Men in Gorilla Suits
Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 173: Last Seen…In Pain

Man in pain - Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 173: Last Seen…In PainBumping your head into cabinets or stubbing toes; chainsaw accidents and car wrecks; mauled by wild animals: All painful things.

But pain goes beyond physical injuries. Emotional pain can lead to physical pain.

Hell, many people believe life is pain.

Whether it's a chronic illness or feelings that cannot be shaken away, part of being human is experiencing pain. So that's the topic for this week's show.

* * *

We begin by talking about the first time we remember being in severe physical pain, and then get even happier by jumping to the first emotional pain we remember experiencing. Then we leap to the present day and discuss the last thing that caused us pain.

We're both getting older (this episode is being loaded the day before Christopher turns 47, and Shawn trails Christopher by 9 years), so we wondered: do we believe we experience more or less pain than most men our ages?

After that, we chat about the worst pain we've ever experienced -- as well as how we deal with pain and reduce its effect on us.

Some say that modern life is an attempt at the avoidance of pain. Find out if we believe there's any truth to that...and if we'd want to live a painless existence.

We wrap it all up by wondering if there is value in pain.

Leaving a comment doesn't hurt; if you are so inclined, have your say about pain!

Direct download: migs173.mp3
Category:Pop Culture -- posted at: 3:21pm CDT

Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 172: Last Seen…Being Corporate

An empty conference room - Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 172: Last Seen…Being CorporateWhen we aren't recording podcasts, writing, or doing the other things we do on our own, we're busy working corporate jobs. Corporate America gets a bad rap by many, but it affords us enough security to approach episode 175 of a weekly podcast without an end in sight (or ever missing a week). It has provided us with a higher income than we made at more menial jobs. Some places we've worked have even offered some great perks we'd never have imagined when we first started working in offices.

But we've also seen more than our fair share of layoffs. We've worked long hours to cover the mismanagement of tasks and other things. We've had to hear people complain and gossip about jobs that -- for us -- are a far cry from the days in corn fields, on warehouse floors, and in restaurants being yelled at as an entire team by irate managers. We've seen work/life balance blur in an always-connected society.

We've lived the life for years, so it seemed time to devote an episode to corporations.

* * *

We begin by talking about when we first became aware of these things called corporations (and the jobs that came with them). We then move on to our first corporate jobs; as well as our best -- and worst -- corporate day gigs.

Many people view corporations as inherently evil things, but...is that true? Are they better, worse, or the same as "Mom and Pop Shops"?

There is no denying the reach of corporate interest into politics and the power big companies wield over nations. We discuss Citizen's United (i.e. the corporation as person), and move on to whether or not corporate tax havens and loopholes should be stopped.

Whew...got serious there for a moment! After that, we chat about a movie that seems like a documentary: Office Space. Hear some of our funniest and saddest corporate stories.

We did an entire episode about buzzwords and buss phrases early on; we revisit that when we talk about "corporate speak" leading to a potential problem with communication as a whole...and then we ask if corporate America is getting worse?

And we wrap it all up by discussing the future of corporations.

Fill out your TPS Report and drop it in the comments to have your say!

Direct download: migs172.mp3
Category:Pop Culture -- posted at: 7:38am CDT

Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 171: Last Seen…Consuming Stuff

Store display window - Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 171: Last Seen…Consuming StuffChances are, you were bombarded by advertising today -- you probably didn't even realize it. Many of you probably bought stuff today as well. Looking around your home, it's probably full of stuff.

Marketers do what they can to get you to buy, while others tell us all to be appalled by consumerism.

This week, we chat about buying stuff!

* * *

We begin by talking about the first things we bought on a regular basis -- and what we spend the most on today.

We make it clear from the start that yes, we consume stuff; in fact, we chat about how often we go into stores for one thing and come our with a dozen things...and what we do if a store is out of the thing we are there to buy. What then? (And where do we go to buy our stuff?)

If you ever lost sleep thinking, "I wonder how often Shawn and Christopher shop for groceries, clothes, and other things?" then this is your lucky day! We also discuss whether or not we've gone out to purchase something in a major metropolitan area like the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex and failed at the task. (i.e. Is the Metroplex full of all one can hope to buy?)

We chat about people who stockpile purchased items -- and whether or not there's ever a reason to stockpile goods. Are we members of warehouse clubs, or do we feel there's simply no need for them? Find out!

We come right out and answer this question: Do we consider ourselves consumers? (And then we talk about what we consume most.)

Find out what brands we would gladly promote...before we wrap it all up with this question: What is the future of consumerism?

It costs nothing to leave a comment, and the joy you will receive in doing so far exceeds that of buying a gold-plated pony! (So have at it!)

Direct download: migs171.mp3
Category:Pop Culture -- posted at: 6:39pm CDT

Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 170: Last Seen…Scheduling Things

Pages from a calendar - Men in Gorilla Suits Ep. 170: Last Seen…Making SchedulesNothing happens to us if we don't get this show out weekly, but we told ourselves from the start that we would get episodes online by Thursday of every week. 170 episodes in, we've never missed a deadline; in fact, it's not uncommon to post episodes early.

We usually record episodes on Sundays. If recording in person, it's an 11:00 a.m. start time. If we don't meet in person, it's 9:00 p.m. Sunday night on Skype.

While one could argues these are deadlines more than schedules, we both schedule things to various degrees (erring quite heavily toward the side of no real schedules -- just hitting deadlines and remembering the bodies of work we have created to drive us to create even more). Others schedule things down to the seconds (which helps if, say...you're launching a rocket into space -- but it's probably not necessary for daily life).

This week we are on schedule and...talking all about schedules.

* * *

We kick off this week's show talking about the first schedules we remember. Oh, wait...Christopher had his runsheet out of order, so we really begin in the middle, talking about whether or not we prefer schedule things by time or by necessity to complete the thing. After that, we leap to how important schedules are to completing our creative endeavors -- and how important schedules are in our lives.

We devote some time to discussing how we schedule things in our lives (if we use any apps, planners, or other things), and what kinds of schedules work best for us.

Many people swear by books like Getting Things Done and productivity blogs. Find out if any of those things have ever helped us with scheduling; then we chat about whether or not people can go too overboard with their schedules. And sticking to that topic, we talk about whether or not people generally give their kids too much to do.

We've all had to deal with someone not only heavily into scheduling, but also wanting others to follow their methods for scheduling things. We discuss how we deal with those people, and then move on to some commonly scheduled things that could use a revamp. (Okay, so we mostly hammer on the 40-hour work week.)

Finally, we wrap it all up by talking about what advice we'd give people where scheduling is involved.

And right on schedule...we ask that you leave a comment if you are so inclined to discuss this topic further.

Direct download: migs170.mp3
Category:Pop Culture -- posted at: 6:49pm CDT

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