The Two Vague Podcast

Journalism major Amaya joins Ben this week to discuss our habits… good, bad, and otherwise.   While enduring an impromptu cat cuddling session, Amaya shares her struggles with ADHD, her recently discovered haircare regimen, how she expresses herself with social media, her knowledge of astrology, and an interesting tattoo idea.  Ben has a few “dad humor” moments, but he also talks about how he approaches changing his own habits, his walking apples, what he learned about the word habit, and his early 20s one time experience with a “gateway drug.”  Video Games discussed include: It Takes Two, Moving Out, Overcooked, Knights and Bikes, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Bugsnax, and The Sims.
00:00:25 - Amaya is covered in cats and talking about journalism 00:04:00 - Self-expression in the age of social media, delivery via snail, and newspapers00:09:03 - Amaya gets accustomed to being called a zoomer in under a minute, and news00:12:02 - ADHD, depression, anxiety, psychiatry, therapy, and medication00:18:02 - The dictionary definition of the word habit, religious garments, and clothing00:22:12 - Haircare, journaling, tetrahydrocannabinol, pens, and Ben’s one experience00:27:07 - Transitioning habits from bad to good, Ben’s “hot girl walking,” and apples 00:29:37 - The importance of releasing emotions, communication, and self-expression00:33:02 - Connecting with partners and developing relationships through playing games 00:35:48 - Fun Co-op games: It Takes Two, Overcooked, Moving Out, and Knight and Bikes00:41:22 - Collecting bells in Animal Crossing, and Tom Nook represents “nice capitalism”00:44:49 - A digression in to astrology, Ben learns the word stellium, and deep dish pizza 00:49:31 - Ben’s “cat dad” joke, being reincarnated as a cat, and the octopus 00:51:46 - Game habits, cleanup before stopping, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild00:54:23 - Ben gives “What’s Good Games” a shoutout, Pokemon, and again with the Bugsnax00:57:05 - A brief summary of Amaya’s video game past, and doing horrible things to Sims01:00:11 - Creating your partner in the Sims, lock up the cats, and closing thoughts

Norah joins Ben this week to talk about ancient art of food assembly.  We do it for fun.  We do it to impress.  We do it when we are hungry… sometimes.  The hosts share their fond memories of family cooking for Christmas gatherings, the cooking shows they watch, the memorable dishes they have prepared, and an assortment of cooking techniques.   For the games portion of the show, Norah talks about her experiences with her very first idle game, Hidea and Neowiz’s “Cats & Soup.”  Ben talks about a handful of cooking games he has been playing recently: Battle Chef Brigade, “Cook, Serve, Delicious” (2 and 3), Overcooked 2, and Cooking Mama: Cuisine!
00:03:55 - From sitcoms with the most spinoffs to spun foods… Ben’s ill-advised segue00:06:20 - The unsung hero of the kitchen, and Gordon Ramsey’s demeanor with children 00:08:53 - Ben’s remembers Norah’s Christmas Eve dinners, and working in restaurants00:10:52 - Norah cooks hasenpfeffer, and remembering “Spinach Stuff” and “Cheap Meat”00:16:15 - Describing dinner, a single person’s best friend, and number of steps00:21:03 - Ben learns the cooking terms chiffonade and macerate 00:25:00 - The meal kit trend, and learning about cooking techniques 00:27:37 - Norah talks about playing Cats & Soup, and Ben explains what an idle game is00:30:20 - “Less than zen,” in game advertisements, cold soups, and Ben’s favorite soup00:33:26 - The “Food Wars!” manga and anime, and Ben explains Shonen Jump anime00:36:12 - “Foodgasms,” being naked-ish, not a food prude, and the show premise 00:41:10 - Iron Chef, cook on cook sabotaging, drama, and Ready… Set… Cook!00:45:22 - Ben talks about his time with the game Battle Chef Brigade 00:50:39 - Ben said manure, but meant to say fertilizer00:51:17 - Are cooks, served… delicious too?  Are time management games fun?00:56:30 - Overcooked and Overcooked 2… testing the stability of friendships since 201601:01:25 - The Cooking Mama franchise and the failed Gardening Mama games01:07:00 - Closing words of wisdom on the word cook. 

