The ABSTRACT Podcast

Episode 19: A Ryan Darkly

James Gregory — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:28:46 +0000

In this episode, we get back into the swing of things, but with some revision. We discuss Star Trek’s “reboot” and how it parallels with Star Wars: A New Hope, we consider the importance of darker tones in movies, and we fantasize about Ryan Reynolds.

Episode 19

Filed under: Action Movies, Adventure Movies, Chick Flicks, Movies, Sci-Fi Tagged: Batman, Christopher Nolan, Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, No Country for Old Men, Ryan Reynolds, Seven, Star Trek, Star Wars

Lord of the Rings Commentary: Fellowship of the Ring, Part 3 (Ep. 18)

James Gregory — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:00:23 +0000

Herein we cover up to minute 108 in LOTR: FOTR. This episode is the third installment on FOTR. Queue it up and follow along with us.

Episode 18

Filed under: Action Movies, Adventure Movies, Fantasy Movies, Movies Tagged: Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings

Lord of the Rings Commentary: Fellowship of the Rings, Part 2 (Ep. 17)

James Gregory — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:56:05 +0000

Herein we cover minutes 30 through 70 of LOTR: FOTR. It is the second commentary installment. Queue up the movie for yourself and follow along.

Episode 17

Filed under: Action Movies, Adventure Movies, Fantasy Movies, Movies Tagged: Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings

Lord of the Rings Commentary: Fellowship of the Ring, Part 1 (Episode 16)

James Gregory — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:24:24 +0000

Welcome back! How long has it been?

We are embarking on a commentary series on The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) movies, naturally beginning with Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR). This commentary episode is part 1 of many. It’s a long movie and an even longer series. Queue up the movie and watch along with us!

Commence commentary on LOTR FOTR Part 1:

Episode 16

Filed under: Action Movies, Adventure Movies, Fantasy Movies, Movies Tagged: Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings

Episode 15: Scariness, Science & Religion, and Sweet Sci-Fi

James Gregory — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:10:01 +0000

Two months later, episode 15 is finally here. We discuss what things scared as kids but as adults we do not know why. We consider whether the existence and arrival of aliens would change religion. Lastly, we discuss which of the following movies is the best 80s sci-fi film: Aliens; Terminator; Episode V; Blade Runner; and Back to the Future.

Episode 15

Filed under: Action Movies, Adventure Movies, Movies, Religion, Sci-Fi, Science Tagged: 80s, Aliens, religion, scary, sci-fi

Episode 14: Writing Utensils, Jobs, and Technology

James Gregory — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:00:01 +0000

Herein we explore our favorite writing utensils between ball point pens, roller ball pens, fountain pens, #2 pencils, and mechanical pencils, we discuss 2 of our favorite jobs that we would like to do if all food and shelter expenses were covered, and we reflect on the effect of technology on the human connection for good and bad.

Episode 14

Filed under: Uncategorized

Episode 13: Legendary Presidents, Legendary Society, and Fists of Legend

James Gregory — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:09:35 +0000

Enter the twilight zone, it’s Friday the 13th, and this is Episode 13. Spooky. This time we talk about the value of romanticized presidents, if utopias are simply inherently flawed, and the merits, coolness, and practicality of six branches of martial arts: kung fu, ninjutsu, tae kwon do, muay thai, karate, and Brazilian jujitsu.

Episode 13

Filed under: Economics, Education, Military, Movies, Politics, Video Games

Episode 12: Censorship, Sesame Street, and Royalty

James Gregory — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:00:25 +0000

This episode covers thoughts and opinions on censorship, it considers briefly whether Sesame Street is located in a bad neighborhood, and it discusses the Disney princesses.

Episode 12

Filed under: Animated, Disney, Movies, Music, Politics, Religion, TV Shows Tagged: Belle, censorship, child development, cussing, Disney princesses, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Pocahontas, Sesame Street, sex scenes

Episode 11 (BURLYCAST): Burly Beards, Brawls, and Strict Business

James Gregory — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:34:48 +0000

The Burlycast. The first of its kind. In this episode, our three abstracts entail three burley subjects. First, we give thoughts and opinions on beards. Second, we discuss a hypothetical situation: what animal would you like to fight and with what weapon would you choose, and why? Finally, if we were living in the Wild West, we discuss which profession we would choose between the sheriff, a bandit, a bartender, a stage coach driver, a train conductor, or a Pony Express rider.

Episode 11

Filed under: Burleycast Tagged: animals, beards, Burleycast, mustaches, Pony Express, stage coach, trains, weapons, wild west

Episode 10: Autonomy Interrupted, Amusing Fictitious Roles, and Affairs in Super Mario

James Gregory — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 03:35:11 +0000

In this milestone, our 10th episode, we change up the general format by starting with a discussion question, should we ditch daylight savings? We follow that debate with a multiple choice question: what is more fun and who would you rather be in fiction, the hero, the villain, or the antihero? Finally, we discuss the politics and affairs of Super Mario. Specifically, we ask:

Is Bowser a dictator?
Why did the mushroom people not revolt?
Is Mario an anarchist or a libertarian?
What is koopa supposed to be?
Is Yoshi a koopa?
Is Birdo a girl or guy?
Is Princess Peach a harlot?
Is Toad a terrible servant?
Is the mushroom kingdom a place of slavery/indentured servitude?
Are there parallels between drug use and Mario’s “resources”?
Who are the koopa eights’ mother?
With so many professions under his belt, why does Mario seem so incapable of protecting Peach?
What happened to Daisy and the other princesses?
Where should the series go next?

Episode 10

Filed under: Comics, Economics, Movies, Politics, Video Games Tagged: Antihero, Bowser, Daylight Savings, fiction, Hero, Princess Peach, Super Mario, Toad, Villain, Yoshi