Galactic Driftwood

We've got worm sign! From beneath the ground and beyond the stars the Galactic Driftwood Podcast brings you another collection of news from the world of science fiction and fantasy. This week we're talking about a variety of stories including an AI technology that recolors old movies (including the "classic" Teens from Outer Space), the Arecibo Observatory radio telescope, and a fight over whether or not reading the book counts as a spoiler (it doesn't -Seth.)

Bond, James Bond. Sadly, Sean Connery passed last week. Despite his personal views, he played a part in many different properties that are important to us as nerds. And as you can expect from the cast of Galactic Driftwood, we'll talk about Highlander and James Bond then wander off topic and back again. We've also got quite a bit of nerd news to talk about this week. Grab your Walther PPK, get in your Astin Martin and buckle up for another episode of Galactic Driftwood!

Ba-na-na-na-na-na na-na! Batman! Before Batfleck Batflexed, Before Bale growled his way into pop-culture, before we saw Clooney's batnipples, even before Michael Keaton brought Batman back, there was another Batman. A groovier Batman. This week, get your Bat-drinks, sit down in your Bat-chair, and join the Galactic Driftwood crew as we give Adam West's Batman: The Movie a watch. Maybe even watch it along with us and enjoy the weirdness.

Who ya gonna call? NOT JENNA! Hey spooky nerds, this week on the Galactic Driftwood Podcast we've got special guest Stu Burns back to talk about breaking the Rules of Horror! But that's only the tip of the iceberg for this weeks episode! We're also going to be talking about fun Halloween attractions in the Omaha area, spooky shows for your viewing entertainment, and John brought some EVPs from his paranormal investigations for us to listen to! Give us a listen... IF YOU DARE!

Insert nerdy pun and or saying here. Sorry. It's been a long, hard seven months or so for those of us on the Galactic Driftwood podcast. As a cast, we like going places, seeing things and, ya know, people. This week, we're taking a little time to talk about the places where we want to / will go once we're able to go out and do things again. Join us as we take a look at some of the nerd-friendly and nerd-themed places around the country and even the world! Ending nerdy pun!

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn! *cough* *cough* I mean, welcome back for another episode of Galactic Driftwood. This week we're talking about HBO Max's new show, Lovecraft Country. Special Guest Katie joins us to talk about H.P. Lovecraft and the problematic nature of his writing. Warning: Lovecraft Country deals with some pretty awful racism and some of our conversation is going to revolve around that.

Everybody listen! We don't have long. The black helicopters are circling and we may not get a chance to say this again. Bill has finally crossed the wrong people and we've got a lot of information to disseminate before they shut us down. This week we'll be talking about conspiracy theories, from grays to lizard men, from Q to the Philadelphia Experiment. We've got plenty to talk about and debunk, so tune in!Here are links to items referenced in the podcast: Chadwick Boseman dies at 43: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/entertainment/chadwick-boseman-dies/index.html The Conspiracy Theory Detector: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-conspiracy-theory-director/ The Dunning-Kruger Effect Shows Why Some People Think They’re Great Even When Their Work Is Terrible: https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2017/01/24/the-dunning-kruger-effect-shows-why-some-people-think-theyre-great-even-when-their-work-is-terrible/#3a49ba475d7c The deep, twisted roots of QAnon - From 1940s sci-fi to 19th-century anti-Masonic agitprop: https://www.salon.com/2020/08/23/the-deep-twisted-roots-of-qanon-from-1940s-sci-fi-to-19th-century-anti-masonic-agitprop/ QAnon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon What is QAnon? https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-is-qanon-what-we-know-about-the-conspiracy-theory-11597694801 Conspiracy Theory Graphic: https://cf.broadsheet.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/whiterabbit.jpg

These are the voyages of the U.S.S. Cerritos. Their goal: Tell dick jokes and survive deadly situations with humor and horrible violence. This week on the Galactic Driftwood podcast we're going to be talking about our initial impressions of Star Trek: Lower Decks, coming out now on CBS All Access. With only two episodes out at the time of the recording, we still have plenty to talk about. We also give some time to Doom Patrol, currently airing on HBO Max. Join us for another geeky discussion on what's new in the nerd-world.

