Human Echoes Podcast

This week Al and Tony trek through the vampire-ravaged world of Stakeland. Tony talked about stuff. Albert said something stupid. As he was writing this blog post Albert clumsily tried to cover up the fact that he had forgotten most of what was actually said when the podcast was recorded, but that failed, so he turned it into one of those pretentious self-referential jokes instead. Shenanigans.   Download the awesome NOW!   Links: Phil Hornshaw So You Created a Wormhole World War Z audio book Interference by Eric Luke Chuck Wendig's "Favourite Stephen King Novel?" post Smarter Every Day Sharing Miracle Jones

This week the guys discuss the crime comedy Pain and Gain and wonder whether Michael Bay may yet have hidden depths. Later the guys discuss the surprising benefits of flatworms, and Tony has never heard of Dave Barry.   Download it now!   Links: Creationism debate Reddit thread (Al thinks this is fake, but has no proof.) Salvador Dali's Ocelot Flat worm allergy treatment Wall Drug in South Dakota Dave Barry The Death of Superman Lives Michael Shannon Iceman Brad Bird Tommorowland Escape from Tommorow    

In this episode Tony and Al uncover the truth the Norwegian Tourism Ministry doesn't want you to know as they review the groundbreaking documentary Troll Hunter. Later, they discuss the freaky future of 3d printing, and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of crass commercialism.   Download   Links: Catcher in the Rye Much Ado About Nothing (2012) Hamlet 2 Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark*  Probapumpkins Pumpkins by Joseph Devon   *I know right? Can you imagine how the conversation with the investors went? I can't. "You want to make a musical about Spiderman called Turn Off the Dark? Sure, here's 65 million dollars," is not something I can imagine anyone saying ever. Yet another piece of evidence that you're living in an illusion. We've tried to tell you. Frankly I don't know how we can make it any clearer. Wake up.

This week the guys dig into the manic cinematic world of Night Watch, a Russian film that mashes up...well pretty much everything, honestly. Then, Tony talks about his recent experiences with hypnotherapy, and freaks Albert out in the process. Download it now! Links: The Road Rosencrantz and Gilderstern are Dead The Raw Shark Texts Parts therapy Q.I.

In this episode of the Human Echoes Podcast, Tony and Al wrap up Time Travel Month with a look back at arguably the greatest action movie of all time, Terminator 2. Later, the guys talk about how various types of media are dealing with the shift to the world of digital content distribution, and Tony convinces Albert that Michael Bay might have finally made a good movie.   Download! RSS!   Links: Escape Plan Rope Ed Wood Pain and Gain The Autobiography of Peter Cartwright Scott Sigler Audiobook Podcasts        

On this episode Al and Tony ruminate on the film adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife. Tony envisions an entirely disproportionate revenge for the man who smashed up his car; the guys geek out about guns.   Spoilers for the book version of The Time Travler's Wife: In their discussion of the movie, the guys suggested a number of ways in which the story did not go far enough in exploring the specifics of time travel element. Upon further research, it appears that nearly EVERYTHING they discussed, including the teleporting fetus, were covered in the book.   Links: Samuel L. Jackson on Talking Bad Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Boy's Life by Robert McCammon Abesntia How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu The Last Word by Lisa Lutz

This week, Time Travel Month continues as the guys dig up a little known Spanish film, Los Cronocrímenes (Timecrimes). Tony recounts his firsthand experience with the Colorado floods. Albert has crazy fan theories about Dinosaur Train.   Download!   Links Video of the flood in Colorado Children of Sorrow Trailer Zach Braff Kickstarter Free Edgar 2013 shirt Achievment Hunter Minecraft Lets Play's Dinosaur Train The end of Dinosaurs (This was a show for KIDS? REALLY?) Myst Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs Hardcore History: Wrath of the Khans    

Zombies Have No Respect for Plumbing  by Tony Southcotte Zombies have no respect for plumbing. They don’t teach you that when you fill out the paperwork for your apprentice license.  Since the plague slowed down, people didn’t see the need to finish off their family members. You just pay a wrangler to tie them up, slap a rubber ball in the mouth, and send them home. They may want to tussle with you every once in a while, but for the most part they just sit there. People hold on to some hope for a cure, but I know better. Christ could raise Lazarus, but Lord knows he wouldn’t try to bring a pork chop back to life. I used to just pull hair out of drains. Use a snake or some other such tool to drag natted balls of bath grime and shaving leave-ins out of bathtubs. This brings me to my current predicament. Standing in the shower of some blue haired granny who just couldn’t say goodbye to her oaf of a husband. I saw him walkin’ in, that festering pile of meat. The red ball in his mouth would have

This week Al and Tony kick off Time Travel Month with Terry Gilliam's Kafkaesque sci-fi masterpiece Twelve Monkeys. Later they discuss the potential perils of CEO worship in American business, and wonder is Edison might have been onto something with D.C. power after all.   Download RSS   Links: Tesla vs. Edison: Epic Rap Battles of History Instagram sells for 1 billion dollars, despite having yet to turn a profit. And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede teaser trailerBuddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede by Bradley Denton

