2/1 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/2 - Dead Kitchen Radio: Supernatural
2/4 - Roundtable: DC Universe Reboot
2/5 - Cyborgs: "The Solid Gold Kidnapping"
2/6 - The Dome: "Colective"
2/7 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/8 - It Has Come to My Attention: The Rocketeer
2/11 - Presenting the Transcription Feature
2/12 - Brainy Brain Game: History
2/14 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/15 - Dead Kitchen Radio
2/16 - In Review: Love is in the Air
2/18 - Presenting the Transcription Feature
2/19 - Cyborgs: "Population: Zero"
2/21 - The Weekly Podioplex
2/23 - Spotlight: Desert Island Books
2/25 - Presenting the Transcription Feature
2/26 - Brainy Brain Game - Literature
2/28 - The Weekly Podioplex
@ Captain Patch
I've been to Camden Yards. It's a beautiful park, and I found that the fans could sit in their seats. BUT, that was in the '90s. I really wasn't talking about drunk and disorderly fans. That would be Phillies' fans. They were just awful at the day game I went to at Shea. However, they did stay in their seats during an inning. Those folks I wish would get up and walk around.
My problem at Citi Field was that everyone seemed to be off their Ritalin and were bouncing around.
Ritalin
I guess I haven't really experienced the "Ritalin" issue that you did; my negative experiences were more as if people had come to the ballpark to socialize and didn't really care that there was a game going on. Not so much ferret-like bouncing in and out, but complete disregard for the action on the field. Although, because I tend to prefer an aisle seat, I do tend to set myself up for taking the brunt of whatever comings and goings do occur.
Disregard...
there was plenty of that as well in addition to the ferret-like bouncing in and out. I am going to a day game next summer to see if the same shennanigans occur. I have a theory that day-game fans are more serious.
Baseball etc.
Sorry this is so long.....
1) In my limited experience the best baseball fans I've encountered, as far as baseball etiquette is concerned, are (and it truly pains me to say this) Yankee fans. Baltimore's Camden Yards has become a home away from home for the fans of the Bronx Bombers, and though I try to avoid going when the Yanks are in town, a couple of years ago I got really good tickets and spent the game imbedded in an entire section of Yankees fans. Point 1: They were loud and boorish, but charmingly so. They were on the O's left fielder (the ex-Met Jay Payton) so much that he eventually gave in and acknowledged their taunts which got him a big cheer. Point 2: The language was almost universally clean. A couple of Carlin's seven words slipped out over the course of the game, in each case followed by a call from another New Yorker to watch the language, because "there's kids over there". Point 3: When the pitcher threw the ball, everyone was sitting down, facing forward. No one left their seats except between innings or during a pitching change. About half the fans were keeping score.
It was like baseball-fan heaven. Almost enough to make me a Yankees fan. (No, not really.) So is it anything like that in Yankee Stadium, or do only the real baseball fanatics make the trek down to the Yards? Because y'all are welcome down here any time, especially since we're going to need a boatload of cash to keep our young crop of pitchers, who are going to be giving your hitters bad dreams in a year or two!
As an aside: in my limited experience, my vote for 2nd best fans would be the Phillies, despite their reputation; Brewers fans aren't bad; Cubs fans and Orioles fans are similar to Judy's experience at the Mets game, mostly. Worst fans, from a baseball etiquette point of view, Bostonians, another group of "home away from home" fans I sat amongst in Baltimore on one occasion. You'd have never known a game was going on by watching the fans. And I missed two plays from people getting up in front of me during the game. Painting with an overly-broad brush, I know, but I'm still annoyed about it.
2) The Little House-related books sound really interesting. I didn't need to know about Michael Landon quite that way, but Arngrim's story sounds extremely compelling. I'm going to have to look that one up.
3) So, I get the no-fish-on-Monday, but why avoid ordering well-done?
