Jack Mangan's Deadpan #102: Lawn Chair at the End of the World

L_zy Sho_ No_es

Text of Dan Shaurette‘s tongue twister:

Peter Piper picked and packed a peck of pickled pork nipples.
Nipples of pork pickled and packed did Peter Piper pick.
If Peter Piper didn’t pack his pick of pickled pork nipples,
Then the people’s peepers would proceed to peer at Peter Piper’s prick.

534 thoughts on “Jack Mangan's Deadpan #102: Lawn Chair at the End of the World

  1. Sticking it to the man; listening to DP 102 streamed over a 3G cellular network.

    Cough

    The hitmen from the phone company are on the way.

    Wise words about work Scott.

  2. Was there a “sub-lemon-al” message in today’s Deadpan?

    I caught the volleyball finally. It was really good. I especially enjoyed the close up shots of the player signals.

  3. My husband watched the volleyball finals. He seemed to like the fact the US team was wearing white outfits in the pouring rain 😉 (I missed it had a WF meeting last night)

  4. meh
    my interpipes have been going out all morning.

    On a more positive note … I’ll repeat my post from late last night.

    “Women’s Beach Volleyball.
    WET, Women’s Beach Volleyball.
    As far as I’m concerned there are no losers!”

  5. Olypiporn has the seal of George W. himself. LOL

    Yeah, guess not. I’ve had a few things come up. But I’m definately up for the next one. Satch would be cool.

    I need to check the PHX schedules for the following bands:

    Symphony X
    Opeth
    Insomnium
    Voivod
    Agalloch
    Peter Gabriel
    Paul Gilbert
    Nevermore

  6. I just sent your link to my wife. TEB. LOL Let’s see what happens.

    You know Jack, isn’t JP on the 28th? At least that was the date I say for Cricket Pav.

  7. Jack – I’m am aghast (because I couldn’t sort out how to spell “appauled”) that based only on a few comments (or all of them really) you would imply that we were only watching this competition of supreme skill and athleticism for it’s gratuitous titillation value.

    These are well trained athletes who have sacrificed much and trained gruelingly to make the Olympics and should be given respect.

    Also, when the one Mrs. Lady from the PRoPPN would dive to get a shot – her top would scoop up the wet sand and pack it between her breasts (yes, a BSP).
    Not that I noticed or anything because that would be wong.

  8. Oh, Canada!

    Why did I think the Judas Priest concert was tonight? I guess had The Canadian National Sex Day confused with the Old Guy Metal concert date. . . woo hoo, another week to mull and agonize.

    RE: Rhettro’s link. . . where’s that guy’s hand going?

  9. Think on the other side, Van. Think of it from the point of view of the boyfriends/husbands/girlfriends who might get to help clean off all that grit 😯

  10. ummm…. Sure, I’ll go for that. While it works well for us women, what about for men that like to change their facial hair styles (like my husband)?

  11. I’m suffering a severe case of razor burn, so have little tolerance for people who want to change their facial hair!

    Only joking…well not about the razor burn..

  12. I enjoyed this latest Coverville, Van.

    Uh, and of course I have been listening long LONG before the concert this past…

    Uh, okay, I fess up, I subscribed on Monday…

  13. Jack, Darcy says she figures the Judas Priest show is all done with wires and harnesses. Y’know sort of a Weekend at Bernie’s/marionette deal.

    Beats playing with their walkers onstage, eh?

  14. I am livid…

    Yes I’m ranting, you a few people that might actually care. Or at least read these words. I just got informed that my Internet connection is now limited to only five gigs a month. There is no way to change that other than to switch over to Verizon. At which point I get charged $.25 for every gig over my five. I live off my mobile Internet. I’m only home every other month at best. When I stopped today I just downloaded 500 megs of audio content. That’s not including the streaming video that I watch it night. I asked my company if I could give them more money just to turn the unlimited Internet connection back on. I was told no. Why did we let the cell phone companies take over our Internet. Everyone talks about getting Iphones and mobile Internet access. This is all a scam!

