Hiatus

EPISODE 93

[EPISODE]

[00:00:10] O: Hey, everybody and welcome to Enjoy the Vue. I'm Oscar, and today on our panel we have Alex.

[00:00:16] Al: Hello.

[00:00:17] O: Ari.

[00:00:17] Ar: Hi.

[00:00:18] O: And Tessa.

[00:00:19] T: Hello.

[00:00:20] O: This one's a great one, folks. This episode, we are happy to announce – I mean, it might be sad for you all. But for us, we are happy to announce, we are going on a little bit of a hiatus.

[00:00:31] T: Going on a break.

[00:00:32] O: Going on a break, baby. Everybody needs a break.

[00:00:34] Al: Sabbatical.

[00:00:35] O: Yes. Oh, are we getting paid?

[00:00:39] Al: No, never mind. So, it’s not a sabbatical.

[00:00:42] O: Okay, I got very excited for a minute. I was getting really –

[00:00:46] Al: It’s the opposite. We're going on a break because we're not getting paid.

[00:00:53] T: Wait. But if not spending money on the podcast, in a way we're kind of getting paid. We’re anti-losing money.

[00:01:01] O: Yeah, anti-losing money. Honestly, that's the way to go.

[00:01:05] T: Finally, we can all afford one house together.

[00:01:07] O: Oh, baby. The Enjoy the Vue squad house? Are you kidding me? That would be so hype. Actually, well, where would we buy said house? What is the Enjoy the Vue – where’s the place with the best view?

[00:01:23] T: I mean, we can't even decide where you should move. So, I don't know. If we’re going to make any progress here.

[00:01:29] O: All right. But anyway, folks, yes. So, on today's episode, we know that you all will absolutely miss us. You will be bored out of your mind. So, we are more than happy to provide you with some extra special picks today, so that way you all are happily entertained until our return. So, who wants to go first with some picks? Alex, what do you got for us?

[00:01:50] Al: Well, I was figuring that we could probably do like a round robin stuff. You don’t have to listen me talk for the next 30 minutes.

[00:01:56] Ar: Wait, I have to go up with more picks?

[00:01:58] O: No, Ari. We’ll come back to you and make you say something on the spot.

[00:02:03] Al: Yeah, we'll just cut you off and not let you talk and be fine. I'll be great. Yeah, well, okay, so my first pick though, I'm very excited about. I have been excited about this thing for a year almost and it finally showed up. I have a Steam Deck and it is glorious.

[00:02:21] O: Steamy?

[00:02:21] Al: It is very steamy. It is glorious, and it is wonderful and it is everything that I wanted it to be.

[00:02:28] T: This is the thing that lets you type the M dashes on Twitter.

[00:02:32] AI: No, no, that's my Stream Deck. This is a Steam Deck. A Steam Deck, imagine if you will, a small portable computer that can play video games with the controller on either side. 

[00:02:43] T: We’ve literally test driven the Nintendo Switch 300 times on this show.

[00:02:47] Al: Yeah, yeah. I know, it’s like a Nintendo Switch but it's actually a PC and you can play all Steam games on it and I have a giant Steam library and I was like, it's great for traveling. It's been a joy to use and I've been playing games on it. It's fantastic. Highly recommend it.

[00:03:04] O: Dirty technical question, is that bad boy ARM?

[00:03:07] Al: It is. It is an AMD processor.

[00:03:13] Ar: Why is it ARM and AMD and not ARM and AMD? Let’s go.

[00:03:24] Al: But it's an AMD processor and it's running their own version of Arch, basically. So, you can just drop down at the desktop if you want to and it is, and do all the Linux things.

[00:03:38] O: Yeah, I was going to like ask, like Arch Linux? But how does it run games?

[00:03:42] Al: Proton. It's all it's all Proton and Wine based.

[00:03:46] O: That's spicy.

[00:03:46] Al: Oh, it's so cool. It's so great. Spicy.

[00:03:50] T: You all bunch of nerds.

[00:03:53] Al: Yeah, we're a bunch of nerds. Technically, you can also install Windows on there. Support for Windows, not so great.

[00:03:57] O: Yeah, that's so funny to me. That's lovely. I don't want to say screw windows.

[00:04:04] T: You don’t not, not want to say apparently.

[00:04:05] Al: Ari is giving us the, “Oh, my gosh, you boys are such nerds” face, I think.

[00:04:10] O: Ari is a nerd too. She just don’t want to say it.

[00:04:16] Ar: Wow, you just put me on blast.

[00:04:19] Al: So, anyway, if you are on the fence about whether or not you want a Steam Deck, let me tell you, you want a Steam Deck. It's fantastic. The intro level one is 400 and then like the next one up is like 500. It just takes a year for you to get it.

[00:04:35] O: That's like less than the cost of an Enjoy the Vue episode, right? Sorry.

[00:04:45] T: That’s than less than the cost of a postage stamp.

[00:04:50] O: Alright, Ari. You’re up next. What do you got for us?

[00:04:52] Ar: First on the list, Inventing Anna, mostly just because trying to imitate the way she talks is highly entertaining.

[00:05:00] T: Can we hear? I haven't seen the show and I probably won't watch it. So, this will be my one chance.

[00:05:06] Ar: You look poor.

[00:05:11] T: Is that good or bad?

[00:05:13] Ar: That was a dead-on impression by the way.

[00:05:17] Al: Wow.

[00:05:18] T: Is poor good or bad?

[00:05:18] Ar: You all are so basic. I am not.

[00:05:23] T: Any other details?

[00:05:26] Ar: No. That’s really all you need to know. Basically, it’s a story of an imposter. She can't even get her own accent consistent. So, she's either a Russian heiress or a German something. Who knows? You have to tune in to find out, but it's also based on a true story. It wasn't just that the actress couldn't nail the accent. She nailed the real person's accent by being inconsistent.

[00:05:57] O: That's incredible. I love that. How long is it?

[00:06:02] Ar: God, I don’t know, it was like 12 episodes or something.

[00:06:05] O: Okay, that's not too bad. That's not too bad. I need something bingeable, to be honest.

[00:06:09] Ar: It's very bingeable.

[00:06:10] O: Great. Because I can't do that whole episode a day or something. If Netflix isn't asking me if I'm still there. Who else will? 

[00:06:23] Ar: If it's not asking you, you’re doing it wrong.

