The real Oregon Trail Generation

....previously on The Real OTG podcast: it's a continuation of the candid cartoon collaboration. We geeked out so much on 80s cartoons that we have to spoon feed it to the listener over two episodes, rather than open the firehouse into their cartoon-lovin' faceholes! We hope you enjoy the end of this journey with the ghosts of cartoons past.P.S. We missed you all so much after being gone so long we decided to throw both of these episodes up together. We didn't want to leave you all in suspense like those damn shows that tortured our Saturday mornings until the following week. I'm looking at you, G.I. Joe; teasing the watchers more than a Cheetara-centered episode of Thundercats.

Soooooo.......we know it's been a minute since we last uploaded an episode. Without getting too into the weeds with personal business, let's just say that we've had a lot of life changes that have limited our time to dedicate toward The Real OTG. Not to mention that we're a couple of workin' stiffs who do all the research/recording/editing for this side hustle of ours (as most millennials apparently have), so cut us some slack! J/KWith that disclaimer, we hope you enjoy this very fun dive into a calamitous cloud of cartoon conversations from our childhood. Come with us as we reminisce about 80s classics from He-Man to Transformers and everything in between that you may have forgotten about (or actively chose to forget about). So, grab make your fort in front of the TV, a bowl of sugar-covered cereal, and ride along with us on the trail toward the cartoon express.FYI, we had so much fun doing this one that it had be to two parts which means it's....to be continued....

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, there wasn't much discussion about "mental health", unless it was crammed into a very special episode of a sitcom and was awkwardly laced with laugh tracks. Though it wasn't uncommon for people to see therapists back then, it wasn't quite normalized just yet and it definitely wasn't as acceptable for young boys to talk about depression and crying. This has changed a lot over the last 20 years and we believe the Oregon Trail Generation played a big part in making mental health something to discuss at the dinner table in between half-frozen bites of Kid Cuisine. As usual, expect a couple of inappropriate jokes sprinkled in between frank discussions of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts...you know...to keep it light-hearted.

We're back! After a long needed holiday break, we've jumped back on the saddle and ready to ride out to the woods for a quick hunting side mission. Today's episode is a straight up, nostalgic throwback to our fellow high school graduates of 1999. This is dedicated to those TRULY 90s kids, not just some Gen Z'er throwing up a meme of SpongeBob and claiming to feel old. From a flood of pop music queens, to the Y2K scare, to some of the biggest cult classic TV Shows and movies of our generation, we explore everything our brains could muster up about this notorious year...at least the memories that haven't been smoked/drunken away. So, fire up the hunting rifle for a short stroll down 1999 Memory Lane.

We're back! That's right, after a much needed break - hey, we have day jobs...cut us some slack - we bring unto you a gift just in time for the holidays, with some reflection upon the struggle our OTG has with growing up. As we discuss how various generations define maturity, we journey through how our generation grapples with its own definition of what being an adult really means. We reminisce on the things from our past that we continue to cling to, like cartoons and toys, and have frank discussions on possible culprits that trapped us in our youth, like lacking access to real estate and consumerist culture. So, grab your collectible action figures and turn on your Adult Swim, we're going to talk about adulting and stuff and whatever.

Today's episode will involve a frank discussion of, well...everything. Come get sauced with us and do the Urkel while we reminisce about sitcoms' we grew up with and their cringe worthy attempt at tackling tabu topics. The good, the bad, and the ugly bicycle repairman who just "wants to take some pictures". We D.A.R.E. you to spark one up and join the awkward silence of a live studio audience from some of the best & worst attempts in sitcom history to address serious (...sort of) issues. Are you so excited about this episode that you're dancing around like a teenager hopped up on speed, I mean caffeine pills? We sure as hell are!

Like that case of Herpes you caught in Thailand, this episode is all about that 1980s tune you can't get rid of. You know, that one hit from that guy that you heard from that album on that radio station you used to listen to? What else did they sing? Oh, right...nothing. On this edition of the Real OTG, we look back on all those pop hits you always find yourself dancing along to to at the 80s throwback night at the club but couldn't name the artist if your life depended on it.

Costumes, drinking, Diah-beetus, and other experiences of Halloween get touched upon like a Catholic school boy for this episode. From lies about razor blades in our apples to the creation of the laziest Halloween tradition ever, Trunk-or-Treating, we talk about all the changes our generation has experienced with this most beloved and darkest of holidays.

Howdy all and thanks for riding along with is and continuing to tune in! In this our seventh episode, we're discussing video games, but specifically, video game consoles. We discuss the history of the different console generations established by video game historians (yeah, that's a thing) and talk about some of the highlights or points of fact for each generation. We end talking about the current generation and what we thing the future has in store for us. Buckle in for some extra nerdy goodness! 

I WANT MY MTV!! Or at least I used to want it. Now....ehhhRemember when MTV, Music Television, actually played music and wasn't full of garbage reality shows? Well, we do. The things is, at one point and time, MTV was pretty awesome. In this episode, we'll be discussing how MTV got started (Ted Turner and marijuana were involved), it's fledgling beginnings, meteoric rise and eventual descent into the doodoo it is today. Ride along and enjoy!

Explosions, gratuitous nudity, unabashed violence, quips, catch phrases,  paper thin plots! These are a few of my favorite things and are what made action movies from the 80s so fun and amazing. In this episode, we'll be full contact tackling 80s action movies, from the bad to the good and everywhere in between. We'll discuss growing up watching these movies at wildly inappropriate ages and how that influenced us later in life as well. We'll of course be discussing the unstoppable action hero archetype with the rise of Arnold, Stallone and Chuck-fucking-Norris among other cool stuff. Ride along and enjoy!

Grueling pace edition. A rough topic, but what that needs to be addressed no matter what. No jokes, quips or funny sponsors.Just saying Black Lives Matter is going to piss some people off. If that phrase offends you, then just don't listen to us. Recorded at the beginning of June, shortly after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and calls to justice after his murder. In this episode, we discuss the systemic racism and inequality of justice among people of color that lead to George Floyd's death. We also get into the frightening power we have given police, their willingness to hurt and kill as opposed to deescalate, the inaction of police unions to punish those who commit more harm than good to society and what we as a society can do about it in the future.

This time on the trail we are discussing social media. We go into a brief history of the origins of modern social media (BBS and 6 Degrees) and how all of that led to Myspace and Facebook and all those other platforms where you can share pictures of your food, and I guess other things.

In this episode, we talk about porn in all of it's gooey glory! As a special tribute, this episode is dedicated to one of our closest friends who is no longer with us, but I am sure he is laughing wherever he may be in the afterlife.

In this our very first episode, we are going to discuss what exactly The Oregon Trail Generation is and what it encompasses. We'll be talking about various subjects from our  generational perspective, which because of when we were born, gives us a unique outlook in comparison to other generations..