Episode 149: End of an Era

One more episode until the 150th Episode ever of the Ace of Geeks Podcast, and a lot of things are going to change when that drops. But first! With a nostalgic theme song backing us, we discuss the new trailer for J. Michael Straczynski and the Wachowski's Netflix Series Sense 8, how much the geek world is suddenly turning on Age of Ultron, Joss Whedon leaving Twitter, the upcoming stacked cast of Civil War, and whether Iron Man is the worst Avenger!

Episode 149!

Episode 147: Celebrate Star Wars!

This week, Kevin Custer joins Mike and Jarys to break down Star Wars Celebration! We'll discuss the new Jurassic World trailer, and then go straight into what we saw at the convention, including Rogue One, a breakdown of the brand new Force Awakens trailer, whether Palpatine is pure evil or has more depth than that, and end with a spirited debate on whether Jar Jar Binks is responsible for the destruction of the Second Death Star!

Episode 147!

Episode 145: Gooday, Chappie

The Ace of Geeks get back together for the first time in two weeks! No guests, just hilarity! We'll review Chappie, talk about the Thrilling Adventure Hour, break down the terrifying nature of Scientology, and laugh at Amiibo fans breaking Gamestop entirely. Don't miss it!

Episode 145!

The Aftermath of the Ace of Greeks Food Truck Invasion

Hey guys, Mike here.

Sorry I've been out of the loop all day. Jarys had be locked in my office, while they tried to convince me that partnering with a food truck was doing what was "best for business." Thankfully, Raven managed to discover Shucky, the golem I secretly bought years ago on the black market in case Jarys ever needed to be stopped. He's one of many last-ditch emergency measures that I have in place in case any of my staff goes Rogue. Did you know, for example, that Mae Linh can be defeated by a picture of a small cat, asleep on a bookshelf?

In addition, Kyle can be defeated with the application of a single sentence of logic. It's just too much for him!

Now that the Ace of Geeks is firmly back within my control, I'll be rolling back the changes on the site(s). Man, it sure is silly that we have two sites that you have to go back and forth between. If only there was a way to combine them into a simple, easy to use interface where all of the Ace of Geeks content could live. That would be such a dream.

Hey, unrelated note: Our 150th episode of the Ace of Geeks Podcast is coming soon.

Anyway, thanks to everybody who supported us in our delicious, delicious war. I'm off to eat some Potluck, but first I leave you with this thought:

Who did put the Bop in the Bop-Shu-Bop-Shu-Bop? They never answer that in the song.

UPDATE: As you may have guessed, this was part of our April Fool's silliness yesterday. Go check out the rest of the story here:

Part One!
Part Two!
Part Three!
Part Four!
Part Five!
Part Six!
Part Seven!
Part Eight! (You Are Here)

Dying Words from the Toppling Feta Tower

All Citizen-Writers and Citizen-Readers are to heed this last dictum from the Editor-In-Chief.

Hours ago I, your Editor in Chief Jarys, marched in here as the Victor in a war with grim invaders. Though I shared their heritage, that of the enlightened minds of Athens and mighty warriors of Sparta, I was so loyal as to be able to walk among them without ever changing loyalties. Like the Roman Caesar, my heart was with my home, The Ace of Greeks. But, also like Caesar, I answered a call.. A call given to me by the populist lovers of Greek food, a call unheeded by the elitist Potluckers.

I answered the call to Unify this website, to unify us under one success, one vision, one lunch food provider, one Dictum. As I had defeated the Ace of Greeks, I, like the undefeatable Heracles, took the pelt of my lion and wore it, taking the Ace of Greeks name and their food truck. This painted me even more the unpopular usurper to the Elitist Potluckers. Their jealousy and thirst for chaos grew like a sickness. And that sickness has felled this great podcast and blog.

The Geeks Are Going To War! (or: The Last March of the Geeks)

I'm writing this in a maintenance closet... I hope it gets out... I hope I'm not too late...

Jarys came back from his mission and immediately called a meeting in the middle of the Editor's room. We all gathered there, and they made a very rousing speech about how we needed to band together and strike the keys hard and fast to spread the word - The Ace of Geeks is now under new management! He changed the name of the blog to "The Ace of Greeks," with Mike's full support! I couldn't believe it! What the hell was going on?