    The second we allow our access to be controlled by companies that make a sign two-year contracts only to change that contract only after the filling six months of their end is beyond silliness. It’s an evolutionary step backwards and technology. How much strain on the infrastructure is unlimited Internet via mobile broadband really costing companies. Especially when customers are willing to pay not to have to count their kilobytes of data for fear of running out. This week deadpan constitutes 00.544% of the total bandwidth space I’m allotted. And there’s nothing I can do about it. 🙁

  15. That sucks Trucker.
    I was similarly screwed over by AT&T on cell phone service.
    Different service but same attitude. The “sure we’re charging you more but we’re giving you all this extra stuff. If it’s stuff you don’t need, that is obviously your problem.”

    That’s one of the great evils of these companies. All these ads showing happy families wondering around surfing the net and sending text messages … they don’t point out that all of that cost a lot more then just the monthly phone service $$$$$

  16. If you live in the States, and an ‘unlimited’ provider starts capping, how in peachy cream are they NOT sued into oblivion?

    In the same country, if a twit dumps boiling water in their own lap, they can sue the person that let them handle water and win 43 trillion, but blatant fraud and false advertising gets nothing?

  17. Just popping in before I head to bed (yes I know it’s early, so sue me). I just wanted to know, they said this on the CBC and I agree, does anyone else think that run-walking looks like a sport invented by Monty Python?

  18. The mosquito aeroplane was cool though.

    Useless trivia: Due to it’s mainly wooden construction, the Mosquito had a small radar signature.

  19. (… and cue morning … and GO!)

    I must remember to get a copy of “Watchmen”.

    and before I get busy and forget to make public comment again –
    Great show Jack! You are back to Olympic form!

  20. Morning Pan!

    I agree that the men’s volleyball was really fun to watch. We wondered out loud, though, why they wore so much compared to the women. What is up with that?

  21. So my husband and I are thinking of taking martial arts. We know nothing about it. Does anybody have any suggestions on the “best” kind (i.e Kempo, shaolin, kubodo, hapkido, Kung fu, taekwondo, etc.)

  22. You should try a few TEB and see which ones you and Mr TEB like.

    You might to consider kickboxing from a self defense viewpoint.

  23. obviously, one of the things that made me look at these four is that they’re close enough to home we don’t have to drive on hour to get to them 🙂

  24. wOOt! Rush for Rock Band. 😉

    I’m still enjoying Opeth’s “Water Shed.” Can’t wait for October 7th 😉

    “And I can see you
    Running through the fields of sorrow
    Yes I can, see you
    Running through the fields of sorrow”

  25. So my horoscope for today has advised me to eat more vegetables. Mom is that you? LOL

    “Libra
    How would you describe your relationship with food? Are you a junk food junkie? Someone who claims to be allergic to vegetables? No wonder you feel tired all the time! Food is the fuel for your body, and the quality of fuel dictates the quality of your physical being. So make more of an effort to eat better. It’s not about your weight, it’s about your health! Vegetables are delicious — are you eating enough of them? Skip the drive-thru. Opt instead for the farmer’s market.”

  26. TEB – I think for husband and wives … I would recomend the “marital” arts. 😉

    Actually, have you looked into “Ball Room Dancing”?
    It’s my understanding that dances such as a Tango or Rumba would give you the same physical workout, a similar balance and agility training.
    It can also be something the 2 of you could go out and do together on a Friday night. Not that you couldn’t go roam clubs looking for a fight but this seems less likely to end up with an arrest.

    I’m just sayin’

  27. Metallica have posted a stream of their single “The Day That Never Comes” from their upcoming “Death Magnetic” album on MySpace.

    http://www.myspace.com/metallica

    Definately an improvement over St. Anger, Unload and Load. Reminds me of sort of an up tempo Black Album. Still don’t know if that warrents a purchase.

  28. Morning. I was gonna comment on the new Metallica song. It’s not great, but it’s the best I’ve heard from them in a long time. Let’s call it a step in the right direction.

    OK, now to get caught up. . . .

  29. I think Watchmen is the best piece of comic lit I’ve ever read. Dark Knight Returns is a 2nd. . . . And not much else that I’ve seen has come close. I actually blogged about this about 200 years ago:
    http://jackmangan.blogspot.com/2005/04/low-art-medium-comics.html

    TEB, look into Tai Chi, if it’s close to your house. Forget about those old people you see moving in slow motion at the park. . . The true Tai Chi martial art is just as kickass as the other forms.

  30. “It’s not great, but it’s the best I’ve heard from them in a long time.”

    That pretty well sums up my feelings as well.

