We're Back (Older, Slower, Still Arguing About Falkor)

After three years away, the Middle Age Nerds are finally back — older, a little grayer, and just as chaotic. Hosts Njsane, Daniel, and Scott reunite (with Scott now broadcasting from his new home in the Pacific Northwest) to catch up on everything they missed: GTA 6 hype, the slow death of Destiny 2, and an extended, deeply conflicted love letter to Arc Raiders, the extraction shooter that keeps breaking their hearts. They also dig into isekai anime obsessions, the news that Dungeon Crawler Carl is becoming a TV series, and what's worth streaming right now.

Then it's time for the 80s Flashback: a full nostalgic teardown of The Neverending Story, from Artax's tragic swamp scene to Falkor, the infamous sphinx statues, and a surprisingly deep dive into the film's troubled sequels.

 It's a comeback episode built for anyone who grew up a little bit of a nerd and never really grew out of it.

Transcript

Cold Open And Reunion Energy

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Bastion. Why don't you do what you dream, Bastian?

SPEAKER_03 0:08

But I can't keep my feet on the ground. Call my name.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Welcome everybody to the Middle-aged Nerds. Well, let me start over. Welcome back to the Middle-aged Nerds Podcast. I am your host, Jasani Dark Paladin Courtney. And with me, riding shotgun is Daniel. Don't give in to the sadness fisher. How are you doing, Daniel?

SPEAKER_01 0:47

I'm happy today, so I don't know where that's coming from.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Oh, it's completely. See, that lets me know. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Okay, okay. Oh my God. We're already off to a bad start. Can't take him anywhere. And chuckling at Daniel is is Scott. They look like big strong hands, Johnson. How are you, sir?

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Yes. These big strong hands are well, my friend. Oh my God.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

It has been so long. Um, it's it has actually been so long. We've had a few birthdays. I don't know if legally I can do this podcast anymore. Um, middle-aged nerds. I don't know. I I just Oh, you miss he can. I don't know. We may. It just may be just aged nerds. Maybe just aged aged one.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

I have missed you guys, man. How have you been? Good. It's been forever, man. Lots of changes, lots of lots of life changes.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

We're gonna talk about some life changes. We're gonna talk about that because we we've we've had a few. Um, so folks. This is true. Well, at least one of us. But so so here's

Going Video And Scott Moves North

SPEAKER_02 1:55

the deal, right? So for we're gonna see if this works out, but uh, we're for the first time we're doing this on video. And the reason why we're doing this on video, and we'll see if it makes it to YouTube. I don't know. I I gotta see, but uh is that one of us decided, screw you guys, I am leaving hot, steamy, balmy, 98% humidity, Texas, for this weird Pacific Northwest utopian. I'm not gonna mention any names, Mr. Scott Johnson. Just up and move to Beverly, man. Screw you, man.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

That's that's big, strong names to you, good sir.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

Yes. So people can see that uh we're doing on video. We we basically uh we got on a call one day and we we've been talking about this for for several months, uh, trying to get the podcast back together. Scott and his family move have moved to Portland, Oregon, um, and they're out there just living their best freaking lives. Um I've had a few things going on on my side with some side projects, and it's just been hard for us just to kind of find time to get together. But you know, through the power of text messaging, we finally just kind of decided, you know what? Screw it, we're gonna do it. Um we almost went live, didn't we? We almost we almost decided to do this live. Almost. Maybe in the future.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Maybe we'll I wasn't on board with that. I feel like we need a clean sweep after our first uh kite. Listen, listen.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

I think I think spontaneity would be the best thing. I think we I think it would have been great, but we'll eventually get it live. I think we will. I think the middle-aged nurse community would like it. So um so so Scott, okay, so you're in the Pacific Northwest, you're no longer in Texas. I mean, do you do you want to tell us about that? Or you or should we just leave it a secret? Like I hate Houston.

SPEAKER_03 3:33

I can. I mean, it's no big deal. It's you know, job transfer up here about a year ago now, a little over a year ago. What is June? Oh shit. It's been a year and three months. Um it's been it's been awesome. Yeah, it's back in the field again, so it's it's more physical work, which is good for me. Keeps me in shape. I've lost over 10 pounds since my book.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Dude, you were like 14 pounds when you left it. I don't what where would you trim off your beard? I don't know what what where you could where could you have lost?

SPEAKER_03 4:02

Which is weird because you move into a place that's got such a massively huge beer culture, right? I mean, we've got a place down the street that has oh god, I don't even know how many different beers in it. Well over like 500. Okay. And then you've got all the local. Oh God, way too many. I don't know, I was drunk at the time. But yeah, it's been it's been amazing. The f the food here is great. The weather is spectacular. You're not wrong with the whole uh going out of the steamy swamp and coming into I mean, look, it's June and it's in the 60s. I don't even know what to say. I just hate you even more right now. I really do. I really I really do. Daniel. And it's been good. The wife and kids have been loving it. It's been a really good family mental move for I think all of us. So it's been awesome.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

Oh, it's great. It's great. So, Daniel, I mean, listen, first off, I feel like you should join me in bashing sky, you know, because we're still down here. Um holding it down. But anyway, what's good what's up with you, sir?

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Oh man, living the dream, gaming, gaming, gaming. I got role-playing games, I got board games, I got uh uh video games, obviously. Yeah, just uh working and gaming and yeah, raising two kids. Dude, so we're gonna take six more years until the youngest graduates from high school, and then I'm moving in with Scott. Bring it. Look at all this room we've got. Listen, I see all that space. I see a game table ready to go in right there.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

See it be careful what you wish for, Scott. We start showing over your door with PlayStations in hand. So heck yes. So we're I'm gonna apologize to the listeners. Um, we just again, this is literally, we got on a text message and we said, Are you available? Are you available? Okay, screw it, we're gonna do it. That's literally how this happens. So, some of the tech with some of the sound effects we don't have. Um, we will make do though. We will make do. We will make it do as the kids say do. We're gonna make it do what it do. Um so I feel let's go ahead and just jump right into it.

What We Are Playing Now

SPEAKER_02 6:10

And we're gonna so we don't have the little Transformers theme. So we're gonna transition to we're gonna trans. This will be good. This is gonna do this will be good. We're gonna transition to uh the games we play, and we're gonna do that transformer sound. So we're gonna do it on three, two, one.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Okay, I don't know if that I don't know how they did it. I don't know how that works. That's one transformation sound. That was terrible.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

That was all right. We we got two more segments to get it right. All right. So so we're going to talk about gaming. And we're I'm intentionally gonna start with Scott because I don't know what Scott's playing. This is gonna be a total surprise. If anything, he may just be playing the game of life. That may be what he's playing.

SPEAKER_03 6:55

I have been playing a little bit. I haven't been doing a bunch. It's one of those things. If it goes to like the life changes moving up here, it's been more time living and less well, living's probably not the right word. More time doing stuff outside of the house, less time really getting the gaming stuff. The move is a really big part of it. Getting the house put back together. We got other projects going on and building Zura a new audio booth in the garage. Um, but gaming-wise, uh most recently um been playing Subnautica 2. The they just did the pre-release, so it's still in development, pre-release stages, but so far, so good. The adjustments they've made, um, interfaces, the way the game's working, doing a whole new style. Um, it's been pretty awesome. So I'm looking forward to that coming out. I have not played much uh Satisfactory. Um, I was just talking with Chase about that. Um I was down in New Orleans with Mr. Chase, and uh he was saying some of the updates on Satisfactory have been awesome, but I haven't jumped back into that just yet. And I still, much to your guys' chagrin, I'm sure, have not picked up Art Raiders yet. Oh, I'll let you guys talk about that one.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

We the the conversation about art raiders will be a plenty. Well, there will be a plenty. We want you on board. Oh, we're gonna bring you on board. Resistance is futile, sir. Uh so I'm not again, I so Subnautica and Satisfaction are just two games. I I I just it doesn't look fun. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

They're more like cozy adventure, not necessarily puzzle, but the storyline they've got in the new one is really good. Okay. So there is a storyline. It's a lot of that like exploration, hunting down different things, rebuilding. Yeah, it's it that just kind of scratches an itch that's just kind of chill, and you can take your time with it and there's no pressure behind it. But uh Yeah. And now I guess we're waiting for the new tell you what. For those of you that don't have a switch to, now's probably the time to get it. Because they're redoing Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2. Okay, all right. So if we're talking middle-aged nerd stuff, let's go back to retro game but redo it like they've been doing with some of their other stuff. Uh I might have to get my own.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

I like that. See, I'm a big Legend of Zelda fan, big time. So yeah, yeah. More link, please. Yes. So um, before we talk about arc raiders, because I think that's pretty pretty much going to dominate this segment.

