Tag: Youtube

The New Late Night TV… Youtube

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I try to do the majority of my writing at night. I really, truly do. But sometimes the internet rabbit hole calls and off I descend into that level of madness.

I’ve mentioned on here that since the virus, some of my evening time feels like it needs to just be unwinding time. The kind of not worried about anything type of time. It’s that time of night to normally turn on the tv and watch reruns of The Office or Friends or Futurama or maybe a movie you’ve seen 100 times (Office Space, I’m looking at you). And while I certainly do that, for some reason, I’ve turned to Youtube videos to help me decompress.

Very Gary Comics

Gary is a comic book dealer. He posts videos about collections he’s found “in the wild” (as he calls them). He does unboxing videos where he shows us all the graded comics. Occasionally, he does posts where he sees if his wife can name comic book characters (she hits about 40%).

I’ve utterly fascinated by it.

I read comics. I’m not a collector in the sense of having my comics sealed up so that they can’t be reread. But there is something about the genuine joy he has for doing it that has me intrigued. Maybe it is because I don’t dwell on that side of the comic aisle, so everything is very new and fresh. Or maybe it’s just a new way of looking at the industry I’ve loved for so long. And while I may not be a collector in this sense, it has always been cool to find out one of the comics upstairs is worth $100 or $200 or whatever.

Had comic conventions actually been a thing this year, I have no doubt I would have bought my first graded book by this point.

Owen Likes Comics

This is like watching the History Channel for comic stories and creators. Owen takes a story-arc and in about fifteen or twenty minutes really breaks down some of the background behind it. Ever wonder about the time that Superman died… he’s got a video for that. Want to know about the Spider-Man Clone Saga… yep, got that covered.

Again, I think there is a passion there that he’s really bringing forth. Clearly he takes his time to cut these videos together, finding older interviews and clips to splice in. Sometimes, I know a bit of the story and he fills in that little extra. Other times, I’ve no idea what I’m about to get into.

Every time I’m interested.

Cracking the Cryptic

I keep meaning to tell my dad about this one.

I like playing Sudoku. It’s a nice way to do a quick(ish) puzzle game where I’m going to engage my brain and also see if I can figure this next one out.

These guys who solve these Sudoku… well this is next level. As my wife said,  “So regular Sudoku wasn’t enough?”

Apparently not.

What ends up happening is I watch a little bit, solve a little bit… get stuck, go back to them, they show me some technique and then I go try to solve the damn puzzle in about 3 times as long as they solved it.

I’m a nerd… whatever, it’s relaxing.

 

Tolarian Community College

It’s not what you think. I’m not learning Math or Science at this place. No…

It’s about Magic the Gathering.

The thing is, Magic is probably my favorite game of all time. I honestly wish I still was going to tournaments and playing… some of my best memories are with my friends, playing this game until 3 in the morning. I love the artwork. I love the strategy. I love finding the one play to win a game out of nowhere.

The Professor (the host) feels that love for the game. He talks about decks. He talks about formats. He talks about the new sets. He scolds Wizards of the Coast for bad decisions. And if you are a new player, he has tons of videos for you as well… to help get you into the game.

It is a true resource on the web.

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There are some others that pop up on my feed here and there, but those are my current go to. What are yours?

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John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. The Trade paperback collecting the first 4 issues is finally back from the printers! If you would like to purchase a copy, go here!

Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?

Click here to join John’s mailing list.

His other prose appears in The Dark That Follows, Hollow Empire, Beyond the Gate, and Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows.

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com

Stories From Our Future, Youtube Series Review

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Now called Stories From Our Future

Stories from our Future is the official name for something that was originally going to be Little Black Mirror. Released on June 10, 2019, to help celebrate the release of Season 5 of Black Mirror, it took three short films (each less than 10 minutes each) that were all told in the vein of the television show.

One thing about these shorts: there is no spoken dialogue. The music, the beat, or soundtrack helps propel the stories along. In addition, there is a bit of text here and there to help push the narrative along. The other thing I just now realized is how the themes of these shorts mirror (Black Mirror?) the episodes of the season.

EP 1 – Getting to Know You

A virtual landscape to escape the drudgery of your daily life. Who hasn’t seen the video games that end up sucking their players into a life that effectively ends up being wake up, work, and then get online to interact with people you may or may not really know. Unless you meet them in real life, what do you really know about their people? How much might you have in common with them? Are they someone you could see yourself with in a relationship?

And what happens in your real relationships? When does your digital world become more real than your physical one?

And does it even matter?

EP 2 – The Healthy Alternative

Addiction comes in all forms and flavors. It could be a type of food, sodas, alcohol, drugs, sex, and just about anything else you could possibly think of.

And while it is very easy to recognize many of the bigger ones, that doesn’t mean the companies who make and sell this stuff aren’t trying on a constant basis to tweak your mind ever so slightly. They are trying to get their names burrowed within your brain so that you don’t see it as something bad or good. It becomes almost background noise to you.

