Tag Archives: convention

Episode #99: Looking Ahead

00:00 Introduction

We can smell episode 100! We had to stream this twice though….

01:22 Into 2020

  • Tee and Pip have plenty of plans
  • Time for prohibition?
  • Check out where we will be in 2020
  • Tee helped found RavenCon. So we will be there this year!
  • Escape Velocity in Washington DC
Tee’s Dream…
  • Tee guesses wrong
  • Gencon bound!!
  • We had a time a great time last year, looking forward to more shenanigans in Indy
  • Next up Key City Steampunk Festival which is now in Gettysburg, PA
  • And then venturing into Florida, as Guests of Honor at Necronomicon in Tampa Florida!
  • Tee heads back to TwitchCon
  • Twitch for Dummies is now a year old!
  • These old bones can manage this schedule
  • Tee and Pip have a few requirements for traveling to events…
  • …but they will do a Shared Desk LIVE!
  • Asking the organizers of events works- but get in advance
  • Our writers’ retreat is coming up… and this year, we’re heading to the beach!

16:49 Talking Publications

  • Pip has a schedule… with a nebulous section
  • Didn’t work out so well last year, but that is why we go with nebulous
  • Chuck Wendig’s post on write what you want, because everything is falling apart.
  • Pip and Tee put a lot of expectations and pressure on writing last year.
  • However Tee’s 2020 started off with a bang.
  • Podcasting for Dummies is going
  • Discord for Dummies is currently under construction, but Tee just lost a month
  • So let’s write what we want to write.
  • Pip *sigh*
  • The Weald, is Pip’s current WIP. A fantasy novel set in Regency England
  • At the same time, she’s editing the first book of the Spectral Protectors. The Fierce Dead– now available for pre-order
  • Pip and Tee argue about The Secret of the Monkey God release date
  • Pip also plans book Two of the Spectral Protectors.
  • Death and the Falcon or Falcon and the RAVEN, the story of Henrietta Falcon and Sophia del Morte are planned for the end of the year.
  • Tee’s heart is calling him to write, Villainy LLC, a story of the B List superheroes. Setting it in Richmond, VA
  • Check in with us at the end of the year
  • Pip wants Tee to get back to enjoying the pure creativity of just writing
  • Tee is still thinking about retooling Dope story.
  • Pip suggests putting away a project for awhile to give perspective
Feeling 2020 like…
  • Pip is resetting, by making sure to read every day.
  • No faux Jane Austen though.

31:35 Writers Off the Clock: The Witcher

  • Pip wants to find a show where Henry Cavill takes a bath
  • Tee brings an ear worm
  • Based on the books from Poland
  • Prepare for the cosplaying!!
  • Party City wig was replaced… thank goodness!!
  • The separate timelines took a bit to work out
  • Episode 4 was a little wobbly… but we forgive them
  • Pip starts streaming Philippa’s Freaky Friday playing Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Check in on Friday nights for fun times…
  • Stealing from peasants is part of the story… morally wrong as that is.

If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, or if you just want to share an opinion about the show, here’s where to find us… 703.791.1701
pip@pjballantine.com
tee@teemorris.com
…and social media, of course.

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on Spotify,  iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

Comments Off on Episode #99: Looking Ahead

Filed under Episodes

SPECIAL EPISODE: The Geek Wolfpack Podcast and a Review of MAGFest

A SYNDICATED SPECIAL
with the Geek Wolfpack Podcast!

A special episode (dropped into the Shared Desk feed via the Geek Wolfpack Podcast feed) where Papa Wolf  (Nick Kelly) and his special guest (Tee, first time in studio!)  recap the events of MAGFest 2017. Hear these two discuss the unique vibe of this festival, cosplay, retro gaming, our panels, and all sorts of insanity from this incredible Washington, DC music and gaming festival over fine, malted beverages…

MAGFest Recap Notes

0:00 – Intro
1:07 – Fanboyglass – Destiny glasses
2:02 – MAGFest

2:16 – Brie gets her cameo
2:35 – Momma Wolf gets her cameo
3:08 – Rob Aldrich at www.teachthesky.com
3:49 – Rob’s panel on the Top Ten Episodes of the Transformers

Rob Aldrich presents on the Top Ten Transformers Episodes

4:11 – What is MAGFest?
4:50 – Tee’s intro to MAGFest
5:41 – Awesomecon
6:45 – The attendees are as diverse as it gets, and we love it
8:04 – Our friends at the Geektitude podcast and State of the Geek
8:14 – Locked, Loaded and Liberal
8:54 – MAGFest did a great video of our panel, Storytelling in Video Games
9:03 – Tee’s podcast, The Shared Desk
9:37 – There might be Time Travel
10:03 – Last year, Tee did “The Big Score: The History of Soundtracks in Movies and Video Games
10:22 – Major kudos to all of the staff. The A/V crew was amazing.
11:10 – Always give thank you’s in the most public way to sound, A/V and lighting people
11:45 – Thursday’s arrival
12:20 – eBro-la is now a thing
13:08 – 4 day cons are actually 6 days long
14:14 – Battletech: Fire Storm
17:04 – The end of a con is not unlike Fat Tuesday

Squirrel Girl!