Subnautica 2 Zelda Remakes And GTA 6

SPEAKER_02 9:20

Pretty much. I do have to announce, so you guys do realize that we're only a few months away from uh Grand Theft Auto 6. I've I heard, but then I'll believe it when I see it. Oh, they wouldn't break our heart.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Several. Several years. What was that, Daniel? I've never played.

SPEAKER_03 9:42

I've never played that game ever. I played, I remember the original GTA that was like a top-down that was the only one ever played. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

The original GTA? Oh, I mean, we're all six now. So we're we're talking 90s or early 2000s or what? Early, late 90s, early 2000s.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

I don't know. I have a computer here. We have the magic of Google. We got the we got the interwebs to tell us these things.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Um, but it yeah, the series has been out. I feel like it was around the time I was having kids and I just heard how violent and terrible it was, and I was like, Oh, it's 1997.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

No. Oh wow, okay. No year I graduated high school.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Oh my God. So old, so old. Actually, I was out of high school. Actually, I was out of high school by three years.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

Oh my god. So okay, you want to know what makes you feel old. So this morning, we went to I don't want to know what makes me feel old. This is this is so Portland, and I really I apologize in advance. This morning, took the kids and the wife and I went to a matcha place in downtown. This is gay. I know, I know. But for the menu, remember the old school overhead projectors? You know, like the plastic sheets and the magic bar. Yeah. And they have like the neck with the shines on the wall. Yes. Yeah, they had one of those to project the menu onto the wall. And I'm like, I haven't seen that since I graduated in '97. So, like, where the hell did they even find one? But yeah. Sorry, sidetrack. My bad.

SPEAKER_02 11:24

That's pretty, yeah, that's pretty archistic.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

It got quiet.

unknown 11:31

What do we talk about?

SPEAKER_02 11:34

So, all right. So, but yeah, GTA. Yeah, do you yeah, Daniel, you need to at the very least, jump on GTA 5. I mean, I mean, it's no. If you guys play GTA 6, then I'll maybe I'll jump on board with GTA. Well, I'm playing GTA 6. There is no question. Uh our backseat for a little while until I figure out if it's good or not.

SPEAKER_03 11:52

Well, I mean, is GTA 6 gonna be multiplayer, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:55

Yeah, it's gonna be. I mean, I think they're gonna stick to the to the to the thing that works, that's been working so far.

SPEAKER_03 12:04

I mean, we could do, I mean, we used to do uh Destiny what? Thursdays, Tuesday? I can't even remember, it's been so long. This might have to be GTA Fridays. Listen, what is a destiny?

SPEAKER_01 12:15

What is that?

SPEAKER_03 12:16

What is it?

SPEAKER_01 12:17

It doesn't exist anymore. What is this destiny you speak of? There's a movement to bring it back. Destiny 1 as Destiny 3. They've already said that.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

I don't think they're gonna succeed. They've already said that I gotta do Destiny 3 because they're working on other projects. I saw, did you guys see the announcement like they did online? Like it was a big deal where they just kind of announced that they were no longer doing any major releases for Destiny 2 anymore. Like they're they're they're done with it. They'll do some patch updates and some content updates.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

But they made the announcement with the last update. They did an update. Yeah, and then they said, This is it. This is all you're getting. I think they were nicer than that, but yeah, it's pretty much. I don't think they've been very nice at all. Didn't they fire their entire staff? I mean, it's been a it's been a car wreck here at the end.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

Yeah, it's been a car wreck, but it's been in like slow motion because it's been over years now. Yeah. They just I stopped after pneumonia. I just was like, I'm done with this, I'm over.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Oh well, once you guys quit playing, it was just kind of like, then why? Why? Then what's the point? Right? So all right, well, let's let's okay, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this segment.

Arc Raiders Explained Love And Rage

SPEAKER_02 13:21

So Daniel and I have been playing scopious amounts of arc raiders. So copious? Copious that word shut up.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Skopius. Yes, we've been playing scopious amounts.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Listen, that again, I'm getting old, man. Y'all gotta bear with me. Uh so yeah, so we've been playing a lot let's put that. We played a lot of our graders. We okay with that word? We good with that? So much our I hate to admit this, but I really like that game. And when that game, when it first and the reason why I hate to admit it, is because it I like it and it pisses me off to no end at the same time. It's like, how can you love something so much and hate it so much at the same time? And I've almost I've actually uninstalled that game twice. Yes, you have. Oh my god, baby.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Siren's like a bad narrative.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

I'm not selling it very well. Yeah, no, I'm not. I'm not. I kind of don't want to sell it well because it it be it's so good, though. It is so good, but man. So, okay, so Daniel, why don't you lead us off kind of given the pretense of this game, kind of the backs, not the backstory, but kind of the environment and kind of get us started from there.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Yeah, it's it's very much like uh Terminator world, right? You've got the machines have taken over the world. There's been multiple invasions, and the humans have been pushed underground. Uh, they live in a city called Esperanza without the S. Just Esperanza. You know, but I kept calling it Spanish. Here's what's funny. I keep calling it Esperanza because it seems like that's what it should be. Well that's the Spanish word for hope, I believe. So yeah, they cut it short. Esperanza, Esperanza town. Uh and the premise is uh you're like basically shot to the surface in these like tunnel, I don't know what you'd call them. They're like uh little train, little tunnel trains, tubes that take you to the surface. Uh and once you get to the surface, it's just like it's just crazy. It's like you're fighting the you're fighting the uh robots, you're fighting other players. Uh or really, I'm not really a fighter, I'm a kind of a defender. I'm a survivalist, I should say. So I'm trying to avoid the other players. Um, because it's PvP, it's PvE, it's it's really, it goes nuts. Um, but you're basically just trying to scavenge the earth for materials you can use down below to survive. Um and it's it's uh crazy fun until you until you get sniped by a PvP. Uh I will say a lot of players are friendly, but you always get that one person who's just gonna shoot you in the back and that doesn't feel good. Because once you get shot, you lose everything you brought in and you have to start, you have to build everything from scratch. You start your load fresh, and that's that's the part that got just on you to quit two times.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

It it has me question having it has me making life quick uh questioning my life choices, let me say that. Uh but here's that's the part that gets me. Because oh here, okay. Uh all right, there we go. Um here's the part that gets me is this yes, I it's like you get killed and you lose everything. And I guess that's how they raise the stakes. Like you'll sit there and you'll scavenge, scavenge, scavenging, you build this amazing gun, and you're like, ooh, this is my favorite gun. And of course, some of the materials are kind of rare. And all it takes is one asshole who's having a bad day to snipe you, and there is no protection. Like, I mean, hopefully, after that first shot in the back of the head, you can duck and dodge and get to some positioning. But usually they wait till you're out in the open and it's just like shooting fish in a barrel. And you lose everything and start over. And that is the part that gets me. Now, let me be fair. I am mature enough at this point to admit that having the threat of consistent PvP does add like this tense moment. It does. Yeah. Um, and you don't know who to trust. You just walk up on people, and and there's this weird, there's all this with these weird like uh norm normisms, right? Like, if you're friendly, and I run up to you, you're supposed to say friendly, right? You actually say the word friendly. And you just have people.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

I mean, who's to say they're really friendly? It's it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

And and you're looking at people's behaviors, like he looks really like the advertised Daniel and I've been playing, and we're like, of course they can't hear us talking because we're on our team chat. Um, but he's like, Daniel's like, I don't trust that guy. He looks a little too twitchy. And I'm like, what? He looks too twitchy.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

And we'll just leave. Or we're getting flanks, we're getting flanked, Sani. Let's get out of here. There's just two guys walking. No, they're flanking us. Like, oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

They're flagging us. Oh, no, no, they're beach coming now. Don't worry about it. Oh, that that was actually this morning. But it's it's really fun. It's really fun. Um, I a couple of details that I hope they work on. So I guess I I read it somewhere in the Reddit threads that when you're in a party, um, that raises the chances that you'll be set in like a bunch of PvP. Because you don't get to choose whether you engage. It's just like it is all PvP, PvE. You're caught in the quest.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

There's two kinds of play, right? So you've got the PVE, which is are the I should say the player versus robots, right? And then you got the PvP. And sometimes it's like the more you play non-pvp, the more friendly your um your loads are. Um, but there's that crossover. So sometimes you get the PvP in the PvE and you just never know when that's gonna happen. So the danger feels real. That's what it is. The fear feels real.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

You're you're I mean, you were questioning everything. You're questioning who's that guy. They walk up to you. You can't trust anybody. You can't trust anybody that's not on your team. And you know what? Playing with Daniel, you might get shot in the back of the head. So you sometimes you can't even I got shot by you today. You shot me in the back of the head in front of my weapons both ways. Anyway, but it but that but we are looking for a consistent third, uh, Scott. So you should do it.