Jarys waved a bunch of papers and said that they are now in charge, and we need to buckle down if we expect to get paid. More news about the latest gadgets and gizmos, more dice rolling, more topics in discussion on the audio podcasts. Tighter deadlines and everything has to pass his desk before being published or posted on the podcast. Then they said it - "BETTER CONTENT, GODDAMMIT - THERE WILL BE TOPIC ASSIGNMENTS DAILY!"

Words from the Home Front

It smells like dolmas here.

It all happened so suddenly, with such overwhelming activity, that I scarcely recall a day without the thumb of our lamb-trimming overlords held firmly upon our throats.  Our office was occupied in the scant time it took a strange cease-and-desist letter to turn into complete conquest of our humble blog and podcast.

Hmm? What's that?

MalKontent says it's only been a few hours.  I don't believe him.  I don't for a second.  The droop in his tails tells me more about our captivity than any words ever can.

I've been fighting to keep my spirits up.  I've been made to do all sorts of heinous acts since the violent change in leadership.  Check out this awesome baklava shaped like Serenity.  Square Enix announces they'll be adding fully-articulated yogurt to Final Fantasy XV, because it was easier to animate than women in real clothes.  28 Scenes in Star Wars that would have been improved with moussaka.  John Barrowman eating a gyro will blow your mind, and you won't believe what he does next.

I'm starting to become numb with terrible clickbait headlines, and the memory of what it was like to write upstanding pieces about geek culture seems ever farther, farther away.

It always smells like dolmas here.

I haven't seen Jarys in forever.  They seemed like the only chance we had of shaking off this yoke, of turning the tables on our clever corporate food truck oppressors.  I ducked into a hasty, clandestine meeting late after writing another "My Little Pony set to include Twilight Souvlaki in upcoming season" article and saw them in a poignant, fraternal sort of embrace with a certain gravity that made the loukaniko I'd been force-fed for lunch drop into the pit of my stomach.

I haven't seen Jarys since then.  I don't know what to think.

The rest of us move in a daze between assignments, never knowing what terrible headline or edict or lunch menu will be handed down next.  I don't know where my next meal is coming from...but I always seem to know its country of origin.  The office seems a stark shade of black and white, as though all the glorious colors of the Power Rangers figures on Mike's desk have faded from my vision.

I think I heard Mark and Thomas say they planned to sneak out and return with food.  Food without tzatziki or tahini.  I wish them fortune.

I'm far too scared to try it myself.

It always smells like dolmas here.

UPDATE: As you may have guessed, this was part of our April Fool's silliness yesterday. Go check out the rest of the story here:

Part One!
Part Two!
Part Three!
Part Four!
Part Five! (You Are Here)
Part Six!
Part Seven!
Part Eight!

Update: Agent in the Field

There's been a bit of buzz in the Ace of Geeks break room about one of the editors going undercover inside the food truck. From what I've gathered, the mission is to take over the food truck and put an end to what some have been calling "the Souvlaki Invasion."

There have been reports coming in of disturbances across town. According to our correspondents and eyewitnesses at that scene, they say a war has erupted with Greek mayo-based sauces and dessert foods flying everywhere. People have been taking shelter in city parking garages and local Starbucks coffee shops.

Back here at the Ace of Geeks break room, I've noticed that the crowd around the potluck table has grown a bit. The line at the slow-cooker of chili is getting longer, and more food has appeared on the table - cookies, cakes, and pies along with liter bottles and six-packs of soda, as well as Chinese and Cajun dishes.

There appears to have been a chain of command established, as well - those in charge of the hot dishes are serving, and a whiteboard has appeared on the wall, with a map of the city tacked up to it. I recognized one of the staffers from the line at the food truck, and asked what made him come to the potluck instead. He said that he was sick of Baklava and wanted Lo Mein - "The soy sauce is strong with this one," he told me.

