Posted by Bob Mackey
In lieu of actually playing video games this week, I've spent most of my time contacting local landlords to determine if it's actually possible to live in America on the salary of a teacher/freelance writer <SPOILER>It's not</SPOILER>. So outside of wondering which nearby dumpsters offer the most headroom, I've been filling my mindless travel time with god's gift to commuters: podcasts. And I'll be damned if the latest Retronauts isn't the best one I've heard in quite some time.
If you've never listened to Retronauts, then your woefully empty life is missing out on one of the most specialized and relistenable gaming podcasts to ever exist--and I'm not just saying this because 1UP occassionally sends me money.
When 1UP debuted, it had a great Classics section that went away far too soon; now, most of the articles and features from that branch of 1UP can only be found with Google and a lodestone. Premiering in the fall of 2006, Retronauts was the kinda-sorta revival of 1UP's classic section, albeit much smaller and in audio form. It's the perfect podcast for those who know way too much about video games or simply envy those who do.
Episodes of Retronauts usually come in one of two flavors: lighthearted, or serious business. This week's episode is strictly the latter, what with the topic being the world-changing giant known as the Famicom (Japan's version of the NES); it also helps that the entire cast this week are walking Wikipedias and furious Famicom fanatics who came of age when the NES was as common as the household toaster. In case you were wondering, all of this Famicom brouhaha is over the system's 25th birthday, which Retronauts hosts Jeremy Parish and Ray Barnholt have celebrated further with their series of 50 (yes, 50) articles on the subject. Since this content is currently stuck in editor blogs, as opposed to being on the front page, it'd be a shame if anyone missed it.
I've listed the relevant links below. Now you have something to do this weekend.
Retronauts Episode 48
50 Fabulous Famicom Articles
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About Bob Mackey
For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's
Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.
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