  31. As graphic novels go, I’ve only read a couple: “The Watchmen” and “Kingdom Come.”

    I would rate the art of “Kingdom Come” a lot higher than “The Watchmen” but I would say the prose of “Watchmen” is on another plane entirely.

    I will eventually read “The Dark Knight Returns” and “Sandman.”

  32. I loved Fray too, and think that Buffy Season 8 is remarkable.

    I also really liked The American Way, which was Watchmen-esque. I think it’s from last year, and worth checking out.

    Can I just also note that my job has asploded. *headdesk*

  33. I read Kingdom Come in NJ. It was good.

    I’d list the 4 in my old blog post as the essentials (The Watchmen, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller’s Elektra miniseries, Spider-Man vs. Wolverine one-shot. — Although only 2 of them are graphic novels. I’d assume that the Frank Miller Elektra series has been compiled in one volume?) I’m certainly open to other suggestions. Good topic idea, Van.

    Cappuccino cookies??

  34. Graphic Novels to read before you die? I’ll need to think about that, but off the top of my head, the ones I really enjoy (story and art-wise) are, in no particular order:

    Watchmen
    Sandman (complete series)
    Kingdom Come
    The Dark Knight Returns
    Batman Year One
    Moon Shadow
    Lone Wolf and Cub
    Ronin
    V for Vendetta
    From Hell
    Blankets
    Persepolis (1&2)
    Maus
    Bone (the complete series)

    I’ll need to look at my collection closely to see what I’ve missed, but I think these are all very good in their own right. And yes, Sin City and 300 are not on the list: If you’ve seen the movies then you don’t need to read those comics.

  35. I used to love reading the 2000AD comic as a kid, Judge Dredd was a fav. Two stories that have been collected on trade paperback that are worth a look.

    The Cursed Earth:

    http://tinyurl.com/6dg8s7

    Some of the art looks a bit crude these days, but a good adventure story.

  36. I started “Y the Last Man” and liked it but then realized how far behind I was in it.
    I actually bid on getting the complete series off of Ebay but the price became more then I was interested in … then I got too busy to read.
    I’d still like to finish it one day though.

  37. Well, my cookies are out of the oven and are all cookie like. Now I just need either my daughter to wake up or my husband to get home to try them and tell me what they’re like. Then I can serve them to the masses at gaming tonight.

  38. Random JfS post:

    D/led Dr. Who The Master Assassin, it was rad. So I went looking for old Who, and now I am watching “The Reign of Terror” from season 008. All black and white an’ shit.

  39. I was actually unaware of the graphic novel Drizzt book, thanks for the heads up TEB. I have read the first book on which the graphic novel was based on. 🙂 I think I’m about 6 books behind in the current series of novels. LOL

  40. We currently have the first six of the graphic novels with the seventh on order. I haven’t actually read any of the actual books they are based on, although we do own them. I think my husband has read a few, and my daughter has read them all

  41. Okay, who was the twit who decided they needed to reboot Superman ‘darker’?

    I need to introduce them to a sharp stick. In the eye.

    And NO, it won’t bounce off….

    (I would provide a link, but I don’t the link rules here)

  42. Rules!! There are no rule!! Link whatever you want 🙂 Actually, WP hates some links. if you convert them to tiny URL’s it prefers them better. Also, it only seems to accept one link per comment post – stupid WP

  43. I don’t trust tinyurl.

    Sure, it makes an ungodly link look neater, but it hides the link. It could be malware, could be phishing, could be Rick Astley porn. It’s just too dangerous to click.

  44. Well, I no longer work for Allied Vaughn. Now I work for “Next Generation Allied Vaughn” following a merger/sale of sorts.

    Not really sure what it all will mean, but I’m mainly enjoying that they claim the health benefits will not be interrupted, what with the prgnancy in full swing and all…

  45. If anyone can chip in for the at-home birth which will be necessary when my work pulls my insurance at the last minute, let me know!

    (The above is Darcy’s nightmare scenario, and may not actually take place…)

  46. Wipes might be a wise precaution after all that DDR’ing…

    Morning Pan, another Saturday, another crime of having to work at the weekend.

    Well at least I get the Bank Holiday Monday off.

  47. Morning, Pan. Sorry you have to work, Van.

    Today for me, going for a walk soon, then heading to visit my babe’s grandma in the hospital in Denver, and then a 4 year old’s birthday party.

