di Storytime with GamerDude
This week's stories are about how different the world GamerDude grew up in than it is today. He talks about how "childproofing" was something he'd never heard about until he had kids of his own. When he was growing up, there were no child-proof lids, or cabinet locks, or covers for electrical outlets, and he talks about how he learned the hard way not to put things in an electrical socket. He talks about being left "in charge" when he was 12, and about how walking to and from school, or over to a friend's house, was just standard behavior. He also talks about playing outside on his own, and playing on the beach on his own, and how "parental supervision" was quite different when he was a kid. He also talks about "sunscreen," and how it simply wasn't a thing when he was growing up. If you were laying out in the sun, you were trying to get a tan, so you would lotion up with baby oil or tanning lotion. "SPF" was simply not a thing that he was aware of as a kid. He also talks about living off of sugary bubble gum, and how much he looked forward to that good, pink taste of Bazooka bubble gum. He also talks about riding bikes without helmets, regardless of whether you were racing down the street or jumping streams in the woods. He also remembers "graduating" to being able to sit in the front seat of the car, and also talks about how hitch-hiking was the Uber of his childhood. He also talks about the times he picked up hitch-hikers, and how it's not something he would consider doing these days.
Whether you're still in lockdown mode from COVID-19, or just looking for some good old movies to watch because you've binge-watched everything else, GamerDude has a list of some great old movies that (as of this recording) are available on Netflix. All of the movies on this list are at least 30 years old, but they still hold up and are worth watching. If you haven't seen movies like Goodfellas, Dirty Harry, True Grit, or Jerry Maguire (and 7 others, including 3 Harrison Ford films), you can find them all on Netflix, and they're worth taking the time to watch. GamerDude also dusts off some old movie tropes that you used to see all the time that aren't used anymore, which goes to show that even over-used plot-devices can eventually fall out of favor. Whether it's "Getting Married So The Baby Has A Father" to food pills to "typewriter eating," there are a number of tropes from long ago that we don't see anymore, either because they're outdated, or societal views have changed, or they simply don't make sense. GamerDude talks about these tropes, as well as hot rivets, cheating with the milkman, and sending telegrams.
In this episode, GamerDude engages in a rare political rant, based on things he learned as a child. He talks about how he was taught the value, importance, and necessity of thinking about more than just his own interests as a child. He remembers being taught that he should help his dad with the yardwork, and his mom with things like peeling potatoes. He was taught that, even if you didn't necessarily want to visit Grandma, you did it anyway because that's just what you do. He discusses learning the importance of honoring commitments and obligations, and how the world doesn't revolve around you. He then talks about how those lessons do not seem to apply in the politically charged climate in the world these days. He talks about how self-interest seems to dominate the actions of those in charge, and how today's leaders do not seem to share or understand the concept of public service, or doing the "right thing," or conducting themselves with honor in order to serve the people they were elected to serve. He discusses the importance of not accepting the normalization of things that should be unacceptable, and points out that standing up for what's right is still something that we can all do.
In this episode, which GamerDude recorded during Week 7 of the social distancing/lockdown guidelines caused by COVID-19, he talks about trying to stay positive, and maintain a positive outlook during these strange, difficult, and often depressing times. He talks briefly about his struggles as a kid, with being bullied and growing up as the "fat kid." He talks about diving into music to escape when he was young, and how diving into things that make you feel good - like music, and movies, and TV, and books, and gaming - are helpful ways to maintain a positive outlook. He talks about the importance of remembering that you may not be able to control the what is happening in the world around you, but you can control your reaction to it. He talks about the importance of a routine in your daily life, and how rewarding yourself, even if it's just viewing a walk around the block as a reward, can help you stay positive. He talks about the importance of breathing, and how taking time to focus on such a simple thing can calm your mind and your thoughts. He also talks about the importance of being nice, and "paying the niceness forward" to make both your life, and the lives of those around you, better. GamerDude also talks about gratitude, and how being grateful for the people doing their jobs, and for the things that we do have in our lives, can all help keep our own outlooks positive. And, he remembers Jim Valvano's sage advice on how to have "a heckuva day."
In these days where many people are doing more cooking and baking, GamerDude re-visits his grandmother's kitchen and talks about some of the things we used to do in the kitchen - like actually cook - and talks about how these are things we can start doing again. He talks about simple things, like baking your own bread, grating your own cheese, and making coffee with a percolator, and more complicated things, like making your own preserves. He talks about making sour dough bread, and passing on "sour dough starter" from generation to generation. He also talks about cookbooks, and how he inherited a collection of old recipes from his mother. He talks about some of the old recipes he found, like the ones for Apple Puffs and Prune Whip Cake, and shares a recipe for Lemon Sponge Pudding. It's a recipe that he's never actually tried, but he gives you the ingredients and explains how to make this "mystery recipe" from his mother's collection.
