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Episode 3 - Elizabeth Weinberg / Ian visits Stern Pinball!

Nudgecast·podcast_episode·1h 36m·analyzed·Jan 16, 2025
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Ian visits Stern for D&D reveal; discusses game features, rates Brian Eddy's designs, and hints at potential Donkey Kong

Summary

Ian Jacoby from Nudge Magazine discusses his visit to Stern Pinball's media day for the new Dungeons & Dragons game, highlighting its innovative features like the shield mechanic, multi-ball gameplay, and ability to save/resume games. He also recounts the post-event Chicago tournament scene and interviews Elizabeth Weinberg, an LA-based photographer and tournament director for the LA Women's Pinball League. A brief speculation about Stern's next unannounced game references a giant mallet prop, sparking discussion of a possible Donkey Kong theme.

Key Claims

  • Dungeons & Dragons features an auto-aim shield mechanic that shoots balls up a ramp when flippers are slapped with the ball resting against it

    high confidence · Ian Jacoby describing gameplay mechanics observed during Stern media day visit

  • D&D has eight balls in the game simultaneously, which is unusual for modern pinball

    high confidence · Ian Jacoby discussing game design during podcast

  • The Dragon mechanism was engineered backwards—designers wanted the dragon to shoot balls out first, which dictated the size and structure

    high confidence · Ian reporting what Brian Eddy explained during the media day

  • D&D allows players to save gameplay and resume later, a feature unprecedented in modern Stern games

    high confidence · Ian Jacoby describing D&D's code features at Stern media day

  • Scoring at the D&D media day was 'broken' with players casually hitting 5-6 billion points; Dwight Eddy said not to feel good about any scores

    high confidence · Ian Jacoby recounting observations from gameplay at Stern HQ

  • Brian Eddy's ranking among his own games: Shadow #1, Medieval Madness #2, D&D #3, with Attack from Mars and Mandalorian below

    medium confidence · Ian Jacoby's personal ranking/opinion expressed during interview

  • Chicago's league tournament had 105 players and is typically 70-90 people on average

    high confidence · Ian Jacoby reporting information provided during Chicago event

  • Stern was very secretive about the building, only allowing access to certain parts, suggesting unreleased games in development

    high confidence · Ian Jacoby describing security/access restrictions at Stern HQ

  • Ian saw a giant mallet prop at Stern, which he speculates could indicate a Donkey Kong pinball machine in development

    low confidence · Ian Jacoby's speculation based on observing a mallet prop during Stern visit; explicitly framed as speculation

Notable Quotes

  • “So when you have the balls just resting against the shield, if you just slap the flippers, it automatically shoots it up a ramp. Like, it auto-aims a shot for you.”

    Ian Jacoby @ mid-content — Describes a unique D&D gameplay mechanic that is novel for modern pinball

  • “If they don't have a hit on their hands, it has nothing to do with the game and everything to do with the market right now. Like, I think this is a great game. I think if this came out during the pandemic, this would be a huge game.”

    Ian Jacoby @ late-content — Commentary on market conditions vs. game quality; implies current pinball market is soft

  • “I'm always the guy who's a little bit too cool for school.”

    Ian Jacoby @ mid-late-content — Self-description of content creation philosophy and social approach

  • “She's perfect for that. She's like, what do you like about Jaws? I was like, oh, I like that it teaches you to play it as you play it... She's like, oh, thank you so much. What does that mean? I'm like, you know what? Let's not talk about Jaws right now. Let's just be stupid at this bar.”

    Ian Jacoby @ late-content — Humorous exchange illustrating Elizabeth Gieske's technical depth vs. casual bar conversation

  • “I think you could even just have the same playfield, just like have a stadium, you know what I mean? Or something like that be the playfield, like some kind of, like make it look so it doesn't have to even be necessarily totally team theme.”

    Ian Jacoby @ early-content — Discusses concept of sports-themed pinball with team variants, suggesting market opportunity

  • “I did see a giant mallet there, and I was like, that feels like Donkey Kong to me, but I don't... that's like totally some BS, but feel free to aggregate that and like, you know, take it wherever you want.”

    Ian Jacoby @ late-content — Speculation about unreleased Stern game; explicitly framed as speculation but treated as potential leak

Entities

Ian JacobypersonShane ToldpersonElizabeth WeinbergpersonDwight EddypersonBrian EddypersonJack DangerpersonElizabeth GieskepersonKyle Spiteriperson

Signals

  • ?

    product_launch: Stern's D&D pinball features unprecedented save/resume gameplay, 8-ball multi-ball mode, shield auto-aim mechanic, and premium dragon mech that shoots balls; code still in development with unbalanced scoring

    high · Ian Jacoby's detailed first-hand account from Stern media day visit describing all major mechanical and code features

  • ?

    design_innovation: D&D introduces save/resume branching narrative gameplay to pinball, allowing players to explore alternate paths without restarting from beginning; compared to Jurassic Park but with backwards progression capability

    high · Ian describing the save feature and Stern employee's comparison to Jurassic Park; explicitly noted this could change how people play pinball

  • ?

    leak_detection: Giant mallet prop observed at Stern HQ in restricted areas; Ian speculates this indicates Donkey Kong pinball in development, though explicitly framed as speculation

    low · Ian's observation: 'I did see a giant mallet there, and I was like, that feels like Donkey Kong to me, but I don't... that's like totally some BS'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Chicago's pinball league tournament reached 105 players for players appreciation night; league averages 70-90 players per event; Andy Bagwell runs major tournament series

    high · Ian Jacoby reporting league organizer statistics from Chicago event

  • $

    market_signal: Ian asserts D&D would have been 'huge game' if released during pandemic, but questions whether current market will support it despite game quality; suggests market conditions are the constraint, not game design

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.283

0:00
Need a pinball machine? Another pinball machine? Maybe some fat accessories like a topper or a shooter rod? Yes, you do. Hit up Jeff over at Mad Pinball for the best products and service and use our promo code NudgeCast and get a free exclusive t-shirt when you buy any game. And you also get free shipping on any new in box Stern. So many great games are out right now. Go pick one up. Hit up jeff at madpinball.com and don't forget to tell them we sent you. Thank you.
0:53
Hi everybody, you're listening to Nudgecast, the official podcast of Nudge Magazine. That intro music you heard was the song Switchboard Scientist by the band Pow! with an exclamation point at the end. As always, I'm Ian Jacoby, aka Doc Monday, the editor-in-chief and publisher of Nudge Magazine. With me is my co-host Shane Told of the band Silverstein and the lead singer syndrome. Hey Shane, how's it going? Much better than you. I think you're feeling a little under the weather. I can hear it in your voice. Yeah, I got some Barry White to me today. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., I'm a fan of Stern employees. This is funny. I think the Jordan flu game was actually someone put poop on his pizza. Have you heard that story before? That was in the Jordan documentary. Oh my god. I have not heard that story. Yeah, I think he got food poisoning from poop pizzas, his version of the flu game. I don't think that happened to me. We did have pizza at Stern. I did get sick the next day. Don't think it was poop pizza though. No. How would you know? Like, I remember the flu game. Like, I was a massive Michael Jordan fan in the 90s, and I remember that and everything. But I don't... How do you know? Did someone say they put poop on his pizza at some point? Yeah, I think maybe so. Or Jordan just, like, realized right away. Anyone watching this, I think if you go back, it's like the second to last episode of the, like, six-part Jordan documentary. They talk about that in there. It's at least a pretty intense conspiracy theory. Whether it's true or not, I'm not sure. But this also actually ties into some nudge stuff because there's kind of a hipster basketball magazine called Franchise. And they had me come in and write a story about Stern back in the day actually did or was it? No, I think it was actually Williams back in the day did a bunch of one off games for celebrities, including Michael Jordan. Oh, wow. And so when you see Michael Jordan's game, I think they made six of them and they auctioned them off mostly to him. Love you guys!

