Glad to see things are coming together. In spite of a rocky start, I think this will be a good thing! It's certainly an interesting experiment to say the least.

As far as this thread goes, I love how people that don't listen to podcasts feel the need to let everyone know that they won't be listening to TPN. If you don't listen to podcasts or watch pinball media, then clearly TPN isn't for you. Why not move along and comment on something that is in your wheelhouse? Instead of clogging up a perfectly good thread with negativity. While we're on the subject, for a lot of us podcasts have replaced traditional radio. I love pinball, so why not listen to some people talk about pinball while we're working or driving? I take it o-din and his ilk (no offense) prefer music or talk-radio, or perhaps cold, cold silence.

Also, a lot of people really can't get over the fact that Zach and Nicole own a distro now. Good for him for pursuing his dreams! How awesome is it that he can be so connected to something that he loves. Sounds like a lot of people are jealous. Now that you mention it, I do wonder if K-man is a little jealous himself. I mean Zach has made himself into a major presence in pinball, and he makes a living off of it. And he's done it in far less time, with far less trolling. These days the Meny probably gets as much attention (and sometimes hate) as K-man himself.

Lastly, where's Greg Bone on the list? Did I miss his name? I didn't see him listed under any shows.

Under the umbrella of the network, but not under the umbrella of any one person. They're all in the same feed so that listeners can subscribe to one feed, and get all the content, rather than many multiple feeds, and so it will be easier to coordinate release dates, ect. This kinda thing has been done many times before by different groups of podcasts; usually when they share related or connected content/interests. Its nothing new for podcasting in general, but it is new for pinball podcasting.

I don't think it's as unusual as you seem to think. I have personally listened to several podcast networks that have multiple different shows on the same feed. I'm not saying its the most common way to do it or anything, but its definitely been done before, and been done successfully. For instance, I used to listen to a lot of miniature wargaming podcasts. And there was a network of shows under the What Would Patton Do (WWPD) umbrella. WWPD had 5 or 6 different shows that were all under the same feed. Some of the shows shared hosts with other shows, while some of the shows only had their own unique hosts. Across the shows several different game systems were covered. I personally would listen to the shows that focused on the 15mm scale game "Flames of War," and would skip shows that I knew focused on other games like the 28mm scaled "Bolt Action." I've also seen this type of thing on youtube, where a single channel will have many content providers, with many different types of shows. Often with hosts/creators from completely different parts of the world.

So again, the way Zach and co. are doing this is not a new idea by any stretch. The initial scale of this endeavor might be somewhat unique, but everyone involved has some experience doing this kind of thing. So it will be interesting to see how things pan out!

I think you misunderstand things a little bit. No podcast ended because of TPN. Anyone who had a separate podcast before joining TPN will still have it. Only new shows will be put on TPN, no show is being brought over. For instance, Dennis will be part of the upcoming Pinball Show, but he is separately keeping his Eclectic Gamers Podcast. The same with Slapsave, and so on and so forth. Dennis has explained this in writing, and on the latest episode of his show. Any podcast that ended before the TPN announcement, was ended or planned to end all ready. Even though from the outside, it looked coordinated. In fact, in a lot of cases, the people who joined TPN shows only did so because they wouldn't have to bear the brunt of editing and planning duties, like they had to on their own previous shows.

Also, still waiting to find out if Greg bone is gonna be part of any of the TPN shows. Or is he gonna do more with SDTM instead? Does anyone know? Cuz I speak for a lot of us when I say, "We need more Greg Bone and his sweet, sweet..."

I liked it. Made me chuckle. I think it was said with a smile and a wink, no need for anyone to take it seriously. Besides, stubbing your toe...pretty low on the list of bad things you could wish on someone! Have a sense of humor people!

It's the equivalent of listening to the radio, or an album. Have you ever listened to either of those? A podcast is just another version of that type of thing. Not really that bizarre of a concept, no disrespect.

People pick the radio station that plays the content that they enjoy, or that has hosts that they like. People do the same with their podcasts. Imagine if there was a pinball radio station, that would be TPN.

Podcasts will be in one place. Streaming will remain with channel/stream owners. Keeps the money straight, and it means people can stream when they want without having to wait for their time slot. For Streamers being part of TPN will give them more visibility and a bigger support network.

Hey all, I've been wondering...will Mr. Bone be a part of TPN in the future? I understand he's taking a bit of a break, but will he eventually be participating in some shows down the line? I was excited when I found out he was a founding member of TPN, but its been all quiet on his involvement since. Team Zach might start to overpower Team Greg, if this keeps up!

I wonder if this is part of another super-secret marketing strategy? Like they're going to make us think Greg Bone has disappeared, and then all of the sudden he'll pop up on like 5 shows and have a dozen Youtube uploads or something! With Greg missing from the TWIPY's as well, I'm starting to wonder if maybe something bad really did happen to Greg. At this point I'm gonna need "Proof of Life" on Mr. Bone!

Proof of life! Proof of life! Mr. Bone, if you are under duress, blink 3 times.

Under appreciated by whom? Not this fella! Much appreciation from me, and a lot of other pinball fans.

