For our 200th episode, we get sorta serious with the subject matter, but dont worry, there’s still LOLcats involved. We talk to a very esoteric and smarty-pants guy, Columbia University law school professor Tim Wu (he’s hot too! but married) — he’s the guy who even the FCC trusts to help them make fair laws about such things as the AT&T and BellSouth merger. Professor Wu is credited with popularizing the concept of “network neutrality” in his 2003 paper Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination. In 2006, he co-authored the book, Who Controls the Internet? Network neutrality is essential to free speech, equal opportunity and economic innovation in America, so if you use the internet — or at least, if you watch porn on the internet — here’s your chance to learn exactly why you should care. Also, after you watch this episode, you can sound super smart at all those parties you go to with your social networking friends. During 2008, Wu served as an adviser to the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

Episode links: Tim Wu (wikipedia), Tim Wu (personal), network neutrality

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was a recent guest speaker at the Long Now Foundation’s SALT (Seminars About Long-term Thinking) monthly speaker series. Typically, SALT hosts big thinker uber geeks like Jimmy Wales, Clay Shirky and Neal Stephenson. San Francisco being the geek capital of the world, it’s no surprise that Newsom knows how to Twitter around on his iPhone and is savvy in the ways of the networked world. Violet Blue grabs the mayor for a few questions covering timely geek topics like tidal and wave energy systems, keeping up with constituents using Twitter and Facebook as well as YouTube distribution for his State of the City address.

Episode links: Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor’s Office, Long Now Foundation, Gavin on Twitter, Gavin on YouTube, Sea Generation Ltd, WaveRoller, Wave Dragon, Greenpeace UK Efficiencity

We know in your drunken stupor you all forgot that you went to SXSW and Texas last month, never mind what you confessed to Irina as she drove you around in our gloriously luxurious TechCab …. But guess what, it’s all on tape for ever and ever and ever on the internet! After our newest editor Kevin and intern Calum (he lives in Nova Scotia!) slaved over hours of footage, we’ve put together a few precious secrets that fell only on Irina’s lovely door-knocker-earringed ears….and the entire internet! First, we start off with our own and dear blip.tv coder Justin Day (next to him is blip.tv’s money man Ryan Chambers) — Justin recounts how he tortured his fellow students in college with spontaneous eruptions of solitaire. Cali Lewis, a queen of geeks if ever there was one — takes a ride with Irina and Eddie in her pajamas with her miniature daschund Zoe and explains how she dissed Jason Calacanis. Cali is SO not sinful, I had to give her a little nudge there. Rudy Jahchan and Casey McKinnon take a ride during which Rudy describes how — through hacking skills — he drove a colleage 1) out of his department and 2) insane. See if you can guess which tech celebrity videoblogging god Steve Woolf is talking about in his confession. Ellie Rountree’s story from Rocketboom involves a bottle of wine, breaking NY State law and Justin.tv —- and its still available online! TechCab fun for everyone.

Episode links: TechCab Confessions, Justin Day, Cali Lewis, Rudy Jahchan, Steve Woolf, Ellie Rountree

What do Zen Buddhism, hardcore punk and Japanese monster movies have in common? We don’t know either, but bass player turned Zen Master Brad Warner stitches it altogether for us. Violet Blue gets the skinny from Warner at Green Apple Books in San Francisco, after a signing for his most recent book, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma.

Episode links: Brad Warner, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma, Zero Defects, Green Apple Books, Violet Blue

So we all know RZA is one of the greatest rappers of all time. But did you guys know he’s a total geek out gangsta? At another of RZA’s Hip-Hop Chess events, we ask him to tell us his thoughts about technology and the internet. And the Wu Tang leader schools Irina, telling her to GO OUTSIDE. That probably won’t work. Also at the chess party, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples reflects about the first time he “touched” the Internet and Irina reveals that in 1997 she used to hide out in chat rooms and spit rhymes, pretending she was a boy. Besides the internationally known rappers, we also hear from a local young musician who has never lived without the internet. He is 18-year-old V, and he loves to help his mother with Microsoft Word. Enjoy the joy! (Big thanks to Kevin Zupancic for his shooting and editing skills on this episode!)

Episode links: RZA, Wu-Tang Clan, Hip-Hop Chess Federation, Rakaa, Dilated Peoples, WuChess, John O’Connell High School (San Francisco)

Jonas Luster is man of many hats: video game designer, chef, opinionated loudmouth, humanitarian, peace keeper and now a father. In this expose, Jonas tells us a bit about the world of MMORPGs, something he’s intimately familiar with.

Episode links: Jonas Luster, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars

For the first time ever, GETV heads over to WonderCon and Irina’s fears of growing up without coming books and not knowing enough about super heroes were allayed. Attacked by a hot baby-dyke version of the Joker, she is saved by hot baby-dyke Batman and Robin! She also hears “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for” and finds out exactly which droids you WERE looking for (the answer is after the credits. We also meet up with a Darth Vader and discover that the force of the dark side is strong on Twitter. WonderCon is a truly a wonder to behold. Go forth geeks and enjoy!

Episode links: WonderCon, A-1 Comics, Anthony Forrest, Ron Lim, Darth Vader on Twitter

After watching the movie ZOO during one night of insomnia, Irina decided that a Boeing geek who worked on black ops, built guided missile systems and ended up dying of horse intercourse could be a good topic for an episode. ZOO is about Kenneth Pinyan, a Boeing engineer who died “due to acute peritonitis [that resulted from the] perforation of the sigmoid colon during anal intercourse with a horse.”

Since that guy is dead, GETV interviewed Charles Mudede, the man who researched the heck out of the topic and wrote a movie about him. Mudede a journalist for one of America’s best alternative newsweeklies, The Stranger in Seattle, said something we already know…. “that without the internet, this [horse sex] community would not exist. The combination of a leading technology of our day and an ancient – if dark – practice would not exist.” But really, what the movie tells us is that we are all weird and searching for something, some kind of connection. Not all of us have to fuck a horse to find it, but don’t be so quick to judge. Know what I mean?

Episode links: ZOO, Charles Mudede, Kenneth Pinyan, The Stranger

We like Twitter so much, we’re bringing you a second installment of Hot Twitter Habits. Some might even say scandalous! We find out what a bunch of drunken San Francisco tweetizens had to say about twittering on the can, following and celebrity identities. You know you want to know. Watch, then reveal your Twitter habits to us in the comments.

Episode links: Twitter, TwestivalSF, @mutgoff, @afgascoigne, @sarahlane, @kevinrose, @wesmax27, @bostonita, @krystyl, @biz, @VirginAmerica, @medized, @dalelarson, @irinaslutsky

Now that Twitter has hit the mainstream, let’s find out how the masses use their beloved service. In this first episode of two, we stop by the Twestival event to discover what some San Francisco tweetizens’ first Twitter posts were as well as how some use the service in more intimate of ways. You’ll need to watch to get the dirt. If you have no idea what any of this means, it’s time to come out of hibernation. The cave is a cold and lonely place. What was your first tweet? Tell us in the comments.

Episode links: Twitter, TwestivalSF, @mutgoff, @afgascoigne, @sarahlane, @kevinrose, @wesmax27, @bostonita, @krystyl, @biz, @VirginAmerica, @medized, @dalelarson, @irinaslutsky