You know what we don’t do enough of around here? Patting ourselves on the back. And we deserve it, God dammit!

Just kidding.

But on that topic, the folks over at CastMedium.com have a new feature called “Podcaster’s Favorite Podcasts” where hosts of notable podcasts highlight a handful of their favorite shows. And wouldn’t you know it? The first podcast to name their picks are the folks from Rebel FM, including our good friend Phil Kollar who gives us his first pick. Here’s a quote:

More than any other podcast I’ve listened to, the Drunken Gamers provide the perfect “man on the street” view of gaming. Those games they’re reviewing every week? They buy them. All those classic retro systems they talk about hunting down like the crazed collectors they are? Yep, they’re paying for those out of their pockets. And all of the time they pump into the show and RobotPanic.com every week? That’s all because they are passionate about this stuff, not because they’re getting paid for it. Best of all, John, Moe, and Hilden have three distinct, interesting, and often clashing personalities. They aren’t going to feign some fake objectivity — these guys are telling you what they like and why. And they’ve been doing so for 200 episodes now. Their enthusiasm does a much better job of keeping me psyched about videogames each week than a million cookie-cutter “WORLD-EXCLUSIVE” previews.

Aw shucks, ain’t that sweet? Phil, you money hat, we knew there was a reason we kept you on the payroll. Although I’m not sure what he means by “often clashing personalities.” I’ve only threatened to kill Moe once.

Thanks to Phil for giving us a nod and also mentioning Broadcast Gamer. To check out the full article, click here.

Alright, so since my rock star wannabe past is something of legend here thanks to many drunken After Hours conversations and our use of TV Japan as the DGR theme song, I figured I’d post up a couple pictures of what occurred last Friday evening. It was an event so huge, so monumental, that the very foundations of rock were shaken. Ok, not so much.

Out of pure coincidence, members of two of my former bands got together under the same roof for a night of drinks and nostalgia. I’ve discussed my first high school band, Teezer (yeah, we were metal), in the past. We played the local bowling alley, youth centers, and parties located in barns out in the middle of nowhere. Our vast repertoire consisted mainly of hair metal covers from popular bands of the day like Metallica, Motley Crue, and Poison. The bottom line is that like most high school garage bands, we were horrible, but we still got a bunch of little high school groupies (some of whom actually showed up the other night…strangely). Here’s a picture of us now, all old and with a lot less hair:

From left to right we’ve got Jay (singer), Scotty (bass), Kevin (guitar), Me (drums), and Nate (guitar).

After Scotty and I left Teezer, we started what would eventually become Stone Nowhere. The few of you who actually follow this sort of bullshit and pay attention to our ramblings know that Stone Nowhere is that band that I was in for almost a decade. Much of the music we put on DGR comes from that band, and Scotty has been the topic of many discussions, most notably the infamous After Hours episode that described his trademarked “Scream Puking”. The guitar player that went on to play with Stone Nowhere permanently was Jon Yeske, who’s appeared on a couple DGR episodes, but before we got him, we started the band with a guy named Jeff Sandbom. Scotty, Jeff, and myself would play together for nearly two years, auditioning dozens of singers before we found the guy who would be the permanent singer, John Massey.

So here’s a shot of Scotty, Me, and Jeff:

Being in a band is an interesting situation; especially when the band goes on for a number of years like these two did. No matter how good or bad you are (and believe me, we weren’t very good), you develop intimate relationships, and sometimes you part on bad terms. Last Friday was one of the best experiences I’ve had in years, simply because it allowed me to get together with a half-dozen people from my past who at one point or another were my closest friends. We may not have been great, and we did some embarrassingly stupid things, but God damn we had a great time doing them.

So thanks for humoring my little nostalgia trip here. If you’ve had similar experiences recently – either band-related or just reconnecting with old friends – I’d love to hear about them in the comments section

Pices
You will discover an egg. Then you will fry it and eat it.

Aquarius
You will discover an egg. Then you will give it to your child.

Capricorn
You will discover an egg. It will be covered in chocolate with that crispy shell stuff like an M&M. It tastes pretty good.

Sagittarius
You will discover an egg. Then you’ll notice it’s a Cadbury egg and it’s shrunk a crapload than past years because of the economy. Or Cadbury are just cheap asses.

Scorpio
You will discover an egg. Then you and your girl or guy are going to panic and somebody is going to run out to CVS to get some Plan B emergency contraception.

Libra
You will discover an egg. It will belong to a cute bird and maybe you should put it back in the bird nest or something.

Virgo
You will discover an egg. But it will be caviar, so you might be expected to eat it.

Leo
You will discover an egg. But the egg will be imaginary because you’ll be really really high.

