, make these what you watch, and actually MAKE USE of the rest of your time! Does 3 hours of TV really make you that much happier than one or two? Besides that, downloading your shows will also give you more time to make use of just by removing the commercials and irrational stops on “The Bachelor” from your life. That said, If you’re reading this, I’m also assuming you’re not going to waste my advice on watching American Idol, but do what you must.

So here’s what you do. You know that outdated tower you used as a computer before you upgraded? Well, I can’t promise anything, but chances are it’s good enough to play some video. If it doesn’t have a “TV out” port of any kind, go buy a cheap new video card from somewhere that sells computer stuff. Now hook your computer up to your TV. Obviously you’ll need to hook up your audio as well, but I’ll leave that to you to figure out based on your own living room audio setup. Now, you’ll also find it much more convenient to pick up a wireless mouse and keyboard so you can control this stuff from your couch. If you want to be really awesome, check out one of these mini keyboard/mouse combos:

Now, download a torrent program such as µTorrent that has RSS capabilities. The program’s normal functionality will allow you to download shows/movies via torrent files you’ve come across. The RSS feature allows the program to read feeds from addresses you provide, and automatically download new episodes as they’re available. That’s right, no effort from you; just leave the program running and it takes care of your downloads for you!

So where do you find these feeds? There are a few services out there. I used to use a service called “Feed My Torrents”, and another one called “TVRSS”, but these are both down now. The current useable services are EZRSS, SHOWRSS, and TED.

-EZRSS simply lets you select or search for a show, and provides you with an RSS Feed address for it. This one is my personal fav, but I have noticed a few gaps in their collections of episodes.

-SHOWRSS is slightly more invovled in that it has you sign up for a free account, but then then you create a list of your shows, and it provides you with a single feed that brings in all new episodes of all your shows as they’re released. My only problem with this is that I can’t find a way to retrieve older episodes if I’ve got catching up to do!

-TED, I haven’t tried yet, but I hear some people like it. It’s a standalone program that you install on your computer. Let me know if you’ve tried it!

Seriously, everyone, this is such a great, convenient, time-saving way to watch. Even doing manual torrent searches is far superior to what the cable company is giving you. I can’t tell you how great it is to have an entire season of True Blood ready and waiting for me when I get home from work. No more aggravating cliff hangers or not knowing what happened last episode! And no subscribing to an entire channel or tier of channels for one show! In a few years, I think PVR/Netflix/xbox Live/iTunes/etc will have figured out their business models & licensing issues a little better and we may have something worth paying for. But for now, do this!

Before I end the post, I should also mention that for a simple, reliable way to play all your media, definitely go with VLC. For something a lot more feature-rich and luxurious, I hear XBMC is the way to go. I’ve dabbled with the latter and like what I saw, but I found it a little chuggy on the tower I was trying to use to run it.

Got any further info, recommendations, comments, or questions? You know what to do below!