Category: Blog Posts

Hey Somethings!

By now you’ve heard through some of our episodes that at the end of July we’re sending The Something Something ‘Cast out to a field where it’s sunny all the time and it can romp around with all the other podcasts that came to an end.

This isn’t to say we don’t enjoy doing it.. we do!  But when you’re in a creative space and doing a creative thing for as long as we have, sometimes.. things need to change.

Look at our podcast over the past 11 years.. we went from every two weeks to every week to themed weeks and even THOSE themed weeks have changed semi-frequently as the new ‘creative bug’ bit us about them… and while the drive is still there, there’s a bigger drive to do something far, far different that anything we’ve done in the podcast.. so different, it doesn’t fit into the podcast form we’ve created.

Things are already happening behind the scenes, and while we’re not quite ready to make a reveal, there are a *bunch* of talented people involved in this project, and we’re all already super excited about sharing it with you all when the time is right!

Watch this space!

– PCR

Oh, Hatton’s popping off about X-Men again.

You’re damned right he is – and do you know why?

Because DizMaus is brilliant at what they do no matter how agonizingly horrible they are to American copyright law. Yeah, we had the biggest movie action event of all time and then, pandemic aside, they feel like they’ve stumbled to their next marker. That said, we all thought it was going to be Fantastic Four for a minute, but behind the scenes they were moving X-Pawns into X-Places.

And then, with Patrick Stewart’s cameo, Kelsey Grammar’s cameo, and Wolverine and Deadpool – we were off to the races. Diz wants us to know that not only are they thinking about the X-Men, they are reminding people of what the X-Men was so when they bring to us our all new shiny X-Teams, the people who don’t know a M’kraan Crystal from a Gem of Cytorak can feel less alone. (An aside: I once got lambasted for misremembering which one was which when I used to write comic reviews. I deserved it.)

So that brings us to this image posted with no commentary:

And X-Men MotherTruckin ’97.

It is a love letter to comics to cartoons to 90’s animation stylings and all of it is done with a non-stop rumbling patter of name drops, character drops, and plot evolutions. Hey, was that Marrow on that poster? Yup. Hey, is that Belladonna and Bobby LeBeau at [redacted]? Yup. And they aren’t apologizing for it or spoonfeeding answers. They’re there for us to nerdily explain to our friends and partners why we keep making noises like a teapot every 30 seconds. It’s merging 50 years of the best comic stories the X-Men did and making it one nonstop pastiche of nitro-fueled nostalgia. Secondary mutation? Got it. AvX? Got it. Darkchylde, X-Factor, Glob Herman!?

But do you notice which characters the cartoon is focusing on? Jean and Scott obviously, but Rogue and Nightcrawler, Jubilee and Roberto.. not Wolverine – you know why? Everyone knows Wolverine. And yes, people know who Boyscout Cyclops and Momma Phoenix are – but what about ‘Cyclops did nothing wrong’ Summers and Madelyne ‘Yes I do control demons in lingerie, why?’ Pryor? Because X-Men ’97 has them. Minister Nightcrawler and Unforgiving Unrepentant Marvel v. Capcom Asskicking Rogue? Check and Check. The politics of the X-Men is taking center stage and it isn’t the ‘why do they hate and fear us’ easy patter. It’s the ‘we have laser beam eyes and claw hands, how the hell are we losing!? version we’ve seen in the Krakoa age.

Get ready kids, because the MCU:X is coming, and if it is 10% as good as this cartoon – I’ll have to stop bitching about how horrible the X-Movies are. (It’s going to take some time since there are 2 good ones and 6 bad ones – it’s going to take some time to move that needle)

Anyway, sugah – sound off on your X-thoughts – Hatton Out.

Hello Somethings, Big Matt here!

So, I just finished watching the Fallout show on Amazon. I loved it. I loved how they fleshed out the world, loved the characters they went with, and even loved the flashbacks to before the bombs. Excellent show all around and highly worth watching.

Now, due to the show reminding me how much I loved the world, I want to play some Fallout again.

This is my conundrum: which game do I go with? Fallout 3 was probably the strongest of the last three games, with New Vegas being a close second, and Fallout 4 being a distant third. (I refuse to acknowledge Fallout 76).