As regular listeners know, GamerDude has always enjoyed stories, whether reading them or having them read to him. Some of the earliest stories that he remembers from his childhood were Aesop's fables. Aesop was an ancient Greek storyteller who was probably one of the earliest "people-watchers." He watched people, saw how they acted, and crafted stories about people and their behavior from his observations. He would use animals in his stories to portray the characteristics he observed, and each of his stories - some of them quite short - would convey a moral, or lesson, that could be learned from the behaviors. These fables were a big part of GamerDude's childhood. He remembers his mother reading them to him, and he remembers reading them himself, and the lessons he learned from those stories helped shape the kind of person he is. GamerDude shares some of the fables he remembers. He tells the tales of The Fox and The Grapes, and The Oak and The Reeds, and The Sparrow and The Crow, and The Ass In The Lion's Skin, among others. He also shares his favorite: The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and explains how these stories influence his decisions in life, and his personality.
As you can tell from this podcast, GamerDude loves to tell stories. In this episode, he talks about shaggy dog stories, what they are and what they're supposed to do. Basically, a shaggy dog story is a story that has a long build up and eventually goes nowhere. GamerDude explains how shaggy dog stories are told purely for entertainment and amusement; sometimes, the entertainment is for the audience, and sometimes it's just for the storyteller. GamerDude also explains why shaggy dog stories are called shaggy dog stories. He tells what many believe to be the archetypical shaggy dog story, which is about - what else? - a shaggy dog. He also shares examples of several other kinds of shaggy dog stories. He tells the pirate story, the story about the subway trip, the story about Artie the hitman, and the story about the eccentric general.
GamerDude's love for music is no secret to regular listeners. In this episode, he talks about how his mom tried to teach him piano at an early age. He remembers learning the basics - FACE for the spaces on the music staff, and "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" for the lines, and he remembers becoming fairly adequate playing notes with his right hand. It was when he had to incorporate his left hand into his piano playing that his keyboard career was cut short. He also talks about his mom's piano playing, and the various sheet music and song books she collected over the years. GamerDude then shares his list of Top 15 Piano/Keyboard Intros for the rock songs he grew up with. No spoilers here; you'll have to listen to the episode to get the list (and excerpts from the songs), but the list includes songs from the 1960s to the 2000s and artists who are simply legendary. *Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS*
GamerDude has always loved breakfast. When he was a kid, he ate mostly cereal, and he loved the different kinds of sugary cereals all kids love, even though his mom didn't buy them very often. He craved the Sugar Smacks, Sugar Corn Pops, and Sugar Frosted Flakes, but usually had to settle for Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, and the various Chex cereals. He also enjoyed Shredded Wheat, especially after his dad taught him how to make warm shredded wheat. He also liked hot cereal, from oatmeal, to Cream of Wheat, and once again, his dad taught him a way to eat oatmeal that made it delicious. GamerDude also talks about his love of Grape Nuts cereal, and how it actually helped transition him to a love of granola. He also talks about his mom's famous recipe for "Eggs on Toast," which was nothing more than scrambled eggs on toast, and how she introduced him to scrambled egg sandwiches. Because she usually made those for lunch, it was normal to GamerDude to eat eggs and toast at pretty much any time. He also talks about his grandmother's bacon, and how nothing compared with it. GamerDude explains how he was introduced to all of the other breakfast foods, like waffles, French toast, pancakes, and sausage, when he went away to college. One of the cafeterias on campus had a special restaurant called The Strawberry Patch, which specialized in different breakfast foods. It was there that GamerDude expanded his horizons when it came to breakfast; in addition to everything else, he discovered the delights of hashbrowns and home fries. GamerDude also shares his quick and simple recipes for French toast. He explains how it can be as simple, or as fancy, as you'd like it to be.
GamerDude has talked about the story books he grew up with, and read The Knights of The Silver Shield from the "My Bookhouse" series in Season One. This week, he dips back into Bookhouse for the classic Greek myth about Hercules. This version of The Labors of Hercules is not attributed to any particular author; it just appears in "My Bookhouse" as "A Greek Myth." As you listen to the story, you're likely to hear some similarities in plot, in quest, and in beast to other movies, games and stories you've heard or played. Many of the names will also be familiar, from Pluto to Diana to the guardian dog of the Underworld (no spoilers, but it's a good one!) You'll also see the chain of quests Hercules must perform, along with the sub-quests, and the side quests the main quest spawns. As you'll hear, many of standard features of story-telling, and gaming, that we have today have their origins in tales that are, quite literally, thousands of years old. So sit back, and enjoy!