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The Real Brian Show

What are you nerding out on? That's the question I ask you, my guests, and even myself. You never know what you're gonna get on each episode! We hit record and see what happens!
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The Real Brian Show
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Now displaying: May, 2018
May 25, 2018

Are you sick of being told by "experts" or by "scientists" that you're too old to do something? We definitely are! If there's one thing we emphasize on this show, it's that you're only as old as you feel. Unless you feel like an infant, in which case we don't support that. In a world that like to complain that we're getting old too quickly, it seems that sometimes we confuse immature individuals taking part in an activity with the activity itself being immature. So with the help of CJ "Lord Thunder", we're going to dig into this shot of espresso and a ton more fun Friday stuff!

In This Episode

  • Welcome back Lord Thunder!
  • Apple Watch
  • Birthday celebrations
  • Networking equipment...
  • 13 Reasons Why (Season 2)
  • What are YOU too old to still be doing?

Too Old

Epicurus once said: "Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance." As Lord Thunder accurately points out, just about anything we have access to in life, if over-used or abused, can kill us. And if not outright kill, then seriously damage our internal organs! Looking at how much acetaminophen you'd have to ingest in order for it to kill you or damage you might seem extreme, but the same could largely be said about gaming. When we reach levels of "toxicity", there is something else wrong. Talking strictly from my own experience, I resort to extremes when something is imbalanced.

We're all about taking care of ourselves, here at the Real Brian Show. We talk about healthy lifestyles, anything from staying active to learning how to eat right to socializing and friendship. We'd never advocate for isolation or eating nothing but pizza. There's a reason Brian talks about eating healthy, but also eating the frickin' cookie!

Scientists provide us with vital insights into the Dos and Donts of life. They share common pitfalls that humans face or risky behaviors, and they share what will help us, make us healthier and happier. Below I linked to a video that goes into some detail about being "too old" for gaming and the video makes some excellent points, excellent and accurate. However, we very well know that gaming itself isn't immature, gaming itself won't rot our brains. It's a compilation of things, and we're all responsible for seeking a good balance between having fun and taking care of ourselves.

Gaming isn't the only thing people tell us we're "too old for". The biggest resurgence I've noticed over the last couple years is coloring. Adult coloring books are making a comeback. In fact, after my dad died... I received multiple coloring books as gifts from people saying, "You might not believe me, but this is really therapeutic."

Reader's Digest agrees. They created a huge list of things we're never too old for. On this list? Watching fairytales. Crying. Dyeing your hair a different color.

Sometimes we need the child-like activities in order to stay sane, to let loose or loosen up, but there is nothing about these activities that inherently has age attached to it. In the end... the warning is to always be careful! Remember that we're prone to addiction and developing bad habits, so seek balance and moderation over total immersion. Learn how to love being healthy!

Links

May 18, 2018

2 of us survived Thanos. Did you? Actually, 3 of us survived Thanos because I, Emilee, survived. I was spared. We've got a full house to discuss Avengers Infinity War! Plus, we get the low down on Mangodroplet's trip to Florida (Epcot! Disney World! Harry Potter World!), some more convo around Should vs Could and Will vs Can, and learning how to learn from someone we've chosen as our mentor or coach.

In This Episode

  • Mangodroplet's trip to Florida & Disney World
  • Avengers: Infinity War discussion
  • Cobra Kai
  • Should vs Could (and Will vs Can)
  • FoCo is getting an In-N-Out Burger
  • Mentors and Coaches

Survived Thanos

If you're reading this, you may not have survived Thanos. How can you know for sure? Click here. In the event you were, or were not, spared by Thanos... we hope that you enjoy the riveting and animated discussion about Avengers: Infinity War. The majority of the discussion in this episode is about the movie, so if you have not seen it yet... first, what are you waiting for? And second, go see it! Then listen. It will be much more rewarding.

Interestingly, I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the folks did discussing it on the podcast! It was funny, had a lot of action and more depth to the villain than we're used to in these Avengers movies... I think I'm just reaching my peak of superhero films, the mass devastation, and the reliance on big-budget, eye-popping, CGI-driven screen antics. Call me a cynic, but was there a single shot from the movie that didn't have to be filmed with a green screen? (Of course, I'm being dramatic.)

