Category Archives: podcasts

Published: December 11, 2020

Games and Podcasts and Swords and Coins and Cows and Stuff…

So… yeah. That’s my best title to a blog ever. Big wordsmith here….

We’re more than halfway through our big yearly Worldbuilders fundraiser, and we’ve just blown by $750,000 raised.

Statistically, I don’t know if it’s our best fundraiser ever (I’d need to unpack some math before I could say that conclusively) but I do know we’re doing amazingly well even without taking into consideration the fact that there’s a pandemic, economic turmoil, civil unrest, and probably a plague of locusts by the time I manage to finish writing this.

As I hope you know by this point, we’re giving away a bunch of cool things to everyone who donates. I won’t go on and on about it here. But if you want some details about a bunch of the Kingkiller specific stuff, you can head over to my team page and check it out.

 

There are actually way *more* stretch goal prizes that have been unlocked. But we keep hitting them so fast that it’s hard to keep the graphics updated.

I doing a ton of streaming these days too, obviously. Bunch of archived video over there. Panels and me playing games and answering questions.

I’ve also been doing some streaming with the boys, mostly minecraft stuff.Just today we wandered around and showed off a big chunk of what we’ve made in our minecraft world.

 

Oot’s Cow Jar page is doing very well. It’s currently at about $16,000 dollars, and Oot is delighted to have raised enough for over 32 cows. Both he and cutie have painted some pictures they’re giving away on the page.  And we’ve set up a stretch goal where anyone who donates on his page will get access to a special minecraft server where we’ll all play together.

So if that sounds like a good time to you, you can wander over and check that stuff out.

I’ll be streaming for the duration of the fundraiser, including a big D&D game later today that you probably don’t want to miss…

In addition to all of that, I’ve done a couple podcasts lately, and I thought I’d throw you some links in case y’all were interested in checking them out.

Where I’ve been:

  • All My Fantasy Children on the ONE SHOT Podcast Network

Episode 160 – Cradlecatch the Untrod

  • Lawful Stupid

Flash In The Pan – The Episode with Patrick Rothfuss

  • Desert Island Discworld

4.6 Patrick Rothfuss & Thud!

 

There’s a lot more, too. But that’s all I’ve got in me for now. It’s after 4 am, and I’ve got to be up in the morning.

Remember that the fundraiser is over on the 15th, so if you haven’t checked it out yet, you might want to head over there before it’s too late….

More soon,

pat

Also posted in appearances, Cutie Snoo, Oot, Worldbuilders 2020 | By Pat8 Responses
Published: October 26, 2016

Five Sentences, Three Events, Two Videos, and a Bag of Chips….

Heya everybody,

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get a solid blog up, so I thought I’d remedy that today, especially as there’s some news that’s a little time sensitive….

First and foremost, I’ve got a few readings and Q&As coming up in places I don’t visit very often.

  • Charleston, West Virginia

This Saturday (October 29th) I’ll be in West Virginia for the West Virginia Book Festival.

I’m going to be giving a talk on the importance of reading. (Where hopefully I’ll find something to say other than just shouting DUH! really loud.) I’ll also do some Q&A, and then have a signing for everyone who’s interested.

And if that isn’t enough for you, I’ll even be introduced by Justin McElroy, West Virginian and co-host of the awesome podcast “My Brother, My Brother, and Me.” It’s one of my newest loves, and if you don’t listen to it, you should. It is a source of genuine delight.

Here’s all the info for the event itself:

October 29, 2016 at 3:00 PM
Charleston Civic Center
Little Theater
200 Civic Center Dr
Charleston, West Virginia 25301
Facebook Event

If you’re in the area, come say hi. And if you happen to be in a different area…

  • Madison, Wisconsin

Despite the fact that I only live a hundred miles away, I’m doing my first event in Madison in years. Even better, I’ll actually be doing *two* different events, both with some Q&A and books available for purchase, though the first is primarily a reading and Q&A, and the second is primarily a keynote speech.

The first one is next week Thursday…

November 3, 2016 at 5:00 PM
Reading and Q&A
Agriculture Hall, Room 125
1450 Linden Dr
Madison, WI 53706

And the second is going to be on Friday night…

MADISON, WI
November 4, 2016 at 7:00 PM
Talk and Q&A
272 Bascom Hall
Madison, WI 53706

Both events will have books for purchase from A Room of One’s Own, one of my favorite bookstores in Madison. So if you’re all signed-book-wanty, this would be a great place to get one without paying shipping costs from our online store…

For those of you who aren’t in West Virginia OR Wisconsin, there’s some cool internet things I’ve been up to as well….