Brittney (Mom / barista / photographer) joins Ben this week to talk about a word that brings her much joy.  The two hosts discuss photography past, present, and future.  Subjects include: the art of photography, personal connections to photos, baby books, camera technology, Purikura (photo booths), and how we will “record” our memories in the future.  Then it’s on to video games.  Brittney talks about the ailment that caused her to lose her horses in Minecraft.  Ben talks about the games Pokemon Snap, Beyond Good and Evil, Dead Rising, The Bradwell Conspiracy, and NUTS.  If you live in Tucson and need a photographer, take a peek at a sampling of Brittney’s (@bjunephotography) portfolio on Instagram!
00:00:51 - An I or a Y?00:04:10 - Use of the word photograph in print, and Brittney’s preliminary thoughts on photos00:06:45 - Storytelling with images, the band Def Leppard, and cassette tapes00:11:40 - The ease of taking pictures today, and the tactile nature of photographs00:15:20 - Using “baby books” for extortion, and being creative with photos00:18:25 - The advantages of using cameras instead of phones, and Ban has lots of nickels 00:22:10 - Has Brittney ever wanted to be a photojournalist? 00:25:01 - Photographs in black and white, post production editing, and disposable cameras00:28:19 - Ben remembers the Fotomat and waiting weeks for developed photos 00:31:45 - Mall photo franchises, photo booths, and Brittney thinks Ben is speaking in tongues00:36:05 - The Purikura phenomenon in Japan, 3D printed images, and Mentos 00:41:48 - Pictures and videos in augmented reality, and walking “into” photos 00:46:00 - Brittney’s video game experiences past and present, and the silent killer… of horses00:51:16 - Pokemon Snap, the “rail shooter,” Beyond Good & Evil, and zombies in a mall00:54:46 - Photojournalist Frank West and the Dead Rising franchise00:59:07 - Pronouncing “Willamette,” Resident Evil, and zombie speed preferences01:02:27 - Ben talks about his experiences with “a sucky version of Control”01:06:16 - Catching and photographing squirrels on a closed circuit monitor IS the game NUTS01:10:53 - Brittney’s thoughts on photography in video games, and developing photographs01:13:45 - Closing thoughts on the word photo, check out Brittney’s work on Insta! 
 

This week Ben and Norah are discussing the food we consume to tide us over to our next full meal.  Yummy SNACKS!  Sprinkled throughout the episode are salty stories and discussions about electric boats, happy hours, ice cream bar diets, snakes, potato salad, and “sleepy chicken.”  After Norah reveals her cookie addiction, Ben reveals his Bacon number!  Finally, the proverbial cherry(s) on top for a touch of sweetness are conversations about Norah playing Ben Esposito’s Donut County and Ben playing Young Horses’ Bugsnax. 
00:00:35 - Norah’s boat trip on the Chicago River, and knocking out the arthritis 00:03:37 - River-faring to snack food segue, word of the day calendar, and eating casually00:06:27 - No “walking apples” for Ben in Japan, and sexually attractive people00:09:23 - “Go to” snacks, baby carrots… aren’t, and Norah almost spews00:12:46 - Vegetable trays, Ben’s ice cream bar diet story, and being an ectomorph 00:15:45 - Trigger warning: skinny guy complains about the monetary cost of being skinny00:16:49 - Norah’s post-boating experience at the “Adult Snack Machine”00:19:50 - Ben asks what the food items in afternoon tea or high tea are called00:22:25 - Drinks as snacks, in my freezer, served in a paper cup, and portion control00:25:05 - Salty-sweet snacks, and Paula Poundstone’s eating a box of Pop-Tarts bit00:29:24 - Ben’s “Weird-ass Cheese (and Spinach) Quesadilla,” and Telly Savalas00:32:04 - Norah and Ben talk about playing Donut County 00:35:55 - Annapurna Interactive, Ben is too excited about his Bacon number, and snakes00:39:24 - Independent game studio Young Horses, and taking photos 00:42:10 - Talkin’ bout’ Bugsnax, and opinions on what makes a “kids games”00:45:12 - Eating insects, and Ben explains some Bugsnax game mechanics to Norah00:48:00 - The truth about Bambi… which was based on a book by an Austrian author00:51:59 - Capturing the cheese puff butterfly, and a brief history on game FAQs and guides00:55:55 - Zach "Danger" Brown’s fifty-five thousand dollar potato salad00:57:33 - Memes vs. political cartoons, and the “sleepy chicken” TikTok trend01:00:40.- FDA warnings, the nature of social media communications, and locked goods01:04:20 - Norah and Ben’s parting snack wisdom 

