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Azeroth United and Raid for the Cure running charity giveaways
Halloween is over and we're headed towards Thanksgiving, which means it's the time of year that charities everywhere ask you to open up your hearts and wallets and support some good causes. Azeroth United, the recently-formed community for WoW players, just revealed the prizes in their "Hearts, Hands, and Voices" charity giveaway. They're officially supporting Child's Play (they got mentioned on the main website), and your donation there (of $10 or $20) will get you into two tiers of giveaways, featuring prizes of all kinds from all over the WoW community. Sounds like a great chance to both support a good cause and maybe even win some free stuff. And from our old friend John "BigBearButt" Patricelli comes news of a "Raid for the Cure" -- on Saturday, November 14th, a group of players from both factions will walk in-game on the Kael'thas server from Darnassus to Ratchet (and on to Booty Bay) to raise awareness and funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity. Pink shirts will be handed out at the event, and making a donation of any kind over on the WoW page for the charity will enter you in a raffle to win a guest appearance on the Sidhe Devils Gone Wild podcast (a member of that guild has been dealing with breast cancer, and the in-game run is in support of her and her cause).
WoW Insider Show Episode 100: Trip down memory lane
We recorded our 100th podcast last Saturday, and it was a doozy. There was so much awesomeness, in fact, that our recording equipment just couldn't handle all of it. But worry not -- below you'll find a kind of a clip show, including all of our looks at the history of the funniest moments in the show (including one moment that we've never before had on the recorded feed), as well as some discussion by our guests John "BigBearButt" Patricelli and Brigwyn (along with Turpster and I) about the Druid and Hunter Q&As last week. We don't have the video coming into iTunes, but just in case you want to see my ugly mug talking, you can watch the archived video over on the Ustream page. Turpster also had video running during the show, but that's what caused most of our lag, and Ustream doesn't record that anyway.The show also includes not one but two different songs we've recorded over the past few years, as well as a short look at what things were like on our very first episode (the very first time Turpster and I were ever on the air together). It's been quite an amazing two years, and thanks again, our listeners, for all your support so far.Enjoy the show -- we'll be back as usual next weekend, to kick off our next 100 shows (and of course BlizzCon is right around the corner: we'll be streaming live from the meetup, and we're planning on doing a special podcast with our staff there every single night after the show, too).Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
WoW Insider Show's 100th episode live tomorrow with BigBearButt
Our podcast has hit a landmark -- can you believe we've been doing this thing for almost two years? Yes, it's been a full 99 times that we've sat down and recorded our thoughts on the latest and greatest news from the World of Warcraft community, and tomorrow's show will be number 100. It will be a lot of fun -- we'll welcome back our good friend John "BigBearButt" Patricelli, and he'll join Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington, Turpster, and I to talk about all the most popular posts here on WoW.com, including Sam Raimi's upcoming movie and what we expect from it, Ghostcrawler's thoughts on class balance going into BlizzCon, and the Druid and Hunter Q&As that have appeared from Blizzard lately.And I guess since it's the 100th show we should do something fun: Turpster and I will be on video during the show, so you'll get to see our faces as we chat, and we'll be doing a look back at our favorite moments from the podcast so far. In fact, we also want to hear your favorite moments from the first 100 episodes, and to give you a little incentive, we're giving away some more loot cards. Two random commenters on this post who tell us their favorite moments from the show's past will win a loot card code each, courtesy of our friends at WoWTCGLoot.com. You can only enter once, please use a valid email address when you enter (so we can contact you when you win), and you must enter before tomorrow night, Saturday the 25th of July, 2009, at midnight Eastern time. Good luck, and give us your memories!Our show kicks off tomorrow at July 25, 2009 3:30 PM EDTvar date_span = document.getElementById("date"); var date = new Date(date_span.innerHTML); var monthname=new Array("Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug", "Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"); var weekday=new Array("Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday", "Friday","Saturday"); var year = date.getFullYear(); var day_of_month = date.getDate(); var month = monthname[date.getMonth()]; var day = weekday[date.getDay()]; var hour = date.getHours(); if (hour > 11) { if (hour > 12) {hour -= 12} am_pm = "PM"; } else { am_pm = "AM"; } var minute = date.getMinutes(); if (minute < 10) { minute = "0"+minute; } date_string = day + ", " + month + " " + day_of_month; date_string += " at " + hour + ":" + minute + " " + am_pm; offset = -date.getTimezoneOffset()/60; if (offset >= 0) { offset = "+"+offset; } date_string += " in your time zone (GMT"+offset+")"; date_span.innerHTML = (date_string); ) over on our Ustream page, or, as always, you can find the embedded stream below. We'll see you tomorrow afternoon for show number 100!
WoW Insider Show Episode 62: Why doesn't Tame Beast work on Druids?