[00:06:25] O: Exactly. So, I'll throw in one next before we get to Tessa. This is my best pick. They go downhill from here. So, it's the movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once. This movie, it's been out for a little bit. It's sort of a film that is – I don't even know how to describe it. But it's a little bit of sci fi. It's martial arts. There's love. There's humor. It's really freaking funny movie. I laughed harder at that movie than I've laughed at anything in a really long time.

[00:06:54] T: Except for our episodes, obviously.

[00:06:55] O: Yeah. Definitely, but it's an absolutely fantastic movie. Especially if you are looking for just to get out of the house and watch something or, honestly, I think there are places you can stream it online now.

[00:07:11] T: It’s going to be in June, I think.

[00:07:12] O: In June, you can stream it. Okay. Well, by the time you all hear this episode.

[00:07:20] T: Don’t spill before June. I mean, the date. It will be before that day.

[00:07:25] O: I see. I see. Well, folks, you're in for an absolute treat. I don't want to say anything else, just because I don't want to spoil anything. But if you are a nerd like I am, you'll definitely enjoy discussing all the physics and all of the – just a lot of conversations you can have with friends about this movie. I'll leave it at that. I really don't want to spoil anything, because it was really fantastic. And with that, Tessa, what is your pick? Your first pick?

[00:07:53] T: Well, I think it's funny that Alex talked about the Steam games, because I am playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses again, which I've talked about in the past. And there is a meaningless game in there that I cannot figure out where you invite somebody else in the game to go to the steam room with you, and you basically try to sit there and get as hot as possible without either of you fainting. If you make it, you win the game. But every time I've like gotten into the red zone, it's like, wow, you feel great. And every time I get into the yellow zone, which is what you're supposed to be targeting, and then the game ends. It's like, “Oh, I feel like I could have stayed in there a little longer.” So, clearly have no idea how that works.

Theoretically, it is a tactics game, which is why I got it. But the majority of the game is running around and finding people's lost things and having tea parties with them, and going to the steam room. I can't really say that part of the game is made for me, but I've been playing it again. So, there you go. Hope that helps. It's on Nintendo Switch.

[00:08:55] O: I mean, I’m down for the tea.

[00:08:57] T: You have to pick the right tea for the right person and then give them prompts that they like to hear. If they don't like to hear it, then your relationship points with them don't go up so you don't get added bonuses on the battlefield.

[00:09:11] O: Sorry, I was just imagining this in real life and I was like, “Yeah, like that's just like real life. I tell people what they want to hear. You think our relationship is better.” And then you got to the battlefield part and I was like, “Ah.”

[00:09:23] T: If you don't make them happy, like then you don't have a good relationship. You got to structure everything around their wants and needs, their feelings.

[00:09:32] Al: As a white male in tech, I don't understand this concept at all.

[00:09:38] T: We know.

[00:09:40] O: We know. And with that, give us your next pick Alex.

[00:09:44] Al: Alright. So, my next pick is Allison, my wife and I, a show that my wife and I have been watching. It is called Ghosts. It is a BBC comedy series. A husband and wife suddenly inherit a large estate that is falling apart. They get in there starting to fix things up and the wife has a near death experience and can suddenly see the ghosts that live there and it is hilarious. Just the antics of eight people that nobody else can see all yelling at somebody, and her trying to navigate various things with that. It's three seasons long, and it's really good and I'm hoping that they're coming out with another season, but there is an American version. Don't watch that one. Because it's probably not good. You want to watch the British version.

[00:10:38] T: Wait, you probably didn't even watch it?

[00:10:39] Ar: It wasn't bad. I kind of just forgot about it.

[00:10:44] O: I also watched a bit of the American one, because my sister showed me. You all didn’t know I had a sister.

[00:10:52] T: Sister reveal at 10 episodes.

[00:10:56] O: Oh, yeah. My sister showed me the show and she has she really enjoys it. Honestly, I was like, this is a funny good show, even if it's American.

[00:11:04] Ar: So, you're wrong, Alex.

[00:11:06] O: Alex, you’re wrong. I would be interested in trying out both though, compare them back to back. Just a little office kind of deal. You know what I mean?

[00:11:14] Al: Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's very much in the – I guess the American version could go its own way and become its own thing. But the British version is –

[00:11:22] Ar: Yeah, because the history of the ghost obviously has to be somewhat different, different countries and different age of countries.

[00:11:31] O: Very true.

[00:11:33] AL: And the caveman, it just doesn't – I don't know that it would work quite as well, based in America.

[00:11:41] O: Ari, what you got next for us?

[00:11:43] Ar: My next pick is Severance, which is on Apple TV+. It is honestly one of the best shows I have ever watched. Every moment is so intentional, even if it doesn't seem like it in the moment. Later you're like, “Oh, that's what that was.” It's also beautifully shot and I may or may not have like a massive crush on Adam Scott. So, I’m not biased or anything. But yeah, there's only one season out and if you really hate cliffhangers, you're going to want to wait a couple years.

[00:12:21] T: Yes. No one warned me. I was so mad when I got to the end.

[00:12:25] Ar: That's why I’m warning other people, because yeah, I realized how upset you were. Yeah, it's not – honestly, it's not ideal, but the journey there is still worth it.

[00:12:37] T: Yeah, I think if I had enjoyed the journey more than I would have been more like, “Oh, I can't wait for the next season.” But it was because like, I only got excited towards the ends that I was like, “Ah, I'm finally starting to get into it.” Now, anyway, when you mentioned Adam Scott, I thought of the, ‘Could a depressed person make this?’ meme again, and it’s so good. I love that.

[00:12:56] O: When you wrote down Severance, I hadn't realized it was a TV show. I thought it was going to be like a get your bag situation. I was like, “Alright, I’d pick that.” Don't sign nothing.

[00:13:09] Ar: There is also a town called Severance, couple towns over from where I used to live. And that was all I could think of when I first started seeing ads for it. I was like, “Oh, they made a TV show about that tiny town out there that no one cares about.”

[00:13:25] T: The other day, I got recommended an article that was titled something like ‘Severance and Severance’. And I was like, what? And then I looked at the top paragraph and it was just about Severance, and I was like, “Why would you do this to me?” Apparently they made a tie in book as well. But I hadn't read it yet.

[00:13:40] O: I mean, I like everything linking together.

