Stuff I Learned Yesterday

Remember back in episode 38 when I talked about Kevin Durant’s MVP acceptance speech?  While there are countless examples I could point to for today’s episode, I’d like to use that one again.  Since it’s still so fresh in our minds and we know about it, it will serve as a great example to bring us all on the same page here today. As a refresher, Kevin thanked EVERYONE in his speech.  He thanked his teammates one by one, his coaches, trainers, and the team owner.  He thanked his brothers, father, and his mother.  He did the whole thing unscripted and without notes.  He spoke from his heart and it was awesome.  It was also awesome to hear him acknowledge that he didn’t get to that spot on his own. Today I want to consider just how important to remember that we don’t go anywhere or accomplish anything on our own.  Even “self made” people got to where they are with the assistance of someone.  Take a moment and think about where you are today.  Maybe you’re a high school student, a recent college graduate or a you

I grew up in a very middle class home. We didn’t lack for anything we needed, but we didn’t have many extras. I think having 3 teenage boys was tough on my parents. I don’t even want to know what our grocery bill was each month. I don’t know if it was because we couldn’t afford it, or if my dad wanted to teach me a lesson, but I didn’t get a car for my 16th birthday or high school graduation. If I wanted a car, it was entirely up to me to save up the necessary money and then buy it myself. I know that my parents definitely couldn’t afford to buy me one, so I never felt cheated in any way. But my dad is the kind of guy who appreciates hard work, and even if we could have afforded it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did make the same decision in order for me to better appreciate the car and responsibility that comes with owning one. Since we lived in a very small town, there weren’t a lot of job opportunities. Most kids worked on their family farm or other family business. There were a couple of jobs to b

Tomorrow will be the end of an era. On Wednesday, May 21, 2014, the final episode of Revolution will air on NBC. Once it ends and we record our podcasts on Thursday night, it will mark the first time since we started podcasting in 2008 that Golden Spiral Media will not have a podcast about a currently airing TV show. Yes, we’ll still have our LOST podcast, and Triplecast is coming back in the next couple of weeks, but it’s a distinction that’s worth noting. It’s worth noting because we have tried very hard to avoid this situation. When we weren’t sure if Fringe would get a fifth season, we made the decision early to find a show that we could get excited about and start covering it. We didn’t want there to be a lapse in our shows and take the risk of losing the audience we’d spent four years (at that point) building. It turned out that Fringe did get a fifth season, albeit a shortened one, so for several months, we had two shows that we were covering. When the show runner for Fringe announced he had a ne

Some of you that are in your 40’s or older may remember a show named 8 is Enough and a character named Tommy Bradford.  If you’re a bit younger than that then you may remember a show called Charles in Charge and a character named Buddy Lembeck, the goofy best friend of Scott Baio’s character, Charles.  Both of these characters were played by a guy named Willie Aames. I never really watched 8 is Enough.  I saw a few reruns when I was a kid, but it never really interested me that much.  However, I did watch Charles in Charge.  That was a funny show to me.  When I started working at the bookstore in the mid 90’s, we started carrying a new video series named Bibleman.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that Bibleman was portrayed by none other than Buddy Lembeck himself, Willie Aames.  Go ahead and think about that for a minute. Okay, now I don’t know if you’ve ever seen an episode of Bibleman or what you just imagined in your mind, but it wasn’t as bad as you may think.  It was a live action super hero style sh

Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode I share a very special story of adoption from John McGrail. You can participate in a future Friday Forum episode by calling and leaving a message at 304-837-2278, emailing an audio file to feedback@goldenspiralmedia.com, or clicking on the Send Voicemail tab on my website, GoldenSpiralMedia.com. Read More... The post 45- Friday Forum appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

15 years. It really doesn’t seem like it’s been 15 years since I married Kari Maechelle Brunson, but today is our 15 year anniversary. We met while working at a bookstore. I was the assistant manager. She and her family had just moved to Oklahoma City from Texas and she was hired to work in the teacher supplies department and work customer service. It was not love at first sight. I was coming off of a break up with a girl that I was pretty serious with, so I wasn’t really looking to date anyone at that point. Kari had a funny Texas accent and I would make fun of the way she said certain words, but that was about the extent of our relationship. One day one of our regular customers named Cindy told me that she thought Kari and would be good together and she encouraged me to ask her out. I still wasn’t really looking to date anyone, but it was a comment that stuck with me. I began to notice Kari more after that day. Often times after work, a group of us would go get coffee or grab some food a together.