Cancer
You will discover an egg. It probably has a robot inside you got from the Robot Panic booth at MGC. Ok, the container probably doesn’t look like an egg, but you’ll treat it like one. It’s sorta round…like an egg.

Gemini
You will discover an egg. Then you’ll realize you’re watching that “this is your brain on drugs” ad from the 90s on youtube. Don’t do drugs, kids. Ok, just a few, but not heroin.

Taurus
You will discover an egg. But it might actually be poo instead so don’t eat it or anything. Rabbit turds are not pleasant.

Aries
You will discover an egg. But don’t pick it up because you might end up like that one girl who got her arm ripped off when she found an egg.

Luthor
You will discover an egg. It will be loaded with alcohol.

Pices
Build a pile of snowballs outside your roof to ward off possible home invasion. The weapons will intimidate small children not to fuck with you, because your killer snow fort is your house.

Aquarius
A valiant award awaits you if you can knock over a traffic cone!

Capricorn
People are bitching on VGEVO that podcasts aren’t getting enough iTunes reviews. I guess you could go do that. Or just review PSNation and add to the problem a little more. Ok, that’s mean. Go write some reviews.

Sagittarius
Empty another aerosol air freshener can into various things. We need more global warming so I can see snow all four seasons.

Scorpio
You seem to have misplaced an important bag or box that you’re going to put off looking for until next week. That’s ok, but if you wait beyond nine days, the package will be lost forever.

Libra
Keep a keen eye on your purse this week. Smash ‘n grabs are bound to happen. Not that you can smash a purse, but…you get the idea. Dudes don’t have a horoscope for Libra. Refer to Luthor instead.

Virgo
Play some fetch with your dog, but don’t let him hang out in the room during a podcast recording. Then you’re going to hear a shaking clinking dog collar throughout the episode.

Leo
Your stapler needs a recharge.
…
…
…
That’s about it.

Cancer
You ever get that feeling you’re reading something that should have been read four days ago? Déjà vu perhaps? No. Nothing of the sort.

Gemini
See if you can not play Peggle for a week. The stars don’t think you can do it, but a Luthor will think you’re pretty cool if you can.

Taurus
Torrent some decent shows and watch them on your 360. You can stream it with that PC hookup thinger or just copy to a USB drive and plug it in that way. Ok, or just go use Hulu. See if I care.

Aries
You’re in charge of telling as many people as possible that Kal Penn is not dead in real life. He just got a job in the White House. Jesus, baby boomers are dumb.

Luthor
Keep drinking until you make sense.

Ok, how about a bit of randomness on a Monday afternoon?

At MGC, SimpleNate and DJ Incompetent introduced us to a buddy of their’s (Corey) who is the spitting image of Scott Mosier’s “Snowball” character from Clerks. From the moment I met him I began pestering him into reciting lines from Clerks. And yeah, he also looks like Charlie from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, but I simply couldn’t get past the Snowball resemblance.

So for your viewing pleasure, here’s the (NSFW) clip from Clerks. And hey, Snowball, thanks for being such a good sport about it and even signing up for a Robot Panic account under the name “Snowball”. That shit’s hilarious.

Pices
Your goal is to build a spider mech. Do it!

Aquarius
There are security problems at your residence. You could use an automated sentry at your house. You can buy one at ebay.

Capricorn
You need a little bit of foreign cuteness in your life. I have some for you right here.

Sagittarius
It may seem you’re itching to play some megaman. Relive some of his goodness.

Scorpio
Start your day off right with an episode of Burnt Face Man.

Libra
You’re not quite done with shmuppreciation month. Go into overtime a little bit. Here’s some PC ones to go after.

Virgo
It looks like you may have a conflict with what to eat for breakfast this morning. This guide will help you decide.

Leo
You have higher chance to win the shmupmonth.com contest then the rest of the people. I hope you at least entered.

Cancer
You will have a fascination with Quentin Tarantino movies. Here, get reacquainted.

Gemini
Strange 80s techno violence YEAH!!

Taurus
Oh you crazy Peggle fans. This one’s for you.

Aries
Mesmerize yourself this week. This film can help you.

Pices
You got asked to take a survey. You did it. You went home and sat on a sofa. Inspiring stuff.

Aquarius
You’re in some bad situation right now and you find yourself studying what greek numerical symbols stand for.

Capricorn
You ended up trashing your hotel and it was a fantastic evening, wherever you stayed for whatever event you did or are doing soon.

Sagittarius
The stars have no idea what you’re up to, but you’re about to receive a refund for shenanigans unexplained.

Scorpio
You’re playing through all kinds of new shit you bought over the weekend. Some of it is fun, some of it doesn’t work, some of it makes you question you taste in anything. Suddenly, you want to go to the mall.