SPEAKER_03 19:30

Are you guys playing PC or console? You can it's cross play.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

It doesn't matter, it's crossplay. Cross play Xbox, just something's on uh PlayStation, right? Yeah, yeah. So you can get on your PC and play. All right.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

I was about to say, what happens to a badass PC build?

SPEAKER_03 19:44

You should be playing PC all the time now, man.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

You know what? My PC is totally committed to podcasting.

SPEAKER_03 19:51

Oh man, that beast is all podcast? Oh, it is all video editing and video editing. Oh, yeah, we need it for that for sure.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

Yeah, that beast if it could be a still using, I'm still it's still doing pretty well, Scott. I appreciate you helping me build it. How many years ago was it since we built this rig? Oh, fuck me. Uh three? Three years ago? And I'm telling you, probably all out of date now. I mean, I think we I mean we've kind of future-proofed this thing for a while. Um so, but anyway, so yeah, Scott, you need to come join us, man. You we we we need a third. You can have a party up to three. You should download it today, you should play with us tonight, and we'll play after. It doesn't matter if you're level one or seventy-five, it doesn't matter. Actually, yeah, it has it has no bearing on the game whatsoever. Really? Okay, so that's another one of my complaints. And Scott and Daniel, tell me what how you feel about this, right? So they have a skill tree. Yeah, the skills are fucking useless.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

So what the fuck is the point? Well, as you get to a certain point and the skills don't really play out, but I guess early on they do, they do. You might run a little slower. Um I don't know, what else? I guess you might you might die a little faster if you get knocked out.

SPEAKER_02 21:03

Um, I think I I think the ones that that really are helpful are the ones you get in the beginning where you're like, okay, you're able to scavenge quickly, quicker. And that you make less noise when you scavenge. Because when you make noise, the robots can hear you and they'll come, they'll come trying to figure out what that noise is. So that's so I guess that I then to be totally fair, some of the skills make sense. But a majority of them, I don't know. They don't I I think I think they're completely useless. Like, oh, well, your tool that you use to pry stuff open with, you can swing it 0.09% seconds faster. I don't know. It's just it's just weird. It's weird.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

So you should play with us, Scott. You should bring your ass.

SPEAKER_03 21:47

So question. So you guys were talking earlier about when we talked about this last time, we were doing some prep for the episode. Um to not engage with PvP when you like uh come across it, or else it makes the chances. Of getting in PvP more?

SPEAKER_01 22:02

Yeah, well, you can defend yourself. So if you get attacked, you can fire back. But just don't. But don't be the attacker. Yeah, don't be don't shoot first, exactly. Yeah. And apparently don't loot bodies, even if you didn't kill them. So I'm learning that the hard way.

SPEAKER_02 22:17

Now I loot. I'm not going to lie to you though, Daddy. I loot those bodies. I loot. You can die in front of if you want to. Listen, you can you. Look, look, you can die in front of them if you want to. You're gonna come back and be butt naked with no weapon. What are you gonna do with it? You can't come back and get it after you die if you come back. Um so anyway, so Scott, yeah, we we we need you, buddy. We need you.

SPEAKER_03 22:45

So all right, all right. I'll take a look. I haven't actually I haven't taken a look yet, so I need to go and take a look. I gotta figure out whether I'm gonna do PC or PlayStation. Just do PC. I haven't used my PlayStation, so I might need to go and just jump on that to keep that at least working.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

I mean, here's what I would say. Daniel, Daniel may have an opinion. I say get on PC because you can be our shooter, right? You can be the guy, because people, PC, you just console versus PC, you can't compete.

SPEAKER_03 23:10

Um side note, Jasani forgets exactly how bad I was at Destiny. So uh do you remember me in jumping puzzles?

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Honestly, I'm not that great at our graders either. I I there's been at least a handful of times where Gisani and I, he gets sniped, and I can't defend him or shit.

SPEAKER_04 23:30

He just runs.

SPEAKER_01 23:31

He just runs he goes down. I'm like, I want to get out. I'm out.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

Listen, listen, Daniel, let me tell you something. I love Daniel. I love the death. I'm not getting into a bar fight with Daniel. Daniel will be like, Daniel will be in his car two miles down the street by the time the first punch is thrown. Man, there have been so many times I get ambushed. Yeah, I guess if my behavior is a little bit more. My boy got me. And I'm looking, I'm looking, I'm looking at the horizon. His icon is just getting further and further away. He's like 200 meters away. I'm like, God damn it. I'm holding on saving that gear. Save the gear. Oh my gosh. Uh but it's a great, but it it is, it is, I I have to admit it, I like it. I mean, otherwise I wouldn't spend some time. It's a lot of fun. So yeah. All right, all right. All right. So, but I would say again, you say PC versus console. Yeah. I mean, we're, you know, we're PC fans. I mean, we're we're PlayStation fans regardless, but PC can target, can, can like snipe folks. At least somebody groups need to be able to know how to fucking shoot.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:35

And so I think that might be.

SPEAKER_03 24:36

Not run away when it starts. I'll remember that. Sweet.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

Just say it. All right, cool. I was gonna add real quick, you mentioned GTA 6. Looks like that's supposed to come out in November. Uh, October is when our creators releases their new environment. So I think they're trying to hang on to their players knowing that GT6 is coming out. We'll see what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 25:00

It won't help. It won't help. I mean, what'll happen is people, I mean, it's gonna happen. It's gonna, it's just like when WoW used to come out, all these other games would do releases. And, you know, at least you know how old I am, guys. So wow wow, but when World of Warcraft dropped a dropped a patch, when when World of War Warcraft dropped a new expansion pack, everybody's everybody's attention went went down. Everybody, all the other games lost, lost players for a little while. Um, and I think when GTA 6, because it's been what, six years since the last one? It's been a while. At least, yeah. They've been talking about this for a minute. Um actually, I think like wasn't Obama president like the first time? I think that was I think that's when that's how long it's been. Oh, again, we got the Google. We can look that up. But anyway, I I think what's gonna happen is GTA is gonna drop, and then folks are folks will will gravitate towards that game, and then when the servers start crashing because they can't handle, you know, half a billion people playing at the same time. Um people are like, well, I might as well play Arc Raiders, and that'll that'll be me. That'll be me doing that. So uh looks like you got you looks like on the screen you got a you got an answer, Scott.

SPEAKER_03 26:07

Uh-huh. I do. Uh let's see. 2018-2019, Rockstar consolidates studios to focus entirely on full production, and then September 2022, leaks starts surfacing.

SPEAKER_04 26:20

Ah.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

So, and then 2023, Rockstar formally reveals GTA 6 with the first trailer.

SPEAKER_02 26:26

So the wait, so GTA 5 has been out since 2018.

SPEAKER_03 26:31

About then, yeah. Because 2014 pre-production and early concepts following immediate following the release of GTA 5. So it's been 2014 since GTA 5. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 26:42

So it's been 12 years since the last version of this game. Holy hell. It's got to be spectacular. It really does. It needs to be, it needs to exceed, it needs to get a five on that performance review.

SPEAKER_03 26:52

It needs to exceed Oh, here we go. GTA 5 officially released September 27th, September 17th, 2013.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

Holy hell.

SPEAKER_03 27:02

For PlayStation 3. Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

It's been a lot, it's been a minute. I feel sad. I feel old and sad. I feel so old and sad.

