Tonight on GeekNights, we review The Summit of the Gods (Le sommet des dieux). Directed by Patrick Imbert, it's a French adaptation of a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi. A photojournalist's obsessive quest for the truth about the first expedition to Mt. Everest leads him to search for an esteemed climber who went missing. In the news, Naoki Urasawa is bringing several of his works to digital (in Japan only), Disney's Encanto (2021) is a fantastic musical, and Centaurworld is strangely compelling (and also a musical).

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss software libraries. Most of you are probably too old to remember DLL Hell, but you probably don't want to be proving how square roots are calculated just to calculate them in your program. In the news, Amazon has had multiple outages, the log4j zero-day is a nightmare, and VR is edging into the mainstream with its first real consumer maturity milestone.

Tonight on GeekNights, we bring you our Holiday Animation and Comics Gift Giving Guide 2021! What should you buy for that animation, comics, anime, or manga fan friend of yours? Not Funkopops: they've released something that's just vile in a long line of vile things. Arcane is one of the best cartoons Rym's seen in a long time. Makoto Shinkai's next film will be Suzume no Tojimari, and it involves clouds, sky, and doors. George Pérez is tragically at the end of his life. Macross Plus was in theaters, introducing a younger generation of fans to its particular dystopian nightmare.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Metroid Dread on the Nintendo Switch. It's a solid 2D Metroid, with a few horror elements and a lot of polish. In the news, Amazon is down and it's wreaking low-key havoc, Discord is competing with Patreon and Onlyfans (and Twitch), and Ubisoft is absolutely a garbage company.

Tonight on GeekNights, we present our 2021 GeekNights holiday technology gift guide! You can refer to our recent gaming gift guide as a companion to this. In the news, COVID vaccine boosters are fantastic, take heed as the Omicron variant poses a "very high" global risk, Streamlabs agrees to rename SLOBS after public outcry, we're running out of quarters, and we're running out of Twitter CEOs.

Tonight on GeekNights, we bring you our 2021 Holiday Gaming Gift Guide. What should you buy for that gamer you know? Our list might surprise you. In the news, the Legend of Zelda Game & Watch is a huge step above the Mario one, Epic Games has acquired Harmonix, and don't cross the Wirecutter picket line.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider our final thoughts on the Rebuild of Evangelion. Spoilers. Just tons of spoilers. Be warned. If you have never seen Evangelion, check out our review and our final thoughts on the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, as well as our (no spoilers) review of Rebuild of Evangelion. There are no more Evangelions.

In the news, Anime NYC is happening, and there are mixed reviews of the live action Cowboy Bebop thus far.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Home HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. We've previously covered server room cooling, and the show is interrupted at the end by a classic. In the news, New York is taking some action on robocalls (though it's honestly too late at this point), people are upset that Microsoft is forcing Edge on Start Menu web search results, and Unity acquires Weta Digital.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Alien franchise. While clearly the first two movies are the best the franchise will likely ever have to offer, much like Spiderman it is so iconic to be nearly universally recognized. In the news, Youtube is removing dislike counts, the economy isn't in great shape (in ways you might not even realize), and the Playdate is delayed.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review WarioWare: Get It Together! on the Nintendo Switch. The last time we talked about a WarioWare on GeekNights was back in 2007 when we reviewed the awful WarioWare Smooth Moves on the Wii. In the news, Konami lost the rights to some archival video they licensed, forcing them to take a number of Metal Gear Solid games down (contributing to the hellscape that is the intersection of copyright and gaming), and Unpacking is a pretty cool game.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review the Jujutsu Kaisen manga. It's a shounen manga. In the news, Image Comics workers unionize forming the CBWU (Comic Book Workers United), Aggretsuko gets a fourth season, and Shoujou Kakumei Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena) is on Crunchyroll.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider documentation. Client documentation, user guides, service runbooks, developer notes, and the like. We've previously covered Documentation Systems, as well as in a game design lecture on game rules.

In the news, Rym finally dressed up as Zed from Zardoz, Facebook's name change to "Meta" isn't fooling anyone, a theoretical unicode-based attack on compilers is being patched, Roblox had a massive outage, and the LIRR is now able to run trains into Grand Central Terminal, a feat of engineering in the making since 1963.

