I lied. So sue me, True Believers, I lied. Because this early “Gift of Dysentery” was just too much to much to let wait even a single day longer.

Using our Podcasting System, please enjoy this EXCLUSIVE, high-quality MP3 of “The Ballad of Han Solo,” a song premiered by Tony Lee Thomas on BAD II. You heard it first on during our charity event – now hear it again, and download it for the very first time.

It’s what we do around here at Geeks With Issues. Certainly, there are times that we don’t do the best job – all of our True Believers know how busy to gets for us Geeks, and sometimes we loose track of our content. But we strive, all the time, to bring our audience a fun look into the world of the Geek. We discuss, we travel, we explore, we tease, and we have fun. And from what I’ve heard our audience say about our episodes, you all have fun too, getting your news and commentary in a slightly new way.

As we strive, we are always looking towards our future growth – how we do we get noticed? How to we share our program with more people? All of you do us a huge service in that regard – word of mouth is a powerful tool for spreading our show to new viewers. But there is another, perhaps surprising tool that we use to spread our show: awards.

Now I hear your skepticism, True Believers – how does fishing for recognition and statuettes get the word out about the show? Well, it does only if we’re nominated for one of the top slots. Then, people from all over the web start voting on the categories. And when they don’t recognize a show, they’ll visit it, watch it…and the magic works from there.

I mention all of this in my traditional long-winded way because the 2010 Streamy Awards are coming up, and the Geeks With Issues are hoping for your nominations. If you enjoy our show, and I know you do, please do the following to help spread the good word, and maybe get us the recognition our show has been looking for:

1. Visit http://www.streamys.org/submit/public-submissions/
2. Under “Category,” select whatever category you think GwI fits in. We recomemnt “Best News or Politics Web Series,” as it most closely fits our news/discussion format.
3. Enter our Name, and our URL.
4. Submit, and tell a friend to do the same.

That’s it – super simple. The more nominations we receive, the higher the likelihood that we’ll be recognized for our efforts. So, True Believers, we are once again counting on you. We’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – you people are the best. And I know that, with your continued support, we will continue to Geek On better than all the rest.

Please allow me to help get you on your way, and add Geeks With Issues to your gift list at the same time.

It’s super simple: Just click here, and bookmark the link.

By clicking on the link above, you connect into the Amazon.com Associates Program for Geeks With Issues. From this link, just shop as normal, and make your purchases. You go through no extra effort, and don’t need to pay an extra cent. But for every purchase you make, we earn a small percentage of that purchase (a minimum of 4%). The bigger the purchase, the more we earn. And every cent of that money is spent on website maintenance and promotional materials – we don’t personally profit from the income. All your help goes back into Geeks With Issues, and helps the Geeks (who have been paying for this project for the past two and a half years out of their own pockets) continue serving you, our True Believers.

And for those of you I mentioned previously, who have everything together, as well as to those of you who aren’t holiday shopping online this year – this information isn’t irrelevant to you. This link works year ’round – bookmark it, and use it whenever you go shopping on Amazom.com. You know you’re doing it anyway – give us some help in the process!

In conclusion, for those of you who are using this information to finish up your holiday gift lists keep this in mind: If you’re making your purchases from Amazon, you’ll need to make your orders by these dates to get things on time:

Standard Shipping: Thursday, December 17, 2009
Express Shipping: Monday, December, 21, 2009
Fastest Available Shipping: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 – by 5:30pm

Thank you for your time on this one, and for considering adding this link to your bookmarks. We appreciate it deeply. Geek on, and happy shopping!

Click The Link – It’s For The Children!

Go.  Watch.  Be Amused.  Donate.  And Prepare For “Battle!”

Please find below the link to the poster for “The Battle Against Dysentery II.” Download it. Print it. Make copies. Plaster it everywhere that Geeks congregate – schools, game stores, comic shops, coffee houses – if our people congregate there, I bet they’ll want to know about “The Battle,” and watch the fun unfold. Every person we get watching the show is another potential donor, and every potential donor is a little more good that we can do by these kids in need this Holiday Season.

True Believers, we’re counting on you. Make us proud.

Come On…You Know You Want To.

Watch the whole episode (because you love watching Bytejacker, of course!), or skip ahead to 09:54 for some “Battle Against Dysentery” love.

That’s right, Geeks. Anthony is back in the basement.

Behind the curtain, your Geeks have been putting in some serious sweat equity to put together what is now officially a yearly ritual. Get your heartstrings ready, and your wallets prepared, True Believers – because “The Battle Against Dysentery” is back.

For those of you who missed last year’s event, please allow me to explain and summarize. Your Geeks, in addition to being mindful of the content we love to bring o you, are also mindful of stuff that’s really important: community, kindness, altruism. With the audience that Geeks With Issues had developed, we wanted to give back to the human community in a meaningful way. This is a theme that is extremely apparent during the Season of Holidays, which further reinforced our desire. So, we knew that we had to do something…but, we needed to do it in a Geeky way. So, taking a cue from LoadingReadyRun’s Desert Bus for Hope, we created a 24-hour game marathon. In our case, we built the event around Oregon Trail, the old edutainment game. Choosing the most epic name we could think of that relates to Oregon Trail, we named the event after one of the most common maladies in the game: Dysentery. Thus it was that “The Battle Against Dysentery” was born.

