Enjoy Stuff: A TechnoRetro Podcast

Call me.  Call me Ishmael.  Call me Horatio.  I don’t care what you call me, as long as you call me for breakfast.  Speaking of which, it’s Monday morning, and that means it’s that time again — so grab a box of cereal, pour it into your favorite bowl, add the milk, pick up a spoon, and enjoy your morning meal with your ear buds, EarBuds, because TechnoRetro Dads is part of a good, balanced breakfast that will get your work week started right!

 

In the NEWS

Etsy has become a place to find some really cool #TechnoRetro gadgets, like a Blu-Ray/DVD player disguised as an Apple Floppy Disk Drive.  Totally awesome!  Superman dons the red underwear for Action Comics #1000, and we’re pleased to see the classic design back in action. The New York Times publishes a complete compilation of the publication’s Star Wars coverage over the past 45 years.  Yes.  45 years.  From 1973 to today.  So cool.  PLUS: Ready Player One continues to make news with a Virtual Reality peek into Aech’s garage.  It might make you run out and buy a PS4.

 

We Love Our Cereal…

…and so do our EarBuds!  Although we have no new reviews and no new news about cereal, @Im_Goobs chimes in on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch “puffs” that we’ve been hearing about.  According to his research, yep, it’s crunchy.  Michael Goldtrap expands the discussion of cereal-flavored milk with three jugs of “Cereal Milk” at Wal*Mart.  it looks like a #TechnoRetro trend is on like TRON at the supermarket!

 

Vinyl Scratchback

“The Tide Is High”, and we’re not talking about another Alabama championship.  The Videodrome queen, the Angel that Omar loves, Deborah Harry captured our hearts with her unique voice and Blondie’s disco-punk sound from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.  We take a spin on the turntable with some memories of Blondie through the years and discover that the band is still together after all this time.  And you thought they had a “Heart of Glass”.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

Though not exactly a “home console” game, Zork was a text-based computer game highlighted in Ernest Cline’s best-selling novel, Ready Player One, where Gunters could get the Jade Key by blowing a specific whistle after assembling the full collection of trophies in the case located inside a dilapidated old house on the planet Frobozz.  Like other text-based games, Zork relied on brief commands to move to the next section of the game as players tried to solve the game in a computer-simulation of a role-playing adventure game like Dungeons & Dragons

 

Saturday Mornings

Combining cartoon characters from different titles to create a new show was not an original idea in 1978, but by setting this Wacky Race-styled cartoon in space with a Star Wars-esque font was.  Well, maybe not original or unique, but it was pretty cool. Yogi’s Space Race capitalized on the space-craze of the late ‘70s by pitting Yogi, Scare Bear, Quack Up, Huckleberry Hound, Jabberjaw and more against each other in weekly races between teams on their speedy space ships hurtling through a space race course.  In case you never saw it, Yogi’s Space Race was exactly what you’d expect: Cartoon Captains led their crews toward victory against other teams while avoiding the treachery of the rotten villains of the program.  Everyone should check this out for 22 minutes of good ole fun every now and then.

 

Ladyhawke

No, it’s not deja-vu. We have covered Ladyhawke before, but it’s been a while since we talked with Michael Witwer: The Last Gen-Xer (Empire of Imagination) about this romantic tale of fantasy, magic, and shape-shifting soul-mates starring Matthew Broderick, John Wood, Rutger Hauer, and Michelle Pfeiffer set in middle-ages France to the tune of synthesized music from Alan Parsons.  You can listen to the episode from three years ago here after listening to this week’s show if you want to hear more.

 

Prime Time: Captain America 

Before The First Avenger, before the Winter Soldier, before Civil War, there was a wacky and wild attempt at another superhero show on prime time television with the made-for-television movie event, Captain America.  To no one’s surprise, this pilot didn’t get picked up for a season.  We said everything good we could think of in a very short Prime Time segment this week.  

 

Feedback

Radio Free Endor is using the 1979 Star Wars calendar this year.  Geeky Dad finds the Fall Guy plane from Tonka.  Eric from The Neverland Podcast reminisces about The Last Starfighter before Adam O’Brien talks about a possible sequel to the 1984 film, The Lost Starfighter. Chris from Arvada gets in a few words about Queen after hearing last week’s episode of TechnoRetro Dads.

