If you've ever been around sports, loved an entertainment franchise, or been on the Internet, you've likely seen toxic fans.

This time around, the Gorillamen talk about toxic fandom -- specifically:

• When did you first become aware of toxic fandom?
• Fans of things have always been opinionated—some, even toxic. What do you think has contributed to the rise in toxic fandom?
• Why do you think some fans of things are toxic?
• Have you ever been a toxic fan of something?
• What do you think is the most toxic of all fandoms?
• What are some of your own experiences of dealing with toxic fandom?
• Has toxic fandom taken the edge off of something you’ve enjoyed?
• We’re mostly talking about pop culture, but what are some other things where you see toxic fans?
• What affect (if any) do you feel toxic fandom has had on industries…or even society?
• How do you avoid toxic fans of things?
• What is the future of toxic fandom?

So...it's been a while...

Months in fact...

But we're back!

If you want to find out what we did during our hiatus, here's a peek at what's discussed on this, our return episode!

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• The last "normal" episode we put out was May 21. What was going on in your life in late spring/early summer?
• What bad things happened on our break?
• This is the first time we've put the show on hiatus. What were your feelings around that?
• What good things happened for you during our break?
• Did you learn anything new or cool?
• What new obsessions have you developed (books, films, etc)?
• Do you feel like you changed at all in the four or so months we didn't record?
• What's the future of Men in Gorilla Suits?

So...finally...the lost episode. Gorilla Christopher apologizes for losing his side of the original recording and then...all the wackiness that followed. But...he re-recorded his side of the show and pieced it all together.

It's more to the point because to match up cross-talk would have taken a lot of time. So it's pretty much, "Hey: here's a question!" and then Gorilla Shawn's answer and then Gorilla Christopher.

Here's what was discussed:

• When did you first start contemplating things? (And what did you contemplate?)
• How important is contemplation to you? (And why?)
• How important do you feel contemplation is to a society? (And why?)
• What is the last bigger thing you contemplated?
• How has contemplation made your life better?
• Is there a downside to being contemplative?
• Are we very contemplative in the U.S.?
• Is it better to be contemplative or active?
• What’s the strangest thing you’ve contemplated?
• For someone wanting to be more contemplative, what advice would you give them?
• What is the future of contemplation?

So...it's been a while. We're still alive and still doing our things...we just haven't been recording Men in Gorilla Suits.

The quick version is: Chris lost his side of a recording, we both got sick, and this summer in Texas has really sucked. But if you want to know more, you can listen to Gorilla Christopher's husky COVID voice for five minutes as he catches listeners up on the Gorilla Men's whereabouts...

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Gorilla Photo: Valentin Jorel.

So...uhm...Gorilla Christopher was all set up to record, but...he didn't set up his MacBook audio settings to look for his audio interface and microphone. So...the laptop mic picked up sound, meaning...Christopher's sound is pretty shoddy this episode.

But...it's kinda fitting. As the older Gen-X member of the GorillaMen, just pretend he's recording this episode from the late 80s/early 90s, totally hosed and sitting on the floor of a friends' apartment where he often crashed.

That said, this is what is discussed:

• When’s the first time you heard of Generation X?
• Do you consider yourself Gen X?
• What is the range for Gen X?
• What are the stereotypes about Gen X? Are they accurate?
• Is Gen X “the forgotten generation?”
• What’s the best part about Gen X?
• What’s the worst part?
• What concerns you as Generation X ages closer to retirement?
• What was the great potential of Generation X? Did they fulfill it?
• What should Gen x’s role be in society?
• What’s the future of Generation X?

 

 

This time around, the Gorillamen talk about...breakfast. Specifically:

• What is the first breakfast you specifically remember eating?
• Do you regularly eat breakfast?
• Do you believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Why or why not?
• What is your favorite breakfast?
• Do you have a daily go-to breakfast?
• What is your all- time favorite breakfast experience?
• What’s your favorite breakfast spot?
• What do you feel is the appeal to going out for breakfast or brunch?
• Did you (or do you) have a favorite breakfast cereal?
• What is the weirdest breakfast you (or someone you know) has eaten?
• What is the last breakfast you’ve eaten?
• What is the future of breakfast?

We've talked about death and other things surrounding this topic, but never focused solely on the afterlife. Now we have...specifically, these points:

• When was the first time you were introduced to the concept of the afterlife?
• Which afterlife was it?
• Do you believe in the afterlife? Why or why not?
• Why do you think people take comfort in the idea of life after death?
• Do you think that idea is comforting?
• Have you ever had a near-death experience?
• Which would be the best (fictional or religious, which you could argue are in the same category) afterlife?
• The worst?
• What do you think will happen after you die?
• What’s the future of the afterlife?

And a shameless plug for a story Chris mentions in this episode: A Deathly Mistake.

This time around, the Gorillamen discuss these finer points about processed foods:

• What is the first processed food you remember eating?
• What is the last processed food you've eaten?
• What, to you, constitutes a processed food?
• How easy is it to avoid processed foods?
• Is there a time in your life when you noticed a boom in process foods? If so, what caused it?
• How often do you eat processed foods?
• What is your favorite processed food?
• What is your least favorite processed food?
• Are processed foods inherently unhealthy?
• There seems to be a campaign where vegan processed food is concerned that it's unnatural and unhealthy. What are your thoughts on vegan processed foods?
• What are some benefits of processed foods?
• What is the future of processed foods?

This time, it's all about U.S. drug policy:

• When were you first exposed to the concept of illegal drugs?
• How soon after that were you exposed to anti-drug messaging?
• Was the War on Drugs a success in any way?
• What do you think of America’s current policy dealing with illegal drugs?
• Do you think employers should be able to drug test?
• Should marijuana be legal?
• What about “harder” drugs like meth or heroin?
• What’s the ideal drug policy?
• What’s the future of legal/illegal drugs?

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Photo: GRAS GRÜN

Jim Croce wrote one of the best lines about the human struggle against time:

"But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them."

This time around, the Gorillamen talk about making time for the things they love...and how they deal with time spent doing things they'd rather not do. Specifically, these points:

• When did you first encounter the concept of taking time with something?
• In any given week, how hurried do you feel?
• How important is taking time/claiming time to you (whether it's in the work you do or just chilling)?
• What are your favorite things to do with the time you have?
• In general, do you think people in the U.S. use their time well?
• What role does work and technology play in how people in how we spend our time?
• Is the concept of having free time a thing of the past?
• Is having time a privilege?
• What things would you add to your life if you had more time?
• What media (songs, books, movies, TV, whatever) are good examples of taking one's time with something.
• What is the future of taking time with things?

Come along if you dare as the Gorillamen go deep into a journey to the center of their minds...

They ponder these things:

• When’s the first time you remember thinking about thinking?
• When’s the first time you had a conversation with yourself?
• What was the first thing you realized you needed to change based on introspection?
• How much time do you spend in your own head?
• Do you consider yourself to be an introspective person?
• Do you ever take a deep dive into your own mind?
• How often do you self-check?
• Do you think we live in an introspective society?
• What’s the future of introspection?