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Episode 125: Just Get Two Corpses, People

January 30th, 2015 | Robin

Ken and Robin remember a 90% scale replica of the façade of the Alamo in this episode themed around their recent sojourn in Austin, TX.

In the Gaming Hut we recapitulate a Chupacabracon panel with talk of villains and how to portray them.

The Food Hut has us munching on barbecue, Tex Mex and the wonder that is In and Out Burger.

The Eliptony Hut has a classic bit of carny cryptozoology in it—the Minnesota Iceman, now resident in Austin’s Museum of the Weird.

And finally Ken’s Time Machine has him ensuring continuing independence for the Republic of Texas.


Attention, class! Anchor sponsor Atlas Games wants to enroll you in Mad Scientist University, the card game of evil genius, insane assignments, and unstable elements. Act now, Ken and Robin listeners, and they’ll throw in the Spring Break expansion set for free. Shipping within the US is also free.

 

Choose your own sponsor, so long as it is Destiny Quest Infinite, an interactive fantasy game book like no other. Armed with nothing but your sword and a backpack, you enter a land of monsters, powerful forces, and shadowy secrets. Or check out the licensed computer version from Adventure Cow.

 

What’s better than ravening ghouls prowling a blasted land for dead flesh to feast upon? Free ravening ghouls prowling a blasted land for dead flesh to feast upon! For a limited time only, grab Ken’s Ghouls installment of Ken Writes About Stuff for the grave-dirt price of $0.00.

 

12 Responses to “Episode 125: Just Get Two Corpses, People”

  1. Tim Ellis says:

    “Quail is big in that neck of the woods…” Bolstered by the comedy stereotype Texan boasting how big everything is in Texas compared to the rest of the world, I now have the image of Ken hunting for quail the size of turkeys…

  2. Jeff R. says:

    I’d take Five Guys over In-and-Out any day. (I do consider the fries the more important part of the burgers-and-fries meal, but I’d given them the win burger for burger as well as the no-contest fries over fries. [Nobody without a life-threatening peanut allergy can possible decide that the other way.])

    Also, you two keep talking about BBQ as in Carolina Style wasn’t a thing, not for the first time today. I mean, cutting out Memphis Style is one thing, but pretending that there are only two traditions is just plain wrong.

    • Jeff R, you have read my mind. My preference for 5Guys-style fries is, admittedly, just a preference, but even if the In-and-Out burger were noticably better (which I don’t really find it to be), the difference in styles of fries would still lead me to 5Guys. I do wonder if either Ken or Robin has had a Smashburger, which I thought was pretty good, too.

      And I’ve never understood the religious zeal that people bring to BBQ style wars. North Carolina, South Carolina, Memphis, Kansas City, East Texas, West Texas–it’s all good *as long as you know what you’re getting*.

      • Jeff R. says:

        I’m not sure I’d call Smash fast food,Ken’s definition aside, as any definition that include Smash but excludes Fuddruckers is clearly problematic.

  3. KenR says:

    I feel like you should offer an option to sponsors to have the ads read in the Deep One Marsh accent for a slight additional fee.

  4. Cambias says:

    One thing which I discovered: roleplaying games set during a war are actually very hard on villains. There’s no reason for the heroes to not just shoot ’em, and few venues where talking is even an option.

  5. Nathaniel says:

    I am, in general, very hesitant to critique Ken or Robin, however Central Texas BBQ is one of the exceptions.

    First: Salt Lick, while certainly good, is a hybrid of styles. The best thing about it, imo, is the location. They’ve done a great job with their hill. The best Central Texas barbecue in Austin itself is Franklin’s, though it does require a 2-3 hour wait. Nearby Austin, in Taylor, is Louie Mueller BBQ, which is one of the best (of any style everywhere). Also nearby of course is Lockhart(The spiritual heart of Central Texas BBQ) with Kruez’s and Smitty’s, and Elgin.

    The defining features of Central Texas BBQ are: 1) Dry Rub only 2) No Sauce ever 3) Almost no sides. Maybe a potato salad, beans or cobbler. The style is a result of the German meat markets that dotted the landscape. West Texas barbecue was traditionally over large open pits with a thin vinegary sauce spread over the meat as it cooks over the coals. LBJ’s personal cook was a West Texas barbecue man.

    I suggest the author Robb Walsh as an excellent source of sourced information(And not random internet anecdote) on BBQ (and Texas food in general).

    I am, of course, a complete partisan on which style of US barbecue is best, but that partisanship is entirely a fluke of geography.

  6. A different Nathaniel says:

    You missed one massive area of British cultural influence in Argentina (and many of the other states in Latin America that the British built rail in). A big change in Texas culture, I think, and some Clint Dempsey meets Maradona celebrities in this timeline.

  7. Alexander Newcombe says:

    This isn’t directly related to this episode. But, have you listened to the BBC’s “A History of the World in 100 objects”? It’s a series of bite- sized podcasts that detail specific objects and their relation to history. It’s great fodder for real-world magic items. An early one on King Den’s sandals especially seems ready for RPGification.

  8. Jeff R. says:

    Also, an Independent Texas, especially one that winds up with the Mexican Cession territory as well, changes a lot of the North-South dynamic in the rest of the country. Fewer Southern Senators and fewer potential future states to admit may move the crisis point forward, cut it off entirely, or, for maximum amusement value, make the question of “should the US invade and conquer Texas” the issue on which the crisis hinges, with the South on the Pro- and the North on the Con-.

    (A Texas with all the Gold is going to be in direct competition with the South for slave labor, especially skilled slave labor, through the emigration loophole in the laws banning the international slave trade. There could be enough resentment built up, possibly with external encouragement, to make Dixie and Texas less natural allies than they would seem on paper.)

  9. Ethan C. says:

    Thanks for the discussion of In and Out Burger. I’m sure there are tastier burgers out there, but to me the whole In and Out operation, taken as a whole, is just the platonic ideal of a properly-done fast food chain. Simple fresh food, not too many choices on the menu but open to creativity for those who want it, clean space, well-paid employees, — it’s just the perfect complete package.

    Man, I wish we had them here in the Midwest. At least we’ve got Steak ‘N Shake, which has amazingly gotten both cheaper and tastier since my childhood.

  10. As a Texan… I must say I like and generally agree with your assessment of Texas, even alt-history Texas, though I am skeptical it would ever have been organized enough to take-over much of the South West.

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