December 2019 – DaveGladow.com

WhoDatJedi Podcast: The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 8: ‘This is the Way’

The Mandalorian mantra we hear throughout Season 1 of the series of the same name is “This is the Way.” It’s a simple message but can be applied to multiple situations in many contexts, making it an instant catch phrase (and a smart bit of writing).

That phrase is appropriate when discussing Chapter 8, the final chapter of Season 1, because this is the episode where the Mandalorian truly embraces his new path.

We talk about that on this week’s podcast, along with a certain reveal of a certain object that has everyone (including us) going crazy.

Kansas State football’s 20 best wins of the last decade

Okay, let’s do this.

The Kansas State football team has had a number of big wins over the past decade. The two-year run in 2011 and 2012 could have filled an entire list by itself. But the program’s success extends beyond those two seasons. And every player who contributed to the program deserves recognition in some way.

So with that in mind, I established a couple of ground rules in putting together a best wins of the decade countdown. Firstly, I figured it would be fairest to all individuals to make sure every single KSU team of the decade was represented. To do that effectively, there was no way I could limit this list to 10 or even 15. So 20 was the number I settled on.

I also wanted every Big 12 opponent K-State defeated to appear on the list and a range of non-conference opponents too. The only exception to this rule here is Missouri, which barely missed the cut as being a part of an ugly-as-sin game and only sharing the conference with KSU for two seasons. Hey, it was satisfying as heck to send them out with a loss, but the concession needed to be made to make room for everything else. Consider that game our honorable mention.

And with that, we can get rolling. Here is my take on K-State’s 20 best wins of the decade.

WhoDatJedi Podcast: The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 7: Are we on schedule?

The WhoDatJedi Podcast returns with a deeper look at “Lone Wolf and Cub.” What is it? Why is it important? And what’s the deal with force healing?

We talk about that stuff and a whole lot more (including our initial reactions to “Rise of Skywalker” and whether the series feels like it’s “on schedule” or not).

WhoDatJedi Podcast — The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 6: Escaping our Prisons

After six episodes, do we know if there’s a bigger point or theme to “The Mandalorian?”

For such a serialized show, the plot might well be less important than the theme, and that theme has to do with armor.

This episode of our Mandalorian podcast does a deep dive on armor: What it means to our title character and his culture, how removing “armor” is the one continued unfolding story, and all the examples of armor removal continuing to turn up in the plotting and background.

WhoDatJedi Podcast — The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 5: All of the gunslingers!

Who is the gunslinger?

When it comes to the name of this episode of “The Mandalorian,” that question can be answered about twelve different ways. The most compelling approach involves the speculation of the figure at the end.

Who IS that guy?

Well, we don’t know. But we can guess. And that’s the focus of our Mandalorian podcast this episode.

Solo retrospective: Crawling out of the sewer

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”
― Henry David Thoreau

Star Wars — since the very beginning — has been completely intertwined with the concept of rebellion. George Lucas, himself rebel-minded when it came to the existing shackles of the day in the Hollywood system, set out to not only tell HIS story in HIS way with the original “Star Wars” in 1977, he also burned the candle at both ends to ensure he would be able to continue to do so into the future. He then laid all of those threads of rebellion into his “space fantasy” film in as overt a fashion as possible.*

* Notably, his previous film, “American Graffiti” was overtly rebellious as well.

Indeed, strip out the magnificent world building and brilliant riffs on epic storytelling done in Star Wars, and what are you left with? What is the point?

Well, in a global sense, the conflict is the point, and said conflict arises from the yin and yang of oppression and rebellion.

As I’m fond of saying, it’s called Star WARS for a reason.

However, looking beyond the black and white conflict of the Rebellion and the Empire, you’ll still see this theme at play within the character of Han Solo, the handsome roguish smuggler who plays by his own rules and doesn’t adhere to societal conventions. Moreover, he actively seeks to avoid being trapped into situations that threaten his “freedom,” and in the process, he becomes one of the most iconic characters in modern film history.

If you decide, as a company, that THIS character’s back story is worthy of its own feature film (as Disney did), you also decide that themes of freedom, subjugation, slavery, conflict and rebellion are going to be a major part of said film.

WhoDatJedi Podcast — The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 4: The Magnificent Mando

The Mandalorian podcast took an interesting turn this week. To coincide with now back-to-back episodes of the series being helmed by female directors, our conversation delved into critiques of the casting and creative choices and how gender bias can factor into those critiques.

WhoDatJedi Podcast — The Mandalorian Season 1, Episode 3: Choking hazards can be fun

Here’s my third go-around with Aaron and Fredo on The Mandalorian podcast we’ve started, and it’s a fun one. We take a little closer look at the gaggle of Mandalorians, the doctor (what’s his deal anyway?), how themes of human connection and parental roles continue to filter into the story, and more.