Month: February 2019

Overzealous Recycling 007: Was that just a pose?

/ Ian Casselberry / 1 Comment
cooper_white

I’ve been following a lot more people on Twitter recently, largely to try and get more views in my timeline. That’s increased the noise on my TweetDeck, but I felt like I wasn’t seeing as much stuff as I wanted to while trying to keep my follower count lean.

No, I haven’t been adding more conservative political views or anything like that. Most of the follows have been culture writers, especially people who either work in the comic book industry or cover it, to try and learn as much as I can for The Amusement Park Podcast or my own writing.

— If you missed the last Overzealous Recycling, you can read it here —

Along the way, I’ve noticed a few writers linking to their Muck Rack page, a database for journalists and public relations professionals. (I think it was Meg Downey, writing for DC Universe, who first got my attention.)

This reminded me that I created a Muck Rack page for myself a couple years ago. I had actually forgotten! I’m even a verified journalist there! My avatar was a photo of baseball player Munenori Kawasaki wearing a Cubs cap, which means I posted it in 2016. So I figured it was time to wipe off the cobwebs and update that thing.

Continue reading →

Amusement Park 027: True Detective, Doom Patrol and We Mourn the Punisher – and bonus thoughts

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

wayne_road

The Season 3 finale of True Detective is on Sunday, so we try to get in some theories and reactions to the season on the latest Amusement Park Podcast.

Maybe Chris and I would’ve had a bit more fun had we checked in every week, but I think we managed to put a couple of guesses out there regarding who the true bad guy is and how far up the whole conspiracy goes. And I got to voice my love for Stephen Dorff, who’s been tremendous as Roland West. It’ll be intriguing to see where his career goes from here.

We also react to the pilot episode of DC Universe’s Doom Patrol, which has the potential to be unlike anything ever seen in superhero TV. Fingers are crossed. Get weird and funny with this stuff, man.

https://soundcloud.com/casselberry/true-detective-doom-patrol-and-we-mourn-the-punisher

— Show notes for Ep. 27 are available at the Amusement Park Podcast website —

Since we also discussed Netflix’s inevitable cancellation of The Punisher (seriously, there’s no way Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist would be canceled, and The Punisher and Jessica Jones saved), I was reminded that there were a couple of things about Season 2 that I wanted to touch on, but didn’t previously.

I’m certainly self-centered enough to think Season 2 of The Punisher was speaking directly to me somehow. But there were a handful of intriguing coincidences that were extremely amusing.

First, the season begins in my home state of Michigan while Frank Castle is traveling the country and trying to get away from the events of Season 1. He ends up at a bar called Lola’s Roadhouse, which happens to be the name of one of my nieces.

lolas_roadhouse

Then at the end of the season, Castle and the young woman he’s been protecting throughout the story end up at a bus station. (I’ll try to avoid spoilers by saying why.) But the destination on the bus is where I currently live: Asheville, North Carolina.

punisher_asheville

punisher_asheville2

I haven’t encountered any murderous vigilantes, deeply religious contract killers, amnesiac soldiers, or Homeland Security agents with a major grudge during the past few years. So these parallels only apply so much with me. But still, I’ll always have a soft spot for Season 2 of The Punisher for these amusing coincidences. And I’ll be on the lookout for anything suspicious.

Please leave a review and rating on iTunes for us and a like on our Facebook page to help spread the word. You can subscribe to the Amusement Park Podcast everywhere you find podcasts:

You can also give us feedback at amusementparkpod@gmail.com and find us on Twitter and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Asheville’s WISE Sports Radio is now streaming

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

rko_radio

Here’s an exciting, long overdue development to share: The local sports talk radio station in Asheville, WISE Sports Radio, is now streaming online! That means anyone interested in hearing my weekly segments on The WISE Guys show can now listen in throughout the country.

I’ve appeared on the show to talk baseball (and movies) for nearly five years now, for which I’m grateful to Pat Ryan and his former co-host Bill McClement. But it’s been disappointing that friends and colleagues (or prospective employers) haven’t been able to hear the stuff I do on local radio, so I’m glad that’s now going to change.

The WISE Guys is on Monday to Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. I appear on the show Tuesdays and Thursdays to talk baseball at 4:25, and Wednesdays at 3:40 with a movie review.

You can listen to the live stream (which also includes Fox Sports Radio programming throughout the day) by clicking on the image below:

WISE_logo

Hope you can tune in! Don’t hesitate to provide feedback. And if you need someone for some baseball (or sports media and pop culture) talk on your radio show or podcast, contact me at iancass [at] gmail [dot] com.

Baseball chatter with Jim On Things podcast

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment
redsox_ws2018

I don’t write about baseball as much as I once did, and that means I don’t talk about it on radio or podcasts as much either. So I was grateful when Jim Irizarry invited me on his new podcast, Jim On Things, to talk about the upcoming MLB season and baseball’s woefully slow offseason.

You can listen to the show below, at the Jim On Things website, or through just about every podcast provider available, including Anchor FM, which I’m eager to learn about from Jim. We recorded the show via Zencastr, which provided some excellent sound (maybe too good, when you hear me loudly draw in a breath frequently).

https://anchor.fm/jimonthings/embed/episodes/7—Requiem-for-the-Hot-Stove-e37rab/a-aaj23d

Next time, maybe we’ll get into some of MLB’s proposed rules changes. And of course, we’ll have actual baseball to talk about in a couple of months. Or I’ll try to add to whatever stress Jim is experiencing about his upcoming wedding.

It was always great fun with Jim and Craig Williams (who I knew from one of his previous radio gigs) on their Maximus and the Bartender podcast talking baseball and pop culture. I could talk to those guys for nearly an hour and it felt like 10 minutes. I was bummed out when they had to shutter the show, but I certainly understand when life takes precedence over fun and hobbies, and they had to move on. I’m glad to hear Jim get back in the ring, though.

As someone who’s tried his hand at podcasting and may want to expand what I’m doing there, I’ll be following Jim to see what he does with his new show — not just in terms of content, but distribution. It gets easier each day to find a podcast and listen to it on whatever device you choose. Jim’s not trying to fit in a niche; he just wants to talk about whatever is on his mind and tell stories from his life. I’m intrigued by that.

Overzealous Recycling 006: Is this as far as we got?

/ Ian Casselberry / 1 Comment

peanuts_reading

During the past couple of years, I’ve looked to the past to try and make the present happier. Getting back in touch with the things that once brought me joy could bring joy once again. Maybe that’s a form of regression. Maybe it’s a futile attempt to reminisce about simpler, more care-free times.

— If you missed the last Overzealous Recycling, you can read it here —

This has been on my mind for quite a while, but Meghan Daum’s recent essay on Medium got me thinking about it more. At 47, two years after her marriage ended, Daum is living much like she did as a 27-year-old. Is that always who she was, deep down, even when she tried to follow the path — career, marriage, etc. — to which we all aspire?

Maybe Rust Cohle was right. Time is a flat circle.

Continue reading →