We’ve hit another 30-ish episode milestone, so it’s time for another “cutting room floor” show!  This never before heard material is a potpourri of trivia, news discussions, personal stories, and it all starts with a joke from my Aunt!  We hope you enjoy the smorgasbord of clips from episodes 33, 35, 43, 48, 50, 53, 54, and 55.   
00:00:21 - Starting the clip show with what Ben has been noodling with lately00:03:09 - WHY DO I KEEP CALLING IT DONUT COUNTRY… IT’s DONUT COUNTY!
CLIP #1 - Norah’s joke00:04:10 - Intro00:05:25 - Green tea lemonade and lemon loaf after a “stick in the nose test”00:08:01 - Norah asks Ben if he’s figured out disco yet, and then she tells her joke00:10:20 - Prepare yourself for Ben’s brand of humor, and who should tell specific jokes
CLIP #2 - Bash interrupts 00:11:47 - Intro00:14:06 - Various states of undress 
CLIPS #3 and #4 - Action hero, character quotes, romantic comedies, and American Psycho00:14:45 - Intro00:17:32 - Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Is James Bond a hero?00:20:59 - Daniel Craig is now Ben’s favorite James Bond00:23:53 - An actual speed round!00:25:56 - Cheyenne and Ben get sidetracked by their favorite romantic comedies.00:29:29 - Back to quotes, Ben’s Phillip Seymour Hoffman callback, and American Psycho00:32:50 - Differences between the book and the movie, and Bono as Satan 
CLIP #5 - Basketball coach phrases00:35:18 - Intro00:35:50 - Norah’s brain, and the grade school Bobby Knight equivalent 
CLIP #6 - Acting stories and meeting famous people 00:38:36 - Intro00:39:59 - Norah is alive and well in them’s mean streets of Chicago00:44:01 - Plays vs films, Ryan knows how to duck, and “hey kids… don’t smoke!”00:47:05 - Exploring the human condition, and Ryan’s tip on memorizing lines00:50:45 - Hanging out on the set of Glee, and working at THE coffee shop00:52:39 - Patti LeBelle is not Darla, and Ben gets confused about the reference
CLIPS #7, 8, and 9 - Chatbots, velcro, plasters, and research00:54:11 - Intro00:55:33 - Chatbots, artificial friends, and becoming human01:00:03 - What if it was a joke?  Was it a coverup?  Was it a subconscious effort?01:02:10 - The program was Just Shoot Me, and the episode was “The Assistant” 01:04:20 - The hook and loop fastener, and the stuff of Paris 01:06:20 - Look it up, and do your homework 
CLIP #10 - More Warframe, more Valorant, and the importance of story in games.01:08:43 - Intro01:11:00 - Customization of weapons in Warframe, and the Outer Worlds01:13:53 - How different generation’s approach consecutive play01:16:30 - The Warframe in-game economy, and making platinum instead of buying it01:19:45 - John’s PC discipline at college, and is anyone excited about “Skyrim in space?”
CLIP #11 - A case of mistaken identity01:21:55 - Final clip intro and closing the show01:24:09 - That one time Ben attended one of Tracy’s Halloween parties

