A few weeks ago the Planet Nerd team had the inestimable pleasure of sitting down with Andrew Baron, creator and writer of Rocketboom ? frequently quoted as the most successful video podcast in the world. For those that don?t know, Baron recently inked a seven-figure deal with Sony to distribute Rocketboom via their various channels. He [...]
A few weeks ago, Dan Walmsley and Adam McKenzie visited Hamilton Island for a week of comedy gigs. What they found was disturbing: a place so seemingly-perfect, so carefree, so fun and yet relaxing, so full of wealthy people partying, so full of free activities and friendly staff, that it just had to have a [...]
Only Simon Barber could do something cool like Snowboarding and turn it into something utterly nerdy like playing Connect 4 with BASIC Stamps. Tags: snowboarding, mathematics, extreme
After a rollercoaster week which saw us become the #1 comedian on YouTube (takeTHATÂ kitten-that-almost-says-hello!), we return with our biggest show yet! Dan Walmsley reports pseudo-live from Steve Jobsâ?? keynote speech at Appleâ??s Worldwide Developer Conference Paul Verhoeven and Ben McKenzie investigate the brainy world of Zombies Simon Barber brings us the Weekly Whedon Musical parody heaven from Anyone for [...]
Nemo Gould is a sculptor of robots. Dan Walmsley spoke to him at RoboGames about his art and inspiration. Tags: robots, art, nemo, gould, robogames, battlebots, sculpture
Dan visits Firemint, a mobile games development shop here in Melbourne, Australia, to find out what it?s like to develop mobile games, and how you too can get involved in the fastest-growing sector of the games industry. Tags: firemint, mobile, games, development, melbourne
Here it is. Episode 5. It literally redefines entertainment. Entertainment. n. 1. An artifact of thought and effort, the creation of which has sent its progenitors completely barking mad. 2. A type of hat made from osterich feathers and poo, thought to hold the secrets of the Universe. Huh!
Following on a grand tradition of biting off more than we can chew, this week we animated the between-segment bits. If you ever got up early on a Saturday and wrapped yourself in a blanket to watch cartoons while your grandma brought your weeties and milk, then this is for you.
The difficult sophomore episode, featuring Country Nerds, Geek of the Week Jarod, Karin?s fabulous ode to her calculator, and a live cross to New York. Bam!
A few weeks ago, Simon Barber laid the clicky-linky smack down when it came to keyboardless navigation of Internet marvel, Wikipedia. Viewer Bec wasn?t impressed. She laid down a challenge. And, like a Phoenix rising from? well, Parkville? he showed that he still has what it takes to navigate the vast sea of information that [...]
Dan Walmsley visits San Franciscoâ??s Fort Mason Center to check out the 4th annual RoboGames. See robots with flamethrowers, pincers, hammers and more fight to the death in a bulletproof cage.
Every 4000 years, or so the legend goes, an episode of a TV show is created which foretells the coming of The One.The ancient scriptures tell us that such an episode will contain the following segments: A geek of the week with an actual lisp and actual retainer. An exploration of the intersection of Maths and Comedy [...]
Parked in, big time Parking. The simple act of stopping a car and getting out. And yet, it can cause so much heartbreak for so many. In this one-minute performance piece, I highlight the futility of a modern urban existence by exploring a line of cars that will never move again. HAHAHAHA U STUPID LAMERZ R PARKED [...]
We live in dark times. A centuries-old secret society has infiltrated the highest levels of government. Who are they? What is their purpose? And how was the theme music from Doctor Who created? Also in this episode: Simon and Ben report from the launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! The World Premiere of the Planet-Nerd-produced ?Doctor [...]
A few weeks ago, Dan Walmsley visited his Alma Mater, University High School (a.k.a. ?Uni High?. The name is an historical anomaly; Uni High is not some crazy-ass hybrid of University and High School). Uni High is home to one of Australia?s first accelerated programs for gifted students. Dan Walmsley interviews the staff, teachers and [...]
Dan Walmsley talks to Sony Wonder Tech Lab Director of Programming Corrine Doron about education, entertainment and portentious android visitors from the future.
Wayne Dixon takes us back to the heady days of 1992, when Linus Torvalds first released Linux into the world. People thought he was crazy! Which turns out to be true.
Not long ago in a galaxy that?s quite close by, an evil tyrant and his cruel henchman terrorised planets with devastating literary subterfuge. Only the Planet Nerd team stood in their way. Reduced to a skeleton crew by a galactic plague known only as ?I?m too busy this week?, our valiant heroes struggle to fight the [...]
Kneel Puny Mortals! Episode 4 of Planet Nerd is upon us. Produced in record time and handed piping hot to those simpering knuckleheads at Channel 31 just hours before we go to air, Ep4 contains more of the informed hilarity you?ve resigned yourself to over the last few weeks. Quake in your boots at a clash of [...]
Dan heads to the countryside to visit Brian, a true Nerd?s Nerd. Despite his remote location, Brian has access to more television stations and Internet bandwidth than most urban residents, thanks to a house bristling with satellite dishes and antennae. And he?s bringing that bandwidth to his mates as well. Tags: country, satellite, internet, wifi
Howdy Fellow Time-Travellers! This week?s Planet Nerd comes to you from the future. But not our future - the future of the past! A time when we would have had flying cars, glittering roads surrounded by hovering purposeless silver spheres, and kitchens that cook food for you - were it not for reality and greed getting [...]
You may have seen our previous post regarding the excellent Suburban Knights Star Wars fan film. Well, we managed to snare an interview with co-creator and co-star Craig Tonkin (aka Darth Death). He lets us in on the secrets of great light sabers, and even has a few tips for budding Fan Flick creators, so [...]
Ben McKenzie ventures into the Particle Physics laboratory at Melbourne University, where he finds a geek who can actually keep his room clean. Very clean.
Dan Walmsley and Adam McKenzie find themselves struggling to defeat a mysterious opponent. Alright, fine, it?s Todd Woodbridge. There you go. Are you happy now? You made me spoil it. Just watch the damn video.
The massive final episode. It contains? stuff. Heaps of stuff. Music, dancing, jedi fan-films, independent gaming, warcrack, snowboarding and more. Get into it people! Tags: planetnerd, starwars, jedi, snowboarding, mathematics, nerd, geek, ironman
The episode that started it all. Ben McKenzie visits the Arcanacon role playing convention, Paul finds out how people feel about the iPhone?s cancellation in Australia, and Simon Barber brings you the Weekly Whedon. Which turned out to be more like bi-monthly.Â
Last weekend I was lucky enough to be part of the inaugural Portable Film Academy. Thanks to Andrew Apostola and all the crew, helpers, speakers and other attendees it was a great weekend and I really learned a lot. The core task for the weekend was to create an original online series, and below you can [...]
A few weeks ago, Simon Barber laid the clicky-linky smack down when it came to keyboardless navigation of Internet marvel, Wikipedia. Viewer Bec wasn?t impressed. She laid down a challenge. And, like a Phoenix rising from? well, Parkville? he showed that he still has what it takes to navigate the vast sea of information that [...]
Dan Walmsley talks to renowned electronic composer David Shea about the genesis of the Doctor Who theme music and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Tags: drwho, doctorwho, doctor, who, bbc, radiophonic, workshop, electronic, music, theme, davidshea, david, shea