Category: Gavin Stuff

Gavin Stuff, Op-Ed

The Problem with YouTube Recap (and Wrapped)

Gavin

I say this with all due respect and love for the thousands of hours of programming YouTube as a platform has provided me over the past twenty years: it’s too late to debut YouTube Recap. We live in an era where individual YouTube accounts simply do not work for a Spotify Wrapped-style recap in the grand scheme of things for a significant chunk of the adult user base.

One of the biggest news stories for YouTube this year was the announcement that smart TVs are the most commonly-used device for watching YouTube videos, signalling YouTube videos have become “TV” for a lot of people. Who needs to rely on the dour professionalism and cheesy comedy (the latter usually provided by meteorologists) of a local news broadcast when you can just watch a local vlogger’s update video on your own time (presuming you live in a big enough city to support a vlogging ecosystem)?

The problem with YouTube becoming television for a lot of people is television fundamentally does not work for Spotify Wrapped-style year-end recaps. 

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Gavin Stuff

I (somehow) built my own streaming service.

Gavin

Some people put their year-end bonuses into a high-yield savings account. Some use it as a down payment on a better car, some are lucky enough to get into a jelly of the month club.

I, on the other hand, built a media server. Flash forward a couple months, a storm swept through my city and left Spectrum, an ISP that can’t deliver under even the sligthest of inconveniences, out for two days.

The ordeal sucked, but it sure did vindicate my sudden new hobby and provide a thrilling conclusion to a small series of blog posts about my hyperfixation.

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Gavin Stuff, Op-Ed

Jason Vorhees and the TikTok Trend (feat. Katy Perry)

Gavin

Last month a forgotten survival horror game saw a brief spike of interest thanks to a TikTok meme featuring a quirked up white boy busting it down sexual style on Jason Vorhees, all scored to a 2013 Katy Perry single.

It was a flash in the pan few will remember, but in that moment this forgotten game highlighted a weak spot in the superstructure of video game criticism that demands discussion. With single-player games critics have things pretty well covered. You get a review copy, play the game, write one review and call it a day. If a remaster or substantive story DLC comes along there will inevitably be a second write-up covering the content changes so consumers have a fresh interpretation of the game with the added clarity of modern context.

Content Warning: One instance of a homophobic slur. Have fun finding it.

Continue reading “Jason Vorhees and the TikTok Trend (feat. Katy Perry)” →
Gavin Stuff

Wolf Stockburn: Failroad Detective

Gavin
The many (badly photoshopped) faces of Wolf Stockburn.

Occasionally I type the word “railroad” into audiobook apps to see what’ll pop up. Mostly I get the usual suspects of dry history books, but a few weeks ago an enticing cover caught my eye: Wolf Stockburn, Railroad Detective. Written by first-time author Max O’Hara, the book follows the titular detective solving train robberies on the newly-completed transcontinental railroad. 

What I expected was a Book for Dads with some occasional spurts of train-based action and intrigue. What I got was a book that genuinely spurred me to return to fiction writing. Not because it’s a good book, heavens no. If anything, I read the sequel Hell’s Jaw Pass purely to see if the inherent problems of Wolf Stockburn were systemic or just first-novel hiccups. 

They were not. 

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Gavin Stuff

Halo: Infinite Isolation

Gavin

Halo: Infinite’s multiplayer beta is nearing the end of its first weekly event and I cannot get over how goddamn lonely 343 Industries has managed to make a multiplayer game. A series known for a bustling community has been reduced to an excellent video game choked underneath a thick layer of tried and true moneymaking tactics. In the olden days one could boot up Halo for hours of fun, joining naturally-forming micro-communities and potentially making friends with complete strangers. Halo: Infinite is the online multiplayer equivalent of walking around a dead mall. Sure, there’s technically other people there, but it stands as more of a reminder of times when the area thrived. 

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Gavin Stuff

Gas Station Simulator: A Pit Stop from Bland “Simulators”

Gavin

Twelve hours into DRAGO Entertainment’s newest release Gas Station Simulator I find myself at a crossroads. The first few hours are a wild ride that seems to buck the trend of the asset-flip homogenous “simulator” game genre, only to fall to pieces as its flashy mechanics degrade into annoyances to be automated or outright ignored. In those opening hours it’s better than the rank-and-file barely-functioning “[Insert Job] Simulator” games, but what points it earns with moxie it loses to unpolished jankiness and an insidious dark secret. Welcome to a 4,300 word review of a $20 game you’ve barely hard of.  

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Gavin Stuff

The Abyss Stares Back – Inside Bo Burnham’s Camera

Gavin

Every YouTuber and their communist lesbian mother has talked about Bo Burnham’s quarantine “comedy” special Inside by this point. Not a damn one I’ve found so far has talked about one of the most obvious pieces of visual symbolism that feels specifically targeted at content creators, so here’s a blog about that. 

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Gavin Stuff

The death of The Pod Report.

Gavin

No, this is isn’t a tell-all YouTube drama video about myself, although that’d be pretty wild.

A quick glance up above will show the domain of this particular blog has changed. While partially motivated by the fact I’m no longer attending Podcast Movement 2021 and am in the mood to make impulse purchases to quell the sadness, there’s a method to this madness.

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Gavin Stuff, TV/Film

Chill YouTube for When You Just Need a Bit of a Break

Gavin

Yes, this isn’t podcast-related, but I argue always-online podcasters/freelancers/content creators in particular are probably in need of some good things to distract from the world outside. There’s many phenomenal lists written by phenomenal people showcasing hopepunk, comedy, and general escapist podcasts, this list covers things that do that for me when my brain isn’t in the mood for audio alone. 

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Gavin Stuff

The Nine Worst Albums of 2018 (according to me)

Gavin

One of the ways I offset some of my podcasting overhead is by freelance reviewing music for a small publication. Since I’ve had this job for over a year now I have a hearty backlog of reviews from my listening to at least four new albums per month. Let’s dive into the backlog and look at the worst examples, be they downright offensive or just bland wasted potential. 

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