The KMAG Network

A shorter show but part of a special series focusing on the world's greatest food…Pizza! We kick off with an actual expert from Italy, Sara!

Maybe this show should just be an annual and I'll have enough guests going into the grave!  Another great, long overdue choice, Jake Bishop! A more recent graduate of my alma mater and a native of M'waukee. Despite the generational gap of age, we discuss Milwaukee, Marquette, the Bucks, the Admirals v. Stars, Concerts and Stand-up Comedy.

Yeah, yeah, publish much? The long, longer overdue third episode is a great choice, Elizabeth Coleman. Not only is she related to famous people, we have many things in common as we discuss celebrities, MST3K/Riff Trax, college, law school, our famous relatives and the benefits of bi-lingual education.

It's been a while, sorry. Finally got my second guest, Paul Silder. We've been friends for 35 years as of September 2021. We discuss Marquette, Milwaukee, Chicago, sports, journalism, his two sons and his move to the Washington DC area after 28 years as a full-blooded Southsider (the h is silent).

While a new Gifts of the Maggi, KMAG, Halloween 2021 or the Best of Whatever Year is next is well overdue, check out my friend and engineer's show…Cyclops Wheelbarrow for something really differen.

For the debut, my first guest is Mark Brunner. We discuss our 40+ years of playing D&D, how we met, Houston in the Eighties, law school and everything else we can think of in an hour.

Heads up! A different kind of podcast is joining the music. Series #4 will be me interviewing all the people I've met while spinning around the Earth for 50 years. Who knows? You may get a turn to introduce yourself to these guests!

This concludes the Best of 1998! The year ended pretty well too. I was living in Austin. I had a decent spot leasing the master bedroom in a nice lady's house. I had been promoted at Apple, yet still a temp, but they were taking permanent applications. I made new, additional friends. I finally swallowed my pride to try online dating services. I was slowly getting out of debt with my part-time gig at the movie theater. Best of all, my nephew Nick was born! The first new Maggi in my immediately family. Linda and Brian made me happy by giving him a real name, nothing WASP-y, nothing trendy and best of all, he doesn't sound like a brand of cigarettes.

My second pilgrimage to Graceland! This time I bought the whole package to see the house, the cars, the two planes and more personal side of him, namely how much fan mail he received on average. It was a special time as well because they were celebrating the 30th anniversary of Elvis' 1968 comeback special on TV.

I wish this weren't my last GenCon (for now). There was such a gloom over the whole convention and industry. The Magic card games had bottomed out, TSR had to be bought out by WOTC, FASA had a layoff, SJG was boycotting and everyone realized how the Internet/Computer games were kicking their collective asses. I still managed to have a good time. Met Mark Goddard from Lost in Space and John de Lancie of Star Trek; ran into old friends and as always, spent too much money. One day I hope to attend it again but not while it's in shitty, shitty, boring Indiacrapolis.

The best movie of 1998 that should've been successful alongside a handful of other duds (Godzilla) and overhyped (Saving Private Ryan). I loved it so much more than Elmore's other adaptations Get Shorty and Jackie Brown that I read Cuba Libre which was a great change of pace using the Spanish-American War as the backdrop and not modern-day crime.

What a coincidence! In 1998 I read Kindred by Octavia Butler. It was a gift from my friend Helen and it's a fantastic book involving time travel with the horrible American South, especially before the Civil War. Meanwhile, Mrs. Butler released this novel which sadly predicted the horrible present we live in now.

Phil Hartman's murder was a painful blow to so many. Known as "the glue" at SNL because he was just damned versatile, the ultimate straight man for others to be funny. I still miss his characters on The Simpsons and ponder what Captain Zap Branigan would be like with his voice on Futurama. Although his humor was different, this episode is dedicated to him and what 1998 people thought was amusing.

An iconic car design returned! Probably to cash in on Gen Xers' nostalgia for a vehicle I found ubiquitous throughout the Seventies when I was growing up. By the Eighties, they faded away and then became more associated with the Third World. I have a feeling many were overpriced and built in Mexico like my crappy Golf because you don't see this revised Beetle as often; they've been replaced by the Prius, the Fit and in Austin, a lot of Tesla.

This year I made it with over three months to go! Here's the second installment but the start of the theme on "The Best of…" 1998! Its focused on my return to Austin, thus what Prodigal means, not the bible crap. Starting first is also the product which would be the beginning of Apple's comeback and evolution into one of the world's most valuable corporations. Incidentally, AppleCare needing some of the best people they could find to support the iMac helped make my move back easier.

This year, since Mark has been a great help with providing his opinion and expertise, I let him pick out the songs first and so his episode goes first! Enjoy the sounds of 1998!

This concludes Farewell Grandpa Rabbit, the best of 1997. Hope you enjoyed it and discovered stuff we've all overlooked in the last 25 years! Even at the end of his life, Grandpa did have questions about the computers I supported at work. I bet he would've loved podcasting too.

Yeah, I panicked. Moved to Really-Dullum, NC with the first job offer I got. A decision I regretted within a couple weeks and about every other day since. It was a tough decision to leave Austin but I feared it was in my DNA to keep moving from city to city and this was the next installment. At least these cats remembered me!

I amended the vandalism PowerComputing's engineers or Webmaster did to the site when the rug was pulled out from under us all. Things did look pretty bad though. What Apple did appeared stupid but it was the right move for itself as licensing was cannibalizing, not expanding the market. Now I had to figure out what was my next move.

Viva Las Vegas! Twenty-eight crazy days I spent there, unknowing how my employer was undermining my co-workers. It wasn't all bad. Saw Tom Jones, Cirque (when there was only one show), three movies and The Simpsons' House; the cartoon, not OJ.