[00:13:42] Ar: Oh, I guess I should maybe mention the basic premise of Severance, it's that – it’s kind of a sci fi thriller in which they have figured out a way to completely separate people's work lives from their personal lives, so that each part of their personality has no idea what happens to their counterpart.

[00:14:08] O: That’s so interesting.

[00:14:09] Ar: It is, yeah, especially because interesting things happen in the elevator, which is where the transition happens, because work person, they literally just appear in the elevator every day, not knowing what the heck is going on and vice versa.

[00:14:27] O: Okay, maybe I'm getting too into it. But wouldn't it kind of like suck if your whole being was just work? If you were that one part of yourself, wouldn’t that suck?

[00:14:37] Ar: Yeah.

[00:14:37] O: I almost said a cuss word. That’s crazy. I think I’m going to watch this show.

[00:14:47] T: When they introduced the idea, like you, I was like, “Who would choose this?”

[00:14:52] Ar: But also, your home person never goes to work.

[00:14:56] T: Yeah, but you're only there when you're not at work, right? The late, when it’s dark out. I think it's nice that you don't have to worry about work at home if you're having work issues, but yeah, I don't know. 

[00:15:09] Ar: It’s just like when you have surgery, it's like no time passed. You have no recollection of it.

[00:15:14] T: Yeah, that's true.

[00:15:16] O: Solid. Well, that's definitely going to be on my list. And I think next up for me, I'm not going to reuse a pick I've used before, fine. So, my next pick is Slay the Spire.

[00:15:26] T: I regret to inform you, you've picked it before. It was like one of your first picks on –

[00:15:30] O: Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me?

[00:15:33] T: I didn’t realize it until after you’re reading it out.

[00:15:38] O: Oh, my goodness, gracious me.

[00:15:40] Ar: Yeah, because I kind of remember mentioning that my coworker is world ranked in that game. This is feeling familiar.

[00:15:47] O: We are in trouble. So, anyway, so my next pick is Slay the Spire. If you haven't played this game, it's a rogue-like deck building game. You can play it on PC, you can play it on us Steam Deck, I imagine. You can play it on your phone.

[00:16:05] Ar: Alex is nodding.

[00:16:07] O: You can play it on like anything. If you like card games, you like deck building, you like solo games, you want to have a good challenge. It is the game for you, 1,000 percent. If you haven't heard of it, you're going to love it. If you have heard of it, I bet you're nodding your head like, “Yes, this dude gets it.” Those are the only outcomes.

[00:16:27] T: What if it’s neither of us? 

[VOICE OVERLAP 00:16:29 - 00:16:34]

[00:16:33] Al: I may actually have to play this one now, because it's not one that I have.

[00:16:39] O: Yeah. A deck building game is just like, there's different cards that do different things and at potential points, at various points in the game, you get offered some number of cards, and you get to choose a card to add to your deck and you make your deck build better over time. So, it's kind of fun. You have to be like little strategic, you got to be a little knowledgeable, like, figure out how your stuff is going to interact together. But it's pretty cool. So, if you've ever – I don't know if you're a nerd, but –

[00:17:00] Ar: Absolutely not.

[00:17:03] O: So, if you've ever played like Dominion or games like that, those are also like deck building games. I should add Dominion.

[00:17:10] T: Did either of you heard of it? I’m not sure.

[00:17:12] Al: I have not. That is the one that I haven't played, is Dominion.

[00:17:16] O: Interesting. Okay.

[00:17:17] T: Oscar is like, next game night, it's going to be mandatory attendance.

[00:17:24] O: You got to play it at least once. You can be like, “I hate it.” But you got to play it at least once. It's super-duper fun game. The music is incredible. In fact, it’s just the story of me being very sad, emailing with a dude who transcribed all of the music from Slay the Spire for piano. We had emails back and forth with me being like, “Hey, can I have that from you, please?” And he was like, “Oh, no.” Yeah. It was fine. He was just being super respectful with the creators, with licensing and whatnot. He didn't want to be like, “Oh, yeah, like, sure. I'm just handing out your music.” Which I could transcribe it myself. But that's like effort.

[00:18:05] T: I thought maybe, they didn't want to bring it up, because then obviously, you'd have to play it on the show, because that's the rule.

[00:18:08] O: No, it's just a boring story. So, I didn’t tell it. But now the world knows, which is all good. So, next up, Tessa, what you got for us.

[00:18:19] T: So, I would like to recommend this obscure indie show called Better Call Saul. It's on AMC. It is spin off/prequel to Breaking Bad, which I personally did not like. But also, I didn't watch it completely from beginning to end. And Better Call Saul, I find really interesting because I feel like Breaking Bad, it came out like during the era of shows where you're supposed to hate everybody in the show. I don't know if Breaking Bad, specifically, you were meant to hate everybody. But I feel like there were a lot of shows like that and that made them like, deep somehow. But for me, it just made them hard to watch. Sometimes they were interesting, but it was hard to feel invested.

I like to see characters grow or like see what motivates them and stuff, but not just always to hurt other people. So, with Better Call Saul, it's like you have this guy who became a lawyer, he worked his way up from the mailroom, and he wants to do the right thing, but he also wants to do the wrong thing. He's constantly trying to balance those two impulses and there's a bunch of other people and everybody feels very human. It's beautifully shot. The sound design – I mean, AMC sound design typically is pretty good, but the sound design is excellent. I'm on the second to last season. I'm not enjoying this one as much yet, but it's –

[00:19:32] O: Got him.

[00:19:31] T: Yeah, got him. It’s a really great show.

[00:19:36] Ar: It’s definitely a slow burn.

[00:19:38] T: Yeah, it's a slow burn, but not in the sense of like, you have to build up to something for the show to get going. It's kind of like –

[00:19:48] Ar: Just like a slow pace, but in a way that, yeah, like you said, the characters feel very human. So, if you're looking for action, not the show for you. But if you care about characters, I love it.

[00:20:03] T: Yeah. Also, if you like writing, I feel like it's a really good example of balancing A plot and B plot, and it also has the best written argument that I could think of off the top of my head and also, when I was watching the scene. When he fights with his brother, I don't think people would really talk like that in an argument in real life, but it felt real. All the things that they reach for felt real. It was really good. So, yeah.

[00:20:29] O: That's cool. That's a show that I sort of always meant to watch, and then just kind of didn't. But I will take it on when I'm looking for a slow burn, that's for sure.