Here we are! Born to be kings! We're the Galactic Driftwood Podcast back for another discussion on what we've been watching. This week, we're talking about The Old Guard and Warrior Nun, two new popular shows on Netflix. Don't worry. We've got plenty more to talk about and we will digress. At length.

Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnd these movies are not available anymore. This week on the Galactic Driftwood Podcast we review a couple movies that Bill discovered were going off Netflix: Under the Skin with Scarlet Johansson and Tusk, a Kevin Smith movie. This continues the long and storied tradition of Bill bringing us...questionable movie choices. We also talk about Akira, an anime classic (what Bill calls a 'cartoon'.)

We rolled a one and now we're dealing with some stuff. As much as we'd like to pretend there's nothing going on right now, a lot of things affect the nerd community and we're going to talk about some of those weightier topics today. We're going to be talking about COVID-19's effects on this year's convention scene beyond its effects on our everyday lives. We're also going to be talking about Black Lives Matter and ...dare I say it, we're going to get a little political today. Just so you folks know what you're getting into, Black Lives DO Matter and we, both as a country, and as a community need to do better.

This land is made of love and PEACE! That's right! This week the weebs take over; with special guests Mark Kitchell and Devin Price (from Thoughts and Shots). The drinks come out as we take Bill and Linda on a journey through the wide, weird world of anime. We'll talk about some of our favorite series, some stranger selections, explain the difference between hentai, echi and waifus and much much more. Buckle up. This is a fun one.

Bad news: You’re dead. Good news: That’s not the end! At least, in a couple of the shows we talk about in this episode. We’re joined this week by Katie Otten and Josh Caito to talk about a new Amazon Prime show called Upload. We’ll also talk about another Amazon show, Tales from the Loop and FX’s What We Do In The Shadows. To say absolutely nothing of our normal shenanigans.

He can leap a tall building in a single bound! ... But what does that actually mean? Well, in terms of the mechanics behind it? This week we're talking with Professor Dan Claes, professor of physics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prof. Claes is well known on the convention circuit and in classrooms for educating students and nerds on the physics behind some of our favorite super-heroes. Join us this week as we sit down to talk about the intersection between nerdery, physics and education.

Get your black hat, it's time to saddle up for another trip to HBO's Westworld. Things are looking a little apocalyptic in Westworld right now at the end of Season 3 and the cast of Galactic Driftwood are here to fix their problems. We have an interesting mix of perspectives from members who've seen the whole show, to members who haven't watched a single episode yet. Don't worry though, we're not going to get anywhere close to staying on target. We still had a good time though. Join us for a walk through Westworld and points beyond.

Hey Walter, what will you give me for this episode of the Galactic Driftwood Podcast featuring two of the stars of AMC's Comic Book Men? That's right! This week Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen come to hang out with the crew of the Galactic Driftwood Podcast. We're going to hear some behind the scenes stories from the show, talk some super-heroes, and goof around with Ming and Mike and you can listen in or watch along on YouTube.

Set course for Wolf 359, warp factor 6. Engage! With Social Distancing still in effect, the hosts of Galactic Driftwood had plenty of time to watch the first season of Star Trek: Picard. Mark Kitchell joins us again to talk about how we felt about the season as a whole, things we liked, things we didn’t and where we think / hope that it’s going in the future. Join us for an interesting conversation on what’s shaping up to be a great Star Trek Series.

In a theme park, not that far away, not that long ago, Bill and Linda went to Galaxy's Edge in Disneyland. In this episode of Galactic Driftwood, Bill recounts his experiences, describes the attractions, and most importantly goes over the sheer amount of STUFF that he bought. Droids now outnumber the hosts and we'll be meeting them all. Buckle up. I've got a bad feeling about this.

