Idle Banter & Escapades

We’ve Moved!!!

Justin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:35:22 +0000

If you came here looking for the Idle Banter and Escapades Podcast or blog posts, I have some bad and good news for you.

The bad news is we will no longer be updating this page. I know, it is sad.

The GOOD NEWS is we’ve moved everything to our new home at http://www.theidlebanter.com/

With the move, we hope to get back to writing our blog posts and have a consistent time when the podcast gets uploaded. Also with the move comes the option to listen to the gang record LIVE every Sunday at 7pm EST. You can also interact with us through a chat while we record. This can all be done by going HERE.

We look forward to seeing you over at the new site and hope to have a successful year of Idle Banter and Escapades.

Episode 20 – End of the Year!

Zoe — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:52:54 +0000

Well, it is now 2012, but we recorded our latest podcast last year, when we were all relaxed and unwound after the holidays and some time off (for those of us working…). Maybe it was just me, but I could pretty much only find stories that were basically lists, so this episode is relatively laid back and free from any real heated debate. In fact, one might say that we… bantered. Ha, ha. Don’t worry, that bit of lame humor is 2011 leftovers. This year, the three of us are going to up our game, move to our own site, get some cooler theme music, get back to blogging as well as podcasting, and change some other stuff that our team isn’t ready to unveil yet.

So. Here is what we talk about in Episode 20 – End of the Year!

Also, I gave reviews of:

Justin mentioned a book he’s reading, Doctor Who and Philosophy: Bigger on the Inside.

And Matt got a puppy, so be jealous!

Episode 19 – A Late Holiday Podcast

Justin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:19:40 +0000

Happy late holidays everyone! Although I guess New Years is right around the corner. We here at Idle Banter had a wonderful holiday this past week. I was so great, that we forgot to put up the Podcast we recorded before the holiday. Eh, it happens.

In this podcast we discuss the nominations for the Golden Globes, discuss a new type of religion and talk about the stupidity of some people. As the New Year approaches look for new changes coming to Idle Banter. Starting Sunday January 8, 2012 you can start listening to us live as we record our podcast. This can be done HERE. We will also be taking questions during the podcast in the chat room provided on the page. So listen and join in the discussion. Enjoy the New Year festivities, remain safe and we will see you all next week.

Podcast

Episode 19 – A Late Holiday Podcast

Links

Episode 18 – What Not To Do As A Parent

Justin — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:53:50 +0000

There are new and exciting things going on here at Idle Banter and Escapades. First off, starting in the new year we will be moving to our new site courtesy of our tech guru Matt. With the new site we hope to start out individual blog posts again as well as be able to quickly get you the latest podcast episode. The second thing that will start taking place is we will be streaming our recording sessions live for any of those interested in listening. We will also have a chat room up at the time to get live questions and feedback from those listening. Stay tuned for more information on that.

On this week’s episode we discuss and article on a year in review of “bad parenting.” To go along with bad parenting, we also discuss the leaked pictures of Lindsay Lohan’s playboy shoot. We also talk about Apple (imagine that, since Matt was hosting this time), Alec Baldwin refusing to stop playing “Word with Friends,” and who are the least trusted people in the US. Finally, we discuss a proposal to make Chicago a state. Due to a mix up in email, I only have a few of this week’s articles, but if you are interested in any of them please let us know and we will try to track them down for you.

Enjoy this week’s episode and we will see you early next week.

Podcast

Episode 18 – What Not To Do As A Parent

Articles

Episode 17 – We Will Just Photoshop You In

Justin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:30:56 +0000

Welcome back to another exciting episode of the Idle Banter Podcast. This week Matt actually watches a movie, we talk about the ethical side of Photoshop and an early review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo makes Sony upset. We also get into an article about popular music that just made most of us want to cry. Finally, we talk about India trying to control the internet and “Big Brother” watching you. Enjoy this week’s episode and we will be back next week.

Podcast

Episode 17 – We Will Just Photoshop You In

Articles

Sony gets upset with a Review
The Ethics of Photoshop – Article 1 and Article 2
Disappointing Facts on Popular Music
Big Brother is watching you… No it is just Carrier IQ
India Trying to Control Online Content

Episode 16 – Of Muppets and Men

Justin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:59:31 +0000

Welcome back to the Idle Banter Podcast. The gang and I are happy to be back after our two week hiatus. With so much going on in the world over the last couple week we thought it was important to cover some of the more important issues, such as one man’s quest to sue the Playboy mansion for discrimination against men. We know we couldn’t believe it either…

In other news, the gang discussed the ethical question of genetically engineering your baby and the banning of an advertisement in Great Britain. We also discuss the rights of someone posting on twitter and the stupidity of some political staffers. Finally, during the break Zoe was fortunate enough to get to see the new Muppet movie, while I was stuck at home watching the awkward movie “The Best and the Brightest” on Netflix instant. Then again we both fared better than Matt who was stuck on a bus for 14 hours and got to watch “Miracle.” He can’t complain though, he got to go New York for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Join us next week, when I am sure we will take on even more complicated issues. Although I am not sure you can beat “suing playboy for discrimination against males,” just not sure it is possible. We shall see. Have a great weekend and we will see you next week.