Norah’s been watching Cuphead on Netflix and Ben has been playing a number of toon-centric games, so it seems to be fitting that the word is flyswatter.  Not really… it’s cartoon!  The hosts reminisce about the theater and television cartoons of their youth before moving on to video games.  Cartoon oriented video games mentioned include: the Kingdom Hearths franchise, Mane 6’s “Them’s Fightin’ Herds,” and Cuphead.
00:01:00 - This week’s word is one vowel drop away from being a carton 00:02:44 - Bell and Howell was a motion picture machinery company based in Wheeling, IL00:04:30 - Norah runs off again, Ben misquotes Porky Pig, and Cuphead00:07:55 - Gin tries to poop, complaining about movie trailers, and possible trailer alternatives00:12:20 - Movie ratings, the funny papers, Walt Kelly’s Pogo Possum, and Mad TV00:16:56 - Terry Gilliams’s shorts, the placement of screens, and political cartoons00:20:07 - The definition segment is delayed by Ben’s National Lampoon’s Vacation reference 00:24:53 - The Family Circus was never funny, and the “make Peanuts funny” game00:26:06 - The first animated cartoons from the 1900s00:30:10 - Remembering the flying toaster screensaver, Hardware Wars, and Fantasia00:34:21 - Disney makes back it’s budget and other facts about the 1969 release of Fantasia 00:39:01 - Ben summarizes the concept behind the Kingdom Hearts franchise for Norah00:41:51 - Library, Blockbuster, or GameStop? 00:44:07 - Norah starts the great “all games have cartoons in them” debate 00:47:01 - The ungulates fighting game inspired by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 00:51:30 - A “band of bronies” receives Hasbro’s cease and desist notification00:54:23 - MLP FIM creator Lauren Faust helps Mane6 with character designs and story00:59:34 - The arcade feel of Cuphead, the Moldenhauer brothers, and the Netflix series 01:06:01 - What’s next for Studio MDHR, Sophomore jinxes, and the boss battle world record01:08:20 - Norah’s crowd funded potato salad story 01:10:22 - Ben talks about donating to charities with Humble Bundle01:13:00 - “Don’t eat all of your money and cartoons!” 

Norah and Ben recommend that you prepare yourself mentally and physically for this week’s topic… adventure!  Ben has lots of questions for Norah about her adventures overseas.  They discuss a possible forthcoming adventure for each of them… running a bookstore in Scotland!  They briefly touch on the meaning of adventure in visual media before moving on to video games.  Norah talks about enjoying her time with Broken Age, and Ben explains the origin of the adventure game and how the term Easter egg was coined in video games.
00:00:40 - Caught in Ann’s FOMO undertow, and Netflix’s “The Way of the Househusband”00:05:04 - Cuphead is on Norah’s to watch list, bungie jumping Jesus, and acrophobia 00:08:27 - Normal rollercoasters, zip-lining, adventurous eating trends, and snails00:11:57 - Ben thinks if you throw enough butter and garlic on something, it’s delicious00:14:01 - Casu martzu (maggot cheese), and Norah’s falconry experience in Wales 00:17:02 - Norah’s Scottland bus tour, NOT kayaking in Wales, and hanging out in Italy00:21:58 - Lasting impressions, and Ben want’s to run a bookstore in Wigtown 00:26:08 - Taking the podcast to Scotland, understanding accents, and the human brain 00:29:23 - Traveling alone vs traveling with a group, would Norah go on a safari?00:32:52 - Australian animals want to kill you, and going camping  00:35:01 - Vacations as adventures, and definitions of adventure00:40:28 - A discussion about “adventure” movies, and adventures without action   00:45:06 - Alex Vo’s list of essential adventure movies on Rotten Tomatoes 00:47:46 - Norah’s first experience with the point and click adventure game Broken Age00:50:37 - Ben’s video game plan for Norah, and confusion about Whispering Rock camp00:53:14 - Duck dragons, and a brief history of the Atari 2600 game Adventure00:55:32 - Atari game programmers, the origins of Activision, and the term Easter egg 01:00:17 - Don’t accidentally shoot the invisible swordsman, and other adventures 