[00:20:37] Ar: Also, it’s good for binging just because it does build up slowly.

[00:20:41] T: Yeah, I was going to joke that you should binge it, but I feel like that would be pretty hard to binge.

[00:20:46] Ar: I mean, it's a watch three to four episodes at a time type show. But after that, yeah, you're good.

[00:20:51] O: Okay.

[00:20:51] T: Oscar is looking for bingeable show. So, if you think of any, let him know @GloomyLumi.

[00:20:59] Ar: Actually, yes, please do.

[00:21:03] O: And we've come full circle. So, Alex, what do you got for us?

[00:21:06] Al: Well, speaking of bingeable shows.

[00:21:10] T: That was you.

[00:21:12] Al: So, I have previously recommended Taskmaster. However, there is a new series of Taskmaster out, series 13 and it is quite excellent. So, I highly recommend watching it. They've also released series 9 on to YouTube now. So, any of you who are not being suspicious as to how you have access to the most recent episodes that aren't released in America yet, want to catch up on things, you can go watch it on YouTube for free. It's an excellent, excellent TV show. It is a game show. There's a taskmaster, he gives out tasks to comedians, comedians have to complete the tasks, and hilarity ensues.

[00:21:49] O: That's dope.

[00:21:50] Al: It's super fun. It's just so great, because you sit there and you're like, “Why are you doing it that way? Why don't you do it this way?” It's great. It's super great.

[00:21:59] O: Yeah. That sounds super solid.

[00:22:01] T: I also want to put in like a little caveat here that there are a bunch of these that we've picked before, but I don't think that all of these episodes are out yet. So, if you're listening to this, and then later, for example, you hear a Steam Deck pick, and doesn't acknowledge this episode at all. That's why.

[00:22:20] O: That's why. Solid. Alright, Ari, what do you got for us?

[00:22:23] Ar: After intentionally not playing this for several months, because we were looking for a house and then moving and I knew that I was going to need to actually do things like I don't know, pack up all of my belongings. I finally, since we got settled in the house, started playing Horizon: Forbidden West. It is everything I hoped and dreamed of and more. I said it, and more, in that way, because there's too much. There are just too many mechanics to the combat. Too many options. Yeah, it's overwhelming. So, I just kind of stick to playing more on the original, and it's working out pretty well so far.

[00:23:08] T: The way you recommended that reminded me of how I felt about The Last of Us 2, where they’re like, you know how you had a lot of enemies in the first game, and it was well balanced? What if we just made it overwhelming all of the time?

[00:23:20] Ar: Yeah, I guess, it is a little bit like that. But I don't know. I'm so invested in the story at this point that it doesn't even matter how terrible the mechanics would be. I would still play it. But I mean, they're not terrible. There are some things that they've added that are good. But then there's other things, it's just like, why? Why did you make this needlessly complicated? 

[00:23:41] O: Sounds like my PRs.

[00:23:45] T: I've been putting off playing it for several months as well, and the real reason is because I haven't unpacked my PlayStation 5 or the game, and I also need to mail a copy to somebody else and I haven't done that. But the fake reason is people are telling me that I need to play the first game first, and I want to hear your take on that.

[00:24:02] Ar: I think it's better if you played the first one. Yeah, some things aren't going to totally make sense initially, if you didn't. They'd kind of try to recap a little bit, but it was a complex story.

[00:24:21] T: Alex is nodding. Did you play Forbidden West?

[00:24:24] Al: I've not played Forbidden West. I've played the first one. I'm like, how do you recap that entire game in like the intro part? That wouldn't – no. It's a very deep and complex world.

[00:24:35] Al: Even I who played it, and I know that this was something, but I don't fully remember all the details. Oops.

[00:24:45] O: Yeah, that's super good. Who's next? It’s me? Alright. My next pick is the beautiful, wonderful game of chess. If you are just looking for something that's going to feel a bit different than your day to day. I've played this video game. I'm tired of it. I've doom scrolled enough. I'm tired of it. Chess is lovely. It takes you completely out of that. We have great free to play sites, you can play on chess.com, that’s where I play. DM me on Twitter if you want to get messed up. You can play –

[00:25:16] T: Not @GloomyLumi.

[00:25:20] O: Not @GloomyLumi. You can play on Lead Chess for those of you who like open source software. So, it's funny, “Oscar, why don't you play on Lead Chess?” Shut up. But yeah, it's pretty good. But it's a lot of fun. You can always find a game versus someone that your exact skill level. It’s just fun to get better, especially if you like doing stuff like me. Even for me. I love doing chess puzzles. So, like in the morning –

[00:25:41] Ar: Wait, chest puddles?

[00:25:42] O: Sorry, chess puzzles. I guess, I’m mouthing for my word. It's all good.

[00:25:47] T: Puddle is a word.

[00:25:50] O: Not a good one. Not in this context. I don't want to step on a chess puddle. That doesn't sound nice at all. The chess puzzles, so like in the morning, I love just wake up, start – I don't need coffee. I just need a couple of puzzles just to crank those bad boys out and we get on with our day. So, it's pretty fun. Also, great, if you want to just play a game in the background with some folks between meetings, you just pop over to the tab. Make a move, smile at how smart you are, and continue on.

[00:26:18] T: I love how you're like, I can't wait for listeners to object to me. Why not Lead Chess? And then you just did it yourself. 

[00:26:24] O: Yeah, exactly.

[00:26:25] Ar: I have one question. The theme up until now has been bingeable stuff. What were your thoughts on the Queen's Gambit?

[00:26:32] O: Oh, it was dope. It was a fantastic show. That was really, really good. I love that show and it was great, also just in the chest community. Because chess was always sort of booming in the pandemic, because everyone's at home looking for stuff to do. So, lots of more people were playing chess, and the show came out and then even more people started playing, which is great. Just to have people in the community.

Now, there's like chess jokes that you can make that previously no one would understand, that now random people understand, which is pretty cool. If you've never been on the Anarchy Chess subreddit, you should definitely go there. Because it's like, literally the funniest thing in the world.

[00:27:08] T: Okay, follow up question. What do you think of the Queen's Gambit, the game? 

[00:27:14] O: What's that?

[00:27:14] T: There's a board game called the Queen's Gambit, the game. Is it chess? Your guess is as good as mine.

