Episode 73: What's Interesting

Episode 73: What's Interesting:
Produced by Relevant to Our Interests
Hosts: John R. Belliston and Frank Shaw
Scripting by: Frank Shaw and John Belliston
Edited by: Frank Shaw
Graphic Design by: Nathan Newell and Frank Shaw
Intro Music: Morning Activities by F.G. Shaw
Outro Music: Morning Activities by F.G. Shaw

So this is it, the first show after a month long break. I talk about my vacation in which me and my lady traveled to many abandoned town sites through Utah just to check them out. Highlights include: Soldier Summit, Mill Fork Cemetery, Thistle, and Wahsatch here in Utah. And Chesterfield Idaho, which is being restored by the descendants of those that originally settled and lived there, and there are tours available through out the summer. It was a fun trip, and we hope to do a similar one in the near future. 

On the geek front: I talk about The Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica. I'm excited for this. It's been a long time since I've broken out the Magic the Gathering cards, but Ravnica is one of the most fascinating worlds created for that game, and the fact it is getting a Dungeons & Dragons guidebook makes me incredibly happy.

John is wrapping up the show he's in: Turn to Page 93, tomorrow afternoon for the Great Salt Lake City Fringe Festival. It's gotten some good reviews, and you have one more day to catch some theater in the Salt Lake City area. If I had been more on the ball, as it were, I would have posted this at the beginning of the week. The Fringe Festival is popular though, and getting more so each year. So it's worth checking out.

John's also been watching a lot of YouTube lately (normally that's my shtick) and he has three channels he talks about specifically: ReignBot, Nightmare Expo, and his personal favorite: Night Mind. You'll have to listen to the episode to here specifically why John enjoy's the channels so much. But know that each explores the dark, the weird and the mysterious. They're all a little bit fun and if you like the dark and weird or creepy-pasta in general, you should check out each of the channels.

And finally James Gunn: Some more has happened since the episode released, though not a lot more: The cast of GotG signed a letter asking Disney to rehire Gunn, and to show their support for him. And David Bautista has stated that he will leave the franchise if Gunn's script is not used for the film. At this point there's little chance Disney will hire Gunn back. I do hope they use his script, as I don't want to see Bautista leave Marvel as Drax, but him actually directing is not likely to happen. What Gunn did was in poor taste, but honestly, I'm not sure he should have been fired. Given who dredged up the old tweets, it's obvious that this was an attack against Gunn to get him fired and nothing more.  
I have a lot I think I want to say about this, but I haven't fully put thought into form yet. This article from Vox certainly is a place to start however. And here's the article that John mentions in the episode that somes up the damning nature of the internet, and social media. I'm disappointed that Gunn was fired. I hope the director they get to replace uses his script, and is at least able to channel some of the direction Gunn was taking the film. 

That's all for now. 

Episode 62: Jessica Jones now on YouTube.

It's Episode 62: Jessica Jones on YouTube! If you haven't listened to it yet, then you totally should! Listen to Frank and John while seeing their magnificent beards.

Episode 61: Black Panther now on Youtube!

We don't have a new episode this week, John and I were both down with different sickness. I had lost my voice, and John took a trip to one of his favorite places: The Hospital.

Ok. Maybe not.

But we do have a new Youtube video for you. It's Ep. 61: Black Panther. If you haven't listened to it, you should. It's definitely worth a listen I think. Moreover check it out to see what sort of shenanigans our video editor catalia did with it. She's been super busy, but she'll be getting back into the full swing of things again here in the next week or so, you'll see more content both old and new uploaded.

Video for Episode 59: What's Interesting: Oscars, games and stuff.

Hey, it's the video for Episode 59: What's Interesting. Give it a watch, there's a lot of fun stuff in this episode, and if you haven't listened to it yet then it's worth a watch.

If you want to submit questions for John's Bad Advice, then you can email us at: relevant2rinterests@gmail.com

Tweet @r2interests, @lojakz or @jrbelliston on Twitter or leave a comment down below. We'd love to read your questions on the show. 

Throwback Thursday! Episode 1: Daredevil Season 1 now on YouTube!

Hey folks!

