Episode 57: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Oscar Wao VS. Ready Player One, Top 5 Influential Media

“It’s never the changes we want that change everything.” We explore The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. How does Díaz’s story about a young geek growing up in New Jersey redefine what it means to be American? How it does mash up fiction and history? What makes this pulitzer prize winning narrative so timey wimey and why are readers calling it the best novel of the 21st century? In the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER, what novel makes better use of its nerdy references — Oscar Wao or Ready Player One? We share the top 5 media that influenced our lives. 

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Show Notes

  • 0:00 - 13:30: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (non-spoilers)
  • 13:31 - 43:00: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (spoilers)
  • 43:01 - 58:19: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER: Oscar Wao VS. Ready Player One
  • 58:20 - 1:44:32 : Top 5 Influential Media

Links

Top 5 Influential Media 

Conrad: 

  1. The Chronicles of Narnia & The Lord of the Rings
  2. The Original Star Wars Trilogy 
  3. The Clash - London Calling
  4. X-Men comics
  5. PBS

Ali:

  1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
  2. IBM PC compatible computers
  3. Green Day - Dookie
  4. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
  5. Flowers for Algernon

Episode 3: Ready Player One, Wade "Parzival" Watts VS. Scott Pilgrim, Top 5 Nostalgia Media

The cover of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One.

The cover of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One.

“Going outside is highly overrated" so join us as we nerd out on Ernest Cline's Ready Player One! We dive into the novel's expansive world of 1970s and 80s pop culture, explore why it makes us nostalgic, and debate if the story is more than just a mashup of nerdy references. It's a street fight between Ready Player One's Wade "Parzival" Watts VS. Scott Pilgrim in the INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER and we get all the feels with our top 5 nostalgia media.  

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Show Notes

  • 0:00 - 33:39: Ready Player One.

  • 33:40 - 45:44: INFINITE CROSSOVER CHAMBER - Wade "Parzival" Watts VS. Scott Pilgrim.

  • 45:45 - 1:07:35: Top 5 Nostalgia Media.

Links

Top 5 Nostalgia Media

Conrad:

  1. Freaks and Geeks
  2. Wreak it Ralph
  3. Dazed and Confused
  4. MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator)
  5. That 70s Show

Ali: 

  1. The Wonder Years
  2. New Super Mario Brothers (Nintendo DS)
  3. Smashing Pumpkins – "Tonight Tonight" music video
  4. Toy Story 3
  5. Midnight in Paris

Honorable Mentions: