Storytime with GamerDude
Stagione 6
di Storytime with GamerDude
This week, GamerDude talks about how life rarely ever turns out how you expect it to. He talks about how he had plans when he went in to college, and how he wound up changing majors five times. He also talks about how unreasonable it is to actually expect anyone in their late teens or early 20s to be ready or able to plan their entire future careers. He also re-visits the various jobs he had after college, and how he had not planned on actually being in any one of them.GamerDude also talks about how the years of working after college eventually led him to law school, even though he'd never even considered law school until just before he started applying. He also talks about how he had ideas of what he wanted to do after law school - namely, become a prosecutor - and how he, briefly, landed a job as a prosecutor. He also talks about the serendipity of landing a job at a small firm that specialized in workers' compensation law and how that led him to become one of the more well-known workers' comp attorneys in New Jersey. He also talks about how he never would have - or could have - predicted that that is where his legal career would take him.
This week, GamerDude is talking about experiences that used to be an ordinary part of peoples' lives that no longer are. He talks about the experience of reading a road map (as well as folding and unfolding one) and how the entire road map experience is no longer necessary. He talks about the Sunday paper, and his ritual of reading it, and the advertising flyers in it. He talks about Service Merchandise, and shopping at a catalog store.GamerDude also remembers huddling around the radio on snowy mornings, waiting for the school-closing announcement. It was very different when he was a kid, in the pre-internet, pre-cable days, when school closing announcements were only given out over a select few radio stations. GamerDude also remembers the experience of being on your own and doing your own thing as a kid, with a minimal amount of parental supervision, and he discusses why that experience is lost to our kids these days.
This week, GamerDude decided to go back to Season 2, when he first did this episode about his Top 15 (plus one Honorable Mention) movie music themes. After giving it a listen, he decided not to change a thing, and instead wanted to replay it because he had so much fun putting it together. So, if you haven't heard the list (which includes several old movies, several new movies, several John Williams scores, and come from movies involving running, boxing, escaping and sinking), please enjoy it, and if you have heard it before, hope you enjoy it again!NOTE: 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 is stepping back into the way-back machine this week and revisiting some more things that used to exist that have just faded away from our lives. He was inspired by memories of his grandmother's Grandfather Clock, and how he remembers those big clocks being a fixture in so many homes. He remembers tube TVs, and all the controls for vertical and horizontal holds, and for color and tint. He remember how waterbeds were a big fad for awhile, and how yo-yos were the fidget spinner of his youth.GamerDude also remembers a variety of toys, from the toys you'd get in the cereal box, to the hefty Tonka trucks he'd play with in the sandbox. He also remembers getting records that were actually part of the cereal box, and being able to play them on a standard record player.GamerDude also has some predictions for things that are likely to disappear in the next 10 years. He talks about how keys are becoming less necessary, as are actual "pen and paper" (wet) signatures. And, he talks about how "knowing our neighbors" also seems to be becoming a thing of the past.
GamerDude decided to go a little more "current events" in this week's episode. He first talks about the writers'/actors' strike going on in Hollywood. He looks at some of the history of writers' rooms and actors' residuals. He talks about summer re-runs, and DVD sales, and how the business model that gave us those things has changed, which has lead to the current strike in Hollywood. And, to be clear, GamerDude supports the writers and the actors 100%.Because of all the indictments being handed down in recent weeks (including new ones while GamerDude was editing this episode), he also decided to take a few minutes to explain what indictments are, what they mean, and how a prosecutor gets one. He also talks about how, in years past, the sum and substance of the indictments against trump would have been completely disqualifying for another run for president, and the fact that they're not is a sad commentary on the state of the United States.
GamerDude has gone back to Seasons 1 to re-edit and re-produce the episode he did about his grandparents. (In all of these re-masters, GamerDude tries to clean up some of the technical glitches that occurred in some of the episodes from the first season, and also edits them so they sound cleaner.)GamerDude talks about his memories of his two grandfathers, although those memories are limited because they both died when GamerDude was still very young. He talks about his mother's father and his work driving a mule cart, and his father's father and his work as a civil engineer.He also talks about his grandmothers. He remembers his mom's mom and her bacon, and coffee, and ancient washing machine. And he remembers his dad's mom, and her cats, and her poodle, and the $1 a month she sent him as an allowance.
This week, GamerDude talks about how doing certain things, or society's view of having certain things, has changed over the years. He first talks about the process of making a phone call when he was a kid. He remembers when the only phone anyone had was the house phone, so you had to learn to talk to your friend's parents and siblings when making a call. He also talks about the awkwardness of calling a girl for a date, and the fear of getting her father on the phone.GameDude also talks about how society's views on other things has changed over the years, from tattoos, to piercings, to hair coloring. He talks about when he pierced his ear in the early 1990s, and how one employer had no problem with it, while another disapproved of his "inappropriate jewelry." He talks about how having a non-traditional hair-color is now more acceptable than it once was. And, he talks about tattoos, and tells his favorite tattoo story.
This week, GamerDude talks about words again. He starts things off by revisiting the word "niche", which, for most of his life had only one pronunciation: "nitch." He discusses how, in recent years, the pronunciation "neesh" has become accepted, for reasons that escape him. He understands how it's not THAT big of a deal, but explains why it matters to him. He also discusses several other words, and their weird pronunciations, and how the English language is full of odd stuff like that.GamerDude also talks about the origin of several other words and phrases. He talks about what gerrymandering is, and how it get its name. He discusses the origin of the filibuster and its connection to pirates. He also talks about the difference between lawyers and attorneys-at-law (which is about $50 an hour). And, he discusses how the word "kidnapping" came into prominent use.
The latest Indiana Jones sequel inspired GamerDude to talk about why certain sequels just don't work, and also reminded him - once again - of the differences between the generations. He talks about the time when Raiders of the Lost Ark released in 1981, and how different the world was then - pre-internet and pre-social media. He talks about the two sequels to that movie, and how the original trilogy ended perfectly. He also talks about the Crystal Skull fiasco and why it was an unnecessary movie.GamerDude also talks about why a sequel made more than 40 years after the original might not do so well. He explains how Indiana Jones (and Harrison Ford) are, to the current generation, what Humphrey Bogart was to him when he was younger: an old-time movie actor his parents liked. GamerDude talks about how you can't create nostalgia for a character you never actually knew.GamerDude also talks about how he used to entertain himself in the pre-internet world, with books and board games and clubs and TV. He talks about how our grandparents and our great-grandparents all found ways to entertain themselves in their eras, and points out that it is important to be mindful of the fact that each generation has its own frame of reference for the world in which they live.
This week's episode is about Mrs. GamerDude's adventures handling a paraganglioma, and is made with her knowledge and approval. GamerDude talks about what the initial diagnosis was like for her, and what a paraganglioma actually is. He talks about the trips to the hospital, and the preparation for surgery. He talks about how he did his best to help Mrs. GamerDude through the "worrying process" and also talks about how important it is to be supportive without making it all about you. GamerDude also talks about the logistics of the treatment and the procedures, from getting to the hospital in Philadelphia, to trying to arrange for a place to stay, to trying to figure out the parking situation. He also talks about the recovery time and the residuals for something like this. WARNING: There are a few graphic descriptions of blood.