Marriage Mayhem, Spoontastic Sojourns, and More with Martin Gage

Martin Gage: 00:00:00

So I think for a lot of people, a lot of boys especially, I'd say graphic novels will get them into the world of reading because it's a little more inviting.

And I think that's great because just because it's not as many words doesn't mean they're not reading something complicated and pushing themselves, you know?

Danny Brown: 00:00:17

Hi, and welcome to 5 Random Questions, the show with unexpected questions and unfiltered answers. I'm your host, Danny Brown, and each week I'll be asking my guests five questions created by a random question generator.

The guest has no idea what the questions are and neither do I, which means this could go either way. So sit back, relax, and let's dive into this week's episode. Today's guest is Martin Gage.

Martin is a vice principal, children's podcast host, author, tractor influencer. And he says big guy, a little tractor, and third degree black belt.

So I'll make sure that the questions do not get too hard because I don't want I'm jumping through the screen for this. His podcast, Dad's Bedtime Stories, shares his first person stories designed to get kids to sleep. So, Martin, welcome to 5 Random Questions.

Martin Gage: 00:01:01

Thank you for having me.

Danny Brown: 00:01:03

You're very welcome. And third dan black belt that I did a little bit of karate way, way back in the day, maybe for a year or so, tops. Third dan black belt.

How long does that take you to get to that level? That one?

Martin Gage: 00:01:15

It depends on what kind of martial arts you do. For sure, there's like, black belts are all over the place. Jiu jitsu would take a lot longer and stuff like that in a lot of cases.

But for me, I think it was five years to get to first degree black belt and then a couple years to get to second degree and a couple years to get to third degree after that.

Danny Brown: 00:01:37

And what is that? Is that in karate? Is that in what.

Martin Gage: 00:01:40

Yeah, I do. I did a style called Okinawan Goju Karate. So it's karate from the birthplace of karate, which is in Okinawa, kind of between Japan and China.

It's part of Japan officially, but it's used to be a port between the two, I believe.

Danny Brown: 00:01:57

And obviously, like you mentioned, you've, you've studied it for a while and it's taken a while to get there. And there's different, you know, dance, etc.

Based on the, the martial art that you are trained for as someone that is experienced obviously in martial arts. What do you think of the Cobra Kai and Karate Kid? You love it?

Martin Gage: 00:02:17

Yeah, I love it. I don't Know if I love it because. Well, for one, it's actually Miyagi do is the style of.

It's based on Goju Karate because Chojin Miyagi actually made Goju Karate. And so in the original series, some of those like katas and the moves and stuff are actually based on Goju Karate.

But I just love it for the nostalgia effect and the whole. Yeah. The whole idea that they meet up years later and still have this feud going on. I just find the whole thing hilarious. Actually. It's over the top.

But have you been watching it too, or.

Danny Brown: 00:02:53

Yeah, I am like, you see, I. I love the original Karate Kid movies. And so when I saw it was the pretty much the original crew coming back and they did it with such love as well, which I feel comes across in the show.

And it's like. It's a way how you can really like, re. Like bring out an old know universe if you like, to a new audience. So, yeah, I love it.

I think they did it really well. I'm looking forward to the new Karate Kid movie, like the crossover with Jackie Chan and Daniel. Daniel LaRusso. That's his character, Ralph Macchio.

Martin Gage: 00:03:26

Yeah. Yeah.

Danny Brown: 00:03:27

So, yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I. I enjoyed it, mate.

Martin Gage: 00:03:30

No, I didn't even know that was happening, actually. I'm going to have to look that up.

Danny Brown: 00:03:33

I think that's out this summer, actually. It's going to be out in the next term, if it's not already. I think it's going to be out in the next couple of months.

But yeah, they're bringing Jackie Chan from the. The new Karate Kid I. And then Ralph Mackie off in the original crack and they're combining it into like the same universe almost.

Martin Gage: 00:03:49

Oh, that'd be a fun time.

Danny Brown: 00:03:50

It does. The trailer looks really good, so I'm looking forward to that. And I'd mentioned in the introduction there that you're a tractor influencer.

And we spoke in the green room before coming on here that you have a tractor YouTube channel. So a, how does one become a tractor influencer? And B, what is anti helmet?

Martin Gage: 00:04:09

Yeah, so number one, you have to have a tractor. Yeah. And. And so I had a tractor, like a little tractor. I've got a little Kubota bx, which is kind of a.

It's like a step up from a lawn tractor with a bucket and everything. And just one day I thought, hey, I wonder if YouTube will pay me to do work around my own house.

And so I started just videotaping myself plowing snow and somehow people watch that for whatever reason. And I just kept videotaping myself plowing snow and it got monetized. And it actually does pretty well in the winter.

I have to figure out something to do in the summer, though. I don't have as many tractor jobs in the summer, so.

Danny Brown: 00:04:51

Yeah, you have to, like, summer gone around and maybe clearing debris from beaches or something like that.

Martin Gage: 00:04:57

Well, I just. I just purchased a band sawmill, like, so a miniature sawmill.

So I'll be having fun with that in the next couple of weeks, I think, too, so it might find its way onto the channel as well.

Danny Brown: 00:05:10

It does amaze me. I used to work for a marketing agency way back, like maybe seven, eight years ago or something.

And one of the clients we had was a company that made hardware, outdoor power tools for lawn maintenance and people that look after yards and golf courses, etc. I can remember the proper names. And that's a massive industry.

There's huge trade shows and everything, which I would never have known had he not worked for that agency.

So, like you say, it's always amazing how people will watch something like someone on a tractor clearing snow, for example, and it turns it into a nice, you know, channel for you as well.

Martin Gage: 00:05:45

Yeah, it's pretty funny. I. I didn't actually think people would watch it enough to get it monetized, but it did. So it was. It's just.

