Storytime with GamerDude

After a bit of a hiatus, GamerDude is back with Season 8! This week, GamerDude talks about the need for a break after 6+ years of weekly episodes, and what prompted him to fire up the podcast mic for another season.

This week's episode is inspired by an idiom that GamerDude heard on the game show, "The Floor." One young contestant couldn't complete the phrase "Carrying ____ to New Castle." (The answer is "coals," which GamerDude explains in this episode.) That answer got him to thinking about many of the idioms and "old sayings" that we use today, but we may not know where they came from, or what they actually mean. So, GamerDude decided to dig into some of them. He talks about "close but no cigar," "biting the bullet," "facing the music," and coming "straight from the horse's mouth." He also talks about some old phrases that used to be in use but have fallen by the wayside, and he makes the case for bringing them back.

For the first episode of 2024, GamerDude talks about his "brushes with greatness," which is times in his life where he as met, or interacted with, or at least seen, someone who is famous. GamerDude first talks about how he was a very minor celebrity back in his radio DJ days, and how the people he encountered then shaped how he handled encounters with famous people when he got older. GamerDude's first "brush with greatness" was before his DJ days, when he was a kid at a game at Yankee Stadium. That's where he got Joe Garagiola's autograph when Joe was sitting in the press box. GamerDude then talks about some of the famous people he met while driving limos, from Tony Bennett to Phil Rizzuto. He also talks about some of the famous people he's run into at comic cons, from Nathan Filion to Alan Tudyk.

The end of the year got GamerDude to thinking about the post-Christmas sales his dad used to take him to the day after Christmas. He remembers the deals his dad was able to negotiate, and how the annual "getting Christmas Stuff on-sale" trip was another family tradition. GamerDude also talks about the end of the year, and how New Year's resolutions can set you up for failure. He prefers looking at the New Year as either an opportunity to correct course if things aren't going the way you want them to, or to stay the course and improve on things that are going well. GamerDude also talks about completing six seasons of Storytime, and conveys his thanks and appreciation for all of the support he's received over the years.

It's GamerDude's annual Christmas Episode (one of many, actually!) and this week, he's talking about the non-denominational aspects of Christmas. He talks about how the feeling of Christmas is supposed to be about getting together with family, and friends, and loved ones, and sharing love, and food, and gifts to close out the year. He talks about how that's not necessarily tied to any religion but is part of the spirit of the season. GamerDude also talks about how it is perfectly acceptable to celebrate the holidays with the people who truly matter in your life, and that it is perfectly okay to leave people off your Christmas card or gift list, either because they're no longer part of your life, or because they actually make you sad, or for whatever other reason you may have. You get to decide how - and with who - you want to celebrate your holidays. GamerDude also shares three brief, non-denominational blessings to use - if you choose - this holiday season.

For this week's episode, GamerDude decided to go back to Season Three, when he first did this episode about Christmas music, and shared 10 of his favorite non-traditional Christmas songs. GamerDude's stories this week include stories about the holiday concerts in school, and learning to sing Christmas carols around the piano with his mother. He shares the story about having to sing "O Come, All Ye Faithful" in front of the family, and how that experience was so traumatizing for him. GamerDude also talks about the how the tire companies used to put out vinyl albums each year, each with a collection of standard Christmas songs recorded by popular artists, and how his mother's record collection included a few of them. As for the 10 Christmas songs? Let's just say that the late, great Jimmy Buffet is featured, as are The Beach Boys and The Pretenders. But you'll have to listen to the entire episode for the full list!

This week, GamerDude talks about how we all tend to react to the approach of the end of the year, as we take stock of what we hoped to accomplish, what we did accomplish, and what we plan to do next year. He talks about how his decision to take early retirement came at the end of the year, and how and why he arrived at that decision. He also talks about how the things he does now are done at his own pace, without as much concern for the artificial restrictions imposed by the construct of "time." GamerDude also talks about the upcoming Season 7 of Storytime. Don't worry; Storytime isn't going anywhere, but there will be some changes in 2024. (No spoilers here; you'll have to listen to the episode!)

GamerDude has gone back to Season 1 to remaster the episode with his stories about setting up the Christmas decor between Thanksgiving and Christmas when he was a kid. He talks about his dad's four-foot tall Christmas star, his mom's candle-powered angels, and her NOEL sign, and his parents' stuffed Santa. He also remembers the one year his dad added a "snowmaker" to the family tree.

GamerDude is talking about Thanksgiving again this week, with another reminder of how important it is to be thankful, especially in these days of tough times and a world seemingly suffering from a global case of COVID-related PTSD. GamerDude revisits the topic of "family politics" and how they influenced his Thanksgivings as a child. He talks about alternating Thanksgivings between his grandmother's houses, and how he didn't like visiting his dad's mom for the holiday because he was relegated to the "kid's table." GamerDude also revisits the Thanksgiving at his mom's mom's house, when his cousins stopped by for a "snack" that left GamerDad with no turkey for his leftover turkey sandwiches. GamerDude also remembers how his dad seemed to wrestle with the turkey each year he tried to carve it, which always made GamerDude think that carving the turkey was difficult - until he grew up, and discovered it wasn't that hard at all. GamerDude also shares his favorite non-denominational prayer, giving thanks for the simple basics of life: heat, faces, and eating.

This week, GamerDude is talking about being thankful for Thanksgiving. He talks about how Thanksgiving used to be a calm period of time between the excitement of Halloween and Christmas, and he talks about why he always tries to remember to be thankful for what he has. He also talks about some forgotten foods from Thanksgivings in the past. He talks about the days when passenger pigeon was a main course, when West Indian Desserts were popular, and when gelatinized salads were the rage back in the 1960s. He also explains what turducken actually is, and shares a non-denominational blessing for Thanksgiving dinner.