  • D&D is 'the most home buyer game that Stern has ever made' in terms of engagement features and code updates

    medium confidence · Ian Jacoby's opinion comparing D&D to previous Stern releases

    • Andy Bagwellperson
    Tyler Whiteperson
    Roger Sharpeperson
    Stern Pinballcompany
    Nudge Magazineorganization
    Nudgecastproduct
    Dungeons & Dragonsgame
    LA Women's Pinball Leagueorganization
    Waltzvenue
    Mad Pinballcompany

    medium · Ian's statement: 'If they don't have a hit on their hands, it has nothing to do with the game and everything to do with the market right now'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Brian Eddy explicitly designs for accessibility and entry-level appeal rather than competitive depth; intentionally creates games where casual players immediately find rewarding goals (bash castle, hit dragon, steal gold)

    high · Ian discussing his conversation with Brian Eddy about making games accessible and not requiring deep code knowledge to enjoy

  • ?

    content_signal: Post-event Chicago bar gathering shows distinction between content creators who must constantly film/record vs. observers who prioritize social engagement; Ian prefers casual conversation over content creation; multiple YouTube/podcast personalities attend Stern media days

    high · Ian contrasting his content approach with YouTubers and influencers who must be filming; discussion of post-event social dynamics

  • ?

    manufacturing_signal: Stern maintains strict access controls at HQ during media days; journalists/influencers allowed into specific restricted areas only; suggests multiple games in active development pipeline

    high · Ian reporting: 'They had to hide the giant King Kong topper... they had to hide... they were very secretive about like we had to only go in certain parts of the building'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Ian and Shane brainstorm NFL-licensed pinball game with team variant strategy (Pro=generic NFL, Premium/LE=team-specific art packages); Ian suggests willingness to pay $2,000 premium for team-branded versions; notes surprise no NFL game exists yet despite league merchandise dominance

    low · Speculative discussion between hosts about hypothetical NFL pinball and licensing approach; not based on any manufacturer announcement

  • ?

    event_signal: Stern host media days for new game reveals with rotating attendance from podcasters, YouTubers, and industry figures; attendees receive custom merchandise (first visit: branded jackets, signed translites; second visit: fewer giveaways); goodie bag scale appears to have decreased

    high · Ian's comparison of his two Stern media day visits and the different gift packages provided each time

  • ?

    community_signal: LA Women's Pinball League actively organized and directed by Elizabeth Weinberg; operates separately from other LA tournaments (e.g., Bells and Chimes); maintains dedicated regular venue at Waltz

    high · Elizabeth Weinberg's introduction and discussion of her tournament director role; clarification of multiple separate LA tournaments

  • ?

    product_concern: D&D's scoring system noted as 'pretty broken' during early media day sessions; players casually hitting 5-6 billion points; designer Dwight Eddy acknowledged incomplete balance, noting designers focused on D&D mechanics not scoring during this stage

    high · Ian reporting: 'To be frank with you, that part of the game is pretty broken right now... people topping 5 and 6 billion'

