The Left Page & Here Be Media

Greetings and Salutations everyone,We decided to do a second HBM episode this month instead of a HBE, we know a part of our audience likes it when we talk about Bioware so we hope this is a fun holiday present for you guys! We are going to be honest, this is a very text based analysis, and might not be the easiest to follow along with for those who have not played the game. We do think there is something there for everyone since we talk about how you can approach RPGs and choices in video games in general. We also talk about notions of representation that are universally accessible.Hope you enjoy!Frank & LeonIf you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras, check our Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus

Hello everyone!!Welcome to Dunecember!! Lots of Dune to cap off 2024!For starters, we tackle the one, the original, the 1965 book by Frank Herbert! It's been a long-time coming, and we hope it was worth the wait.So join us as we talk religious manipulation, "untapped human potential", warrior cultures, being a weird little guy, and lots more in the last Left Page episode of the year.Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus

Hello everyone!!Here is us finally talking about the Elden Ring DLC (or just a standalone game according to the GOTY-awards, Geoff should be struck down for his hubris and so on) we hope you all enjoy it!Due to technical difficulties Ash's precis was added post-recording. Our sincere apologies if it sounds odd, it was the best we could do.Find the Crypt dwellers near a cemetery or at the following links:https://www.patreon.com/c/horrorvanguard/https://bsky.app/profile/thelitcritguy.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/darrowvania.bsky.socialAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus

Hello everyone!!The end of the year and the holidays approach rapidly, but not yet! Rejecting that, we remain in the lands of horror, as we talk about Brian Evenson's Good Night, Sleep Tight, with our friend Nate!We dive into some of the themes in this collection of short stories, their representation of childhood and anxieties of parenthood, sleep and more. And while elaborating on elements we enjoyed and... didn't, unfortunately! Still, we have an excellent time chatting about it, and we hope you like it too!Enjoy!Do check out Nate's previous writing on Evenson and his fiction!https://www.full-stop.net/2013/07/19/blog/nathan-weatherford/unknowable-quantities/And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and now live Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus

Hello everyone!!For this month's spooky HBM we go back to Interview with a Vampire! Season 2! And in good company too, with Jay, of LibraryPunk and Tender Subject fame!It's vampire talk again, as we go back into interviewing immortal beings and finding out just how interesting their drama really is. Is it? We wonder that as we dive into this continued adaptation, its successes and limits, and just how effective, or not, their queer representation really is effective or that engaging!Enjoy!And, of course, check out Jay's work elsewhere!LibraryPunkTender SubjectAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus

Hello everyone!!It's October and you know what that means! We drag the ghost, from their crypts (or ship) and have a good Halloween book chat!As Jon joined us for China Mieville's 2nd book of the Bas-Lag Trilogy: the Scar!It's a great time talking about the power and potential of class consciousness, the strange dynamics of cities, pirates, liberation, and the terrible risks of mishandling quantum and nuclear physics.It's Mieville, it's a fun book, and a phenomenal chat! Enjoy!Also buy Jon's Book!https://repeaterbooks.com/product/capitalism-a-horror-story-gothic-marxism-and-the-dark-side-of-the-radical-imagination/And, naturally, check out and support the Horror Vanguard!https://horrorvanguard.comhttps://www.patreon.com/horrorvanguard/postsAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and now live Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus

Hello everyone!!For this chaotic month's HBM we're diving into one of Frank's favourite genres, right back into detective fiction! This time talking about the very weird and very interesting Paradise Killer!Join us as we discuss the complexities of building a world from scratch, of making a sociologically compelling story, and creating a decent and engaging medium to solve a mystery. All while dealing with the colonial violence and oppression exacted by an even more powerful ruling class!What kind of detective are we, when we're the supreme elite?All this and more on this episode! Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and the Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus

Hello everyone!!We kick off September with a very interesting concept episode, as we talk about Tropes, and clichés and archetypes!A very good time as we consider not just the creation of art, especially literature, but also its very superficial and weak discourse that is mostly upheld by these building blocks of tropes.We also go over a general engagement with art and the willingness to confront plenty of both good and bad, and even some of our personally most enjoyed and hated tropes!Enjoy!And please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and now live Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Intro: "Ultralounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Outro: "Leve Palestina" Spartacus

Hello everyone!!This is a big one! We are finally talking about Baldur's Gate 3!In our longest Left Page and Here Be Media episode to date we dive into many of the complexities involving Dungeons & Dragons, tabletop RPGs, the fantasy problems of "races" and this incredibly interesting and fun game of wish-fulfillment, adventure, and more!We still have many critiques though, and go into ways this is a remarkable game, but could have been even more engaging and entertaining too.We are also, of course, joined by Holly! Making this equal parts a serious, critical, and very very fun episode! Enjoy!!As part of our question of "races" in D&D, check out the following video too:Bioessentialism in Gaming, https://youtu.be/u2PhrI4yZXYAnd please support our Patreon if you can and are interested in early episodes and two current Here Be Extras!https://www.patreon.com/leftpage Also! If you're not there already, feel free to join our Discord, as we have been more talkative than usual, and plan to do so more and more!https://discord.gg/J2wgG3yrPNIntro Music: Home, by Karl Casey @ White Bat AudioOutro Music: Leve Palestina, Spartacus