Task: Listen to the Into the Vertical Blank Podcast
Needed: Web browser or podcast app
Time: 30-120 minutes
Introduction
I started listening to the “Into the Vertical Blank” podcast recently and have been really enjoying it. The hosts, Jeff and Steve Fulton, are twins that grew up with Atari in the 1970s and 1980s like many of us. They are tons of fun to listen to because they are thick with Atari nostalgia and love sharing their opinions and memories of growing up Atari. I certainly identify with some of the things they talk about. They make the podcast really fun and have a great sense of humor. They talk about everything Atari including all the consoles and the 8-bit and 16-bit computers. They love it all!
The podcast started in May of 2018 and since then there have been more than 15 episodes. The format of each episode varies and the length can run from 30 minutes to two hours. I like the long ones because I can listen to half on the way to work and the other half on the way home. I particularly like the vertical blank metaphor that they use throughout the series. You should listen to their early episodes for awesome explanations for what they mean by vertical blank. The basic idea is that growing up in the 1970s and 1980s our lives were programmed. For example, we had no control of what was on TV. The TV shows appeared at a certain time and you needed to be there to watch them. However, when home video games came out you have complete control. You could decide what game to play and when or whether to play at all. Playing games was thus in the vertical blank. It was in between the regularly schedule things that we had no control over.
Instructions
You can find their podcasts on their web page or on iTunes, for example.
Comments
They have a very creative editing style for their podcasts. Check it out! You will see what I mean.