Agree with everything you said, except that its an unappreciated effort. I think a few bad apples can certainly make it seem that way, but the vast majority of us out there DO appreciate the work that Zach, Dennis, Ken, and all the other content creators do. The jerks out there tend to be the ones that get remembered. I always try to to leave a "like" on creator videos and Facebook posts, but that doesn't always hit as hard as someone saying something negative.

Also, one thing to remember is that by creating pinball media, these guys have gotten the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people and have some cool experiences. Be they touring a manufacturers' facilities, talking with designers and fans, and even making new friends. That's something these creators wouldn't necessarily have gotten to do otherwise, and they've gotten to be an important part of a lot of pinball fans' lives. Which is pretty neat. Not to be too mushy!

And appreciation is one of the main reasons we have the TWIPYs. It's an opportunity to say "thank you!" and "good job!" to people doing great things in the hobby and pinball industry.

Really enjoyed "Silverball Chronicles" with David and Ron. When I first pressed play, I didn't realize that it was a Pinball History podcast. What a great idea! It's a nice change-of-pace from the typical pinball show. Being newer in the hobby, I only knew some of Steve Ritchie's history. Loved how you guys went into detail on specific pins, as well as the characters behind them.

Really enjoyed this first episode, and I can't wait for more. Thumbs Up!

Hot Damn. That's a lot of hate aimed your way Zach! Really sucks someone would go so far out of their way to bash you, especially when they supposedly used to be Team Zach. He's not someone I'd want on my team! Just know my friend that a lot of us out there are rooting for the Network and rooting for you Zach Meny. Thanks for not giving up on Pinball Media in spite of some really out-of-line abusive stuff.

Still flabbergasted someone would post vile garbage like that. Most of what he said makes no sense to me. I think you guys did a great job on episode 2, and you definitely had a nice balance of opinions, and each one of you three were given a chance to self-promote. I wish people like delt31 could learn some empathy, and realize the kind of damage that they're doing to their fellow human beings. Really awful.

Really sorry you have to deal with crap like that Zach. I hope fools like that don't drive you out of podcasting and making videos. We've lost too many all ready. And don't feel bad about promoting FlipNout, it makes sense to do it, and no reasonable person has an issue with it.

By the way, even though Jason dropped out, I'm glad we still got a mid-week Pinball Show last week. Hopefully, you can keep doing them. Although, I'm sure it's a lot of extra work, since that was supposed to be someone else's baby.

We musta listened to different shows. I have no idea what you're talking about. Honestly.

Real sad when creators have to "armor up" just to go into their own thread. This thread should be a place for announcements, positive discussion, and (where needed) constructive criticism. It shouldn't be a place for personal attacks on creators. If someone dislikes a show or host strongly, then they should just move on. No need to trash and bash the content creator, unless they've done something seriously morally or ethically wrong. Uncalled for and mean-spirited bashing is why some creators have decided not to participate in Pinball Media anymore. Or why a lot of them have gone silent on Pinside.

I don't think telling Zach how much he sucks these days is actual worthwhile feedback. Don't compare being asked to not be a jerk, to having your free-speech curtailed by the government. You're more than free to start your own "TPN Feedback" thread, where you can level all the personal attacks you want against the creators on TPN, and you can go into great detail about how much their shows need to improve or about how biased they are. I just think it sucks that people have to drag that manure in here under the guise of "listener feedback." It's possible to give feedback and not be an arsehole about it.

Oh, I'd say delt31's initial comments are pretty personal, and pretty rude to Zach.

The bar for human decency on the internet is very low. I'd like to think we could do better here.

Well, then I'd say you're wrong!

I like when he read one of your comments out on an episode of SDTM, and he said "Dammmiit Nadiiinnne!" in his best Southern Drawl. Good stuff!

With respect, I guess you've never heard of cyber-bullying then? People have fallen into deep depressions, and even committed suicide, because of things that are posted about them online. Maybe for you, stuff that's written about you online doesn't affect you, but the same can't necessarily be said of other people. Do you expect a person to keep visiting a website where others are constantly writing bad things about them? It's not really fair that they either have to tolerate constant criticism and personal attacks, or avoid a website that they previously enjoyed.

It doesn't seem right to me, and it doesn't seem like an issue with a lot of gray area in my opinion. But a lot of people out there lack empathy, and a lot of people are unable to treat strangers with even a basic level of respect. At this point, I'm beginning to feel ashamed of the way a lot of pinsiders are conducting themselves. Makes me a bit sad. Ah well, whatya do? You can't control other people, only yourself.

Moving on, I'm looking forward to the latest from TPN. I think we're due for a mid-week episode tomorrow!

Well, I think this subject has run it's course. Before I bow out for a while, I'll just make a few quick responses.

I don't think the constant Kaneda-bashing on Pinside is cool either. A couple weeks ago I made several posts stating such. As far as his mental health goes, Chris often intentionally makes trolling and controversial statements just to get a reaction out of people. Not just on his own show, but also during other people's live streams. I feel like if he didn't like the responses he was getting, he wouldn't keep doing it. So no, I'm not too worried about his mental health.

Well, you were acting like things said on the internet don't matter, and that online postings shouldn't have an impact on someone's mental well-being. Seems to run counter to your claimed knowledge of how online abuse works.