We all know that college students are usually broke.  I certainly was when I was in college.  I had a couple of small scholarships that covered most of the expense of books, but nothing more.  All of my tuition was paid for by saving money earned from my part time job.   After my freshman year, my roommate and I got a small apartment just off of campus.  It was the cheapest one we could find.  It wasn’t fancy at all, but it was more than enough for us.  It was a one bedroom apartment and we worked it out that he got the bedroom and I got the couch.  I really didn’t mind.  For 4 years I slept on the couch every night.   When we first moved in, there was no couch, or bed for that matter.  We had a computer desk and my drafting table.  The previous tenant left a chest of drawers with a mirror and the landlord said we could use it and just leave it for the next tenant.  I bought a used futon from another friend, and my roommate got a bed from his parents.  I also bought a dinette set from a co-worker.  We were li

I think most people dream about being a singer at some point as a child. For me the first memory I have of dreaming what it would be like to be a rock star was when I was first introduced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. I was 6 years old. I don’t think I ever really thought I’d make it as a big time singer and never really pursued it. In fact, I never even sang in front of anyone except for the occasion when my brother would catch me singing along to the radio. That all changed on a random day after I graduated high school. We had a new youth pastor, named Tim, at the church I was attending and since I we were pretty close in age. I thought it would be cool to get to know him a bit so I asked him if he’d like to hang out sometime. He invited me to go to the city with him one day when he was meeting up with some of his other friends and I agreed to tag along. I had just discovered this really cool a cappella group and was really amazed by how much music they could make with only their voices and I b

Like many of you, I had a pretty busy weekend.  My Saturday started with my son and I attending men’s Bible study at church, and then I had to set up the drum kit for Sunday’s church service.  While we were doing those things, my wife and daughter did a bit of shopping.  We all met back at our house shortly before lunch and then headed out together to deliver some flowers to my grandma for Mother’s Day. Once we finished our visit to my grandma we had time to grab a quick lunch before heading off to my high school reunion.  Addison had really enjoyed her one-on-one time with Kari earlier that day, and wanted to have a lunch with just the two of them.  Colby liked the idea of just having a lunch with me, so we agreed to split back up for lunch. While Colby and I were alone in my car he said, “Dad, I thought that when you quit your job you were going to get to spend more time with us.”  It was a beautiful sunny day so I had the sunroof open and the windows down.  While having the windows down and the sunroof ope

Today is the Friday Forum!! Friday Forum is your opportunity to Share what YOU’VE learned, so that other listeners and I can learn from YOU.  It can be a message as short as 30 seconds or several minutes long.  It really doesn’t matter just as long as it’s something that will benefit others.  You can participate in Friday Forum by calling and leaving a message at 304-837-2278, emailing an audio file to feedback@goldenspiralmedia.com, or clicking on the Send Voicemail tab on my website, GoldenSpiralMedia.com. In today's Friday Forum we hear Mother's Day contributions from Celina, Bonita, and Mark. Read More... The post 40- Stuff I Learned Yesterday Friday Forum Mother’s Day Edition appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

When I started this podcast nearly 2 months ago I never would have dreamed that I’d be doing any episodes about plants or gardening, but here I am doing my THIRD episode about that very topic. That does not mean that I now enjoy gardening or yard work. That has not changed and I do not see it changing anytime soon. However, I am committed to making sure my flower beds thrive this season and I’m learning stuff through that process. Brace yourself. I see many more garden related episodes in your future! For today’s episode, I want to take you back to that Friday about 3 weeks ago when my wife and I purchased the plants at our local garden center. My wife had been out running errands earlier that morning so we decided to meet at the store. I arrived a few minutes before she did so I took that time to look around and see if anything caught my eye. Since we had cleaned out nearly everything from the beds, we were looking for some good perennials, that is, plants that come back every year, to establish the f

I love Kevin Durant.  Outside of choosing to go to college at the University of Texas, the guy is everything you’d like a guy to be.  He’s funny, caring, athletic, good looking, humble, and has a great attitude.  In case you don’t follow sports, Kevin Durant is a small forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder and he’s one of the best basketball players on the planet.  This year he won his 4th scoring title, and yesterday he won the MVP of the NBA.   For those of us who live in OKC and get to watch Kevin interact with the community and play every night, we know just how amazing of a person he is.  He is selfless, deflects praise to those around him, acknowledges his shortcomings, and is ALWAYS giving of what he has to make the lives of those around him better.  He may have been acknowledged by the NBA as the MVP yesterday, but he’s been the MVP of OKC since he first stepped foot here in 2008. Yesterday afternoon about 3:30 I was starting to panic because I still had no idea what today’s episode of Stuff I Learned

I’m a terrible golfer.  On a regulation course, I’ve only broken 100 one time.  I don’t go very often, maybe once or twice a year, so it’s no surprise that I’m not very good.  Some people are naturally gifted at it and able to at least play near par without too much practice, but I am not one of those people.  In fact, if it is any kind of sport or athletic contest, I can assure you that the words naturally gifted would be the last thing anyone would say about me. But that does not mean that I do not enjoy playing golf.  I really do enjoy it.  I enjoy being outside and enjoying the scenery.  I enjoy the time I get to spend with those I golf with.  I enjoy trying to analyze what I’m doing wrong and trying to improve on my next effort.  I look at it like a puzzle...a very bad golfing puzzle. When I lived in Texas, I didn’t really have anyone to golf with, and I wanted to try out one of the local municipal courses.  My wife is not at all interested in golfing, but she thought it would be fun to get some sun.  Sh