I probably spent the most time in Fallout 3. There was just a perfect amount of things to do, areas to uncover, etc. Fallout New Vegas had a great story and fun characters. Tons of exploring as well. Fallout 4 was the weakest of the three games, in my opinion. The speech trees were pretty anemic, the building mechanic was annoying, and screw that Preston guy. That said, Fallout 4 just received a big update for next gen systems and PCs, which makes it look better and play better.

So, the question is, which game do I get back into. 3, NV, or 4? The most updated game, but also the weakest, or the best game with aging graphics and bugs on an OS it wasn’t made for.

What do you folks think?

– Matt

It seemed only right to also put in a post about the big talking point of the Somethingcast this month – the fact that we will be ending the show on our summer anniversary.

This show has outlasted multiple homes. At least one marriage. Much like when I was doing In His Likeness, it was my anchor. In one of my many move arounds, I was setting up my laptop in a friend’s house to make sure we could get shit up on the site. When you do something this regularly for this long, you build a lot of life around it, and for someone like me that would forget what day it was if I didn’t have the labeled underwear… that’s a good thing. (And in case you are wondering, I’m writing this on Hanes Moisture-wicking Cotton Blend Day.)

A lot in our lives have changed and a lot in the world of podcasting has changed, too. The fact that we lasted this long without turning into a True Crime podcast is astounding. (It would be called ‘Sleuttththhhzzzss’ – you know it would.

As the weeks go by, I’m sure we’ll talk more about how we came to the decision and reminisce like the maudlin old assholes we are, but I will say this – time after time, Rob and I would have these check-in moments. They probably started after year 3 or 4, where one of us would say ‘You still want to do this?’ and at first, I probably thought I was getting dumped – but as time wore on, it just became our annual vibe check. More than once one of us got ready to take a brief break from the show and honestly, those brief breaks ended up being near non-existent because the one that was taking some time came up with a great idea or decided they didn’t want the break in the first place.

Like Rob said in his post, we’re extraverted sluts for entertaining people. We may not be here in this exact spot, but I assure you there will be a spot you will be able to find one or both of us as we try a new or different kind of merrymaking. We need to. It’s in the blood. And that’s because the only reason we’ve ever done this show was because we love entertaining you.

Sound off in all of the places with your favorite Something moments or episodes. We would love to know when we made you laugh the hardest.

Til then, talk to you on Fruit of the Loom Red Picnic Checkers day.
– J

Hey there Somethings, PCR here!

So, hopefully by now, you’ve listened to our “Shows that Went Too Long” episode, and you might be saying to yourself, “Self, those wacky scamps ended their show with an April Fools joke on April SECOND!  Will their comedy genius never cease??”

Well, I am here to assure you dear listeners, it was not an April Fools joke.

“Look at their commitment to their craft!  Doubling down on a ‘day-later-joke’ FOUR DAYS LATER!”

It’s not a joke.

“Only someone making a joke like that would say so…”

It’s not a joke.

If you would have told us back in July of 2013 when we started this wacky journey in Casa de Hatton 1.0, sitting in his living room, using a direct input mic and one fed into an old mixing board with the 4th XLR cable we rummaged out of a box of cables because the first 3 went bad and a hum behind the audio track that we didn’t find out for at LEAST 10 episodes that it was picking up the fan from his printer that we would still be doing this show 11 years later… well.. honestly.. I don’t know what we would have thought….   but here we are.

It has been an absolute blast, and because of this show, we have met and spoken to people we otherwise never would have had the opportunity to.  We have been able to do things and go places we otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to, and that is something that can never be forgotten or taken away.

Our last episode will be July 30th, so there’s still plenty of Something to be had still.

That being said, James and I are entertainment whores, and we can’t NOT create things so… if I were a betting man (and I’m not), I’d likely wager that you’ll run into us again down the road somewhere doing something else.

Until then…  enjoy the upcoming episodes.  Go back and catch up on our back catalogue.  Let us know your favorite episode or bit, and buckle up, cause we’ve still got plenty of great stuff coming along!

– PCR

It’s the last blog before April – and aside from it being James Hatton Appreciation Month – it is also time yet again for the Superbowl of grappling – Wrestlemania!

Now, at the moment, there are some big shaking going on in the squared circle. The Rock is on television again. The two night event is going on in Philly so it’s guaranteed if they don’t put on a good show they’ll have batteries thrown at them from the rafters while Gritty screams ‘E C DUB’ – but I wanted to throw out some of my favorite matches of Manias ever. Oh, and this isn’t the only wrestling content you’ll be seeing from us this month.

