All posts filed under “Keith Baker”

November 3, 2021

Episode 277: The Ultimate Good Stuff

This week the word is Cookies. Topics include the crime of replacing chocolate chips with raisins, the recipe for Sweet Dream cookies, the best gluten-free flour substitute, rigging a baking contest during a D&D game, and biscuits vs scones. Then they get into a long discussion about discontinued candy and other lost foods. Moving on to media, they talk about Foundation and Dune and the importance of wacky side characters in huge epic dramas. They discuss a few other shows they’ve been watching, including, of course, Taskmaster. Lastly they briefly discuss Lower Decks and What If?

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

October 28, 2021

Episode 276: Break Me Off a Piece of that Squid-Kat Bar

This week the word is Quisling, for reasons that become clear only after Andy talks about watching old videos of Norm MacDonald. Keith talks about the Bar None candy bar raises the question of discontinued food products. Non-spoilery media topics include the movie Clue, Taskmaster, Only Murders in the Building, and the first few episodes of For All Mankind and Foundation. Next Andy talks about Chrononauts being discussed on the Sleep With Me podcast, which leads to a discussion of the euphemism, “bought the farm.” Keith talks about his D&D campaign and a custom miniature of his character he got from Hero Forge, then they vote another book off their list of book club candidates. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss Lower Decks and What If?

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

October 12, 2021

Episode 275: Humpty-Dumpty Tasks

This week the word is Clue, since Keith has been watching Only Murders in the Building. This leads to a discussion of mystery stories in general and the board game Clue in particular. Next they again discuss Taskmaster, and Andy talks about buying the Golden Ticket game at Target. They begin a Survivor-style debate what book to read next, and Keith reports on his D&D campaign. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss Lower Decks and What If?

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

October 5, 2021

Episode 274: Strange Rays from Outer Space

This week the word is Zombies. The nerds have a lot to say about zombies, and how they differ from other undead beings including vampires, ghosts, and reanimated corpses. After all that, Keith recaps the start of his Fugue State: Threshold campaign running via Twitch, and Andy again has things to say about Taskmaster. Next they talk about what book they should read next. Behind the spoiler curtain they talk about What If and Lower Decks.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

September 21, 2021

Episode 273: The Cheesy American Version

This week the word is American, specifically the cheesy American version of things created elsewhere, including the American versions of The Office, Taskmaster, Iron Chef, and Ultraviolet. Digressions include the differences between American and English senses of humor, language differences, Doctor Who, and yet more discussions of Taskmaster. Next they discuss the last few stories in Donald Barthelme’s Forty Stories, and then discuss what to read next. After the spoiler curtain, they talk about the third episode of the season of both Lower Decks and What If?.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

September 14, 2021

Episode 272: The Only D20s in Bulgaria

This week the word is Collectors, and begins with the nerds talking about their own collections and various types of collectors. The discussion includes classic arcade games (including the obscure hit, Rip Off), Magic cards (and what it was like in the very early days), collecting topics ranging from curating to completeness, Keith’s story about the difficulty of obtaining RPG dice in Bulgaria, and the mystique of Cosmic Wimpout dice. Moving on to media, Andy talks a little about The Expanse and a lot about Taskmaster. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the first two episodes of Lower Decks and What If? episode 2.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

August 31, 2021

Episode 271: Are These Porcupines Wonderful?

This week the word is speculation. The nerds talk about various What Ifs and alternate reality stories, culminating (at the end of the show) in their discussion of the first episode of the “What If?” series. Next they discuss Taskmaster again, which Keith told Andy about last week; now that Andy’s gotten hooked on it as well, he had a lot to say about it. Next they discuss a few more of Donald Barthelme’s Forty Stories, focusing mostly on “Porcupines at the University.” Lastly, Keith shares his thoughts about Suicide Squad.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.

August 27, 2021

Episode 270: Destroy This Cake — Beautifully

This week the word is Taskmaster, and begins with the nerds talking about what it’s like to be their own taskmasters. Then Keith tells Andy about the British telly program called Taskmaster, and Andy tells Keith about A Very Brady Renovation. Andy shares a few recent findings, and talks about the word findings. Specifically, Andy talks about finally starting to watch The Wire, and Keith shares some thoughts about the Olympics and Mythic Quest. Lastly they discuss another batch of Donald Barthelme stories.

August 3, 2021

Episode 268: Yoo-Hoo, Andy Looney!

This week the word is epistolary. First, the nerds discuss their favorite letter-related works of literature, then they talk about the fine art of including inexplicable “enclosures” when mailing a letter. Next, Andy talks about traveling again for the first time since the pandemic started, and describes his family’s recent trip to The House on the Rock. Keith talks about recent plumbing woes, and Andy talks about getting a new kitchen floor. Moving on to media, Keith talks about the first half of The Tomorrow War and Andy mentions an old movie called Idaho Transfer. They discuss 7 more Donald Barthelme short stories, including one they both really like called The Palace at 4 AM. After the spoiler curtain, they discuss the next-to-last episode of Loki.

SPOILER WARNING: contains spoilers.