Yeah, it was kind of honestly started a bit as a joke just to see if it would happen. And then you get really into it. Right.

get monetized on YouTube and: 4000

Danny Brown: 00:06:09

Awesome. Well, I appreciate you coming on today and obviously we may even get some questions about tractors and kids stories as well, obviously from podcast.

So are you ready to jump into the five random questions hot seat?

Martin Gage: 00:06:24

I'm as ready as I can be, I think.

Danny Brown: 00:06:28

Alrighty, let's bring up the random question generator. Okay. Mar, that's not. Not a bad one to start with. Nice easy one. Question number one, Martin. What is your favorite party game or board game?

Martin Gage: 00:06:40

You know, immediately I want to say that board games kill me. I. I just can't. Every time I go to a party and people want to play a board game, it drives me nuts for some reason. But kind of any.

Any board game that still allows people to talk and they don't get so intensely into it that all they're thinking about is the board Game I like sort of the social aspect of things. So probably my favorite one would be Settlers of Catan these days if I had to play a board game. And I don't know if I know any party games.

Danny Brown: 00:07:14

Yeah, well, I guess Party Trick would be a different one. But yeah, party game. I mean, it's Twister for example. Would that be like a party game?

Martin Gage: 00:07:20

That would be a party game. I don't think I'd want to play that at a party though. Not anymore.

Danny Brown: 00:07:26

Yeah, I know my bones would not allow me to do that. So the game you mentioned there. Sorry, the board game, the Settlers. Yeah, yeah. What was that? I've never heard of that one, mate.

Martin Gage: 00:07:36

It's.

I'm going to do a terrible job of explaining it because I'm not an expert with it and I have family members who are really, really into it and if they listen to my description, they'll probably be really upset.

But you basically build roads and cities and things like that and you get a certain number of points for having the longest road or the longest wall in a city. So it's like a tile based game where you get to. You sort of select a tile and you place it down on the board and build up a city and try to win.

Danny Brown: 00:08:09

So is it almost like. It kind of sounds like a mix and I apologize to your friends and family that love the game if I do a worse job as well.

It kind of sounds like a mix between say Risk from a growth point of view, but also Monopoly. So you're expanding and from a risk point of view, but you're building property like Monopoly or something or. No.

Martin Gage: 00:08:29

Yeah, I think you could put it that way. And Monopoly would be a game I used to love as a kid. But yeah, I think that's a, that's a relevant one.

It's not quite like Risk where you're trying to take over different areas and things like that, but it's, it's definitely a similar idea.

And it's not like a turn based thing where you're going around a board or something like that, but you basically take a turn picking tiles and putting them down on the boards.

Danny Brown: 00:08:53

And you'd mentioned that you like the games that have a nice social aspect and you said Monopoly. Used to love playing Monopoly.

I recall being a kid, me and my sister would play Monopoly with our dad and he took that super seriously and aggressive and if he was losing, the board would be thrown up in the air. He'd stomp off pieces of money everywhere. Ever had anything like that in the games you've played.

Martin Gage: 00:09:17

I've had that happen with Monopoly with different people, I think. Yeah, my wife won't play Monopoly with me anymore. I just won too.

Too much, I think when we were trying to play Monopoly and she won't even play anymore. And I've seen kids have that exact reaction many times with Monopoly when they're winning or losing. Sorry.

Danny Brown: 00:09:35

Well, yeah, I was going to say we've got two kids. They were younger then, they're teens now, so they're too cool for Monopoly.

But my daughter especially bless her, would get really upset because people were taking our houses, causing her to pay money out. And you're thinking, should we still play this game or not?

Is this going to, you know, am I going to have hundreds and thousands of dollars a, you know, therapy bills later down in life because we played Monopoly as a family.

Martin Gage: 00:09:59

Yeah. You got to select a different game at that point. I guess. Therapy is not inexpensive.

Danny Brown: 00:10:05

No, exactly. And is there any games that, that you would recommend or love from a purely social where you can just get the game secondary.

Um, but everything else just really. It's an excuse to bring people together.

Martin Gage: 00:10:18

I do, I mean, again, I avoid board games whenever I can actually. But that. Yeah, Settlers is the most common one we've played when we get together.

And then there's some silly card game ones we do with the kids that are always fun, but they're really intense. I can't for the life of me remember them. It's like sushi something. Something where you. Yeah.

Oh, this is gonna be a terrible thing without my memory working. It's like a card game where you basically slap down different things and if you hear a certain thing you have to do like an action.

Danny Brown: 00:10:55

Okay.

Martin Gage: 00:10:56

I can't remember what it's called though.

Danny Brown: 00:10:59

It sounds like a typical kids game where they've got all the weird things going on that adults just don't get.

Martin Gage: 00:11:04

Yeah. And this random question generator gave a question about board games to a person who tries to avoid playing them whenever he can. It's at parties.

Danny Brown: 00:11:14

It's almost like I knew and decided, let's try get this one. Keep clicking through till this one pops up. But no, that was not the case. It is as mentioned, as always, it is completely random.

And I will definitely leave the links to that game in the show notes to the Settlers game. So.

Martin Gage: 00:11:29

Yeah, and I did a terrible job of describing it too. So there's, there's a lot more to it. There's like resource building and stuff. But yeah, check it out for sure.

Danny Brown: 00:11:37

And like I say, I'll leave a link to that in the show notes. And if that's a really bad description, shove your anger towards me. I'm the host. All good.

Martin Gage: 00:11:44

Thank you for taking. Taking one for the team on that one.

Danny Brown: 00:11:49

So on that note, let's have a look at question number two. This is perfect for you, actually, Martin, because your podcast is about stories for kids. Martin, question number two. What is your.

Or what was your favorite children's book?

Martin Gage: 00:12:05

I think there's a couple. Probably the ones I really like from my own kids were this series about Bear. Like, bear feels scared. Or there's a whole series of them, actually.

I'd have to go up and look at my daughter's room, but they're kind of like a rhyming cardboard book, one that I really loved. And it's mostly just from reading them with my kids and then from my own childhood. The one I remember the most is.

