Podcast paydirt

It’s amazing how technology has helped us waste so much time with so little effort. A few clicks, some buttons pushed and you are watching some mindless 12 year old with a video camera drone away about how much he loves his poodle or why dolls are great. The funny thing is, we dig it. The phenomenal popularity of Youtube is testament to this fact. The internet has allowed you to broadcast yourself to the world and in acknowledgement of this reality, TIME magazine selected ‘You’ as it’s Person of the year. Another nifty little self-broadcast utility is the podcast. Firmly established in the media underground and fast gaining public popularity, these little babies can be downloaded direct to your ipod or computer through regular RSS feeds. They’re often short and make for excellent filler while you’re waiting at bus stops, in between lectures and during lunch breaks. In my brief foray into podcasting, I came across two series of podcasts that are absolute gems of comic brilliance.

The Ricky Gervais Show

Hosted by the eponymous Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant ( of The Office fame ), this British podcast is a surreal foray into the mind of Karl Pilkington, a bloke with a perfectly bald round head and a mind that baffles the imagination. That’s not to say he’s very bright. Quite the opposite, in fact. His total lack of knowledge in many areas and his ridiculous views on various subjects will have you laughing your socks off. This cool, collected and easy go lucky chappie is a rare and fascinating discovery; pure comic gold. Merchant and Gervais provide the perfect foil to Karl’s naiveté. They’re the epitome of sensibility and moderation and they well know how to bait Karl with careful questioning into revealing the most stunning anecdotes and opinions They’re great friends, the lot of them and they really have a bang making the series, which got catapulted into the Guinness book of Records for being the world’s number one podcast. If the notion that the British have no sense of humor was laid to rest by the stupendously funny Brit sitcom Coupling, this podcast series hammers in the final nail to the coffin.



Ask a Ninja

God’s a flippin ninja and he made this podcast so you’ll die laughing. Ask a Ninja.com is hosted by this black-clad ninja who’s death reincarnate. This guy has battled dragons, witches, orcs, the Medusa, Hulk Hogan, Balrogs and even Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell in drunken barroom brawls. He makes Leonidas from 300 and Marv from Sin City look like pansies. You do not want to be messing with him. Seriously, you even so much as look at him the wrong way and you’ll get shuriken lodged in your skull. This shadow of death answers questions from viewers on various and diverse subjects, injecting a deadly mix of killing-related humour and pop culture references to make for one rip-roaring podcast. He’s imaginative, has a way with words and is laugh-out-loud funny. You get immersed in the secret world of the ninjas and start to see how things look from their perspective as the ninja talks about ninternships,minjas, chickinjas, nintechnology and Santa Claus. My words won’t do him no justice; you gotta view this to believe it: it’s absolute ambrosia level comedy. So do yourself a favour and check it out. Because if you don’t, you’re gonna get killed by a ninja. It’s ninjevitable. He’s probably right behind you even as you read this. No, seriously, just look over your shoulder real quick. Do you see the ninja? No? But he sees you…