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​Change Is Weird

8/18/2022

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I am obsessed with the history and etymology of names. It’s one of those weird interests that only pops up now and then when I’m deep in a Wikipedia rabbit hole and I realise that I have been comparing the slight changes in the names of streets on the outskirts of London since the 1800s. In particular, brand names have always fascinated me. From what the name means to how it was developed and how external influences have affected these decisions, I have always wanted to know WHY. 
 
That’s why, when I got talking podcasting during my visit to the US and the topic of a rebrand came up, I was excited. Jason and Christina had just made the decision to end the Movie Night Crew podcast, and we all were in a bit of a goal setting and review period when Zach vocalised what we were all thinking: we need to rebrand. The reasoning was as clear as day—the Movie Night Crew Network as a name did not align with our projects,  and we felt that there was a better name that fitted who we are while still allowing for potential growth. 
 
What followed was the most chaotic creative process I have ever witnessed. The whole Richmond gang came over for a party that night and we left post-it notes and markers on the table, encouraging everyone to write down their suggestions and stick them on the wall with the hope that we would strike gold. The aim was simple, but we missed spectacularly. From LoTR references to the most intelligible handwriting I have ever seen, the notes were chaotic to say the least. The next morning, we went through the name “candidates” over Alex’s legendary breakfast nacho casserole and quickly realised we were back at square one with no real idea of what we wanted. 
 
We then discussed—sober now—what we wanted out of a name. It had to be short, catchy, unique and broad without being too broad. It also had to be available on social media and as a website domain name. This discussion led us to the infamous James River in downtown Richmond, where we relaxed and kept yelling names at each other over the roar of the probably-not-poop water. The main problem was that the names that sounded good were too narrow, and the ones that seemed to fit what we do on this network missed every other requirement. 
 
The curveball was Content and Capable. The podcast all about adulting didn’t fit the fandom-led lineup of the rest of the network. That and the potential of future podcast projects made it hard to find something that fitted. The conversation drifted away from names for a bit, and Zach’s bird Rory was mentioned. Suddenly Charlie and Zach started riffing on bird-themed names and landed on Screeching Bird Media. We all thought about it for a bit and explored how it would work. It sounded good, and we liked it. But something was not quite right about the name, and the conversation moved away again. It seemed to all of us that we weren’t going to have a new name after all. 
 
Suddenly all attention was on names when a riff on “deus ex machina” turned to Deus Ex Media (we had gotten into a chronic bit of adding “media” to every phrase), and it all seemed to click. It was short, unique and recognisable while still allowing for further growth and change. It also immediately gave us ideas of a network sting and logo —something that previous names hadn’t prompted. 
 
An example of the bit still lasting almost a month later.
 
The drive back home was a flurry of planning and preparations. We checked social media and reserved the domain as well as started writing briefs for the logo and sting. We pitched it later that night to the movie night crew (lowercase, meaning the people who simply attend movie night at Tina’s house). After answering questions and explaining our thought process, we felt confident in our decision. A few weeks of preparation later and we are here, ready to rebrand and grow further into the future.
 
The funny thing about changing names is that there is a period of transition. Normally you get it wrong the first few times you say it, and it takes days, weeks, months and even years to get the hang of the new name. I still remember mixing things up when my parents changed their minds on my little brother’s name only a day or two after making a decision. It takes practice using the name and exploring its intricacies before it feels as well used and comfortable as the old name. We don’t expect to be perfect and don’t expect for you all to be perfect either. 
 
This rebrand ultimately is a shift in focus for our amazing and lively team. Coming from a variety of backgrounds, ages and locations, it was hard to figure out how we identify as a group beyond our passionate friendships and our love of podcasts. We are confident that Deus Ex Media is the name for us and hope that you love it as much as we do! 

​by Sam O'Brien
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Accio... Something Else

8/10/2022

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Hey y'all and thanks for checking out our Accio... Something Else episode! A huge thanks to Adal Rifai (from Hey Riddle Riddle and Hello from the Magic Tavern) and Zach (from My Cabbages!) for joining me for this episode. Here's our Big Fuckin List of Shit You Should Watch/Read/Play/Listen To. I've added links to where you can find this stuff -- streaming links work in America but if you're abroad no guarantees.