KOFI-MANIA – Kofi Kingston v. Daniel Bryan – This is a bit of a biased pick because I was there for this one. Yes, we were hanging off of the ‘G’ in Giants stadium, but I saw when Kofi Kingston beat Daniel Bryan at what felt like 4am at Wrestlemania 35.  I love Kofi Kingston and seeing a build around a guy who has deserved it for too too long made me thrilled to be there for one of the most heartfelt in-ring moments that’s ever closed out a Wrestlemania. I don’t get emotional about wrestling, but watching Xavier Woods in tears of joy … it makes a guy a lil dusty.

THE AYO-TOLLAH & THE TEA CUP – Chris Jericho v. Stephen Regal – Mania X7 is considered by many, if not most, the greatest Mania ever.. and sure, it’s got Rock/Austin 2 and Hunter v Taker… but how come nobody talks about two of the best ringworkers of the day. General Manager Regal fights Y2J over, if memory serves, pissing in his teapot.  That doesn’t matter – what does is the fact that Regal holds absolutely nothing back, reversing the Walls into a Stretch, and chopping the snot out of Jericho in a way Gunther would be proud of.

RATED R FOR FIRE – Mick Foley v. Edge – I am an unabashed huge Edge fan. I never expected he would get the launch he did into main event status until this match. Both men go out there to prove that they can hang, but for different reasons. Edge goes and puts on a hardcore performance that rarely ever gets seen on a Mania and Foley shows that even though he is on the last steps of his in-ring career, with the right motivation, he is a legend for a reason. It’s brutal in ways you forget until you see it again.

NOBODY TALKS ABOUT WRESTLEMANIA 5… Ok, fine, I guess people do because the Mega-somethings exploded – but people don’t discuss the stars of Wrestlemania V.  The tag teams. There are two tag matches in the midst of Mania 5.

First Demolition v Powers of Pain and.. ok, fine, it’s a by-the-numbers tag match with the addition of Mr. Fuji, but it is Demolition at their biggest and best – BUT! And I say this with absolutely no sarcasm:

Strike Force v. Brain Busters is an amazing match. It’s forgotten because it is more gimmick with Martel turning coat – but everything up until that moment was on its way to being a real classic. Watch the fluid exchanges between Tito Santana and Arn Anderson and you can see what this match wanted to become. Even after Martel splits, Tito fights back and for a very brief moments you think he might be able to pull it off.  Then again…..

So what are your favorite forgotten Mania matches – sound off in all the places!

I make no apologies for my Steam buying habits. My stepson saw my amount of Steam games and blurted a Holy shit at the number – which at this very moment is a very respectable L33T

“How much money have you spent on video games…”

And where I’m never going to admit to my 15 year old while also trying to hold up the illusion of fiscal responsibility, the fact of the matter is that it isn’t as much as you may think. With very few exceptions I have never spent more than $40 on a game on Steam. The very rare top level title that I’m mega-hyped about like Baldur’s Gate? Sure. But aside from that, I couldn’t find the most recent and my best guess is Saints Row 4 in 2013.

If it’s a top-tier game that I’ve been excited about, I’ll spend $30 on the Game of the Year all DLC edition or a new smaller game I’m excited for. ..but if it’s $10 or below and may be enjoyable? I’ll spend it without question. If it’s a Humble Bundle 10 Games For $20 and I have interest in more than one of them… no brainer.

So let’s look at my last few months of smaller run games.

KING OF THE BRIDGE – You want to get across a bridge, but there’s a troll stopping you. A troll who wants to play chess, but only knows half of the rules and has made up the other half. He won’t tell you those rules until you break them and he’s going to cheat until you learn them.  It’s a short game that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and I’ve already told the developer I want a sequel with how fantastic the idea is.

MIMIC LOGIC – The chest to my left is lying. The chest to my right is lying. The two chests above me, one of them is lying. This chest has 0 mimics. This chest has 2 mimics.  Ok, now, figure out which one to open and not get eaten.  It’s fun, it’s quick, it tickles my logic brain, and it’s easy to pick up and put down except when you get super-frustrated and have to try it one more time.

BALATRO – Out of any of the games on the list, this is probably the one you’ve heard of, A deckbuilder, but with poker hands, but has nothing to do with poker? Unending unlockables for higher and higher tier difficulty layers.  Game combinations that come out of nowhere to make you an unstoppable flush machine? It’s brilliant and deserves its press.

