Galactic Watercooler

In the hub-bub of the holidays, you may have missed the interviews I did with Galactic Watercooler (GWC), the "...community of friendly people who enjoy and participate in geekdom..."

From the GWC website:
"Each week (for five years running) GWC’s geek hosts jump into new material, becoming fans and passing on the experience with the help of what’s widely recognized as the friendliest community in science fiction and fantasy. Rolling Stone magazine called GWC “the NPR of BSG,” and Howard Stern agreed, describing GWC (and geeking in general) as a “guilty pleasure.” Past topics include The Guild, Alien, Eureka, Eve Online, Star Trek, Terminator, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Serenity, Dr. Horrible, Tron, War Games, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Cosmos, Avatar, Batman, Transformers, X-Men, Iron Man, Mass Effect, SyFy and sci-fi programs, individuals such as Will Smith, Felicia Day, Joss Whedon, and many more!"

"We’re interested in TV shows, movies, comics, novels, gaming, science, and music. We’re interested in each other. We like to chat about just about any topic. We’ll listen and give informed feedback, and at the end of the day we think of GWC as a clubhouse for a (very large) group of friends."

I discuss Christmas on TV in two recent podcasts: #302 and #303

Podcast #302: I follow rock legends Donnie Iris and the Cruisers at about the 1 hr 22 min mark. Listen here.  Highlights: Hear me blank when I'm asked about 1990s Christmas episodes.  I don't know what was wrong with me?  Remember our Christmas in July on this blog last year?--it was nothing but 1990s programming.   I couldn't remember any of it.  hahahaha.  But I really love being called "a bad ass"--I think they get my Christmas geekness!  To respond to Chuck who asked if there is an A-Team Christmas episode?  Sorry to disappoint but I've never found one. 

Podcast #303: in Christmas Part 2, I talk about sci-fi Christmas entertainments.  My contribution starts at 1 hr 33 minutes in.  Listen here.  Highlights: I'm asked about the Star Wars Holiday Special, Futurama, Doctor Who and Make Your Own Marathons suggestions for Star Trek and The Big Lebowski from my book The Christmas TV Companion. 

What a fun experience this was.  I hope you enjoy listening to it.  While you're at GWC's site, I hope you find other interesting stuff to join in on and check back with them again in the new year.  Thanks again to D.X. Ferris for getting me hooked up with GWC.

This song STILL totally rocks out!  And I love love love those glasses.

Proving what a small world we all live in, I'm laughing about a couple small coincidences here.  The first is that I'm a big fan of Donnie Iris and though I've never met him, I've spent a good deal of time in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, the small industrial town nestled in the mountains outside of Pittsburgh area--the hometown of Donnie Iris.  There's a restaurant there, Shakespeare's Restaurant and Pub, where I used to go quite regularly to celebrate my special occasions when I lived near there, in Youngstown, Ohio several years back.  When we were in Ellwood City, we would always talk about Donnie and sing his back catalog.  So I've always felt this connection to his music--and now I follow him on GWC.  How awesome is that?

More proof of what a small world it is is that Joseph Minadeo created the GWC podcast intro and outro music they discuss at the very beginning of podcast #303.  Joseph and his wife Kendra, performing as Bellows, created the trippy sounds and video installation for my last book signing in Akron, Ohio.  Click here to see what I wrote about that experience.  The video link below is an extension of that performance A Bellows Christmas.  Click here for the video link.  Thanks again Bellows!