This week, GamerDude talks about the stories he tells, and why he chooses to tell the stories he does. He talks about preserving his dad's stories, because they are not only his dad's stories, but they give insight into his dad, and into GamerDude. The stories helped form the basis for the kind of person GamerDude is. GamerDude retells the tale of his dad posing as a botanist to get some plants on a plane, and tells the story about the three-legged dog at the vet, the piano in the van, and the riding lawnmower. GamerDude also talks about his mom, and her stories, and why her stories are different from those of his father. He talks about her tap dancing lessons and mincing onions. GamerDude also mentions a couple of stories from his youth, including the one about unloading a tractor trailer full of charcoal briquettes, and driving a Karmann Ghia with rusted floor boards.

This week, GamerDude is talking about some older technology and devices that he believes we should hang on to. He talks about his wired headset/ear-phones, which inspired this week's episode. He discusses how inexpensive they are for what they do, and how much of a hassle ear buds can be.GamerDude also talks about the value of an old fashioned pen and paper, and the simplicity of the old school calculator. He talks about how he prefers watches to trying to get the time from his phone. GamerDude also discusses the benefits of physical media, like DVDs and CDs, as opposed to relying on digital files in the cloud.GamerDude also talks about the value of knobs, and dials, and levers in cars, and how touch screens are bound to fail sooner than a button will. He talks about the 6 year old touch screen he had in a truck, and how, rather than fix it, he just pulled the fuses because it was easier, and cheaper.

GamerDude goes back to Season One to re-master his favorite Mischief Night story, about the time he was TP'ing the new neighbor's spite fence. He also brings back his Best and Worst Halloween Candy list because, well, it's Halloween time!

GamerDude has gone back to Season One to remaster the stories he told back then about Halloween when he was growing up. He talks about what Halloween was like, and trick-or-treating in his neighborhood, from visiting with Charlie Chips to the family that gave out copies of the New Testament every year. He also talks about the various costumes he had over the years, and also talks about the importance of maximizing your haul of candy every year.

This week, GamerDude talks about how the cost of everything continues to go up, and rants about the gouging that's become normalized due to the pandemic. He talks about the Big Mac index, and how the price of a Big Mac from McDonald's has changed in the nearly-60 years since its release. He talks about everything from the price of gas, to the price of tortilla chips, to the price of coffee, to the price of soda, and how much gouging has been going on in the past few years. He also talks about the prices at Disney World, and how they, too, represent an on-going effort to maximize profit at the expense of the consumer.

This week, GamerDude talks about how Halloween has evolved in his lifetime from a holiday about kids going out to get as much free candy as they could, to a holiday where everyone seems to compete to see how much gore decor they can fit on their front lawns. (Yes, it's basically an "old man rant" about how things used to be in the old days!)GamerDude also talks about some of the candy that he grew up with that has been discontinued over the years. He talks about some that he remembers and loved, like the Reggie! and Marathon candy bars, and Life Saver Holes. He also talks about candy he found out about that he wished he'd known about, like Reese's Peanut Butter and Banana Creme cups. (GamerDude talks about several other discontinued candies as well, but you'll have to listen to find out which ones!)

GamerDude has remastered another episode from Season 1. This episode originally released for Mothers' Day, but GamerDude wanted to share the stories again.In this episode, he talks about how everyone has different relationships with their moms, and every mom has her own unique issues. GamerDude talks about his mom, and how he knew very little about her life before she was "Mom." He also shares memories of what life was like with her, and how - as her first child - he was "The Experiment." He also shares a poem of hers that she wrote when he was young called "The Gift."He also talks about her art work and her art shows, and her music, and her writiing. He also shares her love for the non-existent shopping mall known as "Meadowbrook."

This week, GamerDude is re-posting a "Best of" episode from 2020. This is one of the first episodes where GamerDude started re-editing and cleaning up some of the sounds and glitches from episodes in the first season of Storytime.In this "Best of" episode, GamerDude talks about his love for radio, and (with the help of your imagination) creates the podcast studio in New York City, and introduces you to Mr. Agador. He also has stories about the amazing technology in our smart phones these days. He also includes stories about "gaming" before video games, which included playing with Lionel trains in the basement, and board games wherever he could. GamerDude also talks about his dream car: the 1975 candy-apple red Ford Gran Torino, and what driving means to him.

This week, GamerDude got to thinking about how our view of things change as we get older. For example, riding roller coasters used to be a huge deal; GamerDude would actually plan trips around amusement parks and locations where he could ride a roller coaster. But as he's gotten older, the aches and pains of a day on the coasters has changed his view on them.GamerDude talks about several other things that getting older has changed his view on. He talks about how his patience for waiting in line is now significantly shorter than it used to be. He explains how his tolerance for the everyday annoyances of the working world helped lead to his early retirement. He talks about how his lack of patience for the antics of other people has changed how often - and where - he and Mrs. Gamerdude go out. And, he talks about how getting older gives you a more realistic - and healthier - view of sex.

This week, Gamerdude has more "life advice" to share with you. This week's episode was inspired by the recent prevalence of the phrase "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." GamerDude talks about the importance of paying attention to the way people actually act, and believing that their actions truly do disclose the type of person they really are.GamerDude also talks about learning how to control your reactions to people, and things, and scenarios, because you certainly can't control those other things yourself. He also talks about the importance of balancing your work life with your "real" life, the passing nature of friendships, and also shares Ben Franklin's advice: "Never ruin an apology with an excuse."