    CW: Korea V Cuba Gold Medal Baseball game

  48. We may go to the Minnesota State Fair tonight.

    Think I will be avoiding the “Big Fat Bacon,” which is apparently a 1/3lb hunk of deep-fried bacon on a stick and coated in maple glaze…

  49. We just finished watching the women’s bball gold medal match. We’ve decided that women’s bball, softball, and soccer are lesbian olymporn.

    Headed to Denver. Have a good Saturday, Deadpan!

  50. I keep hearing good things about Hellboy 2. I’ll rent it.

    Have you guys seen Oldboy? It’s excellent, but I think the third in that revenge series is even better:

    Sympathy For Lady Vengeance.

    Highly recommended, if you can tolerate a little bit of strangeness (not Southland or Eraserhead levels) and subtitles. Some truly disturbing moments though. . . . not gore or violence, more like the implication of what’s about to happen offscreen.

  51. I made gluten free turtle cheesecake today. It was excellent. And made me feel not so bad about being allergic to wheat.

    Also Lonna’s new MP3 player came in the mail. After playing with it for a while I’m reminded why the decisions on MP3 players I’ve chosen in the past were not based on color.

    I am however curious if what they say about these skullcandy lowrider headphones I ordered her are all they say they are. For the money I dished out I should expect a deaf wife in a few weeks.

  52. Drive by panning-

    We (Thomas from Flagstaff and I) are now settled in Raleigh, NC. Looking forward to D*C in just a week, now that this year’s Parsec activities are finally concluding.

    Sorry to be so long from the Pan…

    G’nite Pan,

    g’nite’ mush :*

  53. Morning Pan,

    Off to see an early showing of the Get Smart movie (yeah this one took a while to cross the pond).

    Keeping fingers crossed all the best bits weren’t in the trailer.

  54. Looks like you’re already off, Van, but I liked it quite a bit. There’s a companion movie that went (intentionally) straight to DVD which was shot concurrently with “Get Smart” called “Bruce and Lloyd Out Of Control.” That one, as might be expected, was not as good as the theatrical release, but I’d still recommend it if you liked “Get Smart.”

  55. Speaking of Stargate – the wife and I watched the latest SG1 DVD movie – Continuum.

    We enjoyed it. I don’t think it was up to a theatrical release quality (of course, it wasn’t intended to be), but definitely well above what you’d expect from a regular series episode.

    One thing that I stand by – all time travel movies suck. Why? Because time travel and changing history always involves the paradox. If you try to think through or explain the paradox, it all breaks down. I give credit to the SG1 crew for acknowledging that there was a paradox and moving past it. I think they did one of the better jobs I’ve seen dealing with time travel.

    Definitely a recommend for your Netflix/Blockbuster queue.

  56. Well Ed, Goldeneye one of the best Pierce Brosnan Bond movie. Star Trek: Nemesis…. Okay you got me. That movie sucked. I like the Halo buggie in it.

    Okay Macthstick Men and Pearl Harbor? that’s pushing it!

  57. Hellboy 2: I agree with Van, visually stunning. Plot was okay, the problem for me was the extra heaping of camp. I like campy movies, but the first Hellboy was at least serious enough to make us care for the characters. Hellboy 2 plays like a Saturday morning cartoon. Worth a rental though.

    While channel surfing today I ran across “Leprechaun 4: Leprechaun in Space.” Talk about WTF.

    And congratz JB. Fox1, Fox2?

  58. Stolen from FreeSpace:

    “Operation Thresher in the Antares system did not proceed as planned. Terran Command estimates Terran losses at 504 pilots dead, fourteen missing and presumed dead.
    The Vasudan foothold on Vasuda Prime and the subspace node remains solid. However, their supply lines have been cut off, which means they are most likely lacking reinforcements and supplies.
    Expect more news on that front in tomorrow’s briefing.”

  59. Hello, Pan!

    I’m finally back online after over 48 hours with no access – yay!

    I can’t stand to keep this quiet until everyone hears the new series of Airport Updates I recorded on Friday and Saturday, so I’ll put the big news out here right now: I have relocated for my first post-college job! On Saturday, I made it out to Florida, home of J.C. Hutchins and some incredibly hot and humid weather. I start my job training at 10:00 AM EST tomorrow morning. I’m going to be a tutor of some sort with the West Palm Beach Literacy Coalition. This job is an AmeriCorps position, which means that technically, I’m a Volunteer receiving a living stipend, and the job will last 11 months. I’m excited to be doing this!

