John Walker's Electronic House

Welcome to Rum Doings… Late. Episode 75 was recorded after midnight, which means things are a little more… sexxxxy. It must be listened to after midnight, naked. Ideally on a creaky leather sofa.

We’re not discussing whether Madonna’s gone too far with her latest reinvention. But instead do discuss dipping biscuits in wine, and Nick quite alarmingly holds John’s hand. There’s chatter about booth babes, prosperity preaching, and the singularity.

Find out about the nature of Nick’s aquatic affair with John’s sister, find a middle name for Laura, and what John and Laura’s vows should be. Especially to Dexter. And it’s all so sexxxxxxxxxxxxxy. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Late night. Mmmmmmmm.

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Or you can listen to it right here!

[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/rumdoings_e75.mp3]

In episode 74 of Rum Doings we don’t discuss whether celebrity is good for democracy. But we do drink gingerbread cream liqueur. It’s also the third and final episode containing Judge Martin Coxcombe, who will finally rule on whether John Walker is allowed.

Thoughts appear on stag dos, and then there’s a splendid foray into making up facts. Something Nick doesn’t quite get. We get all serious about anti-Semitism, less so about night terrors, riddles, and video toasters. Is John a bear? Does his Gay Day contribute to that? Are brown eyed people normal? And how does Judge Coxcombe finally rule on John?

Please consider writing a review on iTunes. It’s a really good way of raising our profile. And keep on tweeting and so forth.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter @rumdoings. If you want to email us, you can do that here. If you want to be a “fan” of ours on Facebook, which apparently people still do, you can do that here.

To get this episode directly, right click and save here. To subscribe to Rum Doings click here, or you can find it in iTunes here.

Or you can listen to it right here!

[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/rumdoings_e74.mp3]

With Nick on holiday, and John in the throes of E3, it’s a good job we pre-recorded Episode 73 of Rum Doings. This week we don’t discuss… we forget! Until ages in!

We get too excited by potentially gloopy liquid. And then with a sense of topicality you can only hope for from us, we discuss the distinct lack of a rapture. Special guest Judge Martin “Coxcombe” Coxall is inspired to start a new religion. Via a brief chat about cats, we then ponder copyright, publishing and piracy.

Oh, the topic! Is the NHS just a fairytale that won’t have a happy ending? And are there ladytits at E3? Which brands of mental allow you a blue badge? And then we’re very sensitive about DID. And Operation. Oh, and here’s that kitten tray:

Please consider writing a review on iTunes. It’s a really good way of raising our profile. And keep on tweeting and so forth.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter @rumdoings. If you want to email us, you can do that here. If you want to be a “fan” of ours on Facebook, which apparently people still do, you can do that here.

To get this episode directly, right click and save here. To subscribe to Rum Doings click here, or you can find it in iTunes here.

Or you can listen to it right here!

[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/rumdoings_e73.mp3]

It’s the end of a personal era. The edition of PC Gamer that should be arriving with subscribers in a couple of days (in shops in about a week) will contain my last ever They’re Back.

They’re Back is PC Gamer’s budget section. Two pages dedicated to re-reviewing games that are either being re-released at a lower price, or coming out in a new bundle. And since 1999 I’ve been filling it up with as much irrelevant guff as I can get away with.

I’ve written 148 of them, over twelve years, which I think is probably some sort of record. And I’m really proud of what I’ve done.

My passion for magazines was born in the 1980s, reading wonderful nonsense in Your Sinclair, then Zero and the very early (pre its tedious laddish reinvention in the mid-to-late 90s) PC Zone (it got better again, of course). Inspired by writers like Rich Pelley, Stuart Campbell, J Nash and Charlie Brooker, I saw an opportunity for combining a love of silly comedy and playing games. Not an opportunity I was smart enough to realise I could take before a disastrous attempt to become a biologist, but an investment in my future that eventually hugely paid off. As a reader of PC Gamer in my teens, and reinspired by Kieron Gillen’s writing in my very early 20s, I was eventually lucky enough to get freelance work on the magazine, at the same time as pursuing a career as a youth worker. Two of the best jobs imaginable.

Very early on I was asked to take over They’re Back from Steve Owen, who had written it since its inception. The section immediately struck me as inherently pointless. The reviews of the games had all appeared in PC Gamer around six months previously, so readers already knew if they were any good. The whole spread could have been simply replaced by a small box in the corner of page 17 with the five game names, new price, and then a comment on whether they were more worth purchasing at this lower price. Which meant it shone out to me as a space for what I’d always loved about magazines: room to be silly.

(continue reading…)

A sad truth is that as RPS has scaled up, my time for watching television has gone way down. The backlog of shows I love is hurting me just to look at. But fortunately the convenient 20 minute length of sitcoms means they can still sneak in. Which has allowed me to see what I think may be the best pay-off in sitcom history.

This year the two best in the format are unquestionably Community and Cougar Town. The former has embraced such a depth of unreality that it’s been free to feature claymation, while the latter has found a groove none could have expected from the name and opening few episodes. I can imagine many would bounce off Cougar Town at the concept, but it’s allowed itself such a charming collection of characters, and so refreshingly, no turmoil. It’s decent people having a good time, without constantly lying to each other or falling in and out of love. The representation of a working, real married couple is pretty much unique. (There’s no forgiving anyone who complains about the title, since the show itself features a complaint about it every episode.)

But I’ve brought you here to bring up one particular moment in each.

(continue reading…)

In a sweary, adult-themed Rum Doings episode 72, we allow an email from a listener to provide a foundation for a good proportion of the episode. Which means we need an arbitrator, who exists in the form of special guest Judge Martin Coxall.