This is also the 16th anniversary episode of GeekNights! We started on October 31 2005, and we made "beta" episodes well before that!

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Denis Villeneuve's Dune (part 1). It's Dune. It's hard to imagine doing better at Duning on the big screen than this. Recall that we discussed Dune extensively on the GeekNights Book Club.

In the news, the Shiba Inu shitcoin is in the news due to a high volatility situation, you can buy 1/1000 of a Warhol for $250 after some clever people literally attempt to destroy its provenance, Facebook flees is toxic brand with a new name, Queens successfully opposed an upgraded fossil fuel power plant, and the NAACP is urging professional athletes to boycott Texas sports teams due to the extreme threat Texas has put American democracy under.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review the portal-inspired multiplayer FPS Splitgate. It's free to play, not pay to win, and if you ignore the non-game-affecting skinz and lootz it's definitely worth trying. In the news, the Advance Wars remaster is delayed, BlizzCon is canceled to be re-imagined, and you don't need a rumble pack for your N64 Controller. Also, the OLED Switch doesn't appear to be selling well, but that's not actually a problem for Nintendo.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider upgrades of and migrations between Operating Systems. We may need to consider that the concept of an Operating System has changed and continues to evolve as computer technology matures. In the news, Apple Day told us about new MacBook Pros and AirPods (plus how people apparently aren't actually using Siri), and a kid accidentally shot himself immediately after assembling a 3D printed gun.

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss aliens and UFOs and such. The 90s were a wild time with alien autopsies and The X-Files. Nevermind real alien topics like the Drake equation, the Rare Earth hypothesis, or the Great Filter. In the news, avoid using computers in Missouri, IATSE will strike on October 18th unless their (extremely reasonable) demands are met, Kellog's workers and John Deere workers also strike as a new labor movement comes alive in America.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider a game design topic in the number of players a game supports. For this exercise, we only consider orthogames. We've talked about two player games before. The reality is that one player, two player, and three+ player games are fundamentally and formally distinct. A game that supports more than one of these groups is actually multiple different games for all practical purposes.

In the news, NIBCARD Games wins the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming, the Diana Jones Award trophy is missing, the Actraiser remake is more than you probably expect, Metroid Dread is solid, and it's hard to imagine PAX South happening in Texas in January considering the state has now banned vaccine mandates in a manner that very likely includes events in the convention center.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Rebuild of Evangelion. The complement to Neon Genesis Evangelion (which we reviewed and gave final thoughts for back in 2007), it is an excellent and complete finale that somehow is neither a remake nor a sequel, but simply an addition.

In the news, Twitch experienced a massive leak and Ankama studio is soon to premiere Princesse Dragon

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Leopard that is social media. It is difficult to summarize the myriad ways that social media has materially harmed society despite its great promise. From Orkut to Facebook to Twitter, it's been a destabilizing force. In the (possibly too on-the-nose) news, Facebook had a major global outage today (see our episode on outages), Facebook has a whistleblower revealing terrible revelations about the harm Facebook causes, a new tool can reveal who actually owns companies, and Europe is looking to (rightly) standardize on USB-C for charging electronic devices (much to Apple's discomfort).

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider gaming magazines. Notable mentions include Electronic Games, Nintendo Power, Dragon Magazine, Dungeon Magazine, Scrye (for those MTG prices), InQuest, GamePro, Game Informer, PC Gamer, Games Magazine, and more.

