Gorilla Shawn decided a look back at the year that was would be snazzy…and Gorilla Christopher agreed. So, here’s what we thought about 2019…

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• What was the first thing this year you thought was cool?
• What was the best thing that happened to you this year?
• Worst thing?
• Best thing that happened in the world?
• Worst?
• Favorite episode of men in gorilla suits?
• Favorite other piece of media from this year?
• Thing you wish you’d done this year?
• Thing you wish you’d done better this year?
• What’s your hope for next year?

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This week, we’re talking about the most fun you can have staring at a dead body: funerals!

(Well, most fun for most of us…the Gorillamen do not want to think of what would do it for many others…)

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• What is the first funeral you remember?
• What do you see as the role of funerals in society?
• How much do you think social norms factor into funerals?
• Have you seen any breaks from traditional mores where funerals are involved? Any changes you’d like to see?
• Have you ever had to arrange or help in some way with a funeral? What did you think?
• What are your thoughts about the funeral industry?
• When you die, do you want a funeral? If so, what would you like?
• What’s the best funeral you ever attended?
• What’s the worst funeral you ever attended?
• What is your favorite movie, book, or song about funerals?
• If you could attend any funeral in history, which one would you attend?
• What is the future of funerals?

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Gorilla Christopher has been sick for a week, and it’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., so let’s get right to what we chat about this episode…about streaming services.

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• When was the first time you heard of a streaming service? (Music or video)?
• What’s the first streaming service you used?
• How many streaming services do you use now?
• How many are paid vs. unpaid?
• How much do you spend on streaming?
• What’s your favorite streaming service?
• What’s the worst streaming service?
• Do you still subscribe to cable/satellite or other TV?
• Have you ever subscribed to a streaming service for one show only?
• Is streaming a threat to traditional media?
• Is that a bad thing if it is?
• How has streaming changed your daily life, if at all?
• What’s the future of streaming?

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Instead of complaining about how busy this week is for Gorilla Christopher, he’s just going to post what he and Gorilla Shawn talked about this week:

• When were you first aware of this thing called complaining?
• Are you much of a complainer?
• When you do complain, what do you tend to complain about?
• How well do you handle being around people who complain?
• Why do you think some people complain as much as they do?
• What role do you think social media has played in complaining?
• Where do you hear most of the complaining you’re exposed to?
• Do you think complaining accomplishes much?
• What do you most dislike hearing people complain about?
• Do you think complaining can become almost addictive?
• If someone wanted to stop complaining as much as they might, what advice would you give them?
• What is the future of complaining?

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Once you set foot on any Disney property, the sounds and colors will haunt your life for the rest of your days.

This week, we’re talking about tourism. Specifically:

• When’s the first time you remember hearing of the idea of traveling for fun, or to go see a thing/event?
• When was your first “touristy” trip?
• When you travel, is it for tourism, or is it task-oriented? (“I’m going to New York to see the Empire State Building” vs. “I’m going to New York for a work thing.”)
• What’s the most touristy thing you’ve ever done?
• What touristy thing do you hate?
• What touristy thing do you want to do?
• What’s something that you’ve gone somewhere to see, but very few people would even bother to seek out?
• Do you wish you could travel for leisure more?
• Have you ever worked in the tourism industry?
• Have you ever had to deal with tourists?
• What’s the future of tourism?

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Some weeks, there are things you just have to accept. Not that it was a bad week, but Gorilla Christopher was like [to himself]: “Chill…you’ll get the episode up at some point…worst case, Gorilla Shawn’s always got your back…”

So here it is, in its snazzy glory…all about…stoicism…

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This is how it flows:

• When did you first become aware of stoicism?
• Do you consider yourself stoic?
• Whether or not you consider yourself stoic, what are some of your stoic moments in life?
• What are some good things about stoicism or being stoic?
• What are some bad things about being stoic?
• Do you think stoicism is avoidance?
• And along that line of thinking, many will argue stoicism is anything BUT avoidance, because you are always prepared to deal with the worst. Do you think that’s a realistic way of looking at the world?
• A tenet of stoicism is accepting the things you can and cannot control. Doing something about those things you can control…and letting the things you cannot roll off you. Your thoughts on that?
• Do you agree that people should love all the things that happen to them?
• Stoicism seems to have become a sort of buzzy philosophy among entrepreneurs. Do you think they really get stoicism?
• Why do you think stoicism still endures today?
• What is the future of stoicism?