I think it's called I'll Love youe Forever, Robert Munch book with the whole, you know, the mother sings constantly to the kid, and then when he grows up and becomes a parent, he sings the same song to his own kids. So that's kind of like the one that hits the heart the most, I'd say.

Danny Brown: 00:12:53

So would you say the ones that have got, like, a really emotional, like, feel good, happy side to them or.

Martin Gage: 00:12:59

Yeah, I think when you become a parent, those things hit you in a different way. Right.

When I was a kid, I probably didn't think much about it, but now when you actually become a parent, that love you forever book just hits a different way. Just the ones you're used to reading with your kids over and over again.

Because kids, when they're a certain age, like certain books, and they want to read them again and again and again. So I think I read. Is it the big blue truck? Little blue truck.

The little blue truck thousands of times to my son, and I read the bear books thousands of times to my daughter.

So I think they just have that attachment to kids being that age and remembering what it was like for them to want to read those stories again and again.

Danny Brown: 00:13:40

And is that how you got into your podcast? Are your kids. I mean, how old are your kids, if you don't mind me?

Martin Gage: 00:13:46

Yeah, my kids right now are 10 and 7. And it is kind of. It's. It would be maybe part of how I got into the podcast. I'd say there's.

The main thing that happened was at some point in my career, they suddenly made me the Vice principal of an elementary school and the person who'd been doing the job before me. Part of his job, which was partially teaching, partially vice principal, was kindergarten prep.

And what on the schedule for that was were library periods where I would read books to little kids.

And I'm a high school teacher by trade, so it was really different for me, but I really got into the voices, like reading Franklin the Turtle books and stuff like that I got into. And kids loved terrible accents and different voices and stuff like that that I'd throw in. Yeah. And then just.

It really happened because my son couldn't sleep sometimes, so I would just start making up random stories.

Danny Brown: 00:14:41

And I was going to ask about that. That was one of the things I used to do.

We used to have a cottage years ago, and when our kids were younger, I'd make up stories that involved the kids as the main characters, but really short, like, nothing like the stories that you come up with for the show. And it's just.

It's weird how something simple like that can just make such a huge amount of difference to kids, even though it's, like, not a lot for us as adults to do, but it makes a huge amount of difference for the kids.

Martin Gage: 00:15:07

Yeah. Yeah. To my son, he's like, kind of. He's like me. Like, it's. It's hard to shut his brain off when a lot of new stuff's been happening.

So I think having something really simple to focus on makes a big difference when you're going to bed and getting your mind off all the things that happen that day and just onto something a little simpler. So it made a huge difference for him. At first.

I'd make up these stories and he'd actually fall asleep, which was nice, instead of spinning around in circles and things like that. So.

Danny Brown: 00:15:36

Well, that's it.

I mean, obviously, as they get older, I'm going to assume that your kids haven't really been introduced to the joys I say with air quotes of electronics.

Martin Gage: 00:15:46

Oh, a little bit, yeah. No, they do. They play different things.

I'm like, you know, if the question was about video games, you would have had better answers from me because I do like video games and my kids do play some of those with me and stuff like that. So my kids play. Minecraft is probably their favorite one. I'm sure you've seen it at some point if you have kids building and exploring.

And I like games like that where you get to build things and create things and stuff these days, anyways.

Danny Brown: 00:16:16

Yeah, my kids were all like, my son Especially was a huge Minecraft player. He's more into the sports games now. And my daughter's a big Fortnite gamer, so she'll get her friends online from school.

And it's funny, she's got her headphones on. I watch her. I used to, like, I was original gamer in the household and then the kids sort of took over from me.

But I watched my daughter just zipping through Fortnite. I was just. It'll blow my mind. I could never do that now.

Martin Gage: 00:16:41

No, I. Fortnite's one I've never actually played. I know what it is, but I've never. I never got into it. I think I was just the wrong age at the time when it came out, probably.

And now I like relaxing games. Like, I'm not. I'm not so much into the violence or anything. I like. Stardew Valley would actually be my favorite one.

Danny Brown: 00:16:58

Okay. Yeah, that's a switch game, right?

Martin Gage: 00:17:00

I think it's on. Yeah, it's on everything, I think. But it's just a nice sort of relaxing one.

Danny Brown: 00:17:04

Yeah, I played. There was a game called Brothers I played on Xbox. I think it's on different platforms as well. And the remake just came out. But that was like.

It was a weird game because it was really relaxing.

It was one where you controlled two brothers on an adventure to try and get a magic medicine or something that could help save their dad, who'd been struck down. So you controlled him and went on this adventure. And it was really emotional.

And I'm not going to tell you how it ends in that, in case you ever want to play it. But that's one of these games I feel was very much like a really good book where it.

It took you on a complete journey and when you left it, you were left thinking about it afterwards.

Martin Gage: 00:17:40

I'll have to try that one out.

Danny Brown: 00:17:42

Yeah, it's really good. And the remake is. Like I said, it came out. So it's basically.

It's more about an upgrade graphically from the original one with some new elements to it. But, yeah, really good game on the books, just before we move on.

On the book side, have you ever read books without words where it's just the pictures, but the story is told through the pictures? And you've done that with your kids?

Martin Gage: 00:18:03

Yeah, I wouldn't be able to name one, but I'm sure I have, especially when they're younger. There's quite a few of those.

Danny Brown: 00:18:09

Yeah, there's one called. I think it's the Boy and he's playing or something where the boy is playing with his plane. He's toy plane, and it's only pictures.

And again, I'll leave the link in the show notes, but I was reading that with my daughter. She was maybe 6 or 7 at the time, at the local library.

And the job of the illustrator was so good that she was able to tell boy, happy, boy upset, all that stuff. And it just. Again, it was one of these books. I thought, wow. I didn't.

I never thought I could, like, enjoy a book without words, but this showed that you obviously can when it's done. Done well, I guess.

Martin Gage: 00:18:44

Yeah. No, I. I think you can tell a lot with just pictures. It's probably the fun of graphic novels too, right?

