di Storytime with GamerDude
Dungeons and Dragons was the game that introduced GamerDude to role-playing games, and to a group of like-minded gamers in college. He was an old-school Advanced Dungeons & Dragons player (AD&D); he and his group played First Edition rules. In this episode, he talks about how he got into AD&D, and what the game was all about. He talks about the various books and manuals involved, and how you were supposed to create your characters for your fantasy adventures. He talks about the various races (human, elf, dwarf and halfling) and classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric, thief, monk and the special bard class) and alignments, from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil. He explains how AD&D used a variety of dice, from 4-sided all the way to 20-sided, and he talks about "dice prison" for dice that misbehaved during crucial game play. He also tells the story of the time he tried to get his mother to roll-up a character for a family session of D&D; not surprisingly, it did not go as planned.
GamerDude talks about why he started running when he was young. He touches on his days as "the fat kid" and how that initially inspired him, and then talks about what became his "bible" of running, an old book called "The Beginning Runner's Guide." He tells the story about how he was paired up with one of the track team members in high school during gym class (before he lost the weight), and how crushing it was to see that runner finish a lap before GamerDude was half-way around the track. He talks about his first real running shoes, and how he leared that running slowly still counts as "running." He remembers running the track after he graduated high school, and timing himself in the mile. He talks about training himself for distance running, and how he coached himself to be able to run a six-mile route. And he explains how a six-mile run on a hot July day caused him to remove the six-mile distance from his schedule. Finally, GamerDude talks about the importance of finding "your thing," and doing it, not only for the physical benefits, but for the mental benefits as well.
In this episode, GamerDude goes back to the movie theater to talk about 10 of his favorite under-rated comedies. Probably none of these movies will make anyone's Top Ten List of all time great movies, but they all have appeal to GamerDude on some level. There are some absurd movies on this list, including The Golden Child and Big Trouble in Little China, and some genuine comedy gems, including Galaxy Quest, Keanu and Hot Fuzz. GamerDude gives a brief synopsis of all 10 of his favorite under-rated comedies. In the second part of this episode, GamerDude pulls out the Trusty Trope Book to gripe about 10 more of his least favorite movie tropes. You've seen that scene where someone is trying to tell the hero something and keeps getting interrupted? That's on the list, as are the scenes where women are wearing high heels in situations where no reasonable women would consider doing so, and how the TV in the local bar is ALWAYS tuned to the news channel and the critical news flash pops up on the screen just as our hero walks in. GamerDude talks about these, and seven more over-used tropes and cliches.
When he was a kid, GamerDude loved winter. He talks about how hard it was to go through the long days of school from January 2 through mid-February, and how he longed for the occasional snow day. He remembers riding the bus to school in the snow, and the clank of the snow chains on the road, which made getting to school so much easier than it is now. He talks about the snowball fights they used to have in his neighborhood, and explains why he never took to skiing. He talks about the winter activities he did enjoy, from skating to sledding, and he talks about riding flying saucers, Flexible Flyers and toboggans down the hills near his home. And he talks about the snow ramp he and his friends built at the bottom of a hill, and his attempts to photograph the result.
As 2018 draws to a close, GamerDude talks about that week between Christmas and New Year's when he was a kid. He remembers the lull between the holidays, when the new Christmas toys got tested, and when he would thoroughly enjoy the time off from school. He talks about the New Year's Eve tradition his father had that he continues to this day. GamerDude Dad celebrated New Year's Eve by ordering in a bunch of Chinese food (Happy Family, anyone? Fried dumplings?), watching movies, playing games, and waiting for the Times Square ball to drop at midnight, and that's exactly what GamerDude does to this day. In this episode, GamerDude also takes some time to look back at the first year of the podcast, remembers some of the more memorable episodes, and thanks all of the listeners for their time, and their support. Thank you for a fantastic 2018! Here's to more stories in 2019! Happy New Year!