One blogger is at the whiteboard, outlining the plan to take down the food truck. It seems to involve converting it into a taco truck. A lot of people have expressed interest in this plan, with some bloggers offering their skills in mechanics and body work.Their main focus right now seems to be waiting for word from the operative in the field, and planning their attack strategy.

An announcement just came over the PA that the rebellion's mole has done his damage and is returning to base - we'll have more on that as it becomes available.

UPDATE: As you may have guessed, this was part of our April Fool's silliness yesterday. Go check out the rest of the story here:

Part One!
Part Two!
Part Three!
Part Four! (You Are Here)
Part Five!
Part Six!
Part Seven!
Part Eight!

Operation: Golden Apple

When the Greek food started showing up, everyone started eyeballing me, like, just because my ancestors built the Acropolis means I can summon the pita of my people at any time. Racist! We Greek immigrants have many supernatural powers, but that is NOT one of them. Anyway, the dolmas were fantastic, just like my dad used to fix, but I could still taste the barely hidden mayonnaise of Corporate dominance. Only a Marketing Focus Group would put mayo in Dolmas. It is the flavor of coercion!

Six hours later, after a particularly bad Mouthoulakes binge (oh the honeyed goodness), I stormed into the editor's office, throwing the doors open before me in a gale of disturbed papers and maps.

Breaking news: Ace of Geeks under Food Truck Thrall?

An influx of amazingly delicious Greek food has been hitting desks throughout the offices of The Ace of Geeks. A new food truck has shown up outside, and has been delivering free food since this morning, when we broke back into our offices. Some have started to wonder about that, as everyone knows - there's no such thing as a free lunch. Our correspondent down on the street has been interviewing people all day, and some of the things they have been saying are very positive - most have recommended the gyros, although there are many more menu items that are available as well.

I'm a bit concerned about this, though. There seems to be an overabundance of staffing in this little food truck, and many of the Ace of Geeks blog staff have stopped complaining about eating at the crappyteria cafeteria. I am also suspicious of the copious amounts of manouri and kasseri cheeses, and gallons of tzatziki. There is also a faction of bloggers who are resisting the call of the gyro. They have been gathering around a table in the break room in a rebellious display of potluck. Included in their dishes are chili, beef stew, corned beef and cabbage, sushi, and fresh sashimi.

It would seem that the free deliveries and menu prices at the food truck are a little too good to be true, as many have opted to order lunch instead of bring it from home like they would usually do. I've been roaming the halls here all day, and I've already seen some animosity flare up between the potluckers and the food truck patrons - challenges like home-made peach cobbler versus bougatsa from the food truck.

Peach Cobbler 

VS

Bougatsa

We'll stay on top of this developing situation, and keep you informed of any changes.

UPDATE: As you may have guessed, this was part of our April Fool's silliness yesterday. Go check out the rest of the story here:

Part One!
Part Two! (You are Here)
Part Three!
Part Four!
Part Five!
Part Six!
Part Seven!
Part Eight!

Personal Update: Weird Situation This Morning

Hey guys, you may have noticed some changes this morning, especially if you took a look at our main site. We don't normally do personal updates here, but this one felt important enough to start to fill you guys in. Last night, at about 10:30pm, a greek food truck parked outside our office door. We were pretty happy about that, to be honest - we don't really have the budget to hire food trucks.

We went down, and they were closed, and so we figured they'd be back in the morning and we all went home.

When we got back in the morning, the office was locked tight, and this was nailed to our door, Martin Luther style:

Yeah, I got no idea what that says. We managed to break back in to the office through our secret underground fighting arena, but we still are locked out of making any changes to the site or to the blog. Not sure what's going on, and we're examining our legal options. I'll keep you updated as we know more.

UPDATE: As you may have guessed, this was part of our April Fool's silliness yesterday. Go check out the rest of the story here:

Part One! (You Are Here)
Part Two!
Part Three!
Part Four!
Part Five!
Part Six!
Part Seven!
Part Eight!