ASAP, AFK and sonar walk in to a bar.  The bartender says, “As Soon As Possible… Away From Keyboard… who’s your friend?”  If you don’t understand this “joke,” don’t worry; you will before the end of the show.  This week Ben and Norah discuss the difference between acronyms, anacronyms, and initialisms.  Other topics include: a recent TikTok trend, commonly used acronyms, a comedy bit by Gary Gulman, a chat room party game, and commonly used video game abbreviations.  
00:00:21 - Norah and Ben open the show by talking about the weather00:02:50 - Ben drops a “Pop Song 89” reference, and Norah picks it up00:03:53 - Distracted by Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte New Mexico 00:06:54 - Discussing the TikTok trend of “Quiet Quitting,” and working from home 00:12:27 - Teen employment through the generations… more research required 00:14:14 - Cozy mysteries on BritBox, and “How to Build a Sex Room” on Netflix00:16:00 - Norah explains a little bit about acronyms and initialisms 00:19:40 - Anacronyms, an acronym, and usage statistics in the Google Ngram Viewer00:24:30 - Types of abbreviations, and having fun at work with backronyms00:26:29 - Be careful when choosing your acronyms, and watchdogs vs. proofreaders  00:29:06 - Norah puts on her anti-embarrassment scarf for Ben’s explanation00:32:15 - FUBAR actually means f-ed up beyond all repair, and OJCBRBPA00:34:53 - “FOMO is too much like MOFO,” HDM1 cables, and when the world ends00:38:03 - “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”00:40:23 - A plan for zone improvement, and saving the ship00:42:30 - The “state abbreviation documentary” bit, and a scene from the movie Kiss of Death00:45:45 - Ben reminisces about playing “Acrophobia: Fear of Acronyms” in the late 90s00:48:47 - Norah learns video game related acronyms starting with: RPG, MMO, and WoW00:50:08 - MOBA, FPS, RTS, PVP, PVE, and SIM00:52:07 - Ben tries to lead Norah to DLC in the style of “The $100,000 Pyramid” gameshow00:54:42 - NPC, HUD, XP, QWERTY, and Ben forgets to talk about WASD controls 00:58:07 - MK, NFS, FF, SF, ESRB ratings, AOE, DOT, and “AFK, BIO”01:01:03 - LFG, LFP, OMW, “M as in Mancy,” TLDR,  AP, and HP01:04:06 - “Point and click adventure” games, “best briends forever,” and shmups01:06:32 - Ben closes the show with the Konami code and that is TMI for Norah 

Norah leads the conversation about the word generation while Ben sits comfortably in the cohost chair.  Norah shares her research on the meaning of the word, provides a breakdown of the social generations, and explains the personality tendencies of Boomers, X-ers, Millennials, and  Zoomers.  Ben contributes a summary of console generations, some marketing statistics about gamers from the social generations, and his sparkling wit as rare as hen’s teeth.
00:00:20 - TWO different segments, and Ben’s “watch along with Norah” idea00:02:30 - Norah recalls what generation meant in the “old days,” and describes “to beget”00:04:30 - From Ben’s energy and excitement, to Norah’s list of social generations00:07:12 - The Lost, Greatest, and Silent Generations aka “Traditionalists”00:10:07 - “Baby Boomers” and “Baby Busters,” and their experiences with computers00:19:16 - “Millennials,” “Zoomers,” and Generation Alpha 00:26:37 - Other names for generations, and opinions about social classifications00:33:50 - “Horoscopes based on truth,” and confusion about immigrants  00:40:05 - Kelly Ripa’s new gameshow, “My Generation” by The Who, and stuttering 00:45:44 - Norah loves PONG, Ben explains console generation overlap, and 8-bit chips.00:50:59 - Ben talks about some of the systems he owned in the 3rd and 4th generations00:54:59 - The filing cabinet, the first major console that had connectivity, and BORT!00:57:10 - Ben explains the exit of Sega from the hardware biz and Nintendo’s big failure  01:00:14 - Ben picks a lane, the 9th generation console are PCs, and the rise of digital media01:03:46 - A discussion about video game demographics and trends in the social generations01:06:05 - My stepmother doesn’t know it yet, but she IS a gamer now01:09:04 - To close the show… the harsh sting of reality  