  60. HI Kris!!!

    Amy that is well swell!
    I met some AmeriCorps folks while fixing houses in coastal Mississippi.
    They were the best! You are in good company … or maybe I should say that now THEY are! 🙂

  61. Wow, I think I video gamed my brains out this weekend.

    Mass Effect. Check.
    FreeSpace. Check.
    Star Wars: Battlefront 2 on my 360, big check!

  62. I’m envious Rhett. No gaming for the bunny for the next few weeks I think. Too busy with World Fantasy only two months away 🙁

  63. They are all great in their own way.

    FreeSpace 1 & 2 are public domain now and can be had for free. Plus when Interplay went bankrupt, they posted the source code for FreeSpace 2, and grass roots programmers have updated the engine to improve the graphics. So if anyone is interested, you can download all the games from http://www.hard-light.net . It’s a very deep Space Sim with strong role playing elements.

    Mass Effect is an RPG shooter and done very well. I thought I’d get confused in the plot, but it’s unfolding nicely. Very engrossing.

    Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a game I wanted to get for my computer, but when it came out, my son wanted me to buy it for the original XBOX. So I never played it. But now that I’ve got the 360 and the 57″ screen, whoa-ah! The game play is sort of like Saving Private Ryan meets Star Wars. Pretty intense.

  64. TEB, every once in a while things come together and I can indulge my gaming jones. LOL I’m not sure how long it’ll last. World Fantasy sounds fun though.

  65. So this weekend my wife and I finally finished our 9 season X-Files marathon.

    Only took a couple months.

    Interestingly enough, I found myself not hating the last two seasons as much as I thought I would. And surprisingly my wife not only liked the show, her opinion pretty much fell in line with everyone elses opinion on it.

    So heres the question I pose. Who else loved that show, and who else wants to help me do a podcast about it? *lol*

  66. I was an X-Files fan, including the first movie and the season that followed. After that I was kind of meh. I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t make an effort to stay current with it.

  67. So I spent most of the day installing a new linux distro on my Eee 701, only to find I trashed the installation and had to reinstall it again.

    Still not happy with the space taken up by installation, may have to go back to Mandriva..sigh.

  68. So we’re going try and pick a more excessable movie for the next Deadpanopolloza? Have we agreed to “Leprechaun 4: Leprechaun in Space?”

    Okay maybe not. I need to jote down some notes for Watchmen.

  69. Actually, I think I could go for a “re-viewing” of “Reanimator”.

    If it’s the film I think it is (Has the wonderful line “Whose going to listen to a talking head … get a job in a freak show!”) then I remember it as being just wrong enough to be a “Deadpanopolloza” featured film.

  70. Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank, Grosse Point Blank…

  71. I’d be down for Reanimator or Gross Point Blank. I’ve seen GPB a couple of times, and parts of Reanimator. As far as being accessible, they might be a little more challenging than the typical. (Although probably less so than Southland Tales).

    Let me throw out a few ideas:

    Scifi Geek list – They Live, Blade Runner, Escape from New York, Time Bandits, Baron Munchusen, Contact, THX 1138, Tron

    More mainstream general ideas:
    Searching for Bobby Fisher, October Sky, Stand by Me

    Thoughts?

  72. Reanimator. Interesting idea….. I’ve only seen pieces of it myself (no pun intended). In the same vein (pun intended), I’d suggest “Near Dark”, “The Devil’s Backbone”, and Peter Jackson’s “Dead Alive”. The latter is easily the most gruesome, gory movie I’ve ever seen.

    Never saw “Searching for Bobby Fischer” – I’d be up for that, it he material is rich enough for discussion.

    I think the main thing we want to do is pick movies that few or none of us have seen.

  73. The scariest Peter Jackson movie if seen is “The Frighteners,” LOL. I’ve got “Bad Taste” on my Netflix que. Should I be ascared?

  74. Theme time on Wander Radio…
    Episode 32 (When it posts – later today) has a theme.
    Inspired by.

    No that is the theme…
    the theme is “Inspired by”

    Each song (Didn’t I mention it was a music show?) with the exception of one (maybe 2) were inspried by something…

    Your mission should you choose to accept it.

    Figure out what the inspiration is – (Hint Not all the songs were inspired by the same thing.)

  75. ‘I think the main thing we want to do is pick movies that few or none of us have seen.’