The Avatar series

  • Avatar: The Last Airbender
  • The Legend of Korra, the sequel series
  • Braving the Elements, the ATLA watchalong podcast hosted by Janet Varney, voice of Korra, and Dante Basco, voice of Prince Zuko.
  • Also check out My Cabbages, the Movie Night Crew watchalong podcast!
  • There has never been a film adaptation of any of this!
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The Percy Jackson universe

  • ​Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series
    • The author, Rick Riordan, also has simply a ton of other books to try.
    • There's a TV show by Disney which has just finished casting! It's slated to release in 2023.
    • Also check out Of the Eldest Gods, the Movie Night Crew readalong podcast!
    • Hey, maybe don't watch the movies!

Lord of the Rings

  • You don’t really need to read the books if you're on the fence, but if you want to, they're definitely an adventure!
  • The movies are excellent, and if your heart's not in reading the books, the movies will certainly do.
  • Check out our cousin podcast, That’s What I’m Tolkien About, the Tolkien readalong podcast hosted by Mary Clay!
  • There's also a spinoff TV show in the works at Amazon called The Rings of Power, slated for release on September 2, 2022. Check out the trailer!
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Magic School

  • Anime in general is the place to be for magic school. Here are just a few of our suggestions: 
    • Little Witch Academia
    • RWBY
    • My Hero Academia
    • Soul Eater
    • Assassination Classroom
  • The Magicians by Lev Grossman
  • Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Honorable mention to bookshop.org/a/65495/9780380698714Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar which isn't technically school for magic but it's definitely a school that is magic.

Magic Kids Who Don't Go to School

  • The Tinkerbell movies
  • Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  • House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
  • Stranger Things
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The Chosen One Trope

  • The Star Wars universe
  • Disney’s The Sword in the Stone (1963)
  • Dune by Frank Herbert
    • It's being adapted into a three-part film, and Part 1 is out now! It's a really excellent adaptation.
    • Maybe don't watch the 1984 movie? That's a recommendation for your sanity.
  • The His Dark Materials series
    • Check out the books by Phillip Pullman!
    • It's being adapted into a TV show over on HBO, one book per season, and two of three are out already! Season 3 is slated for release in fall 2022.
    • You can watch The Golden Compass movie if you want, we're ambivalent.

Misc. Excellent Animation

  • Steven Universe
  • Infinity Train
  • Adventure Time
  • Over the Garden Wall
  • Hilda
  • Gravity Falls
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Broadway

Sam from Content and Capable recommends Broadway particularly if you enjoy the music from Harry Potter!
  • The Phantom of the Opera
  • Cinderella
  • Heathers
  • Wicked (coming to Richmond this fall!)
  • Hadestown (coming to Richmond in 2023!)
  • Beetlejuice

Other Random Books

  • Anything by George Saunders
  • S recommends The Riddle Master​ by Patricia A McKillip
  • Lelia recommends Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
  • Lelia also recommends anything by Roald Dahl
  • The Fifth Grade Monsters series by Mel Gilden
  • ​The Blameless by ES Christison
  • The Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor
  • Alex recommends A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
  • ​Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
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Other Random Movies

  • Lelia recommends Willow (1988)
  • Return to Oz (1985)
  • Flight of the Navigator (1986)
  • The NeverEnding Story (1984)
  • ​Labyrinth (1986)​
  • The Last Unicorn (1982)
  • Unicorn Store (2019)
  • Studio Ghibli in general
    • Howl's Moving Castle (2005)
    • My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Other Random Games

  • ​Undertale
  • Breath of the Wild
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image credit: Emmaline https://doodlerain.tumblr.com

Other Random Podcasts

  • ​Hello from the Magic Tavern
  • Dungeons and Daddies

Dungeons and Dragons

If you like magic, if you like adventure, if you like getting your hands dirty, if you like hanging out with friends, if you like anything we've listed so far today -- try Dungeons and Dragons.
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Deus Ex Media Book Club

8/3/2022

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If you’ve explored the Deus Ex Media podcasts, it will probably come as no surprise to you that we love books here. In August 2021, we decided to make that love official and launch the Deus Ex Media Book Club.

Book Club Facilitator Taylor has done a ton of work in developing the Book Club and making sure it runs smoothly from month to month. She created and manages the Book Club Discord server, where participants can come and go to chat about the Book Club selection or other bookish topics.