When my neighbors, Allen and Mandy moved in a few years ago, their lawn was kind of lackluster.  It was a brand new house with new sod.  Most of the sod had taken root and was filling in pretty nicely, but it was just an average lawn.  There was one spot in particular that the sod was not growing.  Since it was a new home with new sod, the home builder came back out and laid down some fresh sod in that area. Allen and Mandy watered it, fertilized it, and did all they could to get it to take root, but it died again.  The grass in the rest of their yard was now looking really good.  It was green, thick, and healthy looking...with a very noticeable dead spot right in the middle of the yard out near the curb.  I didn’t really pay too much attention to how it happened or how long it took, but eventually, they managed to get the grass to grow.   My lawn is very average, and I think that is being generous.  It has weeds, there are a few thin spots in the grass, and it’s not very inviting.  When you walk on Allen and

Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday.  My name is Darrell Darnell, I got paddled at school every single year except Kindergarten, 4th grade, 9th grade, and 12th grade, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living.  In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I’m happy to share another installment of the Friday Forum, dedicated to stuff learned from teachers. Read More... The post 35- Friday Forum Teacher Edition appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.

Really?  An internet video?  Yesterday’s episode tackled big topics like racism, homosexuality, religion, and politics, and today I’m offering wisdom from a YouTube video?  Yep.  That’s how I roll. I have come to the conclusion that I am a sucker for those inspiration audition videos from The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and the like.  I don’t watch those shows.  I don’t really care for reality TV.  You may not watch them either, but you probably know the videos I’m talking about.  I’m talking about the video of Susan Boyle, who walked out on the stage of Britain's Got Talent a disheveled mess and walked off an internationally recognized name.   I see these videos show up in my Facebook timeline from time to time with a comment from one of my friends that says something to the effect of, “Wow, this blew me away!”  I usually scoff and tell myself that I don’t have time to watch a silly audition video from a reality show...and then I click on it.  By the time the video is over my mouth is open in shock and ey

Today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday is one that I’ve had in mind to do since the beginning, but I’ve been putting it off.  I wanted to make sure that when I did it, I had time to really think it out and choose my words carefully.  The things I’m talking about in today’s episode are the types of things that seem to easily get people get upset.  I don’t know if I’ve chosen the best words.  I don’t know if it’s even possible to choose the best words, but I think it’s time to go for it. The thing that pushed me over the edge to go ahead and do this episode is the recent controversy surrounding Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling.  He’s an educated man, successful in business, and well traveled around the world.  A phone conversation was taped that he had with an associate of his, some say girlfriend, other say she’s an aide.  That’s not important really.  What’s important is that she posted a photo of herself with Magic Johnson to her Instagram page and this deeply bothered Mr. Sterling.  He was

I won something yesterday!  It’s pretty cool, really.  It’s a high quality microphone attachment for Apple devices like the iPad, iPad mini, and iPhone.  It’s called the Zoom iQ5. If it sounds like something that you might find useful, you can check it out at www.goldenspiralmedia.com/iq5.  That’s a link that will take you to B & H Photo and Video.   Would you like to know how I managed to win this really cool microphone?  Here’s my secret.  I entered the sweepstakes.  That’s it.  Now, you may not think I’m being serious but I am.  The reality is that if I would not have entered the sweepstakes, I would not have won the mic. And so it is with our goals.  What is your goal?  Lose weight, publish a book, start a podcast, develop a tutorial, learn how to crochet, build a birdhouse, restore that old car in your garage?  None of those things will ever be done if you never take the first step, and all of them can be accomplished if you do. Now, of course, there is a big difference in taking the first step in w

You know what I enjoy?  Well, lots of things, really, but to be more specific, I enjoy sitting at a computer and producing podcasts or building websites.  I can easily spend over 12 hours a day doing that stuff and not feel tired.  You know what I don’t enjoy?  Working out in my yard. As you probably know by now, it was right at a year ago when I left the company I had worked for for 19 years so that I could follow my dream of producing podcasts and building websites full time.  Last year I was focused totally on my business and saw my yard as even more of a nuisance than I normally do.  I kept up with mowing it, but that was all.  Since my wife doesn’t like yardwork either, this meant that our flower beds were totally ignored all year. We hated not giving them any attention and were really embarrassed by how terrible they looked.  We have two flower beds in our front yard.  One of them contained a big bushy plant that must be the most resilient plant on the earth, and the dead stems of a plant that didn’t ha

Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday.  My name is Darrell Darnell, when I was 9 I sat on the front row of the movie The Return of the Living Dead just to prove to my brothers that I was brave, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living.  In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I’m happy to share another installment of the Friday Forum. Read More... The post 30-Friday Forum appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts & More.