 

Don’t forget to contribute to Cure Childhood Cancer through the Annual GOLiverse Marathon by making your tax deductible donation to GeekOutOnline.com/cure by January 31st.  Then, feel free to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, or lend your voice to our discussion about toys, cereal, games, or movies and shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback on voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com. And be sure to listen for hints and watch for clues for the TechnoRetro Dads’ Easter Egg with the ongoing TechnoRetro Egg Hunt.

 

Share and enjoy.

Direct download: TRDads_05.39.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Whether you’re thawing out from a southern ice storm or you’re just waking up to piles of snow in your front yard, you’re in for a special treat this medieval Monday morning on TechnoRetro Dads as we plunge into dungeons, plow through dragons, embark on a quest for a queen, and even watch a dark Knight ride a bird into battle — a TransAm Firebird, that is — as shazbazzar and JediShua watch Knight Rider.  The Eighties are turned up to eleven for seventy-seven minutes of #TechnoRetro fun!

 

In the NEWS

The Incredibles 2 is likely to be the first Pixar movie to become a LEGO game and we think that’s just incredible!  Ralph Breaks the Internet with a single piece of concept art from Wreck It Ralph 2 with ads, avatars, and cat pics.  Childhood neighbor Fred Rogers earns a tribute with an upcoming documentary chronicling the life and legacy of Mr. Rogers.  Nintendo’s Game Boy is coming back, and Nintendo isn’t the one making it!

 

Vinyl Scratchback

This brand new segment takes the ‘Dads back to the ‘70s and ‘80s with recollections from their record collections as they recall their musical memories from Queen.  From “Another One Bites the Dust” to “Who Wants to Live Forever”, Queen thrilled audiences with front man, Freddie Mercury, on stage, on screen, and on the radio.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

Adding to the “home console” section of the ever-growing imaginary TechnoRetro Arcade, the legendary Atari series Swordquest comes under scrutiny as shazbazzar and JediShua dive deep into Waterworld, dig into Earthworld, burn through Fireworld, and soar with the storks in Airworld.  Although Atari was unable to complete the intense, imaginative contest, the concept is an unforgettable part of the history of Atari games.

 

Saturday Mornings

Dungeons & Dragons continues to occupy the ‘Dads’ minds as we return to the short-lived series that began as an amusement park attraction based on the beloved role-playing game.  This time, shazbazzar and JediShua think about which characters from the cartoon best emulate who they were (or wanted to be) in the ‘80s.

 

Prime Time: Knight Rider 

David Hasselhoff played a man who did not exist in Knight Rider, an hour-long episodic action-drama on NBC that began in 1982.  Michael Knight championed the oppressed, the down-trodden, and the helpless each week as he rode around in a talking car with an indestructible, molecular-bonded armor shell.  The Knight Industries Two-Thousand (K.I.T.T.) looked like a nice, new Pontiac Firebird TransAm with a cylon visor on its grill, but it was actually crime-fighting supercar with an A.I. brain.  Knight Rider thrilled car-loving kids week after week as Hasselhoff drove the car, beat the bad guys, and got the girl in almost every episode.

 

Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, or lend your voice to our discussion about toys, cereal, games, or movies and shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback on voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com. And be sure to listen for hints and watch for clues for the TechnoRetro Dads’ Easter Egg with the ongoing TechnoRetro Egg Hunt.

 

Share and enjoy.

Direct download: TRDads_05.38.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

The hunt for the #TechnoRetro Easter Egg has begun, and though we have no idea what the ultimate reward will be, we’re sure it will be fun to play along the way, with creepy-kooky puzzles that could confuse even a Duke’s son.  So listen carefully, whether you’re a cultured sophisticate, an elitist intellectual, a nerdy geek, or even a bumbling barbarian.  

 

In the NEWS

Tetris player Jonas Neubauer (NubbinsGoody on Twitch) inadvertently broke a record while trying to set an entirely different record on the classic Russian block game.  Thanks to observant watchers of his Twitch stream, he found out he’s better than even he thought he was!  Holy Hollywood!  Los Angeles welcomes a museum devoted to the 1966 Batman movie and TV show with Adam West and Burt Ward.  It’s got everything from heroes to villains to (you guessed it) merchandise.  Mark your calendars for another eclipse this year, America!  The blue moon eclipse will hit skies near you at the end of the month.