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Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far, unlit unknown
– Rush “Subdivisions”

This week, it’s all about the suburbs!

Here’s what we talk about:

• How long have you lived in the suburbs?
• What’s the first time you heard a mention of the suburbs?
• Have you ever lived in the limits of a big city?
• Which do you prefer? The suburbs or the city?
• What’s the draw of suburbia for most people?
• For us?
• What’s the most suburban thing you’ve seen?
• What’s the most suburban thing you’ve done?
• Is there really a difference in kids/people raised in the suburbs and those in the city?
• What about suburbs vs country/rural? What’s your preference there?
• Are the suburbs a good invention, or a bad one?
• What’s the future of the suburbs?

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Very few people know Gorilla Shawn is a concert pianist and Gorilla Christopher is a chamber cellist. We are tops when it comes to our Mensa scores. Christopher swam the English Channel…under water, while holding his breath. Shawn can assemble furniture with his mind. Don’t even get us started on our mad dance skills. (Even though we will never be this good!)

But still…we are the most talented gorillas you will ever meet, and we combine all our talents into the most important thing you will listen to this week: the two of us talking about…talent!

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We begin the episode discussing when we first realized some people were inherently better than others at certain things…and then talk about when we first learned what talent was.

Find out if we were aware of our talents when we were younger and what we did to discover them. After that, we chat about the most talented people we knew growing up.

We devote a bit of time to talking about what we feel we’re talented at doing — and then discuss what we wish we were truly talented at doing. If that’s not enough, we chat about the most talented person we know now…and who we think are the most popular celebrities.

We get a bit serious when the topic turns to wondering if society puts too much pressure on people to discover and use their talents…and we wrap it all up with this question: Are talents even important anymore?

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All we ever wanted in life was to say we recorded 277 episodes of Men in Gorilla Suits.

Check that off the bucket list, babeeeeeeee!!!

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This is what we’re talking about this week:

• When did you first hear of bucket lists?
• Do you have a bucket list?
• What is your opinion of bucket lists?
• What effect does social media have on bucket lists?
• What is the best thing about bucket lists?
• What is the worst thing about bucket lists?
• Are bucket lists the domain of the privileged?
• What are the top things on your bucket list?
• Is there something on your bucket list you’ll likely never do?
• What’s your oddest bucket list item?
• Do you think an unfinished bucket list is a sad thing?
• What is the future of the bucket list?

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We don’t care about SEO…we only care about talking about what we want to talk about…

[Shawn is like, “Damn, Chris…we’re trending in South Korea and Malaysia…be cool, manl! Be cool!”]

(If he only saw the paragraph I deleted…)

He is right, though: Chill, Chris…chill…

And for those of you who listen to the show to hear English, the “CH” in Christopher is NOT the CH in Chill. (Also, thank you for listening. We’d rather people in South Korea and Malaysia listen than some angry redneck. But stalwart rednecks are okay with us…)

English…it’s wacky!

Anyway…Shawn sings a lot in this episode…and makes Gorilla-Christopher sing along, so we’re all golden!

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What we talk about this week:

• Define a stranger.
• Were you warned of “stranger danger” when you were a child?
• Who is the strangest stranger you’ve ever met?
• Are we, as a society, too afraid of strangers in general (like as in the Neighbors app, or immigration, etc)?
• Our fears of others don’t match reality.
• What’s the worst interaction you’ve had with a stranger?
• The best?
• Do you think kids should still be taught that strangers are evil?
• Have you ever been the mysterious stranger in someone else’s story?
• Who’s stranger: you or me?

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Photo: Paul Garaizar

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