SPEAKER_03 27:10

Yeah, that's why everyone's so Jonesin' for six.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

Well, we are. We are. Yeah. So I need GTA 6 in my veins. I'm just slapping my veins. If you're not watching the video, that's me slapping veins. That's what that's where the GTA 6 is gonna go. All right. All right. So I guess we're gonna switch over to the the the shit we watched.

What We Are Watching Lately

SPEAKER_02 27:32

So we're gonna try that countdown again, right? We're gonna do it. We're gonna do it. Three, two, one, two, three. All right. Shit we watch. Um, I gotta be honest. There are two things I'm watching right now. Anime and wrestling. That's pretty much it. Uh so I'm not gonna bore you guys with that, but uh I am into. What animes are you watching? Man, I'm man, anything isekai. Anything isekai. The kind of like the lit art, you know, the books we used to read, the lit RPG games? Um where the world like Dungeon, well, like Dungeon Crawler Carl, right? Yeah. So so but those anime, but those are anime. Like, so there's so many anime. I think I almost watched everything on Crunchyroll that deals with Isekai, like all 84 animes. But that's what I'm watching. I'm all about that. Even the books I read. I'm still into the lit RPG. Um, like I said, Dungeon Crawler Carls, He Who Fights Monsters. Uh, there's another couple good ones, Primal Hunter. Um, there's one I just started. Um I need to look it up, but it's so good. But I'm I'm I don't know. I have a I think that's my itch. These these movies, these, I'm sorry, these anime or these books that are about getting transported into like a video game kind of system, or there's some kind of apocalypse that happens on earth where people are kind of inducted into the system and they're starting leveling up and and you know, things like that. I'm I'm all into it. What what about you, Scott?

SPEAKER_03 29:12

Oh man. Well, right now, I mean we were just talking about it before, is World Cup. Since World Cup started, I've been all every time the World Cup comes to town, it's always like the thing to watch.

SPEAKER_04 29:23

Right.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

Um really been re-watching some animes with the kiddos. Um Arwin's really into uh we were watching Free Rin before, which is really good. And then what's this? Um Witch Had A Talier.

SPEAKER_02 29:37

Which is I've seen that one.

SPEAKER_03 29:39

It's a little it's a little slower, it's a little bit, you know, Arwen likes it because it's a lot of art-based type stuff. And then Reese just started watching um Attack on Titan. So I'm gonna rewatch that with him.

SPEAKER_02 29:50

Oh, look at that. So this is their first time, first time watching it? Yeah. Oh, that is some good family time, you know, just biting into the hand where the blood gushes out. That is some good father, father kid time right there.

SPEAKER_03 30:03

It's been good. That's about all we've been watching. Well, watch some other stuff too. Like uh as funny as it is, it's actually a really good show. It's RuPaul's Drag Race is fantastic. Um really not a lot of like other TV. It's there's not been a lot that's been coming out that's really been piquing the interest to sit and spend the time watching it.

SPEAKER_02 30:22

So I did just power through the last airbender. Uh so the Netflix series. So this season two season two just came out. Um, and it is really good. So that whole, if you guys haven't watched it, I know the movie was like sucked, sucked ass so bad. The movie, at least in my opinion, that was my opinion. We didn't review it, but uh but they they came out, Netflix came out with a series some few years back. It was amazing. The characters are great, it was just like the original Nickelodeon show, and then season two just came out. So if you need something to watch, I mean I literally just binged it. I started watching it, I think yesterday, actually. And I powered through it. I powered through it and finished it this morning.

SPEAKER_03 31:02

Another season that just came out, too. Um, speaking of shows that we probably talked about before, um, Vox Machina came out with a new season recently in the last couple months.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

Yeah, I have not watched it, it's on my queue. I have not watched it. I love that series. So, how is it so far?

SPEAKER_03 31:16

Um, I haven't gotten to it yet. We still haven't finished the last season because it all happened like within moving transition time. So it's like a lot of stuff got dropped. We just never managed to pick it back up yet. But it's on the play, it's on the viewing list to kind of pick up when we get time.

SPEAKER_01 31:32

What were you about to say, Daniel? I was gonna say that that's the two shows that I've probably been watching more than anything else is Vox Machina, just going back and watching previous seasons. Uh, and then they came out with the new um series. Also takes place in Forgotten Realms, Dungeons and Dragons, uh, The Mighty Nine. Oh, yeah. That was good on Prime. Those are both great shows. And you know, tying into our well, I'm sure we'll get into this later, but our DD game is going on three years this October. Can you believe that? Three years? I I don't even think I played three years straight when I was a kid. Crazy. That's because it's great to see like shows like this, bringing the Forgotten Realms onto the screen like this is fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 32:12

So you did that's because you have, you know, as you've matured, Daniel, you have gotten through your commitment issues. And so therefore you're committed to being our dungeon master, which it has been a great game, this these three. And we we brought in, we brought in um we brought in Mark, actually, Scott. We brought in Mark. We did, yes. So yeah, so that's been uh Mark Momber, and he's been he's been uh it's been a good addition to the to the group. Um but yeah, Vox Machina and the Mighty Nine. Now the Mighty Nine, I was worried at first because it had a, in my opinion, had a very slow start. But I think Vox Machina did too at the beginning. Um I don't know. I don't know, maybe it didn't. Anyway, I'm old. I don't think so. Yeah. Yeah. But the Mighty Nine. What is he talking about?

SPEAKER_01 32:58

It's a whole new adventuring party in the in the Mighty Nine. So and I love the goblin character, not the brave that's a great character. Yes. I think that and also the mask was throwing people off. She wears a mask, yeah. It's got a face on it. And so my brother was like, what's going on? Like, is she's talking, but her lips don't move. What's going on with that? I was like, it's a mask. You gotta look closely. Yeah, because she's trying to look like a human girl, right? She's trying to look like a, I don't know, an elf or a human, but she's really a goblin. Yeah. So it's great.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

So those are really those are really, really, really good shows. So uh I think I think, yeah, if folks who haven't checked it out, I mean, I I can't think of anybody in our in our in this genre who hasn't watched uh Vox Mockin at this point, but I have not watched the last season, so it is in cue. Um hell, I may grab a drink and watch that tonight now that we brought it up. So that's if I'm not getting my ass handed to me by a nine-year-old on fucking arc raiders. That's right. I know this was happening. I noticed what's killing me. It's not other adults, because other adults are just scavenging. These these freaking kids. Uh anyway. Now look, and now now they're gonna come hunt me now.

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Now they're gonna come after you. Now they're gonna come after you. Yes, because I'm sure we're gonna come up on their phones. Yeah. I'm sure they're watching this. I'm sure they're listening to our podcast already.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

Yes, that's right. Oh baited breath. So uh those three other people that's watching. That's Lisa. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:24

So we're gonna have to remind the family to pick this up again. Right, yeah, our parents. We build our family audience, yeah, our fan base, our relatives, our foundation. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:36

So we were we were shifting gears a little bit.

LitRPG Obsessions And Dungeon Crawler Carl News

SPEAKER_03 34:39

Hold on one second, because if you're talking about Isekai stuff and you're talking Dungeon Crawler Carl, you heard the news, yeah? That that's getting made into a show. Wait, what? Yeah, it is. Yeah. Seth McFarland's taking lead on it.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

What? I like these words you're telling me right now.

SPEAKER_03 34:57

Yeah. It's it's crazy. It it's really kind of insane to me how much DCC has blown up all over the world, and it's all over like all sorts of streams, and all these people that you wouldn't normally figure would get into it are really getting into it. And it's it's great in one aspect, and I really kind of hate it in the other because it's overdoing it. It's I love, dude, I love it. Jeff Hayes is fantastic. Matt Deniman's a great frickin' human being. Um actually Zura's gonna go see them here in Denver. She's participating in LitRPG Con, which Soundbooth is hosting. But um, yeah, they just announced the like that it's in production and they're gonna be doing it through uh Paramount or something, I forget. Okay. But yeah, that's coming. That's coming down. So that will be the next thing. So when that finally releases, we're definitely gonna have to do a segment on the BCC show when it releases.

SPEAKER_02 35:50

And if folks, I mean look, folks, if you're into the whole RPG thing and you haven't given like lit RPG titles uh books a try, you really, really should, because I think you will meet your next obsession if that's your thing, right? If that's your thing. Yes. Um Dungeon Crawler Call, my favorite slogan. God damn it, peanut. Like that, that that's best mouth. Donut. Donut donut. Donut Shut up! Work so hard. Like, mad. Don't I think there was a nut somewhere in there. It was donut. Sorry. God damn it, donut. Um but Dungeon Crawler Call is a great one. Again, he who fights with monsters is is awesome. Yeah. And then right behind it, like I said, was uh was uh Primal Hunter. I just read book 14 of that one. Um, dude, I'm listening it is.