    • 3:10
    Hey we are a team of modref relation friends! lerini 👍A year John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. We gotta grow pinball. We gotta get more people into the hobby. I'm surprised they haven't done more sports themes. That's true. Yeah. I mean an NFL pin would be just like a slam dunk. Exactly. Wasn't that maybe done? I think they did something like that. But I'm talking like you get an NFL license and you just skin it with the six top teams. You know who they are, like the Packers, right? I mean, you're speaking my language. Not this year, necessarily, but yeah. But I went with Packers first for you. Yeah, I appreciate that. But, you know, Packers, Cowboys, Eagles, whoever, you know, they deem the six most popular teams are, and then I think they could, that's something that a lot of people would want to put in their man cave. Oh. You know, with their sports, you know, with all their flat screens and everything. Yeah. And that, to me, would get a lot of people into the hobby. I don't know, maybe it's not as simple as licensing from like something like the NFL, but when you look at how much merchandise the NFL makes, you'd think it would be possible.
    5:15
    I love that. Here, I'm gonna put an idea on top of your idea. Sure, pile them up. So instead of saying like the top six teams, here's what we do, right? So in pinball we have an LE, we have a premium, and we have a pro. So with a pro you're getting like a general themed NFL game that's like for bars or whatever, you know. I mean, maybe some bars are gonna want, you know, like, in Wisconsin, Packer bars are gonna want a Packer pinball machine. But, like, as you go up to premium or the LE, you know, you get, like, special team-branded art. And so that's part of, like, that's a good way for Stern. They don't have to, like, increase how much their games cost a lot, but just by way of, like, doing a different art package and, like, mixing that with, like, some thematic stuff, you know, that really feels like good value. Like, I would pay an extra $2,000 for a Packer themed version of that game over the general like NFL Pro version, you know? Totally. Yeah, no, totally. I mean, there's ways to do it, I think, relatively inexpensively. Like, if it's the same layout, if it's just the logos are changed around, like a different logo on a helmet, you know, like, I obviously you're talking about different play fields and stuff if you want to do it right. But I don't think it's that big a deal. And I think it could be, it could be huge. I really haven't heard anyone talk about this. I wonder if you could, yeah, well, I mean, because we're just making it up right now, but I think you could even just have the same playfield, just like have a stadium, you know what I mean? Or something like that be the playfield, like some kind of, like make it look so it doesn't have to even be necessarily totally team theme. You could have the inserts be team theme. Maybe that's easier in some way to do it as inserts. I'm not sure. Yeah, this is hilarious. I mean, we could talk about this all day. You know that I love doing fake themes in my head. So Stern, if you want more free good ideas, you're just gonna have to like email us direct. So I think that's how that's right. Yeah, we'll consult for you. No problem. I did want to bring up because it's been on my mind. We talked about that game out in LA. As we record this right now. There's some pretty nasty fires going on right now. And there's just like a lot of people being displaced in California, including terrible. Yeah, including pinball people. So Our guest this week is Elizabeth Weinberg and she's an LA photographer. You know, she's been based out of LA for a long time and is a huge part of their tournament scene. And yeah, we're just like thinking about all those people definitely right now. And I know there's going to be a lot of like fundraising efforts going on for different things. We've reposted a couple of them. But yeah, guys, just like get out there and, you know, help your not just fellow pinballers, but, you know, fellow human beings, I think. So, definitely. Absolutely. It's absolutely devastating and like I've had, you know, some of my music industry friends lose their entire homes and their entire home studios. Like all their gear, all their guitars, all that stuff just gone, you know, and it's so awful. So awful. Yeah, it's surreal to see those pictures. It looks like the surface of the moon or something. Чтобы買иwood froggo tradisi, Please, let's not just make this tragedy porn. Let's show the human side of it. And she was trying to shoot some of that, and I was like, man, that's so cool. Totally. She's a great photographer, a great person, and I think you guys are going to be really excited when you hear that interview, for sure. It's absolutely a good one, and we're really excited to have her on the show. So we'll be getting into that in just a second. But going back to Stern, Ian, you got a chance to visit the Stern HQ and get a glimpse of the new new with Dungeons & Dragons, the brand new game coming out very soon, or I guess it is out. Yeah. So how is that? That's always fun. It is fun. This is a couple game reveals in for me. So I feel like the senior in high school just kind of slacking off a little bit. Yeah, like D&D itself is a like super exciting game. Let me ask you some things. So what's the vibe like at one of these media days? How many people go to this? Like I know I hear, you know, I listen to other podcasts and I, you know, I see that there's YouTubers and all that. Everyone there, I assume, is a big pinball person or are there some people kind of like from different areas that are not specialized in pinball? What's the vibe? Do you know everybody by now or are there some people you haven't met before? There's always some new people that come. It's partially what you're talking about. I think there are YouTubers and people who are just getting into it who come along and that's awesome. Hell yeah, come on in. But also I think it's just scheduling stuff. Kale and Rachel weren't there this time. Usually they're there. But at this point, yeah, I know most people. I was feeling so confident walking in just like because I had done this before. Like I'm friends with all those guys at Stern. Like for me, it was like I'm going to go get to see my friends and like play a bunch of pinball. So in terms of like the other influencers, like I think it was a funny vibe. Like the way that I make content is different from those guys, right? Like they have to be filming all the time. They kind of have to be looking for things. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Knapp Arcade, You know, and just kind of having funny little conversations. So like you asked me, you asked me before we got on the phone today, you're like, did you do any interviews? I was like, no. But yeah. Well, it's all good. I mean, this is the interview right now. You telling me what's happening there. So like what, what do they hand out? Goodie bags? Is there food? Are they giving you beers? Like what's the, what's the vibe like that? Okay. Full disclosure. It does feel a bit like different this time because the first time we went, we got like Like crazy goodie bags. We got like these really cool Stern kind of like members only looking jackets. And we got like a signed Translite for John Wick. We got all this stuff. Super sick. And I'm sure most people gave it away to their fans. For me, I just kept it and like stare at it lovingly. But this time, little, little less stuff for sure. We got these really great, I think I can out them on this because they were handing them out. But we they made a versions of the The
    12:11
    The Valley Company, Subsidiary of Walter Kidde & Co., Inc., Mirco Playfields, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. josh.matthews mnx.com
    13:22
    6 josh.matthews mnx.com 7 klicks ewhen I've been playing a lot growing up. I have played like one-off campaigns and stuff like that before, but I'm not like deep into the lore of it. Okay. It does seem like they, I really like the movie. I've like recommended that to everyone. The most recent movie is like surprisingly, surprisingly funny and sort of, right, the idea of Dungeons and Dragons is like everyone has different sort of stats for different, you know, attributes that they have. And so some people are really high in charisma, some And so, both in this game and in the movie, it's really interesting to see how that idea, like, plays out over those mediums, right? Like, in the movie, it leads to some really funny stuff. In the game, too, it's like, the different characters kind of have, like, different strengths. Like, some people have longer shield time, some people can, like, kill bad guys easier and stuff. And it's just, like, cool to see Dwight is such a nerd. I asked him this question. He didn't say this on the tour. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Knapp Arcade, I was like, yeah, of course you did. You're like such a nerd. But like, he loves it, you know? And so there's no one better who's just like a rule set nerd who had like already been, they had workshopped a lot of these ideas in Venom. And then kind of this is the revision of those ideas. And it really seems like, like I said, it's really interesting. So that's great. No, I mean, I get that vibe from Dwight too, that he is really all in on it. And I think that's a really good thing. And maybe that's why he's tired because he's like, you know what I mean? He's worked his ass off on this thing and Brian too. Yeah, absolutely. So let's talk about the main features of the game. Obviously, the dragon is like the main mech. You have the gelatinous cube. Yeah. You also have the shield that pops up between the flippers, which is something that we haven't seen on a Stern game in a long time. Well, and you know, the coolest thing about that, I don't know that people are talking about this that much, but the shield. So when you have the balls just resting against the shield, that sounds terrible as I hear myself say that, but as you have the balls gently resting against the shield, if you just slap the flippers, it automatically shoots it up a ramp. Like, it auto-aims a shot for you. So I watched my buddy Tyler needed an extra ball that was this shot. He just hit the shield, let the ball sit there, and then he hit it and it just auto, like, it went in. And like was like a you can do this every time it's like wow that's like amazing actually so yeah so that that was really interesting to me sorry are there any oh they're like in the premium there's also the dungeon right that pops up i guess is that oh yeah yeah yeah right i didn't want to shortchange you but i was so excited by that thing i thought it was so cool so i always like when there's a that kind of a thing in a game i think i like the strategy of it of just being like okay like you know how much time do i have am i gonna let my ball rest there Runnin' kids a' needed, ho motivated, It's encouraging you to do it more, actually, in this game, which is really cool. Like, that's interesting. So, especially when there are like, you know, six or seven balls, like, flying around, like, the game, which is crazy. The dragon, like, shooting out those things. Like, it goes from one ball to six or seven balls in, like, no time at all. It's a very wild feeling. It's literally an eight-ball game. There's eight balls in the game, which is a lot. It is. It's a lot of balls. So the dragon mech is especially interesting too on the premium and the LE it's got. It shoots the balls out of it. Yeah. And that I found really interesting because I get like, you know, Jurassic Park, you shoot a ball into the mouth and then it shoots it back out. Okay. I understand how that can happen, but the balls have to drain and then there has to be some kind of coil or something that fires the balls back up. Yeah. It's like up the subway, back into the drive. The Valley Company, Subsidiary of Walter Kidde & Co., Inc., Mirco Playfields, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. Last chose Winash of Souluc, NES Пон Useي, Box Tag of the Awaa Czech Galxy関 has been decided 원� Merc, rocket back Paradigms, railroad اورp. oBut really interesting to hear Brian talk about, they engineered that backwards. They knew that they wanted it to shoot balls out first. And so then that was what dictated the size and everything else of The Dragon clause. grandmother weway and uh i John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. The very interesting feature and the ability to save gameplay and resume later