17:31 – Comics & Gaming
17:51 – Thermal’s new Assassin’s Creed jacket

18:18 – Ashamei got new earrings
18:50 – Sonic Boom gets Overwatch ears
20:16 – How Tee and Rob Aldrich met (in 2003)
21:51 – Hingle McCringleberry
22:10 – Pre-Order Rob Aldrich’s “Rockaiju
22:55 – Rob mentioned Final Fantasy VI
23:35 – Rob also mentioned Ratchet and Clank
23:38 – Nick talked about Asheron’s Call
24:04 – Xenoblade Chronicles
24:31 – Tee talked Myst
24:45 – Tee also talked Destiny
25:28 – Get a gaming crate from Lootcrate
25:35 – Smuggler’s Bounty – Star Wars themed crates
26:14 – When is the story too much?
26:36 – Overwatch needs a story mode
27:27 – Matthew J Drake
28:25 – Overwatch was the predominant cosplay
28:55 – Rayden from Mortal Kombat
29:40 – The giant Team Skull contingent was outrageous
31:40 – Garrison Tyranus from the 501st Legion
32:35 – The Wolfpack did Friday
33:10 – The Voice Acting Panel
34:57 – Say “good-bye” like this…

Thermal Wolff’s Assassin’s Creed jacket

36:14 – Rail Theory Kickstarter in February
36:36 – 2064 Read Only Memories
37:44 – Shout out to Machinae Supremacy!
38:11 – Old Town Man Cave – Manassas, VA
38:26 – IT WAS COLD!
39:12 – Buy an electric vehicle
39:20 – The Blink charging app
40:12 – Aldrich is reviewing every episode of Transformers ever

43:42 – Do not Chipotle at MAGFest
44:03 – Redstone American Grill
45:27 – We love Luke Cage. Congrats to their stunt crew!
46:18 – We played Joust!
47:55 – The sound that ties MAGFest together, the Colossus roar!
49:00 – Some of the pinball machines (There’s a Big Lebowski game!)
50:28 – Our late night panel, “Slightly Off-Key: Great Soundtracks to Truly Terrible Films”
52:35 – A little Billy Idol history
54:02 – Steve Stevens has a grammy for flamenco

Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition showed up at MAGFest

54:55 – Why Nick is pissed about Heavy Metal 2000
56:42 – Brian May’s involvement in the New Horizons project
57:45 – We gush over Highlander
58:20 – We talked a ton about Jim Steinman on the panel
59:02 – Nick loves Meatloaf
59:55 – The types of movies we cover: “If they weren’t absolute stinkers, they were train wrecks.” – Tee
60:30 – Where the video game based movies rank on RottenTomatoes.com
62:03 – Shout out to our friends at Horrorview
63:57 – The Batman vs Superman movie themes – fortissimo or djent, however you want to put it…
65:34 – We sold books!
66:16 – We agree to disagree on Van Helsing
66:56 – The different scores of Legend
69:33 – So, Nick, how did you feel after the panel?
71:29 – There’s a lot of Jim Steinman to the Protomen

View from the stage during the Thursday panel

74:22 – MAGFest is a two-way communication at all times
75:44 – Tee had fans of the Ministry in attendance
76:34 – The vibe at MAGFest is contagious
78:44 – Reciprocity!
80:34 – Shout out to Tyler Waldman
81:05 – Shout out to Pip Ballantine!
81:30 – Countless Hues of Crimson
81:38 – Pip Ballantine’s “Immortal Progeny
81:45 – The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh
81:56 – Shout out to the staff!
82:06 – MAGFest
82:29 – Happy Birthday David Bowie and Elvis Presley. Bowie released an EP on 1/8/17
83:18 – All MAGFest all the time!
83:38 – Outro

Finally….The Colossus Roar!

PlayPlay

Comments Off on SPECIAL EPISODE: The Geek Wolfpack Podcast and a Review of MAGFest

Filed under Episodes, Guest Posts, Special Featurettes

Episode #34: DemiCon 25 Wrap-Up (with P.C. Haring, Aly Grauer, Melissa Fox, and Christina Payton)

TSD-back2back_DemiCon25

Two cons back to back — RavenCon and DemiCon — and Tee and Pip are snapping back from the shenanigans in Virginia and Iowa. As this episode is a few days late, your show hosts super-size this episode with many different perspectives and reflections on the weekend that is DemiCon 25. Strap yourself in for some serious silliness on mic and insights into the weekend of geeking in Des Moines.

