I first have to admit that I'm a huge fan of the show Mythbusters before I praise a podcast that's....very worthy of my praise. I had no idea who the Mythbusters were when I first started watching the show years ago, but I knew that between Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman they had over 30 years of experience in special effects and not much more than that. 

The two busters of myths are famous for saying that they make a great team but wouldn't make great friends because they are so very different from each other. The only reason that they've been blowing stuff up for the past ten years or so has to do with Adam being hired by Jamie's company to work on the set of A Nightmare Before Christmas. This is where the all the fun began. 

A few years later they were shooting a pilot for Discovery. Adam did what he does best and put his ability to embrace something new to work by learning how to edit video while in the process of editing their video pitch and the rest is still history in the making. But I'm not here to talk about the Mythbusters. My knowledge about them is a result of hours and hours of listening to a wonderful little gem called Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project. Yes, it's a podcast titled after the absence of a title and yes, you can download and listen to it whenever and wherever you please.

I've spent the last few weeks listening to old episodes not because I'm trying to catch up, but because I genuinely enjoy listening to Adam Savage talk about just about everything! He covers it all...parenting, marriage, working in a shop, being a geek, video games, special effects, film, Etsy shopping, hearing loss, stitches, whip making, holiday shopping, Indiana Jones, Quentin Tarantino, tech, shop safety, dumpster diving, building a toolkit, cooking, celebrity encounters, travel, science, comics, cosplay, myth busting... To sum up the real Adam Savage: He's a human sponge willing to absorb anything and just as willing to regurgitate that information back in the most passionate and gracious way possible. 

Of course, he's not alone while spouting out randomness, he's joined by Will Smith (not the Fresh Prince) and Norman Chan (Jamie too, but he's not on this particular podcast). Together they are part of Tested.com which is sort of like Mythbusters but online and on a much smaller, more focused level. Will and Norm are technology writers and built Tested as a place for "anything that's awesome." Somehow, they linked up with Adam and Jamie and now they have a place for mega awesomeness!

I've seriously learned a ton by listening to Still Unitiled: The Adam Savage Project and think that if you enjoy science, family life, cooking, and the long list mentioned above, you'll without a doubt love listening to these guys and their interesting lives as they pepper listeners with mega awesomeness and the occasional Jamie-looks-like-a-walrus joke.

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

Fans of the still amazing TV wonder Seinfeld must have dreamed of setting foot inside Jerry's apartment. Well, with the help of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset that is currently getting mass recognition, it might be possible to grab something from Jerry's fridge and see what's on his TV.  This VR recreation was made entirely for fandom's sake and will be available for free if you own an Oculus Rift.

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

My favorite band on the planet is back three years after their most colorful album, Mylo Xyloto and this time, they're bringing ghost stories. On May 19th, Coldplay is set to release their sixth studio album titled Ghost Stories, which already sounds darker than anything they've produced thus far. 

Their sound is more electronic and that's not a bad thing either. That's progression. If you compare each of their albums, you'll find something profoundly unique about each one. Of course, Viva la Vida was slightly different, being their declaration of fearlessness, blending music with artwork and...Brian Eno, who ultimately changed the way they produce their music.

Two tracks from Ghost Stories have already been released: Midnight, in the form of a music video, and Magic in the form of a streaming track on YouTube and available to download if you pre-order the nine track album on iTunes. Interestingly, the CD version available from Target comes with three Target-only bonus tracks bringing the album up to a full twelve tracks. That's more like it being as the iTunes version, at first glance, appears to be a bit sparse and unusual for Coldplay.

It's always exciting to get new music from your favorite musicians. When Coldplay releases a new album, they are very good at teasing fans with b-sides, artwork, surprise concerts or performances, and usually one of their best tracks from the album. Sure, every band out there does this but not like Coldplay.

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

There once was a time when I was a real Ghostbuster. I'd watch the films over and over until the VHS tape wore out. I could also recite the film line by line even though I was too young to place any true meaning behind the words that were coming out of my mouth. I had both soundtracks and knew every song. This was also a time before I knew I was obsessed. My parents certainly knew and they also knew that I loved the Ghostbusters and that there was nothing going to stop me from pretending to be one of them. 

It was confusing for me to figure out who I was imitating. I remember reciting lines or actions from the films without actually understanding why I was doing it. I would pretend that I was Peter Venkman trying to lift myself off of the floor after having been tangled and electrocuted by Vigo the Carpathian.  I had all the gear – a proton pack, trap, and PKE meter – and my mom even made me a ghost busting uniform with the official Ghostbuster's patch on my arm. I was the new guy.

I would put on the goggles that Ray Stanz wore in the first film while searching for Slimer and walk around the house looking for that giant green butter eating blob of ectoplasm. I even had fake slime that I'd put on my shirt and well, pretend to get slimed.

Even though I'd pretend to be the new guy, deep down I had a favorite Ghostbuster. My favorite toy was my PKE meter that Egon Spengler used. For whatever reason, I felt that he suited me best. I liked that he was scientific, but also, he had all the gadgets and was responsible for creating the proton packs. This was the guy that created the gear that put them on the map (and in jail too). He was the strange one that collected, "spores, molds, and fungus" and he only had "part of a Slinky" that he straightened out when he was a child. 

I had no idea who Harold Ramis was when I was a kid, but man, did I ever want to be just like him when I grew up. In fact, I was on a few ghost hunts as a videographer/editor for a ghost hunting group a few years ago, which fulfilled my dream. I got to be the "gadgets guy" during the hunt and felt just like Egon.