Just call 'em, like I see 'em.

Glad this thread is finally getting more fun, and less bitchy/depressing. I applaud the change!

Also, not to dive back into the well, but it's starting to seem like delt31 has a Zach Meny obsession just like k-man. Find it kinda weird that he feels the need to "fix" Zach. Not sure why it's delt's job to to mold Zach into his own ideal of podcaster perfection. With all due respect, last time I checked, delt isn't entitled to Zach's time, and Zach doesn't owe delt anything.

Unless of course, Zach and delt made a secret behind-closed-doors deal years ago, and somehow delt has been behind the man behind the Meny empire! Like a silent backer, who's a secret source of pinball machines and business capital! I love the mystery and intrigue this new discovery brings to light!

Someone needs to photoshop Greg's face over the Cerberus heads. Would be so awesome! If someone doesn't do it, maybe I'll enlist my wife's help. She's got a lot more photoshopping skills than me.

I am looking forward to hearing the next episode, but I was surprised when this first one ended. I was like, "Okay. She's finished with the background and introduction, time to get to the...hey wait-a-minute, it's over?" We'll see what episode 2 brings. Because the idea of a pinball podcast from the perspective of route operators and event organizers sounds like it could be interesting. Certainly different from the norm.

Man, this thread was actually fun for a couple of days, but then someone had to go and kick the hornet's nest again. The subject of diversity is complicated, and it's very doubtful that any "conversation" about it on Pinside is going to accomplish anything, or lead to a positive outcome. Not saying that pinball-hobby demographics aren't worth thinking about or discussing, but maybe the TPN thread isn't the place for walls of text about it.
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Onto the Pinball Show Episode 3:

Another good one from the guys. I agree with Zach that it seems like Pinburgh needs to find a better way to do tickets. I hope Ken feels better, my wife's been down with something for a couple of days now herself. It'll be fun having Zach on the FlipNout stream with Ken in person. I wonder if Kaneda will pop by to say nice things like he sometimes does! I don't know how he could resist with Zach Meny actually on camera!

Now you guys just need to convince Den Den to leave work early on Monday, and make the trip to St. Louis. Then you'd have the ultimate FlipNout/Pinball Show stream. It'd be a murder of pinball podcasters!

Ha! I knew that when you said that you played a Flip Frenzy at someone's house, that you must be in Australia, before I even looked at your info. I'm starting to learn about some of the differences in pinball around the world. Still, that's cool that you guys in Australia have found a way to make the pinball hobby work, since you don't have leagues and things like we do here. Very cool!

Well, the vibe is a bit different on this one compared to the standard episode. Think it's because they had to record at separate times. Still worth listening to though. Can't miss the "Pinball Market Trends!" and the "Buy Buy Buy!" and even some "Sell Sell Sell!"

I personally love the long-format, but I could see how some people might want it shorter. For me, I have a lot of drive-time and working alone-time during my week, so the longer the podcast the better, as far as I'm concerned.

Listening to this episode gave me a great idea for a new podcast. It'll be called "Topper-Talk Karaoke" and it would feature lengthy discussions about Pinball Toppers, alternating with segments featuring Zach singing classic 80's songs. It would literally be Dennis' worst nightmare of a podcast!

An old Army buddy of mine is from Indiana. Zach Tolle. Cool dude. Indiana = crossroads of America, right?

Is this week's Pinball Show coming? Normally, it's out on a Monday isn't it? I know some of them were at Louisville, so that might have delayed taping. Plus, maybe they wanted to wait until Hot Wheels was revealed?

That's what I figured, but I wasn't sure if the episode was just delayed, or if they're gonna skip this week.

Just started listening, always fun when the trio is together!

On another note...boy, by the time my edition of Off-The-Record comes out, all my musings will be out-of-date! So much has happened in the two weeks since I recorded. If I recorded it today, I'd definitely have more to content to discuss. Oh well, maybe they'll let me do another episode sometime down the line.

For now, I'll just be patient and twiddle my thumbs another week.

Just finished listening. Another good episode, but I gotta say Ken and Dennis are crazy for saying that Market Trends needs to die, and that Mousin' Around is a lower mid-tier system 11! In these uncertain times, now more than ever does the pinball public need the Market Trends segment to keep us going!

As far as Mousin' goes...I wonder if they've played one that's setup right? Because if you set it up right, and wax it, Mousin' can be one of the fastest and funnest-flippin pinball machines around. First thing to do is remove the end-of-ramp gates; normally these slow the ball down before it reaches the flippers, but with the gates removed the ball never loses speed down the ramps and just screams to the flippers. This makes it much harder to repeat shots/ramps, while amping up the fun factor.

As far as the center ramp goes, you can make an adjustment in the service menu so that the ramp-visor goes back up after every ball, and every ball-lock. This combined with the end-of ramp mod, makes it very hard to keep hitting that center shot over and over. And you have to hit the visor targets in order 1,2,3 in order to lower the visor and those are very risky shots, as center drains can happen easily off the visor. So I think if setup "correctly," you can limit the viability of center-ramp spam, while maintaining a fun experience that's still faithful to the spirit of the pin.

