Is all art good? Is all art bad? Is all bad art REALLY good art? Hosted by Jenny, Adam & Antonio debate the merits of art using their favorite artistic hot takes!
Jenny – @MagicallyJenny Antonio – @GameControllerNetwork
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Understanding Varan’s True Aspect Ratio
Varan The Unbelievable (Giant Monster Varan) is a 1958 black-and-white early kaiju film from the minds at Toho Studios. But we’ve been watching Varan totally wrong since its home media debut here in the States! How? Varan has the wrong aspect ratio!
Blogpost: “Varan: a 2:1 SuperScope Movie All Along?”
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- 00:00 – Introduction
- 01:54 – Widescreen Boom
- 02:44 – Cinerama
- 03:22 – Cinemascope & Anamorphic Widescreen
- 06:21 – Tohoscope
- 08:43 – VistaVision
- 09:06 – Todd-AO & Super Panavision / Ultra Panavision 70
- 10:49 – Matting & Techniscope
- 12:12 – Superscope Widescreen
- 15:22 – Varan’s complicated production
- 19:52 – Varan’s aspect ratio
- 26:14 – Conclusions
SOURCES
Clarke, Charles G. “The Techniques of CinemaScope Pictures.” American Cinematographer. 2001. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/page0-1.htm
Culvert, Brian R. “Toho in America: Varan.” Toho in America. 2005. https://www.historyvortex.org/tohoinamerica5.html
Foster, Frederick. “TECHNISCOPE – What It Is and How It Works.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingts2.htm
Hart. Brett A. “The Cinerama Camera & Lots of Production Stuff.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/cineramacam.htm
Hart, Martin. “Superscope: The Rich Man’s Poor Man’s Version of Cinemascope.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingss2.htm
Hart. Martin. “Super Panavision: The Inheritor.” The American Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingsp1.htm
Hart, Martin. “Todd-AO: 70mm Film Finally Makes The Big Time.” The Widescreen Museum. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingto2.htm
Kalat, David. A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series. 2nd Ed. McFarland Press. 2010.
Kalat, David. “Audio Commentary.” Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Criterion Collection. 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUl9uPoD5mE&t=1130s
Ryfle, Steve; Godziszewski, Ed. Ishiro Honda: A life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. Wesleyan University Press. 2017.
Vandenberg, Callum. ” What is Superscope? | The original Super 35 film.” May 9, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCDP_MbeX_k
“Varan” Academy Ratio Outtakes. The H-Man. YouTube Video. Jul 19, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvwCVClvQf0
“VistaVision.” The American Widescreen Museum. Paramount Pictures Corp. 1954. https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/vvbook2.htm
Blogpost: “Varan: a 2:1 SuperScope Movie All Along?”
HYPERFIXATIONS! A Love Story of War & Greek Gods? WAWTA Podcast – 2.3
HYPERFIXATION – an intense, all-consuming state of focus on a specific task, hobby, or subject. What are we hyperfixated about? Antonio hosts this episode of WAWTA and tortures Adam & Jenny over our latest hyperfixations! Dive into the wonders of autistic fury between a forgotten Civil War battle and the new Percy Jackson show available on Disney+!
Jenny – @MagicallyJenny Antonio – @GameControllerNetwork
Was Going to College… WORTH IT? | WAWTA Podcast – S2.2 LIVE
Out now! The latest episode of What Are We Talking About! We answer the age-old question of “Is college worth it?” Take a listen!
TOPICS | What Are We Talking About LIVE | Ep. 2 – Was College Worth It? | Host Jennifer Pautke-Nussbaum | Guests: Adam Noyes & Antonio Bottiglieri |
What Are We Talking About IS BACK after a 3-year hiatus! Welcome to the show where the host picks the topic and awards points to the contestants in any way they see fit. The person with the most points hosts the next episode!
Jenny’s Page @MagicallyJenny Antonio’s Page @GameControllerNetwork
Utah Beach: Theodore Roosevelt Jr.’s Finest Hour | D-Day, June 6th, 1944
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. defied age, illness, and enemy fire to lead soldiers ashore on Utah Beach. This is the remarkable story of how he earned his Medal of Honor on D-Day, June 6th, 1944.