It was so much fun seeing worlds collide; Thor with the Guardians, Tony Stark going head-to-head with Dr. Strange. But I am not a fan of movies that are split in 2, the first leaving a massive cliff hanger, and no semblance of resolution or hope at the end of the first movie. This is not a complete story. If I wasn't so cynical, I might think that this was a way to make all the drama more exciting and to tell a bigger story than they could in the span of 150 minutes...

In any case! Chances are you won't dislike it for Marvel's natural charisma, humor or ability to transport you through the galaxies for a couple hours. (chuckle)

Links

May 11, 2018

The Real Brian Show is a full house this week with Captain Influence, SevenBlueSeven and JonnyPistol at the helm with The Real Brian. We're talking gaming, Black Mirror, chokolat, non-spoilery Avengers stuff, and... did we mention gaming? It's the game of life!

In This Episode

  • Introductions, of course
  • What's in our cups
  • An espresso shot for life
  • Non-spoilery Avengers talk
  • Games we're playing (i.e. Alien: Isolation, Overwatch)
  • Toying with a twitch idea
  • Road rage and sensitivity

Game of Life

In true Real Brian Show fashion, the conversation this week hovers around various games in life that are both highly connected and don't really have anything to do with each other. There are the fun game-games, like Alien: Isolation, Overwatch, Battletech, Divinity... But then there are the real-games.

We play a different sort of game every day. The foods we eat, the drinks we drink. The people we talk to, the people we don't talk to. Our lives are a complex network of interactions that shuffle us along the platform of life, where we level up or proverbially lose lives and find ourselves back at square one.

This isn't The Truman Show. People don't watch our lives like they can watch a Twitch channel. But sometimes the way we live is put on display for all to see, and when that time inevitably comes... what are people going to see?

We'll all slip up from time to time. Perhaps it comes in a heated moment during traffic, or at just the wrong moment after a long day. Learning to control our reactions to situations under pressure is an important tool in anyone's belt, and that doesn't mean suppressing emotions, but possibly learning how to separate emotion from circumstance. The guys talk about getting into the mind of someone you're butting heads with and it started me down this path of the different places I become irritated by people. The most obvious is while in the car. Why does someone choose to go 10 mph under the limit? Why did that car have to swing wide left in order to turn right (causing ME to nearly drift into oncoming traffic)? But then there are other places... like at the grocery store when someone with with 100 items chooses the "self checkout" line.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Where do these irritated reactions come from? After all, I can't control other people. I can't control whether someone loves me, needs me, remembers my name, knows what I'm dealing with, or even grasps what implications their own actions have on everyone around them. We all only have so much time in the day, so maybe part of the problem is that we don't give ourselves enough padding, enough space, to accomplish the things we need to in a single day. As a result, we're behind in our own schedules. That makes us anxious, short, selfish, and narrow-minded.

Maybe in order to do more, we have to do less.

Links

May 4, 2018

We're sharing and caring this week with recipes, stories and chocolate from Brian, Tony and Morgan. Also, we have an interesting discussion about SHOULD vs COULD and the mindset that accompanies approaching decision making starting from these two launching pads. By the by, did you ever notice how strikingly similar jawas are to minions? May the 4th be with you all!

In This Episode

  • May the 4th be with you!
  • SHOULD vs COULD
  • NBA Playoffs & NBA2K18
  • Corporate bogus medicine
  • Fathead Pizza

Should vs Could

Ever heard someone say the phrase "woulda, coulda, should"? In fact, there are six different "common" combinations of this phrase that people employ, based mostly on a subconscious ordering of the words.

Shoulda, or "should have", implies that a path of correctness was known, but unexplored. Coulda, or "could have", is less concrete... implying something more of a possibility, rather than a certainty. Woulda, or "would have", is even further removed than "coulda", where there is some condition under a banner of possibility.

Whichever word we put first when dismissively uttering this phrase ends up revealing a lot about our perspective! And likewise, using should versus could reveals a lot about how we view the decisions we're confronting. Saying we "should" do something carries along an implicit stressor, one that carries the weight of a particular correct path. Conversely, saying we "could" do something opens up the element of possibility, creating a sense of freedom for the choice at hand.

What do you think? Have you been restricting your decision making to "should"? Do you need to open yourself up to the "could"? Let us know!

Links

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