4) Apologies in advance, but IMNSVHO, linking Twilight and Scott Pilgrim is a little silly. Of course they have some similarities, but you could make just as strong a case (which is to say, extremely weak) comparing Scott Pilgrim with Casablanca. I saw Scott Pilgrim last week, and I would recommend it. (I confess to not having seen Twilight, but I have a 12-year-old daughter who has kept me up to speed on the whole phenomenon. Lucky me.)
5) Anyone not heard HG World yet? Please, go and listen. Very good quality stuff.
6) Brilliant as always, everyone. Thanks!
Yankee Stadium
Captain Patch asked: "So is it anything like that in Yankee Stadium, or do only the real baseball fanatics make the trek down to the Yards?"
Depends on what section of the Stadium you're in, but generally yes. Sometimes you'll have people in the luxury/expensive seats who aren't really engaged in the game, but they're less rude than they are oblivious.
In the bleachers, that's definitely what you get. They can be rowdy at times, but everything's about the game itself. God help you if you're on the phone while the game is going on, or all the Bleacher Creatures will chant "GET OFF THE PHONE!" at you (between innings is okay).
But yes, generally, that's indicative of how fans at Yankee Stadium behave.
Keith R.A. DeCandido | keith@decandido.net | kradical.livejournal.com | Facebook.com/kradec | Twitter.com/kradec
"Even when you turn your back, you're still facing something."
Good to know
I guess it makes sense, as Yankees fans have historically enjoyed some of the best baseball, that they should have such a great appreciation for it. A tip of my hat to you all, then, and good luck over the couple of months!
Not All Points Taken
2) Yeah, I definitely will be picking up this work, especially as I'm in a Little House run at the moment. I'm starting the fifth season shortly.
3) That's not one I'm aware of. I think it must be something personal. When I worked at Charlie Brown's statehouse, it was mandatory to order a state medium if the customer had no preference. In fact, the menu stated that rare steaks were a health risk and that we accepted no responsibility for a guest eating such a steak.
5) I've heard HG World. Can't help it. ;) But have you heard Jay's new audio drama, A Billion Smithereens?
6) Thanks. One question. Did you find it too long? One problem now (at least from my time economy viewpoint) is that with Dan stepping in and turning in more regular movie reviews, that means we will have five reviews in the review portion of the show. Add Orenthal's Pop Fiendish and I can easily see the In Review episodes touching two hours. Too long?
John
Creator, Producer, All Around God-Like Being
"What? Too much?"
one vote for "not too long"
If I have to go do something else I just pause the MP3 and come back to it later.
Time...
I have to admit, the first couple shows you did back in Season One that reached the two hour mark did feel too long. And I tend not to like podcast episodes that run too long. However, a few of your recent episodes have, I think, reached around 90 minutes and didn't even come close to overstaying their welcome. I would definitely *not* want to see you make any cuts to fit a time limit, even if the show length hits the 2-hour mark.
So I'm definitely with PinkHamster on this one.
And I promise I'll be the first to let you know if I think the show is getting too long.
Bill
Addressing a few of these points
Arngrim's book about her life and her time on Little House on the Prairie was a compelling page-turner. Her story was both entertaining and brutally honest, and she is a skillful communicator. After I finished this book I rushed to get Melissa Anderson's book so that I could get her side of the same story. Unfortunately, her book hardly held my interest at all, mostly because it was more about the episodes of the show than about her life, and her writing style wasn't nearly as interesting or as revealing as Arngrim's.
And yes, both Twilight and Scott Pilgrim are based on book series that were written primarily for a teen audience, but the whole point of movies is that they can embrace a larger audience than the original books. Sometimes this causes a certain amount of confusion (like from all the people who showed up at the library after the Shrek movie hit it big and were confused when we handed them a picture book!) But it's in the interest of the box office that movie versions of books attract both fans of the original source material and people who never even knew that it existed. So don't let that "teen" label bring you down!
well-done
From watching Bourdain shows (and other food shows), I gather that the idea is that cooking to well-done ruins the basic, bloody flavor of the meat. Myself, I'm kind of squeamish and a half-hearted carnivore, so I prefer well-done.
Agreed
I agree, though I'm usually satisfied with medium-well.