[00:27:21] O: Wait, I’m going to look that up in the background. Because if it's not just chess, I'm a little worried.

[00:27:25] T: If it is just chess, I'm also a little worried.

[00:27:29] O: No, if it's just chess, that's hilarious. Right? But like if it's not chess –

[00:27:36] Ar: That is so meta.

[00:27:38] T: Imagine if it’s just chess, but it's like a sticky chessboard, that is magnetic and you have to like tape it on the ceiling.

[00:27:49] O: That's so good. But yeah, that was my next pick. Tessa, you're up next.

[00:27:54] T: Alright, my next pick is the Good Doctor on ABC. I've been watching it –

[00:28:00] O: I don't want a bad doctor, so I’m already on board.

[00:28:03] T: I've been watching it since it came out. But I've never talked about it on the show. It's a show that revolves around an autistic doctor, although the actor who plays him, Freddie Highmore, I believe is not autistic. So, I guess that's something to be aware of. It's like about him being a doctor and the workplace kind of learning to be more inclusive to people that have different needs. Also, they have, I think, for television, especially network television, like a relatively diverse cast. It's always been – the main characters have always been I want to say 50 percent or higher people of color, which is pretty cool. A strong east Asian representation and it was based on a Korean show, which I hadn't seen.

Sometimes episodes are better and sometimes they're worse. But I enjoy it because they tackle a variety of subjects that I feel like I don't usually see talked about on television. They’re either very one-sided discussions, and I think that the whole show pushes viewers to be more compassionate and more empathetic. It's just a bunch of people trying to do their best. Yeah, it's a fun show. And then just, Ari, you talking about trying to recap Horizon Forbidden West reminded me that Alice Goldfuss has been recommending this horror novella, or horror themed novella. I don't know, I feel like if I'm not scared, it's not horror. So, it's called Help Me and it's very short. It's been a long time since I sight read a book and read it all in one sitting. So, that was a satisfying accomplishment. I don't know how I would describe the book or my feelings about the book. I guess, I thought it was interesting and the writing style is cool, because it's kind of like – the style is kind of like a book that was written like 200 years ago, except it's like not dry. It's a lot more readable. There are some images that are pretty – I was going to say visual, but that's silly. They'll stick with you. I guess those are my comments.

[00:29:58] O: I just want to roll back real quick. You said, if I'm not scared by it, it's not horror. Could you expand on that a little bit, please?

[00:30:07] T: Oh, yeah. I don't watch horror movies. I get scared easily. I have a lot of –

[00:30:12] O: Okay. I thought you loved the horror movies and you're like, “Oh, but if I'm not scared.”

[00:30:15] T: No, I don't watch horror movies.

[00:30:21] O: So, do you consider something like Get Out a horror movie?

[00:30:25] T: Well, I guess it depends in what sense, right? Because I feel like in terms of genre, I –

[00:30:30] O: I was terrified. 

[00:30:33] T: In terms of genre, I feel like it's a thriller. In terms of the meta commentary and what it's observing, that is horrific. But I feel like that's a little bit different to what I think about when I think of the horror genre, which is like, I don't know, ghosts or something that you can do about it and it's beyond any humans control, something supernatural.

[00:30:53] Al: There's a difference between suspense and horror and a thriller, right? They're all individual genres.

[00:31:03] Ar: But sometimes the lines do blur.

[00:31:05] O: I don't know how I feel about horror movies, to be honest, because I feel like sometimes I'm like, “Alright.” Other times, I'm like, “Why are we doing this? We don't got to ourselves. That's unnecessary.” You know what I mean?

[00:31:16] T: Yeah, that's how I feel about rollercoasters. We weren't meant to go up high and fast. Why do we got to do it?

[00:31:24] O: When I was a kid, I freaking loved roller coasters. I absolutely adored them, because I was like, “Oh, yo, this is dope”, number one. Number two, what's the worst that could happen? Nothing. You're strapped into your seat, you're good. And then I read an article and my I was a child. I read an article about a dude who had a heart attack on a rollercoaster and died. And I was like, “Oh, no.” And then I haven't liked rollercoasters, because what if I have a heart attack and die. 

[00:31:54] Ar: I also grew up near an amusement park where one of the rollercoasters got stuck in the corkscrew, and went upside down.

[00:32:04] O: Oh, no.

[00:32:06] Ar: It's like they're covering it live on the news. You just see all these poor people with their little legs dangling?

[00:32:14] T: I thought it was supposed to be physics or something. It just goes. How does it get stuck? I mean, I heard of this, but I'm just like, “I don't get it.”

[00:32:20] Ar: So, what happened was, it was one of those that isn't like a full loop, it was one of the ones that went and then would go back. At the beginning part, it pulled up a ramp, and then it would release. Unfortunately, when it released, it didn't fully release. So, it was dragging a component along with it, which meant it did not have the necessary velocity to get through the corkscrew.

[00:32:47] T: They should have used Vue.

[00:32:49] O: Should have used to Vue. React to this.

[00:32:52] T: Would’ve done that clean, like unloading of the component on mounting.

[00:32:57] O: Oh, yeah, just taking care of for you. Want to have documentation? I think we got one last round of picks here.

[00:33:05] Al: We'll have more in the show notes.

[00:33:07] O: Yeah, but for the show’s sake. I mean, one last round of picks, a little bit of goofing around, and then we'll be out of here. We're getting a little sentimental. Alex, what do you got for us?

[00:33:16] Al: Well, to go with the theme of bingeable shows, I'm going to continue that trend with my final show pick, which is Game Changer. I think I've picked this one before. I probably have. I'm probably about to get told by Tessa that I’ve picked this before.

[00:33:33] T: I don’t know. You pick a lot of game stuff.

[00:33:35] Al: I do pick a lot of game stuff. So, Game Changer is a game show that is on Dropout TV, which was formerly College Humor. And the contestants go into it and they don't know what the rules are. Oh, so they have to figure out what the rules are and then also win the game at the same time. It's quite funny because it's a large group of performers who all work with each other regularly, so they're able to do a lot of stunts that are pretty good with that game. So yeah, that is my final pick. It is quite funny.

[00:34:08] O: I mean, that definitely sounds like the sort of show for me. I'm not going to lie.

[00:34:13] Ar: Did you say that is changing the game?