Last year, we were able to raise exactly $600 for two very worthy charities – Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play, and Hillcrest Educational Centers. They’re the perfect sort of groups to help when you’re talking about the people who brought you the story of Olaf The Barbarian. And this year, both “The Battle” and the charities are back.

I’ll tell you, Geeks, getting the details lined up for a charity event like we have planned is hard work. You need to hunt down food to feed the team to keep us collectively running for 24 hours (that’s been my job, with some help from Jen). You have to pull together the help of good business to solicit donations of goods, to create one of the most exciting giveaways that I’ve ever seen in a charity event (that’s been me too). You need to plan the event, down to the minute, so that you don’t loose track (that’s been Chris). You need to wrangle some fantastic surprise guests, so that people are excited about watching (Lawrence and Trevor have been hard at work making that happen). You need to spruce thing sup a bit, maybe adding some musical entertainment (Chris). You need to plan out the technical design of the PCTV Studios, so that everything works according to plan (Rob’s been all out for this). And you need word of mouth, to pound the hell out of that ground and get people aware and excited (that’s the rest of the Geeks). For the past two weeks, that has been the free time of many of your Geeks – making this event the coolest thing we’ve ever done, and therefore making it something that you will love to watch.

And so, things have been quiet here. So, to help soothe some of that discomfort, I urge you all to visit the website of “The Battle Against Dysentery” at www.geekswithissues.com/charity. There, you’ll find out more information about the charity, and the things we have planned. I’ll be posting daily about the businesses that are generously sharing their wealth and plenty with us so that we can help some children in need. I’ll also make sure that someone shares, up to the minute, the guests that we’ll be seeing this year during “The Battle.” Then, November 28, at Noon, settle in for some comfy time with us, and consider giving some money to our charitable causes!

Oh…and stuff will be coming up over here too. Just not as much as over there. Yeah…going to get my post on now.

Over the entire course of tomorrow, Sunday, October 11, 2009, the Geeks and I will be on location filming at least one (and maybe two) November episodes of GwI from the Connecticut Renaissance Faire! This fall geek tradition is just the kind of thing that we want to bring to you, our viewers – the sense of imagination, excitement, fantasy and reality coming together – escapism at its very best. Unlike a convention, where the focus is news and celebrities, a Ren Faire focuses on the spectacle, and the chance to escape the mundane world for a more romantic era. This will be quite unlike anything we’ve ever produced…and I am very excited to be talking about it.

But…if the episode isn’t until November, why do I mention it now? Because I want you all to expect a web-only clip or two to come down the pike before the episodes go live. And, because I want you to consider supporting your local Ren Faire! Whether it’s the Faire in CT, or another Faire closer to where you live, the chance to experience this fantastic geek pilgrimage is well worth your time and effort. Additionally, events like this are full of people who labor all year for this short month when their crafts (artistic, culinary and performance) come to fruition. The skill of the people who attend these events as vendors and performers is exceptional, and I urge you to support their efforts – if they do well this year, you’ll know they’ll be there the next.

That…and if you live near enough to attend the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, and you’ve nothing to do on October 11, you might want to consider visiting Hebron, CT and going. After all, you might get to see the Geeks in action…

Just saying.

The folks at St. Martin’s Griffen took notice, and signed J.C. up to a contract to rewrite and release “7th Son: Decent.” Which, we are proud to share with you, will be released for public consumption on October 27, 2009. This is big news – it is the next step, following the release of “Personal Effects: Dark Art,: that will most certainly lead into J.C. being able to be a writer full time. And we know all about living the dream here, True Believers – we chase the dream every day. So we’re telling you about the book release, so that you can help our friend-of-the-show live his dream.

To celebrate the big news, J.C. is releasing a special prequel to the series called “7th Son: 7 Days.” I’ve listened to the first two tracks of the series, and it is a joy to listen to Mr. Hutchins return to the world of 7th Son. If you’ve never listen to the 7th Son series, now is the time.

For more information on J.C. Hutchins, and the 7th Son series, please visit J.C.’s website at www.jchutchins.net. If you’re taken our suggestion to listen to the original 7th Son podcast, and therefore are excited about the book, consider pre-ordering it from your local bookstore, and let St. Martin’s Griffin know that they made the right choice when they selected J.C. Hutchins the humble podcast author. Of course, if you wanted to support the Geeks With Issues along with J.C., you could always use the link below and we’d get a percentage of each sale. Just something to consider…

“Tuck…seriously. What the hell are you talking about?”

Damn good question. Simply put, Bytejacker is now on Revision3, the first real Internet Television network. This isa huge deal – the boys have the promotion system of Rev3 behind them, getting the word out about their show. They have the distribution technology of a dedicated site behind every new episode of the show. And, most notably, they are getting paid to produce the show they love.

Gentlemen, the Geeks and I are envious of you. Were it not for the fact that GwI too closely resembles The Totally Rad Show (sure, they have a green screen…but we have girls), we here would be reaching for that brass ring too. I suppose fame and fortune will have to come another way for the good Geeks With Issues…

But that’s entirely besides the point. With complete seriousness, I believe I speak for the entire cast and crew of Geeks With Issues when I say congratulations on your achievement. You produce a fantastic show, and you’ve earned it. I certainly hope that your rise to stardom doesn’t mean you can’t come and visit us in the Basement once and a while. Because for you two, the stairs down are always open.