The email prompts discussions about the roles John and Nick bring to the podcast: Nick’s unabashed intelligence, and John’s desperate, failed attempts to try to be funny. Should we swear more? Should we not swear less? Is there anything wrong with the word “poo”? No. No there is not.

We introduce a new system for Nick to indicate when John’s trying too hard, such that Judge Coxcombe can interject with a ruling.

Once that’s complete, we move on to discuss super-injunctions. And Nick goes to some lengths to get himself sued into outer space. A pretty in-depth discussion of privacy, law and blackmailing follows.

Please consider writing a review on iTunes. It’s a really good way of raising our profile. And keep on tweeting and so forth.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter @rumdoings. If you want to email us, you can do that here. If you want to be a “fan” of ours on Facebook, which apparently people still do, you can do that here.

To get this episode directly, right click and save here. To subscribe to Rum Doings click here, or you can find it in iTunes here.

Or you can listen to it right here!

[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/rumdoings_e72.mp3]

I’ve been having a lot of fun this week, laughing at the ridiculous behaviour of Harold Camping and his followers as they so fervently predict a Judgement Day for the 21st May 2011. While such end-time predictions come up frequently, this is the first to have really caught the imagination of the internet, leading to all manner of spoof sites, news stories and Twitter attention. The profile of today’s rapture is a lot higher than any of the huge number of others that have been popped in the diary previously. There’s all sorts of excellent ideas around like this, this and this.

Come today – the day it all kicks off according to Mr Camping – I find myself feeling more sadness than anything else. Because for anyone who’s been fooled by this nonsense, tomorrow could be a really crappy day.

(continue reading…)

It’s episode 71 of Rum Doings. Do you need more information? Oh.

Nick and John forget how their own running jokes work, then Nick forgets how jokes work. We have rather an intelligent chat about physics (disclaimer: not true), Nick’s synesthesia gets out of control, and we regale you with tales of book shopping. Do blind people appreciate black? For some reason we talk about Fawlty Towers, what we’ll tell our children about death, Nick accuses John of murder (again), and then move on to smelling wee.

Long-suffering fiancée Laura had better prepare for her Rum Doings exam if she wants to get married, we learn of Dexter’s immortality, and the deadline for the holocaust. And cat sick. And find out that John’s a racist.

Please consider writing a review on iTunes. It’s a really good way of raising our profile. And keep on tweeting and so forth.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter @rumdoings. If you want to email us, you can do that here. If you want to be a “fan” of ours on Facebook, which apparently people still do, you can do that here.

To get this episode directly, right click and save here. To subscribe to Rum Doings click here, or you can find it in iTunes here.

Or you can listen to it right here!

[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/rumdoings_e71.mp3]

Why, it’s episode 70 of Rum Doing, where we’re joined by very special guest, the late John Walker. This week we don’t discuss the lessons we’ve learned from the electorate about the tough choices we’ve had to make in dealing with the economic mess that Labour have left us to deal with.

We talk about the return of Adam & Joe, which brings us onto Nick’s plan for a movie where nothing goes wrong. There’s detailed discussions of the nature of scones, and what should replace “obey” in marriage vows. And then, well, I’m sorry – we have a nice long discussion about John’s bumhole. Therefore of course we move on to the wholesome topic of suppositories. And having fingers stuck up your bum! Make sure to listen to this episode while eating.

What’s your favourite biscuit? Is probably our lowest ebb. But it at least brings us to something of some vague substance, as Nick tries to explain his issues with the SNP. And how rubbish Laura is. She says “haitch”. Ew. We tell off people for their autobiography names, South African races, and other waffle.

Please consider writing a review on iTunes. It’s a really good way of raising our profile. And keep on tweeting and so forth.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter @rumdoings. If you want to email us, you can do that here. If you want to be a “fan” of ours on Facebook, which apparently people still do, you can do that here.

To get this episode directly, right click and save here. To subscribe to Rum Doings click here, or you can find it in iTunes here.

Or you can listen to it right here!

[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/rumdoings_e70.mp3]

It’s episode 69 of Rum Doings! Tee hee hee! Snort.

In this episode we don’t discuss whether it’s time to put an end to the scourge of supermarket self checkout before it is too late. But we do discuss tomorrow’s vote.

That’s why this is up a day early. We recorded it in a day from the past, expecting to post it on Thursday, but in the wake of the swell of support for AV we’ve decided to put it up a day early. Because we really want to encourage Britishers to spoil. For arguments why, make sure to check out this fine post about it.

Beforehand we risk our lives with some ASDA energy drink, and with that coursing through our veins we begin a discussion of the upcoming vote. John makes the argument for spoiling, while Nick puts forward some even more radical positions. John discusses his encounter with a troubled Lib Dem councillor, and we get alittlebitpoliticalladiesandgentlemen.

An attempt to change gears by addressing more listener questions is almost immediately interrupted by the noisiest escape attempt by the prisoner in John’s basement. That sound accompanies thoughts on Piers Moron, dancing, how to eat an Easter egg, why we’d not be MPs, skirts for men, a smattering more politics, sitcom recommendations, and John’s balding legs.

Please consider writing a review on iTunes. It’s a really good way of raising our profile. And keep on tweeting and so forth.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter @rumdoings. If you want to email us, you can do that here. If you want to be a “fan” of ours on Facebook, which apparently people still do, you can do that here.

To get this episode directly, right click and save here. To subscribe to Rum Doings click here, or you can find it in iTunes here.

Or you can listen to it right here!

[audio: http://rumdoings.jellycast.com/files/audio/rumdoings_e69.mp3]