 

We Love Our Cereal…

Steve and Chip from Too Much Scrolling find their way back in time to our present with a largely positive review of General Mills’ successful trolling of Kellogg’s with its challenge to make Frosted Flakes better — by combining sugar-coated corn flakes with the iconic Lucky Charms dehydrated marshmallows.  The guys from Too Much Scrolling will make your mouth water for a milk-filled bowl of Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes.  PLUS: The Emperor of RetroZap.com turns us on to a new brand of milk: Bottom of the Bowl Milk is just what you would expect: the remnants of great cereals flavoring the milk from the bottom of the cereal bowl.

 

Saturday Mornings

Although cartoons are no longer just Saturday morning fare, we still link sugary cereal with Saturday mornings and cartoons since that’s how we did it in the old days.  Back in the early ‘80s, a futuristic barbarian with his knock-off Wookiee counterpart and well-educated princess take down the baddies every week in a post-1994, cosmic-disaster Earth that borrows the TechnoRetro mysticism that captured pop-culture in 1977 and has maintained a healthy share of the market for the past forty years.  Thundarr the Barbarian wields his sunsword as Princess Ariel figures out how to defeat evil wizards and their minions on Saturdays as Ookla the Mok attempts to speak.  We think Ookla’s lack of communications skills is what causes him to resort to violence so often.

 

The Beastmaster 

The son of a king born of a cow (no, that’s not a slam on the queen) is gifted with the ability to communicate with animals in a very insightful way as he strives to defeat an evil priest who has seized power on an alien world.  Dar, played by Marc Singer, teams up with a black tiger, two ferrets, and a golden eagle to confront Maax in Rip Torn’s breakout role as a villain.  Tanya Roberts comes along for the ride as the token scantily-clad female in The Beastmaster, another iconic movie from 1982.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

“He’s hooked! He’s hooked! His brain is cooked!”  Before the song, there was the game.  Space crabs, squid, and various other invaders invaded spaces in bars, retail outlets, restaurants, and arcades in the late 1970s with this challenging and colorful game that was designed to get your heart beating faster and faster as you successfully eliminate enemies from outer space.  It’ll make you want to drop a quarter in the slot and grab a joystick when you hear the sound effects and music and remember the smell of popcorn at Hills Department Store…well, shazbazzar does.  Space Invaders may be the TechnoRetro Dad of all arcade games.

 

Feedback

Jonathan Bell discovers Pumpkin Spice at a local Steak N Shake.  Geeky Dad tries to tempt shazbazzar to try Kellog’s Frosted Flakes with pics of boxes of Chocolate Frosted Flakes.  SpiderShan gets blue with Cap’n Crunch when his wife brings home a box of Cap’n Crunch’s Blueberry Pancake Crunch.  Darth Hound discovers Freddy Krueger was almost played by Sark (from TRON, another great movie from 1982, Dave Dollar).  And speaking of TRON, the dark-side dog continued on Twitter with a chuckle about the computer jargon noted by Flynn.  PLUS: voice mails and voice messages from Darth Taxus and Adam from Wisconsin.

 

So send in your feedback, play along with the Ready Player One contest, and please don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, or lend your voice to our discussion about toys, cereal, games, or movies and shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback on voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com.

Direct download: TRDads_05.37.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Cold, cold, cold.  Well, what do you expect in winter?  But even for those who prefer it 80, 90, or 100 degrees, there are lots of things to love this week and look forward to in weeks to come.  Like spring.  And Ready Player One.  JeduShua and shazbazzar turn up the funmeter even when the thermometer drops with cereal, Atari games, and The Last Starfighter.

 

In the NEWS

Bill Finger gets credit for his part in writing the dark detective who dresses like a flying mammal as New York dedicates a street in the name of the co-creator of Batman.  Fledgling Star Wars composer John Powell will get some help from the original oxygenator of that galaxy far, far away as John Williams is tapped to score the theme of Solo: A Star Wars Story. Maybe Disney thinks this will help make up for the fans’ growing disillusionment with Lucasfilm in the modern era.  Maybe they just think John Williams is awesome and realize he should be the one to provide an iconic motif for the most lovable scoundrel in the universe.

 

We Love Our Cereal…

Super Mario cereal finds its way to JediShua’s pantry as Cinnamon Toast Crunch Blasted Shreds fill shazbazzar’s bowl with sweetness for their tastebuds.  Hey EarBuds, let us know which cereals you’re enjoying during this cold snap.