Libra
You added some new people to your friends lists. You entered a Guitar Hero contest. You had a great time at MGC. Your travel home was awful though.

Virgo
It’s time for getting tested for STDs. Might wanna wait 72 hours after getting’ it on before doing so. ‘Let them diseases make their presence known.

Leo
You’re supposed to write or produce something important but MGC fucked things up for you and you forgot. That’s quite alright though. At least the podcasts you’re going to listen to over the next few days will be excellent and interesting.

Cancer
Congratulations! You’re in possible debt!

Gemini
You brought your camera to MGC but you forgot to record anything significant. If your fate conflicts with this, hurry up and get your videos to youtube. Stat.

Taurus
You have a 38% chance of lighting something on fire this week.

Aries
The stars have absolutely no information available on you. They continue to defend that you being at the end of the Horoscope list has nothing to do with it. But secretly it does. Go in peace.

Pices
You’re going to be the guy who’s going to get trashed for St. Patty’s but forgot to take the next day off for hangover recovery at your super important workplace. Somebody is going to lose a few thousand dollars because of your actions. Good times!

Aquarius
Your life score for St. Patty’s depends on the number of green beers downed. To break the unseen high score, you need to start at 7am cheap beer events. Your prize is the ability to time travel that day only and you receive an increased success rate in Pull Tabs for two months. You get bonus immunity from Parkinson’s Disease if you drink from the green river in Chicago.

Capricorn
Your future hotel room will have one of those demon bottles of water that are considered “courtesy” but if you drink it you’re charged $3 toward your hotel bill. The stars recommend ambushing the cleaning lady cart and stealing four water bottles from it as revenge. The extra question is how do they know to charge for that water bottle? If you hit up a hotel using Priceline or something similar and you go to check out, they just let you go at that second. It’s not like they make you wait while somebody checks your room for the unopened bottle. I don’t see a way they could rig the water cap with sensors like they do when they charge you for opening the refrigerator. I’m trying to remember if I sign anything that says they can charge me for random shit to my credit card long after I check out of the hotel. Probably. I totally don’t remember, but it would make sense if they did..

Sagittarius
There was something super-important the stars were supposed to tell you to avert a crisis of some kind initially triggered on the 15th. Well I got too smashed to communicate to you about it, so you’re going to have to accept any bad outcomes you’ll be up against this week.

Scorpio
You may become that guy who is not doing any St. Patty’s activities nor going to MGC. You are going to sit there reading forums all sulky and sad while watching Celebrity Apprentice. A Capricorn is going to call you bein’ all like, “Come out and join us.” And you’re going to whisper all like, “No.” But you’re not going to make any Watchmen references as you do it. Your voice won’t be raspy either and you’re not going to randomly exclaim, “Metal Gear!?” You’re just going to be a lump of boredom. That’s ok to me, but the stars think you will suck for it. If you change this course of action, the next meal you have will taste like one of the best meals ever. Somebody may even buy you a drink.

Libra
Your MGC experience will involve meeting some people forums have built hype about showing up at the place. You’ll eventually drink with them and you’ll have a fantastic time. Your hangover may even be light, but probably not. The stars say you are in charge of bringing a fifth to the afterparty. Out of kindness. You’ll change courses of fate for the better if you totally do it.

Virgo
Do something retarded at MGC like sleep with somebody you barely know. You are also supposed to enter as many contests as you have time for. Your chances of winning something are highest.

Leo
You are going to leave a post-it note to yourself to SHOWER when at MGC. The stars fortell that the accumulation of smelly-ass people lingering outside the Robot Panic booth will drive one DJ Incompetent toward frustration enough to rig a tear gas canister, fill it with Old Spice body spray, and fire it into the audience.

Cancer
Your MGC experience will put a massive dent in your wallet. The stars don’t even think you’re going to play some of the product you buy from the vendors, but you’ll still be making the world go round, so it’s cool. Carlson is gonna hook you up with a discount probably. Ok maybe.

Gemini
You basically had St. patty’s day last weekend. Much of your weekend or even Monday morning would be spent hungover. Oh we’re supposed to fortell the future aren’t we. Ok well you’re going to see a goose when driving to work this week. It might be imaginary…like that penguin from Billy Madison.

Taurus
Your MGC experience is going to involve a chance encounter with some sort of cool single nerd chick. You may get some in a hotel room that Saturday. Good for you. Bonus points if it is with a Virgo.

Aries
You have to use the beer code. You’ll get a powerup for life issues. Drink the beers in the following order: Bass, Guinness, Bass, Bass, Seirra Navada Pale Ale, Stone Ruination IPA, Bass, Kill Ugly Radio.

