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An email I sent to Giantbomb

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So, I got a bit drunk and sent this email out a few weeks ago. I suspect that the giantbombcast team aren't going to read it but given that there is some fondness for Dan I thought I would copy/paste it here for people's entertainment:

 

"(Please note I was tempted to write this all in caps but as that is a sin, I think this text would be better accompanied by the Star-Spangled Banner playing and a majestic Eagle flying)

When Dan first arrived on the scene I was not, as a Brit, able to fully decide if I liked him. However, the more he has talked the more I have come to realise that Dan Ryckert is an honest holder of 'Legend' in his spare time.

I mean this in the best way possible; listening to the evolution of a conversation with Dan is like witnessing a loud fart in a lift that turns out to smell okay (this happened to me once). At first, you are dreading what is going to come next but then you are pleasantly surprised by the resulting warmth.

A previous emailer suggested that they dreaded the idea of him being a cop; so do I but mainly because he is too good for such a role. His ability to calmly stick to his figurative guns while remaining empathetic with people who clearly do not agree with him would be of great value to the Police force but I say bollocks to that.

Dan Ryckert for President! No other position is good enough for him. Dietary health amongst Americans might plummet but I imagine that he would endear the country more to its global neighbours.

If I could, I'd definitely vote for him."

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I love Dan

I'm massively envious of his energy/positivity. He's unnatural. He inspired me to think about doing yoga

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Yeah, I think he makes a great addtion to the team.

 

I would also definitely vote for him, if that wasn't clear enough.

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I think that he treads this weird fine line.

 

He says things that I find emphatically problematic (like the way he talks about fast food joints as if they are great and infers that Wallmart is a fine establishment) but at the same time he seems to be willing to admit he is wrong and he constantly talks about instances where he dismissed something and then recanted when he tried it.

 

Other times he seemed to be this staunchly in opposition of something to the point of almost being a biggot but then he sort of tails off and respects other people's opinions.

 

Also, he got into Yoga, through Wrestling.

 

So yeah, I can't tell how proud he is of his ignorance as he openly admits it and when challenged he does rectify things, sometimes.

 

Anyway, his overwhelming positivity has won me over even if he is totally going to kill himself with the diet he is on.

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is this the dan rykert thread? I am not sure about dan. He can be genuinely funny, and his enthusiasm is great, but his willful ignorance can be frustrating to listen to. He doesn't even seem dumb, just like, intentionally ignorant. Sometimes thats fascinating (like, him associating weightlessness in space with the lack of air) but other times its just dumb (like his dismissal of most things as "fancy" as though thats bad, even when many of them are very much not fancy, and also a chicken quesadilla isn't the best thing on the taco bell menu at all).

 

His taste in games also doesn't really align with my own much, his game experience actually seems rather narrow as well, though he can work on that.

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My feelings on Dan swing back and forth between thinking he's currently the funniest guy on the cast to wanting to punch his face.  Most of the time I find him amusing but every so often he says something that just really makes me dislike him until the next dumb thing.  I do think he brings an energy that was lost with Ryan and Vinnie, I just wish he was a little less of a buffoon at times.

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My feelings on Dan swing back and forth between thinking he's currently the funniest guy on the cast to wanting to punch his face.  Most of the time I find him amusing but every so often he says something that just really makes me dislike him until the next dumb thing.  I do think he brings an energy that was lost with Ryan and Vinnie, I just wish he was a little less of a buffoon at times.

 

yeah thats a pretty good summation of my feelings. He's no vinny, but nobody is. Except for vinny. GB does need the enthusiasm though, brad is just tired all the time and jeff is cynical about almost everything.

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I've been watching a lot of GameInformer Super Replays lately, and I find him a lot funnier on those. It's mainly cause those guys gave him way more crap for saying dumb stuff, though.

 

If you've got a few hours to kill i recommend watching the Super Replay of Tail of the Sun on youtube. It's basically Dan playing through a weird Japanese caveman game with no instructions. It's highly entertaining.