It's come to our attention here at Relevant to Our Interests (Relevant 2 R Interests) that we've got a large backlog of episodes. So we thought it might be a brilliant idea to start doing Throwback Thursdays. Especially as we are slowly creating videos and uploading our back catalogue to YouTube, it's time to share some of the old content here in the new form.

So without further ado:




And for those that want to listen to the original episode, check it out on Soundcloud here!

Episode 57 What's Interesting: Valentines Day, What's John Watching?

Episode 57: What's Interesting: VD, John's Watching

Produced by Relevant to Our Interests

Hosts: John R. Belliston and Frank Shaw

Scripting by Frank Shaw and John Belliston

Edited by: Frank Shaw

Graphic Design by: Nathan Newell 

Intro Music: Morning Activities by F.G. Shaw

Outro Music: Morning Activities by F.G. Shaw

So, to start with I chat about my Valentines day. I talk a bit about what me and my Lady did. 

Here's a pic of the mug and some of the Maker's Mark, and the whiskey stones in their bag. 

The bourbon is almost gone, the stones are fun, but honestly? I love that mug. I drink out of it nearly all the time now. And not just alcohol. I do want to put up a correction: During the podcast I said I got my lady a lily, that was incorrect: it was actually an orchid, which is a cooler flower in my opinion. 

The other thing I want to plug is the YouTube channel! We have one now, and we're slowly getting content uploaded. As of writing this there are four videos uploaded. We're currently getting about 2 up every week and a half, but that pace will quicken. They consist of still images over the audio, but my Lady is doing some fun stuff with them. Check it out and subscribe. Watch some of the episodes that you're curious about. Hell if you wonder what John and I look like, it's worth watching about 5 minutes just to see us... or not. 

Here's the video for this episode:

John's been playing a lot of Destiny 2, and while he does he has Netflix or Hulu on to help break up the monotony of the grind. He talks about three separate series he's been watching. 

First up: Comedy Bang Bang! This bizarre talk show on IFC has some very surreal funny moments. I personally have only watched the first season, but if you like bizarre comedy this is worth checking out. You can watch full episodes at the IFC page for the series here. Scott Aukerman also does a podcast for the show here.

John's also been watching Part's Unknown with Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain is the real deal. And lover him or hate him, you can't deny that he's not being himself. I have yet had the chance to watch Part's Unknown, but it's on my list. Here's the website for the series. It's worth checking out. 

Finally! John's started watching the Joel McHale Show. It's a weekly talk show releasing on Netflix starring that one guy... Joel McHale. I honestly had to see a picture of him to remember who he was. I guess I need to sit down and watch Community. If you're a Netflix subscriber, then just search for it and it'll be the first option that appears. 

Also... John's Bad Advice!

Episode 45: What's Interesting, Nintendo, Wyoming, Youtube Cooking, Emmy Elitism

Episode 45: What's Interesting, Nintendo, Wyoming, Youtube Cooking, Emmy Elitism
Hosts: Frank Shaw and John Belliston
Produced by Relevant to Our Interests
Scripting by Frank Shaw and John Belliston
Edited by: Frank Shaw
Graphic Design by: Nathan Newell
Intro Music: Morning Activities by F.G. Shaw
Outro Music: Morning Activities by F.G. Shaw

It's the weekend, and it's time for some show notes:

First up, it only makes sense to link to the Nintendo Direct. Most of the things that Frank talks about come directly from that. It's only a few days from today, on September 27th 2017, that the SNES Classic releases. John isn't very interested, but Frank is hoping to pick one up this fall, if the availability is there.

Next up: Wyoming! Frank is a history fan, and has an increasing interest in an American History and Wyoming is just oozing it. The state may be the smallest in population, but that only helps it in many ways feel like a place you could still see cowboys, or Native Americans existing as they did 150 years ago. If you find yourself near Worland Wyoming go check out the Washakie Museum. It, like a lot of small regional museums, has a lot of info about both the prehistoric and the near historic past of the region. It's worth a visit, and you can easily spend a few hours there taking in all the displays and activities. Also, if you're near Worland, then you're not far from Thermopolis and the hot springs near by. Go take a soak. For 20 minutes you can soak and relax for free ($1.00 if you need a towel) and it's definitely worth the time.

