raymond padilla, Author at RPad.TV

RPadTV 3000 Episode 3: Karen Chu and Chris Kohler

Good Job Brain showrunner Karen Chu and co-host Chris Kohler are the latest guests on RPadTV 3000! I was lucky enough to know these cats when I lived in San Francisco and we were all part of the games media. At the time, Karen was at 1Up and Chris was at Wired. I respected them as peers and enjoyed their company as friends. One of their favorite leisure activities was pub trivia and they were able to parlay their love of trivia into the ultra-successful podcast Good Job Brain.

In addition to sharing the story of Good Job Brain and how the podcast has evolved, Karen Chu and Chris Kohler talk to me about:

I Tried KFC Beyond Nuggets So You Don’t Have To

KFC has started offering KFC Beyond Nuggets at most locations in Canada and the United States. These plant-based nuggets made in conjunction with Beyond Meat add a vegetarian option to the menu, similar to Beyond Burgers and Impossible Burgers offered by numerous hamburger chains. For people concerned about the environmental impact of meat or for families that love KFC but have a vegetarian in the household, it’s a nice option to have. Unfortunately, the inconsistency and cost of these faux chicken nuggets will limit their popularity.

Here’s my breakdown of Colonel Sanders’ foray into plant-based chicken.

RPadTV 3000 Episode 2: Jose “Don Fubar” Sanchez and Joey Abitia

Jose “Don Fubar” Sanchez, Joey Abitia, and I have been lucky enough to attend numerous pro-wrestling events, including several WrestleMania and Summer Slam shows. All three of us are lifelong wrestling fans and were thrilled to attend so many amazing wrestling events. With zero exaggeration I can say that I’ve had some of the best times of my life with these two gentlemen.

Millions of people know Fubar from the Electric Playground — the longest running show about videogames. He’s parlayed his following from Electric Playground into a successful (and hilarious!) Twitch stream. I’m normally not a fan of gameplay streams, but Fubar’s is supremely entertaining and I watch him play several times a week. You should too!

Joey recently launched a YouTube show called Infinite G. It started as a way for Joey’s son, Gio, to stream his Fortnite gameplay, but transformed into something more. It’s a really precious father/son show that’s surprisingly honest. You get to see the love and challenges of single father raising a son during a crazy time. Naturally, there’s a ton of pro-wrestling and videogame content in each episode.

In addition to talking about the Don Fubar Twitch and Infinite G, the three of us discuss:

RPadTV 3000 Episode 1: Chris Taylor

Kanoogi Founder and CEO Chris Taylor was kind enough to join me for the first episode of RPadTV 3000! Chris has entertained millions of gamers with his critically acclaimed strategy games in the Total Annihilation and Dungeon Siege series. His new company is making a strategy game called Intergalactic Space Empire and building a cloud platform that allows independent developers to realize their visions.

In addition to being an outstanding creative, Chris Taylor is a hilarious man that’s excellent to hang out with. Check out the video above as Chris and I talk about:

Coffee #677: Who’s the Best Supergroup?

The other day I was learning “Handle With Care” by The Traveling Wilburys and it got me thinking about supergroups. From Cream to Audioslave, supergroups have been a staple of music for decades. In today’s Coffee Talk, I’d love to hear who you think is the best supergroup. As for me, I’m (conveniently) going with The Traveling Wilburys.

Marcus Beer is on Twitch and You Should Watch Him

Millions of GameTrailers fans know Marcus Beer as the Annoyed Gamer. Thousands of people in the videogame business know Marcus Beer as “that angry yet dashing PR fellow.” I know him as my excellent friend Marcus, an intelligent and charming rogue that’s outstanding to have drinks with and even better for intensely nerdy conversation. You can be part of his nerdy conversations in his all-new, all-different Twitch stream, I Am Beer.

There are many reasons why you should tune in and watch Marcus Beer stream on Twitch, but if you need more convincing then keep on reading.

Totally Excited for Young Rock

Young Rock makes its debut on February 16 on NBC. The show revolves around a flashforward and three separate flashbacks on the life of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In the flashforward, Johnson is running for President of the United States in the year 2032. The three flashbacks cover his life in Hawaii as a young boy, his high school years in Nashville, Tennessee, and his college life at the University of Miami.

As a mark for 80s pro-wrestling, the trailer has me amped for the show. Before I ever heard of The Rock, I was a fan of his father — “Soul Man” Rocky Johnson. The trailer features Rocky Johnson, as well as other pro-wrestling legends of the 80s, including Andre the Giant, the Iron Sheikh, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Wild Samoans, and Junkyard Dog. Seeing TV adaptations of these legends is simply awesome. Check them out in the Young Rock trailer below.

The WWE Network/Peacock Partnership is Great for WWE, Peacock, and Me

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and NBCUniversal have announced an exclusive U.S. partnership for WWE Network and Peacock. The two companies have already collaborated with a limited amount of content on the Peacock streaming service. This deal — rumored to be $1-billion over five years — greatly expands on the partnership. For U.S. customers, WWE Network becomes a new part of the Peacock streaming service starting March 18, 2021.

At a glance, the deal seems like a huge win for everyone involved. I’m excited by the potential of the partnership for both WWE Network and Peacock. As a self-absorbed writer, I’m also excited for what it means for me. Using the immortal words of the Degeneration-X theme song, read on as I “break it down!”

Five Thoughts on Batman: Soul of the Dragon

Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a fantastic animated movie with a wonderfully unique tone. Going into it, I knew that the movie would focus on one of Batman’s mentors (O-Sensei) and his fellow students. However, I was not expecting its incredible 70s tone at all. The movie is a wonderful mix of great action, strong storytelling, and excellent character development.

In short, I highly recommend watching Batman: Soul of the Dragon. If you’re not convinced, here are five random thoughts on the movie. [Put on your spoiler cowl!]

10 Thoughts on Cobra Kai Season 3

2021 is off to a fantastic start thanks to Cobra Kai Season 3. Going into the new season, I was mildly concerned since some of the reviews were more negative than critiques of the first two seasons. I was afraid that the third season of Cobra Kai would be as bad as the third Karate Kid movie. Thankfully, the concern was unwarranted.

Cobra Kai Season 3 was just as entertaining as the previous seasons. It’s certainly not award-winning television by any means, but the show absolutely succeeds in delivering big, dumb, and nostalgic fun. The hooks are clever enough to keep you interested, while the overall tone is ridiculous and fluffy enough to make the show infinitely rewatchable. If you enjoyed the first two seasons of the show then it’s highly likely that you’ll enjoy the third.

After watching each episode twice, here are ten random thoughts on Cobra Kai Season 3 using the tried and true RPadTV binary system. Warning: spoiler punches will be fast and furious.