The Talking Place

Reading is fundamental

This episode I'm going on about books I've been reading! It's been a while since I got deep in a book, heck, it's been a while since I've updated anything about reading anywhere. So what did I talk about??

First off, a community question. Let's see if you read the show notes before listening to the show:

Who do you think won my loyalty? Goodreads or StoryGraph?

A few months ago, I was in the process of moving...

A Blog is Worth a Thousand Posts

For the record, this was recorded back in April. Right in the midst of my blogging resurrection. Like everything else I was neck deep in, I took a break from that as well for the summer. I am currently in the process of cleaning off the dust and getting back into things, so let me get my bearings.

BUT! It doesn't mean I don't agree with what I said a few months ago. I am still very very much on my h...

An ode to summer!

🎶Summer has come and pass. The innocence can never last. Wake me up when September ends.🎶

Listen, there is a tremendous bittersweet symphony playing in my heart every time summer comes to a close. Spending time with my kids and just letting them do whatever their heart desires without the constraints of school, it's awesome, it's the best, I love it, I do, BUT. When the last week, week and a half comes and there...

Marinated thoughts taste better!

Hello there, fellow gamers! I know, I know, at this point, I might as well just have a gaming centric podcast again. But no! I'm just excited. Not everyday a new console is released, so I'm going to be putting out whatever I thoughts I have here and there. 

Like right now, this episode is where I'm at with the Nintendo Switch 2. Am I pre-ordering? Am I really excited or just riding the hype train? I...

Activate the C button!

I pressed the C button and was joined by two awesome dudes! Cap'n Mike from On Second Thought with Mike & Matt, and Al from The Retro 'Rents both jumped on so we could get our Nintendo on.

And boy, what a show it was! We went over everything that was shown on the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct on 4/2/25. Well, as much as we could without going on tangents. We talked about our impressions, initial thoughts, and ...

Switchin' It Up!

Here's my trip down memory lane! Back in the ol' Future Monkeys Time Machine! All the way back to 2017 when the Nintendo Switch was first announced. It's early days when it introduced Breath of the Wild to the world. All the way through the pandemic when the world was collectively trying to complete their museums and D.I.Y. cards with Animal Crossing. The Switch has been around for a long time! And it was hype indu...

I’m full of that Christmas mornin’ feelin’!

MAN! End of the year is no joke! Not only is it typically packed with things to do, stuff to clean, things to bake, gifts to wrap, and about a hundred bajillion other things—  it’s also just going by so freaking fast! It always does but something about this year was really crazy with how fast it went. It sucks. But it just gives more reason to start celebrating in September next year!

Thi...

Everyone hail to the Pumpkin Song!

The Halloween show! I always love a good holiday centric show. Unfortunately, this time of year always proves to be crazy busy and I find it rather difficult focus on pumping them out. This year though, I'm really trying to put in the effort to do my little thing here and I managed to do something! Even took an extra day to add in sound bites, which I can't wait to consciously implement next time,...

Still gaming!

Gaming update! Here's an entire show dedicated to what I've been playing. I don't think I play enough to be able to put out a weekly gaming show. But one of these episodes every so often giving updates on whatever it is I've been diving into seems like the best thing to do. 

I'm covering everything I've been playing since last Christmas! No no, don't get scared. Good news is that it's not that much haha. I have been p...

Everything changes with time.

I feel like I could’ve gone on with “primer” episodes for a while. But I wanted to get into nitty gritty of things! Wanted to talk about what I’m playing and what I’m doing and my thoughts about the current state of gaming. 

And I barely get into it LOL.

I got distracted, like I do, talking about how my gaming tendencies and habits changed over the years. I went into tangents on Destiny because wooooo...

All work and no play.. maybe.. sometimes.

Maybe eventually I’ll get into actual fun gaming talk lol. Not this week though! I wanted to talk about what I’m playing and doing, but instead it turned into a 20 minute derailment on the mental roadblocks of being a stay at home dad and trying to carve out personal time. 

It all needed to come off the chest though. And it’s laying down the foundation for future talks, so it’s not like I’...

Changing hobbies like I change my underwear

ALRIGHT! I think I have a system going, so here's the first show out the gate. I KNOW, OK?! I've said it too many times before. But life be crazy, yo! Anyway, I'm trying, and that's the best I could do. Here's to the hopes of putting something out because boy, do I miss it!

What is this show about exactly? Who knows! Hahahaha. I will say though that somewhere between the updating about li...

Forever Judging Special Edition Books by their Covers

Another book show! I know, I know, it's like I don't know what else to talk about these days. But hear me out! Or better yet, hear US out.

I'm joined today by Sara, whom you may recall, joined me on a previous show back in December. We knew we wanted to chat again because there's always something to talk about with so many books to be throwing money at.

But we're also joined by ...

OH LOOK, A MIDLIFE CRISIS, RIGHT ON SCHEDULE

Alright peeps! If I were crazy enough to do seasons on my podcast, I would say this is the beginning of a new one. After sitting on this feed for so long, and much hesitation and skepticism, I'm finally going to try my hand at publicly talking to myself lol. 

I get into the details in this episode, but look forward to bi-weekly shows from now on. Heck, maybe even weekly if I plan it righ...

Invoking the right of parley with the Cap'n!

After so many years of listening to each other's shows, our paths have finally crossed! Cap'n Mike has been the host of a handful of popular podcasts since the Xbox 360 era. And now, after a brief 2.5ish year retirement, he's back behind the mic! 

During the show we dig into how we're both old farts and have been in the podcast game for a long time. Talking about the way it has changed s...

It's not hoarding if it's pretty books!

This is a show many months in the making! Turns out coordinating a podcast with someone in Australia is not as simple as you would think. But it finally worked out and here we are! 

I wanted to talk to Sara because she runs a fairly awesome bookish community that would've been wiped from existence if she didn't raise it from the ashes. And now, it's alive and thriving and about 200 people str...

FOR ALL, INTO THE STARFIELD

The time is finally upon us! After years of development and hype, fans of Bethesda  Game Studios are getting their hands on Starfield! I sit down with Matt (Ve6a5, in Future Monkey lore) and talk about the excitement and expectations we have for the game! He also gives us his impressions on his first hour of play time, discussing space combat, character creation, and more! 

As of this episode, Starfield ...

Another show, another Al, part 2... or 3?

It's been sooooo long, I figured it'll be cool to have Al on again. We talked a little about podcasting and what it's like to handle the technical stuff about recording. And after a sweet, sweet interlude, we got into some VR talk. The main focus was children and how they are not supposed to be using VR headsets. But are they? Who knows! Not me, but I may have some ideas here.

Until next ti...

Another show, another Al

Look, I'm not going to gloat or make a big deal here, but this show is out EXACTLY when I said it would be out! And it's right on time with when my player said to expect my next episode. Sorry, this may seem like small potatoes to people but it's a big deal in my book! But enough about me, what is going on this week?!

I had the pleasure of having Al back for another show! He is one half of The Retro 'Rents,...