Dancing. Sometimes it looked like we were dancing. There was nothing for us to hear, we could not verbally communicate anything. And so we  watched each other. We watched each other dance. The slow motion twirls and spins. We found we couldn't speed up to reach anyone else, our only means of communication being found in glimpses when we managed to catch eye contact when our spinning matched up just right.  The planet below became the center of my vision. I closed my eyes for this. I always do. It lasts  for about an hour, until the blackness of space comes into view again. I sometimes imagine that  the planet below is one I've never seen before. That it's inhabitants did not send me and my  kind into the depths of space. Suspended in the shadow of the planet. Freezing. But even the burning of the veins of ice  creeping beneath my skin was relief compared to the hell that met us under the hateful glare of the sun. Leo was nearest to me, perhaps twenty feet away. He was still in his suit from the

In this, the fifty-second episode of the Human  Echoes Podcast, Tony and Al pay off a long-running joke and review Man on Fire (Albert felt cheated by this title as Denzel Washington is not immolated by the end of the film). Also featured in this title is the wonderful story "Suspension" that won the Vampires in Space flash fiction contest.       Tony Scott suicide BBC One "Drama" trailer Breaking Bad Insider Podcast People of Sand and Slag (via the Drabblecast) [Retraction: Tony stated during the discussion of Tony Scott's suicide but, according to the coroners official report Tony Scott had no such illness at the time of his death.]

  This week, Al and Tony do battle with found-footage zombie diesel-punk cyborg war film Frankenstein's Army. Then, Tony holds up his boombox and it is awesome.   Download! RSS! Frankenstein's Army Lynx Felix Baumgardner Angler Fish males reproduce by becoming parasitic.  The Spellman Files Don't Stop Believing The Last Word    

This week, the guys follow the river on down Arkansas way and see if this Mud movie is all its cracked up to be. They discuss the importance of a complete breakfast; Albert thinks about moving to Colorado.

In this week's episode, Al and Tony go fishing with Bait, a surprisingly good movie about a shark loose in a supermarket (yes, you did just read that correctly.) They also dig into tales of the great men of history and the great women who made their conquests possible; Tony catches Albert doing his sexy lady voice.   Download! RSS!   Links to Things: Clarkesworld Podcast (with Kate Baker!) The Story of Oriental Philosophy Hernando Cortez In Brightest Africa: the autobiography of Carl Ethan Akely (this file contains some tpyos and formatting issues due to being a scanned work, but it's still totally worth your trouble.) For Delia (Carl's first wife) Akeley's perspective you might also enjoy a book she wrote about her exploits in Africa called Jungle Portraits. Beyond Dinocalypse by Chuck Wendig   (Correction: Albert was wrong about Cortez dying on some conquest or other. He died in Spain of pleurisy. Albert's version of it is better though.)  

In this episode Al and Tony geek out about the first English-language film from Korean director Chan-wook Park, Stoker. Later they talk about the wonder of old graveyards, and get hyped up for the final season of Breaking Bad.   Download! RSS!   Links: Ozymandias Breaking Bad trailer 500 Days of Summer Oldboy remake I Saw the Devil Old Bald Mountain Cemetery Jiro Dreams of Sushi Letters for Zachary Dear Zachary   Failed author AMA

This week its a gore-fest as the guys discuss the Evil Dead remake, chainsaw deaths, and the proper handling of ancient books of forbidden knowledge. Tony checks out the SCP Foundation; Albert screams a lot; dinosaurs continue to be awesome.   Download! RSS?   Links: SCP Foundation I Am a Toaster Hard Core History Frankenstein's Army I, Frankenstein TVTropes R.I.P.D. T-Rex found with soft tissue The Spellman Files: The Last Word WWI who stopped sleeping after being shot in the head.   Retraction: Albert got his facts wrong when talking about Eragon in this episode. It was Carl Hiassen who "discovered" Christopher Paolini, not Orson Scott Card.

On this week's show Al and Tony break down the bizarre South Korean revenge movie Oldboy. They also break down the new 3D printing boom, and seek out the connections between Napoleon Dynamite and The Prestige. Stay tuned after the sponsors for a nerd out on the film Pacific Rim.   Download! RSS   3D printed space stations Robotic hand that can feel Napoleon Dynamite tether ball incident Oldboy hallway scene SPACE VAMPIRE FLASH CONTEST

I want you to imagine that we are alone. That on the biological spaceship we call earth, we drift through the void as a ship would upon quiet seas. On all horizons, there are no shores to be seen. In the deepest night, only the stars shine to share the lonely burden. In our own sea, the solar system, we have found isles, but no refuge. Some planets seem suitable at a distance, but are toxic underfoot. Others, volcanic and turbulent, devoid of life. Some are even devoid of surface. So we look outward, out to that currently insurmountable ocean. Centauri beckons. A mere 4.27 light years. An instant to the cosmic scale, or 165,000 years in our most advanced space vehicle. There is a chance of an exoplanet here. A planet that humans could call home. A place where the skies are blue and the soil rich. Where the only major difference is that the familiar night sky gives way to new stars and constellations. Where our own home star is just a glinting mote in a crystalline sky. But only a chance. What if we reac

In this episode, Al and Tony dig into the documentary Dark Days, and discuss the manifold problems of homelessness, and tenacity of the human spirit. They also discuss medical nonsense and Albert is outed as a Sharknado hipster.   Download Subscribe to the RSS   Links: Sharknado Texas legislature bans tampons Pacific Rim "N." "The Wreck of the Charles Dexter Ward"

Albert flies it solo suffering his way through the real-estate themed horror film House Hunting with a full-length commentary. Check out the movie on Netflix and watch along he encounters monsters with goofy hats, annoying antagonists, and a twist ending that makes not the slightest bit of sense.