For anyone who celebrates Christmas, it can be a lot of things: fun, happy, stressful, depressing, demanding. But for GamerDude, as a kid, Christmas was nothing but exciting! In this episode, he talks about that excitement, and how it permeated every aspect of his life. He talks about walking around with a "Christmas soundtrack" playing in his head, full of sleigh bells and chimes. He talks about going through the Sears Roebuck Christmas Wishbook, the big catalogue of toys (and other things) that Sears put out each year. He remembers the Christmas concerts he played in for band, and the songs he sang in chorus practice during music class. He remembers the family discussions about which grandmother was visiting, and bunking with his brother on Christmas eve when Grandma stayed over. And he remembers the sleigh bells he is certain he heard one Christmas eve, in the middle of the night, as well as the giddy thrills of waking up on Christmas morning. Last but not least, he shares his Christmas wishes for all.
GamerDude is an old-school Christmas shopper. This week, he reminisces about how his parents taught him both how to budget for the holidays, and how to pick out the "perfect" gift. He remembers his father giving him five dollars and sending him off through the local mall (which had 10 stores in it) to find gifts for his mother, his brother and his sister. He remembers that his father never told him what to get, but taught him to ask the question: "What does that person like?" GamerDude talks about how he learned the importance of giving a gift that was something more than just a "thing;" he learned the importance of paying attention to the interests and needs of the person he was shopping for, and finding a specific gift for that person. He also learned the importance of budgeting for Christmas, and that the quality of the gift meant much more than the quantity. He also tells the stories about his two most memorable Christmas gifts from his childhood - a pair of snow tires, and a bike (which he promptly rode into the stream on Christmas morning). And he talks about how he has braved the malls at the holidays (including on Black Friday) and how much better it is to shop from the comfort of your living room, in your pajamas and slippers.
Everyone has their favorite Christmas movies, and GamerDude is no exception. In this episode, he gives his criteria for what makes a good Christmas movie, and explains why Die Hard and Lethal Weapon don't make his list. (They're great action movies that happen to be set at Christmas!) He talks about five of his favorite Christmas movies that are often overlooked, or underappreciated, which include Four Christmases, Scrooged, Arthur Christmas, Disney's A Christmas Carol, and The Polar Express, and he talks about why he likes each one. He then gives his list of five favorite Christmas movies, and talks about each: Fred Claus, Christmas Vacation, Elf, A Christmas Story, and Love, Actually. He then talks about why, for him, Love, Actually is his favorite Christmas movie, and explains why he disagrees with the critics who have found so much fault with the relationships in the movie. SPOILER ALERT: The last five minutes of this episode (which contains the defense of Love, Actually) is thick with spoilers, so if you want to avoid them, it's best to skip those last five minutes.
When GamerDude was a kid, the Christmas decorating season didn't start until just after Thanksgiving. In this episode, he talks about the thrill that kids felt at the start of that season, and talks about the "traditional" family decorations his parents put out each year. He talks about the green floodlight his dad shone on the porch each holiday, and the gigantic Christmas star he built. He remembers his parents' "rigid Santa," his mother's "N O E L" letters, and the candle-powered bell chime his mother loved. He remembers his father's fondness for ceramic Christmas trees, and how many he found stored away after his father was gone. He talks about how his family ALWAYS had a live Christmas tree, and how the size of the tree shrunk year after year. And, he tells the story of the ill-fated indoor snow-maker for the Christmas tree that made one appearance in his family's house and then, mysteriously, disappeared forever.
Thanksgiving was always a big holiday growing up. GamerDude always looked forward to the four-day weekend from school, and all the food and sports coming up over the long weekend. He talks about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the various balloons he's seen over the years. He talks about visiting his grandmothers' homes for the holidays, and how family politics always influenced who visited whom, when, and where. He talks about holiday leftovers, how his cousins picked the turkey clean one year, and how the meals shifted from his grandmothers' homes to his family's house. He talks about some of the traditional sides, and gives you the recipe for his mom's standard turkey stuffing. (Really! Grab a pen and paper!) And he talks about how important it is to remember the good that we all have in our lives, and to be grateful for it. He also thanks his twitch family and his listeners for their support, and for being part of his life.