We are running out of time before we leave for the PME, and we have more work to do. But look! We have a new show. Only the best for our listeners! Check it out and enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTE: For some reason, this show is not showing up in the feed. It's not finding the enclosure. I have uploaded this a few times this morning and I cannot get it to work. So for now, use the direct download link.

UPDATE: The show has been reposted. Let's see if it works. I'll be seeing the Feedburner guys at the PME, so I'll be sure to get on their case. Let's hope this works.

SHOW NOTES:
RUNNING TIME: 28:13

Music:
Jonathan Coulton | I'm Your Moon

RSS feed.

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I present you with SOLID EVIDENCE. Thanks to Mark for the link.

Nora and I are preparing to leave for the Portable Media Expo, and we're going to try to do a show tonight. We're going to try, but it may not happen. We'll have to see what the night brings.

In other news, without much fanfare, I just hit Level 60 on WOW. This non-event happened in the Undercroft in the Eastern Plaguelands while killing Zeldarr the Outcast.

Woot!

I've got a terrible headache this morning. Thanks to Chad for this image.

Got this from Mike "Spiff" Booth today, the king of Coulton/WOW/Machinima videos. Here is his tribute to the finale of Thing A Week:

"Now, as a WoW aficionado, I'm sure you of all people can appreciate how this video is different from my other videos. Apes, goblins, and night elf receptionists don't tend to interact much in the wild in WoW, so I couldn't just capture in-game footage for the video. No, I hand-composited each scene in the video using elements from the WoW Model Viewer, WoW Map Viewer, and the game itself. It took *forever* (I think I probably averaged maybe three seconds per hour of work), but I'm pretty stoked with the results. Hope you dig it too."

Absolutely, Spiff. Well done!

See? We told you this "Bees In A..." phenomenon will be taking over. Just you watch. This is from a Florida newspaper. Thanks for the image Andrew!

VTAW: Summer's Over
Originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

This is the VTAW for #51: Summer's Over. See my Flickr site for more comments on this image. I'm going to miss doing these.

My family and I are going through a Weird Al reniassance of sorts lately. We just rented the Weird Al Show and his Ultimate Video Collection from Netflix. And we are eagerly awaiting his album Straight Outta Lynwood coming out this week. This might be a sign of how old I'm getting, but I've never heard the song that Weird Al is parodying. Chamillian? Or something? Anyway, I love the fact that if I do ever hear the song, all I'll think of is Weird Al's version. Thanks to Neil for the link.

So last week, Coulton had his concert in Second Life. A cool event to be sure. But I have to say, I'm not at all impressed with SL as an MMO. Now, I know it's technically free and hundreds upon hundreds of people use it. But I prefer my MMO's to actually "work" as opposed to floating around aimlessly, hovering over people I don't know, annoying them and eventually crashing into a wall, only to be banished to some area to which I have no prior knowledge of nor a map to guide me.

For all it's foibles, WOW is still a great MMO, and a wonderfully, immersive gaming experience. However, Tuesdays have become maintenance days for the game, which has annoyed many of their 7 million players. So how do good old fashioned Horde and Alliance players plan to fill the time? By planning raids on Second Life! Good times. Good times. I have not yet joined a raid party yet. I simply don't have the time. In fact, I've been trying to hit 60 with my main now for a good 2 months. One day, people. One day...

Thanks to BB for the link.

When you look at this photo of Margaret Thatcher, there is a difference. But when you turn it 180 degrees, the change is much more prnounced. Via BB.

I dig this guy. "Don't even think about taking a call during my lecture, punk!" Right on, teach!

I saw this over at ExtraLife and I am hooked. To promote their dark chocolate line, M & M has created this very cool flash game. Can you find the 50 Dark Movies hidden in the picture? It's pretty tough. Luckily you can save your game. Go try it out!

PS: Don't spoil the puzzle by posting answers in the comments. :)

So, I'm surfing around this morning, really looking at the upcoming November battle between the big three game systems.

In corner one, we have XBOX360, Microsoft's formidable gaming box that has cemented a solid foothold for the big MS in the gaming world. In corner two, we have Sony's PS3, which has been fraught with bad press from virtually everywhere, delays and high price points all around. In corner three, we have Nintendo's golden boy and savior, the Wii that promises to put Nintendo back on top to reclaim their glory. And in corner four, you have us. The public, who suddenly are in a the middle of a competition that could rival any night-long MMO battle. (Geeky ref, yes I know.)