Not to mention the theme-integration is second-to-none with the mouse hole mystery/jackpot award, and the best ball-locks around. The mouse-trap locks are brilliant and are wholly unique to this game in their design. And did I mention this game is mean! It routinely beats me up. It'll be a long time before I feel I've conquered this one.

I could go on, but then I'd just be fan-boying! And in the interest of disclosure, I did buy a Mousin' recently, so that could bias my opinion, but I truly am trying to be objective!

#SavePinballMarketTrends #ZachWasRight #Mousin'Around

Yeah, I thought I heard Zach lump you in with the Market Trends naysayers during the last episode. But I'm glad to see that you're on the right side of history Ken!
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Of course you're still on the wrong side of Mousin' Around...but no ones perfect!

Echo the positive words about Ken. His absence will be felt for a long time! I'm toying with calling in with a special song-salute on tonight's stream.
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On a related note, does this mean Greg might come back from his sabbatical? We all miss that fella! Also, how bout Zach does the FlipNout stream once in a periodically, now that the desk is open? Zach and Greg used to stream pretty regularly back in the day, and I'm sure people would love some pinball streaming from either of them.

Poor Dr John. It was a good idea at heart, but damn the way he did it was confusing AF. Still I applaud the effort, if not the execution!

Congrats Joel! I look forward to the continued future of JUSTAPP.

Also, while I'm here, I want to give a big shout-out to the awesome ladies that joined me on the Special OTR Round-Table last week. They did a fantastic job, and if you haven't listened try to find the time. They had a lot of great things to say, and I learned a lot from listening to them. Plus, they were pretty hilarious at times and some crazy topics get brought up (Hitler, Whoa Nelly, Sonic the Hedgehog, and a lot more).

If I could pull off something like this, being a complete pinball nobody, it means anyone could. So go out there an make some great pinball content for us all to enjoy!

Yeah, it's pretty damn sad. I'm not sure whether JD's white-knighting came from a genuine place, or whether it was just an excuse to start trouble. Either way, I do think less of him after the exchange on FB. Especially since John from Jackbar specifically came out and said that he didn't want Zach and Nicole to be attacked online, or have their business damaged. Jack D. was just very unprofessional.

And the extra sad thing is that there was a thread of truth in JD's statement. The fact is, Jersey Jack donated the TWIPY to raise funds for Jackbar. A very kind and generous thing to do. And Zach failed to give that enough focus during his initial rant on the subject. However, Zach's rant, and The Pinball Show in general, shouldn't be taken so seriously. Zach likes to inject a lot of humor into his podcasts, and I think a lot of his podcast persona comes from a place of trying to entertain and be larger-than-life.

And so while maybe Zach's TWIPY rant WAS a bit cringe; you'd have to be smoking dope to listen to Zach's rant and think that he was in any way criticizing Jackbar, or wishing any sort of ill towards John or Jackbar. And that kind of thing is just not Zach's MO whatsoever. I do honestly question what Jack's MO is now though. Hopefully, Jack Danger can try to be a bit more positive online going forward, and hopefully he can handle his disagreements with a bit more professional courtesy and respect as well. Because the thing is, you wouldn't catch Dwight Sullivan or George Gomez or any other Stern employee making public statements like that. And despite the semantics of being a "contract employee", Jack Danger does still represent Stern and he still works for them on a regular basis.

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Also, I agree Jack and Zach do need to hoops battle it out once and for all. Although, Jack is so damn tall you'd need to have some sort of handicap to make it fair. Maybe Jack plays on his knees?

While I don't agree with your stance, I do think that TPS may eventually get a 3rd host again. That way Dennis can go back to alternating weeks with EGP. Because it does make a very long day for him when he records TPS and EGP back-to-back.

Brilliant comment!

Well, let's try not to all pile on PoMC here. While I've never found volume spikes while listening to TPS to be an issue. I generally listen in my car or through my phone though. To those for whom it is an issue, maybe your default volume is too high? Otherwise, maybe Zach isn't using enough range compression when he's mixing the audio?

Rather than lashing out at Zach, you could make some constructive comments like SKWilson did. Here are another couple examples of constructive comments:

-Can you increase your audio range-compression? My ears are getting blown out during peaks when you yell, and at other times the volume is too low for me to hear.

-Can you edit in some kind of warning beep before a volume spike? That way I'd know to quick turn down my volume, or removed my headphones for a few seconds.

Just a few ideas from my end. You catch more flies with honey, as they say. To paraphrase an expression I heard, "No, you're not wrong, but you are an ass."

Was Dennis not there to provide a counter point? And is Zach not allowed to have an opinion different to your own? They discuss many topics on the podcast; it seems silly to me to write off an entire show because occasionally one of the hosts has a different take than you on a particular subject.

But to each their own I guess!

EDIT: Also, people need to lighten up a little!

I hear you, and I appreciate your point-of-view. And I get not agreeing with Zach on the JP topper issue; I didn't really agree with him either on most of his topper talking points. That's why I appreciate that he has Dennis as his co-host. Dennis often disagrees with Zach and/or provides a devil's advocate perspective on issues like the JP Topper. In this particular case, Dennis was very vocal about the issue, and even did a bunch of topper research.