How it works

Participants take turns leading Book Club each month, with careful support from Taylor and other Deus Ex Media leaders. While participants are not required to lead any Book Club selections, it has turned out that most of them want to! We hope that by creating a positive, safe environment to share our favorite books with each other and explore new books as well, more people will join up and get to book chattin’.

The book of the month is chosen a week or more before the month starts to give participants ample time to purchase or check out from the library. Sometimes a host has a particular book in mind; often, they have a couple of choices, and the entire Club has the opportunity to vote on which they’d like to read.

As the new month begins, each participant is welcome to read at their own pace. Our Discord server is set up so every couple of chapters gets its own channel for discussion, so it’s easy to chat about what you’ve read so far without risking seeing spoilers.

Around halfway through the month, the host will begin posting discussion questions in the Discord server. Participants are welcome to engage with those questions or simply watch others discuss; some participants don’t have time to hang out in the server, so they only attend the end-of-month Book Club Zoom meetings.

Typically on the final Tuesday of each month, the Book Club meets over Zoom to chat face-to-face about what they’ve read. The host will lead the discussion, often with the help of a PowerPoint presentation. These conversations tend to be very open-ended and help to bring together all of the disjointed chats from the Discord server!

By that time, the next month’s book will have been chosen, and after the meeting, focus shifts to the next book.

What we've read so far

All book descriptions are adapted from StoryGraph.
August 2021
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Host: Taylor
Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up listening to her nursemaid's stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. When Theseus, the Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne defies the gods, betrays her family and country, and risks everything for love.
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September 2021
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Host: Alex
Angrboda’s story begins where most witch tales end: with being burnt. She flees into the furthest reaches of a remote forest, and there she is found by a man who reveals himself to be the trickster god Loki. Her initial distrust of him—and any of his kind—grows reluctantly into a deep and abiding love. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger. Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she’s foreseen for her beloved family—or rise to remake it.
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October 2021
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Host: Christina
This beloved gothic tale follows a peculiar girl named Merricat and explores her family's dark secret. Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, this deliciously unsettling novel depicts a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.
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November 2021
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Host: Zach
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate mission—and if he fails, the earth itself will perish. Except he can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. He’s just been awoken to find himself millions of miles from home. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he has to do it all alone.
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December 2021
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Host: Adele 
Casiopea Tun dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. One day, she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.
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January 2022
Anxious People by Frederik Backman
Host: Clare
Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. Each of them carries a lifetime of grievances, hurts, secrets, and passions that are ready to boil over. None of them is entirely who they appear to be. And all of them—the bank robber included—desperately crave some sort of rescue. As the authorities and the media surround the premises these reluctant allies will set in motion a chain of events so unexpected that even they can hardly explain what happens next.
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February 2022
A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
Host: Taylor
By centering Black women's stories, the authors offer an examination and celebration of Black womanhood, beginning with the first African women who arrived in the US to African American women of today. This book showcases Black women's lives in all their fraught complexities, prioritizing many voices: enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and women outside the law. The result is a starting point for exploring Black women's history and a testament to the beauty, richness, rhythm, tragedy, heartbreak, rage, and enduring love that abounds in the spirit of Black women in communities throughout the nation.
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March 2022
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Host: S
Zetian is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises.​ To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
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April 2022
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
Host: Elise
These short stories are as terrifying as they are socially conscious, and press into being the unspoken—fetish, illness, the female body, the darkness of human history—with bracing urgency. A woman is sexually obsessed with the human heart; a lost, rotting baby crawls out of a backyard and into a bedroom; a pair of teenage girls can't let go of their idol; an entire neighborhood is cursed to death when it fails to respond correctly to a moral dilemma. These stories are set against the backdrop of contemporary Argentina and were written with a resounding tenderness toward those in pain, in fear, and in limbo.
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May 2022
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Host: Alex
With humor and heart, Michelle Zauner tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food. As she grew up, her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.
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June 2022
All Out: The No-Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages ed. Saundra Michell
Host: Christina 
​
Seventeen young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens. From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a transgender soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, to forbidden love in a sixteenth-century Spanish convent, and an asexual girl discovering her identity amid the 1970s roller-disco scene, All Out tells a diverse range of stories across cultures, time periods, and identities, shedding light on an area of history often ignored or forgotten.
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July 2022
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas McAdams
Host: Takenna
Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work human actor. Together, they begin a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers. Why are we born? Why do we die? What’s the meaning of life, the universe, and everything? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars
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