483 thoughts on “Jack Mangans Deadpan #233: Thanks for Calling”

  12. I’m thinking of placing an order with Think Geek and having it sent to a Arizonian Deadpanite. This will save me $$$$ in border fees. Who volunteers?

    I suppose I should ask my Goddess this directly as she is the most logical choice. She doesn’t seem to be on the boards as much lately.

  14. Pondering on whether to get a new Apple TV.

    Thing is all my consoles do Netflix streaming, and so the only thing I gain is AirPlay from my phone and iPad.

    Which would be nice but not it’s worth a 100quid

  18. Ignite is definitely a cool event, but I’m concerned about logistics.

    I am growing an agenda (Chia Agenda?), but I’m open to any and all good ideas/requests.

    Speaking of – i was mulling another Sunday Sedona run, if folks are interested?

  20. I gave my dad the complete Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings sets as gifts before he died. My mom found them unopened. So I’m getting them backfor my kids.
    :heart:

  25. Damn you, Tuesday!

    In other news – count me in for a Sedona run since I missed out last time. My flight home isn’t until 8pm on Sunday, so you guys are going to have me for the full weekend. Quaver in fear or anticipation, your choice.

  26. Speaking of the NHL– regardless how the Western Conf turns out tonight and
    after the bloodbath of the those key three games clear– I know who I’m cheering for —

    Go Ray Whitney! 5 more points ’til 1000 baby! Wott Woot

  36. CD – trying to get a company that I bought a performance muffler from back in 1999 to honor their LIFETIME Warranty. Seems they don’t make that muffler any more.

    Now, I’m waiting for a return call.

      • … Maybe?

        This is a direct quote of what I said to EssBee: “I’m arriving Thursday around lunch time, Van will be in about 5pm Thursday. Usually, those of us that are there will do dinner on Thursday. Jack has to work on Friday but Cj is willing to play tourist guide if we all want it. Then dinner again with the group on Friday (or EVFN, I’ve done both). Not sure what Saturday’s plans are, we usually hang out some place or other. Apparently we’re going to Sidona on Sunday. It’s very nice there, but don’t let Jack and the other Arizonians trick you into thinking they are anything resembling mountains (Alvie and I had fun picking on them last time he was out). On Monday everybody seems to work but both Van and I don’t leave til around 7pm. We thought we’d just spend the day together, which, if you’re still in town, you’re welcome to join us. I don’t think we have any real plans. We do have to be at the airport around 5pm though)”

  43. Today’s movie is Damned By Dawn

    Believe it or not, there is no DVR write up. IMDB says: During a violent thunderstorm, a family is awoken by piercing shrieks which summon the dead to rise again. Their lives explode in a blood soaked fury as they battle malevolent spirits, whilst fighting to save their souls from eternal torment with… the Banshee.

    Prepare to be wailed at

  134. CP: Jonathan Coulton – First of May

    It may only be March 21, but the weather sure is nice here in SoCal. So nice, I had to take my laptop out onto the back patio to work today. 😎

  135. Perhaps sometimes during the Deadpan gathering, TEB will have to recommend some movie of questionable repute for a live play by play.

    Regarding itineraries – I’ll be arriving in the Phoenix area around 1:30p local time. Hopefully some kind Deadpanite will be able to collect me. I’m a one of a kind, after all.

    • He’s a Facebook connection. It looks like he’s moved on from the Podworld, though. Perhaps he’s retired in shame, after rigging the vote for our worst Palooza movie choice evar (although the Palooza itself was a good one).

      Goodnight :Southland Tales:

  142. Cj and I did a play by play last time I was out there. The biggest problem was, because we were on the same network, WordPress would freak out anytime we tried posting at the same time. I have no idea what it would do if there are a dozen of us posting at the same time

  151. Repeat – since I’m behind. “Cj
    March 22, 2012 at 8:38 am · Reply
    Ed, email me your flight info. I can nab you from the airport. No worries. twinklergirl — gmail you all know this.”

  152. A play by play is possible, but if everyone is on the same IP or whatever, we may have to use a discretionary “I JUST POSTED” yell or something.. ya know, so everyone who has a post in queue can just take a drink and wait their turn.

    Yeah. A drinking game.

    whenever someone posts, we take a drink.

    We’ll make it through the first 10 minutes of the movie and pass out.

    • There really should be distinct division of the “YA” genre. Hunger Games is well-written fun, but absolutely NOT the right next step for your young Harry Potter fan. I’d expect the same from the movie.

    • I haven’t read or seen The Hunger Games, but I know I was pretty young when I read Lord of the Flies. Plenty of kids killing kids there, and it’s considered “literature”.