    20:04
    Because pinball has always started over at the beginning every game every time you start a new game, but this seems like it might change the way people play pinball like you kind of You're going to play a game, but you're only going to try to do a couple of things and not really worry about your score Right well, you think that that's that's like a good change for pinball, or do you think this is just a gimmick? I think it's, no, I don't think it's a gimmick, but I think it's interesting. I think a way to conceptualize it that will like make sense with something that already exists in pinball is a Stern employee who wasn't associated with this game at all but was just playing it with us said, you know, this reminds me of Jurassic Park except for you can go backwards, you know, and that is basically kind of what it is. It's sort of this like branching tree, but you can, you know, you could go back, you can do those different things. I think you can still high score chase definitely on this game. To be frank with you, that part of the game is pretty broken right now. We were all putting up, you were like, dude, what the hell is up with your scores. I had one of the lower top scores there, I think they were people topping 5 and 6 billion, and Dwight was saying, guys, don't feel good about any of these scores, if you do anything it's going to score a billion points. So, like, they were more concerned with showing the, like, D&D part of it, which was really cool and interesting. So, yeah, like, I can see the uncharitable view of it. It's a gimmick. For me, it's like, oh, this is like another flavor of ice cream that we've never had before in pinball. And I think it's, like, cool.
    21:42
    Nice. No, I, I, I'm here for it, too. So you're a big fan of Brian Eddy. Oh, yeah. The lead designer in this game. Where would you rank this among the other games he's designed? Dude, that is a good... you're a good interviewer. I do, I've done this a lot. You have, I know, I know, yeah. And that was good to like save one of the harder ones for the end where I'm like... Well, I mean, we know you love The Shadow, so I'm not gonna say there's no way you're gonna put this game above The Shadow. Man, no, I'm not. And like, dude, like, I mean, you're right, like, I love Brian Eddy, but also I feel like the world loves Brian Eddy. Like if you look at his games, it's like Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars. Yeah, of course. Those are all time classics. I would put this... Dude, I've played it six times. Like I don't know. Right, right. I don't know that... So like I reserve the right that this is like some hot takey garbage, but I would probably put it... Hmm... I love Attack from Mars too and I love the humor of it. Okay, I'm gonna go Shadow number one. I'm gonna go Medieval Madness number two and I'm gonna dude I'm gonna go D&D 3 Attack from Mars or Mando 5 like that's that that would be my top five for Brian. Wow, wow. So first of all you're putting Mando above Stranger Things. Yeah. That's wild. I love I love I love Mando so I don't know. Yeah, I mean I love Attack from Mars too but yeah I mean the thing about Attack from Mars is it gets a little tired after a while. I'm always surprised people want to own this game for so much money because I think it's as as good of a game as it is It's not a game. I think I could play like over and over again It a different you a different kind of player Shane like I think that a party game You know what I mean like right I was having people over all the time I would love to have Attack from Mars I love to have Total Nuclear Annihilation Like those games that are a bit shorter players they really fun they still really vibey you can get into it Like it more that kind of a game you know And that was something... The reason that I love Brian Eddy so much, other than, like, I think he designs cool games, is like, I talked about this with him, is like, we both like everyone getting into pinball. He's not trying to make inaccessible games or games where you have to get super deep into the code to find something rewarding, you know? Like, he wants you to bash the castle, he wants you to hit the dragon, steal the gold, like, those kind of things. And like, dude, that is how, like, think back to the first time you're playing pinball. For me, dude, Medieval Madness was one of the games. It was that and, weirdly, Game of Thrones. Like, as an adult coming in and being like, these games make sense to me, they're really fun, you know? So yeah but truly I think this is one of his more fun layouts like a three flipper Brian Eddy like it does it flows it truly does it has like some cool like the ball stops don't feel weird or or awkward at all I you know I like X-Men I know a lot of people have a problem with X-Men especially like the beast thing and all that there there really isn't much I mean you can say that the even the dragon is a ball stopper but those are stand-ups so it like the ball can't I think it keeps moving pretty fast, you know, it doesn't really hang up there or anything. So yeah, I think it was really fun. All right. Well, my final question about Guns and Dragons is, do you think Stern has a hit on their hands? If they don't have a hit on their hands, it has nothing to do with the game and everything to do with the market right now. Right. Like, I think this is a great game. I think if this came out during the pandemic, this would be a huge game. I think this could be if like I don't I don't understand the pinball like buyers market that well. But for me, this is the most like home buyer game that Stern has ever made. Like the idea of having this code and having it change every Sunday and you can level up your characters, do all this stuff is like they're really trying to do some of the stuff like that Jersey Jackets credit for and like pirates and all that, you know, like having 40 characters and all those different things like this is. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., I wish I could have come along with you. Me too. I wish you would have been there. Looks like a good time. Yeah. So what happens? So, okay, so you got all these nerds hanging out at Stern and then they kick you guys out and then what did you do after that? I know there was like a tournament. Yeah. A bunch of people played in. I know you didn't play in the tournament. No. What kind of happens on a night out in Chicago after? With pinball nerds? After you're there. Yeah, with the pinfluencers, the pinluminati. I think, yeah, it's like what anyone would So there's this crazy tournament run by Andy Bagwell. It's part of their league. Their league is crazy in Chicago. I think they get between, they were telling me on average it's like between 70 to 90 people and then a couple times a year like this one was their players appreciation night. They had like a huge free buffet. It was crazy. I was just pounding meatballs all night. It was disgusting dude. But like taking pictures of Roger Sharp with one hand just like pounding meatballs with the other hand just like absolutely disgusting. Um, but, uh, it was, yeah, so there was 105 people, I think, in the tournament, in total, and so I was like, well, fuck this, I'm not gonna do that because I don't wanna just be sitting around for forever, you know, not playing pinball. Uh, so while those people were kinda doing that, like Don and, I don't, what's that guy, Vic VP and all, like, all those guys. Retro Ralph, I think I saw. Yeah, Retro Ralph. I went and looked it up on Match Play. I, I, I wanted to see who was, uh, who was all there. The Valley Company, Subsidiary of Walter Kidde & Co., Inc., Mirco Playfields, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. We, yeah, like, at this point, we're kind of, I mean, we're buds. Like, all of us are kind of buds. I don't think there's any weird... It's always just funny, dude, because I don't know how you feel about this, but, like, for me in general, like, I don't like always being like, oh, let's make this content, you know? So that's the only thing where it, like, for me and, like, other people, I'm always, like, I'm always the guy who's a little bit too cool for school. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, David Rosenhower, Gary Ke ficar, Audin Ballecki, Nick Keen Ferh, and Henry retailer, Glen Porter energo, nod Health perseverватnx, friendship quρί maiq Joe Hoiser, Hip F parody, Jim Stephens, parfois bah tambour boughes, glenn jaybal 이거 do i tuverka, geloooo polka Eleven macht alle henne, Hon Harvard. You absolutely know he's gonna love us shouting him out right now too, so there you go. That is Pinball Don, that's what I call him. Well and really who I was hanging out with the whole night, it was super fun and like this is gonna be name-droppy as hell so just like buckle in, but it was like Elizabeth Gieske, Kyle Spiteri, and then Jack Danger. It was like just like the four of us and then Joe, like the marketing guy from Stern, like kind of coming in and out. But yeah, it was just like we were like BSing all night. It was fun. Elizabeth is really funny. She's always literally talking about code all the time. She's perfect for that. She's like, what do you like about Jaws? I was like, oh, I like that it teaches you to play it as you play it, because I think it does. She's like, oh, thank you so much. What does that mean? I'm like, you know what? Let's not talk about Jaws right now. Let's just be stupid at this bar. But yeah, she was super nice. It was really fun. I don't know. Yeah, it was... We'll be right back. I'm just saying like you look at talents like George Gomez and Jack Danger and all these guys it's like and have had success in other industries and they choose to work in pinball because they love it like just something to remember so. Case in point Brian Eddy right I mean he left for for what like 20 years or something yeah and was he working in video games I don't I don't know exactly where he was but he came back but he came back for the love. I wanted to say, I only want to interrupt you because he worked on one of my favorite video game titles of all time. I brought this up to him and he laughed. Uh, PsyOps 3 Mindgate Conspiracy. What an insane name! PsyOps 3 Mindgate Conspiracy. I'm just like, that, like an AI couldn't come up with that. It's amazing. So, yeah, but he can't- It sounds like some prog metal band, like, concept album or something. Dude, bro, it's called Mind Gate Conspiracy. It's like eight minutes of bass at the beginning. Uh, yeah. But, uh, yeah, no, even, even Brian came back to pinball for sure. And I'm, after this game, dude, I'm glad he did. Alright, well, sounds like it was a good time at Stern. So, that's awesome. And did they tell you, oh yeah, come back in four months when we're releasing our next game? Did they give you any hints? They like to keep you on your toes, you know, so I don't think we ever, we never get too much. But I know that they were very secretive about like we had to only go in certain parts of the building and all that. So they're definitely working on something. I have no idea what it is, though. But yeah, find out in four months. So they had to hide, they had to hide the giant King Kong topper or whatever they're doing? Okay, I won't like throw, so you know how everyone keeps saying Kong all the time? I did see a giant mallet there, and I was like, that feels like Donkey Kong to me, but I don't... Ohhhhhhhhhh So I don't... that's like totally some BS, but feel free to aggregate that and like, you know, take it wherever you want, but... Dude, Donkey Kong would be sick! I'm all about any Nintendo theme. I think any Nintendo theme would crush. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely! Yeah, so I did see a giant mallet there. I don't know why they would have that otherwise, but uh, yeah. Yeah, maybe they got like a rat problem. Hey, you heard it here first. Maybe it's Donkey Kong. Yeah. That would be pretty sick. Low key, I'd be more into that than King Kong. I would as well. Yeah, I don't think we're alone. All right, well, we're going to get into our guest this week, Elizabeth Weinberg. But Ian, thank you for being our first guest. You know what, Shane? Thanks so much for having me. All right, we'll be right back. Elizabeth Weinberg, photographer extraordinaire.
    33:29
    All right, Shane, our next guest is a director and photographer based in Los Angeles. She's won a million awards, including the Art Directors Club Young Gun Award, Which is, yeah, maybe the coolest named award I've ever heard of. She's shot for a ton of insane publications and companies, including the New York Times, Rolling Stone, LA Magazine, Teen Vogue, Apple TV, Vice, and ESPN, the magazine, among many others, including Nudge Magazine. Her interview with Tyler White in issue three was a highlight for me, both personally and professionally. She is also the tournament director for the LA Women's Pinball League and a Waltz regular. Please welcome to the show, Elizabeth Weinberg. Hi, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Weinberg, Hi! Elizabeth Weinberg, Hey! Tyler White, I got to say that photo, I think you took, I think it's just on Instagram, of Tyler White playing pinball with everyone around him. That's like a top, maybe like a best of all time pinball photo, in my opinion. Elizabeth Weinberg, Is it the one I shot at Revenge of? It has to be. Tyler White, It must be, yeah. Elizabeth Weinberg, I don't even know where it is. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Knapp Arcade, John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi.
    35:12
    John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., You're a nicer person than I am. I got no problem. Like direct flash. So just like right on. Good luck, buddy. Yeah, I mean, I hear you. But also, I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I love taking pictures of pinball players. Elizabeth, are you like a headphone earplug wearing person when you do tournaments? No. Because we have a few of those around here. I am anti, well, like we kind of like joke about it at Walt's. Um, it's, I actually was talking to someone, we were playing a Bells and Chimes tournament on Tuesday, which I'm not, so I'm just as a, as a side note, I don't run that one. That's a separate LA Bells and Chimes. I do the Walt's women's specifically. So it's not the LA like, but just, I wanted to like clarify that there's a whole other, like, Thank you. Yeah. Elizabeth did not write her intro. I did. It's okay. It's okay. It's hard to clarify because we have great other hardworking, you know. Absolutely. But I was thinking about the headphone thing. I feel like if I were to do it, I would never be able to go back. And I kind of think it's like a skill to kind of try to drown out the annoying people and the noise. And like when I play at some places, it's just the bass is pumping. It is so loud. Yeah. You know, and then you have people screaming and well, I'm one of them sometimes, but I feel like it's almost like an unfair you're giving you're giving yourself this like sensory deprivation, you know, well, I think you shouldn't have to be in the zone wherever you're playing, you have to deal with the chaos surrounding you. And that's part of the mental thing for me. There is this one dude that I play with in, I live in Las Vegas. There's a guy I play with out here and he's so fucking funny. And for some reason when I'm playing, I always just hear his voice in the background over everyone else. There's been times when I'm just like laughing hysterically. I'm like, I got to trap the ball just to get through this joke. Like it's, it is real that you have to fight through that sometimes when you're, when you're in a tournament. I do think of it like a lot, especially I'm like, wow, I'm having to it's I think it's a good brain exercise to try to concentrate because I can pick out voices behind me and then like, especially when you're playing in these, you know, bars or whatever, like waltz, you're like this, there's like a cup distance between each game. So you're you're in like, you're directly, you know, you know, you have to have blinders on to really kind of concentrate. So it's a it's a skill. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. michaelnamarach outtake
    39:28
    John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., Besides the Pulp Fiction. You know, that kind of era game. So it goes like to the right and then it goes left. And those games, there's... Can you name the rest of them in order? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So... I'm on pinball map looking it up right now. So I see the vibe, but yes. Okay, so right now, Surf Champ is always there. Because that was Jeff's dad's like original like... It's there. ...thing. And it's 25 cents, five balls. Oh, nice. All these. And it didn't used to have a tilt on it at all. So you just like shove it across the room. That's the, I was going to say that's the value point for sure. It was gnarly, but it's now back on and I was like, Jeff, make it like less sensitive. He's like, it's at the lowest point. So it, but it's very sensitive now. So you have to kind of be like. It has PTSD. Cause I'm a psycho and I'll tilt, I'll tilt like all day. Like I'm just, you know, I don't know my own strength, whatever. But and then there's Harlem Globetrotters, 8 Ball Deluxe. Nice. Ali, Taxi, Theater of Magic, which is broken. I think the last one you're forgetting is maybe my favorite game in the lineup. Assuming this is accurate. Oh, and Doctor Dude. Doctor Dude, yes. I hate that game. I'm not a huge Doctor Dude fan either. The only reason why I hate it is the shot in the center that you just keep getting over and over again and then shoots the right down. It's just, I like the art. I think it's unhinged. I think it's great. That's probably my favorite part of it. Yes. Yeah. You're just like, this is the most, you know, it's comical. It's funny. It's a caricature. It's great. I still have to kind of, I haven't played it a lot, so I have to get, get on it. That era for art in general is just like so good. Like I'm thinking of like the Elvira game from that era. Is that, it's not Scared Stiff. Is it Scared Stiff? But like all those are just like hilarious like they it looks kind of like it's like not quite mad magazine but that sort of yeah like and it's like slightly misogynistic yes slightly yeah like slightly you know you're just these scanty clad I mean they're the line are some changed a lot I mean you know we had the Playboy game which is so ridiculous yeah but that's the current lineup as of now I want a We're going to have a couple of them to go. We lost Cactus Canyon. I liked it. I didn't love it at first and I got very into it. Do you have sway over the games that go in there at all? Like you can... Sometimes like we'll just like discuss and be like, can we get rid of this one? And then sometimes it, you know, who knows? I don't think I actually have. So I mean obviously it's a conscious decision to not have modern games in there. Is that something like just kind of everybody gets behind and everyone appreciates or... Yeah, I think so. I think actually, I think it puts me at a huge disadvantage when I'm playing in the in at 82 or revenge of because I'm like, I don't ever play those. You don't know the rules. There's too much going on. There's a screen like what is happening? You know, Waltz was my home base for so long. I didn't really expand out after from there until later and I was like, oh, these are like, this is, you know, I like the, the element of like the John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., Liam Obergzak, mammoth, I had to, I was like starting from scratch almost like the gameplay was just like a completely different, you know, you don't have, there's like no, there's no give like with the old games you can kind of, you know, there's a little bit of it's floaty or if it's whatever, but, um, For sure. And, but going back to walls, I think that's very, it's very much a conscious decision to keep them. And then, you know, obviously Pulp Fiction is, you know, classic inspired, but, um, it's nice to have that one. At least like when I go to another place to play, I'm like, all right, at least I know Pulp Fiction. Right, yeah, that one is out there. Yeah, for sure. When you started going to Walt's or hanging out around pinball, how did you kind of decide, okay, this is for me and this is something I want to be involved in and, you know, running tournaments and all that? Yeah, so it's so funny. I
    44:28