The sneaky thing is if they can convince you that what they are selling is not only good for you but literally can improve your life in ways that you might not even realize.

And in this future, they can always upgrade the system to make sure they are dealing with your every ailment.

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

EP 3 – Cure for Loneliness

The rut of our lives. The constant sameness. Day in an day out. You wake up, go to work, maybe you have a hobby or distraction, and then bed before doing it all again. It makes it where you have to wonder if you actually do see time in a linear fashion, or maybe after a few years of this routine, those days do not fall in a real order.

Throughout all of that, if you are doing it by yourself, then comes the loneliness. Being with someone else. Having them share in some of those experiences, no matter how mundane they may be. That is how humans were supposed to see this world. Not through their own eyes, but through someone else’s eyes. That is how we grow and love and make our days just a little better.

This was my favourite of the three.

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To see these episodes, check them out on Youtube here. I’m not sure if this is a one-of experiment or if it something we can expect to see more of in the future. I hope so.

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John McGuire is the creator/author of the steampunk comic The Gilded Age. The Trade paperback collecting the first 4 issues is finally back from the printers! If you would like to purchase a copy, go here!

Want to read the first issue for free? Click here! Already read it and eager for more?

Click here to join John’s mailing list.

His other prose appears in The Dark That Follows, Hollow Empire, Beyond the Gate, and Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows.

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com

Interview with a 9 Year Old

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Every generation prior to the current one is always held with such esteem. And they always lament the next generation. They were the hard-workers and this next one is lazy. We know how the world works. They’ll be lucky if they can tie their shoe laces correctly.

I heard the same things said about the Generation Xers that are now being said about the Millenials. And I’m pretty sure in a few years we’re going to hear that the Millenials are worried the world is going to go downhill with the generation after them.

I try not to judge too harshly. I want to understand where other people’s thoughts and experiences have taken them. And maybe I don’t always agree with them about any number of things, I’m also not entirely sure I’m the one who is correct.

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I loved video games growing up. The Atari was played as much as humanly possible, and when everyone else had a Nintendo, I begged my parents for one of those. As the years have gone on I’ve gone through many gaming systems and it is probably only in the last few years I haven’t played as much as I might like (given the quality of today’s games).

However, there is a weird (to me) phenomenon where a whole generation of kids aren’t necessarily playing the video games themselves, but are instead going online to watch others play the games. I don’t know if I even knew about this being a thing until South Park ran an episode a few years ago “#REHASH”.

I think a Cartman commentary of my life would be “Gah, going to work again? Boring!”

And it is clearly big business as it shows up on my tv some late nights on TBS or ESPN. The other night I saw a show where they were breaking down a Street Fighter Tournament like it was the NCAA March Madness selection show. And while I might watch out of curiosity for a little while, mostly shows like that make it where I’d just rather play something myself.

During our annual family beach trip, I saw that my nephew is one of those kids who watch  Youtubers (is that even the correct word?) for hours upon hours. Now he also plays some games, but there is a definite joy for him by simply watching and listening to other people playing.

So I decided to run an impromptu interview with my nephew in an effort to get to the bottom of this (and did a follow up on the phone). But as with anything asked of him, he can be a bit evasive to actually give answers.

He won’t look up because he’s ENGROSSED… or maybe he doesn’t like taking pictures. Definitely one or the other.

Who is your favorite person on Youtube to watch?

fudz

Why is that?

He’s funny.

Ah, I see. Not going to give me very much to go on already. That was OK, though, I had ways of making people talk.

So what’s the deal with watching other people playing video games on Youtube all day?

I don’t know.

Hmm, this might be a tougher nut to crack than I first thought.

Well, you like watching them, right?

Yes.

Right. Maybe try a different tactic?

Would you rather watch them or play the game yourself?

Watch them.

Really? Why is that?

They show you how to play. You don’t have to look up how to do something because they already know and won’t get stuck.

Finally, now we’re getting somewhere.

Do you watch them play games you’ve never played?

Most of them I’ve never played.

He’s up to something… don’t let the grin fool you.

Oh.

I mean, I’ve played Dumb Ways To Die and Battlefront.

What’s your current favorite game?

Star Wars Battlefront and Nascar 14. It’s a much better game than ’09 was.

What is your favorite game to watch, but you haven’t played?

Unknown Battlefield

Is making Youtube videos something you’d want to do?

Yes.

Why don’t you do it now?

I don’t have all the equipment for it.

At that point, his people swooped in and ended the interview. The phone went dead. I scrambled with my own cell, making sure it wasn’t me who was the problem… but I had plenty of bars and plenty of power. His mother called me back shortly thereafter to let me know that he hung up on me.

I’m not sure if I was asking the right questions or if he was just leading me through a maze with no escape. Or maybe I was getting too close to the truth of it all, and he decided that he’d end the conversation before we reached a place we could never come back from.

And I’m not sure if I’ll ever really know the answer.

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John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novellas Theft & Therapy and There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the Beyond the Gate anthology, which is free on most platforms!

And has two shorts in the Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows anthology! Check it out!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.