JAG Cast

JAG Cast | Episode 120

The PIC are back and the pod gets a new name! We welcome returning friend of the show, Kotaro Fujita to this inaugural JAG Cast to talk about creating digital art, especially with iPads. Learn about Kotaro's journey to become the amazing app designer/developer he is today. There is some fun reminiscing about app design trends, the original Sim City game, and the early days of the iPad. The discussion then goes in more depth on specific tools that can be used to create static art, animation, and even get something into the App Store. Don't miss the links this week! Finally and expectedly, a rousing A Game Called Something goes off the rails with tangents about identifying the nature of Grimace the purple McDonald's mascot as well as unironically using the phrase, "touching grass." We're getting better at this video thing! I think.

━ Video Chapters ━━━━━━━━━━━

00:00:00 Opening Theme

00:01:20 Introductions

00:02:03 JAG Cast Re-Brand!

00:03:00 BrainFest 10 at Broken Goblet

00:05:00 Welcome back, Kotaro Fujita!

00:08:48 Kotaro’s Designer/Developer Journey

00:24:08 Evolution of iOS app design trends

00:30:58 Creating digital art on the iPad

00:34:17 Kotaro’s Procreate art

00:37:30 Animation tools on iPad

00:39:22 Getting into apps as a designer

00:47:09 A Game Called Something

00:48:44 AGCS: Favorite birthday party?

00:52:14 WTF is Grimace?

00:54:56 “Touching Grass”

00:57:55 AGCS: Weirdest food you’ve eaten?

01:06:26 The Wrap-up

01:08:05 Closing Theme

━ Topics Discussed ━━━━━━━━━━

- Re-branding to JAG Cast

- BrainFest 10

In this episode, the Partners in Crime are joined by returning guest, Ben Bergman, to talk about big things coming to the Jenkintown Night Market this year as well as his other efforts in "experiential retail." Then, in a rousing "A Game Called Something," we learn about the seasons, shopping for podcast equipment, and Steve rants about buying a used router while drinking at Broken Goblet. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

━ Video Chapters ━━━━━━━━━━━

00:00 Intro - We're Gonna Be OK

00:56 Welcome Ben Bergman to the Pod!

02:07 The Jenkintown Night Market

04:18 Market Vendors

07:53 Summer Music Series

10:30 Parking & Other Details

13:43 Before the Plate Movie Experience

16:21 Lilly's Indian Food & Karaoke Nights!

17:50 A Game Called Something!

20:23 AGCS: What's your favorite season?

28:40 AGCS: What's your favorite purchase?

35:17 Steve Rants About Routers

40:42 The Wrap Up!

42:51 Outro - The Rescue Party

━ Topics Discussed ━━━━━━━━━━

- The Jenkintown Night Market

This week, the PIC are trying something new...VIDEO! So we don't have a guest, but we do have two triumphs to celebrate! First, Steve talks about the great time he had at John Faye's amazing book release party for "The Yin and the Yang of it All" at the Ardmore Music Hall. Then, Chrissie celebrates 10 years of Jenkintown Dance Arts! It's a short and sweet episode that Steve spent way too long editing in Final Cut Pro, so enjoy the Multicam because that may not happen much in the future! LOL.

━ Video Chapters ━━━━━━━━━━━ 00:00 Intro Music - We're Gonna Be OK, Basil Khan 00:55 We're Trying Something New 02:45 John Faye's Book Release Show! 17:02 Chrissie Celebrates 10 Years of JDA! 24:26 The Wrap Up! 25:43 Outro Music - Rescue Party, E.Joseph

This week, we return to our ongoing "WTF..?" series where Chrissie asks Steve, "WTF is AI?" and Steve tries to answer. The PIC learn about Large Language Models, creepy chat bots, and useful ways to leverage "AI" to avoid mundane tasks like writing simple ad copy. There is also discussion of some of the weird stories in this space like the NYT author who creeped himself out talking to Bing or the poor souls who fell in love with their AI avatars only to have their "relationships" destroyed with a software update. Plus, learn why an AI thinks Chrissie is like "Wonder Woman!" All that and more, plus lots of links in the show notes...LIVE from the 19046!

This week, the PIC chat with co-hosts of Human Robot Jenkintown’s Tuesday night open mic, Dylan Blazick & Alex Corson. We discuss the open mic scene, how good Human Robot beers are, and a surprising Camera Thief connection that involves a ribbon factory! In a rousing A Game Called Something, Steve provides actionable advice for his past self if he ever gets that time machine working and once again, the PIC’s experience at the tiny lighthouse in Havre de Grace reminds us all to do better research when planning a birthday surprise. This is a very Jenkintown focused episode full of references, so if you are playing the drinking game at home…prepare your liver!