    But then you run into the problem of not being able to get the film to participate in the show.

    But anyway, a few that spring to mind:

    Demon Seed
    Phase IV
    Quatermass and the Pit
    Fahrenheit 451

  76. Okay movie challenge time.

    Obscure movie from the 60’s. Super agent flying back from China is injected with a mind wiping drug. Just before he forgets everything he claims the west will be destroyed in x amount of days.

    In order to try and get some of his memory back they make a simulation of the far past and stick super agent in it.

    Any ideas? I’ve only ever seen it once and the name escapes me.

  77. Not ringing any bells Van. While we’re on the subject, can anyone remember a 1970’s anime movie where people are prodded by creatures saying “bar-be-que”. Used to be a staple of the Sunday afternoon movie on independant television. But I haven’t seen it since 1978 or there abouts.

  78. Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone!

    Training went well today. We got to know more about our teammates and AmeriCorps in general today. Tomorrow we’re going on visits to service sites, and on Wednesday we’re starting the serious tutoring-skills training. I came home with lots of freebies and some forms that need filling out. I also have stories that need writing. 🙂

  79. JOe, for you it was the Olympics. For me, it’s gonna be these 2 weeks of politics. Sleep, we’ll meet again after St. Paul.

    Currently, Ted Kennedy making me sob with his speech.

  80. Amy: Congratulations on the new job/volunteer thing. Remember you need scifi to live so you can expense out movies, books, and cons. Oh, and personally I wouldn’t consider paperwork a freebie.

    Rhettro: thanks for the link for freespace, I’ve been thinking about reloading freespace 2.

    Kris: welcome back.

    WNDR: Love the new show I’m alternatively rocking out and giggling like mad.

  81. So it was Project X:

    ‘http://tinyurl.com/68c4b5’

    Not the one with the chimps!

    So obscure it isn’t listed on Harold Gould’s wiki entry.

  82. Stolen From the Eighties!

    Okay, not so much stolen, but check out this massive collection of downloadable covers and remixes from the 80’s…

    http://buffetlibre.net/

    Haven’t really listened to much yet, so it could be 50 songs of crap, but figured I’d point it out anyway. Found out thru Coverville.

  83. So todays useless tip.

    Never let a packet of microwave oven chips defrost before cooking them.

    That way leads to fire alarms going off and a dirty kitchen..oh yes.

  84. True Ed… and I think that in the UK “That way leads to fire alarms going off” is a euphemism which is why it became a “dirty kitchen”.

    … but what do I know. I haven’t even had my coffee yet.

  85. BTW: I keep hoping that Van will step-up and poke fun at London’s “dramatic presentation” in the Olympic closing ceremonies the other night … hoping he’ll do it so that the rest of us won’t have to. 😉

  86. Ditto: Those dumb asses. The article didn’t say anything about a collection to buy a new one. I’m sure one is forthcoming.

    Lost Ralph: Glad to hook you up with FS2. Besure to install the FSOpen fan made upgrade, it makes FreeSpace look so much better. 🙂

    Wolf: Downloading your latest show now.

    EssBee: Strangly, it’s been rainy here today.

  87. I figured that if people found out they wouldn’t let something like that stand. 🙂 Good to hear Sony chipped in a replacement.

  88. Braid has been getting high marks! Which is why I’m going to avoid it. I need more computer games like I need a kick in the jimmy. LOL I’m trying to finish the great games I already own. 🙂

  89. How about Phantom of the Paradise? Brian DePalme’s take on Phantom of the Opera. Believe it or not the music isn’t that bad in the message about corruption in art holds just as true today. Paradise-polloza!

  90. Saw the closing Olympic ceremonies yesterday on Tivo. I was really impressed overall by the Olympics. China through itself massively in debt for it. Even with their human rights violations the country probably will become the successor to the United States as a world power within my lifetime. I don’t know how I feel about the. United States has been benevolent to some countries and complete ass holes to others. Before us Britain was the Empire. My grandchildren will see another empire rise.
    It’s funny the first games were in Britain when it was the most powerful nation in the world.

    I watched China the new growing superpower and the flag back to Britain. For some weird reason London thought it will be a good idea to have that Phelps guy over in London talking to some smarmy interviewer before a the bunch of fans. Then they had the British version of the blue Angels fly over and dump red white and blue smoke over will London. Saying that has something to do with the United States. Red white and blue are colors in the Union Jack and 20 other countries. Couldn’t they’ve gotten a British Olympic star to interview considering the games are going to be in London?

