Before we all take off for Thanksgiving holiday travel, we gather at the cave to talk about poor movie-watching decisions, romantic comedies, and our gift giving tips! How are you spending your holidays?
One Day Builds
Adam embarks on one of his most ambitious builds yet: fulfil…
Show And Tell
Adam recently completed a build of the royal St. Edwards cro…
Making
Viewers often ask to see Adam working in real-time, so this …
One Day Builds
Adam and Norm assemble a beautifully machined replica prop k…
One Day Builds
One of the ways Adam has been getting through lockdown has b…
Making
Adam unboxes and performs a quick test of this novel new hel…
Making
When Adam visited Weta Workshop early last year, he stopped …
One Day Builds
Adam tackles a shop shelf build that he's been putting off f…
Show And Tell
Time for a model kit build! This steampunk-inspired mechanic…
One Day Builds
Adam reveals his surprise Christmas present for his wife--a …
Re: movies: Doctor Strange, anyone? Or the new Potterverse film?
Re: Rom-com’s: The guy who did _Being Ginger_ is on the last day of trying to kickstart a sort-of sequel called “An American Ginger in Paris” (at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottpharris/an-american-ginger-in-paris-finishing-funds/ ); Rom-com related because it’s about “what happens when you watch too many romantic comedies.” He’s not made it to goal yet, and only a few hours left!
how do us flyovers manage the burden of living
This is one of the funniest eps in a long while.
I’m thinking Norm is stuck for ideas for Christmas gifts. 🙂
The interesting gift shop in Raleigh, NC is Accipiter. http://www.accipitergallery.com/
Paxton Gate in the Mission is so amazing. My wife and I visited SF for the Tested live show and we ended up in there 2-3 times over the long weekend. They also have a “kids” store a couple blocks up the street.
This is my first post. I stumbled across tested about 3 months ago and have consumed all of the videos. Then I discovered the pod cast and have been listening to them every time I have 20-30 minutes. I am still gleeful that I have 80+ to go. If Adam gets this message, please do another of your favorite things for 2016. Loved Notting Hill by the way.
Ah, woods porn… a relic of a time gone by…
“Back in my day… “
Paxton Gate is amazing, and the kids store is even better. If you are buying gifts for a kid who likes Harry Potter or similar, you’ll find some great wizard’y stuff there 🙂
Another cool place for gifts in SF is 826 Valencia’s pirate store, which is just a couple of blocks from Paxton Gate… the address sort of gives itself away :p
Missed the Christmas tree farm stories!
Yes, Lemonade in Australia and New Zealand has always been (essentially) Sprite / 7Up, though it was local brands when I was a lad. You can get what Americans expect as well, but it’s normally called something like Lemon Squash, or has a word like “traditional” in its description.
Come on guys, the “We once drove around in Texas and remarked about all the strip malls” and how Central-States America is foreign to Coastal residents is overly reductive and, frankly incorrect from a ‘relatable demographics’ perspective. Many local counties where I live voted majority democrat, even though the state went red. Welcome to the electoral college folks. And lest you think I don’t relate to your experience, even though I’m from Texas, I lived at Pine and Mason St. in the ‘Tendernob’ for several years. I get the coastal conceit. It happened to me as well when I lived there. It’s easy to assume the visage of unrelatability with the rest of the World when you live there. But that same conceit is also one of the reasons why we lost the election.
On a lighter note, looking forward to seeing Arrival and Rogue One soon. The new Luc Besson sci-fi film also looks amazing. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Shut.
Up.
About.
The.
Segues.
Thank you.
I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request. But thanks for playing.
Dandelion in SF is out of business.
Re: Gift Ideas. If you’re in Lafayette, Colorado (or not, they ship) check out Curating the Cool for offbeat gifts. I’ve seen a hand-drawn Middle Earth map, 500 year old illuminated pages, taxidermy, rare vinyl and they have a nifty toy shop adjacent.
http://curatingthecool.com
Ok, took 6 minutes to get through fat, sanctimonious doughboy Will’s political comments. And Adam was deftly trying to avoid side-choosing (though we know where he stands, and that is fine) because he actually cares about BOTH halves of our nation’s population (and subscribers) sometimes. Adams whole point was putting such things aside for the holidays and his co-caster couldn’t get the message.
Please gentlemen, check your politics at the door. Not even that really, check your opinion of those who disagree with your politics at the door. Who is being un-inclusive now? Who is Tested for anyway?
I DID like the “Boxing Helena” comments because, OMG what a terrible movie. 🙂
The rest was pretty good.
John, your ad hominem is not helping your argument.
This site never shunned a good political rant or controversial opinion. That is why a lot of us enjoy the podcast, and why it will never cater to everyone. This isn’t the first time you’ve come at odds with the team’s personal opinions, at some point, you might just have to accept that you will keep running a risk of stumbling onto one of those opinions, or stop listening.
(forum bug kept me from you, I did not intend this as a “subtweet”)
I think why is the question these days
Re: Romantic comedies
Not a movie, but an excellent light romantic comedy novel with sci-fi elements recently came out, Crosstalk by Connie Willis. I highly recommend it to Adam, it’s a fun book.
yeah gotta mind the clownsticks feelings
I liked Jon Stewart’s take on the election and politics of this past
yearcycle https://youtu.be/mUkv_jPgTeg I think the full interview with Charlie Rose should be available by now.On Romantic comedies:
“Love Actually” is great and also “Monsters”. The second one is less Comedy but when I saw it at the Fantasy film fest I was expecting more of a Monster movie, but it is in fact a romantic movie in with Monsters in the Background (of the Story and the shots). This whole experience mad it quite comical. 🙂
on a different Topic: you were talking about reading and discussing the kingkiller chronicles a while ago…
I would love to her your thoughts on the books, because i love them and especially love the way the Magic works and is predictable in that universe.
