I'm struggling to think of a proper adjective to describe 2017. It was um....yup.

It was.

This week we're recapping some of our favorite (and a few of our not so favorite) things from 2017. I did manage to come up with some of my favorite moments and happenings but I also had the strange realization that I spent 2017 doing a lot of nothing. And man is that a bummer. But it's also a bit of a blessing in disguise because while I'm not normally a "resolution" type of person...it's giving me a good excuse to come up with one. 

I'm still working on the final wording of it but it'll be something along the lines of "Do more stuff". Or "Be a better nerd". You get the idea. The time for being a lazy adult doing only adult things has passed. Next year the time has come to do more stuff.

Until next year,

-Jr.

True story: One time I tried to do a backflip on a trampoline. At the time, I had about 3 hours of total experience on a trampoline so I was feeling pretty good about myself and my abilities. I mean, it's a trampoline. How hard could it be?

Well.

If we're being honest here I'm pretty sure I came close to paralyzing myself that day. Last I knew, you're not supposed to land on your neck when attempting a backflip. And it turns out trampolines aren't giant pillows, either. Like I said, that's a true story. Joe was there. You can ask him about the horrifying noises that came out of my mouth after folding myself in half during my backflip attempt. Life has a funny way of teaching lessons.

So anyway, this week we're joined by our friend and performer Joshua Williams who, unlike me, can do backflips and he doesn't even need a trampoline. You see, Joshua specializes in gymnastics, parkour, tumbling and freerunning. He uses these skills not only to compete and better himself but he also had the opportunity to travel on tour with the Marvel Universe Live show and per our usual routine: we jumped at the chance to chat with Josh about his talents and experiences because they are much cooler than our own.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

-Jr.

Well as you may have guessed by the title it seems we've done this whole podcasting thing 300 times now. *Insert joke about Spartans here.* We spent the majority of the episode getting quizzed by our pal Dave to see how much knowledge about our own show we've actually managed to maintain. Spoilers: A lot has happened over the last 5 1/2 years. And we are old. Please don't judge us.

I don't have a whole lot to say this week that wasn't already said in the episode so I think I'm going to celebrate our third centennial by taking it easy and just saying thanks. To anyone who has tuned in to an episode, clicked around on our website, or even just liked a photo on Facebook we send out our most sincere Thank You. Your support and willingness to put our voices into your ears is much appreciated.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

As the monumental 300th episode looms in our near future we thought it might be fitting to throw together a compilation of "Best-Of" moments that didn't quite make it into the anniversary montage earlier this year. So while I spent the day shoveling snow out of my driveway and trying to force ideas for Christmas presents into my brain, Alex spent the day splicing together this week's jam into what we're calling The Best-Of B-Sides.

This one is pretty neat because, like you, I have absolutely no idea what this episode is going to contain. You might be thinking "hey man you're not going to quality check it before uploading to make sure Alex didn't cut together a humiliating montage of the stupidest things you've said over the past year?" And the answer is no. At the end of the day my faith and trust in my podcasting partner knows no bounds. In 5 years the man has never let me down or done me wrong so when it comes to Episode 299....there's no hesitation from me at all.

It's either that or I'm just really lazy.

He wouldn't do that though...right?

-Jr.

We're approaching 6 years of doing this thing in a few months and we still don't have a concrete mission statement. Mission statements are usually important, right? Do podcasts need mission statements? Who knows. The point is; we don't have one. We've done 5 minute brainstorms in the past but at the end of the day our goal is to talk to interesting people and show you neat things. It's not perfect and it sounds like something a 5 year old would write but ultimately it's what we aim to do.

This week's guest is no exception as we were joined by Toni aka The MadEtcha. If you've ever checked out any of our Steampunk World's Fair reviews then you've definitely heard us mention MadEtcha and her incredible glass etchings before. Her work has a "you have to see it to believe it" quality. Every time I've tried to describe one of her pieces my description never really compares to the quality of the actual work. So, I guess it's my responsibility to drag all of my friends to Jersey to check out her booth.

Should be easy enough.