I know there's words as well, but a lot of the stories told through the pictures and those things, so.

Danny Brown: 00:18:54

And you prefer like. Like obviously graphic novels and pictures and animation, etc. Help you get that picture.

Do you prefer that or do sometimes you want to just have the words so you can put your own vision together of what that's like?

Martin Gage: 00:19:07

Yeah, I kind of like it all, honestly. Like, I'm a big English teacher. Was one of my things, too. So. I love reading. I love listening to books as well.

You know, most of the time I experience books as audiobooks these days. So definitely it's kind of the words. And I make my own picture in my head would be the most traditional way to do it.

But my kids, when they're getting into reading, loved the graphic novels. And, you know, my son would like Spider man comics and things like that. So to me, whatever gets them reading is great.

And those comics have complicated words in them and things like that. But I think because there's fewer words and the pictures are there as well, it's more accessible for them.

So I think for a lot of people, a lot of boys especially, I'd say graphic novels will get them into the world of reading because it's a little more inviting.

And I think that's great because just because it's not as many words doesn't mean they're not reading something complicated and pushing themselves, you know, especially Spider Man. It's always been wildly complicated with scientific language. Like the one we were reading was into the quantum verse or something, I think.

So a bunch of stuff about the quantum realm, which, when you're learning to read, is not a normal vocab word, I don't think.

Danny Brown: 00:20:22

No, I mean, even as an adult, I wouldn't want a. You know, like, I remember when Justin Trudeau was like, early days, he was getting interviewed on TV or something.

He was opening something, and he went into this whole difference between quantum physics or quantum computing or something. And I thought, that's. That's a teacher right there. I could not do that.

Martin Gage: 00:20:40

Right. Yeah. Quantum computers are a confusing thing, so.

Danny Brown: 00:20:43

Computers are confusing. I used to sell them for a living, and they're still confusing to me. That's why I prefer video game console. It's a lot easier.

Martin Gage: 00:20:50

Yeah. Well, my dad was originally a computer programmer when I was a kid, and that meant using punch cards and things like that.

Like, it was a completely different world. And now I'd say my mother's more into computers, and she was never a computer programmer. So they've just changed so much.

It's a completely different thing now.

Danny Brown: 00:21:08

100%. Like the coding now, Damn it. Schools as well, which is a great thing, coding. Such a. Like, it's a job you can apply to so many. Or a skill set.

A skill you could apply to so many different career paths as well.

Martin Gage: 00:21:22

Yeah, no, absolutely. And.

And, I mean, with AI generation and, like, the ability to create what you want to create, a lot of people are now saying that the best coding language for the future is English. So being able to properly prompt what you want to have happen and what you want to happen, like, if this.

Then this just using the English language, they now have so many tools that can create what you want them to create just by describing it in an appropriate way, too. So I think that's where it'll go. But it's probably a tangent from children's books at this point. I don't know.

Danny Brown: 00:21:58

I don't know. I think everything comes back to imagination and words. I mean, you need words to prompt AI, so I think everything comes back to that.

Martin Gage: 00:22:05

Yeah. And you're right. And imagination's the biggest thing. Right.

Like, I think kids need an imagination, and I think books bring that to them and stories bring that to them. And. Yeah, I mean, the other part about why I started my podcast was to try to make my kids into sci fi nerds. So I always.

I picked the topics of things I liked and that sort of thing, hoping that they would also grow to like those things. And I think it's working, but we'll see.

Danny Brown: 00:22:33

That's all you can ask for. If you want to get them involved, that's all you can ask for. Well, speaking of involvement, it's time to get involved in question number three.

All right, question number three, Martin. What do you do for fun? And it can. It can Involve your tractor and pulling it out.

Martin Gage: 00:22:51

Sorry, it can't involve the tractor. I do like making things for fun. If I have spare time, I make things with wood. That's fun. I carve spoons for some reason, and I find that fun. I don't.

I don't know exactly why, but carving a wooden spoon is something I enjoy. Martial arts is always a good time. Different kinds of sports.

I still like basketball, volleyball, things like that, when I get a chance to play them and. I don't know, just hanging out and relaxing. I find fun these days. How about you?

Danny Brown: 00:23:22

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, well, I like podcasting for fun, but yeah, I just like going out underneath the lake.

We got a Lake about 15 minutes walk from us, I guess, so taking the kayak up there and just going out on that for a couple hours.

Martin Gage: 00:23:36

Oh, I'd be. I'd. Yeah, I'd be with you on that too.

We have, we have lake access where I am, so we can kind of walk the canoe down, throw it in the lake and go for a ride and stuff like that. So I always find that relaxing, actually. Late, late night, like late night canoe rides under the stars, nice moon.

That's one of the most relaxing things I do.

Danny Brown: 00:23:57

One of the things that I feel a lot, you know, if you've got the opportunity to do it. I know people were busy and you're a vice principal. I can all imagine how busy you. You are during the day.

But if you have the opportunity, I feel, to. To go on the water, even if it's just, you know, ideal, like say, be great at night time, super relaxing, but just.

I feel there's something really magical and special about water in general that just takes you away from whatever's going on in your life in the day.

Martin Gage: 00:24:21

Yeah, no, I. I'd agree with you 100%. And they're also the memories I have of my dad taking me out on the water when we had a cottage when I was a kid too.

So canoe trips, things like that, very relaxing.

And I used to do things like wakeboard and stuff for fun on the water as well, but less relaxing and more likely to injure myself doing those things these days.

Danny Brown: 00:24:43

Well, I was going to say that's probably the complete opposite from a nice relaxing canoe. You know, not trek, but canoe paddle if you like, like wakeboard. And that's like. That's pretty aggressive there.

Martin Gage: 00:24:56

Yeah. Jumping through the air and stuff.

Danny Brown: 00:24:57

Yeah.

