Yes, it’s our annual spooooooky Halloween episode! We discuss eating things you shouldn’t, William’s obsession with dressing up, computer interfaces, and a possible ancestor to the Hat? Enjoy!
QUESTIONS:
Dear vocal extensions of The Magical Talking Hat, What is the best method of interacting with a computer (voice, mouse, trackball, keyboard, gamepad, touch)? — Mark McKibben
Dear Hat, What made you pick Tony and William as your method of communcation? –Anon
If William is the James May of The Magical Talking Hat; does that make Tony Jeremy Clarkson or Richard Hammond? — Mark McKibben
LINKS:
Here is the YouTube channel we were watching in between episodes.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
First of all… just last year I wore a Halloween costume. There were pictures on facebook and everything. I don’t know how I forgot that.
Second of all… I kinda messed up the cauldron story… here’s a better version, more suited to telling around the bonfire on Halloween:
Krokus, a tribal king of the Alamanni in the late 3rd century AD, came into the possession of an Helvetti artifact and made acquaintance with a priest who, in spite of several centuries of Roman influence upon the region, knew how to make the object work. It was a cauldron of some antiquity. Its name, as well as that of the priest, are lost to Time, but legend calls it the Krokus Cauldron and insists that Krokus was the last to own and use it.
According to the tales, Krokus instructed all who were subject or allied to him that, if they ever wished audience with him, all they need do was capture a small bird, bind it, whisper their message into its ear, then burn the bird alive upon their hearth-fire. The bird would magically transport to the cauldron and, now unbound, fly to the kings ear and pass along the message. This is the origin of the idiom “A little bird told me…”
The cauldron’s potency so far into the Roman era was no accident, according to legend. It was reputed to be enchanted with a spell that would allow it to avoid destruction and ensure preservation. The cauldron had the power, it was said, to change form so as to look like some essential family item. This not only masked the object’s true nature, but also guaranteed that it would never be lost or left behind.
Also, since Krokus was the last owner of the cauldron who knew how to use it, it’s said that wherever it may be, it continues to find ways to gather the cares and concerns of the denizens of whatever land it dwells in, and transmit those cares and concerns to its present owners.
The cauldron’s shape-shifting enchantment has caused those who believe in it to insist that its existence persists to the present-day, although nobody knows where. The most recent legend claims that a hexmeister immigrating from Germany in 1855 brought it to the US in the form of a cast-iron skillet, but upon his death, having no living heirs, the artifact was, at long last, lost.
…. and then gives uuuuuuuuuup! 🙂
Dead on — Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan.
Halloween: Nope, we were not trick-or-treating; we were hanging out at a friend’s house.
Hot Pepper Gaming: It’s just dumb, though there are worse things out there on Youtube.
Bitcomic: William were you referring to BitStrips?
Halloween: We stayed home and passed out treats the first couple of years we lived in our house; but given that the adults (without even costumes) outnumbered the kids, we stopped doing so.
Uncle Sam wants your blood!
Haunted Houses: I’ve never actually gone to a haunted house and hadn’t really thought it was odd; but from the reactions I get whenever that factoid comes up, I guess it is.
Vampirao-Firaofightao FTW!
Best way to interact with a computer: Really in a world with spam and malware, you want to jack a computer into your brain?
Console for twitch games, really? Maybe I’ve not played enough on modern consoles; but it’s been my experience that game controllers aren’t any where near as accurate as a keyboard and trackball.
Birds/Fire: It’s called roast chicken, for crying out loud.
The Magical Talking Hat has a plan? Now why do I suddenly have the theme from BSG pounding in my head?
Top Gear: James May, aka Capt Slow, is considered to be the most boring of the three but is also the closest to being like a real person. Tony’s descriptions of the other two hosts are essentially accurate.
William on his other podcasts: William is still the William, especially when he’s talking with Dave Chappelle. ^_^