I don't want to play this game of Pandemic anymore. Can we just play some Dungeons and Dragons? No. No we can not because everyone should be staying home. (Yes, I know that we can use Roll20, Skype or Zoom...just go with the metaphor.) Rest assured, we met for this episode before social distancing really started...but now we're all being socially responsible nerds. Unfortunately, that means that the community we all enjoy is hurting. Be it conventions, or your favorite local gaming stores, now is the time they need your support the most. This week, the Galactic Driftwood crew discusses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and ways that we can come together and support our local gaming community.

Rocks fall! Give me a Dexterity Save. This week we're joined by Dungeon Master Benito Garcia from GO-RPGs to talk about our recent adventures in Dungeons and Dragons. Benito is hosting a campaign for the Galactic Driftwood crew and we're going to talk about our experiences in rolling dice.

Put on your biohazard suit and check the seals. With the spread of the Coronavirus we thought now would be a good time to dig through science fiction and fantasy for the worst diseases fiction had to offer. From The Andromeda Strain to Greyscale, join us on a trip through the nastiest bugs in science fiction and fantasy and the effects they had on their worlds.

Set Phasers to hype! This week we're going to be talking about a LOT of Star Trek and we're joined by new guest host Mark Kitchell! We're going to be focusing on the new show Star Trek: Picard which is currently airing on CBS All Access. But, in true Galactic Driftwood style we get distracted and talk more about Star Trek Discovery and some of the movies, Nemesis and Insurrection. Be warned, here there be spoilers on Star Trek: Picard.

Toss a coin to your Witcher, O Valley of Plenty! We've got a lot to talk about this week on Galactic Driftwood. We've got the premier of the Witcher on Netflix, a new season of Lost in Space (also on Netflix) and Season 4 of The Expanse from Amazon Prime! Phew! That's a lot of really good stuff and we're going to talk about it all!

Cue the title drag, it's time for more Star Wars talk! This week we're joined by Jenna (a Sith) and Cata (a Jedi) to talk about all the Star Wars stuff that we didn't talk about last time around. We're going to talk about possibly the biggest thing to happen to Star Wars since Ewoks... BABY YODA! I... I mean "The Child." I mean, we're going to talk about The Mandalorian... and The Rise of Skywalker ... and Lightsabers ... and... We're talking about Star Wars again today, alright. I promise we'll talk about something different next week. Probably. Maybe. Look, we're going to play it by ear.

Time to engage that hyperdrive for one last (not really) visit to a galaxy, far, far away. This is it. The end of the saga, so it's only right that we, your highly distractable hosts of the Galactic Driftwood Podcast should gather and discuss J.J. Abrams latest addition to the Star Wars canon. Be forewarned, we get into spoilers in this episode, so if you haven't seen the Rise of Skywalker... well, you should go see Rise of Skywalker and then give us a listen.

He's made his list. He's checked it twice. Now Krampus is coming to the Galactic Driftwood Podcast! Stu Burns is back for another round to talk about Krampus, and other dark Christmas legends. Christmas isn't always cookies and candy canes in every part of the world, and we're going to talk about some of the monsters that used to (and still may) stalk the Yule season. But first, Bill updates everyone on this years Teslacon! Stay tuned ... but maybe keep your eye out for anyone with a sack full of children.

Don't miss this power-up! This week Chris Cata joins us again for a high-level (see what I did there) discussion on video games. The Galactic Driftwood crew has varying degrees of experience with gaming, from the devoted to the casual observer. This week we're talking about our favorite games, game types, Twitch and everything else video games we can shove into an hour and change.

This week we rolled a nat twenty! We’re bringing you a big show this week! To start off, part of the Galactic Driftwood crew went to Anime Nebraskon to partake in the sites, sounds, cosplay and nerdery. We talk about our experiences there and about the panels that we hosted this year. Benito Garcia joins us again, this time to talk about GO-RPGs (Greater Omaha Roll Playing Games), as well as table top roll playing games in general. Really we spend a LOT of time talking about gaming. We’ve ALL got stories!