Martin Gage: 00:24:58

Board sports, snowboarding is another thing I do a lot of. So I used to be a snowboard instructor when I was growing up. We live not too far from a ski hill.

So this year is the first year in a while I kind of got back into it, you know, had kids and things like that. It takes you away from it. So we got back out to the ski hill a bunch of times this winter and that was a lot of fun too.

So I think I'll be back into that for the next few years anyways.

Danny Brown: 00:25:21

And so you mentioned that them obviously making wooden or making stuff from. From wood.

So carving wood and you enjoy outdoors, do you feel that sort of creative stroke, relaxation sort of approach is to buffer maybe your day job that that can be maybe stressful as you know, someone that's, you know, in charge of so many young adults and young kids, et cetera?

Martin Gage: 00:25:45

I think so, yeah.

You know, like when I used to teach things like mindfulness and meditation, my number one rule would be that your brain is not good at thinking about nothing. And so the best way to make it not think about bad things is to think about something simple. Right.

And that can be your breath, but it can also just be a relaxing activity. So something like carving wood, you have to focus on what you're doing, but it's not a stressful thing that you're really focused on. Right.

So it takes your mind off of that other thing and just puts it in the moment and kind of forces you to be mindful, I think of. Of the present. So it's.

It's a great way to do like a walking or breathing meditation other than you probably want to mask on because there's a lot of wood dust and.

Danny Brown: 00:26:32

Stuff, a lot of shavings kicking about and like I'm. Eye goggles, etc.

Martin Gage: 00:26:37

Hey, you gotta watch out.

Danny Brown: 00:26:38

Yeah. Is it. Is it just like I say, just. I could never carve wood. But do you do stuff just for pleasure?

Do you ever take it to little craft shows and trade shows and sell etc, or.

Martin Gage: 00:26:49

So far I haven't sold any of it. I've just given it as gifts and made it. We have a lot of wooden spoons in my kitchen that I've carved.

But yeah, I give them to people if I go to their house. Sometimes I'll give them a pair of salad tongs or presents at the end of the school year for certain people, stuff like that.

That's what I'm working on right now as a spoiler. Some end of the year gifts.

Danny Brown: 00:27:13

My. My daughter's looking for something for her teacher because they finish. Well, I guess we, our kids finish. You're in the same part of the world as me?

Martin Gage: 00:27:21

Yeah. Just go get one of those branches from your backyard and split it in half. You got a spoon?

Danny Brown: 00:27:26

Well, I've got to put a little round thing at the end. Or is that. I could use it as a knife, maybe.

Martin Gage: 00:27:30

Yeah, yeah. Well, that's the hard part, is the. Is the. The spoon where you have to make the dip in the spoon, whatever that's called.

Danny Brown: 00:27:39

And what's the. What. What would you say is the most. Let's think, the most proudest, the most accomplished. There you go.

The most accomplished you've been with one of your carvings. What. What was that?

Martin Gage: 00:27:50

Oh, like, the most accomplished spoon carving I've ever created. I like to do ones that kind of mimic a stick.

It's probably hard to describe, but you have, like, the little branches kind of going off the side as if they've been cut and then turning into the spoon at the end. Does that make any sense? A stick spoon?

Danny Brown: 00:28:12

A stick spoon? Yeah, I think so. I mean, because normally, obviously, a spoon would have its straight handle.

Martin Gage: 00:28:17

Yes.

Danny Brown: 00:28:19

Head, curvy tongue, whatever you want to call it at the end, I guess. But sticks don't behave like that. I mean, in general, sticks can be straight bit branches, et cetera, that you make them from.

Don't necessarily behave like that. So is that more like. I'm thinking of like a shoe tongue thing or a shoe. Not a shoe tongue.

You know, like the thing that you stick in your heel to put shoes on.

Martin Gage: 00:28:39

Yeah, yeah. Shoehorn.

Danny Brown: 00:28:41

Shoehorn. There you go. Thank you. Now we've got the expert talking. Thank you. Shoehorn.

So is it like that where it's like a weirder shape, not the typical handle or.

Martin Gage: 00:28:50

Yeah, yeah. Like, any kind of creative shape is fun to do, but. Yeah, it'll kind of wind more naturally.

Like, a stick would bend a little bit and have little shoots off to the side. So my wife wanted it so I could. You could hang it on the side of a bowl.

Danny Brown: 00:29:04

Okay.

Martin Gage: 00:29:05

So it's really hard without visual to describe these things, but basically, just imagine a branch with a spoon head on it.

Danny Brown: 00:29:12

No.

Well, when you mentioned hang off a bow, I got exactly what you meant right away because you got these little sort of almost like the little thorns that stick out your rose stems. Rose flowers.

Martin Gage: 00:29:21

Exactly.

Danny Brown: 00:29:21

And that would be perfect sense. I like that because I was thinking like, these big wobbly spoons that you've just, you know, smoothed and shaved down, but you've kept the.

The shape of the. The branch of the stick, and you only get them out after you've had family over for, you know, board games that we know you love. So board game night.

You've had a few glasses of wine, a few beers or whatever, and you bring out the wonky spoon and ask people to use it.

Martin Gage: 00:29:42

Yep. No, that's what we do. I mean, these are giant spoons. I'm talking. They're like. Yeah, yeah, they're more your.

Your stirring or you're serving sort of sized spoons. But for sure, salad is probably their best use.

Danny Brown: 00:29:54

No, we'll have to do that. We'll have to get like a wonky spoon or wonky salad forks for guests.

Martin Gage: 00:30:00

I like that idea. Yeah, just throw them off.

Danny Brown: 00:30:03

We have to film that, make some bonus episode, but actually release a video version of that.

Martin Gage: 00:30:06

I will. Yeah, that could make it on the tractor channel or something.

Danny Brown: 00:30:09

Maybe sitting on the tractor with a salad bowl, trying to scoop out the salad.

Martin Gage: 00:30:13

Yeah, absolutely.