Topics Discussed:

- Welcome Dylan Blazick & Alex Carson

- Co-host open mic at Human Robot Jenkintown

- Dylan, Alex, and the birth of an Open Mic

- Tuesday nights at Human Robot Jenkintown

- 7:30 list

This week, the PIC are joined by Nick, Chris, and Caleb of the recently formed band, Broad Street Appeal. A self-described alternative emo pop punk band, this trio impressed us with their unique takes on classic songs of our long ago youth. In this conversation, you'll learn about the origins and philosophy of Broad Street Appeal, why Steve hates ABBA, and in a glorious A Game Called Something, insights are gleaned about coffee, bidets, and doing things the old fashioned way. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Pre-Show: Dinosaur Butts

- Welcome Broad Street Appeal  

- The Broad Street Appeal Difference

    - A rock twist on the usual formula

    - Steve hates ABBA

    - Chrissie hates Weird Al

- The Origin of Broad Street Appeal

- Goals for the band?

- Steve’s Beer Recommendations

This week, the PIC are joined by the creator of the Elkins Park Eclectic Talent Show, percussionist Tony "Catastrophe" Flagiello. Tony has had an eclectic career as a touring artist, dance class dummer, Red Bull promoter, and more! Tune in to learn about the coolest new talent show in the area and stay for anecdotes like the time Tony managed the shipping of Gwen Stefani's clothing line or what's it like to be 6'4" in a hip-hop band in Japan. Then, in a rousing Game Called Something, we learn the terrifying extent of Chrissie's caffeine addiction and Steve rants about electric cars. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Welcome Tony “Catastrophe” Flagiello

- EP Eclectic Talent Show 

    - Tuesdays, 6pm - 9pm at Creekside Market & Tap, Elkins Park, PA

    - By Elkins Park train station

    - All ages

- Tony the Percussionist 

- The origin of Tony “Catastrophe”

- Six Degrees of Ed Foley

    - The band was “Mayor Foley and the Broken Promises” 

- Jenkintown, but not Jenkintown 

- UArts/Dance Class/Bands

    - Alex & the Kaleidoscope band (kid’s band)

    - Fat Head Band

- Tony’s other hosting gigs

- A Game Called Something

    - AGCS: What is a job you would be terrible at?

        - Tony was in charge of shipping Gwen Stefani’s clothing line!

        - W magazine photo shoot

        - Quit to tour Japan for hip-hop band. Summer Sonic, 2005-ish

        - Worked for Red Bull promoting with can car

        - Chrissie drinks panera liquid crack

    - AGCS: What kind of car do you drive, and why?

        - Tony drives a Nissan Murano after getting rear-ended on Broad St.

        - Chrissie drives an Outlander because of a third row.

        - Steve drives a Sonic because it’s a hatchback and cheap.

        - Tony used to sell cars.

- Where to find Tony

    - FB: Tony Flagiello

    - IG: @phillybeatalliance or @tony.flagielo

Technically, Steve's voice is back, but it's still a little rough at the time we recorded this most excellent pod with the very interesting and talented, Dom & Jesse. With the tag line, "Summer All Year," Dom & Jesse are a double-threat pop act that can play an impressive live show before bringing the beats as an up-and-coming DJ act. With excellent heads for branding and business, these two were a ton of fun to talk to about mentorship, music, surviving the pandemic, the promise and peril of Omegle, and much more. As usual, we end with some very entertaining rounds of A Game Called Something where you will learn that yes, Steve needs a new wardrobe. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Welcome Dom & Jesse

- Dom & Jesse’s Epic Broken Goblet Set

- Conception of Dom & Jesse

- World Cafe Live Show

Steve is back this week, but sounds like he is gargling rocks; ah the joys of winter cold season. But, spirits are high because this week's guest is Righteous Jolly, a wonderful actor, musician, and the "7th best trivia host in Bucks County!" In this wide-ranging conversation, Righteous discusses his upcoming album, the amazing Levittown Christmas Carol production, his school life in NYC, being on the wall of Broken Goblet's bathroom, and so much more! We end with a rousing Game Called Something that begins with some bawdy Norwegian singing and just continues to go off the rails from there. This is a really fun episode. Enjoy!

