Month: March 2019

The Podcass 002: Waiting Room

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

The rhythm of the past week was thrown out of whack by an unexpected development. My baby niece hasn’t been feeling well and showed symptoms that prompted a trip to the emergency room. And that meant an hours-long wait in the ER.

No worries. My niece is fine. My sister, mother and I are a bit sleep-deprived, but we’re fine. But the waiting. And the waiting room…

We’re not yet on iTunes (or Apple Podcasts), but that should happen very soon. In the meantime, please leave a like on our Facebook page for a little signal boost. You can also subscribe to The Podcass on plenty of other podcast platforms, including:

You can also leave me feedback at thepodcass@gmail.com and find the show on Twitter and Instagram. Hope to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Diving deep into the Batcave on Batman’s 80th anniversary

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If you hadn’t already heard (or read) the news, today (March 30, 2019) is the 80th anniversary of Batman’s debut in Detective Comics #27. To commemorate the occasion, DC Comics published the 1000th issue of Detective Comics.

Typical of comic books these days, a whole bunch of variant covers were released for the landmark issue. This is the one I ended up buying, a retro-style cover by Michael Cho.


Surprising myself, I passed on the Frank Miller cover. As much as I love Miller’s work — and the heavy influence he’s had on Batman — that illustration was messy and dark. I wanted something more fun. Cho’s cover also alludes to how versatile Batman is as a character. He works in any genre, any style, something I wrote about five years ago.

— Happy Batman Day: Appreciating Different Caped Crusaders on 75th Anniversary —

A few months ago, my nieces stopped over for a visit. With their mother around, watching TV or playing with the iPad wasn’t an option. So the kids went to Uncle Ian’s room to find some toys to play with or books to read.

While we were doodling on sketch pads, Junior Niece asked me, “Why do you like Batman so much?” What do you mean, kid? Why do you ask think I like Batman?She then took some Blu-rays from my TV stand and set them down in front of me. Hmm, the kid had a point.

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Overzealous Recycling 012: We’re all fine here now, thank you

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

This past week’s routine was thrown out of whack by a hours-long wait in the emergency room. No worries. A bit of concern with my niece that would’ve been taken care of at the pediatrician or even urgent care had it happened during the day.

But everything’s perfectly all right now. She’s fine. We’re fine. We’re all fine here now, thank you. How are you?

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

This pass should say “10:10 PM.”

At some point during the third hour (of a total four; my sister was there for six hours), while my phone’s battery was sinking toward 10% charged, I began thinking about an obscure, nearly 25-year-old Saturday Night Live skit called “WR.”

Do you remember that one? George Clooney was hosting the show during his ER fame, so a parody of the medical drama was a natural (maybe lazy) idea. This was Season 20 — Feb. 25, 1995 — if you’re a diehard SNL fan and completist.

Unfortunately — and normally, this might be the thing to vex me the most in a particular week — there doesn’t appear to be an embed of the skit. But it is available on NBC’s Saturday Night Live website (though not the NBC app, as the site claims):

WR: Waiting Room

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The Podcass 001: Us review

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Us is the movie sensation sweeping the nation. Jordan Peele is considered by many fans and critics to be the new master of horror, and his second film does nothing to dispute that.

Some might not like Us as much as Get Out, but there’s a whole lot to think about and interpret long after you’ve seen the film. And the imagery could haunt you for a while. Find somebody to talk to about this movie!

Here’s a review:

We’re not yet on iTunes (or Apple Podcasts), but hopefully that’ll happen very soon. In the meantime, please leave a like on our Facebook page for a little signal boost. You can also subscribe to The Podcass on plenty of other podcast platforms, including:

You can also leave me feedback at thepodcass@gmail.com and find the show on Twitter and Instagram. Hope to hear from you! Thanks for listening!

Overzealous Recycling 011: Pain or damage don’t end the world

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Has it really been 13 years since Deadwood was sadly, heartbreakingly canceled by HBO? What were you doing in 2006? Can you even remember?

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

Ask me to name my favorite TV shows of all time and Deadwood would be one of the three I list. Yet with each passing year, my memories of the series fade. I could go back any time and watch the show on HBO GO, but haven’t done so. There’s too much other TV to watch now, and I can’t keep with it. Adding an old favorite to the mix would just complicate matters.

But now, Deadwood fans are finally getting the ending we were deprived of 13 years ago. Unfortunately, it won’t be the finale we really wanted. It’s not a full fourth season. It won’t even be the two movies that series creator David Milch and HBO once agreed to. This will be whatever Milch (with the help of True Detective‘s Nic Pizzolatto) could distill into one two-hour movie which takes places years after we last saw Seth Bullock, Al Swearengen, and so many other residents of Deadwood, South Dakota.

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