Danny Brown: 00:31:26

Well, on that note, we're doing really well here. Martin, let's have a look at. At question number four. Interesting one. Question four.

What is the worst advice that you got that you actually listened to?

Martin Gage: 00:31:41

The worst advice that I got and actually listened to?

Well, my dad would think this is great advice because he told me when I got married, the one thing I had to remember was to just say, you might be right to my wife. So, you know, you get in an argument. The best way out of that argument in his mind was to just say, you might be right.

But unfortunately, he told my wife this too, so she's on to the whole idea. So every time I try to use the you might be right thing, she knows I'm just blowing her off. And I don't think she's right. So it didn't.

It didn't really work very well. So that's the first thing that comes to mind, anyways, about the worst advice that I actually listened to. How about you?

Have you ever done something really dumb based on somebody's advice?

Danny Brown: 00:32:29

Oh, I mean, I've done many things that are dumb, especially as a teenager in, like, early 20s. You know, the usual stuff. You know, jump off. Not jump off a cliff, but jump off a high hill or something into the lake below the stream below.

I guess in the UK at the time, when I was a teen, and not measuring or not checking how deep the water was beforehand and then finding out afterwards that's not very deep. So that's not fun.

Martin Gage: 00:32:57

I have done things like that at the ski hill late at night, too, or had the advice to go down the ski hill on a flying saucer. But it was a curved, it was a curved hill and you can't, I don't know if you've ever been on a flying saucer, but you can't steer them.

Everybody else had a GT by the way, but they gave me the flying saucer and so pretty soon I was headed for a tree and I just dug my feet in, which just spins you around on the flying saucer. And then I went back first into a series of trees.

Yeah, it was probably a very poor decision I made as a teenager based on other people's advice, I guess.

Danny Brown: 00:33:32

Well, that's what, what growing up in is all about, right? Yeah.

I feel sometimes like we try to not be like helicopter parents to our kids when they were younger, but I feel sometimes, you know, it's just easy to be protective and you don't let them learn mistakes like we probably learned as kids.

You know, I feel I'm obviously older than you, but as teens and like I certainly recall, you know, going down snow hills on stupid things that were not meant to be ridden on in the snow.

Martin Gage: 00:33:59

Yeah, I think, Yeah. I believe strongly in painful, non catastrophic failures for kids.

So things that, you know, they have to, they have to kind of hurt sometimes you learn on your own. But if it's the kind of thing that'll be a catastrophe, I'll step in. Because you don't want that to happen.

Danny Brown: 00:34:18

No, there's a limit. There's like, and there's laws as well, I guess that are in place.

Martin Gage: 00:34:22

Yeah, yeah, probably. Yeah. The, the, you know, Children's Aid Society would have certain things to say about when you should step in, I think.

Danny Brown: 00:34:30

But going back to your dad there, the advice your dad gave you, I feel he, he sort of set you up for trouble while it'll buy.

Including the word might when you're talking to your wife after an argument or when she's, she says something that you guys disagree with and then you say you might be right. I don't know.

Martin Gage: 00:34:51

Yeah, no, I think the might is the part that she has trouble with because she knows I'm not admitting to anything. Right. Saying you are right. She appreciates a lot more. But you know, there's those situations where you don't want to admit to that.

So you might be right, but it doesn't work very well.

Danny Brown: 00:35:09

No. And I feel that's like, that's just marriage, full stop.

Like there's an unwritten law, unwritten rule that even if you're wrong and maybe, maybe not, maybe I'm just me, you, etc. But if you're a husband, you agree with your wife full stop. And then you. You can disagree privately.

But basically if Shashi is somebody you agree because it's like the happy wife, happy life, like old sandwiches, probably crowd sexist. And I apologize now.

Martin Gage: 00:35:38

Yeah, I mean, my wife will probably listen to this, so she is normally right, you know, so I should probably just admit to that.

Danny Brown: 00:35:46

We can always cut this bit as well. That's the beauty of editing.

Martin Gage: 00:35:49

Yeah, we can cut it. Or I could just say it in a way that flatters her and then when she listens, she'll think I agree with her all the time. So that works.

Danny Brown: 00:35:58

Love it. Or I could use the script's overlord tool to clone your voice and put anything I want into the edit.

Martin Gage: 00:36:05

That's true. Yeah. With AI these days, you could make me actually say anything you want too.

Danny Brown: 00:36:10

I won't do that. No, I know.

Martin Gage: 00:36:12

No, that would be.

Danny Brown: 00:36:13

But yeah, it's scary actually, what you can do with AI. I mean, it's cool. It's really amazing what you can do for good as well. Because I know AI gets a lot of bad press, but some stuff you can do for good.

But yeah, it can be a bit scary when you think of some of the nefarious things. Or. Nefarious. Is it nefarious or nefarious?

Martin Gage: 00:36:30

I would accept either because I think it's just a pronunciation thing.

Danny Brown: 00:36:33

Okay, cool.

Martin Gage: 00:36:34

And we are from different countries originally, so.

Danny Brown: 00:36:37

Spoken like a good true teacher there, mate. I appreciate. And a good, true dad. Perfect. Well, there's no nefariousness involved in this.

As we approach the final hurdle, we're here at question number five. Martin. So let's have a look at question number five.

I like this because I feel A, as a storyteller and B, as a father and family man, and C, as an educator. I like this question. To finish off with Martin, question number five. If you could choose any era or era pronunciation to live in, what would it be?

Martin Gage: 00:37:15

See, that's a tough one because I do kind of like the modern era too. You know, I think despite what things look like on the news and stuff like that, I think we live in one of the safest times that's ever existed.

We've got really cool technology that would have blown people out of the water a long time ago. You know, we have plumbing that's important to me too. I do. I like my plumbing. Hot showers and. And things like that.

But if I had to pick another time other than That I would love to experience a time and I don't know if I actually would because I'd probably die. But you know, on the frontier where you're.