So while maybe individually Zach doesn't always provide a balanced look at issues like creeping topper/pinball prices; when you include Dennis in the mix, then as a whole the TPS show DOES provide a balanced look at these issues. In my opinion anyway.

I mean these days none of the major companies release "turds". Some games come out and are more divisive, but all of them are at least half-decent, or have redeeming qualities. Cost aside, it's a good-time to be a pinball buyer. BKSOR has it's haters, but it also has plenty of fans. Same with Stranger Things pinball...plenty of people actually DO like it. Look, Zach tries to be positive pinball guy. He was giving good reviews to pins even before he became a distributor. He just loves all pinball and it shows. But I guess some people in this hobby can't believe that a content creator like Zach is genuine. Well, it's not up to Zach to convince you that he's honest, and it's not up to you to "fix" him or his content.

Speaking of honesty, I think anyone who would come into someone else's thread and shit all over their efforts and their character is a pretty crappy person. You don't know Zach personally, and yet you still want to get your digs in and question his character. If you don't value his opinion or his character, then don't listen to or watch his content. You don't need to come in and be an asshole and stir up trouble. That's a jerk move. People like you are ruining the online-side of this hobby. Don't like a creator, then just move on and don't let the door hit you in the ass. No one's forcing you to listen, and no one promised you anything. If the worst you can say about Zach is that he puts too much of a positive spin on his reviews/content, then really he's not doing too bad, is he?

And look, I love Todd, but do you know how many ACTUAL shit-games that Todd Tuckey sells with a smile? Nobody gives him a hard time, even though I've seen him big up plenty of terrible games. For instance, Todd has bigged up "Vacation America" on his show even though it's actually a pretty awful game, at least from rules/code standpoint. I don't understand the double-standard.

I hate the negativity. I kinda wish TPN had their own forum where assholes could be excluded. And look, it's totally fine to have different opinions or to not like something, but being a jerk or an asshole is never cool. Sorry, this got kinda of long. I just get annoyed with the negativity and the constant Zach-bashing.

I see your reasoning, but I think their letter grades reflect a grading scale consisting of ALL pinball machines, not just the ones they've reviewed. They mostly review newer games, and generally Zach and Greg only review pins that at least one of them owns, or owned in the recent past. And since they're unlikely to buy a bad game for their personal collections, they're unlikely to review a bad game. So naturally that would skew the grade distribution to the upper end.

Like if Zach and Greg reviewed the BTTF pin, or the DE Simpsons game, or something like Hardbody, then you'd probably see some F's and D's on their score chart. So the lack of D and F grades doesn't represent any flaws in their system or grading scale. It just reflects Zach and Greg's buying preferences. Like maybe Black Rose is a C or D game if you're only comparing it to modern Sterns or JJPs, but it's definitely at least a B or B- when you add games like Thunderbirds or Shaq Attack to the mix. You get me?

Besides, why look at just the letter grade to their pin reviews. They go into a lot of detail describing how they got to the grade. Surely the reasoning behind the grade is more important than the actual letter anyway.

Two places that are MUST STOPS anytime my family and I are in the Pacific Northwest:

1. Ground Kontrol Arcade - Awesome place with a great selection of pins and arcade games. My personal favorite arcade / pinball bar.

2. Portland Puppet Museum - Quirky place with some amazing puppets such as an original Lamb Chop and original set-used Daniel Tiger.

I feel like the puppet museum would freak Greg out! Those eyes staring at you! Although the second image isn't actually the Portland Puppet Museum, I just thought it was freaky! And people think Rudy is bad!

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Oh yeah, not to turn this into a bash-thread, but I think JD is a pretty garbage person these days for how he's been treating people (particularly Zach & Co). JD adopts this chill surfer-dude vibe on camera, but obviously behind-the-scenes he's something else. Which is sad, because he's done a lot for pinball and I used to love watching his streams. Now I'll only watch if he's doing a game reveal, but even then that's in spite of his presence.

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On a positive note, I see AP is now posting links to the SDTM videos. So that was nice to see today, even if they were a bit late with it. It would be a shame if AP's relationship with SDTM was tarnished after this. Hopefully once the dust settles Zach and Greg can still work with them again someday.

The thing is, I don't hate anyone and I'm not really angry. I just dislike hypocrisy and two-facedness. I find JD's behavior lately to be frustrating, and I think his actions are hurting the pinball community and creating awkward situations. For instance, the SDTM videos and gameplay within, did nothing to take away from the HW stream. The SDTM videos just gave everyone a taste of the game, and then DF's stream was the main course. I saw the SDTM video before it got taken down, and it actually made me more excited to watch Jack's stream, not less. And yet JD still had to complain to American Pinball anyway, and I think that was a big factor in creating the awkward video-takedown and re-edit situation. And of course, AP shoulders much of the blame here too.

But anyway, the Pinball Media roller coaster rides on! And it was great getting a new SDTM video with Greg, and it was nice to see him so involved in promoting it on social media. He's been on a bit of a hiatus for a while, and so I hope with these latest videos it means that he's back. Because I think everyone can agree we need more Greg and Zach being ridiculous together in pinball videos. Zach Meny and Greg Bone - The Wayne and Garth of pinball! Shwing!