[00:34:14] O: It is sure freaking is. It’s sure freaking is. Ari, you don’t have anything?

[00:34:21] Ar: I can. I can pull it out of thin air here.

[00:34:25] O: Okay, so I just want all of our listeners to know that Ari is pulling one out of thin air right now for you all and consider yourselves lucky to hear it.

[00:34:33] Al: That's a really large – wow, that's like a very large container that you have there, and you’re rolling it like a bingo thing.

[00:34:43] T: Is she a magic person pulling something out of thin air? What?

[00:34:49] Ar: Anyway, the show is called The Girl from Plainville. It is a dramatization of the events surrounding a girl who texted her boyfriend and told him to kill himself repeatedly and he did. So, it's about the trial that surrounded that, but also kind of a depiction of the events surrounding his death. Honestly, it was a surprisingly balanced look at it. I mean, by no means, did you come out of it thinking, “No, this girl was not culpable for his death.” But I thought it was interesting that it went into her psychology, as well as his psychology around that and that being human is hard no matter what. So yeah, very bingeable. But yeah, I probably should have not closed on a super depressing one, but oh well!

[00:35:45] T: Oh, that's okay. Oscar promised that we're going to have some goofing around at the end to bring it back up.

[00:35:52] O: I have a couple of goofballs rolling around. Up next is myself. This one is – I'm not going to call it weird because my picks are weird. But mine is practicing flashy moves for when you play games, particularly tabletop games, board games, anything like that. So, for example – 

[00:36:19] Ar: It’s pretty weird.

[00:36:21] O: Hear me out.

[00:36:22] Ar: I love that this is the one you chose out of your last.

[00:36:26] T: I was praying that this would be the final.

[00:36:31] O: Yes. So, for example, if you play a trading card games such as like Magic the Gathering, you don't actually have to be that good at the game to win. A lot of people would argue you do have to be good. But I disagree, because I've made it very far being kind of trash. And the reason why is because I'm very good at snapping my cards down onto the table when I play them. There's a very satisfying snap of my card hitting the table that just instills terror amongst my opponents.

[00:36:58] T: I believe I read in the official rulebook that when you are playing a game, changing card, you must say, “It's time to d-d-d-duel.”

[00:37:09] O: Okay, that's a different game.

[00:37:14] Ar: We’re definitely going to need a soundbite of that.

[00:37:19] O: I'm going to play that one all the time. So, being able to do things like that. Another thing is sort of like a weird shuffle that you can do with the cards. I wish I had some to demonstrate over audio. But there’s a very quick shuffle you can do have all the cards in your hand, which are when people see you do that, they assume that you've been playing a long time and they get very scared by it. It's great. I've gone to tournaments and I've done that, and people were afraid. It was a good time.

[00:37:50] Al: So, what you're saying is, is that it's really more about – it's less about your ability to play and more about how high your intimidation skill is, and whether or not your roll well on your intimidation checks.

[00:38:02] O: 1,000 percent, that's exactly what it is. So anyway, my pick is practicing these meaningless skills. If you're playing chess, put your piece down forcefully in a way that does not damage the piece or the board, but does get the point across. Especially when you're playing just like regular cards, what are regular cards called?

[00:38:23] T: Cards.

[00:38:24] Al: Playing cards?

[00:38:24] O: Playing cards, playing cards. Yeah. If you're playing a game with playing cards, being able to snap your cards down. If I play spades, for example, I have a pretty mean snap of my card on the board. So, practice these skills.

[00:38:36] T: Anyway, I have a deck of cards with me from when Alex and I had to learn work. So, there you go. Here's your shuffling sound. Hope that helps.

[00:38:46] O: ASMR Vue. So, Tessa, I think you are last.

[00:38:54] T: Yeah. I think rather than talking in depth about any one, I'm just going to quickly contextualize them because I think some of them will not make sense. Well, I mean, the first one is a movie called Nekojiru-Sou or Cat Soup. That one is not going to make sense. So, I'm not going to bother. It's 30 minutes, you can watch it. The next one is a book. I've mentioned it before, or maybe I will mention it in the future. My friend has recommended it. It’s called Stolen Focus, and it is about how human focus has declined over the course of the human race existing.

The next one, I've been watching a lot of Japanese YouTube, and there's this couple that runs a show called [inaudible 00:39:31], and basically, they do these art challenges. We're going to draw until our pencil runs out of lead. We're going to draw 100 drawings in one sitting. It's really fun and they seem like really good friends. So, it's just a joy to watch. The last one, because I feel like it might start some spiciness.

[00:39:48] O: I'm ready.

[00:39:49] T: Yeah, I recently drink some ginger seltzer actually, it's so Oscar.

[00:39:54] O: Let's go.

[00:39:56] T: I don't know how to feel about is like ginger beer or like Oscar showing about his seltzer is boring plain seltzer, but at least this Polar brand which is new. It's not Waterloo.

[00:40:05] O: Waterloo is good.

[00:40:05] T: I haven’t tried Waterloo. I thought that was your go to.

[00:40:09] Al: No. I am very firmly in the Kirkland brand, fake Lacroix. 

[00:40:14] T: I thought Kirkland’s brand was called Waterloo. So, there was my mistake.

[00:40:19] Al: Yeah, it's called Kirkland.

[00:40:22] Ar: Ginger ale without the sugar, it’s just very weird.

[00:40:26] O: So, what did you find weird about it to be exact? Just that there is no sugar?

[00:40:31] T: Yeah, like it's such a familiar taste and then 90 percent of it is missing. It's like, imagine if Lacroix had a fruit flavor, but then, there was no fruit.

[00:40:44] O: Okay, so let's back up. Why do we drink bubbly water? One word.

[00:40:50] T: Pain.

[00:40:52] O: Nope. Actually, that’s a great one. The word I would use is effervescence. It's to enjoy the –

[VOICE OVERLAP 00:41:03 - 00:41:07]

[00:41:07] Al: Effervescence just sounds like a whole bunch of letters to say bubbly.

[00:41:12] O: Exactly, alright. It’s bubbly. Except please do not drink Bubbly seltzer. It is like the worst of all of the brands of seltzer.

[00:41:22] T: It has such a strong scent.

[00:41:23] O: I know. But I feel like Bubbly always has weak bubbles and it makes me really sad, because it's got this like cute smile. It's like, “Oh, yeah, here we go. We're going to have some seltzer.” And then it's just a disappointment in a can.

