This planet sucks. Wait! Don’t go! This isn’t political or cultural commentary. THIS PLANET SUCKS, a self-published Greg Troutman title from 1997, is the name of this week’s game on ATARI BYTES. So, absolutely NO sucking to be had in episode 276. Well, no more than usual…      Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Reformat”, “Take a Chance” and “Pinball Spring”.  Thanks to Sean Courtney for “Storytime” theme and the “Jason Sez Stuff” theme. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com... Read More

For those of you who lack the physicality to dance to the time warp, ATARI BYTES episode 275 has you covered. In the 1983 Coleco port of TIME PILOT, the time warp requires no dancing, just wave after wave of aerial dogfighting. Not even Tim Curry can help you. This week’s short story: MARKING TIME Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Take a Chance”, “Pinball Spring” and “Reformat”.  Thanks to Sean Courtney for the “Jason Sez Stuff” theme and the “Storytime” theme. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com... Read More

In ATARI BYTES episode 274, we’re playing LASER GATES. Two guesses what this game is about. Wrong! It’s monkeys and gonads, obviously. (You gotta listen to the show to understand that.) This week’s Bad Poetry Corner: IF WARREN ZEVON’S A ROBOT Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incometech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Take a Chance”, “Reformat”, and “Pinball Spring”.  Thanks to Sean Courtney for the “Storytime” and “Jason Sez Stuff” themes. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com is where you need to go for social media,... Read More

One day in April 2021, ATARI BYTES drifted into Data Age’s 1982 game BERMUDA TRIANGLE and was NEVER SEEN AGAIN. Episode 273 is the chronicle of that disappearance.  If you look up, you might see your host mooning you from the spaceship. This week’s short story: BERMUDA SHORTED Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Take a Chance”, “Reformat” and “Pinball Spring”.  Thanks to Sean Courtney for the “Storytime” theme. Thanks to The Delroys for the use of their song “Bermuda Shorts” www.carnivalofgleecreations.com... Read More

I am on record as saying Woodstock is one of my favorite characters, so I was thrilled to have voice actor Rob Tinkler on episode 60 of IT’S A PODCAST, CHARLIE BROWN. We talk about how he gets inside the head of a little yellow bird who doesn’t talk to voice Woodstock on “The Snoopy Show” and “Snoopy in Space”. We also talk about other things he’s worked on and the craft of voice acting. Also on this episode: a discussion of “The Snoopy Show”, season 1, episode 4; another “Peanuts by Schulz”, titled “Have a Nice Day, Linus”,... Read More

This week’s ATARI BYTES episode, 272 for those scoring at home, is totally tubular (that’s for you Gen Xers) Or is it? We’re playing the unfinished 1984 effort TEMPEST, which tries to translate the 3D tubes the action plays out on on the arcade screen onto our home screens. Listen to find out if it works. We also talk about Shakespeare and say the word “panties”. A lot.  This week’s short story from Bad Poetry Corner: Parched in a Tempest. Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Take a Chance”, “Reformat”... Read More

ATARI BYTES 271 revisits an old friend. A twitchy, large-nosed, profanity-obsessed friend who just won’t just hold still for goodness sakes. We all have a friend like that. If you’re not sure about that, it’s probably you. It’s Q*BERT’S QUBES, the 1983 follow-up to the adorable arcade-er (I’m trying to make that a word. Help me out. I’ll be rich!). Is the game fun cubed, or just for squares, man? This week’s short story: NOT THE CUBES YOU EXPECTED Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Take a Chance”,... Read More

Guys, if life has taught us nothing else, we all should know by now that we must pick up our balls. This is especially true in Atari’s 1983 let’s-stick-it-to-em-and-see-how-mad-they-get, QUADRUN, our focus for ATARI BYTES episode 270. Tune in to find out just how frustrated this game makes me.  This week’s short story: CAGE FREE Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incmpetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Take a Chance”, “Reformat” and “Pinball Spring”.  Thanks to Sean Courtney for the “Storytime” theme. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com... Read More

In episode 269 of the ATARI BYTES podcast, we play SOLAR FOX, the 1983 CBS Electronics port of Bally/Midway’s 1981 arcade game. Much like Icarus, we fly a wee bit too close to the sun, but do we get burned? Listen and find out! This week’s short story: THE SOLAR FOXES REBOOT The ComicVine piece about the “Solar Fox” comic ad. Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs “Take a Chance”, “Reformat” and “Pinball Spring”.  Thanks to Sean Courtney for the “Storytime” theme. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com... Read More

In episode 59, we’re going to the movies! Our guest this month is actor Brandon Ford Green. We’re talking about his 2017 movie “Good Grief”, which he wrote, directed and appears in. Interesting title, Brandon. And the group of adult friends gathering together for a funeral look awfully familiar. Hmmm. We’ll ask Brandon about that. We also talk about “The Snoopy Show” episode 3, another random strip of the month and a “Peanuts by Schulz” short called “Novel Idea”.  It’s a feast for your earholes! Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incomepetech.com... Read More