Where people were kind of going off into new places and settling, not necessarily for the first time because there, you know, there were people in North America before settlers arrived and stuff like that, but kind of, yeah, making new towns and a lot of freedom, I imagine, because, you know, today everybody knows everything you do and digital mistakes or things you put on the Internet or forever. But back then, I imagine it was pretty private. Like even when people were policing you and things like that. I bet.

I imagine you had a lot of freedom to kind of go and do what you wanted to do. And I. I think the other part of that is just I'm really interested in making things from scratch.

So, you know, wanting a sawmill, things like that, I like to see how things are made from the beginning.

So actually being able to make things just creatively in your own way without any building codes or anything like that, I think that would be a lot of fun. Building codes, you know, they stop you from having fun sometimes, but they do keep people safe.

Danny Brown: 00:39:01

So, yeah, there's always that trade off. It's interesting you mentioned the, the. The frontier. Era. Era. Time. I'm going to say time because there's many ways to pronounce.

So obviously we know you're handy. You mentioned yourself, you know, you carve, you've got your, your new wood mill set up and you're good at creating.

Would you also be someone that could. Obviously you're a third down black belt, so possibly.

But would you be someone that could defend if wild animals were coming towards you as well while you're doing the building, or would you leave that to someone else?

Martin Gage: 00:39:38

Well, I guess it depends on what kind of weapons I have at the time. So, yeah, in an era with guns and stuff like that, I think I'd be happy to.

And the era where I had to fight them with a stick or, you know, a stick with a pointy rock on the end of it or something like that, I'm not sure how effective I would be at taking on a bear. How about you? Do you think you could take on a bear with a spear?

Danny Brown: 00:40:02

No, no. It's like, I know because of where we live, you get these rhymes. I think depending on the color of the bear, what you do.

If it's black, attack, if it's brown, lay down or something like that. I could be completely wrong and I would die horribly anyway. But now, if I saw.

I see videos on YouTube of local people and not just in Canada, like North America, Australia, etc. Where there's wild animals coming in the backyard, and these go out there and they're like, making themselves big and everything.

I'm thinking, that's a bear. You know, it might not be bothered about you wandering about like a windy, blowy, inflatable toy, dude.

Martin Gage: 00:40:38

Yeah. No. Bears are not something to mess with. They're way more powerful than you'd think, too.

When I was a kid, we had a problem bear now and then in the area. So my. My parents owned like a little housekeeping cottage resort when I was a kid. And they have garbage sheds, right. So places you.

The guests can take their garbage out and put them in there. But this bear figured out that the garbage sheds existed and started ripping off doors.

And then we put, you know, big pieces of wood in front of the doors at night. So he knocked over the entire shed and ripped off the roof. Eventually we got a concrete shed with a metal door.

And even then, to this day, there's still a beartooth indent on that doorknob. Like he was trying to get in there and he bit it and squished the thing, and we left it like that. They're just.

They're wildly powerful compared to humans. Like, that's not something I would be able to do. It's kind of like those questions you've seen, like, could one person take on or no? What is it?

Can 100 people take on a gorilla or something like that? Or 10? 10 people versus one gorilla, was it?

Danny Brown: 00:41:45

Yeah, something like that? Yeah, yeah. And if you look at, like the. Like, what is it? Is it a silverback? That's the most powerful, I think, probably. Yeah.

You just look, and that's solid. When that does it sort of pose? I mean, you can just see the muscles and like the width of its shoulders and its chest and everything.

You think, come on. Really? You're going to take that on?

Martin Gage: 00:42:04

Yeah. I don't think it matters if there's 10 people or one person. It's just. I don't think it would go well.

Danny Brown: 00:42:10

No. And I'm 100%. You mentioned plumbing there as well. 100% on there. In the UK. When I was at school in the UK, one of my favorite subjects was history.

th century,: 1666

But they didn't have any real plumbing there, which is why the fire spread so Big was because it was all wooden buildings, a lot of wooden buildings and, you know, bad plumbing, etc.

But one of the things that they used to do because they didn't really have plumbing, especially as you got to the working class, was that we just got all their poop and pee and all that that was. They had like a big bucket that they just used overnight during the day.

And then they'd open a window and throw it out on the street and shout G. And you. That's when you knew you'd had to move because some.

The shower of crap and pee at all, whatever else was in that bucket was going to come down towards you. I feel that alone is a reason that whoever came up with the first plumbing pipe setup should be heralded.

Martin Gage: 00:43:13

Yeah, that is not a time in history I'd want to live in where people are throwing human excrement at the windows.

And when I went to England, somebody explained to me that the reason there's a tradition of the man walking on the outside, kind of the street side, was partially to do with people throwing excrement out of their windows. It was something like the person on the inside was kind of under the balcony and the person on the outside was in the. The zone of possible excrement.

I guess I don't know if that's true because I always thought it was more of a traffic thing, you know, like the cars were coming at you.

Danny Brown: 00:43:48

Well, yeah, there was that.

And also, like people say it's very, you know, gentlemanly to let the, you know, the child or the lady, the good lady on the inside away from the traffic. But I think a lot of it probably has to do with going back in time where it was a lot of stuff splashing back that you don't really want.

Martin Gage: 00:44:06

Yeah. I guess I'm in a time period where I could check on this, But I don't know if a lot of people wrote about it or not.

Danny Brown: 00:44:13

It really can make up your search cookies. Interesting as well.

Martin Gage: 00:44:16

Yeah. It could have just been a tour guide who was having fun and made up stories, because that's always a good time too.

I like making up stories, so I would do that to a group of tourists.

Danny Brown: 00:44:25

I would like to see that as well.

Martin Gage: 00:44:27

Well, just make me a tour guide. We'll. We'll have it happen. I used to do tours around the lake where I did that. I didn't know anything about the lake.

I would just drive around in a pontoon boat and tell people about the lake and sometimes just, you know, made some stuff up. So if, if anybody's ever had a boat tour from me, the facts might not have been 100 accurate.

Danny Brown: 00:44:47

Well, I shall make an open invite to have you up at the lake here and do some boat tours, mate.