[00:41:38] Ar: Like every other seltzer?

[00:41:42] O: Alright, let's back it up. No, ginger seltzer is amazing. But I think what to look out for especially if you have access to Polar seltzer in your area, they've been putting in the work to make it across America. But I live in Massachusetts where it's produced, so I don't know exactly how far it has made it. But if you do have access to Polar seltzer, they did just have a seasonal flavor. It was ginger lime mule. It was absolutely delicious.

[00:42:07] T: Alex is shaking his head really hard. I've never seen his face squish like that. I didn't have words to describe it.

[00:42:13] O: It was absolutely incredible. The flavor engineers at Polar seltzer know what they're doing and they create banger after banger every single season.

[00:42:21] Ar: I don't know. I once had a legit ginger beer mule and it burned my throat in a delicious way. So, if it's not coming at me with that kind of power, I don't want no part of it.

[00:42:37] O: That's what I'm saying. That's the beautiful thing about Polar seltzer, and Alex and can probably tell you, it burns, but the thing is, if you crack that can and then immediately take it in, it's the most satisfying burn that you’re going to feel all day.

[00:42:53] Ar: I don't know. If you've never hugged a Diet Mountain Dew in 30 seconds, don't talk to me.

[00:42:59] T: Is this something you used to do on your stream?

[00:43:02] Ar: After not sleeping and you're 12 years old, because I was a highly well-adjusted child.

[00:43:09] T: Yup. Sounds like it.

[00:43:11] Ar: Yeah. Some things never change.

[00:43:13] T: Then you may enjoy this ginger ale that I personally really dislike. It’s called Bruce Cost. I find the label texture and design so offensive and it's like slices of ginger in a bottle and it's very spicy. It’s just liquid fire.

[00:43:28] Ar: Yeah, that sounds good to me.

[00:43:29] T: Oscar, I don't think our listeners have heard about how you like drinking ginger ale. I think that was like a Twitter Spaces exclusive which may someday in the future become a Kofi exclusive.

[00:43:38] O: Okay, so there's obviously the bottle versus can debate. Actually, I'm going to preface this with, I love my mother. I really do. This is good. When I go home to visit my family, my mother tries to get me the hookup, because she knows I love seltzer, right? So, one time she bought, they had two-liter bottles of Polar and she bought me a two-liter bottle –

[00:44:07] Ar: And then it goes flat.

[00:44:08] O: That's the problem. But it's terrible because you have a loved one who has gone out of their way. They found this thing. They thought you'd be so excited by it. They purchase it for you and then you hate to break it to them, but you got to be like, “Mom, you've now given me a challenge. I have to consume this two-liter bottle of seltzer” –

[00:44:35] Ar: I’m going to ask. Did you struggle all two liters? Because that's your only option.

[00:44:40] O: – "in about 20 minutes.” We feel like we got to go. But yeah, so anyway, there's like the whole can. So, in my opinion, the best experience of seltzer is out of a regular – what was the regular size? Eight ounces?

[00:44:55] Al: Twelve ounces?

[00:44:56] O: Twelve, you said?

[00:44:57] T: 355ml.

[00:44:58] O: There we go. 355ml. None of that Imperial nonsense on Enjoy the Vue. So, I think all seltzers are best enjoyed out of 355 milliliter can. It's something about the can. It just seals the pressure in very well. The moment you pop that tab and can take in that seltzer. In fact, I think people will disagree with me on this point, but I think your first chug of seltzer should be approximately half the can. You may take sips after that, but the initial chug should be about half the can to be enjoyed immediately.

Now, there's the little baby cans. In fact, Polar has, they call it like the little seltzer juniors, which by the way, are some of the most banging flavors that they make. The four that they produced right now, I believe are Unicorn Kisses, Yeti Whispers –

[00:45:46] T: It’s shaking again.

[00:45:47] O: Sorry, Yeti Mischief. Unicorn Kisses, Yeti Mischief, Dragon Whispers, and I forget the other one, Mermaid Songs, I think is the other one. So, of those actually, Yeti Mischief is actually the most banging seltzer flavor of all time. I have no idea what it is. But it's incredible. I'm sort of getting away from my point.

[00:46:07] T: It’s Yeti Mischief, I hope that helps.

[00:46:10] Ar: I was very disappointed in the Unicorn Kisses one.

[00:46:12] T: I mean, to be fair, I don't think that you had a literal unicorn consult on it. So, maybe if you had helped them out, that’s kind of on you.

[00:46:20] O: No. I think it would be bad if they had a literal unicorn, because it's sort of like babies, right? Like baby kisses. You think they're kind of cute, but like someone's like, “Oh, I'm actually going to give you baby kisses.” That sounds terrible. I don't want that. That's gross. But anyway, so the problem with those small cans are that initial half can gulp, I was talking about, that's done. Your initial gulp, you get the tiny cans. So, I don't recommend those because the experience ends too soon, in my opinion.

[00:46:48] T: But how do we feel about tall boys? Are there seltzer tall boys?

[00:46:51] O: There are. Actually, Polar again, was doing tall boys last summer. I don't know if they plan on bringing them back this summer. I really enjoy them. The thing is, they're tall boys. They're not the regular size of a tall boy. They're a bit slimmer. So, they're more consumable before it gets flat, which I think was a very nice touch. I really appreciated that. I have, full disclosure, I purchased one-liter bottles of Polar because of the amount that I consume because I don't know, I'm a seltzer degenerate.

[00:47:19] T: We need ‘seltzer degenerate’ stickers. Kofi exclusive.

[00:47:23] O: Because I think I would – it's sort of like I would be a 12-pack drinker a day. I can't be a pack a day seltzer drinker. You know what I mean? That’s a little ridiculous.

[00:47:36] T: Cycling alone would be out of hand.

[00:47:39] O: I know. I'd have to actually get one of those can – oh, I should get a can crusher. That would be so cool.

[00:47:43] T: I think we unlocked something in Oscar today.

[00:47:47] O: I think so. Ari, do you own a can crusher? That seems like the sort of thing you would own?

[00:47:51] T: Or you can.

[00:47:54] Ar: No.

[00:47:57] O: I don't know. I just imagined you –

[00:47:59] T: Ari “Can Crusher” Clark.