Guys... I think that I might have been bit. Quick, before the fever sets in, we need to do this week’s episode of Galactic Driftwood. We’re talking about the new movie Zombieland 2: Double Tap. This week involves plenty of talk about zombie movies in general, Seth doesn’t like World War Z because it doesn’t have anything to do with the book, and we talk about the gene-hacking community and how it could all go horribly wrong.

Grab your stakes and some holy water! This week on the Galactic Driftwood podcast we're joined, once again, by Stu Burns, author and folklorist to talk about vampires and other fiends. Be warned, this week you might learn a thing or two about all sorts of things.

Join the crew as we launch into the new sci-fi movie Ad Astra staring Brad Pitt, , Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland.  Beware, here there be spoilers!

Don't mind this vial of strange blue liquid. On this week's episode of Galactic Driftwood we're down to just John, Bill and Seth, but that's all we need to talk about Amazon's "The Boys" out now on their streaming channel.  Join us as we discuss the "heroes" of this new show and other ridiculous super heroes in general. We're also talking about Good Omens, then finishing up with toxic fandom. There's a lot this week. Warning: Here the be spoilers ... and talk about bombs up peoples' butts.

Join the crew of the USS Galactic Driftwood as we visit the House of Conundrum and experience "The Final Frontier" escape room trying desperately to repair a crashed Klingon scout ship and escape the planet before hostile Klingon reinforcement arrive and obliterate us! We Interview one of the creative geniuses behind the House of Conundrum, learn about their other amazing escape rooms, and find out if our crew survives to continue podcasting from deep space!

Fall is in the air as Halloween decorations fill the stores so it seems appropriate that in this episode we interview Benito Garcia of Wetworks SFX Studio and review the recently released "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" horror movie. Wetworks SFX studio is known for it's premier horror effects having working on numerous local films such as "Shivers Down Your Spine," "The Eyes of Isabelle," and most recently "Say Goodbye, Grace." We'll take a look at Benito's one-of-a-kind book "Special Effects Guide Of Real Human Wounds and Injuries," talk with him about movie horror special effects and much more. We recommend watching this episode with a friend while hiding under a blanket with the lights out. Oh, and make sure you have fresh batteries in your flashlight... just in case.

Everyone put your black sunglasses on, 'cause we're definitely going to have to neuralyze anyone not cleared for this week's content. This week Audie, Seth, Bill and John talk about the upcoming "raid" on Area 51, Netflix's new documentary on Bob Lazar, and related conspiracy theories.  We finally get to talk about Avengers: Endgame and once again reflect on just how good Galaxy Quest is.  John pushes for more answers and mysteriously vanishes.  So much blood...

Follow us down into our secret, underground base for Episode 30 of Galactic Driftwood! This week, Seth gets spoiled on Season 3 of Stranger Things, tease Audie with the prospect about talking about Endgame, and devote more time than we probably needed to talking about subterranean lairs. 

Fire up your Flux capacitors and join us a week  before Ocon! This week we’re going through the Goo Hole and into the Upside Down, doing a deep dive into Stranger Things. Join us for for our review of the series leading up to Season 3, and all the questions we hope it will answer.

Join Bill, Jenna, Charles and Audie for a live podcast from the Project Nerd Pavilion at OCon Expo 2019 on Saturday, June 29th (day 2), of the convention.  Find out why Jenna want's to slice off Bill's head, where in the world are Seth and John, some of the amazing costumes we've seen, panels we've attended and some of the crazy stuff going on at this years OCon Expo!

Activate forward deflector screens, we're going in! It's time for Episode 27 of the Galactic Driftwood Podcast. The local sci-fi and fantasy convention season is winding down, but not before OCon at the MidAmerica Center in Council Bluffs. Galactic Driftwood will be there and we're excited to get all dressed up, host a couple panels and meet a bunch of new nerds, creators and geek celebs. This week we're talking about a variety of things on top of what's going to be happening at OCon, so tune in!