In the news, Asmodee is for sale for €2 BB, SEGA Genesis games are coming to the Switch (but you won't get the good controller in the US), Activision Blizzard is still in deep shit including an $18 MM settlement, and they released their Diablo 2 remake during all of this.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider anime and comic magazines, including relics from an ancient past such as Newtype USA, Wizard, Animerica, and the like. In the news, Rym is enjoying Star Trek: Lower Decks (and you may too if you have even a passing interest in Star Trek), the live action Cowboy Bebop might be OK, and the monkey's paw has given us a hockey anime with Puraore! Pride of Orange.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the archaic "computer magazine" that you may have heard old people talking about. From PC Gamer to Maximum PC to Computer Shopper, the pre-Internet was a wild time. In the news, Western Digital "My Book" users had all their data deleted in a convoluted story, Western Digital tried to trick people into buying inferior drives, Google's internal dysfunction led briefly to Google News failing for all Google Workspaces users, and Sir Clive Sinclair has passed away at 81. Also Rym was nearly attacked by a crazy driver biking from Poughkeepsie to Queens on Sunday.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble beverage. From soda to pop, orange juice to bourbon, milk to yilk, and even good old reliable "water" we consider the general concept of drinks. In the news, the IATSE is mobilizing for a possible strike, we encourage you to murder Spotted Lanternflies if you live in New York, and we encourage you to delete your Facebook account.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile. It's a solid legacy game that's worth taking a look at. In the news, Rym finally played West of Loathing and is sorting out if we'll play Aliens: Fireteam Elite, The CEO of Broken Token steps down (but still owns the company...) after abuse and harassment allegations, the CEO of Tripwire steps down due to his abhorrent statements on abortion rights, and Twitch sues two individuals over ongoing racist and bigoted harassment rampant on their platform.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Superman. The Superman. Supes. This character casts a long shadow on global popular culture and storytelling, a modern myth. In the news, the Harley Quinn show is great, Lupin III Part 6 has Mamoru Oshii as a guest writer, Adventure Time: Distant Lands concludes with Wizard City, Keiichi Arawi has a new manga coming, and (spoilers) Lex Luthor finally gets it.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider outerwear. Jackets and coats and such. In the news, Scott went to the US Open, America continues its spiral into ruin as abortion is banned in Texas, (we are boycotting Texas henceforth), and House Democrats are taking action to protect abortion rights.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Deathmatch games, particularly FPS deathmatches. Ostensibly beginning with Doom and Quake, the "genre" began already extremely refined, and frankly Quake 1 Deathmatch is literally worth playing today. In the news, Rym biked to Poughkeepsie again, Quake 1 got an update that makes multiplayer "just work" on modern PCs, China effectively bans minors playing online games, and tabletop game prices are going to skyrocket.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Apple, CSAM, and Privacy. Apple is under fire for its solution here, some have warned of its dangers, and other companies already do similar things. (It's worth noting that Apple is already doing this on iCloud Mail).

In the news, OnlyFans sells out its core user base, though the situation is more complex than it appears and other similar entities have complied with the rules that they ran afoul of. Meanwhile, Twitch is doing essentially nothing to curtail a massive wave of targeted attacks on minority and marginalized streamers, leaving them to use inadequate tools to solve a problem that Twitch is 100% responsible for. Join the boycott of Twitch on September 1st!

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about natural disasters. In the news, there's a reason we don't make much anime content anymore, cars are back to destroying the world, Cuomo is (rightly) out as New York's governor, and the US military will (rightly) require vaccination against COVID-19.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Pokémon UNITE: the Pokémon MOBA. It's actually pretty fun, and it's a shame that it's microtransactional pay-to-win garbage. Only play it if you can play with friends who agree to never spend money, never grind, and never use any items.

In the news, the NHL Expansion Draft has released the Kraken, Activision Blizzard is rightly sued by the state of California for sexual harassment and discrimination, we join other games media in a complete blackout of all reviews or coverage of their games of any kind, as well as support their employees striking tomorrow, and Valve has released the Game Gear 2 (which they promise will run "the entire Steam library" at 30+fps)

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the cartoons of Hanna-Barbera Productions, which were a staple of our 80s childhoods despite being largely from the 60s and 70s. From The Roman Holidays to Fantastic Max, they were a recycled staple of our youth. (Some, like The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound, are best forgotten entirely). In the news, Belle might be extremely good, Mamoru Hosoda has some thoughts on Miyazaki (and also worked on Utena credited as Katsuyo Hashimoto), and the official Popeye twitter account is fantastic. Also Scott didn't know there was a live action Popeye movie staring Robin Williams and Shelly Duvall.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider bootlegs and counterfeits. Illegitimate goods. In the news, Texas Democrats are risking a lot trying to defend American democracy, Bowling Balls can't be recycled, a doctor faked vaccine records to sell fake medicine, and Amazon sells a lot of dangerous goods. We'll also be live at PAX Online East 2021!