- 00:00 – Introductions
- 01:10 – Teddy Roosevelt Jr. Biography
- 04:51 – Roosevelt leads the first wave on Utah Beach
- 07:00 – Health Issues
- 08:05 – H-Hour
- 12:57 – “We’ll start the war from right here.”
- 17:46 – Utah Beach is in Allied Hands
- 18:49 – The Lion is Dead
- 21:20 – Teddy Roosevelt Jr.’s Medal of Honor
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SOURCES
Balkoski, Joseph. Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airborne Operations on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. 2006. https://archive.org/details/utahbeachamphibi0000balk_j3l9/page/n1/mode/2up
Harber, Kris, Cortariu.”Normandy, June 6, 1944: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. – One of Only Two Generals on the Beach.” Congressional Medal of Honor Society. June 6, 2022.https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/medal-of-honor-recipient-profile/theodore-roosevelt-jr
Military Hall of Honor, BG Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. Millitary Hall of Honor. Accessed December 10, 2025. https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=1622)
Paul, H. Jeffers. In the Rough Rider’s Shadow: The Story of a War Hero. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. New York: Ballantine Books. 2003https://archive.org/details/inroughriderssha0000jeff/mode/2up
The Battles of Isandlwana & Rorke’s Drift – ALL PARTS
This documentary dives into the Battle of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, uncovering the events of the Anglo-Zulu War. Witness shocking British losses, courageous last stands, and the powerful tactics of the Zulu army in 1879.
ERRORS CORRECTED FOR THIS UPLOAD
- It should be 1st Lt. Cavaye, not Capt.
- Conical Hill corrected.
- Photo of James Brickhill was actually Rev. Smith.
- Bradstreet led the Newcastle Mounted Rifles, not the Natal Mounted Rifles.
- Russell’s Rocket Battery was carried on mules, not wagons.
- Porteous was a Lt., not a Captain
- No.3 Column had 7 companies of 2/24th.
- Natal Native Contingent corrected
- Rifle calibers corrected
- Major Spalding’s picture corrected
Time Stamps
- 00:00 – Invasion
- 04:20 – British & Zulu Forces
- 12:47 – January 22, 1879
- 20:18 – Ad Break
- 21:01 – First Zulu Sighting
- 24:15 – Durnford Arrives at Isandlwana
- 26:36 – Durnford’s Folly
- 30:06 – The Zulu Chest
- 34:14 – Ntshingwayo’s Shock
- 35:39 – Stranded Rocket Battery
- 37:53 – Isandlwana Camp 11:30am
- 39:35 – Durnford is Stopped
- 42:33 – Right Horn Spotted
- 45:06 – Zulus Reach Isandlwana
- 49:45 – Durnford’s Fighting Retreat
- 52:04 – Main Firing Line
- 54:56 – Durnford’s Retreat
- 58:52 – Pope’s Mistake
- 01:00:45 – Speculation
- 01:01:28 – The Thin Red Line Breaks
- 01:09:09 – Forgotten Right Horn
- 01:12:47 – Pulleine’s Demise
- 01:15:38 – Durnford’s Last Stand
- 01:18:15 – Buffalo River
- 01:21:27 – Younghusband’s Charge
- 01:23:19 – After the Battle
- 01:27:00 – Rorke’s Drift
- 01:29:34 – January 22, 1879
- 01:31:29 – Decision to Stay
- 01:39:16 – Zulus Sighted
- 01:42:16 – Zulu Attack Begins
- 01:54:14 – Battle of the Hospital
- 01:58:57 – Spalding “Returns”
- 02:00:05 – Nightfall
- 02:04:04 – January 23, 1879
Sources:
- Beckett, I.F.W., Isandlwana: Battles in Focus (Casemate Publishing, Havertown, PA, 2003),
https://archive.org/details/isandlwana0000beck/mode/1up - Chard, John, “Report to Queen Victoria” from rarkesdriftvs.com, accessed January 05, 2022. http://rorkesdriftvc.com/vc/chard_account.htm
- David, Saul, Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (Penguin Publishing, London, 2005), 137
https://archive.org/details/zuluheroismtrage0000davi_l3w9 - Greaves, Adrian. The Zulus at War: The History, Rise, and Fall of the Tribe that Washed Its Spears. Skyhorse Publishing, NY. 2014. https://tinyurl.com/4ny9ze4t
- Hitch, Frederick, “Frederick Hitch and the Defense of Rorke’s Drift”, Military History Journal, Vol. 2, No. 6, December, 1973. http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol026mb.html
- Hook, Henry, “Private Henry Hook’s account,” Royal Magazine, accessed January 05, 2022. http://rorkesdriftvc.com/vc/hook_account.htm
- Knight, Ian (2002). Isandlwana 1879: The Great Zulu Victory. Osprey.