      • Plenty of deaths in the old Doctor Who (not to forget the creepy spiders in one Jon Pertwee Story), and that was aimed at the kiddies.

  176. I’m getting ready start listening to the first Hunger Games book myself in the next day or so. Susie the Southern Geek actually made a special point about these books. After reading the first one, she recommended them on her podcast. However, after finishing the other two, she still recommended them but said that they needed to be saved until later teen time. Definitely not for the youngest tweens.

    And it is a bit strange – I accidentally started playing the file yesterday. The opening is a young child’s voice say “An Audible Children’s Collection…”

  179. Listening to the morning news. Always a bad idea.

    So here’s today’s thought …
    Rather than being upset at the Government for saying that an employer’s insurance must cover the cost of birth control … why don’t these Catholic organizations just FIRE any employee who they find out uses birth control?

    If they say that their religious belies should allow them to override US heath care law, shouldn’t that same argument allow them to override ALL US law?
    If you are against birth control then own it. Make “not using it” a condition of employment.

  182. Job #2 is completed.

    Oy! I deserve this wonderful weekend that lies ahead for me. Gorgeous weather & quality time with the beautiful people in my life are in store. But first, I must sleep.

  188. I loved The Hunger Games trilogy. In fact, I’d say that the last paragraph is one of the most beautiful I’ve read.

    Not too excited about the film – kind of put off by the Twilight-likening media so far.

      • Good to hear. David Edelstein gave it a big “meh”.

        I’d probably see a movie with Lenny Kravitz for any reason just to look at him. And we do plan to see it. Just kinda “over” the Twilight-ish media stuff.

        • I saw one reviewer that said it played it too safe with the violence. I think he missed the point, considering the target audience. The movie shouldn’t be R rated.

        • Right now, Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 86% and Metacritic at 68%. For what the movie is, those are good ratings.

          Plus, this is the new “top dog” that a lot of disgruntled people will take pot shots at; some justifiable.

  199. I am tired of bad news..

    One of my girlfriends is sick. Called me last night. Cancer. She’s same age as me – yeah, that’s 42. She has stage 4 cancer and they’ve given her 6 months to live. She says she plans to live longer than that, but ya know. It’s hard to hear.

    On a more positive note, my mom had surgery this morning and is out and doing well.

  202. Hola Pannitos & Pannitas. I would love to know if anyone is a fan & follows DCI.

    Drum & Bugle Corp’s summer season is starting soon & it makes me happy. I would enjoy a few refreshing convos about the corps of today & of past.

      • ^applaudes

        I love Phantom Regiment & SC Vanguard. Old fan of the old Velvet Knights too

        DCI always holds a show in AZ- so tough for the performers (& tough on the fans in the heat) do you go to any shows, justa J0e?

        • I have caught a few shows over the years. Can’t watch them on TV anymore because the damn producers DRIVE ME NUTS! They get these guys who feel like they need to use a lot of fancy camera angles and close up to make the show “interesting”. It’s a show designed to be viewed from halfway up the stands on the 50 yard line and these knuckle heads want to cut to a low angle CU of a horn player … usually at the exact moment the Corp had built up to something BIG like a “company front” or big rifle toss.

          Nope. Can’t watch on TV any more.

          I’m a long time fan of the Cavaliers, 27th Lancers, the old Spirit of Atlanta (they are trying to come back), and the SC Vanguard as well. I also used to like The Bridgemen (The Bayyonne Bannanas)but their “unique”, wild, pageants have become standard with all the corps now and it bugs me. I want more precision marching/mind boggling playing – less dance recital.

          … but I don’t have any opinions of it or anything. :whistle:

  208. Calling Colorado Deadpan! Looks like I will be traveling into your state the week of June 15-25 (probably actually in Aurora 16th-23rd or so as this shall be a driving trip).

  211. Smurfette looked bleary-eyed in the mirror and accepted she had a problem. “Smurfdammit,” she thought. “This is the last time I wake up from a night of too much Smurfberry wine with dried Smurf in my hair…”

  214. JB, I see you’ll be in Aurora. If I’m not in Dallas that week of June, count me in for dinner or coffee or something. I’m sure we can rustle up Lo Pan as well. Are you coming solo? Or with the bride and kids?

  215. I just rewatched (after many years) the first 30 minutes of The Laramie Project on the elliptical this morning. Man, it just brings it all right back to today for me. Whew, powerful film.

    Today is a good day. We’re hosting Sly B’s brother and his family for a bbq and enjoying an early Easter Egg hunt and festivities. Hope you all have a good one!