20 SMALL MAZES – I believe this one is free, but it’s charming and easy to play and you understand exactly what it’s trying to do. Get through some mazes. Have fun. Smile. The end.

COGMIND – All of the games on this list have come out in the last few months…. except this one. This is a dungeon crawler roguelike that has been worked on for years upon years. You’re a robot building yourself up and learning the history of the world you keep dying in one lesson at a time. It’s a hard as nails rogue with a whole sci-fi dynamic you don’t often see in the genre and it’s a game that ends, not because you got blown up, but because you tried to hack a terminal, and while running from the security you tempt your luck on a newly constructed hallway that collapses in on you when you run out of energy so you have to ram your head against the wall until you die.  You know.. basic stuff..

So what are you playing?  Sound off in all the places.

Hello Somethings, Big Matt here…

A quick take on auditioning for … anything.

So, I sit here and write this blog in between doing auditions for audio book narrations on ACX. There is something fun in this process, but it’s hard place to get to sometimes. The process is basically this: go to ACX, find a few books that you are a fit for, do a recording (your take on the audition script), edit it and process it, and then upload it. Each audition takes about 15 – 20 minutes or so, editing included, and then you wait.

Some responses come within a couple days, but most just sit there. They sit there, and you sit there… just waiting. I have had auditions sit for months before getting a rejection or acceptance.

The process can seem daunting, depressing, etc, but I try to put a good mental spin on it. I look at each one, each audition, as a chance to get to play in the skin of another character, telling another story, being somewhere else. Each audition is another chance to play, and the chance of getting work off of that play time puts it all in a much better perspective.

So, all in all, it really does seem to be all about how you look at these things. Each audition can be a trial, or a chance to play.

Hey there Somethings!  PCR back on his blog ish (as the kids say)

Now, I’m not much into snacks anymore, but when I was, Doritos were my jam.  They’ve come a long way since I was a kid, and there are now a ton of flavors… some good.. some, well.. not so much.  Now, I haven’t tried them all, but from the ones I have, these are my top 5!

5 – Cool Ranch

The first I remember that wasn’t “Doritos Flavored”.  It was different for it’s time, and it’s become ‘classic enough’ that it gets a spot on my list.

4 – Flamin’ Hot Limon

Not gonna lie, I love the combo of spicy and sweet/tart.  There’s enough heat here to make them spicy for sure, but not ‘hot for hot’s sake’.. there’s great flavor there too.

3 – Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch

While original Cool Ranch managed to crack my Top 5, the Flamin’ Hot version is on another level.  Like Limon but without the tang, the FH versions have a flavor to go with their kick.

2 – Nacho Cheese

The OG.  Still a go-to without a doubt.  When multiple bags are bought for a party or to stock up, there is at least one of these that comes along.

1 – Spicy Sweet Chili

The top of the heap, the current champion… these are the best of the best.  Hot, sweet, spicy, tangy…  if they ever got rid of every other flavor and just called these “Doritos”, I would not at all be mad.

What about you Somethings?  What are YOUR top flavors?  Hit us on the socials and let us know!

-PCR

If you weren’t aware, Marvel has dropped their new trailer for X-Men 97′ – a relaunch of the classic Fox Kids cartoon that introduced me to my favorite team of mutants. If you haven’t seen it, take a minute and go watch it, otherwise this makes no sense.

First, I have to give Diz credit – we are obviously moving to the next generation of Marvel Movies with Fantastic Four, Deadpool 3, and an inevitable trip to Graymalkin Lane (that’s where the X-Men live) – and they decided to start this journey with a retro Wolverine or two in Deadpool and a reminder of who the X-Men are at their core. It’s a bold move, Cotton, but it’s going to work. The brilliant thing they did though, is they have made the cartoon look as close to the old animation as they could. In a world of high def television with high refresh rates.. they went out of their way to make a show where you can count the frames. It’s an inspired choice to make old assholes like me feel like a kid again.

I could tell, just from the few shots, that they’re going to do a few specific stories. (At the very least, The Trial of Magneto) But – and this is what is going to make me run to the tv.. as they have proven with WHAT IF… there is a chance that this show is going to tie to the greater Marvel U somehow. Maybe it will have a multiverse clash with X-Men: Evolution. Maybe in the last episode the Time Agents will appear and shut the whole thing down. I don’t know – but for the first time in the last few years of Marvel, I am excited to find out.

Did you check out the trailer, sound off in all the places!