- Line of Fire: Rorke’s Drift 1879. History Channel, 2002
- Lock, Ron, Quantrill, Peter, “Isandlwana – The Missing Five Hours”, The Battle of Isandlwana (Rorkes Drift VC, September 2010), https://tinyurl.com/43tujc5j
- Lock, Ron and Quantrill, Peter. Zulu Victory: The Epic of Isandlwana and the Cover-Up. Jonathan Ball Publishing, Johannesburg. 2005. https://tinyurl.com/ycxdvf6x
- Morris, D.R. The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation Under Shaka and its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879. Book Club Associates. 1972. https://archive.org/details/washingofspearsh0000drmo
- Niderost, Eric, “The Battle of Isandlwana: Zulu Wars with the British”, War History Network (June, 2000) https://tinyurl.com/4zaxy3va
- Parkinson, Christian, “Podcast Episode 3: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift”, Red Coast History Podcast. Podcast audio. July 01, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/5fwhune2
- “Rorke’s Drift – The Anglo-Zulu War”, Sabaton History, No. 038 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYKncIlQnaw&t=310s
- “The Battle of Rorke’s Drift”, from History with Hilbert, June 23, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYOCVPIl0Cg&t=374s
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GODZILLA MINUS ZERO! Trailer Reactions & Speculations!
Adam reacts to the new Godzilla Minus Zero teaser, which was dropped recently! Then we speculate on what’s coming, and share in our excitement for the new Reiwa Era Godzilla movie!
- 00:00 – Introductions
- 00:30 – Trailer Reactions
- 01:30 – Godzilla & Imax
- 03:38 – Godzilla is in New York!
- 08:12 – Another Kaiju?
- 11:02 – Closing Thoughts
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Recommended Video: The MANY VERSIONS of War of the Gargantuas (1966)
THE THING… But Not! Nuclear Nightmare
In case you missed it, this month’s ANP live stream was with a couple of members of the 4th NJ! Adam, Sauce, & Drakon play Nuclear Nightmare and fail miserably. It’s just like John Carpenter’s The Thing… but worse!
The FORGOTTEN Battle of Crampton’s Gap – Maryland Campaign, 1862
Adam and two guests discuss the forgotten Battle of Crampton’s Gap (1862) — a crucial yet overlooked clash in the Maryland Campaign leading to Antietam. Learn the strategies, heroes, and outcomes that shaped history.
- 00:00 – Introductions
- 01:30 – The Maryland Campaign & Antietam
- 04:44 – Army of Northern Virginia
- 09:09 – Army of the Potomac
- 13:01 – Special order 191
- 19:32 – Crampton’s Gap
- 29:53 – The Delay
- 35:02 – Battle Layout
- 38:45 – 1st New Jersey Brigade
- 44:03 – The Battle of Crampton’s Gap
- 49:45 – Union Charge
- 55:49 – Casualties
- 01:04:24 – Crampton’s Gap is Forgotten
- 01:12:58 – Closing statements
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HEP Ep. 17 – The Battle of Crampton’s Gap – Civil War History
The Battle of Crampton’s Gap was a part of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 in the American Civil War. Today, Adam is joined by two experts who – together – discuss the battle, what happened, who was there, and its strategic value for the campaign leading to the Battle of Antietam.
- 00:00 – Introductions
- 07:04 – Why would General Lee invade Maryland?
- 12:32 – The Army of the Potomac
- 20:27 – Special Order 191
- 34:52 – Soldiers at Crampton’s Gap
- 46:42 – VI Corps
- 51:48 – Battle of Crampton’s Gap
- 01:02:59 – 1st New Jersey Brigade
- 01:11:13 – Union Maneuvers
- 01:26:27 – After the battle
- 01:33:41 – Story of the 4th New Jersey Vol. Regiment
- 01:41:09 – After Action Report
ANPN 