Support the POD:

Steve is trying to recover his podcast voice after a bout of the CRUD, so this week Miss Chrissie is running the show solo! Thankfully, the uber-talented Lorne Behrman is back for the third time to talk about his latest full length album, "A Little Midnight," how he's now living the drama-free band lifestyle, what it's like being a frontman, and more! Plus, Chrissie has new questions for A Game Called Something and did you know Lorne has been in TWO movies!? All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

Support the Pod:

- Buy Me A Coffee

It's the holiday season and that means it's time for a Holiday Special! In this solo episode, Steve reads a classic holiday tale perfect for the whole family, about how some daemons kidnapped Santa Claus and tried to ruin Christmas!

Links:

- A Kidnapped Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

This week, the PIC are joined by special guest, Cara Cartney! We met Cara at Broken Goblet where she performs every First Friday and at the time of this recording was days away from accomplishing a dream of performing Jagged Little Pill with a live band! In this laughter filled episode, we talk about Cara’s various musical gigs, her unique branding, whether Cara works during the day, and Chrissie once again hates on Bucks Co. As usual, we end the show with a rousing Game Called Something where we learn about the “Levittown Barbie” and the episode goes off the rails in the best way possible. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

This week, the PIC are on their own with a short grab-bag of awesome mini-topics! Chrissie wants to dance on a murder chair in the Garage while Steve wants to learn to dance, "dancing baby" style. There are two amazing shows coming up at Broken Goblet that will have the PIC in attendance, including Jenkintown's own Camera Thief returning to rock the rafters and drink all the beer this Saturday night! Come December 2, friend of the Garage Cara Cartney will be living her dream of performing the entirety of Jagged Little Pill up on the Tama stage! If that isn't enough for you, on December 3, Jenkintown Town Square will be lit up by the one-and-only Santa right after a sure-to-be excellent Holiday Market. All that and the tale of the Christmas Eve Mall Santa Teddy Bear Incident...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Dancing in the Garage?

    - Chrissie & Steph are choreographing a dance! 

    - Steve wants to do the “Dancing Baby Dance” 🤦‍♂️

The PIC are joined this round by musician, TEDxTalk presenter, and all-around swell guy, Avi Wisnia, for a very enjoyable conversation that touches on life, music, human nature, and a lot of autumnal references. Tune in to learn about the differences between being a musician in NYC vs Philly, all about Avi's latest album, "Catching Leaves," what it was like to do a TEDx talk, and find out where you can see the U.S. premiere of a documentary that tells the incredible story of how Avi's "Saba" survived Auschwitz by entertaining his captors with song! We end with an introspective Game Called Something where the true cost of being Jenkintown Famous is revealed. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Welcome Avi Wisnia

This week, the PIC welcome to the pod blues and rock guitarist extraordinaire, Greg Sover, to talk about his musical inspirations, the stories behind our favorite songs, surviving the pandemic as a working musician, and much more! We end the show by bringing back an old favorite, A Game Called Something! Along the way, Greg and Steve bond over shared birthday seasons, their desire to #SaveTheManuals, and the theory that Tom Cruise is a vampire. Meanwhile, Chrissie's Australian Siri has eclectic musical tastes and she dreams of living large on a dirty beach. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Greg’s Musical Inspirations

- Haiti, Brooklyn, Philly, Glenside

- Potholes

- #SaveTheManual

- Making a Living With Music 

- Thanks Ron DiSilvestro!

- The Snow Dance!

- The Story Behind "Emotional"

- The Story Behind "Heroes"

- Greg’s Philosophy of Music

- Untitled New Album

- Pandemic Stories

- A Game Called Something  

- Siri’s Musical Taste

- Movie Talk

    - Top Gun: Maverick is awesome!

- Turn the Tables: What prompted this podcast?

- Where to Find Greg!  

This week, the PIC are sans guest, but full of pizza after attending the soft launch of Jenkintown's newest awesome eatery, Pizza Wheel! Brought into existence by the great minds behind West Ave Grille, this newest pizza restaurant is a little bit different and a definite step up from much of the competition. Steve may nitpick some stuff, but in the end, both of the PIC came away extremely impressed and very full. Listen in to hear our rambling thoughts on our first dinner (at 4 in the afternoon) at Pizza Wheel...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Pizza Wheel soft launch experience!

