What To – MickRed

Stranger Things Season 1

Holy crap this is a fun ride! Only 4 episodes into it and trying really hard not to power through because there are only 8 total. That would lead to sadness and regret. Seriously though Netflix knocked it out of the park again. Another article will be put out when we finish watching but it has been so awesome I couldn’t resist.

Stranger Things can be described as a SciFi/Horror Mystery Adventure Thriller with an 80’s vibe. There are strange things happening in a small town centered around nefarious government research.

Millie Bobby Brown is an amazing young actress that has just blown me away. So much power with just few words spoken. I will be watching more with her in it.

Also Winona Ryder nails it when it comes to playing a crazy person. I’m thinking when she asked for direction they replied just be yourself. All in fun but seriously she plays a great crazy person.

If you’re not watching Stranger Things you should be because it’s What To Watch.

Fully Equipped with a Moat and a Knight – A Castle In South Texas?

I would love to know the story behind a castle with monster trucks, sports cars and speed boats in south Texas. Seriously if you think you are fulfilling your dreams think again because you won’t come close to this. Seriously there isn’t a detail missed down to the moat and knight guarding the door. Because of their extreme dedication this is What To See especially if you’re ever in Alice, Texas. See the location and more images below.

If you’re ever near Corpus Christi you have to see this place in person

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

This is a continuation of a new series I’m creating for “What To” that I’m calling the Extreme Nerd Series where books, film and audio highlighting science, innovators, inventors and tech startups will be covered.

A best seller on Audible Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future written by Ashlee Vance and narrated by Fred Sanders.

To call Elon Musk the real life Iron Man is an insult but for the sake of an analogy if Elon Musk were Iron Man he’d do it better. As far as science and making stuff happen there are some incredible people that have walked the face of this planet but I haven’t felt like there has been one closer to my age in my life time. Some are close but not quite and most of them are more of a catalyst.

There’s the driving force of corporate interest and then there’s Elon Musk wanting to accomplish anything. I’m not saying Elon Musk does not have corporate or financial interests but I do think they fade into the background and become mere enablers to see his ambitions bear fruit.

When building companies up Elon has sunk everything he has had into them. When Elon Musk believes in something stay out of his way because he will make it happen. Seriously he has taught himself almost everything there is to know about each company. I imagine from the details I can gleam that Elon Musk knows just as much if not more about every detail pertaining to products or the businesses in general than most of the staff to include engineers and specialist. He’s just that driven, curious and genius.

By the early age of 12 Elon created and sold a video game called Blastar for somewhere around $500. Elon made PayPal profitable and helped bring about an era of e-commerce when so many companies failed. Elon founded SpaceX and guided Tesla into his own vision making them not only awesome and functional but also profitable. In the midst of SpaceX and Tesla Elon also co-founded Solarcity which has become the leader in residential solar power. There are more and more achievements everyday. I could elaborate on these facts more but that’s what the book is for.

To say Mick & RedBeard are fans of Elon is putting it lightly but if you like SpaceX or Tesla at a minimum you will love this book.

The copy we listened to is from Audible.

The Boy Who Played with Fusion

This is the first of a new series I’m creating for “What To” that I’m calling the Extreme Nerd Series where books, film and audio highlighting science, innovators, inventors and tech startups will be covered.

The Boy Who Played with Fusion: Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting, and How to Make a Star written by Tom Clynes and narrated by P. J. Ochlan.

Taylor Wilson a young, strangely social given his level of intelligence, natural born leader, inquisitive genius of a boy from Texarkana, Arkansas.

Taylor hit many mile stones by the age of 17. By age 9 Taylor had, by most people’s standards, mastered the basics of rocket propulsion, by age 14 he successfully built a fusion reactor and with previous events shadowing this fact know that he gave a TED talk at the age of 17. Those facts are just tossed out there in order but seriously achieving fusion at the age of 14 is amazing. Just being able to gather the required components for a fusion reactor at that age is impressive let alone building one.

There are many people in this world like Taylor. A lot of them you wouldn’t know have that level of intelligence resides in them or that the potential lies there untapped. To be honest what sets Taylor apart from others is luck and enabling parents. Taylor did not come from wealth or a well connected family just caring parents, intelligence, circumstance and plan old luck.

With luck, I say luck because not enough of them exist in this world, brought caring teachers who could admit when they didn’t know something but helped find answers, adults willing to share knowledge and provide resources, parents willing to see it through that their children’s passions were nurtured, adults making time, saying yes and listening.

The copy we listened to is from Audible.

R Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet

If you have not ever watched R Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet you are missing out. It is wildly entertaining! Trapped in the Closet is classified as a Rap Opera even though it fits R&B meets Soap Opera and relates more to a telenovela.

Back in the day I binge watched all of the episodes that had been released to that point and forgot about looking for newer releases. When I came across the new episodes on YouTube it was the perfect time to re-watch them from the beginning with my wife who had never seen them before. It was so much fun I now want to host a Trapped in the Closet watch party. It’s an experience!

R Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet has more crazy turns than Paso de los Caracoles. Trapped in the Closet is definitely What To Watch.

Supposedly Trapped in the Closet has the possibility of being adapted to both a movie and a book. I’m in, I’m in shut up and take my money.