Look, I'm an old guy...or older, as the case may be. And while a decade ago, it would have been considered weird to have a guy in his mid 30's drooling over the latest video game technology, this demo makes up a good part of the gaming community. And although I am a dad and a genuine old guy, I am still fascinated by this battle. Will the Wii really deliver the same kind of excitement that I remember from my college days? (Remember, the SNES?) Will XBOX be left in the dust when no one cares about incredible graphics anymore? Will Sony be able to overcome their missteps and still remain relevant? Or should everyone just stick to playing Guitar Hero on the PS2?

I'm interested in hearing what you guys have to say. Enough of the conjecture and the specs and the endless stream of articles. What are you guys exicted to play if anything? Are any of you going to drop some coin on either the new systems? Or will you be waiting for price drops? I'm interested in hearing not from the hardcore gamers, because quite frankly I found I can't trust what these guys say. Gamespot gave the new Lego Star Wars Original Trilogy a 7.7 rating, but it's probably one of the most engaging enjoyable games I think my family has ever played. So I want to her from people who just enjoy video games as a fun occasional distraction. Because I think they are the mainstream gamers.

Anyone want to chime in?

Sorry so late on this. Real life gets in the way sometimes. Here ya go!

Today is Talk Like A Pirate Day. Not only did Dan tell me about this, but on last night's episode of Wife Swap, they had the wife of the guy who actually started the day. It was a crazy episode to say the least. The entire family lived like pirates. Yes. Pirates.

Anyway, ARRR, mateys!

At first I thought this was fake, but this kid can really rock!

Whee! It's another Jawbone Radio. And just in time for your morning commute. This week, we chat about our expectations for the upcoming trip the Portable Media Expo, more turkey talk, rooting for Asians and so much more! Join in the delicous fun.

RUNNING TIME: 47:56
SHOW NOTES:

Portable Media Expo
Trypod Network

Music:
Jonathan Coulton | You Ruined Everything
Paul and Storm | Your Love Is (Love Song With Metaphor)

RSS feed.

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Just kidding, but boy, I wish! This comes to us from Dan and our friends from Bollywood. And if that isn't enough, try out this link,..."it features an Indian Superman and an Indian Spiderman, except that Spiderman is a woman. They have some kind of atari laser sound effect when they kiss.".

Gotta love Bollywood. Or not.

e-zombie.com feature, Veronica magazine
Originally uploaded by DarkMark.

Thanks to DarkMark for this heads up. The site e-zombie.com, that features my Zombie Alphabet and Dan Coulter's wickedly simple, yet amazing programming, has been featured in an article in the Dutch mag, Veronica. It will also be featured on their website this week and next. It just goes to show you that PEOPLE LOVE ZOMBIES. Even Dutch people.

Yes folks, it is true. I have in fact created a Jonathan Coulton Coloring Book. Not only does it contain references to all your favorite Jonathan Coulton songs, but there are also games, puzzles, and a jumble created by Nora herself. It's certainly a unique piece and something that JoCo and I have been chatting about for quite some time. So what are you waiting for? Get your grubby little hands on own copy today!

BTW, if you haven't heard, Coulton will be playing a virtual show on Second LIfe tonight. That's right! See a JoCo avatar sing your favorite songs! For more information, check it out here.

Also, if you are so inclined, go DIgg it!

Skepticality
Originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

Here's a little piece of welcome back artwork for my friends, Derek and Swoopy from Skepticality. You may remember last year, Derek ended up in a coma after he suffered a brain aneurysm. He came out of the coma earlier this year and has been going through mucho therapy. And this past week, he returned to work! The only thing I can equate Derek to is Iron Man, hence the ref on his shirt.

If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will.

Hey gang! My See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Eat Brains design at at Threadless. Go show your support and vote for it. If you do, perhaps they will print it up and many people will be zombie hipsterized by my artwork. Thank you all!

My favorite Coulton song meets my favorite MMO. Mike Spiff Booth, we salute you!

On tonight's episode, as a way to commemorate the completion of the project, we talk to most of the major contributors to the 700 Hoboes Project, Eric Vespoor, Ben Rollman, Dan and Julie Coulter and Marcus Parcus. Our apologies to Mike (HalcyonSnow) for not having him on the show. Due to the limitations of Skype, we could only have 4 participants in the conference. This means that Mike will have his own show in the future.





RUNNING TIME: 32:33
SHOW NOTES:

E-Hobo.com
Eric's Work
Dan's Work
Ben's Work
Julie's Work
Dark Crystal Controversy
Marcus' Work
Mike's Work
E-Zombie

RSS feed.

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great-wall
Originally uploaded by Astro-Chimp.

I know I am so behind on this stuff, but I just found out about Tilt-Shift Photography from Dutchboy last night, and I am totally impressed. These kids these days. With thier VW Golf leases and Tilt-shift photography...