Our podcast was back on the air last Saturday, and we were happy to welcome two very talented bloggers to the mix: both Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli, authors of our BRK and Shifting Perspectives columns, respectively, were aboard to chat with us about whether the endgame is just too easy lately (or whether it's nice that some people who couldn't before are seeing instances and getting loot), the new boss in Karazhan, and how abruptly the zombie event ended. We also hit on Blizzard's almost-mistake with the class forums, and if we really deserved that three-day credit due to lag and queues lately.We answered emails as well -- BRK gave some great AH tips for when to get rid of your primals and mats before Wrath, and BBB helped a listener out who was wondering if he should play a Druid or a Warlock to 80 first. And I got some good glyph hints and tips out of the guys in terms of what to put in those glyph slots for Hunters and Feral Druids. If you have a comment or question for the show, feel free to send it along to theshow at wowinsider dot com, and you might even hear it on next week's show.Perhaps most exciting, we worked a lot last week to make sure the quality of the show was better, and I think for the most part it worked -- we didn't have a single disconnect during the chat, and you should find that the tinny voices in the recording are gone as well. It's not perfect yet, and there's more we want to add into the mix, but we're working on it. The iTunes feed is still on the fritz, but the RSS feed below works just fine for me and it should for you, too. Be sure to tune in next week at 3:30pm Eastern -- we do this live every Saturday, and it is a darn good time.[Ustream] Listen to the unedited recording in Ustream.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
WoW Insider Show with BRK and BBB live tomorrow
Should be a great show tomorrow on the podcast, as we welcome two terrific WoW bloggers to the table. In one place together for the first (second? third?) time ever, both Daniel "BigRedKitty" Howell (who has his own very popular, very well-done podcast, by the way, if you haven't heard it yet) and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli will be in attendance. And we'll be talking about, as usual, all the biggest stories from the past week in Warcraft, including how the new Kara boss is going (and almost gone), whether Karazhan itself is too easy these days, and that whole class forums megaton yesterday (that turned out to be a dud, more or less). And we'll cover the end of the zombie event, too, and whether or not it worked the way Blizzard planned it to, or if they cut it short early because of all the griefing.The show will air live at 3:30pm Eastern (time zone calculator) over on our Ustream page. Lots of people have had questions about how to get the show lately (and of course, it hasn't helped that our feed is going through some growing pains), but all of your questions should be answered in our last podcast post. And we're working on the quality issues, too -- I can assure you that the recording issue has been fixed, so no more tinny voices this week.But you don't want to wait until the recording anyway -- join us on the Ustream page tomorrow (or just come back to this post -- the stream is embedded after the break), and you can chat with us and other listeners live, as well as vote in polls and participate in a rumored "aftershow" that's been popping up after we're done recording lately. See you tomorrow!
WoW Insider Show Episode 56: Mage madness
Just because this last week's WoW Insider Show was prerecorded doesn't make it any less good -- we finally had some excellent Mage talk (Aurdon of ISheepThings.com came on to chat with us), and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli and Duncor and I also talked about lots of other stuff, including (but not limited to): Wrath's release date and how that came about That tough mount achievement and whether it's even possible. Why it's OK for motorcyles to be in a fantasy game. And lots of other things -- we answered your emails, including talking about the First to 80 titles that got removed from the game and how things are going in the beta, both for Mages and everyone else. In fact, Aurdon showed us all up this week -- he's got a nice summary transcript up of everything he said in the show, including some great links to all the stuff we talked about. As usual, the show is up for listening right now over on WoW Radio, and in iTunes as well.Next weekend, we'll be back live on Saturday afternoon, and Turpster, at long last, should be returning to the studio as well. Enjoy the show this week and we'll see you then.Listen here on the page:
WoW Insider Show tomorrow afternoon on WoW Radio
We have a confession to make -- this week's WoW Insider Show has already been recorded. I know, I know, we really enjoy getting on IRC and doing the show live, too, but Duncor the (so-called) Dependable is heading out to a wedding this weekend, and since he's our producer, we had to fudge things a little bit, and we recorded the show last night. Worry not, though -- we'll still be playing the show for the first time on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 over on WoW Radio, and if I'm around, I'll try to jump into IRC to chat while we listen.The good news is that we finally have some good Mage talk in the show -- blogger Andy "Aurdon" Scott of ISheepThings.com joined us on the show, and if you've been waiting to hear some good discussion about the food-and-drink dispensers of the world, you'll hear it. John "BigBearButt" Patricelli was also on with us with his great insight as always, and Duncor came on as well (Turpster is still jetlagged from his trip to the States and will be back next week). And in addition to all the Mage talk, we talked about the release date for Wrath, whether that mount achievement is too hard, and whether it's ok for motorcycles to be in a fantasy game, among many other things.If you want to chat on IRC Saturday afternoon while we listen to the show, join us at irc.mmoirc.com in the #wowradio channel, or just click "Chat" on the WoW Radio homepage. And you can email us, as always, at theshow@wow.com. Be sure to tune in tomorrow afternoon -- it won't be live (have a nice time at the wedding, Duncor!), but it will be a good listen.