This week, the PIC welcome Ben Bergman to the POD to talk about the Jenkintown Night Market, what it is, how it came to be, and what may lie ahead! Along the way, we also discuss the quirkiness of Jenkintown, Chrissie questions Steve's wardrobe choices, and there is a digression into what to the call the 2000s. All that and more...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Welcome Ben Bergman, manager of the Jenkintown Night Market

- History of the Jenkintown Night Market

    - The Jenkintown Night Market

It's a grab bag of Chrissie Topics this week! But first, just in time for Steve's COVID recovery tour, Gobletstock 8 is happening this Saturday! Find out why it's awesome and listen to the PIC plan their weekend on a podcast! Then, stick around because Chrissie's laptop repair saga continues. The laptop's still broken, but Chrissie learns an iPhone magic trick that may finally let her move this process along. Plus, Steve calculates exactly how much it would cost to Uber to summer camp, Chrissie survives working with her teenage daughter, and a moment of accidental technical literacy makes Chrissie's home life a little bit smoother. All that and some talk about PDAs...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Gobletstock 8 this Saturday!

The PIC took a week off because Chrissie decided to go to Disney world WITHOUT STEVE! Learn about Chrissie's solo + 4 adventure in the most magical place on earth, plus be awed by the Mouse's insane merch game, and finally Chrissie provides some excellent tips to keep in mind before you too decide to take multiple planes down to Florida to spend all your money standing in lines, baking in the sun. All that and a little more...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Recital Photography & Video

This week Chrissie is busy with Peter Pan and Sixth Grade Graduation, so Steve has been unleashed in all his nerdiness to record a solo episode exploring some cool stuff announced at WWDC22, Apple's yearly developer conference, or as Steve calls it, "Developer Christmas." Bonus! The artwork for this week's episode was created using some iOS 16 Beta features! Get a glimpse of the future of your Apple-life...LIVE from the 19046!

This week, Color Day paints Jenkintown in red and blue while a gaggle of tweens invades Chrissie's house! Then, the PIC take a trip downtown to eat some of the best ramen in Philly and take a ride on a carousel. Finally, it's your chance to become a VIP! All that and a gender reveal involving a Mustang...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Jenkintown Color Day!

    - Reds rule, Blues drool!

    - A Gaggle of Tweens

- Burnout Gender Reveal

    - It’s a boy!

- Terakawa Ramen

It was a busy weekend for the PIC in and around Jenkintown! First up, we review our experience at The Royal in Glenside to see friend of the show Jason Ager and fellow musicians perform an eclectic songwriter's round! Then, the duo nearly melt at the first Red & Blue Fair in two years! Finally, while Chrissie went to archery, Steve ate beer pancakes and hung out with local Jazz legend and realtor extraordinaire Alex Bartlett as he performed during a Sunday brunch at Human Robot "The Haus." All that and some spicy takes on lemon sticks...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Songwriters Round at The Royal in Glenside

    - Jason Ager and friends!

    - The world's worst chair

This week the PIC discuss growing your business by improving your customer acquisition pipeline! In other words, Chrissie added a button to her website! Learn how Trello helps Chrissie track client interactions and how even a simple Google Form can enhance a potential customer's experience in a high-touch business like a dance studio. Along the way, Steve uses the acronym "MVP" and can't remember which one is Ren and which one is Stimpy (WHAT!?). It's all fun and games until the History Erasure button is pressed...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- If your business isn’t growing, it’s dying

- Chrissie’s current enrollment pipeline system

The PIC have noticed that everything has been getting a bit expensive lately. This week, Miss Chrissie and Steve discuss everyone's favorite topic, inflation! From asparagus, to maple syrup, to Steve's "practical" fashion sense, this conversation has many twists and turns. Stay until the end to learn how the PIC are hedging against this economic scourge via the worst website in the history man. Stock up on expensive shorts and wood because it's another episode...LIVE from the 19046!

Topics Discussed:

- Asparagus is expensive!

- What caused all this inflation?

- The most terrifying words…

- $60 shorts!?

- What do the kids think is inflating?

Leap Into Spring was a success despite feeling more like winter and Steve shares his tips for battling the scourge of Facebook groups, duct cleaning spammers.

Topics Discussed:

- Follow-Up: Leap Into (Frozen) Spring

Budgets are tight and inflation is going to the moon, so if the PIC get take-out, it's gotta be worth it. This week, the duo list five great choices for take-out in Jenkintown. These options are in no particular order and there are more than five great places in town, but we had to keep this POD under 30 minutes!

Topics Discussed

Miss Chrissie is in another castle this week, but the algorithm must be fed! So, this week, Steve solos the show and gives his thoughts and reactions to the latest Apple event, "Peek Performance."