I was concerned that there might have been a less savory (pun intended) reason.
I'm usually medium rare, myself ...
But based on Bourdain's stories told from the chef's point of view, a customer who was so gauche as to order a fine cut of meat well done didn't DESERVE that fine cut of meat to begin with. So that customer was more likely to get the poorest example of the cut that he had requested, or get another piece of meat that was lying around the kitchen, even if it wasn't the cut that he wanted. The logic being, I suppose, that any idiot who orders a filet mignon well-done might as well get a leftover piece of sirloin or flank steak because he won't be able to tell the difference.
Probably true
I do have a very, um, unsophisticated palate, so in my case at least the chef would probably be right in his assessment.
Fillings!
Just watched the original Clash of the Titans, and, oh, boy! The very first scene, where the King of Argos condemns his daughter--what a mouth full of metal!
Scott Pilgrim = Twilight
I haven't seen "Scott Pilgrim" (I'm avoiding it for the same reasons as your Comics Curmudgeon) or "Twilight," but just wanted to explain that Comics Curmudgeon was not the only one to make this observation. Here is a roundup of people who agree with him explaining why that comparison has been made: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/08/13/twilight-for-boys-the-new-scott-p...
Side note: I subscribed to the iTunes feed for TCR Classic, and it hasn't updated since the first episode. I only found out there were new episodes because you mentioned it on the show. Is the iTunes feed for those videos dead, or did it change to another feed?
I'll Check It Out
Thanks for the link.
As for the TCR Classic iTunes link, there are two links unfortunately. I've asked iTunes to take the other one down, and they haven't yet. This is the iTunes link with all episodes updated, including today's latest - http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-chronic-rift-classic/id383264045
John
Creator, Producer, All Around God-Like Being
"What? Too much?"
So...
I was informed last night that Mike Gold owns ComicMix which produces The Point Radio. I think it's safe to say that his segment ain't going anywhere anytime soon. Hopefully, he'll cheer up a little.
John
Creator, Producer, All Around God-Like Being
"What? Too much?"
Re: fillings, San Francisco, et al
I'm glad to see that my review of Medium Raw inspired such a lively discussion. John, if you haven't already, you MUST read Kitchen Confidential, especially if you're thinking of writing a book about the restaurant industry. And you were right about both the rationale of the original "fish on Mondays" advice, as well as the reason why he changed that rule (better seafood restaurants buy fresh seafood more often).
Re: fillings, I have never ever noticed actors' fillings in a movie before. But now I will be on the lookout for them. Thanks, Hawk! I'm more likely to be thrown out of the mood of the film by questionable fashion choices (like that thing on Lana Turner's head in The Postman Always Rings Twice). I also pay special attention to newspaper headlines, just because it's funny to see how many old movies re-used the same newspaper template where the big headline was pasted to a page that contained the same smaller stories ("Building Code Under Fire? Again???")
And re: San Francisco, don't get me wrong, I love walking. But it was the steepness of the hills that started to get to me after a while. After the first few days in San Francisco I started developing aches in my legs and feet, and then once those wore off I started getting pains in my lower back. And THEN we went walking (hiking?) in Muir Woods, over two hours going uphill and two hours staggering downhill. So by the time I left that message, I was a little sick of hills.
Oh, and that Thundercats PSA was really a hoot. Were things like that and that He-Man PSA you used before aired regularly on television? Because I'm sure I would have remembered those.
I have created something that
I have created something that you cannot unsee and I have ruined the moviegoing experience for John.
*diabolical laughter*
PSAs
I don't remember these actually airing, but when I found them I thought they were funny. I have a bunch of others to play on future In Review episodes as a break from the begging for iTunes comments PSA.
John
Creator, Producer, All Around God-Like Being
"What? Too much?"
BTW you typed it as Lionel
BTW you typed it as Lionel and it's Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats.
What kind of geek are you?
:D
Lion-O
HO!!
Corrected
I must admit, I had completely forgotten about the play on his name.
John
Creator, Producer, All Around God-Like Being
"What? Too much?"