WoW Insider Show Episode 48: We just can't wait for Lich King
Our latest podcast is now up for your listening enjoyment, but beware: there's an aural bomb hidden inside it -- as we suggested last week, if you listen to the show, you just may hear not only Turpster's famous singing voice, but mine and John Patricelli's as well. Please note: WoW Insider can not be held responsible for any trauma caused by hearing our "Just Can't Wait for Lich King" song. It is scary. We also chatted about achievements and why I can't wait for them. And I forgot to mention: the best thing about achievements? Blizzard is giving us another ding graphic for them, this time white! I love that graphic! We talked about the Authenticator, and how it's not quite as secure as everything thought. We all agreed that the mounts and small pets getting out of our bags was a great change. Turpster told us about his experience playing the Wrath beta so far and what he thinks of Death Knights and the new zones. And we answered a lot of emails: we talked about /played time and why it shouldn't be completely embarrassing, and why raiding isn't quite yet done before the next expansion. Oh, and we did give away a beta key, direct from Turpster's goodie bag at WWI. We've selected a winner in our contest already, so if you didn't enter, time is up (that's why we said to listen to the show last week!), and if you did enter, check your email.And finally, Turpster has not yet posted the mp3 of our song (though I'm not sure why you'd want to listen to it any more than you have to), but dotOrion on the WoW Radio forums has cut it directly out of the podcast recording, so if you really want an MP3 of the tune (for blackmail purposes or anything else you need it for), there you go.
WoW Insider Show live tomorrow afternoon
I am just finishing things up in Los Angeles (E3 ended yesterday, and most of the team here is still recovering from the Joystiq meetup last night), so while I'm on the plane tomorrow, the one and only Matthew Rossi will be kind enough to host the WoW Insider Show for me. The show goes live on WoW Radio at 3:30pm Eastern, and he's rumored to have not only everyone's favorite ursine posterior, John Patricelli, as well as an appearance by none other than BRK, the Hunter with the Big Red Kitty. And Turpster should be on as well, rounding out an excellent team of podcasters. It should be a bang-up show, and I'm sure they'll chat about the beta, as well as the brand-new achievements system announced for Wrath, and whatever else I missed this week while playing amazing games at E3.They'll also be chatting in the IRC channel, which you can find at irc.mmoirc.com at #wowradio, and they'll be reading your emails I'm sure -- you can send them messages at theshow@wow.com. Rossi, in particular, is definitely a big fan of the new hairstyles, so be sure to ask him how he's going to dress up his main tank.Definitely tune in and check them out, they're sure to talk about something you're interested in. It kicks off tomorrow afternoon at 3:30pm Eastern -- just load up WoW Radio around that time, and keep your ears open.
WoW Insider Show goes live (from Paris, kind of) tomorrow
Tomorrow's podcast is going to be a big one -- not only am I back on the air after being away last week, but Matthew Rossi and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli are both going to join me, Duncor the Dependable will likely be on from WoW Radio, and oh yeah -- by the podcast tomorrow, we'll know what the hell Blizzard has been hinting at for the past week. And there's more: not only will we be talking at length both about what Blizzard announces tomorrow and also what they don't announce, but we've got an ace in the hole: Turpster is live in Paris at the Worldwide Invitational right now, and if we can get our telegraph machine working correctly, we'll have a live-on-the-spot report from the T himself. He'll probably be drunk on French wine, but still, he'll give us a Turps-eye-view of what's going down in the land of croissants.We'll probably also chat a little bit about Arena Season 4, as well as what's going on with the Midsummer Fire Festival, but my guess is that whatever Blizzard announces tomorrow will pretty much dominate the conversation. Tune in over on WoW Radio at 3:30pm Eastern for the very first audio words in what's going on in Paris.And as usually, we'll be answer your questions via email (theshow@wow.com), and chatting live on IRC at irc.mmoirc.com in the #wowradio channel, so you can ask Turpster what France smells like (I'm guessing frog's legs and the burning fires of the revolution, but I've never been, so who knows). Tune in tomorrow to the WoW Insider Show for all the news that's fit to talk about on WWI '08!