  • Moana Screening in New York

And a couple weeks ago, his happened. For real.

I’ll probably gush about this more in the future. But the short of it is that I got to see an early version of Moana, and it was stunningly good.

More than that. Honestly? I think it might be the best Disney movie I’ve ever seen. Though honestly, with Lin Manuel Miranda involved, that shouldn’t really be a surprise.

Super good, folks. Seriously.

 

  • Podcast: “I’m Not Here to Judge You Chickenf*ckers.”

The most recent episode of Unattended Consequences is up, and it was a pretty good one. We recorded it live at NerdCon: Stories,  and the audience did a good job reining us in. We even said some not entirely stupid things.

Give it a listen if you’re so inclined. And be aware some of the stories I don’t have time to write up on the blog these days end up on the Podcast instead.

And finally, here’s the most time sensitive of the announcements:

  • A  delightful kickstarter that will help you friendship better.

Yesterday, I agreed to write five cards for Jenn and Trin’s Friendship Postcards Kickstarter Project:

You should really check this out. It’s a wonderful idea. The campaign includes cards like “Wow, that thing you did to your hair is super cool!”, “You make the internet a happier place,” and my favorite, “I said some shitty things (That’s not really how I feel, and I’m sorry.)”

782a6bde35266775fcadc2a84c8a34d3_originalWhen I saw this project, I actually emailed Trin and Jenn to tell them they were awesome, and to offer my help if they needed it.

I don’t talk about it a lot on here. But I have a hard time making and maintaining friendships these days. It used to be so easy for me. You just met people, they came over to your house. You watched movies and played games. You were friends.

Then I got published. I got busy. My friends moved away to pursue jobs and relationships. And I wasn’t in college any more. Wasn’t teaching any more. Wasn’t meeting people socially any more. Which means that friends don’t just happen to me any more. Which means… for about a decade now, I really haven’t had a lot of close friends.

But this last year, I’ve made a really good friend by the name of Thera. She’s better at being a friend than I am. And she’s taught me a lot about how to be a good friend as an adult (As opposed to just being a sort of an older maladjusted post-collegiate manbaby.)

So we’re writing these cards together. Me and my friend. Not only does this make me happy. Not only does this mean they’ll be better than if I did them myself. But it also means they’ll probably get done on time….

Here’s the downside, the project ends Thursday, October 27 at 1:00 PM CDT.

Yeah. Today. There’s just a few hours left. So if you want a set of postcards you should hop to it.

Be good to each other,

pat

Also posted in being awesome, conventions, cool news, cool things, geeking out, Interviews, Link salad, panels | By Pat19 Responses
Published: August 28, 2016

Podcasts Galore….

Heya there everyone,

Things are busy but good here in Rothtopia. Emphasis on busy. I have writing to do, projects to manage, e-mail to ruthlessly prune back, a relationship to enjoy/maintain, kids to cuddle, charity coolness on the horizon, and secrets things to work on….

Not to brag or anything, but I would like to say that on any given day I consistently manage to do at least two of these things. Sometimes three.

Unfortunately, that leaves little time for blogging. Which is a shame, as I enjoy telling stories and sharing news with y’all.

Because I’ve been otherwise tied up, there’s a bunch of stuff I’ve done lately that you might not know I’ve done lately.

For example, here’s a few podcasts I’ve made little guest appearances on over the last couple months.

MBMBaM (My Brother My Brother and Me).

I know I’m late to the game, but I only came to know about the marvelous McElroy brothers over the last 8 months or so. Oddly enough, I discovered them through Griffin’s Amiibo Corner, which is a delicious slide into divine absurdity that I love with a fiery passion.

For those of you out there who live under a heavy rock similar to mine, and therefore don’t know about the McElroy brothers, they are a vast treasure trove of delightful things.

480x270_16669(They’re pretty easy on the eyes, too. Rawr.)

I had a great time answering questions, giving (mostly bad) advice, and talking about parenting stuff with them on their afore-linked podcast.

Magic tavern.