SPEAKER_03 36:38

I'm way behind on Primal Hunter. I only got to about book seven on the audiobooks, and then it just I fell off because I think the next release of DCC came out or um He Who Fights with Monsters, but Yeah, it it's it's really good.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

And then um the there's a there's one I just started. So I finished I finished the Primal Hunter 14, and then there's another one I just started on book one, it's called Induction. Um and it's written by Sean Oswald, and I love um Travis Baldry, right? Travis Baldry, he does the uh he's he does the voice narrations and he is one of those guys now that I just I and I hate to say this for the authors because the authors work so hard on this content, but his voice, Travis Baldry's voice, brings these things to life, and I just I search now by books he's narrated.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

Oh yeah. That's that's a huge thing, man. I mean, there are people that are ruined for audiobooks because of like Jeff Hayes doing Dungeon Crawler Carl. And he does that same stuff, the same high quality level from Soundbooth is like in all of their audiobooks.

SPEAKER_02 37:40

Oh yeah. So it's it's really it's really great. So all right. Anything else? Anything else about anything else we're watching besides oh we're I do want to talk about the World Cup for

World Cup Talk And Soccer Culture

SPEAKER_02 37:48

a second. It wouldn't be wouldn't be patriotic of us if we didn't talk about just for a minute. See, I'm rocking my rocking the hat.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

I know I was about to say you're rocking the hat already.

SPEAKER_02 37:55

Team USA hat. Oh, man, I've been rocking the hat for like three weeks now before the games officially started. Um and at the time of this production, so we we we we we won two, we lost one, but though that one didn't, the one against Turkey didn't really count. Um My God, did you see the end of that game? I did the last 18 seconds. I said, son of a bitch! I was like, we could have gone in 2-2. Uh and something said to me, watch the last minute. Like something said it, something said it was gonna happen. And Turkey came to the city.

SPEAKER_03 38:28

You can see you can see the U.S.'s defense breaking down and they were scrambling, and they were there was no organization to it. They were just trying to respond real and it just didn't work. And as as I was watching it, I'm like, Turkey's gonna freaking score here in the next 30 seconds.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

Because they never stopped playing. They like because you know they they had nothing to lose. They had nothing to lose. They're going home regardless the next day, and they want to at least go out on a high note. But uh, but yeah, no, it was it that uh that was a bit of a heartbreaker, even though that game didn't mean much. And I am so I am so proud of my fellow Americans how much many of us now actually have kind of understand soccer, because before this craze, probably the last, honestly, I would give us more credit. What would you say, Scott, Daniel? Maybe the last two or three years, people have kind of Scott uh football, um uh I call it proper football, but like uh at least when I'm in the UK, that's what I call it, proper football. Yeah. But uh but uh but would you say like last two or three years, General Americans have become more aware of soccer?

SPEAKER_03 39:33

It has, and there's been multiple reasons for that. I kind of chalk a lot of it down to you're getting a lot more foreign players coming in. I mean, right there, right off the gate, you've got Beckham, who started uh was it inner Miami, and then he brought in Messi. So right there, you're getting worldwide recognition for the MLS, and that gives it a little bit more popularity. I'm kind of biased over the last year at least, because coming up to the Pacific Northwest, you've got Seattle and you've got Portland who have two pretty decent teams that are already here. And so proper football. I'm just gonna call football because that's what it is to me as well, because growing up and with British family and everything, that's what it always has been. Um but yeah, you're right. I think over the last several years, football's had a an increase of popularity. Um especially when you when you're starting to talk about World Cup, I I still personally like the Women's World Cup better just because they tend to be more technical, they don't fall down as much and like roll around on the ground like crybabies. But it's a lot, I've never had a woman. It's gained a lot of popularity, and I love this World Cup for it feels like it's been bringing the world together a lot more than a lot of other stuff has in the last several years.

SPEAKER_02 40:45

So yeah, I I would honestly say like some of my best videos I love watching on Instagram now are like the foreigners, their their reaction to American stuff. Those house, Whataburger. Oh, dude. The funniest one, the no, not even just that, not even just their exposure to barbecue or just American food in general. My funniest thing are the is are the Europe, especially the Europeans, their reaction to free refills. Like this one guy drank like so many Cokes. You know, of course, in Europe they they tend to I won't say everybody, but they some a lot of their food is a lot cleaner than us in the States. And so this guy's like, I can't believe it. And so this is my third Coke, and I haven't paid. And they're just like, and this his friend is like, that's a lot of coke. He said, I know, but it's free. It's so much sugar, but it's free sugar. And I'm like, Jesus Christ. Free diabetes. Look, he's gonna leave with a gift called diabetes. We're giving that away for free, too. We're gonna give that away for free. With the free refills. So, but but no, I love those videos. I think it's really cool. Daniel, what do you I mean, what do you think? Are you watching it? Are you watching at all? Are you just no?

SPEAKER_01 42:02

I'm in that percentage group of Americans that has not adopted uh proper football. So yeah, I haven't watched a single game. I've heard my family's chatting about it online, so I see the banter, but I haven't watched a single game.

SPEAKER_00 42:14

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

Um USA, USA.

SPEAKER_00 42:16

I don't watch improper football either. I was like, you don't watch it, you don't watch, you don't watch either football.

SPEAKER_02 42:22

Um except my son's football. My son's an excellent footballer, so right. At the time of this being filmed, um, we're doing quite well, actually. Um so we we won our group, is that correct? We won our group.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

Yes. I'm looking at Google right now.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

And so on the I think G I think first we play, what do we play?

SPEAKER_03 42:45

Uh crap. It's this one of the first of July.

SPEAKER_02 42:49

Yeah, it's one of those long names.

SPEAKER_03 42:50

And we're playing Bosnia in the round of 32, we're playing Bosnia next.

SPEAKER_02 42:55

That's it. Yeah, that's it. So that's now we're in the winner go home phase, right? Yep. That's it. One game. That's all you get. I feel like I feel like if we lose, we should just shut shut shut it down and tell everybody to go home.

SPEAKER_03 43:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:07

Well, get out. We're done with the rounds.

SPEAKER_03 43:12

So right now, as we're as like I said, as we're recording, South Africa and Canada are playing, and that's one of the first games of the round of 32. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:21

All right. Well, go USA, uh, or maybe I guess you're going for Canada.

SPEAKER_03 43:26

Um, I'm vote- I'm going for Canada on this one, yeah. Uh booze. On this specific game. On this game.

SPEAKER_02 43:32

Okay, well, yeah, there you go. I'm gonna go to the book.

SPEAKER_03 43:34

And then tomorrow you've got Brazil and Japan. I don't know who to root for in that one. So here's the idea. We don't root anybody tomorrow. I'll tell you what, tomorrow night um for the round of 32, it's Netherlands and Morocco. The guy to watch on the Netherlands team is that one guy, uh Erling Holland. Dude's like a monster. He's like six foot five, and he freaking He's fast and he's a brilliant scorer. But uh yeah, watch him. He's two goals behind Messi for the amount of goals in the World Cup right now.

SPEAKER_02 44:09

So let me ask a question. So is but I don't think like with height, height's not like it's not like basketball or football where your height can play a difference. It's really just about the footwork.

SPEAKER_03 44:19

Um height plays a difference when you're a goalie. Oh, is it a goalie? But yeah, when you're normally when you're looking at a team composition, like usually like the forwards are usually not smaller, but they're tend to be, you know, they're the faster guys, the strikers, the guys who can move around really quickly. And same thing with the midfielders, they're a little bit more because they're running a lot more distance. But yeah, seeing a guy like Holland, who's like 6'5, 6'6, it's just insane to see that monster running around as a striker.

unknown 44:46

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 44:47

And I think he plays for Man City in the Premier League. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 44:50

So I I am an Arsenal fan, by the way, in the Premier League. That is my I mean, listen, listen. But I'm proud to say it because I've I've I've been an Arsenal fan for probably about seven or eight years, but I kept going into the UK. I think this was in one of our older podcasts, but people kept saying, like, if you're gonna keep coming to the UK and in Europe, you've got to get a proper football team. Yeah. And so I'm just like, okay, who they said you can't pick Manchester United. That was the one thing somebody told me. You can't that's like that's like you come to that's like coming to uh coming to America, getting into football and picking the Yankees, right? They're just like, you just again, like, that's what everybody roots for.