Tracy joins Ben this week to converse about the word role!  From jobs, to theatre, to games, the word role plays important… um… role in our day to day lives.  However, these two love games, so this conversation revolves mostly around tabletop games and RPGs.  Discussion topics include: acting, the now defunct Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (by Paizo), Betrayal at House on the Hill (2004 Avalon Hill / 2010 Hasbro), Among Us, going to conventions, the new game Stray, and Disco Elysium.
00:02:20 - The word is role (not roll), NQ, and “what’s the deal with all the hats?”00:06:22 - Tracy’s acting experiences, and Ben’s missed extra opportunity 00:10:31 - We know no French, the origin of role, and manual vs computer assisted games00:13:07 - Tracy’s experiences playing the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game remotely00:18:29 - How much actual playing a role is involved in Pathfinder?00:21:15 - The battle axe, the inclusive nature of some games, and rescuing Kevin00:25:59 - What is the “replay value” of the Pathfinder ACG?00:29:22 - “Closing the Wound of the World,” and how much strategy is involved00:33:02 - The board game Betrayal at House on the Hill and its similarities to Among Us 00:37:41 - Finding new board games on Boing Boing, and Ben’s memories of Games magazine00:39:44 - The Penny Arcade Expo, conventions, and gaming in a “post-pandemic” world00:45:50 - Ben’s playing the role of a cat helping a robot, and Tracy says, “SIGN ME UP!”00:49:29 - Tracy talks enthusiastically about her Disco Elysium play through00:55:16 - Why is Ben having trouble immersing himself in the world of Disco Elysium?00:57:32 - Tracy has an excellent suggestion… focus on the “redemption arc”01:02:29 - Tracy’s final thoughts on the word role, and Ben has one last question for her01:05:21 - Tracy’s answer reminds Ben of some interesting Disco Elysium history01:09:18 - Mapping the old fashioned way, and closing with Ben’s old D&D pickup line

This week John joins Ben to talk about the importance of the word cooperation in two of his hobbies.  John talks about his college experience so far, playing lacrosse, and precision first-person shooters.  For once Ben tries to keep up, asking John questions about a sport (lacrosse) and a game (Riot Games’ Valorant) he’s not very familiar with.
00:00:40 - Thoughts on cooperation, and learning “the power of friendship”00:03:20 - Group projects, John’s humble brag, and Ben’s college experience00:08:35 - Going to High School and College during a pandemic 00:11:04 - Ben’s work environment email pro tip… READ RECEIPTS!00:13:25 - “Many hands make light work,” and John explains the intricacies of lacrosse 00:18:44 - John’s relation to Casey Powell ( caseypowell.com )00:20:50 - Ben has more questions for John about cooperation in team sports00:24:17 - Differences between Club and NCAA Division teams in college00:28:35 - John’s previous and current PC game obsessions, CSGO and Valorant00:33:21 - Player rankings in CSGO, the Elo rating system in Valorant, and blunders00:39:10 - How Elo ratings in Valorant promote teamwork, and SOCCER CARS!00:42:32 - Exploring why John prefers team based FPSs to “Battle Royale” games00:44:50 - How Riot Games maintains a healthy gameplay environment… bans!00:47:05 - PVE vs PVP games, Competitive mode, and Valorant agent roles00:54:18 - Discussing effective Valorant agent power combinations00:56:10 - Duelist Raze’s floating knives, and buying guns each round01:02:15 - Spray patterns and how they behave in CSGO vs Valorant01:07:07 - John clears up Ben’s misconception about gaming rigs01:09:25 - Wise parting words about cooperation