  91. I was going to say, the economies of China and the US are very dependant on one and other. Lower demand for goods in the United States spells, less revenue for China, conversely, most of our national debt is being financed by Chinese interest.

  92. Agreed. It was obvious to me that it was an “Appearance” at their (London’s) party.
    That’s well and good and all but it was sooooo out of place with the extravaganza that was China’s show.

    Also, am I the only one that thought London’s Mayor looked like he was just “some guy” who had gotten on the wrong bus when he left the pub and found himself walking into a stadium?
    I kept thinking “any second now he is going to button his jacket” but it never happened.

  93. Rhett – China is starting to becoming less dependent on the US consumer. Their “5th of the world’s population” is transitioning into a consumer society and it is evolving rapidly.
    This whole “turn them from communism to capitalism” thing is going to end up biting us.

    When they don’t need us to buy their goods or educate their scientists/engineers/professionals then what will they need us for?

  94. Never saw the closing ceremony, but the Mayor Boris Johnson is a bumbler.

    It a safe prediction that the Olympics at the UK will go massively over budget, still look cheap and nasty, and piss off everybody in UK who don’t live in London.

  95. We like to think that we’re critical for the world economy. Simply put nobody thinks more than a few years ahead. No CEO of any company really cares about their country or their workers. They want their boatload of money and a one-way trip to Dubai. If George Bush was smart he would already have his boarding pass ready the second he hands over power to McCain or Obama.

    My wife has to deal with idiots that want to create software macros to do the grunt work for them. They don’t see that they’re having to pad their hours out already. Plus there are any new projects coming into their department. Her company keeps telling them that any larger project has to go to China. She works for a legal publication house. Literally, foreign countries are writing our laws. Our country is drowning in debt and there’s less and less the world needs us for.

    On a happy note in two years will get Curling back. There is no sport on earth that is cooler than watching French women with brooms scream at each other over the the trajectory of a 44 pound chunk of Scottish granite.

  96. Regardless of the big problem of national debt., I don’t think it’s in China’s interest if we default on our loan payments to them (or to the World Economy at large.) But we are paying a price for corporate shortsightedness in terms of turning a profit verses, long term growth and national security.

  97. Hey Van, does London have the same problem we in the US have with New York? Everyone in New York acted like they’re so much better than everyone else for paying three times as much to live and they tiny apartment full of bugs.

    It took me a little while to realize the torch would TV show was in a city named Cardiff. I didn’t think there was any other major cities in the UK. From the skyline shots it looks pretty big.

  98. I have to attack beach volleyball. I absolutely love standard men’s volleyball. There’s way more strategy and tactics when you can get one guy to set the ball over the net and three guys to spike and only one of them is the actual spiker. I know many of you enjoy looking at nearly naked butts on TV. I enjoy looking at nearly naked butts too. If I really want to watch female nudity I will just watch female nudity. When I tune in to the Olympics I want to see interesting cool sports I don’t get to see often played by the best in the world. I resent gimmicks like drummed up controversy or naked flesh just to sell something that should be interesting on its own.

  99. Trucker, those beach volleyball players are premier athletes. It is extremely tough to run in that sand, cover 50% of the court yourself, and do it in the heat. The skimpy outfits are just a bonus.

  100. Ditto: Well you have a point about not liking something just because of the outfits. Mostly I don’t like it because there isn’t as much strategy as regular six player of volleyball. I criticize the outfits because I believe that’s the only reason why people are watching it.

  101. Also since the introduction of beach volleyball back and 2004 the coverage of the regular men’s volleyball diminished extremely. It’s the only time you get to see men’s regular volleyball. I know they do play women’s volleyball on ESPN two but I like the man’s because they’re able to clear the net by about a foot or two higher. It makes the blocking game really extreme.

  102. Trucker: I’m not so convinced that there is less strategy so much as the strategies in beach volleyball are very different from standard volleyball. The games only appear to be similar.