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider collecting in games. Specifically, we consider "new in box" cartridges and people who like to tell you how many board games they own. In the news, Advance Wars 1 and 2 are coming to the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch Pro is exactly what we expected rather than what people seemed to imagine, someone buys a new-in-box copy of Super Mario 64 for way too much money, and we will be live at PAX Online East this weekend!

If you want Rym's copy of Ogre, you can have second dibs on it. If no one takes it before Rym has an excuse to see a certain person, you'll miss your chance.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review the phenomenal Odd Taxi anime. It's a psychological thriller and it's one of the best shows in recent memory. We're talking must-watch anime. in the news, the X-Men are X-Men again, MAPPA shows off the upcoming Chainsaw Man anime, MAPPA pays poverty wages for animation, SGDQ 2021 is underway, Godzilla Singular Point is OK, and The Owl House season 2 keeps on truckin'.

Also Scott offers second dibs on a Dell Ultrasharp U2410.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider when to bail, hit da bricks, or be "out" of something. In the news, loud pipes don't save lives, the new R211 subway cars were unveiled, and what happened in Florida was preventable.

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about DC's Batman. In the news, it was a big NYC election, PAX West is happening in-person (but we won't be there), Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway is coming, you can get started on Gundam right here, Tuca and Bertie season 2 is great so far, Uzumaki is coming, and Intern Annika has arrived.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider hotels and motels. We kind of miss them. In the news, Pokémon Unite is a MOBA, the US Supreme Court made one good decision and one abhorrent decision, and if you wondered why Batman was trending recently, well, now you know. Also we'll be live at PAX East Online!

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the merchandise around cartoons, anime, comics, and manga. In the news, the fireworks are back in Queens, Glamdring the Foe-Hammer is back, a ton of cels are up for auction, the Sweet Tooth TV adaptation is pretty good so far, the El Hazard OAVs are getting a re-release, and Yoko Kanno is scoring the live action Cowboy Bebop. Also, we'll be live at PAX East online 2021 with Atari Game Design!

Tonight on GeekNights, we accidentally do a June tech news roundup. So, in that news, US carries share vertical location data for 911 calls, Apple adds additional safety measures to AirTags (though there are still workarounds), Facetime is (sort of) coming to the web, and there's a ton of WWDC news.

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about skin. Yes, that kind of skin. In the news, Scott GeekBites Oxygen (2021), Rym GeekBites Walker (1987), maybe companies should be barred from bothering you after-hours, and AMC issues 11MM shares.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the New Pokemon Snap. It's Pokemon Snap. It's exactly what it looks like. And it's probably worth playing. In the news, 1846 gets an update, An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs is out, the 3080 Ti is coming, Nintendo took down a rom site (but the buried lede is that the proprietor went pro se in court), and while Moon Hunters was a delightful game this article describes what was wrong with its level design.

Tonight on GeekNights, we review Spider-Man 2099. It's cyberpunk, and it's actually pretty good. Rym even plans to read the rest of it. In the news, Adventure Time: Distant Lands - Together Again was solid, but also possibly unnecessary, Panasonic has a new GH6 camera as well as an upgrade to the GH5, the new era of Lupin III continues with a sixth anime series for the 50th anniversary, and Funimation adds God Mazinger, Little Nemo, and Space Adventrure Cobra to their anime catalogue.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the video camera. In the news, there is drama at Freenode, Audacity won't gather telemetry data, Spotify is getting podcast transcription, and Samsung seems to have given up on upcycling.

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about a lot of things, from the content-seeking that comes from being a podcaster to beards, fart cars to the senate, and anything else on our minds. In the news, lotteries do seem to drive COVID vaccinations, and the newest Adventure Time installment apparently hits hard.

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble remote control. We are some of the youngest people who remember having screens and other devices without remote controls, and they changed things in more ways than you might have expected. In the news, Apple is going after Itch.io in its ongoing fight with Epic, Steam rejects some games but not others without clear rules, Facebook rejects adaptive clothing ads, Microsoft changes its old icons, and a major US fuel pipeline was shut down by ransomware.