Wikipedia actually has a good write up and summaries but RedBeard would love to do a synopsis of this web series. Anyone up for listening to that? Contact us

I compiled the free episodes into a playlist here

But Wait there’s more!

14 – Audio Book of Awesome

14 written by Peter Clines and narrated by Ray Porter. A dynamic duo that could make a HOA news letter sound entertaining. This book was introduced to me by Raven during the We’re Alive finale road trip to LA. I can’t thank her enough because this book is one of my most favorite to date. Since then I have listened to 14 a few times with each listen appreciating 14 more.

If I had to sum the story up it would be that 14 is a modern Lovecraftian adventure mystery. The main plot of the story takes place in an apartment located in LA. Upon strange experiences the desire to find out what lays beyond pad locked doors, deep basements and things hidden just beyond the walls.

Peter Clines is a master world builder. The world is so vivid, the puzzles are so deep, chuck full of pop culture references and the journey is incredible.

Ray Porter took this narration to a whole new level. He puts on voices for each character and does it so well that found myself saying I bet this female character is cute then realizing this was a guy’s voice well played sir well played.

Ash & I are getting ready to listen to The Fold. Can’t wait! I hope at some point that we get the chance to interview Peter Clines.

The copy we listened to is from Audible.

How to Fight Presidents – Hilarious Overview of Presidential History

What to Listen to…… How to Fight Presidents

Ash’s suggestions are sometimes questionable considering his undying love of bad movies but this, this was hilarious. I’ve never been so entertained or laughed so much about historical accounts of well anything especially American presidents.

Written by Daniel O’Brien a hilarious writer for/director for/co-creator of Cracked and narrated by Richard McGonagle.

Richard McGonagle’s narration was perfect for this. His narration is so professional and studious while dropping some of the funniest lines written by O’Brien. Seriously just play the clip about George Washington below and hear it for yourself.

You will surely learn something new to include facts that if you heard them in passing you would think they were BS. For example did you know that Lyndon Johnson held meetings while he was on the toilet with staff and interns present? As if that were not enough there is more…. but listen to find out.

The copy we listened to is from Audible.

The Martian – Book

This book was too good to have anything less than 10 stars on our 5 star scale. I have listened to this book 3 times and will listen again. -mrb

Written by Andy Weir a writer and software engineer. The Martian is a story about astronaut Mark Watney, who was thought to be dead, stranded on the uninhabitable planet mars with little supplies and no support, his only hope of survival is science. This book has the perfect amount of science, humor and near misses to keep you at the edge of your seat.

The Martian on Audible
Andy Weir’s Website

Facts
- Andy Weir originally wrote The Martian for free on his website in serialized releases. It wasn’t until people requested that he put The Martian on Amazon so that they could read the book in Kindle format.
- Andy Weir worked for Blizzard where he contributed to World of Warcraft 2.

Mick when you see this feel free to edit.

[rating=10]

Interstellar – Movie

Why did it take us so long to post about Interstellar? Yesh!

This movie was incredible. Science was spot on and Artistic representations were as good as it gets when trying to conceptualize concepts that are only theory in humanity’s grasp. Interstellar covers Black holes, Wormholes, String Theory, Multi-Dimensional existence, Time Dilation and much more. We loved this movie!

Interstellar was directed by Christopher Nolan and the script was written by his brother Jonathan Nolan. The cast includes Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine as well as a slew of other well known actors to include Matt Damon.

Facts
- Jonathan Nolan studied relativity at the California Institute of Technology while writing the script to gain scientific insights
- Science adviser was Kip Thorne, a well known theoretical physicist
- The story behind Interstellar was dreamed up by film producer Lynda Obst and Science Advisor and theoretical physicist Kip Thorne.
- Lynda Obst & Kip Thorne collaborated on the 1997 film Contact based on the story created by Carl Sagan.
- Back in the day Carl Sagan set up Lynda Obst & Kip Thorne on a blind date.

Mick when you see this feel free to add more.

[rating=7]

Gravity – Movie

I freak out about space stuff. If there is any thing going on that has to do with space, chances are it will have a great deal of my attention. However , when I first saw the trailer for this movie a few months back for some reason my skeptical brain clicked on and told me that it was probably going to be terrible. I knew Hollywood would screw it up, and all of the inaccuracies that would surely be there would completely keep me and any other other space geek from enjoying the movie.

Let me be the first to tell you I was wrong, very very wrong. No, not about their being inaccuracies – there were plenty as Neil DeGrasse Tyson let us know – I was wrong about not being able to enjoy the movie. It was a complete roller-coaster joy ride the entire 91 minutes.

“Gravity” is the most unique cinematic experience I can remember. I simply cannot remember another movie that was anything like this. First, it captured the awe and wonder that I feel about space multiple times. There were many moments were we were able to see the Earth like only an astronaut could, and there were times when you could look into the vast, lonely, emptiness which is also beautiful.

The tension was so tight throughout most of the movie that breathing became a voluntary action. The only times that it let up was to try and pull the tears from your eyes with either beautiful shots or surprising character moments.

You must go see this movie while it is still in theaters, preferably in 3D

[rating=5]