  216. Hubby and I just came back from the mall. While we were there, we had lunch a the food court. There is a carousel in the food court. While eating, I was watching it go round and I commented to hubby that they painted their horses recently. He asks, “how can you tell?” I say we’ve been at that mall enough that I knew the difference.

    His reply,”That’s just…sad, really.”

    I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that.

  217. So we watched the first half of In Time last night. . . Not a good sign when your laughing during the lead character’s tragic “Nooooo” moment. . .

    It felt like a John Carpenter movie. And while I have a fondness for John Carpenter movies. . . I don’t mean that as a compliment.

    /end review.

    • I saw In Time. For the most part it was ok, I just had a lot of trouble with a certain plot device (not the time as currency part) that shows up about half way through the movie.

      I won’t say what for spoilers, though

  218. Finished watching a biography of Harry Nillson. It’s interesting learning the background of some of his songs.
    For example: did you know 1941 was autobiographical? Or Good Old Desk was about GOD? Or that he wrote the lyrics to Robin Williams Popeye movie?

    I found it all interesting anyway.

  230. ‘Crossover (sometimes known as young adult fiction, as the publishing industry realised that intelligence is being bred out of the potential readership by over exposure to television and computers and under exposure to actual academic stimulation!) fiction is designed to bring adult themes to older children in a way that they can understand. What that means is sex, violence and drugs with pictures and short sentences! ‘

    Discuss!

    • The discussion of “older” stories for kids has been around since the dawn of time. Look at Grimm’s fairy tales. The originals, not the modern watered down retellings or the disnyfied versions. These have always been dark and scary, featuring death, torture, and, in some cases, sexuality. This also goes for story tellers like Hans Christian Anderson with the little mermaid who not only dies, but spends a year in limbo (or is it purgatory? It’s been a while since I’ve read it). Pinocchio is another one. I could go on but I think you get the point

      • Actualyy, hubby’s in the middle of a similar controversy. A parent wants him to pull a book from the school library. I guess there’s language like, “you are a giant slutburger with everything on it”. And talk of good oral… Hygiene. Hubby’s not going to pull the book, he doesn’t believe in such things and has absolute faith in his librarian but he’s still reading the book over the Spring Break just so he can say he did due diligence. You should hear him groan whenever he reads this book aimed at grade seven girls.

        • And another thing! If you hide the real world from your kids, one of two things is likely to happen. 1). They will rebel and find ways to watch/deal with it regardless, or 2) they won’t know how to handle such things when they grow up and have to deal with it in the real world.

          When my Boo was quite young, I had a friend who was quite religious. Her kids were over and input on Disney’s Sword and the Stone. I heard about it later when she found out. She did not want her kids watching movies with witches and wizards in it. My reply was, “huh?”

          • My thoughts.

            Movie rating systems are pretty nearly useless as Age appropriateness is different for every individual child. Example, what is appropriate for a 12 year old is not necessarily what you want your parroting 5 year old viewing.

            No one knows what is truly appropriate for your child better then you do. At least if you are paying attention. Still, trying to keep up with “what is out there” is becoming more and more difficult.

            So many parents don’t bother to take an interest and are willing to just let pop culture give their children their values.

            Parents who are trying to be involved and ARE trying to actually raise their children should be given a little more help (or at least cut some slack) in that task.

          • Another quote from possibly the same writer:

            ?’…was that much crossover fiction deals with teenagers, and for adult readers it can represent an acceptable way to satisfy a sexual interest that is otherwise dubious..’

  231. Prior to the snoozefest that was Blues vs. Yotes last night, we saw The Hunger Games. I felt it was a decent interpretation of the book, with some major political plot setup for the next two movies, IMO. I have not yet read the other two books, but from what I’ve heard about the plots, I think the liberty the director and screenwriters took in this movie seems to be appropriate and entices me to go ahead and read Catching Fire.

    Happy Monday Pan! Be safe. Be happy.

  232. Morning, Pan.

    I finally finished reading High Fidelity on Saturday. I’ll watch the movie and send in my thoughts soon.

    Going to get my driver’s license renewed on this wet, rainy morning. Meh.

    • Wow. I just don’t know what to say to this.

      *shrug*. You can’t please everybody no matter how hard you try. It’s always the grumpy ones that scream the loudest. Generally happy gamers, like me, tend to be quieter in our contentment

    • Fascinating. Excellent assessment, comparing the change-fearers to the tea party.

      Is the internet causing humanity regress? Or is it revealing just how primitive we still are? You make the call!

  244. Supposedly, the planet Venus is bright enough right now to be seen in the daytime. Has anyone spotted it yet? I may venture outside the office to see if I can spot it.

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