Martin Gage: 00:44:52

Sounds perfect.

Danny Brown: 00:44:52

Yeah, perfect.

So, Martin, we've reached the end of your time in a hot seat and I appreciate you sharing the answers as is only fair it is now time to hand over because I've had you in a hot seat for the last 30 minutes or so, it's only fair to hand the question and reigns over to you, good sir.

Martin Gage: 00:45:09

All right, so I was thinking about this for a while and what I eventually came up with was if you could invite any fictional character to go to to co host an episode of five Random Questions, who would you choose and what one random question would you absolutely have to ask them? It's a two parter really.

Danny Brown: 00:45:33

So would it be co host or guest?

Martin Gage: 00:45:36

Let's say guest. Yeah, guest would make more sense.

Danny Brown: 00:45:38

Cool. No worries. No worries. So, and a fictional character. Yep.

Martin Gage: 00:45:40

Yeah. Fictional only. Yeah. Not a real person.

Danny Brown: 00:45:43

Okay, that's a good one, mate. I'm trying to think of my favorite fictional characters. Um, okay, I'm going to go with.

oing to go. When I was a kid,: 1112

You mentioned yourself that you would, your kids would love certain books to be read continuously because it was just a favorite book. So my favorite book was A Hobbit. Love that. I could read that. I would finish it, I'd maybe have a day off, I'd go back and start reading it again.

So I loved the Hobbit and that got me into the Lord of the Rings, which I enjoyed. But it was a harder read because I feel the Hobbit was meant for younger readers.

And then the Lord of the Rings is just so intense and in depth and big words that an 11 year old might not get. So in the first Lord of the Rings. And no spoilers here. Well, there's a spoiler, but come on, it's been out for centuries, you know. Exactly.

If you don't know this by now, you're never going to end up. So obviously the big thing is to take the ring to the firepit of Mordor and throw it back in there.

Destroy the ring that you know, Sauron is using to control or try control middleware. So the Hobbits and the Fellowship go on this big hike to get to Mordor.

And in the first book and in the first movie, if you're watching a movie instead, one of the main characters, Gandalf, sacrificed himself so the rest of the Fellowship, the rest of the team, can continue on your journey. And as he's fallen, he says, fly, you fools, or flee. Fly. Fly, you fools.

To say, basically, at the time, you think, okay, he's just telling people to escape while he's fighting off this big Balrog demon monster thing. But what I would ask if Gandalf could be my guest. So Gandalf was my guest. And I would ask him when you were about to die before your rebirth.

Because it comes back, don't worry, people, he's not dead before your rebirth. You told the Fellowship to fly. Why didn't you just get the big egos at the very start to fly you to Mordor and drop the ring into the big fiery pit?

Because I know there's a whole bunch of fandom that says, well, that would just be stupid. There'd be no books there.

Martin Gage: 00:47:58

Yeah, exactly.

Danny Brown: 00:47:59

Why? I know it's a big adventure, coming of age kind of thing, but that would be my question.

Martin Gage: 00:48:04

Yeah, That's a thing you run into when you're writing a lot of the time. Right. If.

If you make a character too powerful, you have to come up with reasons that they can't use that power all the time because it would be far too convenient. And the. And the book would be over right away if they just flew there. I think it's a great question.

Danny Brown: 00:48:24

Yeah. There would also be, I guess, maybe, like, Obi Wan Kenobi, Bring him on. Why did he not kill Anakin?

Why did he leave Anakin to live on, you know, Mustafar when he was burning up? He could have saved the universe a whole bit of grief.

Martin Gage: 00:48:37

Yeah. I mean, based on the movie scene of that, I think most people would think he wasn't going to survive it. But you're absolutely right.

It didn't go very well.

Danny Brown: 00:48:47

Yeah. You don't know. Just. But that's why people write books.

And, you know, like, you see, you would never have the joy of reading that whole trilogy of the Lord of the rings, etc. If they just took the egos.

Martin Gage: 00:48:59

Yeah, you can't. You can't do it. And. And that's true of a lot of books, especially books with magic.

If you could just use your magic all the time and be as powerful as you end up being kind of at the end of the book, it would have been over right away.

Danny Brown: 00:49:12

But I agree and I, I, as someone that loved the Hobbit, I'm glad he got into the Hobbit and all that. But I watching the movies afterwards, you see the fans after and saying, yeah, why did you not just take the Eagles pit?

You know, then it should be plot shortening. So, Martin, I have really enjoyed having you on the show today.

I've enjoyed hearing your answers to the five Random questions for people that want to listen and check out the podcast. And I can really recommend it whether you're a parent or not.

It's a really, really good podcast for people who want to check that out, maybe get in touch with you about ordering spoons from you for their kitchens, etc. For their next parties, where's best place to check out the podcast, check out what you're doing online, etc. And connect with you.

Martin Gage: 00:49:52

Yeah, I mean you can search for dad's bedtime stories for kids on kind of any platform you can probably think of. Or you can go to dadsbedtimestories.com and there's links to all of those things there as well.

Danny Brown: 00:50:06

And I will be sure as always to leave a link to those in the show notes.

So whatever app you're listening on or even on the website, if you listen on the website, check out the episode show notes as always and I will link through to that for Martin so you can check out the podcast and maybe even ask him to send you a spoon.

Martin Gage: 00:50:21

Yeah. Well, thank you and thank you for having me as well. This has been a fun time. Other than that board game question, I.

Danny Brown: 00:50:29

Don'T know we'll cut that one, but thank you. Thanks for appearing, Martin.

Martin Gage: 00:50:34

Thank you.

Danny Brown: 00:50:36

Thanks for listening to five Random Questions. If you enjoyed this week's episode, I'd love for you to leave a review on the app you're currently listening on are over at fiverandomquestions.

Com Review and if you know someone else that would enjoy the show, be sure to send them this way. It's very much appreciated. Until the next time, keep asking those questions.