Insights Into Things

Returning from the holiday we give you a deep dive into our adventures at Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We look at the overall ambiance, the vendors, the rides and the completely immersive feeling of actually being on the planet Batuu. It's one of the most unique experiences we've ever had in over twenty trips to Walt Disney World in Florida. We've got footage of the experience, interactions with cast, building a lightsaber at Savi's workshop and much of the Rise of the Resistance ride.
In entertainment news we'll recap what was an incredible season finale of the Mandalorian then give our impressions, though not our rant on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. A fitting end to the saga that could have been a little more polished for our liking. All in all another great podcast.

Fresh off a two week holiday break your hosts are back discussing our various adventures while away from the studio. We talk about how to keep a teenager occupied on an eleven plus hour drive. What it's like to stay at four different Disney Vacation Club resorts and some of the activities available. Then we'll give you a detailed look at the new Galaxy's Edge world of Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu recently opened at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park and some of the cool things we were able to do there.

In this holiday themed episode we take a look at the experimental new ride queing system Disney is using to manage crowds with the new Rise of the Resistance ride at Galaxy's Edge in Orlando Florida. We also talk about Bob Iger's olive branch to Martin Scorsese regarding the on going tumult surrounding the famed directors opinion of Disney's superhero movies. We'll then look at a heart warming story of a fan's gift to Olivia Newton-John and we'll talk a bit about the much anticipated return of season 4 of The Expanse on Amazon Prime Video before winding down with a few holiday themed Insightful Picks of the Week and a very special holiday project our hosts have been working on for a few weeks as a present to all of our loyal audience.
We'll be back in the New Year after a brief hiatus over the holidays with more great podcasts!
We wish each and every one of you a happy and healthy holiday and a wonderful new year.

This week we take a break from our more serious topics to celebrate the holidays and explore the nature and origins of Santa Claus. From a 3rd century monk named Saint Nicholas to the familiar depiction given to us by Thomas Nast to the classic portrayal in Clement C. Moore's poem all the way up to the familiar department store Santa's kids line up to talk to every year we look at Santa through the years. We also compare Christmas traditions from around the world and look for similarities that link them all together. Ultimately we address the burning questions of "Is Santa Claus real" and "Do you believe in Santa Claus". We close with a very special creative presentation from all of our hosts for this joyous holiday.
Thank you to all of our viewers over these past 46 episodes. We'll be taking a brief hiatus and will be back after the new year with more great podcasts. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone!

How do you direct a show like The Mandalorian and somehow convince your children ages 6 and 11 to keep Baby Yoda a secret? We talk about how Bryce Dallas Howard accomplished this very thing. We'll also take a look at the issues surrounding merchandise for the show and we'll talk about the opening of the new Rise of the Resistance ride in Walt Disney World.
In Entertainment News we'll look at how Tiffany Haddish is embracing her Jewish identity. We will grudgingly acknowledge the honor bestowed upon "The Irishman" by the National Board of Review who apparently think there's an overall shortage of Mafia movies and that we needed yet another Martin Scorsese Mafia movie with the same actors playing all too similar roles as so many others.

This week we follow up on some of the things we discussed in last weeks Body Image podcast when we discuss Eating Disorders. We highlight two specific disorders, Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. We look at some of the common symptoms and learn the signs to watch out for so that we can help out those who might be suffering from these afflictions.
 
We also take a look at a typical teen diet, some of the challenges facing teens with meal scheduling and nutrition. We learn that despite what we might consider unhealthy eating habits that each of us is unique in our dietary needs and that we can not look at our eating habits from meal to meal. We have to look at our eating habits as a long term dietary regimen to ensure a healthy lifestyle

This week the show is unintentionally space themed as we talk about some accomplishments of The Mandalorian, an impressive Star Wars merchandise auction, and a feel good Star Wars story about what Disney is doing for a dying fan. In our Entertainment News this week we look at the latest Star Wars The Last Jedi trailer that's less a trailer and more a summation of the journey and intro into what the new movie symbolizes, then we have a return of the alien everyone fell in love with in the '80s and a space faring couple who had called it quits but appear to be back together again.

From our family to yours, enjoy this holiday classic narrated by our show hosts.

What is body image and what is the significance of negative or positive body image? We'll discuss this as well as the common causes of body image issues, the impact it has on a developing teen and at what age the issue of body image begins to play a part in our children. We'll also look at the warning signs of negative body image, look at some interesting statistics on body image and offer some helpful hints on how to help your teens deal with negative body image.

We take a deep dive into the effect but sometimes controversial monetization strategies of videos games. We'll look at the various types of monetization outlets, strategies and pro's and con's of each methodology. We'll also take a briefly look at the history of video games and how they've traditionally been monetized in the past before we look at today's modern crop of video games and how developers are making money on them. We'll explore concepts such as subscriptions, micro-transations, free to play, advertising and much more. We examine traditional retail as well as digital distribution models and how to fit into the evolving technology available to game manufacturers. An examination of past game companies and where their business models failed gives us a glimpse into today's strategies and money making decisions. Finally we'll look at the future of gaming monetization. From the economics of the current models and how they align with other similar subscription based industries to the government regulation that micro-transactions and loot crates are forcing various legal entities around the world to investigate for potential violations of gambling ordinances. We look at the direction of the video game industry and how it's going to impact us in the coming years not just in the video game industry but across the board.