Good questions. My understanding is that he's a "contract employee" of Stern, meaning he isn't "technically" an employee of the company, even though he works for/with them all the time. And so I guess he uses that loophole to it's fullest. When JD inks deals to stream Stern's new games, he must have a non-exclusivity clause in there that still lets him work with other pinball companies too if he wants. Smart of him, not so smart of Stern. If I was Stern, I would probably not want him to stream-premiere competitor's games. And the thing is JD needs Stern more than Stern needs him--I think at least 90% of Jack's collection of pins are actually just loaners from Stern HQ.

But I agree, Stern and JD do go hand-in-hand, and so I do think it's a little weird that AP would use him for their promotion. Kinda like how JJP doesn't use Dead Flip when premiering or promoting games. They've worked with Buffalo Pinball and SDTM in the past instead. Oh what tangled webs are weaved in pinball!

But we love to navel-gaze, over-analyze, and find things to be upset about on Pinside! It's kinda our shtick!

I'd love to hear that podcast!

Very interesting. Since you've cleared the air on the Hot Wheels rollout, could you also clear the air on your relationship with other pinball media outlets and personalities? You've very publicly argued with and initiated a lot of drama with Zach and other members of his circle on social media. I'd love to know what your goals are, and if you are still committed to being a Pinball Ambassador for All?

If so, would you be willing to publicly declare your desire to put aside any differences with other pinball media outlets and with other other pinball personalities? And could you commit to just trying to get along with everyone in the community? I'd love for the positive attitude that you project on stream, to extend to the rest of the pinball community, including people associated with FNO, TPN, and SDTM.

It'd be awesome if everyone could just hug it out, and try to move forward with mutual respect. Pinball was certainly better off before the bitterness and arguing kicked off.

Listen, that wasn't my proudest wording. I was pretty fired up, and that was truly how I was feeling at the time. Really I just wish that everyone would get along and act professionally both publicly and behind-the-scenes.

What road is that? Jack did word his statement very well, but that statement doesn't necessarily match Jack's previous actions and statements.

Because reading Jack's statement on the previous page, he is making it sound like all he wants is a professional and respectful relationship with Zach and TPN, and everyone else. In my post, I just asked Jack to confirm that really is his goal. Doesn't seem like a crazy thing to ask him, so not sure why I got so many downvotes. And look, I'd love for JD to be an entirely positive force in pinball. The problem is...his previous postings on FB seem to, at least at times, run counter to that. The very public posts are still up for all the world to see. So you don't have to take my word for it, and you can make your own judgements.

https://www.facebook.com/DeadFlip/posts/1570129899801490

and

https://www.facebook.com/groups/pinballenthusiasts/permalink/3276354965730741/

You might have to join The Pinball Enthusiasts FB group to see the second incident, but I recommend joining because it's very enlightening reading. You can see Mr. Positivity himself, Jack Danger, write some pretty unpleasant stuff to Zach and FNO, and you can even see Jack arguing with Zach's wife Nicole. Classy stuff for a pinball ambassador. Especially for the launch day of TMNT, a product that both FNO and JD are supposed to be promoting.

When reviewing both those FB threads, also do bear in mind that TPN always has had the goal of having lots of women and people of color on the network. And history is showing that progress is being made towards both of those goals. And when reading the second thread, don't miss the post where John from Jackbar publicly declares that he never wanted Zach or Nicole, or FNO, to be publicly attacked, or have their business damaged.

So I mean based on those two incidents, I question the sincerity of Jack's statement. But I am more than willing to give Jack the benefit of the doubt, and I truly hope that JD wants to conduct himself in an honest and respectful manner. Because as I've said many times, this bitterness and arguing and drama sucks balls! I miss the days when all the pinball media people got along.

Look, people can do what they want to, but I don't care for people being assholes, and I'm not afraid to say it. JD is the one who wants to be the pinball ambassador, that's not anything I came up with. But if you're gonna be an ambassador, then you should hold yourself to a higher standard, or drop the act/title. And I made that long-ass post because there's a lot of backstory that some people don't know.

At least we agree on one thing Law, neither of us likes "fake" people. More than anything, I hate hypocrisy and two-faced actions. Which is one of the big things about the JD situation that annoys me. And I mean people getting along, or at least acting professionally, in public isn't inherently a "fake" thing. Of course personalities and egos will clash, but there can still be respect and professional courtesy.

Ah well, whatevs, I'm kinda out of steam now. No hard feelings towards anyone. We all have opinions, and no one has to share mine.

Come one J, it's time to drop it and move on buddy. We want to focus on wacky pinball puppet theater now.

Speaking of wacky pinball puppet theater...holy cow the first episode of Puppet Palz was a lot of fun! I had now idea how underrepresented the puppet demographic was in the pinball hobby. My eyes have been opened! And what a timely topic, let's follow Moppy and Steve's advice and try to all get along.

And oh man, my wife thinks I'm goofy enough for how much I like pinball, should have seen her face when I played her some clips from the Puppet Palz!