When I was out at Pax East earlier this year, I got a chance to sit in on a live recording of the Magic Tavern Podcast.

PAXEastTavern(Actual Footage)

For those of you who don’t know who don’t know the premise of the show: A guy fell through a portal behind a Burger King and ended up in a fantasy world, so he does what any red-blooded geek would do, and broadcasts a podcast from the tavern there with the help of a wizard and a talking badger.

IFkuVFM(Y’know, like you do.)

And if that doesn’t make you curious about the show, I don’t know what will.

Also, if you’re into this podcast stuff, I’m assuming most of you already know about the podcast that Max and I do roughly every week.

Max & Me Podcast.

But if you don’t know for some reason, there’s a link to it. So you can do what you want with that.

Also, since I’m giving y’all a heads-up of where you can find me doing things other than here on the blog. I occasionally do some live streaming over on my twitch channel. Sometimes I play a game, sometimes I give writing advice or answer questions. It kinda depends on what mood I’m in.

But if you go there and follow the channel, it will send you an alert when I do a livestream so you have a chance of catching me live, which is a big deal, since that means you’ll have the chance to say things in the chat that I don’t pay attention to because I’m too busy mining space ore or getting blown up by orcs.

Alternately, the videos are archived on the site as well.

That’s all I’ve got for today, but stay tuned. I’ll be sharing my schedule for PAX soon, as well as telling stories and sharing other news.

Be good to each other,

pat

Also posted in appearances, musings | By Pat5 Responses
Published: August 18, 2015

Being Evil

Tonight, I was playing in the living room with my girlfriend (Sarah) my oldest son (codename Oot: age 5.5) and my youngest son (codename Cutie Snoo, age 1.5)

It wasn’t anything fancy. Nothing organized. I’d just come back from recording this week’s podcast with Max Temkin, and rather than head upstairs to do more e-mail, as I am wont to do, I decided to stay downstairs and play with the kids.

A large part of this is because my Cutie is at a magical age. 18 months is pretty awesome. After a bit of a hiatus, he’s saying da-da again, and it pulls at my heart.

Those of you without kids might have trouble understanding how enthusiastic an 18 month-old can be. Let me explain.

You know how excited a dog can get when you’ve been away for a couple hours? (Or let’s be honest, when you’ve just left the room for a couple minutes). At 18 months, my little boy has that level of enthusiasm. He runs up to me, his face all lit up, grinning, his legs doing that straight up-and-down stomping walk that’s the closest he can get to a run.

And all the time he’s saying “da-da-da-da-da-da!”

So yeah. It’s pretty fucking amazing. I’m not going to lie.

Anyway, I’m hanging out with my family, and Oot walks up to Sarah and says, “I’m so… thirsty! Can you please… get me… a drink of water?”

His performance makes it clear that he is about to die from thirst. People in the desert don’t have it this bad. He’s really going full Shatner in his performance.

Sarah starts to get up to get him a drink of water. She does this because she loves him.

Sarah and Oot

(Exhibit A)

“You know where the water is,” I say to Oot. “You can get yourself a drink. You’re a very grown-up child.”

I say this because I love him too. Sarah and exhibit our love in different ways. She wants him to be happy now. I want him to be happy in the future, and part of that is making sure he’s self-reliant.

Plus he’s five. If we were living in the wild, he’d be hunting and cooking birds on his own. So yeah. He can get his own drink of water.

But here’s the thing, it’s a little late at night. The kitchen is on the other side of the house. It’s a whole, like, 50 feet away. And it’s late in the evening, so that part of the house is kinda dim.

And he’s five, so he’s a little scared of being alone, and of the dark.

“Will you come with me?” he asks.

This is a familiar dance. We want him to do things for himself. He wants company. We want him to be brave. He wants to feel safe.

Nobody’s wrong here. We all want good things. But they’re in conflict.

“You can do it,” I say. “I know you can.” (Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not some muy mas macho monster. If it was fully dark in there, I’d work with him. But it’s not. He can handle it. He has before. It’s good practice for him.

“I’ll tell you a story,” Sarah says.

This is a compromise we use sometimes. If he hears our voices, he knows he’s not alone. So one of us will tell him a story, and it will help him go somewhere in the house when he’s a little spooked.

“I’ll tell you a story,” I say.

