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My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

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Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#31

Post by thedailymail »

dvasdekis wrote: post #26

We should also never forget the classic gaming inspired by Charles Barkley - Barkley, Shut Up and Jam![1], or the spin-off RPG, Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkley_Shut_Up_and_Jam ! [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkley,_Shut_Up_and_Jam:_Gaid...

The plot of Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden sounds awesome:

"The game starts off in 2041, twelve years prior to the main part of the game, in "post-cyberpocalyptic Neo New York". Charles Barkley performed a powerful dunk called a Chaos Dunk at a basketball game, inadvertently killing most of the people in attendance. As a result, basketball was outlawed and many basketball players were hunted down and killed. In 2053, another Chaos Dunk is performed in Manhattan, killing millions. Barkley is blamed for the Chaos Dunk and is hunted by the B-Ball Removal Department, led by Michael Jordan."

(It just gets weirder from there)

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#32

Post by sueders101 »

billforsternz wrote: post #3

This is a lovely and charming story...but. The whole premise is that the relationship between the suburban dad and the celebrity was somehow weird and unbelievable. I see that, but it's a shame we can't turn the world on its head somehow so that it would be just everyday normality. Celebrity culture has elevated some people to a kind of otherness. But they're just people.

I agree that this should just be everyday normality. However there seems to be wave of recent popular articles and essays about an epidemic of loneliness. I think essays like this can serve as a positive example of how to interact with/behave towards others and hopefully try to improve social well-being. It’s certainly not the end, but I like to think it can help.

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#33

Post by ronyeh »

king_phil wrote: post #9
ronyeh wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the end it's a story of a dude who ran into another dude and they hit it off over drinks and dinner. Then over the years they'd catch up and share stories of their lives and their children. But the difference here is one guy is a celebrity and probably had a very very busy day to day schedule. Even then, he'd make time to meet up with Mr. Wang when they were in the same town. I think the story is interesting becau…

I think the "very very very busy schedule" misses the point. Everbody has stuff to do, and things that are hard or (almost) impossible to reschedule. But everybody has a personal life, and can and will take time for it. One thing I sometimes say (not sure if it's from somewhere else, and I certainly failt to live up to it myself, sometimes): "You don't have time, you take it". Things just need to be more important th…

Well said. I think what I was trying to say was, despite our common perception of a celebrity's busy life (full of parties, speaking engagements, sponsor events), Sir Charles is just a normal person like us. He made time to hang out with his friends.

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#34

Post by nl »

sndean wrote: post #23
gwern wrote: post #19

I was hoping to hear more about his cat litter work. What did he do? Did he ever talk about it with Barkley? etc

> I was hoping to hear more about his cat litter work Of course it could be a different Lin Wang working in this area, but it looks like he has a few patents for new absorbent materials and related things [0, 1]. [0] https://patents.google.com/patent/US5849405A/en?inventor=Lin... [1] https://patents.google.com/patent/US7757638B2/en

Cat Litter (and other absorbency products like diapers) are one of the most competitive areas of consumer material science.

I read a great article about how there is continual pressure the shrink the shelf space they take from super markets, and that has led to some pretty interesting breakthroughs in science.

I can't find the article now of course.

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#35

Post by joshmn »

muhneesh wrote: post #2

I watch Inside the NBA almost religiously - it's such a perfect show sometimes. It's not your typical ESPN or Fox Sports commentary show where an anchor talks about a player's "tenacious tenacity". It's a show that presents itself as a place where four friends talk about a shared interest. To accomplish this, they need to be comfortable talking to each other without being confined to the sports equivalent of politica…

Rings Erneh

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#37

Post by cmstoken »

duxup wrote: post #10
muhneesh wrote: post #2

I watch Inside the NBA almost religiously - it's such a perfect show sometimes. It's not your typical ESPN or Fox Sports commentary show where an anchor talks about a player's "tenacious tenacity". It's a show that presents itself as a place where four friends talk about a shared interest. To accomplish this, they need to be comfortable talking to each other without being confined to the sports equivalent of politica…

Actual chemistry between the folks on screen that produces results that seem like ... actual chemistry seems really undervalued / rare these days. I love reading / watching sports.... sports shows that aren't the sports them-self are almost always so bad and wonky. Inside the NBA is a noteworthy example of what it should be.

ESPN FC crew is also great for those who watch soccer/football.

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#38

Post by dmix »

duxup wrote: post #10
muhneesh wrote: post #2

I watch Inside the NBA almost religiously - it's such a perfect show sometimes. It's not your typical ESPN or Fox Sports commentary show where an anchor talks about a player's "tenacious tenacity". It's a show that presents itself as a place where four friends talk about a shared interest. To accomplish this, they need to be comfortable talking to each other without being confined to the sports equivalent of politica…

Actual chemistry between the folks on screen that produces results that seem like ... actual chemistry seems really undervalued / rare these days. I love reading / watching sports.... sports shows that aren't the sports them-self are almost always so bad and wonky. Inside the NBA is a noteworthy example of what it should be.

> actual chemistry seems really undervalued / rare these days.

It's because they are almost always forced board-room designed politically correct arrangements of hosts: the old white guy with plenty of industry experience, the sassy girl who keeps the guys in check, and third is usually an ex-athlete (usually black) guy OR (more often on radio) the "wild and crazy" guy who says wacky stuff.

They aren't chosen for their chemistry together, existing friendships, or w/e else makes people gel... but instead for fitting some Hollywood-esque pre-existing model that checks off all the checkboxes.

NBA inside works because they have a couple of rare personalities you wouldnt normally find in the usual talking-head talent pools with Shaq and Barkley plus a really great "old industry experienced guy" Ernie Johnson... (and honourable mention neutral guy Kenny Smith).

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#39

Post by pmart123 »

bigtones wrote: post #11

This was such a lovely story it made me tear up. Barkley does come across as a really nice guy on television and his friendship with Shaq is legendary, so it's great to hear confirmation that that is really the case. And Charles words at the funeral were brief but genuine and warm. Great afternoon read.

This happened to me too, but at work haha.

One thing that I always appreciated about Barkley growing up was his ability to be sincere and relatable; he speaks from the heart.

Re: My Dad's Friendship with Charles Barkley

#40

Post by mav3rick »

dmix wrote: post #38
duxup wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual chemistry between the folks on screen that produces results that seem like ... actual chemistry seems really undervalued / rare these days. I love reading / watching sports.... sports shows that aren't the sports them-self are almost always so bad and wonky. Inside the NBA is a noteworthy example of what it should be.

> actual chemistry seems really undervalued / rare these days. It's because they are almost always forced board-room designed politically correct arrangements of hosts: the old white guy with plenty of industry experience, the sassy girl who keeps the guys in check, and third is usually an ex-athlete (usually black) guy OR (more often on radio) the "wild and crazy" guy who says wacky stuff. They aren't chosen for the…

I like Skip and Shannon.
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