Look, I suggested that you move on because I don't understand what the point of continuing to talk about it is, or what sort of resolution you are seeking. I've never heard Zach or Greg ever suggest that Jack Danger or anyone else should be harassed, ever. That's not really their thing. And since the whole HW launch went down, I never heard or saw either of them ever even mention Jack by name. They've actually been trying to keep things pretty diplomatic, and on the last TPS episode, Zach even still suggested that people go watch the DF premiere stream if they wanted to see more Hot Wheels action.

So if people are harassing JD, then A-that's a shame and not cool, and B-not remotely Zach or Greg's fault. They've both tried to move on from this business, and I suggest that we all respect that. What more needs to be said about it?

--
I for one can't wait for Puppet Palz Episode 2, and I'd love a behind-the-scenes documentary about this whole project!

I wonder what Moppy looks like? Anything like one of these? Although the last one is a bit scary. Then again, just because his name is Moppy, doesn't actually mean he has to have mop-like features. Hmm...is it wrong that I'm wondering these kinds of things after listening to Puppet Palz? Are these questions that a 34-year-old man should be asking?

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Well, there are a lot of pinball guys with small New York City apartments. Not sure what size his apartment is, but CrazyLevi lives in NYC. So I mean, he wasn't necessarily talking about the K-man.

I'm definitely Team Kristen Bell

True, but she is one of my celebrity crushes, so she get's a pass! Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

I have to say, I highly recommend that everyone listen to the latest episode of Kaneda's podcast that dropped this morning. And that's not something that I usually say.

While I don't agree with everything that Chris says in the episode, I 100% agree with his call for the feud between Jack and Zach to end. He actually makes some very good points, and regardless of who's at fault or who is more to blame, it really does need to stop. The in-fighting is getting to the point where it's hurting the hobby. It's affecting business/professional relationships, it's dividing the community, it's frankly embarrassing, and I think the feud is causing people to say things that are out of character or that they'll regret later. I know I've gotten caught up and said one or two things that I wish I could take back.

Jack and Zach don't have to be best pals, but it would be great if they could both keep things professional and respectful. The pinball hobby is big enough for both of them to exist, and they both have their talents. I suggest that we all leave the old drama in the past, forget about who did what, and just try to move forward. Let's leave the past in the past.

Who'da thunk that Kaneda would actually be an inspiring peacemaker! I genuinely applaud his efforts in this latest podcast.

Finally got the chance to listen to the latest episode of Final Round. What a good interview with Keith Elwin. It was great to hear his thoughts on pinball design, his own games, and pinball in general. Keith doesn't do that many interviews, so I thought it was a great listen. Nice job Jeff and Martin!

Good episode gentlemen. I'm really enjoying the Pinball MVP segment. And I think the world needs a life-size 4-Inch Kriesel Clone bobblehead. I'd buy at least two, so that I can have a tiny Den Den on my desk and one for my car. What could be better than a miniature Kriesel bobbing up and down while you work or drive? Let's make that happen!

Also, shoutout to all the new streaming channels that have joined TPN, but I'm especially pumped that Fliptronic has joined the network. I've been enjoying their streams for the last few weeks now. They're a good team, they manage not to be obnoxious or annoying, they play a lot of interesting or lesser-seen games (such as D&D and JM), they pay attention to their chat, and they're located in my old stomping grounds of Austin, TX. So I can't recommend them enough. Plus, I think Becca's pretty cute, but then again I have a soft spot for redheads. Great add!

How dare you have personal opinions that you choose to keep to yourself! If you're gonna dare to say that you don't care for a public figure, then you damn well better be prepared to engage drama-factor 5 and lay out all your reasons! Otherwise the downvote police will get you.

Here, I'll upvote to balance out your score, now you're back to black. But consider this a warning!

While I completely agree that having a distro associated with a successful streamer makes good sense, it's definitely not gonna happen on Jack's stream. But that's one of the reasons why there is the Flip N Out streaming channel. Synergy. Plus, it's just good fun.

Ahhh, everytime I think the TPN thread is back on track, then someone goes and ruins it....

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Hey Jeff, not to speak for anyone else, but I took Zach's comment about the search feature as more of a casual, off-the-cuff sorta statement. As a listener, I thought that Zach was speaking fairly extemporaneously, and didn't take it to be a deeply thought-out critique. I find it quite strange that listeners would've been harassing you about it, as I didn't give the statement another thought 10 seconds after he said it.

This will be very useful for some people. Thanks for going to the effort Dennis. Personally, I'll just stick to the main feed. Most of the TPN shows come out so infrequently that I don't find that I have any trouble navigating them. Plus, I tend to listen to everything anyway!

No TPS this week? I can only assume it is in honor of Chris K. How magnanimous of Zach and Dennis to have a week of silence in honor of Kaneda's Podcast passing! Way to go guys.

Sure...a "vacation"...that's what he's doing. I personally think Zach has fallen into a state of mourning/depression now that his arch-rival and frenemy Kaneda is off the air. It's like that episode of BTAS, when the Joker thinks he's finally killed Batman, and then falls into a depressed stupor. Because the Joker realizes that without Batman, there's no one to challenge his schemes and no one to try and outsmart or outwit. Without a rival like Batman, Joker found life to be less rewarding. He needed a Batman, a worthy opponent, to truly get excitement out of life.