If you are in the DC area and have access to a car, you may want to check out the Gateway Arts District. It runs for 2 miles from Eastern Ave and Rhode Island NE (DC border) to Madison and Baltimore St in Hyattsville. The area is home for 350 artists. If you check out the web site, you can get a map of the studios and galleries. Bird’s Kitchen, Franklins, Busboys and Poets are some of the places to eat and drink (Franklin is also a brewery).
http://mygatewayarts.org
In this political divide should i suggest California asks to join the Cascadia movement? Who knows it maybe be nice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_(independence_movement)
wow… it’s like von clownstick was in the room 🙂
hick
I was really hoping the comment section here on the site would be better then the youtube ones. I guess not. Not surprised its by people who are not members of the Tested website. I wish there was some sort of voting system, think Reddit, for the comment section here. Help weed out the trash.
It’s their podcast guys. One podcast of the so many others you can listen to. This is a place where they speak their mind on subjects that are on their mind. The election is very much on everyone’s minds.
Contribute to the conversation of get out.
That being said here are some website that could be some interest for people who are looking for gifts
Etsy-esque type shop
shanalogic.com
Gamers apperal shop
jinx.com
thinkgeek.com
Some interesting items that you might not of thought of.
uncommongoods.com
A toys ‘r us-esque type shop
entertainmentearth.com
Skymall for the internet
coolpeopleshop.com
firebox.com/
While I love this podcast and really don’t care about all the political bullshit and understand that this is their podcast for them to talk about what they want to talk about. <<
My one critique that annoys me about listening to this is Adam hijacking Norms point. It sometimes feels like a family gathering. Norm is the younger child who can never get a point or word in.
Audio quality is kinda crap for this episode. Will sounds like he is down the hall……
I’m out in the middle of KS and the most interesting store around here is ten thousand villages, other than that you are sunk. Lucky I don’t really have any friends to buy gifts for.LOL
I thought the same thing! LOL
Hey everyone!
Here are a couple of my favorite romantic comedies:
– Crazy, Stupid, Love (Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone)
– Love Actually (too many stars to list)
– Wedding Crashers (Own Wilson, Vince Vaughn)
– The Proposal (Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds)
I’d love to hear more suggestions! 🙂
Johniz: someones jimmies were rustled.
If you like Romantic Comedies, I heartily recommend you give some Korean Dramas a try. Koreans have definitely mastered that art form. “Secret Garden” is a good start, and it’s available on Hulu. Think of them as 20 part Romantic Comedy mini-series. They’re not for everyone, but they’re often very well crafted and acted. I also like “Rooftop Prince” and “Couple or Trouble.” I’ve been amazed at how they can take a very simple concept (i.e. body-swapping, or the plot from the Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russel movie “Overboard”) and flesh it out with characters and scenarios that make the whole thing ten time more enjoyable than it had any right to be.
As far as movies go, the Hollywood classics are another gold vein waiting to be mined. If you haven’t watched “The Philadelphia Story” – you’re missing out! There’s also “Bringing up Baby,” the entire “Thin Man” film series (truly wonderful), and, if you want heaps of suspense mixed in, Hitchcock’s “39 Steps” and “The Lady Vanishes.” If you include Screwball Comedies, you get “It Happened One Night” and “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
If you go way back, there are some silent movie marvels in this category. You could pass off most of Buster Keaton’s films as romantic comedies. “Seven Chances,” “Our Hospitality,” “Sherlock, Jr.,” “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” “The General,” “College,” “The Navigator,” and “The Battling Butler.” Almost all of his solo shorts are here, too. Harold Lloyd is another treasure – “Safety Last,” “The Freshman,” “Speedy,” “Kid Brother,” and “Girl Shy” are favorites. Chaplin usually includes a little bittersweet notes with his movies, but “City Lights” and “Modern Times” are still great, and most of his Mutual shorts follow the same vein (“The Immigrant” being be best, imho).
Another good genre for Romantic Comedy is opera. Start with “La Cenerentola” the movie version by Ponnelle (1981 with the wonderful Frederica Von Stade). It’s a LOT of fun. If you enjoy it, there are tons of Bellini and Donzetti that fall in the buffo (comedy) vice tragedy grouping. Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” is marvelous (considered by many the best opera ever written), but finding good versions of it can be tough. I don’t care for Ponnelle’s version (he tried far too hard to make it into something it’s not), and staged versions can be hit or miss. Newer stagings are often trying so hard to be modern it’s beyond distracting, and really the music and not the idiot producer’s whims is supposed to be the showcase. If you can find a good older staging, it’s worth the search. The 1973 Glyndebourne version with Cortrubas and Kanawa is very serviceable. The Figaro is, alas, weak, but overall a strong ensemble.
You might also consider Ingmar Bergman’s version of the Magic Flute. He actually improved on the Mozart original by making some of the plot more coherent, and the young singers are very good. The Papageno/Pagapena story arc is pretty funny, and the whole thing has a light feel even though there’s much weight to it.
And if you looking at musicals (which is all operas really are), there are wonderful romantic musicals out there. “Singin’ in the Rain” being the uber example, but don’t forget “Royal Wedding” with Fred Astair and, of all people, Winston Churchill’s daughter!
Oh – and “Roman Holiday” – I forgot to mention that one. Young Audrey Hepburn – ravishing!
Rom Com Suggestions
Run Fatboy Run
Man Up
Sing Street