WoW Insider Show Episode 43: Post-Dingstravaganza glow
Yeah, Turpster was pretty thrilled with the way his big event went last week, and this past Saturday on the podcast, he just "rode the wave" of player support and basked in the glow of everyone cheering him on for the ding. Lucky guy. I was unable to make it this past weekend, but that didn't stop the steamroller that is this podcast: John "BigBearButt" Patricelli (he of the Shifting Perspectives) kindly stepped in and oversaw the festivities, with help and input from Amanda Dean, and they chatted about -- what else -- all the greatest news of the past week in WoW. John P stood up for me on Clockwork Rocket Bots -- I agree 100% with him that we need them buffable once more. They asked whether the Gigantique bag is worth the extra cash (short answer: no, but people who have the cash will spend it anyway). They chatted about Season 4 and the changes arriving with it, including that Cheat Death nerf. And apparently birthdays were celebrated -- if you've ever wanted to hear Turpster sing, this is the show for you. Good thing I wasn't there -- I celebrate nothing! Ever! At any rate, it was a fun show, and you can listen to it right now over on WoW Radio's website. Thanks very much to John P for covering for meI will be back next week for sure, though Turpster may not be -- I believe he just may be at WWI this coming weekend, so maybe we'll be able to get a live-on-the-spot report out of him. We'll see -- listen to last week's show right now on WoW Radio and in iTunes, and tune in as always next Saturday at 3:30pm Eastern for the WoW Insider Show, the official podcast of WoW Insider.
WoW Insider Show live on the air tomorrow
Once again, the WoW Insider Show is returning to the virtual airwaves, and this show is taking place in a very different world than last week: Turpster's Shadow Priest is 70, dogs and cats are living together, and I am out for the week. But worry not -- the very capable John "BigBearButt" Patricelli is stepping in to take on the hosting duties, and joining him will be the raid-ready Shadow Priest himself, Turpster (John, could you do me a favor and ask Turpster when he's going to start leveling his Paladin now?), along with another man with his own popular WoW blog, Matt "Matticus" Low. I'm sure they'll chat, as we always do, about all the big news from the World of Warcraft in the last week, including level 30 mounts, the various talent changes that have come down, and what's on deck for the Midsummer Fire Festival next week. Since I'm not around, they probably won't talk about Shamans at all, so you can look forward to that.And if there's anything else you want to ask them, it's easy and free -- just drop them a note at theshow@wow.com, and they may even answer your question live on the air. During the show, you can even join them in IRC for a live chat -- point your IRC client to irc.mmoirc.com in the #wowradio channel and make sure to say hi for me.Should be a "hum-dinger," as they say in the business. Well maybe they don't say it in the business, but I'm sure they say it somewhere. Tune in to WoW Radio tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 Eastern to hear BBB, Matticus, and Turpster take on the past week in Warcraft.
BigBearButt on finding your WoW cheese
John "BigBearButt" Patricelli is one of the writers on this fine blog, gracing us with the Shifting Perspectives column, and appearing on our podcast whenever he can. But has also has his own blog at TheBigBearButt.com, and just recently he put up a very nice post about "finding your cheese" in the World of Warcraft. And he doesn't mean Alterac Swiss."Who Moved My Cheese," as he says, is one of those corporate management books that's a little trite for anyone but executives to actually read seriously -- it's got a fable about two mice who find a chunk of cheese, and then have to deal with what happens when change hits them and that cheese runs out. And BBB then takes that into the act of playing WoW: right now, this game is giving us plenty of cheese, and when the expansion drops, things will be even better. But at the same time, there's no reason to stick with the game if it isn't giving you what you want, and as we've said before, if you're not interested in the game, feel free to go find something else.BBB's post is a great read, and it's refreshing to hear an honest take on what it might mean to finally end a career in WoW (not that BBB is doing that yet). There's a lot of stuff left to do in Azeroth (and there'll be more to do in Northrend). But at the same time, there's nothing wrong with making your own path and going off to find yourself some fresh cheese.
WoW Insider Show Episode 36: MEH-lay
Both Duncor and John "BigBearButt" Patricelli were on the podcast with me last Saturday, and despite my being a bit behind (Liberty City claimed most of my time last week), the show went really well. We chatted a lot about the mounts of Warcraft, including why you can't ride most of the bug mounts outside of AQ. We talked about how to make raiding faster We hit on a number of player events, including John's post about those crazy Druids in Nagrand, and our own It Came From the Blog fun We talked about what we're looking forward to in Wrath of the Lich King (I can't wait for the five man instances) And we answered lots of emails -- a few more jokes, a little advice, some good thoughts about Trinkets (and maybe putting an extra inventory slot in there), player housing, and lots of making fun of Duncor for quitting the game. And we figured out the real pronunciation of melee -- here it is. Definitely give it a listen -- there's a lot of good stuff in there. As usual, the show is available over on WoW Radio, or in iTunes if you'd rather get it that way.And here's a special announcement: This coming week on the WoW Insider Show (which will be live on WoW Radio at 3:30pm EST on May 10th), we'll have a special Mother's Day edition of the podcast. Not only will we have Robin Torres (who is herself a mother) on with Turpster and I, but both Amanda Dean and her mother will be live on the show as well. Moms and WoW -- next week on the WoW Insider Show.