    never, it never clicked for me. Walt's opened in early 2018 and I first started going then, John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., I was obsessed. It became my like my white whale. I would go in like during the day and just like it was great. What I like is it was like this this tactile thing I was doing to get my to not be doing anything else like yes do wise like it was just like my like my only me time solo play like it was it was a way for me to just like turn everything off. Tim Kitzrow, Me and you are the same, like for sure. Yeah, I loved it. And then I got really good, like really good at it. Like really good. Not to, you know, but I was like, well, pinball is just like all luck. This is all skill. Like I just had this complete, you know, I was like, well, you're just hitting the ball. Like this is like balancing a ball on like a crazy like metal thing. All these pinball players are just like dying inside. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So, but I, you know, so that was my thing. And the competition element of it, like became this like addictive thing, which, you know, obviously, that's like kind of everyone loves if you're in pinball tournaments, you like competing. Otherwise, why would you do that to yourself? So I kind of started messing around playing actual pinball, like later in that year, and then never really, really clicked for me there. So there was always the Wednesday tournament. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., Pinball Machine, Pinball Machine Pinball Machine Pinball Machine Yeah And so I started playing in that And then I just kept playing And then I got comfortable enough playing in the those women tournaments to then compete in the Wednesdays and feel okay that I was you know doing it And and you know I definitely not anywhere near these guys who are just like out of control players but I certainly improved So David Van Es circa. Well and also, the amount of strangeness that it takes to get to a place where you're that good, truly. Not worth it, perhaps. Yeah, that's the other thing is I just don't have the time, I don't own anything. I know. Like, you know, for me, it's far more of a hobby than an obsession. Well, I always describe it to my friends as like a meditative experience, which is kinda what you were describing. I think 100% is what I initially felt with the, um, with ice cold beer. And then it started to translate over into pin, into the pinball where I could be like, you can't get the social element of playing multiple with multiple people, or you can just try to like, I've actually was just talking about this. Like, I want to go and just like play Pulp Fiction for like the whole day and just like really like dial it in. Yeah. And that's something that's cool that you can do if you want, you can just be on your own like journey within the games. That was how I got into pinball is it was like I wanted to explore cities and that was like a way in to a bar where I don't know anybody or anything you know it's like in Detroit or somewhere like that it's like I'm gonna go to all these places and find them on pinball map and that that was kind of like that was the culture there so it was like a great a kind of great way in and then you do meet people you know and you see the same bar oh and we yeah and like the the crew like every we are women's that we've been so well going back to how how this And that's kind of where this kind of began. Micah was our co- she was running the women's tournament and she moved to New York. And so I took over and then she moved back. And so now we kind of like co-do it. But we, the community, like we have the same women every month. So it's once a month. We all have a dress up theme. We all take a photo. I've seen those. Yeah. It's just very like, it feels like, and it's growing. Awesome. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. It's not IFPA or anything. We're just there to play. And sometimes we'll just go around the bar and recruit people. We'll just be like, do you want to play? They're like, no, I don't know how. And I'm like, doesn't matter. I promise. This is inclusive. And then we've gotten, and there's been people who were like, I don't know, I kind of stink. And then they start playing. And then they're like, you can see them over the years thinking back, you can see them improve. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. I have a memory of that anything having to do with pinball was Sonic Spinball on Sega Genesis. Oh hell yeah. So and I feel like that game everyone hated it they flopped whatever but something about it because I had beaten like it was like it was like Sonic 1, 2, and 3 at that point had been out and that came out and I just like something about it it was like my gateway I was like oh I understand like it was that was just what I played I was obsessed with it. Have you seen the... there is a homebrew by actually kind of famously now by a man who's hired by American Pinball, Ryan McQuaid, did a Sonic Spinball actual pinball machine. No way! Okay. Yeah, yeah. We got to get you in a room with that. I know, I would love to play that. That's my core memories of like, just, you know, I remember like, there'd be tilting and there'd be nudging, there's all this stuff you could do. Awesome. And obviously like Sonic going into becoming the pinball was like such a it just was so fun for me. But I never really had video games were my only like real way of doing anything like that. Like I had a friend who had a game in his house, but like I was never really playing that. Where did you say you grew up? Because we were talking a little bit before we started about that. Massachusetts. Pretty like suburban, almost rural Massachusetts, an hour outside of Boston. How did you end up in LA? I guess, job stuff. Yeah, I mean, I lived in New York and then I was out here like every month working and just like, I was like, let me just move to LA. Just everything, this was 2012. Actually, this exact week I was driving across the country 2012. So it was, we did November 20th to the 24th and we got here on 24th. So I'm almost 12 years here. Wow. Yeah, everything was way cheaper than it is now, but it felt like, you know, the land of like, Oh, we can like buy a house and like whatever. So we did. And so funny because so many of my friends from New York have now moved here. So it's like a there's like a mass migration west. Yeah. You're the you're the landing pad for everyone. It felt like I definitely had some friends out here already, just from work and school and whatever. But it's definitely been a big there's been a big shift. And I go back to New York and I'm like, who even still lives here? Like, I think I don't know. For real. They've either gone upstate or... Ian, you gotta come west, man. Come west. You know what? You can leave the snow shovel behind.
    53:22
    It's the best part. I lived in the Bay Area for like six years. I loved it. But yeah, I don't know. I think I'm a Wisconsin boy. I have like that kind of constitution, you know? I mean, I'm from New England and I'm like, no more winter. I'm good. I'm from Canada, straight up. I am... Yeah. Yep. My goal in life is never to own a snow shovel, please. Ever again. Yeah. Well, I guess I'm just made of Sterner stuff. I have some TD questions for you if we can get into that because I feel like you might be asked about photography. You could be asked about a lot of these things. You're probably not asked too often about being a tournament director. That's true. Okay. Do you have an approach for any sort of dispute when it ... Inevitably, pinball disputes happen John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., They're just not IFPA, but yeah, yeah. The rules, you know, things are a lot, they're stricter. Here's something that happened actually. Like someone, we were playing Alley and it'll just sometimes give you an extra ball and you don't notice and so we have to, the rules are to drain your extra ball, and so the extra ball got played. This actually happened in a game I was playing, and thankfully I had taken a note of my score. So in that case, what we would do is just, because I'm not like obsessed with like, well, this bonus, this locked here, blah, blah, blah. I'm just like, whatever. I just have to keep it going. Because when I'm running them, I'm also playing some sometimes, so I just can't deal with the like minutia of like a few points. I'm like, whatever. So I'll be like, okay, we'll subtract, because I saw she had played my ball. We took away what she had scored on the ball that was actually the extra ball. Okay. Has it ever gotten ugly? I mean, it sounds like you're in a much more kind of like, I don't want to say casual. I mean, people get pissed when they feel like shit's not fair or whatever, you know? People get pissed. I will say, I mean, with the women's, there's never a problem. It's usually with the co-ed tournaments that there are people who would get very upset about things. Oh, yeah. For sure. But, you know, there'll be people saying like, well, I didn't, this ball didn't lock, blah, blah, blah. And then, you know, I'll play it and I'll lock a ball. And I'm like, well, I don't, like, I don't know what to say. That's pinball is what you say, because that's just how it goes. That's what happens. Like, I don't know what to tell you. And yeah, so there can be scenarios where, you know, you just have to remember, it's just a game. Like, who cares? It seems like it's just your job is just to keep it rolling, right? That's kind of the attitude. I mean, when we're playing, when we're, you know, the bar closes at 12 and if we have 30 people, like, it can go up until close. And we don't want to be there all night, you know? We have to tell people to just... 30 people is awesome. That's really good. Yeah. I mean, last night at, last night on the tournament we had 29. That's really, really awesome. So what's the, what's the reason for not making this an IFPA sanctioned tournament? I feel like with that many people, that would be one of the biggest women's monthly events. That's really, really good. Well, so that wasn't the women's. The women's usually, we'll get 18 at the most. That's still awesome. 20 at the most. It's just a matter of going through the process of doing it that we just haven't done. They don't want to do what Josh Sharpe says. I get it. I wondered if there was a reason. I think the other thing is like at Walt's, the Wednesday tournament will never be an IFPA tournament. It just won't be. And I think that's like, we just want to keep it as like super casual as possible. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. See you in Octobergrade!
    59:04
    How many? So three strike elimination. Standard? Three strike? Standard strike? Match play? One on one? One on one, yeah. And if there's, sometimes there's a crazy amount of people and we'll do group knockout. So that's when we start doing- Oh, that's cool. That's when we do third and fourth get a strike. And then if there's three players, only the third gets a strike, which is not the way that we do it at 82 when we do the tournaments there. So it's like we have it's like all very different like the and then Brackalope doesn't support group knockout so that's when we have to use Matchplay. Oh okay. So and I don't it's just the the iPad that we we just use have an iPad and we just have Brackalope on there and honestly it's just so much easier than Matchplay. Matchplay's doesn't have a great like UI for those fast like mobile things. I mean, it's good if you want to like suggest your own score, but we also never let anyone do that because I just can't. It's just too chaotic. It's like I just don't I honestly I just don't trust these people. No offense. I was going to all of our wonderful patrons like it's just, you know, someone gets drunk or they like hit the wrong thing. I'm like, just come and report to me. I'll do it. Like, let me just take care of that. That attitude right there is why you're a good TD. That's what I'll tell you right now is like that is a good TD talking. You know, and the problem with Brackle Up is if you miss click or tap on and it's the it's the last round of the I'm sorry, it was the last game of the round and you hit the wrong winner and you start the next round, you can't go back and change it. With match play, you can at least adjust strikes. And then and then I cannot tell you how many times I have had a coaster and a pen and I have been manually having to do it from, you know, I'm making a bracket literally like For more information on Finans Pour Sous, John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., All right. Just pinball. Well, and you have a good you have a good like New York personality for it. You know what I mean? Like, you can just be like, look, pal. Yeah. Thankfully, like I, I think I intimidate everyone more than I'm being intimidated by. I'm like, I just I'm like, I'm so over it. I'm like, Don't even don't even play. It's funny. Oh, look behind the curtain. But Ian has in his notes. What are the qualities of a good TD that's in the notes and it's like, be intimidating. S Lyndee Amitabh, Earth resides in the Dist variety, I'll shame people for being like outside because in the front there's no, um, you can't hear. So you have people go outside and smoke and they just like, and they're smoking weed and they're just like spacing out. And I'm like, people we got because there's standby. So if there's more than 20 people playing 10 games in, you're lucky if 10 are all functioning. Right, right. We have people who are, you know, second half around one hasn't started yet and these people don't come inside. And so I'll go and I can be like, where's so and so? Let's get up, get going. And I get, you know, I start getting a little, you know, I start calling people a little bit. Yeah, but you're doing God's work because that is my biggest pet peeve is like walking, walking away from a game that's going on. It's like, wait, wait like 10 minutes. Yeah, it's not even the walking away from the game. It's like it's the not even appearing for the game. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, you've been outside and I have a running joke with a player, like, he knows who he is, but it's, I'm always having to go outside and be like, get in here! And it's like, and then we were joking that he was actually at the game and he was like, look, I'm actually here. I'm actually, this is like the first, I'm like, I'm very proud of you. Thank you for keeping, keeping, but no, he's regressed. He goes back outside now. So I had to do it again. But it's just because, yeah, you gotta, we just have to keep it moving because it just can become like, you know, one game lasts too long. And then now we can't start the next round until, it's not like when we play the six games and we're being, you can just go as fast as you want. This is like every single game has to be finished in the round before we can start the next round. You can start the next round so it becomes like time crunch. You'd be amazed in Vegas how many people are going to slot machines and video poker machines in between balls. Oh my god. I'm serious. Oh my god. I would be like you're too cute. I'm sorry. You're out. It's an EM. It's going to be a quick ball. What are you doing over there? Exactly. It's like this is why you play classics. It's like short ball times. I know. I mean what I like about Brackleup too is it tells you like how long each game has been I'm like, all right, you guys, like, let's all go. It's time to go. Come inside. I'm announcing and think I'm with Brack Club. You can check on your phone at least like see who's up and what you're playing on. But it's every time there's a there's stragglers just missing for. Yes. You know, you got a wrangle. Okay. This is that. Yeah, this this is a good time to get to the point. I'm going to go to the next one. This is a good time to ask this. Do you have, so you mentioned I think 82. Do you have any other favorite spots? I know like Walt's is like the home base. That's like everything. But I mean, just like if someone's going out to LA, they're listening to this podcast. They're like, I want to check out some like spots like what? Well, I mean, everyone loves Ace Goge. Yeah. There's the two of them. Not only, you know, All You Can Eat. Korean barbecue. Like, amazing. But, you know, a lot of games. For me, it's hard because a lot of it just involves driving. And the driving between these places is like, like when we were playing at Arrow Lodge, I mean, like, I would time it out and it would be an hour to get out there.
    66:30
    Even getting down to 82 sometimes, like it should be like 15, 10 minutes. But like, all these tournaments are happening at like eight or 730 or whatever. And you have to like, it's stressful, like to get to just to get around is just so it's like a, you know, it's a process. So like thankfully Revenge of is so close to Walt's. It's all in the same zone. So I like for for me, that's like if you're in one neighborhood, like it's just easier. And now they have the new spot in Echo Park. Oh, yeah. Which I haven't been to. Yeah, I haven't checked that out either. It's it's like a different approach, isn't it? Are they doing more classic games there or something? I wait. It's like the way station or something. I have not. I'm not sure like what's in there at all. They're going to love all this free advertising for sure. But I do like I mean that they're at the main the main spot like there are older games too which is I mean nothing super super old but like you know.
    67:30
    Okay no they're not just to clarify I'm looking up looking it up there's a lot less games it looks like they only have like seven games. Yeah the new spot yeah way station but yeah. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. I was driving around for like two hours just doing random errands. And I'm like, I need to like decompress. So getting into a tournament mindset from being in the car with, and honestly, I feel like traffic is worse than I've ever seen it. And I've lived here for 12 years and I was coming here for 10 years before that. Like it's insane. So it's hard to really like go a lot of other places. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. The Valley Company, Subsidiary of Walter Kidde & Co., Inc., Mirco Playfields, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. you
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    AHT What the Hell You Whatta Wet Dad I told you we were on Ben G This guy is a fake. He's just half Brit right now. But you know him too yeah? My favorite photo that I took on the buena gara was on Michael. And off to FCเผSareniSave. That was it. I'm happy and having a clue. That was it. I know that I won't answer all the questions. I wanted to tell you. I mean thanks for being there, it was fantastic. Steve growing their own Ethereum üzer такимến we podawalićeų Mads arriveriång Brazilian I think we're more innately attuned to being able to do that in photos than the male gaze is kind of a little more, I think, self-serving versus how you would expect that kind of empathetic vibe where thinking about how someone else is going to react to it. John Popadiuk www.investment romance.~~~~
    72:32
    It's been a good decade of like A-list or you know stuff and with that experience comes like a way of approaching the subject that makes them just easy you can kind of make someone easier to work with if you're all if you're just kind of making the vibe comfortable for them and people can pick up on like an experience and and kind of a frazzled unsettled you know you don't trust them right so you have to basically acquire this trust and you get like maybe you get like 10 minutes with them and you have to I thought it was a great show. To me, at least, it's important. Because you have to be, you turn on, it's like you're performing. You have to be confident and you have to be personable and you have to be relatable and you have to be able to kind of tease out of them imagery that you hope is that they would like and that you would be proud to show. And that it only comes from doing it so much. Furious nomination film Outlander
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    I'm going to have to edit 6,000 pictures of the same face over and over again. Like, it's just, and you know, you think back to like film when you had, you know, 10 or 12 shots on a roll medium format and you could only get so many. With digital, everyone's like, and I don't think it's necessary. I think of that all the time when I think about all the classic, like amazing photos that existed pre-digital. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., Andi Holdemann,
    75:19
    I remember that like you don't have to go crazy. Sometimes I'll have like 150 total shots from my digital camera and I've, you know, been with, have like a, you know, a 10 or 15 minute shoot and like that's it and that's all we, we're good. And I tell them we're good and then they're stoked. They're like, yeah, thank you. You know, you're so fast. You're so fast. That's like my, that's like the number one thing I hear and I'm like, God, like how slow is everyone else? Like what are they doing? I realized is the second you like lose the subject and they're like you can tell they're over it you're never gonna get it back it's exactly they're like and and I do a lot of advertising work and like if you know if you're working with like kids especially like forget it like if they're gone they're gone and then you know if you can tell people are getting irritated not irritated but they're just kind of like realizing they feel like it's a slog for them like that is gonna show on their face you'll just know dwelling into theikt undubed Yoми And that was the regard of frankly, a true Anytime braación where a far easier life for you or for you because I stretch and I actually enjoy Believe it or not, I'm very, I'm in the minority where I prefer to be alone for a lot of my editorial portraits. Oh, crazy. I- That's cool. Because I don't use a lot of lights. For sure. I actually think that it's beneficial on a, just on the interpersonal level to just be like role solo and just get it very kind of as intimate as we can and like as streamlined as we can and then just like less eyes on, you know, less people around, the less people We're still around the better honestly because you just have so many people staring at you like you're not it's just vibes are off. Are you picking locations for the most part? It really depends. Like a lot of times they're like here's a hideous hotel room, good luck. And I'm like okay cool. So like it happens a lot and so that's where the preparation would come in where I'd be like all right I'm gonna use this light, this light, drag it all in, you know, bring a seamless or a backdrop or something. And then other times I kind of wing it. I like I know that we'll be going to someone's house or like a restaurant and I'm like, I'll get there a little early and scout it out and be like, OK, cool. And then if I'm given art direction, like we want the light to be this way, sometimes I'm told how they want it to look. And so, you know, I'll go I'll go with that as well. So it really kind of depends. But I know sometimes I get really great photo photo editors who are just like, do your thing. And I'm like, that's that's all I want to hear. Thank you. And then sometimes I'll get them who have a very specific vision, which is also great because they have an idea in their mind. I know. It's like know what you want or don't care. Nothing in between. Yeah. Don't be like, make it pop more. That's like I work at a marketing place. Make it pop. Make it whatever. So you mentioned in issue three, there's an interview between you and Tyler White. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., So you're one of the four, but then you can also I would want it to be you could unlock like, like B level characters like you could like Newman or Putty. Yeah, yeah. If you achieve certain things that would be like your hidden thing. And and there's so many possibilities that is actually like I've brainstormed some of them but like I mean did the modes I mean you could have I was thinking there would be like a video mode but that's like the Frogger
