Men In Gorilla Suits

The Gorillamen asked ChatGPT to write the intro to this episode about artificial intelligence... "Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the field of computer science and engineering that deals with creating intelligent machines that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. AI involves the development of algorithms and computer programs that can learn from data and experiences, and adapt and improve their performance over time. AI techniques include machine learning, natural language processing, deep learning, computer vision, and robotics, among others. AI has the potential to revolutionize many areas of our lives, including healthcare, education, transportation, and entertainment, among others. However, as with any technology, AI also raises ethical and societal concerns, such as job displacement, bias, privacy, and safety." To find out where we stand, give this episode a listen! What is your

We've discussed control before, but it's fun revisiting a topic (and throwing in some new points of discussion). Here's what was discussed: What is the first time you realized someone was trying to exert control over you? Have you ever tried to control anyone else? Why do people feel the need to control others? What systems of control are obvious? Which ones are less obvious? Who has control over you? To what extent? How do we free ourselves of outside control? Can we even do that? What’s the most insidious system of control? What is the future of control?

Pull up a stump and gather round, for I will speak to you now about the Gorillamen... Some say they escaped...wherever it is they once were. Sightings are frequent: in the beginning, weekly. In time, they were seen and heard every other week. Now, they sometimes have a couple sightings a month, but at times we all wonder if they will ever come back. They always do... Somewhere it is written that the Gorillamen met while working for a large finance company, two apes-made-good writing mortgage procedures to [hopefully] prevent unfair practices. It is not likely their work changed much, but it was clearly meant to be...because on February 7, 2013, they crowded around a microphone not-at-all suited for podcasting and...they started a podcast anyway! Now, ten years later, they are still on the run; still being sighted; and sometimes...even heard spreading their own ape-branded philosophy and humor at least they find funny. To say they are another two-guys-with-microphones podcast is true, but it

Pew Pew Pew!!! "You'll never take mah gunz, Mistah Gov'mint!!!" Pew Pew Pew!!! Other gun owners aren't that ridiculous. This time around, we talk about them both as...we talk about guns. Specifically: What was your first experience with guns? Have you ever fired a gun?  Do you own a gun? Why or why not? Have you ever, or would you ever? Under what circumstances? Is America obsessed with guns? What’s the worst gun-culture thing you’ve seen? Is American gun policy good? Does it do enough? Do you think people should be able to own guns? What the future of guns?

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! * * * 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

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... * * * 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? * * * 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 wi

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?

From somber documentaries about the struggles of the wilds to, "Crikey! We're gonna wind up some animals for your viewing amusement, mate! Why's this cobra so mad...all I'm doing is dragging it around by its tail!" -- nature documentaries and programs are a viewing staple. This time, the Gorillamen talk about them...specifically: What's the first nature program you remember seeing? How did--or even has--nature programing affected your life? How important do you think nature programming is? What are some of your favorite nature shows or movies (or books...whatever)? Who is your favorite person involved in nature programming? What's one nature show that doesn't exist that you'd love to see? Have you encountered nature programming that skewed things in its favor to force a point? What was it? How has the Internet affected nature programming? All right...the Internet thing is a gimme. So, how has cable affected nature programming? Have you ever signed up for a channel or service for its nature programm

There is no better episode of Men in Gorilla Suits than this one! This is the perfect episode... We could stop now and call it quits... But we are imperfect Gorillamen still chasing a thing that can never be captured. And so...we talk about these things this time around... What’s the first thing you heard described as perfect? What was your first concept of perfection? Did you ever strive for perfection when you were younger? How about now? Is there anything you do perfectly? Anything you wish you could do perfectly? Is our culture obsessed with perfection? Do you believe perfection can be achieved? Does anything in your life need to be perfect? What the future of perfection?

Busy week for the Gorillamen, so we'll get right to it. This time around, we talk about self teaching...specifically: When did you first learn about self-teaching? What’s the first thing you taught yourself? What are a few self-taught things you feel you do well? Most self taught things are still shaped by books and other things. Is there something you've done that you truly taught yourself? (i.e. You did something new with no idea at all of how to do it?) What are the advantages of being self-taught? What are disadvantages of being self-taught? Who are some of the coolest self-taught people you know? How has the Internet changed being self-taught? Is there still something to be said for traditional learning vs. self-taught learning? Do you think the confidence that comes with being self-taught can lead to over confidence and not actually learning as much as someone who is taught more traditionally? What would you tell someone who thinks they need to learn traditionally or who lacks the discipline to

It's been a nutty couple years, and many people the Gorillamen have bumped into have had a rough time coping. Hell, even the Gorillamen have had their moments. And that's why, this time around, the discussion turns to...coping. * * * What’s the first time you heard what coping was? What’s the first thing you had to cope with? Are you good at coping? What’s your coping strategy? Do you think the world is harder to cope with than it used to be? What’s the most efficient coping strategy you’ve seen? The least? What helps you cope with uncertain situations? What’s the future of coping?