It's guy love--love between two guys.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/blog/31297
About a year ago, I had the distinct pleasure of having former NWR alum Nathan Mustafa over to my house. He was in town for some kind of architect conference, which is ironic because Anchorage has some incredibly ugly architecture. But he came over and we recorded http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newscast/27183 " target="_blank">Episode 61 of the NWR Newscast, widely considered to be the greatest episode ever released. But then we got down to brass tax: Resident Evil 5 multiplayer was the name of the game. Nathan also saw all my girlie figures, laughed very hard, then suddenly realized that I was married. To this day, he doesn’t understand how those two things coexist. Nathan also confirmed what I’d always suspected: Anchorage has an absolutely unforgivable traffic light system. We apparently don’t have “traffic,” though. OK, Mr. Los Angeles, whatever you say! But having Nathan here was great, and we had a ball.
Just last weekend, another Newscast/Connectivity co-host visited my humble home and state: Neal Ronaghan, our iron-fisted site director and his hot wife, Lauren, who was once the Staff Harvest Moon Editor. They’d just been on an Alaska cruise that had taken them up the coast of Alaska from Vancouver to Seward, stopping at every Podunk shore-leave tourist town along the way. They learned that every tourist shop has the same crap, and that the cruise line pushes diamonds very hard. They saw breaching humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and dined on Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister). Eventually they stepped off the boat and onto a tour bus, which drove them from the coastal town of Seward to the… coastal town of Anchorage. They met my wife and I at Moose’s Tooth, which has the best pizza in the United States.After that, we headed back to my house to unwind. I gave them both the grand tour of our simple ranch-style house. They met our animals—Ozzie the corgi and Catsby the tabby. Everyone got along famously.
Earlier that day, a mysterious package arrived in the mail. Neal and I could not contain our excitement—with quivering hands, we opened the box and discovered the 3DS XL inside. Everyone was tired and it was time for bed, but we couldn’t help but take out that giant handheld and behold its Goliath-like massiveness. The next few days are a blur, but we watched the first two Paranormal Activity movies and The Other Guys. We played around with video recording the 3DS XL (none of our computers would support HD video). We ate Mexican food and visited Bosco’s, the local comic shop, where Neal found a copy of Gremlins 2 for the NES.
For my money, the best part was when Neal, Lauren, my wife and I met up with my Frozen North Dinnercast co-hosts and we all recorded a legen—wait for it—dary episode of that show. I had to cut out about 20 minutes that aren’t fit for air. Nothing like Karl’s infamous “red velvet” story, but close enough. That episode is up on iTunes and ready for consumption. If you don’t already listen to the Frozen North Dinnercast, now’s a good time: it’s one of the http://www.crosstawk.com/ " target="_blank">Crosstawk podcasts and it is, frankly, hilarious. It’s even better with Neal and Lauren on; I wish they were permanent co-hosts. By the end of their three-day stay, my wife declared them our best couple friends—no small feat!
Our last moments were spent playing almost every fighting game I own. We discovered Neal is some kind of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 savant. I eventually got sick of being owned, so we threw in Soulcalibur IV (pretty even on that one). Then I threw down the gauntlet* and hooked up my PS2 while Neal was visiting the little boy's room and we played some muthaf*ckin' Primal Rage. I think I won the majority of matches, and we realized Primal Rage doesn't hold up as well as you might think. Were I to ever own an arcade cabinet, though, this would be it. To this day, there is not an arcade-perfect port of that game. After getting sick of that game, it was time for Smash Bros. Brawl. Lauren jumped in on that one. We'd all forgotten how to play, so the first round or two were more hilarious than productive. Eventually, Lauren stopped but Neal and I pressed on, coming out equal. Unfortunately, our favorite characters weren't available, because as far as my "replacement" Wii was concerned, Smash Bros. Brawl was a brand-new game.
Then I took Neal and Lauren to the airport, where we shared a tearful farewell. I may be exaggerating the tearful part—I was the only one weeping like a baby (though there may have been some man-tears on Neal's part, too). The nice thing about Neal is that he is exactly the same guy you hear on the Connectivity. He puts on no airs and he's just Neal Ronaghan, no apologies. He is a genuinely nice guy, and I can say the same of his super-intelligent and gorgeous wife. She also blurts adorable phrases like "hot minute." I hope we see each other again like this sometime. Maybe I'll go to PAX East one of these days and stay with Neal and Lauren. They crossed the continent to come see me, so I should return the favor, right? For a taste of the insanity Neal and Lauren brought to the table, just listen to the latest episode of the Frozen North Dinnercast! You might say it's Neal "unplugged." It's a hoot.
*Microsoft Word suggested this phrase be replaced by "issued a challenge." Screw you, Word; I said what I meant, and I meant what I said.
Neal meets "the girls." They got along swimmingly. BILinkHTML
Topic: Of Nerds and Men: When Worlds Collide (Read 1304 times)