SPEAKER_03 45:26

Um, see, I only like man you because my dad likes Liverpool and they're like bitter, bitter rivals. So I just did that to piss my old man off. As you do.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

As you do. Um so anyway, go USA, I guess. We're gonna go for that.

SPEAKER_03 45:42

Go USA, hell yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:44

Um USA. Uh man, and I just thought of, I just saw the headline. They were like, I realized that a lot of the, you know, these folks overseas from overseas visiting us, they're going to be in the U.S. during 4th of July, our 250th. Like, can you imagine the craziness that will ensue that night?

SPEAKER_03 46:04

Especially in when you're going to places like Texas where fireworks are legal in a lot of the areas. And even not just like fireworks, but like no shit big bomb fireworks, like shooting out of someone's neighborhood. It's just, it's insane.

SPEAKER_02 46:19

It's it's gonna be crazy. I I I I can't watch to see the videos of the fireworks and the and just the celebrations. I I can't wait to see what that looks like. That's that's gonna be some good Instagram theater right there. So all right, so I guess that's it. So I guess we'll move on to our movie.

80s Flashback The NeverEnding Story

SPEAKER_02 46:38

Um what did we call this before? We call it. I think we call it 80s flashback. Is that what we call it? 80s flashback?

SPEAKER_03 46:43

I think so. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:44

We'll probably call it a different day. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 46:45

We're gonna call it 80s flashback this time.

SPEAKER_02 46:47

But we will this time. Because I I I haven't done anything. So there we go. All right, here we go. Doing a countdown. Here we go. All right. Three, two, one.

SPEAKER_01 47:04

Gotta get that last part of it.

SPEAKER_00 47:07

Oh my god, it's gonna sound so bad. It's gonna sound horrible.

SPEAKER_02 47:10

All right, so and since we're on on the screen, I can actually talk about the movie. So as you guys we can talk about the movie because I actually have stuff pulled up on my trusty, trusty tablet here. Um so the movie we're talking about, as you can tell by the uh the opening sex sequence, is the never-ending story. Um now that I look this movie, there are certain movies that are just part of your childhood. It is and there's favorites, and then there's movies that are ingrained into your GN in GNA, your DNA. Um I I can't talk anymore. Uh your DNA, and it just becomes part of your the culture. If you grew up in the 80s, it was just one of those, it was just one of those pinnacle movies. So uh I know I'm old as hell. Like, like Scott, I mean, would you agree with that with Endeavor Ending Story? Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 48:05

It's it's one of those iconic movies that ranks up there with like Transformers, the movie, as far as how much it broke your childhood. Right? Yeah. There's those defining moments, like Optimus Prime dying, and then you've got Artex. Oh it's just like they're the one and the same almost, depending, you know, it's I still feel like I still feel like it's too soon.

SPEAKER_02 48:28

I still 40 years later, 40 years later, I feel like it's still too soon. I don't know. The hortex jide in the swamps, you know. That was the first time I saw like an animal die.

SPEAKER_03 48:37

Yeah. On a movie, it was so crazy. And you don't even really see it. It kind of does a fade to black thing, and then there's just the kid sitting there with no horse, and you're like, he lived a long, happy life, as I understand it.

SPEAKER_02 48:50

Did he?

SPEAKER_01 48:51

Yeah, he did. Well, that's good to know.

SPEAKER_03 48:56

Now you tell me.

SPEAKER_02 48:57

I've been sad for so many years. Yeah. So, all right, so let's talk a little bit about it. So the movie was released. Oh my god, I'm so old. The movie was released in 1984. Jesus. Oh my gosh. Uh I just I just got weary just saying that date out loud. 84. Um I just aged another. It was directed by Wolfgang Peterson. Oh my god, dude. Um it was directed by Wolfgang Peterson. Um wait, so that was the same. He he also directed Air Force One, wasn't he?

SPEAKER_03 49:32

Oh, God. Yeah, I don't know. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_02 49:36

Somebody look on the interwebs. I think he didn't have you. I got look, I got my script in front of me. I got my Yes he did.

SPEAKER_01 49:46

Air Force One.

SPEAKER_02 49:47

Wolfgang, all right. So this German American fantasy is based on German American fantasy, was it?

SPEAKER_01 49:55

It was German first, yes. It was filmed in Germany, apparently. It was the most expensive film in Germany at the time. $27 million. Holy hell. That's a that's that's still a lot now. Yeah. Well, is it I mean this is true.

SPEAKER_02 50:13

A real pittance. I spent $27 million on coffee. Um, so okay, what else does this say? It's a German, yeah, it's a German American fantasy based on Michael N's beloved 1979 novel. Oh my god, I'm gonna try not to destroy it. Die undich goshete. I don't know, I don't think I said it right. I don't know. That sounded more Spanish than anything. I guess. That sounded more German. That sounded more accurate than what I said. Um take it. So the book follows Bastion, a bookish, bullied kid who stumbles upon a mysterious tome and gets pulled into the world of Fantasia, uh, a magical realm literally being consumed by a force of oblivion called the nothing. Um inside the book, a young warrior named Atreyu is on a desperate quest to save Fantasia and its childlike Empress. And along the way, we get the swamps of sadness, terrifying wolf demon, a giant tortoise, rock biters, and of course, Falkor. Um, so yeah, uh that was, I mean, gosh, man, this movie is just and it's funny because I know I didn't see it at the movie theater, so I obviously had to watch it on like Cinemax or HBO or Showtime or one of those, one of those cable channels. But man, even now I just remember just watching that movie and having so many emotions. Like, even like at the end, like when Hortex, well, it's not Hortex, when the Trey was riding on Falcore at the end when it ended, the way the movie ended, and he's like, yeah, like that, that whole deal. Like, I just even just doing it now makes me feel full. I'm gonna do it again.

SPEAKER_04 51:54

Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_02 51:58

That is spot on, yes. Oh my god. It's it it but it brought it brought me joy. I was like, that is one of that was a movie of my innocence. Uh Scott, what I mean, tell I mean, do you agree or what is your thought about it?

SPEAKER_03 52:11

I agree, man. That it's one of those. I was a bookish kid growing up anyway, so it always like felt you always had that relationship with it because you know you I could always just tuck myself in a corner with a book and just sit there forever and read it. And having that kind of in-depth relationship with it, and just when you're reading it, you feel like you're really there. So that always just felt really like spot on. Like the movie was exactly how kind of like I would read, right? So you're you're immersed in the world, and you know, you feel you're like you're a part of it, and you get emotionally invested in it, and yeah, it just took it to that whole end. And I also remember having the biggest crush as a little kid on The Empress. I thought she was like the cutest thing on the fucking planet ever.

SPEAKER_02 52:56

I did not.

SPEAKER_01 52:57

She looked like she was on drugs. She was very young. I was reading that she actually had lost her two front teeth before the movie started filming. So they put fake teeth in and she developed a lisp because of it, and she had to struggle past the lisp in all of her um all of her lines. Oh, geez. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 53:18

The trauma associated with this. So so she, I don't know. She one thing, go back and take a look at those pictures of her. She had like dark eyes, and maybe that was just like under her eyes, like it seemed like she had, and I guess because I guess because the woman was like, she was supposed to be sick, right?

SPEAKER_03 53:33

She has this deaf illness thing. So yeah. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 53:38

Okay. She was fine. She was dying, right? Wasn't she?

SPEAKER_02 53:42

Well, that's okay then. Okay, so I'm the insensitive one. So why am I the asshole all of a sudden? I just remember though. I was like, my God, couldn't they put some but I guess they did that like, couldn't you put some makeup or something? No, I just remember her eyes just looking really dark. Um purpose. So, you know, in and chances are we have watched this movie a million times. So, Daniel, you know, again, you're I can't forget. How old are you again?

SPEAKER_01 54:07

51 this year. Just turned 51.