Anywho, Tilt Shift Photography is a Photoshop trick that makes large objects appear as if they are miniature. If done properly, you can get some really amazing effects. You can read more about Tilt-Shift on Wikipedia, as well as see some incredible images done by Dutchboy himself this amazing photographer, Astro-Chimp.

UPDATE: See my first take here.

I've been meaning to blog about this for a while, but once again, those crazy kids are keeping me up to date on what's cool. MST3K's Mike Nelson has a new venture called RiffTrax, which is basically purchasable downloads of commentrary tracks done by the RiffMaster himself. Tom Servo, Kevin Murphy, has also joined him on a few tracks as well. I love this idea and will probably check out some of the tracks for myself. Thanks to Bill and Dan for alerting me to this totally cool service.

Thanks to DJ Hojo for this week's submission.

I found this link while looking for seating ideas for our basement. (Seriously!) In a special way, this goes out to Neil. Be watching your mailbox for a special gift soon, my friend.

h in sunrays, Cleveland OH
Originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

Please let me show you what may very be the only known photo of me in the Nobby Annex that exists online. What is even weirder, the photo was taken by none other than Adam (aka Apelad) Koford from Show 125 and the 700 Hoboes Project. The photo above is also taken by Apelad and depicts yet another hobo sign (an H in Sunrays) not far from my home in Cleveland, OH. It is not the photo in question though...

I know what you're saying..."Enough with the chatter, bub! Just get to the damn Nobby Annex pic!" And so,here it is.

Also, for those of you who are curious as to how my artwork would look in say, your study, or den, I give you this photo from Greyanenigma. Now go out and buy some for your walls.

Tonights show, we pay tribute to The Crocodile Hunter, we call for a boycott of CNN on 9-11, more hoboes talk, metal lunchboxes, Mac woes and our view on the Portable Media Expo in September. Join us for some hot podcasting action!

RUNNING TIME: 55:39
SHOW NOTES:

Links:
Manic Mommies
Paul and Storm
Timothy Treadwell
Collectors Paradise

Music:
Jonathan Coulton | Mr. Fancy Pants

RSS feed.

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It's been a while since I've done one of these and the mailbox overfloweth. So here we go. Not much time. Too many links. Let's get to em.

From Neil: Amazing 3D sidewalk chalk art. You gotta see it to believe it. My personal faves are the first two. Really cool work.

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Got this really cool link from Joe in LA. I think this fits right in with the whole Zombie Army vibe that's been going around like a sickness lately. If you dig this shirt, you can pick one up for yourself here. And don't forget my own "Eat Brains" design here.

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From Craig in San Diego: This story about Applebees and a rather large tip.

"Applebee's fine cuisine gave this guy the entrepreneurial energy to accumulate a ton of disposable income, as well as improving his generosity and friendliness to boot.

Or it caused him to lose his family and his health, leaving his last opportunity for a small bit of joy going deep into debt for a barmaid, then kicking-off and stiffing the card company.

I guess it's all up to interpretation and your world-view.

Hooray! Now we can buy all the ribets we want!

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From Matt in Alaska: Metallic Art. I would totally love a few of these in our backyard. If we had a decent sized backyard that is.

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From Chad: There is hope for me after all:

See the real billboard here.

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And finally from Wayne in the UK. I leave you with this:



Thanks for taking the dump with me! Until next time...

501 Business-Class Klaus Riel
Originally uploaded by El Sloth.

With this image by El Sloth (who drew both the first and the 700th Hobo) the original 700 Hobo names have been drawn. Just in time for the new paperback of Areas of My Expertise out today. What a momentous day! Congratulations to all the artists who have contributed to the project. Raise your bindles high!

He will be missed. See more here.

In honor of the last fling of summer, Labor Day, I offer you this baseball pic to caption. Thanks once again to Chad for the image.

Destroy [Your Name Here]
Originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

My first real design for Rico's Robot Army group on Flickr. And guess what? I made it a t-shirt as well! I am nothing if not entreprenurial!

Wayne in the Ukraine sends in this little gem of a find. Pretty neat!

#576: Norma Shinynickels
Originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

More hoboes. All 700 of the original hoboes are close to being done. Just in time for the next 100 to be worked on. You can check out the frenetic pace of hobo drawin' by checking the e-hobo group.

VTAW: The Big Boom
Originally uploaded by jawboneradio.

Only four of these to go. I'm savoring these. I spent quite a bit of time on this, more than I care to admit, but I love drawing them. Hope you enjoy this interpretation of JoCo's TAW 48: The Big Boom.