Nerd Culture Podcast

Episode #85 features:

Our Aussie Special!

Popcorn Junkies: Wake in Fright / Breaker Morant / The Sapphires /The Turning

Top 5: Our Top 5 Australian TV Shows

Giveaway: Thanks to the awesome people at Madman Entertainment we are giving away a DVD copy of The Turning. Details on the show!

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Shopping List

Wake in Fright blu-ray
Breaker Morant VOD
The Sapphires blu-ray
The Turning blu-ray

This is my Monk build Spirit Bomb.

This spec is actually possible as of level 48 but is detailed as a lvl 70 due to Mythic Rhythm (as the 4th passive skill).

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/monk#UeYXjQ!dbci!YZbYbZ

I recommended a 2 handed weapon, and if you have any Paragon points, I highly suggest reducing casting costs and increasing your maximum Spirit (core and utility sections).

This spec constantly replenishes your massive quantity of available spirit and then releases it en masse with several explosions of light in all directions for a lot of damage. The main source of damage is Wave of Light, which costs 75 spirit. Since Monks normally have a total of 150 spirit, this would mean that only 2 castings are possible. However, this is where everything really starts to get fun for this build!

We will start with the Passives on this spec, since they are highly important. Exalted Soul automatically increases your spirit maximum by 100, giving you a total base of 250 spirit along with 2 spirit every second. Next, The Guardian’s Path will give you a bonus 35% to all spirit gains and Chant of Resonance gives additional spirit every second and reduces the cost of your Mantra ability by 50% (in this case the mantra grants you a protective shield for survival purposes).

The next part of the fun is the spirit generation. Your Way of the Hundred Fists generates 12 spirit for every hit plus an additional 40% chance to generate an additional 6 spirit (both of those numbers are base, since I’m not adding the bonus from The Guardian’s Path). Then, if you really need more spirit, you can use your Breath of Heaven, which not only heals you, but for 5 seconds after using it also gives your Way of the Hundred Fists a boost to 16 spirit for every hit. Plus, if you are surrounded by enemies and are low on spirit, your Blinding Flash takes enemies off of you for 3 seconds and gives you 7 spirit for every enemy that was blinded. This in conjunction with Mystic Ally’s activated ability which grants 100 spirit to the monk.

Using all of these skills, I have been able to perform a total of 8 consecutive Waves of Light which is a total of 600 spirit used up out of my character’s maximum pool of 258. That’s a 232.5% of my maximum spirit pool all used within about a 6-10 second period!

If you happen to be traveling alone, I recommend using the Templar as your follower, so you can get his level 20 ability Inspire, which grants an additional 10% spirit generation.

All in all this spec will keep your spirits high and your enemies in pain!

NCP Regulars are well aware of my love for the writing of Mr Andrez Bergen so they’ll understand and forgive me for the following outburst;

Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat is being made into a Graphic Novel!!!!!

Okay, now that I have that out of my system, down to the facts. 🙂

Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, the critically-acclaimed 2011 tale of a near-future noir/dystopia gets a huge sequential art treatment — with new plot twists included!

Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat was a novel first published in 2011 that proudly wears on its sleeve the influences of writers Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Neville Shute, Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Graham Greene, and… filmmakers Satoshi Kon, Carol Reed, John Huston and Akira Kurosawa. Now the author of TSMG, Andrez Bergen (also the writer of Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? along with the Tales to Admonish and Black/White comic-book series, and an artist in his own right) is assembling a 130+ page sequential art version of Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, set to be published at the end of July 2014. He will be doing both art and text.

It is an essential yarn that rolls in together a wealth of cultural influences and pop-culture nuggets with a noir tale of love, betrayal, corporate violence and intrigue — set in near-future, last-city-on-earth Melbourne.

If that isn’t enough to get you excited then read the back-cover spiel:

“Cut to Melbourne, Australia — the most glamorous city in the world. It also happens to be the only one left standing, but nevermind that, we’re there now and I’d like you to meet your narrator, a certain Floyd Maquina, a likeable chap with one hell of a story to share. See, the powers that be are knuckling down on the Deviant menace that plagues the city, and our boy Floyd’s unknowingly got himself in the thick of it. Cue guns, intrigue, kidnappings, conspiracy and all sorts of general mayhem that make for cracking good headlines.

Does Floyd stop the bad guys? Does he get the girl? Does he make Humphrey Bogart proud? Grab some popcorn and read on.”

The comic book adaptation, while touching upon similar territory as the novel — with key characters Floyd and Laurel — will also feature brand new plot content, including material from Bergen’s other books.

Also, it will include behind-the-scene tidbits, pin-ups by other artists, and Hylax and Webley-Fosbery collectibles!

Now, to get this awesomeness head on over to the Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat Graphic Novel Kickstarter page and pledge. Not only can you get this GN, but other great goodies as well, including the chance to be immortalized in a future comic project!

Please check this out. It’s a great project and deserves all the assistance it can get.

Episode #84 features:

With special guest, Matty from ECN Radio!

News: Windows Phone answer to Siri – Cortana / FOX allegedly thought about replacing Fantastic Four cast

Popcorn Junkies: I, Frankenstein

From the Racks: Punk Rock Jesus

Channel Zero: True Detective / House of Cards

Contest of Champions: The Predator VS The Road Runner

Azerothian Times: Warlords of Draenor pre-order launched / lvl 90 Boost available now / I got a Lil’ Tarecgosa! / Bo’s first Hunter / Hearthsteed mount

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Episode #83 features:

A double Dust Jacket!

Dust Jacket Game Slaves by Gard Skinner

Dust Jacket: The Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

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