SPEAKER_02 54:10

Holy shit. Uh you you just have this boyish, you're almost like you're not the childlike empress. You're like the childlike podcast host. You're like, you don't, you don't look at at all. I keep looking at you thinking you're like your mid-30s. No, then he has like the chubby churub cheeks. You just want to do whatever. And you know, I don't have any hair left. Listen, listen, listen. And I'm holding no, I'm holding on to this, but you know, I'm struggling. I'm struggling. But look, yeah, so Daniel, I mean, I mean, was it was it as deep for you as it was for us, or I don't know. You know, I struggle with the storyline now. I feel like already.

SPEAKER_01 54:54

I feel like already you're about to. I miss it's the puppets that are so iconic, you know. Like I'm looking at the rock biter, the gamor. I I didn't know it was called the gamorque, but that was that wolf creature that was hunting at Treyu, if you remember. Um and Falkor, of course, the dragon. And it reminds me of other movies like The Dark Crystal, even the Ewok movie, Labyrinth. Um, and even the Princess Bride had some puppets in it. And I miss that in movies today, like those those puppets, not just the special effects, but like actually having a live puppet um is impressive, you know? And you don't you didn't look at them as a kid, and even as an adult, I can still enjoy these movies and not see uh something fake, you know. It just looks it looks real.

SPEAKER_03 55:39

Yeah. That I think is also you you're hitting on a good point because didn't it was a couple years back they did a re-release or a new series of like the Dark Crystal, yeah? They did, yeah. And that was brilliant because you also had Jim Henson's shop doing that. And it was something that you haven't seen in such a long time to have real film with real puppets instead of just all this CGI bullshit that they do now. But I see it's not that bad, but it's it's still to have your spot on, to have the puppetry there and have that working is yeah, it's really good.

SPEAKER_02 56:14

No, it was it was amazing. It was really good. And I mean, I and I was like I'm like you, Scott. Like I was a big nerd growing up. I mean, growing up and and you know, picked on a bit. And I just always gravitated to those movies where like the the the nerd triumphed at the end, or all those uh movies of the 80s where the nerd got the girl, you know, but by the time the in 90 minutes, the guy went from, you know, nerd to dating the cheerleader, right? The the head the head cheerleader. I there was something about those movies that resonated with me but with me. And I'm gonna, this is let me show you how how big of a nerd I am. There's one scene in this movie that I love, and I don't love it because it moved the storyline at all. It it actually did not. It was it was just there was a scene where he's at the I think he at the beginning he was at the school, right? And he was at the and first of all, let's talk about how bad it's let's talk about how bad that security of that school is, right? So a kid, a kid literally just like left class, was getting bullied, went to the attic, and was there all goddamn day. Uh at night. At night.

SPEAKER_03 57:12

Uh think about the freaking attic. Like, what school has an attic like that? I mean, come on. Seriously.

SPEAKER_02 57:19

You know, I just thought, you know, look, I know they did in Louisiana when I was growing up. So I thought that maybe that was a New England thing. I don't.

SPEAKER_03 57:25

I don't know You'd have probably died of heat stroke in a fucking attic in Louisiana.

SPEAKER_02 57:29

Oh my God. Well, we don't have attic for a reason, right? You will die. You will die. But yeah, there was a scene where he was in the in the attic of the school and he's like bundled up and he pulls out an apple and he's eating it. And there's this one scene where it zooms in on him where he's, I guess it was like at a climatic part while he was reading the book. And he takes his last apple slice and he puts it in his mouth, and he and when he chomps down on it, it sounds so delicious. It is like it was it sounded crunchy, it sounded just full of delicious goodness. Like I and I, ever since then, like I every time I watch it, I have to eat an apple. Like it's a subconscious thing. It's before ASMR became a thing, right?

SPEAKER_01 58:11

It was just an apple on screen moment. That's interesting. Oh man, I really want to go back and watch that now. It was okay.

SPEAKER_03 58:17

Well, let's talk about food for a second. If we're gonna bring the food thing into the never ending story, the beginning of the movie, when he's sitting there getting these, like having his breakfast, and then the dad walks in and then just starts cracking eggs and making an egg blended freaking smoothie and drinking raw eggs out of the blender. Yeah. That was like who did that?

SPEAKER_02 58:38

The dad?

SPEAKER_03 58:39

Yeah. The very beginning of the movie when they're getting ready and they're doing breakfast. He's just making his little blended raw egg disgustingness. And so they're drinking it like it's freaking orange juice. I'm like, get the fuck out of here. You know what? Excuse me. You know what?

SPEAKER_02 58:52

I feel like that's like a very 80s thing to do because I think that was when it was so 80s. That's such an 80s thing because back then, like, people watched Rocky and Rocky, like that's what that's what Rocky was known for, like the raw omelet, the raw egg, and like chucking it down for protein.

SPEAKER_03 59:07

And I'm just like But I think that was like a big thing back in the 80s, too, before they decided that eggs were bad for you. One of the multiple times they did that. But it's uh like in a lot of these 80s movies, you're seeing people like just having raw eggs in the morning for breakfast. And I'm just like, that's just foul. Nothing.

SPEAKER_02 59:24

So I hate that I do so okay, so the so unfortunately we don't have clips, which is what kind of would kind of drive the storyline here. But what we're gonna do is we're gonna talk about like our favorite parts of the movie.

Favorite Scenes Puppets And Sequel Trauma

SPEAKER_02 59:34

And we'll talk about that just for a minute. Um so Scott, I'll I'll start with you. Uh, what is one of the top scenes that you really liked?

SPEAKER_03 59:42

The scenes that always the one big one that always usually stuck with me, um, just I I don't know why, is the the whole Oracle thing where he's going through it's like the two Sphinxes that are sitting there and you know he has to do the whole walkthrough. There was something about the way that the imagery of that, the the artwork behind it or the modeling or however they did it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:04

You want to know what it is? You know what it was? You know what it was?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:06

The the boobs were hanging out. The boobs.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:08

It was the breasts, right? That was my first listen, dude. I might have been seven or eight years old, and I may not know what to do with them, but I knew I liked what I was seeing on that screen. They're these these these two, for those folks who don't remember or have not watched it, there are these two statues that were like guardians of this entryway, and they're like sphinxes. So they had the upper torso of a woman and that of some eagle stuff going on. And they're just, you know, they're on their stone and they're standing there, but they their outfit had breasts exposed. Breastlases. Breastlases, chesticles. Um and it was funny because Atreyu was walking through uh the gate and he's looking up at him because if his heart's not worthy, they would open up and destroy him. They'll shoot laser beams out and destroy you. And he's walking and looking up at him. Now he's doing it out of fear. He's but I mean, meanwhile, like again, eight-year-old adolescent Gisani, every time he looked up, all you see is like a upward look of these massive boobs. So boobs.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:13

The author apparently had a big issue with that. The author did not get along with the uh producer and ended up suing over the the movie in the end. He did he was not pleased with the movie. And he actually died. I didn't realize there were two more sequels to this movie. Um, he died one year after the third movie came out, and I can't help but wonder if the third movie was just like, I can't take this anymore. They've destroyed my my story, they've destroyed my creation. I don't I don't know how George R. R. Martin did it with um Game of Thrones, because that seemed to come out awesome, but it's got to feel pretty awful to have written something that means a lot to you, have it go to the big screen and not be what you wanted it to be.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:52

You know, see, I think I think what happened was Hollywood did does what it always does. It takes a great idea and it totally fucks it up. And and like and so like the first one, Chef's Kiss, right? It's part of our childhood. I watched part two, Daniel. I watched part two. I'm sorry. I wish I wish somebody who loved me would have stopped me. Because that movie poo-pooed over half of my and it wasn't the fact that the movie was bad, but it just poo-pooed on everything that happened before. Um uh uh Sebastian and Atreyu ended up getting into it, and I don't maybe it's just because they're pre-adolescents and I don't know, alpha alpha male syndrome. I don't know what it was. I hated the whole movie. I did not know there was a third.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:43

Yes, there was a third.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:44

And I don't know if my 49-year-old spirit can handle that. I may end up, I I may just let that be something I don't experience. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:52

Oh my god, I'm looking at the movie poster for it. It looks godly awful. For part three?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:59