Anyway, that's what I'm imaging is happening in the Meny household.

Could you imagine!

Yeah, I've been meaning to mention that your overall sound level has been a bit low. I often listen with my phone in my pocket and most shows like TPS or Super Awesome are loud enough, but usually JAPP is too quiet for me to do that. If a show is too loud, I can always turn the sound down, but when it's too quiet I can only turn up my device so much before I max out.

Either way, good work Joel. Keep it up!

Early episode? Cool! Also, where'd the display output-adapter video go? #TooHotForPinball?

Don't think so. Generally the TPN video content isn't usually mirrored on the podcast feed in audio-only form. But you could always ask Zach if he'd do it special this once. He used to do it for the SDTM stuff back in the day.

Good choices, I'll add in my perennial Chronicles request:

-Ed Cebula the great and forgotten Data East designer.

He started out designing pins for Gameplan, and then he had a hand in almost all of the great DE pins, before dropping out of the pinball industry and disappearing. Who was this man of mystery?

Say what you will, that's a decent launch trailer.

Well, typos show that they're comman folk. Helpz then stay in touch with the peple.

Hmm, I always thought of Den Den as the cute little pocket man of the group. I think Pocket-Kriesel would fit right in on puppet palz.

huuurgh...that picture of Zach as Dr. Phil is incredibly disturbing, and I love it!

Not sure which version that I listened to, but for what it's worth it sounded good to me. Could easily hear the podcast on my phone's external speaker, not always true of a lot of podcasts I like to listen to. You sounded a bit quieter than Tom, but still perfectly listenable. And if I have the choice between the two, I'd much rather have the guest be the loudest and clearest person on the podcast. Which he was. Afterall, hopefully the interviewee/guest is doing most of the talking.

So it was good for me.

Yeah, their levels were a little different. They did mention that they recorded in different rooms. The only issue I had was that the overall audio-level was little quiet for my listening device. I had the volume maxed on my phone and had trouble catching everything at times. That being said, it was still an enjoyable listen and I hope that they do more.

Wow, I can't wait to hear this one. I need to play Space Shuttle again sometime. I've only played it once for like 5 minutes, and it didn't wow me. But that was a long time ago, and my tastes have probably matured!

Amazing interview. Really good stuff; it was great to hear from such a longtime pinball legend like Youssi. Plus, I loved the "Can't say what I'm working on, but everyone one knows what I'm working on" bit. If that's not Toy Story confirmation, then I don't know what is.

I'm on Team Dwight for Harry Potter. I can picture a beautiful-looking game with illustrated art. And only using the book license gives them way more freedom. I don't want actor clip-art all over the game.

Even though it'll be waaay cheaper to license, book Potter will still sell like hotcakes! Zach is smoking dope if he thinks it won't sell. The books were megahits long before the movies came out.

I got the joke. I thought it was pretty funny.

Good to have TPS back after the week off. But I will echo the sentiment here and say that you probably covered your bases the first time you called Martin and Jonathan out in the episode. Don't think we needed to hear about it a second time, that was a bit much I felt. Especially when those guys bring a lot to the table podcast and news-wise.

But hey, I'm just a lowly listener, and I'll take what I can get. First-world problems. AmIright?!

Wow, those t-shirts are awesome! Really like them a lot. Plus, that goat one reminds me a little bit of my Wife and I's submission from back when. But obviously on a whole notha' level! I'll definitely be ordering a few shirts. Fingers crossed that they're true to size!

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Yeah, I've never heard a company rep suggest that certain people SHOULDN'T buy their product.

I mean it's good if he wants to set expectations on rules depth, but man don't just flat out tell people not to buy it! Let your buyers make up their own minds. Reminds me of when Mike suggested that he didn't want Americans to buy Thunderbirds. The funny thing is, Thunderbirds was actually aired in parts of the US. My mom and uncles all remembered watching it growing up in the 60s and 70s.

Also, he conflates people who like deep rules with tournament players. They aren't necessarily the same thing. Plenty of competitive players like relatively simple games like Meteor or Hoops. And plenty of them don't actually own games at home. Likewise, plenty of non-competitive players like deep rules, because they only play at home.

Deeproot did sponsor some of the monthly TWIP videos that are broadcast on TWIPs YouTube channel. They're still up and deeproot is listed as a sponsor in the beginning of the videos. I know Sept. 2020 is one of them. Don't know if the sponsorship went beyond that or not.

Awesome to have Drew as a guest this week. Really fun. Does this mean that we'll have Zach co-host a Poor Man's episode sometime soon?

As far as the new JP homepin goes, the big improvement I see over the SW Pin is the code. I watched an old VOD of Jack playing the SW Pin, and he literally beat the entire game in 5 minutes on ball 1! There is just no code to that game.

However, with JP Pin, in the span of an hour only one of 3 really good players managed to get to the Nublar wizard mode. And no-one got to the second wizard mode. So that bodes well for better lastability. In fact, I'm worried it might be a bit too hard to progress. I do wish that completing the Dino modes involved more than just hitting the same shot over and over, but I understand the limitations they face, and scope they're going for.

Honestly, I wish Stern would release a slightly more expensive version with coin mechs. I would totally buy one to put on-route if they did.