Episode 144: Don't Bring Your F-ing Kids

Mike is joined on the podcast this week by Doc Atrocity, Scorpion (yes, THAT Scorpion) and Broseph Joe Brody from Oakland's own Hoodslam for a discussion about professional wrestling on a weekend that is entirely coincidental and has no big wrestling events on it at all. They'll discuss how a group of wrestlers goofing around with each other turned into one of the biggest drawing shows, with 1000+ packed into Oakland's Metro Opera House every month. We'll also break down wrestling's macho culture in the wake of the latest training scandal, whether the internet's passionate wrestling community is helpful or harmful to running a live show, and how interactivity and truly connecting with the fans is the future of wrestling.

Episode 144!

Episode 140: Jarys' Alien Story

The Ace of Geeks come to you this week from the motel room Jarys and Melissa are using to hide from the Terminator! We'll discuss the things that broke the internet this week, like the Power/Rangers fan film. Plus! Mike and Mae Linh try and convince Jarys to see Kingsman! We review

Episode 140! the Agent Carter season finale! And much more!

Episode 139 - Dundracon 2015

The Ace of Geeks returns to Dundracon, and Dylan, Jim, Frank, Ben, and Ryan and Robert from Found in the Alley join us to break down our experiences! First, we'll discuss Robert and Ryan's FATE Accelerated L5R LARP, before we dive into an X-wing miniatures Assault on the Death Star, the Ace of Geeks' murder mystery, Mecha vs Kaiju, and much much more!

Episode 139!

Marvel and DC Announce Diverse New Comics

Today was a big day for comic books, as massive announcements came from both sides of the Marvel/DC aisle. Marvel made their big announcement that was supposed to appear on The View today (it ended up on their website and mashable instead), and DC announced a whole lineup of new books. The wonderful thing is that a great many of the new books are led by diverse casts - the comic book industry is starting to change. Hit the jump for the full announcements.

Episode 137: That Dark was Joke

This week, the Ace of Geeks get a surprise guest in Robert Fulkerson of Found in the Alley! We'll tell you to vaccinate your damn kids, and in the process discuss League of Legends new map, whether Super Smash Bros is a "real" fighting game, Telltale Games, and what Disneyland says about us a society.

Episode 137!

Episode 135: Who is Jeremy Irons?

 This week, on the Ace of Geeks Podcast: We discuss American Sniper, and it's philosophy of Wolves, Sheep and Sheepdogs. We'll make sure everyone understands how good of a movie George of the Jungle is. Plus - this year's Oscar Snubs, what's it's like to be a Neilsen family, Star Wars, the Slow Regard of Silent Things, and so much more!

Episode 135! 

The Second Age of Ultron Trailer Takes Things from Bad to Worse

Tonight, during the NCAA College Football National Championship Game (What?) Marvel unveiled the second trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron. And like we all expected, the Avengers are going to be torn apart, from the inside. Check out the trailer after the jump, and let us know what knew secrets you noticed in the comments!

Extra Life 2014 Live Stream Marathon!

The Ace of Geeks is proud to, for the second year in a row, be hosting a 24 hour live stream event for Extra Life. Extra Life is an organization that, through the magic of gaming, raises money for Children's Hospitals around the country. Just like last year, we're going to be raising money for the Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland - they received $300k in donations last year, but we're looking to try and blast that number out of the water. Want to join us? Want more details? Check out this lovely video, and then hit the jump for the full schedule and a live feed of our Twitch stream!

Body Shaming IS Bullying. Period. by Raven

I'm fairly new to cosplay - I've been to only four cons so far.  I've done costumes for both Denver cons, and the Wizard World San Antonio Comic Con. Because my self image isn't the greatest, I've been really nervous about doing cosplay for conventions - and my experiences in the past haven't helped with that.

When I did costumes for the first Denver con that I went to, I did a Lady Joker on the first day, and my Crow costume on the second day. I got a lot of positive comments - James O'Barr (the creator of The Crow) had nice things to say about my Crow costume, too, when I went to pick up some art I had  commissioned from him. But I also heard some negative things - like, "Is that a cross-gender Crow? Isn't she a little out of shape for that? What would Brandon Lee say?" and "What would O'Barr say?" I wanted to yell at them, "Hey! I'm right here!" And I knew what Mr. O'Barr would say, since he had already said it to my face.  I tried to stop listening, but I couldn't stop my heart from buying into that crap and it ruined my con  experience.