Saddle up your dragons, it's time for Episode 26 of Galactic Driftwood! We start off by talking about ConQuest 50, which just finished up in Kansas City last weekend. Bill and Seth both attended and have plenty to talk about. In other news, the Game of Thrones is over and there's plenty to talk about there as well. Tune in to hear our (cough) expert (cough) opinions. Links to things discussed in the episode: - Conquest Scifi Convention: https://www.conquestkc.org/ - Invested Paining: fb.com/investedpainting - The Taking of Phyrix - 30k Narrative Campaign Series: fb.com/groups/phyrix30k - UnderCon Gaming: https://www.undercongaming.com/

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! In Episode 25, the Galactic Driftwood crew takes a wormhole to Lyons Nebraska to visit Bill Hedges, creator of the Cosmic Cat sci-fi series on YouTube. He gave us a tour of his studio, and some of the other fantastic things that he's built by hand, including sets, and replica ships, not to mention his freakin' adorable cat Penny. If that isn't enough to convince you to give us a listen, this is our first "After Dark" episode were certain members of the crew might have been imbibing a little ... Romulan Ale, if you know what I'm talking about.

Tighten up your cosplay; it’s time for Episode 24 of the Galactic Driftwood Podcast. It's peak convention season, and this time around we visited ConStellation for it's 10th year in Lincoln, NE. This week we're talking about this smaller, local convention and the delights available there. Also in nerd news, what is even going on with Star Trek: Discovery, and what's going to happen next on Game of Thrones. Be forewarned: Here there be spoilers.

Ignite your lightsabers, cause it’s time for Episode 23 of the Galactic Driftwood Podcast. We’re back from our trip to experience the wonder and majesty of Planet Comicon in Kansas City. We saw some awesome cosplay, some great panels, and bought a lot of lightsabers (collectively) and we’re going to be talking about all of it. And how could we not talk about that Star Wars Episode IX teaser that dropped?

Bad news for all the Skrulls in the audience: In Episode 22, the Galactic Driftwood crew are talking about Captain Marvel and Alita: Battle Angel. Don’t worry, we’re not doing a “which one is better” show. We liked them both and now you get to listen to what we thought about both of them. Be forewarned though. Here there be spoilers!

Dial up your hyperdrives, its time for Episode 21 of Galactic Driftwood!  With convention season underway, and the crew headed to Planet Comicon in Kansas City this weekend, we thought it would be good to have a discussion about the do's and don'ts of cons.  What do you want to bring?  If you cosplay, what are some good ideas?  We also talk about our favorite cons in the Omaha and Kansas City areas.  So whether you're an old hand at cons or just thinking about trying one out, we've got you covered.

In Part 2 of Episode 20, witness the inevitable doom that befalls our brave adventurers! This is the conclusion of our game of Betrayal at House on the Hill during our excursion to Sparta Games in Omaha.

All Hell breaks loose when the hosts of Galactic Driftwood visit Sparta Games and attempt to defeat the boundless evil that dwells within the House on the Hill. Join us as we play "Betrayal at House on the Hill" and find out who our real friends are!

Episode 19 is the second part of our two-part discussion on time travel. ... Or is it the first part? The timelines are starting to become a little confused as the crew talks about more of our favorite movies and shows with time travel. We also talk about whether or not we'd personally travel to the future, provided that John is wrong and there is a future to travel to.

Episode 18 features a discussion of time travel as portrayed in television and movies. Time dilation, self-consistent, history changing - single universe, history changing - multiple universe, temporal loop time travel... we tackle it all. This is part 1 of a two-episode time travel discussion.

Enter the Darkest Timeline. In episode 17 we’re talking about multiverses, in and out of comic books. The cast of Galactic Driftwood went to see Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse and we talk about that, and other multiverses. Not that we stay on topic. This weeks discussion ranges from vampiric life-extentions to who goes evil and how. Join us for another week of maximum nerdiness!