“I want mom to do it,” he says, moving toward the baby gate that leads into the dining room.

He’s on to me.

“Once there was a little boy who really liked candy,” Sarah says. “So he decided to go exploring.”

I’m going to be honest here, Sarah’s narrative structure isn’t the best. Her themes can be kinda muddy sometimes, and, truthfully, her stories are often really lacking in terms of the Aristotelian unities. But even so, I know she’s up for this. Two minutes of story will get Oot into the kitchen and back. I watch as he opens the gate then turns on the light to the dining room. Out of our line of sight. Out of his line of sight. He’s gone.

“So one day he walked out into the the backyard and he found–”

“A Thousand Angry Ghosts!” I say. I don’t yell it. But I say it in a really loud voice. My phantom of the opera voice. I project from my diaphragm.

And from the other room, comes a high, piercing scream. It lasts for a full two seconds.

Then Oot comes running back into the living room.

You’re going to have to trust me on this, it was *super* funny. Sarah will back me up on this.

You see, most days, I’m a good dad.

Other days, I’m an AWESOME dad.

Stay tuned, everyone. Soon we’ll have bedtime stories.

Seriously,

pat

Also posted in babies, Beautiful Games, Because I Love, Cutie Snoo, Oot, Sarah | By Pat26 Responses
Published: June 30, 2015

Podcasts, Musings, and the Importance of Names

So a while back, I was lucky enough to get to meet Max Temkin.

Odds are, even if you don’t know his name, you know his work. He’s one of the driving forces behind Cards Against Humanity.

A couple months back, he asked if I’d like to do a podcast with him, where we pretty much just talked about whatever we felt like at the moment. I said yes because I enjoy every conversation we have, and an excuse to have a new one every week is too good to pass up.

And if other folks want to listen to it… well… I’m fine with that, too.

So we did it.

The first episode of that podcast is up here: https://unattendedconsequences.simplecast.fm/

[Edit: Hey folks, Amanda here! The podcast is up on iTunes now, so you can subscribe to that here.]

Those of you who are capable of moving your eyes over text and decoding it may notice that the podcast is called Untitled Rothfuss.

This is partly because we don’t know what exactly this podcast is going to turn into. (If anything) Max and I are going to talk about things that interest us in the moment. We don’t have a theme, a narrative arc, an agenda, etc.

And it’s partly because I’m a little obsessive about names. It took me a month to name my first son (who y’all know as Oot). It took me two months to name my second boy (codename: Cutie.)

When I put a name on something, I don’t just want a good name. I don’t even want a great name. I want the Perfect name….

I asked the Worldbuilders Team if they had any ideas, and they were pretty useless (but hilarious):

  • Maximum Patitude
  • We both have three letter names
  • We’re Not Wearing Pants
  • Maxpat
  • Patmax
  • Pat to the Max
  • Pat and Max: The Musical
  • Grammatically Speaking
  • Procrastinators Inc.
  • Not Your Grandmother’s Podcast
  • Your Grandmother’s Podcast
  • Welcome to Valenight Eveningtown
  • Duskparty with Pat & Max
  • Rage Quit with Pat & Max
  • No Regard for Silence
  • Amanda Said We Can’t Use This Title.
  • Phteven, with a PH
  • Once Upon a Podcast
  • NO REGRETS–SERIOUSLY
  • Some Regrets

The terrible thing is that most of those suggestions are actually better than the ones that Max and I came up with on our own. Those include:

  • Two White Guys Talking
  • Literally Literally
  • Destroying Joy
  • Talking about Stuff
  • The End is Nigh
  • The Non-Eponymous Podcast

Okay. I’ll admit I’m a little proud of “Non-Eponymous” because it’s really fun to say.

Anyway, I’ve come to y’all for suggestions for names before, like when I did Storyboard. I’m proud of that name.

So. Here’s a link to our first episode.

What do you think we should call it?

pat

Also posted in naming | By Pat389 Responses
Published: August 27, 2013

PAX, D&D Podcasts, and Unexpected Coolness

So in just a couple days, I’m going to be heading out to PAX to play as a swashbuckling rogue named Viari in their D&D Campaign.

pat(That’s Me.)

Mike, Jerry, Scott and I got together a couple months back and did our initial adventure, which are available as podcasts over here….

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7

While I’m out at PAX, we’ll be playing again, live onstage.