I don't have a stronger connection to Harold Ramis than this. He brought to life many characters through his writing and directing since 1980 with Caddyshack, but only one instance of his work has stuck with me my entire life. When I learned that he passed, it was like Egon Spengler had passed as well. I had hopes to see Harold Ramis portray Egon in Ghostbusters 3 for one last time, but perhaps his illness had a lot to do with the project being stalled. Dan Akroyd, I'm sure, wouldn't want to go it alone without his writing partner overseeing the project and maybe stalled it all together. But why not forge ahead? I would write it as a "years later" film with Egon showing up as a ghost...

His success as a director was something I had not known about until much later in life and maybe it was for the best. I now have a deep appreciation for connecting the film-facts-dots because of my profession and I can safely say that Egon had a great career as a writer and director, from National Lampoon's Vacation to Groundhog Day and all the way up to directing a few episodes of The Office. To me he'll always be Egon Spengler who loves his sweets, making sure that we "don't cross the streams."

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

Close your eyes and place yourself anywhere in the world. Go ahead. I'll wait... Long enough. Karl Pilkington doesn't exactly get to snap his fingers and magically appear in any country. That is Ricky Gervais' job. Oh yeah, and Stephen Merchant plays a huge role in what appears to be pure torment for poor Karl.

Karl's been to China, India, Jordan, Mexico, Egypt, and Brazil, just to name a few places. He's in a class of his own when it comes to observational humor and literally pours his deep inner feelings onto whoever is standing directly in front of him and doesn't care if that person is, oh say, a naked man with the ability to stretch his you-know-what to incredible lengths. But maybe it's because he's been forced to eat things that make him gag. Or maybe it's from drinking water that gives him the runs. Or maybe it's the shit-hole he's forced to stay in. We go where Karl goes and only for Ricky Gervais' amusement.

One of the best parts of the show would have to be the phone calls between Ricky Gervais and Karl. It doesn't take much to push Ricky's laugh track button, which sounds like...which sounds... I'm quite not sure. It simply sounds like no other laugh I've ever heard before and it can now be heard around the world.

An Idiot Abroad is currently available on Netflix.

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

I originally meant to drum up some rumors with this image. I even pointed out that the man in the left side of the image wasn't checking his compass or reading his beeper but was checking his smartphone...

I also wanted to point out that Jerry has less hair and George actually looked the about the same from a distance. Well yeah, the Super Bowl beat me to this post but still, I'd like to share it with you anyway because I ultimately wanted to see this collaboration happen sooner than later. Turns out, we only got to see Jerry, George, and Newman which is better than nothing. The whole point of the commercial was to promote Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" where the full 6 minute episode featuring George Costanza can be found.

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Crappy Comics

It's almost time for the Commercial Bowl and that means eating foods that are awful for you. You might have clam dip, onion dip, salsa casseroles, and sour cream and onion chips. Shrimp will be dipped into cocktail sauce or ketchup and bacon will wrap itself around everything. Cheese will be chopped up into tiny little cubes, each skewered with toothpicks and cheese dips will be making messes on sofas. You will be sold beer, soda, chips, pizza, insurance, and more beer, soda, chips, pizza...

The fact that these commercials cost companies millions is enough for me to sit through what they come up with. Horses will be trotting into stables, people will fly through glass, celebrities will sell you just about anything, but hopefully we will see some innovation this year. Make me interact! Make all of us do something besides go to a website to see more Go Daddy chicks. I want to scan and download something like a coupon for cheese dip.

Better yet, I want to attend a Commercial Bowl while wearing Google Glass so I can truly be mind invaded. Virtual everything will pop up and I'll just want to reach out and drink it. We should be given Google Glass for free, paid for with the support of augmented reality popup ads. 

Oh yeah, don't forget about the Puppy Bowl!

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Ajazz Tech

Last night I watched Hawking on PBS. I was almost certain that I'd be listening to the buttery vocals of Benedict Cumberbatch for most of the broadcast. Instead, I was surprised to find Cumberbatch behind the camera being interviewed. He apparently portrayed Stephen Hawking in a biopic. I am accustomed to watching Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking where Cumberbatch and Hawking's iconic robotic voice beautifully overlap. This wasn't the case. Hawking narrated the entire hour and it was refreshing. He told the world about his interesting yet tragic life dealing with ALS through the one device that has enabled him to communicate his theories behind some of the biggest mysteries of the universe. 

I'm always looking for new ways to learn about the universe. By coincidence or more honestly by my app alerts on AppShopper.com, I had been notified that Stephen Hawking's Snapshots of the Universe went on sale. So, I bit. I read half of it in one sitting! It's filled with text and mini games that help explain the basic concepts behind the universe's most noticeable laws like gravity and space-time. I'm not going to give you a full review here, but you should check it out for yourselves, iOS users. Here's a quick book factoid: I am privileged to live in the same small town where Kitty Ferguson once lived. She has written a few books about Hawking and spent a lot of time interviewing him. Her works include Stephen Hawking: An Unfettered Mind and Stephen Hawking: Quest for a Theory of Everything.

I have an intense interest in cosmology, in physics, and in some of the same mysteries that are driving the leading minds in science. I grew up with and was influenced by family members who were/are mathematicians and who are science-minded. Stephen Hawking is one of the few people in his field (Michio Kaku included) that are able to help us non-physicists understand quantum physics, black holes, multiverses and a long list of discoveries that are helping to sculpt the theory of everything.

By: Alex Zarnoski | @ajazz16 | Ajazz Tech