Podcast

Episode 16 – Of Muppets and Men

Movies

Articles

Episode 15 – From Red State, To Penn State

Justin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:04:24 +0000

Sorry about the late post folks. We were having problems linking to the podcast as well as all of us being busy in one form or another. However, now that the link is fixed we can post away. This week we talk about Kevin Smith’s “horror” genre debut, Red State. We also talk about the situation with Penn State, the conviction of Michael Jackson’s Doctor and Google TV.

As previously mentioned, we have all been a bit busy this past week and with the holiday coming up it is just going to get worse. Matt is running a conference up at Miami and I, being the good unemployed friend that I am, will be going up to work a few shifts to help him out. Then next week Matt is off to New York with the Miami University Marching Band as they get ready to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. So tune in to Macy’s that day to see the MUMB do their stuff. So, with the all the conflicts and the loss of or Tech guy for a few weeks, all of us have decided it would be a good time to take a short break. We will be off the next couple of weeks, but will be back at the beginning of December. In the mean time Zoe and I will be catching up on movies to talk about as well as finding some nice articles to debate.

Thank you for sticking around with us as we find our feet hear at Idle Banter & Escapades. We have great things planned for the future and look forward to keep moving on. Have a great week everyone and we will see you when we return.

Episode 15 – From Red State, to Penn State

Episode 14: In Which Zoe Disgracefully Brings Up a Reality Star

Zoe — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:01:33 +0000

Hullo, Daylight Savers!

Last week I posted and it was Halloween(ish), now it’s Daylight Savings… From now on, I’m only posting on holidays / special occasions with proper nouns.

Monday, we recorded Episode 14 and I lead the discussion. In retrospect I feel like my topics were weak compared with Matt’s and other random news articles we’ve bickered about, but I won’t know unless someone points it out. Check it out and prove me right or wrong: Episode 14.

Justin scoffed at Paranormal Activity and I was let down by In Time.

Then I brought up Kim Kardashian’s divorce and how it’s being used for a good cause by pro gay marriage / GLBTQ organizations / George Takei based on an article at The Wrap. Matt brought up some pretty sleazy statistics on the short-lived marriage.

We tried to ruminate on an article about Gen Xers not being slackers, but it turns out, we’re not sure what defines generations…

And I found an article where really smart scientists put their formidable minds to improving boarding times…

Tomorrow, we record a new podcast!

As ever, let us know how we’re doing. Or send us a crazy news article, a funny video, some movie/show we “must see” or whatever. Feedback is good, unless it’s coming from microphones.

P.S. Why do these links always turn up in stupid colors?

Episode 13 – Attempting Banter: Reprise

Zoe — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:07:52 +0000

Happy Sunday and Happy Halloween / Dia de los Muertos / All Hallow’s!

Even though we recorded this newest podcast on Monday and Matt promptly sent us the link, someone (Justin! Not me!) slacked and forgot to put it up. So, I am sailing in to save the day and steal all of the credit. Never mind that Justin texted me at 9:30 this morning my time to ask me to do it… No, no, it’s not like normal people sleep in on Sunday mornings or anything…

Episode 13 – Attempting Banter: Reprise

Anyway, this week we tried again the new format introduced by Matt, in which we actually BANTER. Or… try to. We tried our best to be quicker overall, but you’ll have to give Justin and me time to learn to be concise. Or at least conscious of the passage of time. Maybe we really do need Matt to get a buzzer noise?

The things we bantered about:

Animal shootings in Ohio

The things we just talked about:

Zoe saw The Help in the theatre
Zoe saw The Trip on Netflix
The crazy Apple program Siri that talks back website
Queen Elizabeth II of England: Wikipedia fact-finding mission related to the mooning

Have Justin, Matt and I succeeded in idly bantering? Has our length of podcast vs excitement of podcast ratio improved since Matt piloted the new format? Did I forget to mention something? Did you want to mention something? As ever, let us know!

Episode 12 – Trying Something New

Justin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:05:44 +0000

As you can see this weeks episode is coming out very late. This is largely due to Matt and I not getting our stuff together this week. We record these Monday night and then try to get them up in the next couple of days. Matt was a bit late getting the finished podcast to me and as you can see I am just as late posting it. Oops..

Anyway, the gang tried something new this week and broke away from our original format. We are trying to bring a little more banter into “Idle Banter” and this new format might just work. The new format is also supposed to help cut down on the length of the podcast because we know they can get a little long. Not sure this week was any different, Zoe and I just need to learn to talk less… HA like that will happen. Matt keeps threatening to buzz us out if we are going too long. I say let him try.

Enjoy this week’s show. Zoe and I talk about the movie “The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo” that was released in 2009. I also believe the Pope being a Nazi gets mentioned as well. As always comments are welcome and if you have questions you would like us to discuss or answer feel free to leave us a message. We look forward to hearing from you.

Podcast

Episode 12 – Trying Something New