As for YouTube and John! It's unusual for John to talk about the virtues of YouTube, something Frank won't stop talking about (or watching). John talks about Alex French Guy Cooking. The guys amazingly watchable, and worth checking out, especially if you like cooking shows. John's other current YouTube obsession is Binging with Babish. Some how the guy is able to make the food from TV, movies and cartoons (a lot of cartoons) look amazingly delicious. You'll lose hours watching both of these guys.

John discusses a bit about the dismissal of other peoples experience. There's no links to articles about that part of the conversation, but it does lead to (both here and in the episode) talking about the elitism of the Emmy's. Or more accurately the elitism of the viewers of Emmy nominated shows. There are shows out there that have been nominated that are definitely worth watching. I watch them, but I'm looking for a very different experience when I watch Breaking Bad or Master of None than I do when I watch something like King of Queens or the Big Bang Theory. There's a lot of smart, intelligent television out there that is full of philosophical and social commentary. And a lot of it is too much for a person that's put in an 8 or 10 or even 12 hour day at a job that requires them to be on their feet, or interact with the public, or is physically demanding or any combination of those three things. Having worked (and still do work) those types of jobs, you don't want to be emotionally assaulted at the end of your day by your entertainment. So yes, we will probably watch some of the winners of this years Emmy's. But by no means we will watch all of them. And even more importantly nobody should expect us, or anybody really, to put in the effort to be entertained by something that we simply don't find entertaining. But that being said, here are the nominees and winners of the 2017 Emmy Awards.  And here is the AVclub poll about the Emmy's 

Episode 27: Youtube Absurdist Shorts

Episode 27: Absurdist Youtube Videos pt. 1
Hosts: Frank Shaw and John Belliston
Produced by Hobos in the Back Row
Scripting by Frank Shaw and John Belliston
Edited by: Frank Shaw
Graphic Design by: Frank Shaw
Intro Music: Piano Sonata mvnt 1 by F.G. Shaw
Outro Music: Piano Sonata mvnt 3 by F.G. Shaw

This post is going to have a lot of links to a lot of videos. I had considered embedding the videos, but I think it would be a bit unwieldy to browse, as I wanted to include all of the videos relevant to this episode.

First up Rob Cantor:
Shia Labeouf. If you watch any of his vids (and you should watch all of them honestly he's a great musician) watch this one! Then watch this short on the philosophy of Shia Labeouf. I have to admit he's become a bit fascinating in my mind, and could possibly be the topic of a future episode.
Celebrity Impressions. It's a bit of a stretch to put this here, but it's still a pretty awesome vid, a fantastic song, and a bit too good to be true.  
Finally, here's the video to All I Need is You. Watch it for the song first, then turn the volume down and watch it for the visuals.  

Rachel Bloom:
Her stuff is fantastic, first of all, but very much NSFW. This shouldn't be too surprising given the nature of our podcast. So make sure you have the headphones in. 
Fuck Me Ray Bradbury
Historically Accurate  Disney Princess Song
I Was a Mermaid Now I'm a Pop-star. 
Here's the link to her page: If you think any of the above links are funny, or relevant, or even interesting, please go check it out.  Her work, while not "weird" exams the absurdism of relationships, sex, and social interactions and expectations. 

Too Many Cooks
This video is linked in the heading of this section... it's weird, but there's some hope for understanding:
In this episode Renegade Cut he does a fairly good analysis of it, and it's one that I mention in the podcast that I like.  
Here's another interpretation that takes a slightly different take, keep in mind neither of us had watched this video before recording the podcast. There are parallels to the Renegade Cut episode, though it takes the stance of the Studio against the Creator, rather than the Audience vs. the Studio. I feel both are great interpretations. So watch Too Many Cooks, and then watch the interpretation vids. 

Finally, Don't Hug Me I'm Scared:
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Episode Four
Episode Five
Episode Six
Those are the main episodes of the series. There's a few shorter vids that are related, but are not completely necessary to watch to get the full effect of the series. (but are fun and disturbing). 
Now watch the Film Theories two part episode on the series, Part 1 and Part 2.  

We'll be revisiting absurdist Youtube videos again. There's so much we haven't touched on. But don't be shy, explore these yourself.