  103. I won’t dismiss the fact that the titillating element of bikinis of the women beach volleyball peaked my interest. But you can’t deny the status of Misty May and Kerri Walsh’s achievements. They won over 100 games in a row. And it’s my own personal preference, but I much perfer to watch men’s beach volleyball over the men’s indoor volleyball because there seems to be more action overall. The demands on the individual players is increased with fewer on the field. But that’s my own personal preference. 😉

    I also enjoyed watching the women’s oval track, 400 meter runs, fencing and rowing competitions. I remarked to my wife Teresa that it’s a shame that the Olympics is one of the few times they broadcast world class women’s athletics.

  104. Point of info – I have played beach volleyball and would do so today (though very badly) if the opportunity would present itself. I enjoy the sport and enjoy watching it regardless of the player’s gender or what they are wearing.
    That the women would choose to wear such gratuitous outfits is undoubtable to draw a crowd = sponsors = money. So be it.

    Strategy? Chocked full of it. You have to out guess your opponents play because of how much area you have to defend.

    Because of that aspect … I actually enjoy 6 man beach volleyball. It is sooo much easier for those of us who aren’t professionals.

    My outfit of choice??? Bike shorts (keeps all that sand out of my bits) and a long, loose fitting t-shirt. To each his own I guess.

  105. Both have benefited greatly from the latest in technological developments. . . .

    Personally, I think I’d choose the Catherine Bach Daisy Duke.

    (Observe how I’ve taken a discussion of one of the most ambitious scientific experiments in human history and dragged it into the gutter)

  106. You know what really peeves me about Itunes? When a podcast download craps out, Itunes never bothers to try again. For that matter, you don’t even find out until your on your way, listening to a show….then silence in your earphones and the main menu on your screen.

    I tried starting Chris Lester’s Metamor City today on my drive home. 10 minutes in, the story just died. I’ve finally figured out a workaround to get them to redownload (which is another thing Itunes sucks at). At least episodes 1, 2, and 3 were all screwed.

  107. Morning Pan,

    What was your work around Ed? I’m getting the same problem.

    I’ve noticed that the download,list will sometimes tell you a download has stopped so you can resume the download. However at other times it says the download was fine when it wasn’t.

    Tea and Chat seems to be suffering truncated downloads at the moment.

  108. Stephen (Steven?) has said that was a known issue that he was looking into, possibly something separate from other iTunes issues???

  109. D’oh, I did leave that off, didn’t I? Go search for the podcast in the Itunes store again. From there, you can individually download episodes. The episodes will then show up in your list under the podcast subscription, but it will probably show as a duplicate. I usually just delete the “bad” file at that point.

    I hold out the weak hope that Apple will fix podcasting in the rumored Itunes 8. But, this problem has existed for a long time and they couldn’t be bothered to fix it, even after they’ve recieved complaints from a number of people.

  110. *yawn* Is it morning already?

    Itunes bugs the hell out of me. I still do direct download of MP3’s instead of subscribing to anything, because there is no guarantee that the downloads will work.

  111. Re: UAV vs. RC car
    Nice summation.

    “The question is: if nobody is going to die—except probably civilians on the ground—what’s the bloody point of real war? Why not just organize a videogame league and get over with it?” – Aviation Week

  112. Well I really like “Sweep The Leg” a LOT. It seems to be inspired by the Karate Kid.
    Which doesn’t have anything to do with the other songs but it really rocks in a funky way!

  113. I only have ideas about a couple of the inspirations, WNDR. Some sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place the originals.

    However, it was, as usual, an excellent show.

    So, since we’ve turned this into a comment board for WNDR as well, do we have to deduct these from the post count for the GJB? 🙂

  114. Just listened again it’s Pole Position.

    Anyway Wolf, I know it’s inspired by the song from Portal, but the actual song is about Donkey Kong.

  115. Hey, if anybody is still hanging around. . . . it looks like we’re in for another a-typical Deadpan tonight, whether it be episode or Unshow.

    Apologies if it doesn’t work out.

  116. To be honest, I didn’t even realize it was Deadpan night. Kinda snuck up on me.

    At least it’s Unshow week, I can sigh and rest assured I have another week before all that stuff I was going to record will be too late…

  117. Darcy & I are still Waaaaaaaay back in early season 4.

    Like, way.

    Like, last one watched was “Planet of the Ood.”

    Too much crap going on, as usual.

  118. August is still trying to kill me.

    I have a script due on the first of Sept.

    I have MN State Fair trip with parents and sister Saturday.

    Ren Fest Sunday.

    Back round with folks monday a few hours.

    Work might need extra time of me too, but when?!?

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