00:00 — Introduction

  • Getting in a quick intro and a a drop-in fix.
  • It’s a DemiCon 25 wrap-up for this week’s show!
  • Pip’s working on Immortal Progeny so I’m bringing us into this show.
  • So let’s step back in time…

1:55 — DemiCon 25 Wrap-Up 

  • Introductions.
    • Tee’s coffee cup is broken.
    • Let the hazing begin.
    • The ladies from Chicago show up.
    • On the Mic: Tee, Pip, P.C. Haring, Alyson Grauer, Melissa Fox
  • Food arrives…and eventually, we will get this show on track.
    • If you are curious, the crunch-crunch-crunch is the taco shell of our salad.
    • Aly thinks a Shared Desk at Bennigan’s is a bad idea.
  • Space Happens: The Kickstarter project currently on Aly’s and Mel’s plate…and it looks funny.
  • What brings Tee back to DemiCon?
  • P.C. Haring is sharing the wealth with the ladies…
  • Aly wants to do the ding along with the bell.
  • Aaaaaaand more hazing of the Author Guest of Honor…
  • What brings Aly Grauer and Mel Fox to DemiCon?
    • Aly’s first step into the Indie Author realm.
    • All of Pip’s dreams involve Idris Elba. Shocker that.
    • The Buffalo is fighting against Pip.
    • A quick review of Bennigan’s and the quality of hotel restaurants.
    • The best thing about the convention circuit: Networking.
  • What brings “Paul from Des Moines” back to Des Moines?
  • DemiCon 18 versus DemiCon 25
  •  DemiCon actually began on Thursday…
    • Voiceover Workshop at Theodore Roosevelt High School
    • A killer book signing at Barnes & Noble with Joe Halderman
    • …and ending with a blurry night in Des Moines.
  • DemiCon on Friday Night
    • Aly, Pip, and Tee talk about Barnes & Noble and the attitude towards a drive-by signing…
    • Aly was worried that we were going to be divas.
    • Tee reflects on being in a car with Terry Brooks. (OMG, he hates me!!!)
    • Meet the Ministry Panel — our kickoff panel
      • Captain Jack the Dapper Cat, making appearances throughout the weekend
      • We start talking about True Detective…but hop back to Vikings.
    •  The True Detective Panel
    • THE NIGHT OF PERKINS
  • DemiCon on Saturday
    • Collaborating with Friends (with P.C. and Pip)
      • The many bromances of Tee Morris
      • Christina Payton — our Eliza cosplayer — joins us, making the weekend wrap-up complete.
      • Pip suffers from trust issues, and nearly chokes Aly in talking about it.
      • Manners, please!
      • Hi, Christina! Tell us about your costumes…
      • “This waitress is out to get me!” — Tee
      • We brainstorm on the various Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences action figures.
    • The Book Signing
      • Reactions from Aly and P.C.
      • Plan 9 Burlesque in Chicago — Aly’s first signing, but not her FIRST signing which was DemiCon…kinda.
      • “Pip is an exotic specimen.” — Aly Grauer
      • And once again, the Mango Smoodie story rears its ugly head.
    • Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman
      • Aly regales us with stories of P.C.’s naiveté.
      • P.C. tries to #blametheboot, and thus a new hashtag is born.
      • Christina and Mel share thoughts on the DemiCon tea party.
      • Reflections on Gung Fu Tea
    • The Guests of Honor Panel Discussion
      • Kind of “Meh.”
      • Not what Tee was expecting or hoping for…
      • Theatre of the Mind: Aly Grauer displays her skills in stealth.
      • The GoH Discussion reflects the tone of DemiCon 25. Not a bad tone, just a little exclusive.
      • Aaaaaaand the server releases another salvo….
    • Women in Steampunk (with Pip)
      • Complete with an appearance from #DapperCat
      • Pip updates and bulks up the Library of Congress talk.
      • A better turnout at DemiCon.
      • Pip name drops. A LOT!
      • Aly shares her favorite things about the talk.
    • The Reading
      • Pip was speaking in cursive.
      • Giving a reading in the style of scandalous actors.
      • What sobers you up? An Australian accent for Pip, apparently.
      • The different stages of speaking: Cursive, Calligraphy, Wingdings
      • The League of Fonts (A College Humor video)
    • The Masquerade (with Aly and Mel)
      • Aly’s incredibly awesome Smaug costume.
      • Mel brings it to DemiCon with the Doctor Who Clockwork Invaders…clockwork_01
      • Doctor Who‘s Weeping Angels…for Dummies.
      • Mel takes the Masquerade!
      • It’s off to the hot tub!
  • DemiCon on Sunday
    • The Podcasting Panel
      • GREAT turnout for a 9 a.m. panel
      • The Jesus Sightings
      • P.C. joins Tee for the Podcasting discussion.
      • Tee prefers to be on panels…with other people.
    • What Are You Watching?
      • Tee and Pip stay in genre and then drift out of genre…
      • We forgot Orphan Black. DAMMIT!
  • Coming back full circle to Bennigan’s…
  • What we all walked away with following DemiCon 25…
  • The genesis of Space Happens
  • The potential of Space Happens — go and donate at their Kickstarter!!!
  • Christina — you’re on mic! GO!!!
  • Reminiscing about Emerald City Steampunk Expo…
  • And Jolie swings by the table to say “Hey!” and to prove she is still upright after the DemiCon 25 weekend!
  • THE SCONES!!!! THE SCONES!!!!

1:28:15 — The Wrap-Up

 

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

1 Comment

Filed under Episodes