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I want a GB Premium content series where someone* teaches Dan to cook.

 

*almost certainly Drew

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Giving someone sharp, pointy objects, then asking them to educate Dan...well, it certainly sounds entertaining.

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what the hell is a sprites and banna challenge

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I like Dan well enough as long as he isn't talking about anything that actually matters. All the vomit stuff is gross, though. Not into that.

I want a GB Premium content series where someone* teaches Dan to cook.

 

*almost certainly Drew

Have you seen his cooking experiments?

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okay but real talk (im drunk so you kno its rela)

 

pizza roll omelet DOES sound incredible

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I've been watching a lot of GameInformer Super Replays lately, and I find him a lot funnier on those. It's mainly cause those guys gave him way more crap for saying dumb stuff, though.

 

If you've got a few hours to kill i recommend watching the Super Replay of Tail of the Sun on youtube. It's basically Dan playing through a weird Japanese caveman game with no instructions. It's highly entertaining.

 

Super Replays are great. The Illbleed one is also excellent (mostly for how ridiculous the game is), and Overblood has some classic moments. Also for the 3 people who haven't seen it,

is an amazing feature and gives you a bit of insight into how he turned out the way he did.

 

Speaking of Dan and his dad...

 

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These guys opening a wine bottle is unbelievable!

 

I love Dan, he's like my most racist caricature of an American come to life. And he loves Metal Gear  :tup:

I can't believe his insides aren't just steaming black mulch by now.

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I guess this is a different viewpoint but I feel like food stuff IS a thing that matters for him to say nonsense about... I mean.

 

pizza roll omelet DOES sound incredible

 

is not nutritional advice that should be spread by this dude, especially since I have to assume a lot of younger people would watch these?

And let's face it, English speaking western world has a really shitty approach to food as it is.

 

Sorry twig, it was just a good example.

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Would anyone actually see that as "nutritional advice", though?

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Yeah I don't know anyone who would look at that and say "hmm gonna have THAT every day of the week now!"

 

But I for sure would try it once. If I bought pizza rolls anymore.

 

Also I strongly strongly strongly strongly strongly strongly strongly strongly disagree with the idea that Dan Ryckert should be "responsible" with his entertainment just because some kids might watch it...

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I meant to put that in inverted commas for what it's worth.

 

I just feel like food is an important thing too, you could also say no-one will see Dan's racially ignorant comments and take them as gospel but that's not the same as having no effect. How much you think food matters depends on you but given the epidemic of bad diets in our countries you can hardly say it's not a social issue even if it's one that mostly affects the person themself rather than others.

 

Also I'm not saying he has to be responsible either, I just think this form of ignorance is another reason I don't like the sound of him as a media personality.

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That's treading the line of "censorship because shit might offend people" and that's something I'll never stand behind. It's repulsive and repugnant.

 

EDIT: To be clear, I'm not accusing you of calling for censorship, but I am saying that the idea of him having to keep in mind that people have health issues (specifically dietary) when he creates his entertainment is treading the line of calling for it. I don't think it's something that is needed or should even be wanted, because it's an incredibly dangerous path.

 

Dan Ryckert is clearly living in a bubble, and I think that's problematic for HIM, but that's another issue entirely.

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I'm... not sure if this matters that much to your point, but I'm not saying a small subset of people with dietary issues. I'm talking about the majority of people having an unhealthy relationship with food which I've repeatedly seen in popular media.

ie. 'Natural good food is what you're supposed to eat but tastes shite, manufactured chemical food is sorta bad for you I guess but tastes REALLY good so who cares?'
Even if someone isn't suffering from any issues, they can make bad dietary choices from this pervasive mentality.

 

I feel the need to emphasise, I'm looking at this as a social issue like racism or sexism. I don't want to support the work of media that spreads harmful ignorance of an issue, so I take it into consideration when giving anyone support. (this isn't the reason I don't follow Giantbomb but it doesn't convince me to give them another shot)

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