[00:48:01] O: Seriously. I just imagine, I don’t know why. I feel like Ari would have one. I think it’s the powerful energy. 

[00:48:09] Ar: I am the can crusher.

[00:48:14] O: Exactly. Anyway, I think I did enough goofing. I wasn't even goofing, by the way. I was being 100 percent serious with everything I was discussing.

[00:48:24] T: Yeah. This episode is not sponsored by Polar seltzer. But if you want to sponsor us –

[00:48:30] O: I'll reach out. I've been there. I met the COO of Polar. It was great. I take it seriously.

[00:48:37] Ar: Get the hook up.

[00:48:38] O: I mean, we will get sponsored in seltzer.

[00:48:41] Ar: Sounds like it works out well for you.

[00:48:45] O: Absolutely. Anyway, I will give the other cast members a moment of goofing each before we close out.

[00:48:53] T: The bar is high! I don't even have a wife to text for help with coming up with a goof.

[00:48:59] O: And on that note, Alex, what is the goof you want to leave our listeners with?

[00:49:05] Al: Why do I have to go first?

[00:49:07] O: Because you literally have a wife that you can text.

[00:49:11] Al: Yeah, I know. But she's not here – she’s at work right now.

[00:49:13] O: That's why you're texting her. What did we not understand about the challenge?

[00:49:19] Al: Hold on.

[00:49:22] O: It’s like, “Hey, that meeting with your CEO, not important right now.”

[00:49:28] T: What I'm learning is Alex would not survive very long on a game show.

[00:49:32] Al: No, I would not survive very long on a game show.

[00:49:36] O: Alex would definitely do the phone a friend.

[00:49:38] T: But they’re not in the audience.

[00:49:44] O: Fine, Tessa, why don't we get your goof while we're waiting on Alex's wife.

[00:49:49] T: Yeah, I can talk about one. So, you know those like gashapon machines, I feel like they're not that fun in the US. But you put a coin in, you turn it, a little plastic bag comes out, and there's a prize. In the US, what I've seen is usually like a sticky hand that's attached to a long sticky string. Who wants that? Who is asking for that? And even if you like it, you could use it for like two seconds and then it's done.

[00:50:11] Ar: It's great. It's like you're Spider Man.

[00:50:12] T: I'm going to send you a thousand sticky hands or you’re going to get a bulk order of sticky hands at your doorstep tomorrow. Do you know you can buy these machines for your house? More specifically –

[00:50:32] Al: Do they come full of the things already?

[00:50:34] T: They come full of eggs, but they're not full of things. I think it's Bandai makes a half size one. I found this out because I got these little pods, and I was like, the box that they're in is really annoying. I just want one at a time. What can give me one at a time? An egg toy machine. So yeah, I guess that's my goofing. I also have started playing with this egg that people with arthritis use to grip utensils better, because I'm like, “Well, if I'm holding this, I can't control a pencil as easily, so I had to draw more loosely.” Yeah, I don't like it because it's sticky, but it's fun to try new tools. I don't think that's really goofy, but I think – I’m going to throw it at you. So, it's all about eggs here.

[00:51:19] O: I think that's kind of cool. I would love one of those machines. Have any of you ever played Crossy Road, the mobile game?

[00:51:24] T: Yes. It's so cute and so not fun. But it’s so cute.

[00:51:32] Al: Is it one of those games where it's better to watch somebody else play it?

[00:51:35] T: No, it's like Flappy Bird combined with Frogger.

[00:51:37] Al: Okay.

[00:51:37] O: But there's a machine, so sometimes when you finish a level, there's a machine you get a new character. It’s pretty fun. That was all I had to add on to that. Ari, we need your –

[00:51:52] T: Prime goofiness.

[00:51:54] O: Prime goof. USDA certified prime goof.

[00:51:58] Ar: That's quite the setup because there's a rapper from Wyoming, and he does a song ‘New Boot Goofin’, and it is everything you could possibly hope for in a rapper from Wyoming.

[00:52:12] O: Link in the description, folks.

[00:52:17] Ar: It's a train wreck and you cannot look away.

[00:52:21] O: I'm so here for it. Alex, did the wife go back to you?

[00:52:26] Al: I mean, she got back. I asked what should my – what should I pick for the podcast to see if she had any better ideas. She literally said everything that I’ve already said. 

[00:52:34] T: You should’ve asked her to help you be goofy. I need to be goofy. What do I do?

[00:52:39] O: Text, I’m a goofy goofers, and –

[00:52:44] Al: I am a goofy –

[00:52:48] T: I want to insert the Jeopardy waiting music here.

[00:52:53] Al: Yeah. Period. What else?

[00:52:57] O: We are goofy goofers.

[00:53:01] T: The listeners are getting an exclusive behind the scenes look into the fact that we actually write all of Alex's jokes for him ahead of time.

[00:53:10] Al: Yyp. So, I am a goofy goober. Yeah, we're all goofy goobers. Period. The word period or just a period?

[00:53:21] O: Just a regular period. So, it’s sentenced in there.

[00:53:24] Al: And then, sent. 

[00:53:26] O: I don’t think she's going to get back to you before the podcast is over.

[00:53:33] T: It’s a race between her and time.

[00:53:39] O: Because that podcast ending is happening now. That's all for this week's episode, folks. If you aren't following us on Twitter, head on over and find us @EnjoyTheVueCast. Be sure to subscribe to the show, and if you have time leave us a review. Remember to tell at least one friend what you enjoyed about today's episode. If you'd like to sponsor the show, please let us know at enjoythevue.io/sponsor. We'd love your support. For listening folks, and until next time, enjoy the vue.

[00:54:09] Al: We should have like Ari saying, “enjoythevue/sponsor”, and then we just replace Oscar’s audio –

[00:54:18] T: Wait, is that like, “I love you, Philip J. Frye?”

[00:54:21] Al: Exactly.

[00:54:25] Ar: Enjoythevue.io/sponsor. Is that also becoming a soundbite?

[00:54:36] T: I feel like you look so poor, is definitely got to be one.

[00:54:39] Ar: You looked poor. She’s the worst.

[00:54:49] Al: She responded with two question marks.

[00:54:52] T: Not very goofy ever. 

[00:54:53] Ar: I guess, that’s it.

[00:54:55] O: That’s it folks. Hiatus.

[00:54:57] Ar: We're going on a break.

[END]