YouTube, once the master of gathering all the world’s great content streamed onto one place, had its good shit taken down in droves. What’s left?  Clusters of decent skits, some really good techno, and billions of poor quality webcam business. Most terabytes?  Garbage at best.

Kutiman has turned that garbage into gold.

Step 1: Don’t click anything yet. Go home from work.
Step 2: Tell your people you live with not to bother you for a half hour.
Step 3: Get your best pair of headphones or PC Stereo. Turn it on. Volume up.
Step 4: Click This. Lay back.

Stuck at work? Don’t trust me? Fine. I’ll tell you what’s coming…

(more…)

The best adventures are not all that searchable. It is ok though. It’s not like a cell phone is an allowable basis of travel. Maybe this was just a clever foreword to convince you to visit my friend’s website. Doubtful.

Look. Grip then tip yo cup. A’ight?

On Confessions of Videogames Unplayed:
-Nate: So, your gaming conscience got the better of you, eh?
-Ian: More like a slow day at work. What would a gaming confession booth look like? Also, llamas.
-Nate: Probably like a regular confession booth, but with better graphics and a HUD.
-Ian: I suggest the booth have a giant reload button and a crappy Silent Hill puzzle involving some sort of numbers.
-Nate: Yeah, and if you fail the puzzle, the death song from Mario World should play.
-Ian: More like that youtube vid of every K.K. Slider song playing at once. Or the screech of satan that plays when you select Mario Party 8 on the Wii menu.
-Nate: Its gotta have HD graphics, though. and Friend Codes. Even though those two things will never go together. (Oh no he didnt!!)
-Ian: Hahaha a confession booth with friend codes! “I’m sorry, priest, I think I typed your number in wrong. Ok, wait. K, now we have to wait a day again to confirm.”
-Nate: There should also be little kids calling you gay over a loudspeaker.
-Ian: And a text chat window in the booth that lists every insult in streamlined web 2.0 shoutboxes.
-Nate: “yur gayzors!! OMGROFLFTWBBQ!!!!1!!”
-Ian: And the priest gets to type his insults in as he pretends to be sympathetic. And he’s allowed to punch people through the mesh when someone says something dumb.
-Nate: “Father, I’ve never played Kirby’s Dream Course.” BAM
-Ian: “I never played SoulCalibur because one button did an attack and another button did a slightly different attack.”
-Nate: “I never played House of the Dead because it looked scary.”
-Ian: “I avoided RockBand because Nickelback said it won’t make me a rocker.”
-Nate: “I just don’t understand Smash Bros. It’s too hard.”
-Ian: “I don’t play Doom because killing minions of satan will make me shoot up my school.”
-Nate: “I don’t play the Phoenix Wright games because real courtrooms don’t work that way.”
-Ian: “What the fuck is Ring of Red?”
-Nate: “Hi, Gamestop? Do you have any Wiis in stock?”
-Ian: “I refuse to play Shadow of the Colossus because, gawd there’s only like 16 bad guys in the game. I bet its only 15 minutes long. Jeez”
-Nate: “Left 4 Dead is stupid. I’m glad it’s not coming out for the PS3. Wanna play Pain?”
-Ian: “I LOVE Metal Gear Solid, but I refuse to buy the fourth one because of the cutscenes.”
-Nate: “I have to wait 2 MONTHS for Petz Ponyz 4?!”
-Ian: “halo and killzone are teh suxxors! Timesplitters is teh baby daddy jesus obama!”
-Nate: “Rumble Roses and DOA: Extreme Beach Volleyball are really deep.”
-Ian: “I wouldn’t play ninja gay-den because that chick’s tits weren’t big enough and not covered with enough oil goo.”
-Nate: “Mass Effect is hardcore pornography.”
-Ian: “Resident Evil 5 is racist and lets you rape women.”
-Nate: “Final Fantasy VII is the best game ever made. Also, I have lots of pics of Aerith and Tifa having sex.”
-Ian: “I wouldn’t play Final Fantasy 6 because the bad guy didn’t have long white hair, dressed in hot topic, and god I hate Mode 7 effects.”
-Nate: “I own several Superman games and the newest Turok.”
-Ian: “I check kotaku everyday for updates on dragonball: the movie: the game: evolution: the license: american version: 2009: Z.”
-Nate: “Ninjas could totally kill pirates because Naruto is a ninja.”
-Ian: “nuh uh! Pirates kill ninjas because Spike is a space pirate played by Keanau reeves in hotness Cowboy Bebop movie that can’t possibly drown in failboat!!”
-Nate: “I stopped playing Halo 3 when they stopped making Game Fuel.”
-Ian: “I refuse to play Trauma Center because I only believe in prayer as the cure for all diseases.”
-Nate: LOL, oh god, WINNER!
(more…)