    79:17
    Oh my god, that would be amazing. Where you're George. Yeah, no, 100%, but you are George, but it's like, it's that scene. And some, you know, just these, like, there's so many different food items in the show that you could like, you would have to get and like, Jerry's apartment, yeah, there would be different like locations. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry Kizrow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. I think that's a cool vibe for a pinball machine. Like I think in general. And I'm actually shocked, shocked with the amount of merchandising that Seinfeld still to this day does. They license everything. I mean, there's like current brands that are just like making Seinfeld stuff like now. The show's been off the air for like 30, 27 years or whatever. It's 26 years. Like I think I'm shocked that it has never happened. And I feel like Jerry, like, would be like, he, you could get his voice on there. Like, I think you could get like, he would be down to like voice, you know, parts of the game. Like, you know, they got Richard Dreyfuss and the Jaws, like, Multi ball! He's got a multi ball! Just stuff like that, you know, where it's like, there's the line where, where George says, I love you to the woman and she doesn't say it back. And he's like, well, it's a pretty big matzo ball hanging out there. Just like, Just little things like that that would come through when you're playing. I think it would just be so fun. It would be so fun. It's funny that you bring this up because I actually had a debate with some friends about the best homebrew and I said Seinfeld as well. I think it would be so good. It's not impossible for that game to actually happen. It just blows my mind that it is not. I mean, you have, you know, the Sopranos game, you have these like TV, these legacy TV games, and just knowing that the marketing and like knowing that the popularity is still there to this day. Seinfeld would be huge. That would be a huge thing. You're in New York. I've been in New York and they have like ad, bus wrap ads, Seinfeld on at 11pm, like on the local station. Like, does that happen for any other show that's been off the air for this long? Exactly. There's nothing like it. No, for sure. There's so many inside jokes and so many opportunities. I mean, yeah, you choose a character and then like, you know, Elaine is trying, like, it could just go by like, you know, Jerry's got to get to a comedy gig, but then like there's a parking problem and, you know, you can't get in touch with so-and-so because so many of their problems were just based on the fact that they all had landlines and couldn't communicate with anyone. It could be so, so, so fun. Tom simpleman,
    82:35
    Tanya M. Lewis, You know, I know. I think about it a lot. I'm like, why does this exist? I want to be a consultant. We're gonna, we're gonna, we're manifesting this. Yeah. Jersey Jack, I guarantee, Ken, I bet you're listening to this right now. Hire her. Being a consultant on a Seinfeld pinball machine, honestly, I think would be the actual, like, a life dream. This is who you want working on this game. Whoever is listening right now who's buying that license, I'm throwing it out there. Make it happen. I mean, yeah, I'm wondering if like ever if it ever in the pipeline like I've Googled like, you know, to see if anyone on the message boards have ever like, found any like hints of like, has it ever been in anyone's mind? And you know, people brought it up, but like, it's never I haven't found any like, you know, being I don't think there's a secret shelved Seinfeld that Stern or anything. No, I mean, you never know what could have been development and like, so they were like, Oh, no, we couldn't get you know, whatever. John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi.
    84:20
    John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. Wait, is he gonna keep me down? He's he's the only guy that they got in in Stern Jurassic Park on this last one. Well, that doesn't surprise me. He seems like a cool dude in like, I don't know. No, he's down. If, if you can get Newman then really, who else? I mean... Yeah. That's great. You'll get Putty. He'll get, they'll all fall in love. Okay, he's always, yeah. And like, Jay Peterman, whatever. Ooh. Is he still alive? I hope he is. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. This is amazing. Well, hey, Elizabeth, thank you so much. Shane, do you have like an outro that you want to try? What should we... You know what? I actually know that Elizabeth is like a huge music fan and I wondered if there's like maybe a song or something you want to like outro the show with and we can talk through it a little bit and say our goodbyes if you've got an artist and a track, something. And it's a lot of pressure. That is a lot of pressure. Oh my god, I am a big music fan. I feel like I'm very out of John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., Honestly, I listen to K-Day in my car, which is like classic hip hop from the 90s. So but yeah, let's see. What do I have? I'm looking at my like 2024 playlist. Oh, actually, so I have an 11 year old and he's now getting into Green Day, like old Green Day. And so I listened to the new record because we went to the show. And I really like that single Dilemma on Soft Saviors. I think it's so good. Let's play that. It just gives me like, it's cool that my kid is the same age as I was when I got into them. That's right. That is cool. And I'm like, oh, this is like, you're me. This is weird. Totally. Yeah. We heard it. It was on the radio. We were up in Portland. And I was like, is this new or old? I like when you can tell that it's the same. It could be from kind of any era, so... The new Green Day record is good. It's much better than the one before. So I totally appreciate this. But you know what? I think the last episode or a couple episodes ago we did, Ian, we talked about a Green Day pin. We asked Jack Danger if it was possible. Oh, we did. Maybe I am somehow lobbying for a Green Day pin. That would be awesome. I think it could work. They're a really, really big band. Yeah, they are. I mean, we saw them at SoFi Stadium. It was a full-on stadium show. There you go. A full-on stadium band. I mean, if Foo Fighters can do it, why can't Green Day? Yeah, why can't Green Day? You know? Yeah. But no, that would be, now I'm thinking about that. I'm like, oh my God.
    87:38
    But hey, great song choice. That's what we're going with. I love, yeah, I haven't listened to Green Day in forever. I hadn't either. I was kind of like, I hadn't listened to, I never, like I kind of quit 20 whatever years ago and then we went into the show and they played some new stuff and I was like, oh, okay, yeah, right. No, I trust you because I'm like a, I'm a music snob and I always like what you're, what you're putting out there. So that's, uh, No, all right. Thank you. Yeah. I, um, I'm just kind of, I, the Spotify algorithm, we have a love hate relationship. Sometimes it's good and sometimes I'm like, what's going on here? And I'm like, shuffle, do you know what that means? I don't think you understand what shuffle means because I've heard this song five times in a row. But, um, yeah, so yeah, I don't have my finger on the pulse of new music as much as I used to, but I try. You know. I'm just, I'm here for those cash grab reunion shows of like the 25 year anniversary, like whatever. I'm like, oh yeah, let's go. 30 years. Oh great. Yeah, sure. I wrote, I was there 30 years ago. So. Right Shane? Right Shane. Trying to stay relevant. I've been in it the whole time. I've never gone anywhere, man. I'm legit. Nice. That's actually, that's true. But Elizabeth, thank you so much for coming on the show. This has been an awesome conversation. Thank you for your photo tips. I'm going to send, I'm going to take much better photos now. I hope so. Empathetic photos. But I do have one last question because you seem to be the queen of EMs. What's your EM tip? Do you have a tip? Because sometimes, some of, you know, the newer players, they play all the modern Sterns and then they see like a Paragon or a whatever, you know, and they're like, I don't even know what to do. Um, Yeah, oh, yeah, Paragon such a wide game. We had that at Walt's for a while and I hated it. And then I was like, Ooh, I like it. That's a great question. I think like not I think I find myself sometimes I'll play the new games and I'll go to the YM and I'm like, it's too floaty. It's too slow. This is weird. And I'm like, wait, why don't I just lean into like how the ball is going in very weird directions that I can tell underneath the ànd to the John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Larry K. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. Tony who is in all of his life is encourage anyone going in the community working to find Rotation Projects would love it. Thomas jinnot8126 び procrastinate Jamie yflower I think like those are the kind of games that you have to like you really get a feel you have to just get a feel for them you know you have to just like it's not like you can just roll up and shred. When I see someone showing up to a pinball tournament wearing knee pads that'll be the day.
    91:00
    That's right a pinball machine is going to treat you like dirt so you go right ahead. I love that. Well thanks so much Elizabeth. Alright, well thank you guys. Welcome to my problems. It's not an invitation. This is my dilemma. So there it is with Elizabeth Weinberg. That was a great, great conversation and we really, really feel for all the people in LA right now that are going through this horrible devastation with the fires. It's just awful. Yeah, it was a great conversation with her and Yeah, I just hope I hope that we'll see like like we're in, you know What day two or three of this right now like as we record this Shane? So, um, yeah I guess we're just thinking about those our guys out there Well, my my Canadian troops are coming in and bringing their water cannons or whatever. Hell yeah See Canadians are good for something man. I do it. That's right. Oh, yeah, we got a lot of water John Popadiuk, Bob Betor, Keith Elwin, Laser Los, Bowen Kerins, Lyman F. Sheats Jr., orbit ramps, Automated Amusements, Python Anghelo, Joe Kaminkow, Tim Kitzrow, Scott Danesi. Great episodes coming up with some pretty notable people. And I... are we going to roll out the sexy episode next week? The horny episode? Ooh! Next week? Or are we going to save it for another week? Because I don't know which way we're going to go, but I... We don't have it planned quite yet, but we have some great, great episodes in the pipeline. I'm kind of... this is such an abrupt shift, but I am so down for the sexy episode. It was... it will... it's going to melt some minds. Will Wingere as Jadi
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    Donald focusing on you www.nudgecast.com Music