My D&D group recently started a new group of characters in the same campaign as the main campaign. They don't know it, but this idea actually harkens back to the days of the original Dark Sun campaign setting. The setting was so harsh that the designers thought that having 3 back-up characters per player was a good idea.

It was then and it is now... for different reasons.

The first American release in the popular Japanese "Goemon" series, Legend of the Mystical Ninja was an early entry in the Super Nintendo's lineup that unfortunately was ignored by many kids of the day. But those that looked past its strange qualities were rewarded with one of the best games of the 16-bit era. With anime, manga, and para para dancing all the rage now, perhaps the West is ready to give this gem another shot.

Since being turned on to them by my college roommate, I've been a big fan of They Might be Giants, whom if you aren't aware of them (for some strange reason) are essentially the godfathers of geek rock - starting out way back in 1982.  Modern geek musician superstars such as Jonathan Coulton and MC Frontalot frequently list them as a huge influence.  Even if you don't think you know them, you've probably heard their music.  "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man" were featured on an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures back in the 90's, and more recently, they've written and performed the theme music to shows like Malcom in the Middle and The Daily Show.  But really, if you want to read up, I can just direct you to Dr. Wikipedia for more.

I'd like to share my favorite rendition of what many of their fans consider their best song: "Birdhouse in Your Soul".  This comes from a 1990 appearance on The Tonight Show (Jay Leno guest hosting).  The quality is VHS-tacular, but the brassy sound of Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra is just spectacular, and even includes a great solo by Doc himself (such a pure sound).  Sure, John F. gets a little too excited when he joins the singing near the end, but he recovers quickly, and I can't help myself from tapping my foot to this uptempo version - more than even the original one.  So please enjoy my favorite version of my favorite song from TMBG... and look into more of their stuff if they're new to you.  You won't regret it.

Do you like Star Trek? Have you been alive for more than 5 years? If you answered yes to both of these questions then we would just like to apologize on behalf of the whole Trek franchise for where it ended up because let's face it... it sucked hairy Targ droppings. Paramount seems to have pulled off an entertaining reboot of the franchise, but where do we go from here? How does Star Trek refocus itself amongst a sea of other successful sci-fi franchises?

We contemplate what's in store for Trek as the Commodore and Roo ask the hard hitting questions while Boomer desperately tries to act like he knows what's going on. Put on your pips and set those phasers to disintegrate, because the Clan of the Gray Wolf is plotting a course for the future!  ... Of Star Trek.

In this episode:
 - (0:00) Intro & Why the Party Died
 - (20:00) Reboot!
 - (30:45) What does the Future Hold?

To download this episode as an mp3, click here.