 

Ready Player One 

Although the ‘Dads have already discussed the official trailer for Ready Player One, shazbazzar and JediShua dig deeper into the trailer by comparing screen shots to scenes they’ve envisioned from the book and discover something interesting: this movie will not be spoiled by reading the book.  It’s almost entirely rewritten.

 

The Last Starfighter 

Ernie Cline’s second novel might have more in common with Jonathan Betuel’s screenplay for 1984’s The Last Starfighter, but when you have a video gamer stepping up a level to save the world, especially when he’s from a trailer park, you have to see the similarities.  JediShua and shazbazzar revisit The Last Starfighter and still like it.  Even though the coifs, clothes, and cars are definitively ‘80s, the storyline is timeless and endearing every time you watch it.

 

TechnoRetro Arcade

From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, first person space shooters took control of home video game consoles with the likes of Star Fire, Star Raiders, and StarMaster.  Though lacking the quality of the Starfighter game featured in The Last Starfighter, these games kept fans of Star Wars and other sci-fi/space fantasy films engaged between movies.  

 

Feedback

Shane seems to think that General Mills is trolling Kellogg’s with the new Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes cereal we talked about last week.  Armando reminisces about his days as a barber, trimming hair of all colors at the Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop.  You could get birthday cake cupcakes with Fruity Pebbles at the Sprinkles Cupcake Shop last week, according to John.  Han’s dice and Rose’s Resistance ring from The Last Jedi will soon be available on Etsy.  Thanks, Dan!

 

Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, or lend your voice to our discussion about toys, cereal, games, or movies and shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback on voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com. And get ready to play for the TechnoRetro Dads’ Easter Egg with the upcoming TechnoRetro Egg Hunt starting next week.

 

Share and enjoy.

 

Direct download: TRDads_05.36.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

The last two weeks of the year are always loaded with enough activity to keep shazbazzar and JediShua running hither, thither, and yon, so the first January 1st episode of TechnoRetro Dads is the perfect time to slow down and take stock of the things that really matter.  Fix yourself a bowl of your favorite cereal — maybe even two — and take a break on the first holiday of 2018 by kicking back in the recliner, plugging in your earbuds, and tuning in to TechnoRetro Dads.

 

We Love Our Cereal…

…and General Mills is doing their part to keep it that way.  The Big G is making Frosted Flakes magically delicious, providing aging fans of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with the shredded wheat they need in their diet, and Cheerios that are “peachy keen”.  PLUS: JediShua’s family makes a cameo appearance on The Daily Blast live from The Cereal Box, Inc.

 

Feedback 

TRON gets some shout-outs (and interesting ideas) from EarBuds Chris in Arvada and Hasan.  SuperFriend Chris Hamilton adds another audio audition for The Voice with a Christmas song with #TechnoRetro flair.  Andy Lindemann spots The Star Wars Holiday Special in Supergirl. The Deucecast’s own Michael Nipp uncovers an animated feature from the ‘80s.  Original EarBud Kermmit the Frog (Jeremiah) sends an audio message of gratitude.  The Cereal Connoisseur posts some Star Wars Christmas gifts.  Mike Tarkin of The Sandcrawler watches Christmas morning home movies.  SpiderShan pieces together cereal in an exciting way.  Twitteriffic Darth Hound gives more insight into Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber from Return of the Jedi.  ObiRothKenobi chimes in from the Mixlr Zoo Crew about Magnum P.I. and the Cap’n’s Christmas Crunch.  Jeremy, the Spider-Pan from Neverland, reminisces about when E.T. came home on video.  And the ever-present Chef Armando makes our mailbag tasty as always.

 

Coming Soon to Theaters

As 2018 rolls out, new movies will be hitting the theaters.  From space pirates to superheroes to video games, the number of truly #TechnoRetro movies will keep you in the dark (seated in your favorite seat) all year long.

The new year has begun, EarBuds, and we’ll do our best to bring memories of the past and hope for the future all wrapped up in the present on TechnoRetro Dads.  Thanks for listening.

Don’t forget to rate and review TechnoRetro Dads on iTunes, share us and with us on social media, or lend your voice to our discussion about toys, cereal, games, or movies and shows from the ‘70s and ‘80s by giving the ‘Dads your feedback on voice mail at (209) 878-7323 or sending us a message or mp3 via electronic-M to podcast@TechnoRetroDads.com

 

Share and enjoy.

 

Direct download: TRDads_05.35.mp3
Category:TechnoRetro Dads -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

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