Norah joins Ben this week to talk about the bodily fluid responsible for oxygen transport to and from the heart.  They each have research to present on the components that make up blood, blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood types.  After those “lectures,” Ben talks about blood type bias in Japan and why blood types appear in old arcade game character bios.  He then moves on to describing the game Code Vein which turns in to a very bold statement about why Elden Ring should not win GOTY 2022.
00:00:53 - “Not much to do in Tucson…” and “blood, let’s get into it!”00:03:00 - Some common phrases involving the word blood00:04:01 - “Blood from a stone” vs. “Blood from a turnip”00:05:40 - Ben’s tepid take on puns, and other “bad humor”00:07:21 - Caviar, another pun, and Norah and Ben haven’t heard of “blood and thunder” 00:09:49 - “Blood brother” rituals aren’t sanitary, and facts about fainting at the sight of blood00:12:39 - Donating blood to the American Red Cross (listed as Vampires in Ben’s phone)00:15:00 - Bone marrow; Norah explains blood pressure (measured in millimeters of mercury)00:20:26 - Salt vs. sugar, and the components of blood 
00:21:31 - Plasma is a heterogeneous mixture; a colloid is a homogeneous noncrystalline substance consisting of large molecules of one substance dispersed through another.
00:23:20 - The negative logarithm of the molar concentration of Hydrogen ions in a solution00:24:32 - Erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes… “oh my!”00:27:29 - Norah announces her lipid panel, and then moves on to explaining blood sugar 00:31:33 - An aside about frozen deserts 
00:34:15 - A simple sugar may be a mono- or disaccharide.  Monosaccharides are the simplest carbs; the body cannot break them down further.  Disaccharides consist of two sugar molecules (two monosaccharides) bonded together.  The body must break the bond apart (in to  two monosaccharides) before they can be absorbed.
00:42:32 - Ben explains the ABO and the Rh blood group systems00:46:25 - Ben talks a little about Type O Negative and the origin of their band name00:49:05 - Why is blood type included in the character bios of old arcade games?00:52:58 - Using the website Tofugu for learning Japanese language and culture. 00:55:49 - What are Norah and Ben’s personalities based solely on their blood type? 00:59:07 - The blood type “descriptive words” are too vague for Two Vague01:01:21 - Kitty White’s blood type, and Hello Kitty blood type identification straps01:03:48 - Vampires, and Ben explains the story of the game Code Vein01:07:30 - Ben tries to explain From Software’s “souls-like” games to Norah01:10:54 - Code Vein has been described as “souls-like,” but Ben doesn’t find it too difficult01:13:45 - Ben’s Elden Ring 2022 GOTY hot take01:16:21 - Ben thinks Eric won’t sick him, and Norah thinks it was a “bloody good” show

Norah joins Ben this week to talk about the word pin!  It’s a fastener!  It’s a connector!  It’s a target!  It holds things in place!  Is there anything “pin” can’t do?  Topics include: chess, pin phrases, bowling, punk rock, pin collections, pinball, laserdisc games, and the TWEWY franchise
00:01:06 - Seasonal fruits, fascinating cloth, plugs, and sockets00:04:39 - The word pin in chess, Adam the chess oracle, and playing games with the family00:08:45 - Ben wins toilet paper at church, a Venn diagram, and a paper of pins00:11:45 - Personal Identification Numbers, pin cushions, and Montague Redgrave 00:14:43 - Norah explains what is a pin table is, and discussing tactile interactions in games00:17:03 - Ben almost gets a 300 in bowling club, and grandma beats Tom and Norah00:19:50 - The bowling congress, don’t stab your baby, and the safety pin00:22:43 - Ben talks about punk rock, the song “Needles and Pins,” and “slacktivism”00:26:40 - Holding hats and hair with pins, and getting pinned by your partner in college 00:29:37 - Collecting pins at PAX, the value of Disney pins, and pinup girls00:33:50 - The social media pinning mistake, and why are they called rolling pins?00:36:40 - Quiet enough to hear a (rolling) pin drop, pinstriped things, and pinwheels 00:38:45 - Pin the tail on the donkey, and the pinhole camera00:42:10 - Why it’s called pinball, and playing pinball video games for nostalgic purposes 00:48:08 - A video game stretch from Norah, and Ben’s PopCap beta testing experiences 00:50:37 - The Lupin the 3rd connection to the laserdisc game Cliffhanger  00:55:20 - The World Ends With You, the Nintendo DS, NEO: TWEWY, and “80s pins”01:00:40 - Neku learns the power of friendship, and Sho Minamimoto uses many math quotes01:04:47 - Not a breakfast from Denny’s, the noise, TGI Fridays, and Tower Records  01:08:59 - Closing the show with an uncomfortable phrase from Norah