Yeah, it just looks so bad. Jack Black is in part three. He plays the bully in part three. Seriously? Wait, what? He does, yeah. Oh my god. See, now I gotta watch it just because of that. I know, right? I was gonna say the first movie apparently was the first half of the book. And so they never they never I I doubt, I'm not sure, but I I doubt part two and three tried to continue the storyline appropriately to the book, especially if the author didn't like the first part. Um but yeah, apparently the first movie was just the first half of the book. He didn't see the whole the whole book come to cinema. See, I'd have to go and read the book now. Yeah, I'm I'm pretty curious too. Apparently Atreya was green in the book, but they they tried to make him green when they started filming, and they said he looked like a fungus, so they they just made him look like a normal human.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:52

Oh wow. Okay, all right, all right. So, Danny, what was your favorite favorite scene?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:58

You know, I remember being scared of the nothing. I thought that was pretty awesome. Um having this like something bigger than the universe, really, just eating up your world. And it reminded me of do you remember Stephen King's Langle Ears? Yes. Oh, yes, those airplane and those little creatures were like eating up the world. It's very similar in theme. I love that show. That was a great that was one of those uh Stephen King made for TV movies. Oh, yeah. Uh excellent story. But yeah, I I just remember the fear of the nothing and uh the gamoric was that dog that was hunting and tree you. I think I appreciated the fear the most, much like the fear I enjoy in our consistent fear. I think you're the I think we like to be scared, apparently. I like to be scared.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:44

I think I think we just discovered, Scott, that Daniel is an adrenaline junkie. I think that's what this is. I think so. I think he is my dark side, my inner shadow. The darkness knows. Um, I would say my favorite scene was actually at the end. Um, I love the scene where freaking uh Sebastian was riding on the back of Falco in the real world and chased his bullies. Oh yeah, I remember that. Oh, yeah, because I remember the scene, right? Because I because he's like, because leading up to that scene, literally Falco was like, what would you like to wish for next? And he kind of whispered it, and you're like, oh God, please let me see this. And the three bullies are walking out the street, and he just look up and they start pointing. I was like, oh God, yes, yes. And then all of a sudden, you know what happened. You know what happened. Yeah!

SPEAKER_01 1:05:37

Vengeance is so sweet.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:38

Oh my god. Vengeance is mine. Oh, and hey, listen, hold up. Daniel, no truer words are spoken. Let's be clear. That was a total revenge pool. Right? Absolutely. There was nothing I got a dragon now, bitches. He he essentially said that. His line on the back of Far Court was let's see how you like to be chased. I was like, oh my god. Sebastian Thur. Sebastian, he's a bad guy. But yeah, no, I I that was that was my scene. Because I was you just wondered, like, are they gonna bring it into the are they gonna bring the fantasy into the real world? Oh, you know, and it was it was really, really, really good. But I want to read the book now, because I now that I know that that the other half was it was only half of the book, because the narrator at the end of the first one was like, oh, Sebastian went on to have m many more wishes and and many more adventures, but that's in for another story, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:37

That was that was like apparently the second half is Bastion in the world of Fantasia or Fantastica? I can't remember what it was. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:46

Oh so the book it was Fantastica, but in fantas but in the movie it was Fantasia. Oh, was it? It was fantastic, it was fantasia in the movie. Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:56

Yeah. So then the second half of the book is Bastion in that fantasy fantastical world. Uh he leaves the real world to go into Fantastica or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:06

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:08

Okay. All right. Well, there you go. Well, you know what? I think things go dark, actually. Um yes, I'm curious too. Maybe we'll have uh an episode on part two. We'll do a book club.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:19

Now, now that you say that, maybe book two does not, maybe the second one doesn't sound so bad because it did start off dark. The second one started Oh, did it really? Yeah, it started off a little dark, and there was animosity between a Treyu and Bastion.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:34

Okay, that sounds about right.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:35

Now I have no idea if that's the premise of part two, but of this of the sequel, but I yeah, maybe. And Bastion did cross over into the other world. So I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:50

Yeah, I'm curious. Now I now I do want to read. I wonder if they got an audio book for it and who did the audio for it. I'm gonna look it up. I actually have to be on auditor right now. While we're all sitting here, we'll make everyone wait.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:01

Yeah, we'll wait. Wait, wait, one! Wait while we Google. 10 countries.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:11

All right, so never-ending story. Okay, I don't think this is the right one. Okay, Michael Ende. We'll edit this part so we they're not waiting so long.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:24

Uh I'm seeing that the next the second movie took on the second half of the book, but it was altered heavily, apparently.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:33

So there is there is an audiobook for the never-ending story, but big but it's in German. Oh. That's an obstacle. Narrated by Gert Heidenreich.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:46

Well.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:48

There you go. There you go. Now I just have to learn German.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:56

Well, that's great. That's great. Um, man, I wish we had clips, but we don't have clips. So um I guess we'll call it

Where To Find Us And Goodbye

SPEAKER_02 1:09:04

then. I guess we'll call it. This has been this has been great. Um we just gotta do it again. Now we just gotta do it again. I think I think the thing going and we'll see. We'll see. Maybe maybe this will be a video. Maybe I'll upload it to the to the to the YouTube channel that has cobwebs on it.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:21

Um God, yeah, we still have that running, don't we?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:23

Yeah, it was a bunch of definitely stuff on there. But um, but yeah, no, this was really fun, guys. I really missed you, and I I miss us hanging out, and we need to make sure we we keep this thing going. So um so for the four people that listened, uh, let us know what you think about this episode. Keep it going, or we just leave this alone for nostalgia stake. Should we should we not have the error that the never-ending story did? Maybe we should let the original just be the original. That's right. And just let it roll. I don't know. We'll let you know. You four you four viewers, let us know what you think in the comments. Um so, Scott, what are you guys up to? What do you want to how can people catch up with what you're doing? If people want to follow you, what do you have going on?

SPEAKER_03 1:10:02

Um, most of the stuff I'm doing now, now we moved up here. So we joined a motorcycle club up here, uh Rose City Motorcycle Club. So taking over doing the website and stuff for that. So if you guys are interested, we're gonna be trying to get into doing YouTube videos and we have a big social calendar. So if you are in the Pacific Northwest and you happen to ride and you want to come out and just meet some people, come and join us. You'll see me there at the bars every Thursdays. Um other than that, yeah. I'm not really doing a whole bunch in the social scene, uh, social media stuff, but you know, doing a lot more getting out there and riding.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:36

There you go. Oh, there you go. There you go. Can't wait to hear more about that. And uh I can't go out on Thursdays because that's that's a school night, man. I can't go out. That's that's still considered a school night in my household. Daniel, what it what if folks want if folks want to follow you or or if they want to partner with you on uh on uh Arc Raiders, like how can they find you, man?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:56

You can't you can't find me in Arc Raiders, and I'm not gonna shoot you. If you shoot me, I'm running. No, but yeah, you'll probably find me in Arc Raiders, maybe. Um I'm there a lot. Uh and then maybe on Friday nights, or my local game shop to Forge. They have an open game night on Fridays. So I've been a couple of times already. It's a lot of fun. Pick up some new games, play with some complete strangers. Um, but no, it's a great experience. So the Forge in West Houston, I recommend it.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:23

Awesome, awesome. Um so uh if I'm not if I'm not playing arc raiders or getting shot out by nine-year-olds um and they steal my weapons, I I am I am heavily involved in my other podcast, uh My Friend and HR Podcast. Um and that's that's kind of been my whole other thing. Um so we do have the My Friend and HR Podcast. So if you're looking for, you know, you want to hear stuff about workplace culture, if you want to hear get good career advice um in terms of uh like you know what to do about a bad boss or you know, what how can you how can you grow your career? Hop over to My Friend HR Podcast. We have it on Audible Spotify. We also have the YouTube channel. Um we're on Instagram and soon to be TikTok. Um and then also there's a way to sign up for the My Friend and HR newsletter. Um so we got a lot of stuff going on over there. Hopefully you guys hop over there and check it out. Most of you, you know, either again, uh the four people that listen, my mom, she's retired, so she doesn't care about her career. Um, you know, so we'll we'll see. But uh if you want to find me, you can find me on LinkedIn under Jasani Courtney. You can find me on uh Instagram and uh uh what else? Uh the TikTok. The TikTok. Um under my friend underscore HR. Um and that's pretty much it, folks. So uh until next time, man, be good to yourselves, be good to each other, and let that let that nerd flag fly. And we'll see you soon. Question mark. Soon? That question. We'll do it again. We'll do it again. All right, guys. Take care. We'll talk to you soon.