Anyway, you can check out Toni's work HERE or stop by her booth at the Wicked Faire early next year or the World's Fair in May!

Enjoy!

-Jr.

After doing the whole convention thing for some time now we've kind of nailed down a method to how we cover a show. It might not necessarily be the "right" way of doing it but we've always tried to bring you content and coverage that the everyday con-goer would want to hear about. I think we've done a decent job so far but I never really took the time to consider what might happen if our process had a monkey wrench thrown in it. Sure, there have been hiccups here and there. My camera died at PAX East last year. Alex has bowed out of shows with Colin and Joe filling in for him. But at the end of the day we're still able to get great content and put together with concise recaps for you.

But what about something major? Like covering a show by myself. In a city I've never been to. At a show that, up until last weekend, had never happened before. That's a bit more than a hiccup. And it caused me to change the way I approach covering shows on the fly and to be quite honest: It was tough. I never realized just how much I leaned on my cohorts for support when we talk with developers and test out new games. To be at a show in a foreign place without the guys by my side was a shock to the system to say the least. But, with the non-stop support of my amazing wife (who got to attend her first con!) I was able to remember a few things about the show and even put together a photo album which you can check out HERE.

Hopefully my ramblings this week will give you a good impression of what you can expect to find at any future Unplugged shows. Despite being outside of my comfort zone for the better part of a weekend I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I wasn't already thinking about next year's show. Luckily, there's only 131 days until PAX East. Let's keep the countdown going, shall we?

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Seeing as I have to be up to make the drive to Pennsylvania for PAX Unplugged in about 7 hours and the title of this episode pretty much speaks for itself....I'm going to keep this brief and stick to the facts:

• Colin joined us this week.
• We talked about the latest season of Stranger Things.
• This episode is EXTREMELY spoiler heavy.
• No, seriously. Massive Stranger Things spoilers in here.
• If you have any interest in Stranger Things but haven't watched it yet...maybe come back to this one later.
• Some of us have a newfound love of Sean Astin.

Just cold, hard facts.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

Remember last week when I went on a big "yeah there's no more spooky stuff this year" rant?

Turns out I'm an idiot and we actually have a little more spooky stuff for you because this week Alex sat down with Dave Richard, the Creative Director behind the hit survival game "Dead by Daylight"! We've talked about Dead by Daylight at length in the past having been introduced to it at PAX East before we were finally able to get our hands on our own copy and needless to say we're hooked. What we thought was just a fun game of cat and mouse turned out to be an intricately designed and terrifying game of survival that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time you're playing.

Huge thanks to Dave and the Dead by Daylight crew for giving us some time out of their busy schedule to talk about their game. I think it goes without saying that we can't wait to see what they come out with next.

Enjoy!

-Jr.

This week we're back to our regularly scheduled programming as Alex and I dive into the recesses of our brains to discuss those certain things that we hold dear to our hearts regardless of their quality or current status in the popular "meta". You know, that one movie that you loved as a kid and will still watch to this day even though all your friends say it sucks. Or that videogame that your siblings despised that will never leave your collection despite not having the necessary console to play it anymore.

Those things. Those beautiful, nostalgic things that we hold blind allegiances to because they mean something to us. That's what we're talking about this week. And it is good.

-Jr.

Just in case you didn't hear enough of us this week we're back with another episode diving right into the heart of the spooky. When we heard OMV Legend Jon was going to be heading back from his trip out to the west coast we decided it would be just plain irresponsible to not have him on. Yes folks, you read that right: The Duke of Spoop himself has made his return to the Nutmeg state to tell us tales of ghosts, hauntings, and the supernatural.

Now let's all just take a second and drink in how fantastic "The Duke of Spoop" is because if you asked me I think it belongs on a t-shirt. A t-shirt that only Jon is allowed to wear and only when he's recording podcast episodes with us. Then we'll auction it off in like 30 years for an obscene amount of money only to find out that we actually auctioned it to Jon and he was playing us the whole time. It's always the person you'd least expect....That Jon. Always the swindler, he was.

Classic.

Brb. I need to make a t-shirt now.

Enjoy!

-Jr.