I’ll be doing a few other things at the convention too. Here’s the schedule for my official events.

Friday August 30

11:30-12:30 – Does Story Matter in Video Games? – Kraken Theatre
3:30-4:30 – An Afternoon with Pat Rothfuss – The Pegasus Theatre

Saturday August 31

3:30-6:00 Acquisitions, Inc. – Main Theatre

I’ll be doing other stuff around the convention too. Checking out games and lurking around the Geek Chic booth at Skybridge 3.

And while I’m in Seattle, I’ll be doing TWO events outside of PAX.

Thursday August 29

7 pm Reading at University Bookstore
4326 University Way NE  Seattle, WA98105
Facebook Event

This event is going to be extra awesome because Terry Brooks, Peter Orullian, and Shawn Speakman will all be there to sign copies of Unfettered, which will be available for sale.

A very important note: Apparently there’s some sportsball game going on the day of this signing.   This means, according to Shawn, that  traffic getting to the event will be AWFUL.  Be sure to account for that if you’re traveling.

Friday August 30

7 pm Reading at Barnes and Noble Pacific Place
600 Pine Street Suite 107
Seattle, WA 98101
Facebook Event

I set up this signing for those of you who will be in town for PAX, as it’s right next door to the convention. Literally a block or so away.

Because, you see, I’m going to be at the convention, but my books won’t.

And I don’t want to have this conversation 200 times:

Person: Hey, are you Pat Rothfuss?

Me: Yup.

Person: Cool. I didn’t know you were going to be here!

Me: Yeah. I’m playing D&D with Acquisitions Incorporated.

Person: [Looks around.] Where can I get one of your books?

Me: Sorry. No bookdealers here. It’s a gaming convention.

Person: Are you doing a booksigning?

Me: Fraid not. I’m on a couple panels….

Person: Damn. I really wanted to get a signed copy of your book for my sister. She’d lose it….

Me: Sorry….

[And then we just look at each other awkwardly.]

So, in an effort to avoid having this conversation roughly a billion times at the convention, we called Barnes and Noble to see if they could have books available for people, and hopefully schedule an event.

And you know what? They made us a *much* cooler offer than that.

  • The Coolness.

When we called B&N to see if they’d be willing to carry a bunch of my books for folks who want them, they offered to do it AND do a Book Fair, meaning that if people show up and buy my book using our Bookfair code (11162161) a percentage of the sales will be given to Worldbuilders.

But that’s not all…

It turns out that *any* book people buy with the Bookfair code (11162161) will send some extra money to Worldbuilders.

But that’s not all, either…

This code is good at all Barnes and Noble stores between now and September 2nd. Any book you buy, at any B&N helps Worldbuilders.

AND it works on their online store too. In fact, it works longer. You can you use the code 11162161 on their website through September 7th.

I have to say, this is really cool of them. And I think we should make the most of it.

So let’s say you’ve never read any Terry Pratchett, but you’ve heard he’s good. You could jump in at Guards Guards, which is one of the best entry points, in my opinion.

Or maybe you read my great gushy review of Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane, but you haven’t picked it up yet.

Now would be the perfect time for that.

Or it could be you didn’t realize that the sequel to Libriomancer just came out a couple weeks back. You could grab that too.

Or buy a copy of Carniepunk, if you weren’t able to get one of the signed copies we put up in our store.

Or you could pre-order a copy of Stonecast, which means Worldbuilders would get money from the author (Anton Strout), the publisher (Penguin), AND Barnes and Noble.

It’s like a charity hat-trick.

Here’s a printable voucher if you’re planning on bringing one in to a store.

Look forward to seeing some of you out in Seattle.

Me, I’m off to buy some books….

pat

Also posted in appearances, conventions, gaming, geeking out | By Pat73 Responses
Published: October 3, 2012

Video, Verse, and Veritas. (Or Verbosity, if you prefer.)

Today we have a video that tickled me more than just a little bit.

Figuratively, of course.

Also, I did an interview on SF Podcast that was a lot of fun. I had a bunch of caffeine right beforehand, so I was a chatty, chatty bitch.

So you can check that out if you like. If you’re into things that are fun….

Share and enjoy,

pat

Also posted in Interviews, reviews, Surreal enthusiasm, the craft of writing, videos | By Pat14 Responses

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