This week hosts Ben and Norah are talking about the word roll.  As a verb and as a noun it conjures up a wide variety of phrases and concepts.  Along with the conversational riffing, additional topics include: ball bearings, inline skates, some mild Physics, RollerGames, and the 1975 movie Rollerball.  Then it’s on to video games!  Ben talks about Roller Champions, Mega Man, Katamari Damacy, and Bouldy from Hades.  
00:00:21 - A belated Happy Birthday to the 2VP, and Ben and Norah get the show rollin’00:02:23 - The Ann Sather incident of every time Norah goes, and cinnamon rolls00:04:19 - Number 2 on the “Norah roll list…” rock n’ roll!00:06:07 - “I guess it depends on the baby,” and Ben thinks about “rolling” baby Hitler00:08:34 - A lost opportunity to start the show with the Rawhide theme song00:10:45 - MythBusters tests the saying “a rolling stone gathers no moss” 00:13:05 - “Honor roll” vs. “on a roll,” rollover investments, roll over Beethoven, etc.00:15:47 - The key part of the “muffin top,” rolls of food, and almonds?00:18:29 - The “Rolling with the punches” philosophy of life, and more food.00:20:56 - Roller skates, inline skates, skateboards, and ball bearings00:22:53 - The coefficients of sliding, static friction (angle of repose) and more on ball bearings00:26:48 - Ben’s inline skates, age appropriate exercise, and watching roller derby00:29:45 - Ben remembers the only season of RollerGames, and licensed arcade machines00:33:31 - Learning about the 1975 movie Rollerball, and “…don’t watch the 2002 version!” 00:39:38 - Ben talks about the new Roller Champions game from Ubisoft00:43:34 - Explaining “soccer cars” to Norah00:45:59 - The first Mega Man (Rockman) game, and Ben actually knows it’s Wily not Willy  00:51:23 - Ben talks about Katamari Damacy, one of his favorite games 00:58:20 - It’s actually Sisyphean, but Ben and Norah like “Sisyphus-ian” more01:01:08 - Closing the show… “STEAMROLLER!”

It wasn’t the original plan, but Ben convinced the infamous Aunt Norah to co-host with him this week!  One could say it was “in the stars” so to speak.  In the Venn diagram of the universe stars are celestial bodies and our word is a celestial body, but our word is not a star.  Ben and Norah delve in to all of the things they can think of that relate to the word moon: common sayings, urban legends, movies, music, comic books, NASA, and video games.
00:02:05 - Starting the moon conversation with some measurements00:05:35 - Unbeknownst to her, Norah is actually thinking of Whoopie Pies not Moon Pies00:08:13 - “We don’t keep score here at the Two Vague Podcast,” and moon the verb00:11:00 - Is “moon face” insulting and what is anchor spleen?00:13:00 - The moon movies “A Trip to the Moon” and “Outland”00:17:30 - Did Norah watch the moon landing on television?00:19:50 - Watching the Wizard of Oz while listening to Dark Side of the Moon00:22:54 - Alan Parson’s complete load of eye wash, and the Eye in the Sky album00:26:15 - Jamiroquai, Titan AE, and Everybody’s Going to the Moon00:30:30 - The word honeymoon, and this month’s Strawberry Supermoon00:36:50 - The Artemis program, and Space Force on Netflix00:41:10 - Ben talks about the Disney + series Moon Knight, and Dissociative Identity Disorder 00:48:05 - The arcade game Moon Patrol was the first game to use parallax scrolling 00:50:25 - Facts about Ben’s favorite “angel killing witch wearing a suit of her own hair” game 00:55:20 - Ben loves Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda51 games00:59:46 - Killer is Dead, malice, soft boiled eggs, and the Bryan Execution Firm 01:04:10 - Final thoughts on the moon, and “if the moon were made of cheese?