Men in Gorilla Suits
Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 69: Last Seen…Reading Books

This week, we sit down with a pack of hounds and talk about one of our favorite things in the world: books!

We kick it off talking about the first book we remember and then jump to the first books we ever read. Staying in the past, we then leap to discussing how important libraries were to us as children.

Stepping into the present, we talk about what we read more: fiction or non-fiction. Listen in and we'll tell you if a book has ever changed our lives.

Want to know what books have made us laugh...and find out the worst books we've ever read? We cover that before moving on to the book that has seen success that we just don't understand. Similarly, we talk about the most overrated books ever published.

It would be a travesty to do a show like this and not talk about our all-time favorite books. Find out what we're currently reading (well, at least at the time of this recording).

We wrap it up talking about authors we'd recommend before closing it out with not only mentioning the book we'd recommend for the audience, but why we recommend our particular choices over all others.

We'd like to hear what books you love (and even hate)...hit the comments and let us know!

Direct download: migs69.mp3
Category:Pop Culture -- posted at: 9:12pm CDT

Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 68: Last Seen...Talking Comedy

Humans love to laugh. In recent years, we've discovered that there is some truth to the adage: "Laughter is the best medicine." We pay to watch movies that make us laugh; most people live within a drive from a comedy club (or 2...or dozens). Some of the most popular podcasts out there are shows done by funny people. What is it about comedy that we love so much? That's what we're talking about on this week's episode of Men in Gorilla Suits.

We begin by discussing the very first thing we remember laughing at...and then, the very first joke we remember telling. (Spoiler alert: Christopher once memorized the entire 101 Elephant Jokes book.)

There are certain things that are synonymous with comedy -- we talk about what comes to our minds when someone mentions comedy, and then we discuss the funniest movies we've ever seen. Books can be funny as well; we devote a little time to funny books before discussing whether or not the Internet has been a good or bad thing for the development of comedy.

Want to know what stupid thing makes us laugh every time? Listen and find out...and also find out the most wrong things we find funny.

It's a great time for comedy, with podcasts and so many other ways funny people can reach an audience. Find out who we think is the most brilliant mind in comedy right now and what our go-to sources for comedy are when we're in search of a laugh.

We wrap the episode up discussing the funniest person we know personally and what was the last thing that made us laugh so hard that we almost had an unintentional body function occur.

We'd love to hear what you think is funny; as always, feel free to share in the comments.

Direct download: migs68.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 7:10am CDT

Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 67: Last Seen...Losing Things

Gorilla Christopher's sister lived to be 38 years old. She would have been 50 yesterday (May 13). It's one of many losses in Christopher's life. Shawn and Christopher have lost a lot in their time: serious losses and...pretty damn humorous losses! That's what we are talking about his week!

We kick it all off bending time with this question: "If you could go back in time and find anything you ever lost, what would it be?" (You <em>know </em>you want to know the answers!)

It's a mostly lighthearted episode, but...Shawn and Christopher both lost uncles in recent-enough weeks. While they both deal with the loss of loved ones pretty well, some have a tougher time. We discuss why we think it's harder to deal with the loss of those close to us for some compared to others.

Death. It sucks. But life springs from one's wang, and solidified in a womb, is something else. (Huhuhuhuhuhuh...he said "wang!") While Gorilla Shawn and Gorilla Christopher are not fathers, each has lost their virginity. You <em>know</em> you want to hear the stories behind those stories! All the [humorous] details are here. (Because really, does anybody [who's honest] have a triumphant tale of losing their virginity? It's usually a tale of loss, in in masculine "victory!")

Gorilla Christopher is a fan of Premiere League's Manchester City...and NHL's mighty Chicago Blackhawks. Manchester City won the Barclay's Cup last Sunday, and who knows if the Chicago Blackhawks will be be stopped by a much inferior hockey team on their race to yet <em>another </em>Stanley Cup...taking the Hockey Town title from Detroit. If either team lost, though, Christopher would have been okay with that. Some people, though, put their own self worth into the sports teams they like. Listen to our thoughts about those people experiencing a loss of their team in this section of the podcast...and then listen to our own tales of losing in sports after that. (Except for Gorilla Shawn, because Gorilla Shawn just don't lose shit!)

If you listen to the podcast and know us well enough, it's probably no big surprise that we deal with loss rather well. But...if you want to find out what losses we've endured that actually stung a bit, you really need to listen! And after that, it's a handful of minutes dedicated to the biggest losses in our lives!

Loss bothers most people, but can good come from losing? Listen to this episode and find out that answer...and also find out what lessons we've learned from losing.

Loss can be funny. Find out our funniest tales of loss.

We wrap it all up with discussing how we go about <em>not </em>losing things.

As always, we'd love for you to share your own tales of loss and how you dealt with them. We all lose things...sometimes it hurts, and other times it's funny. It's definitely an episode we hope helps some people who have a hard time dealing with those things in life that are no longer with them.

If you dig this episode, jump over to iTunes or Stitcher and leave a rating or review.

Direct download: migs67.mp3
Category:Pop Culture -- posted at: 8:33pm CDT

Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 66: Last Seen...Being Multicultural

America gets a bad rap that's sometimes deserved. At the same time, there's no other country quite like the United States of America: for all its faults, it's a great place in so many ways. We kick off this episode with this question: America used to be called "the melting pot" -- do we think that's still true? After that, we discuss our first experience dealing with another culture and then discuss the most culturally diverse place we've ever lived.

"American culture" can be a hard thing to pin down...we devote some time talking about what we think American culture even is. Some countries try to keep other cultures from "infringing" on established culture. Do more cultures in one place strengthen a population, or have the opposite effect? And how has the Internet been helpful in people recognizing and embracing other cultures? After answering these questions, we discuss our favorite foreign cultures.

Some people are terrified of uniculturalism: so many cultures in one place that an area or country gravitates toward a new, single culture. We discuss examples of uniculturalism we've seen and talk about whether or not we feel it's a bad thing.

One of the earmarks of culture is language. We talk about how language has changed in America...and all over the world.

We wrap up this episode talking about what we consider our cultural identities to be and sharing what we believe (and hope) is the future of world culture. (Looking at the image chosen for this week's episode, it's probably pretty clear that we think the world, with all its different people, is a mighty cool thing!)

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts about this week's topic in the comments.

Direct download: migs66.mp3
Category:Pop Culture -- posted at: 10:21pm CDT

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