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Text the number and ask for Rockula and find out!

Anyway, I think it's an app for Paul, but for us, it's just a number. He can use the app to handle the messages so we're not directly bugging him/invading his own phone. Just an easier way for him to communicate with fans, I think. It's with this app: https://www.community.com/

So, wait. Is this an app we get or do we just text the number? Of course, I probably will never actually use it because I'm not sure what I would text Paul Sheer about.

Yea I sent a text saying 'please do Rockula on HDTGM' I got two clear AI responses, but no real response. So, I don't think you're wasting his time, he's texting who he wants!

I did. ETA: I’ll elaborate. I signed up and got a few responses from Paul. I think it’s a cool way to communicate that isn’t as potentially loaded or as fraught as normal Internet interactions can be. That being said, even though he’s the one who reached out to me first, and I’m sure he has a way of filtering all the responses, I can’t but feel like I’m bothering him. That could be my own personal hang up though.

My understanding (but I can’t say with 100% certainty) is that the Ebell show is cancelled due to scheduling conflicts with one or more of the hosts. They’ll be doing The Spirit of Christmas in studio instead. And they’ll do another show at the Ebell at some point in the future. I imagine that they recorded this minisode before the show was canceled and when it was Paul added new audio to explain the cancellation but they either forgot about that later reference to the Ebell show in the episode or didn’t feel like editing that out. Again, if I’m wrong someone else can feel free to correct me.

I liked it okay. It has all the trappings of most biopics. Rene Zellweger is pretty good. It's focusing on her final weeks as a performer. So, it's not uplifting. It covers her childhood and, though it's shown as not great, I still think it kind of glossed over how bad it really was for her.

I also meant to ask. Has anyone seen Judy? Is it worth seeing?

I was also curious about when this episode would drop so I asked Paul on Twitter and he said that instead of releasing an episode on Friday the 20th, they'd be releasing this Christmas one on Monday the 23rd.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I just want to point out that "Strings and Dance" competitions are not a thing. Sure, there are dance competitions. But they dance to something called MUSIC, not any one particular instrument. Why distinguish strings from, say, woodwinds or percussion? Are they judging the playing or are they judging the dancing? If they're supposed to be judging the overall symbiosis between the two art forms, then who gives a shit what kind of instruments are playing the music? What happens if Group B had the best dancing but Group C had the best violinist? There were 3 judges on that panel. We would assume that at least one was a dance expert and another was a violin expert. How would they be expected to agree on anything? it's like speaking different languages. There very much do exist string competitions...there are competitions for every instrument. But the judges are experts on that instrument, and aren't going to be distracted by another discipline which they know nothing about. On America's Got Talent the 4 judges have different backgrounds or areas of expertise, but the point is they are judging based on commercial appeal across the board, not artistic merit as they would do in a conservatory. Add to these complications the fact that the three groups were performing completely different styles. In fact, the only thing they had in common was that there was a dancer and a string player. One had ballet and a back-up orchestra. The other was faux-hip-hop with an urban dance crew. With all those variables (and only three entrants) it's a miracle they picked anyone. Finally, if Johnny was so against formal classical training, why did he have "sforzando" tattooed on his arm, an Italian term only used in formal classical score-reading?

I take it you're not looking forward to the sequel, "High Cs", where a bunch of young opera singers cut loose by crashing neighborhood Karaoke bars?

OK, here goes. I loved the storyline overall. I was so afraid it was going to be pure hokum or so artificial as to be unbelievable. For instance, Singin' in the Rain's meet-cute is entirely coincidental. If Gene hadn't run from his "adoring" fans at that moment and chosen that route to run away and landed in Debbie Reynolds' car then the rest wouldn't have happened. As it is he only was attracted/intrigued because she gave him as much sass as he gave smarm. (One of those "She doesn't want me?!? I'll show her!" deals.) I was afraid that's where SS was heading but was happy to be wrong. I didn't much care for all the troupe interplay and stuff. Tighten it to a "love triangle/4some" for tension instead of just how long it's going to take for everyone to come to their senses. The Abigail/Orville love story was fun the first time but definitely felt tossed in just to quickly (not neatly) resolve that scenario. Also Orville fetching Abigail wouldn't have stopped the show. Not sure what he thought that getting Abigail would accomplish. (He also didn't seem to know anything about his family's influence and friends and such. He could have contacted some of his suppliers in New York and had them help look for Abigail instead of "going all over New York". That was also a lousy shot at her, blaming his trying to find her as the reason his plan might not work.) I did LOVE the stage lights number and dialogue. It was much more organic and I could see it happening in real life. Lots of discussion of the various aspects of acting, the stage, makeup, the excitement, etc. SitR has Kathy stand on a ladder while Gene tells her about all the excitement and such. He turns the fans on to breeze her hair and the fans magically make no sound when he starts to sing. SS had sound in all the right places, ESPECIALLY that wonderful solo dance with the paper and the squeaky board. Wow was that awesome. I understand Moses Supposes wanting to show up the diction coach but a whole dance number just fell a little flat. I was perfectly on board with Make 'Em Laugh being a physical number.because Donald O'Connor was showing how far you had to go sometimes but the result made the effort worth it. The whole actors-on-a-farm thing was not needed. They only had 36 hours for crying out loud before the big barn dance/Historical Society meeting! Judy just expected them to know what was needed for each task and sort-of-laughed at them when they did it wrong. They were doing you a favor by agreeing to your terms (added after the original request which is unfair). Be considerate or they might walk out too. Hers wasn't the only barn in New England. I guess the time frame is what does me in overall on repeat viewings. We went from her being flat broke to the stage folk being completely part of the farm at the time of the dance and the dance was only the next evening from the movie's opening! Everybody took to everything too quickly, on both sides of the divide. Judy really should have given the actors the condition of helping on the farm before offering to let them stay. Gene should have talked to his actors first instead of agreeing. I am glad they addressed that a little with Judy dressing him down for browbeating Abigail. I have more but we've moved on. I did buy this instead of renting it and will definitely watch it again. It's also a fun one to listen to while cleaning at home or listening at work. It's a great pick and I am grateful to Cam Bert for the introduction.

I just saw on Facebook who will be the guest for this episode. Without spoiling anything and because I don’t know how to use spoiler tags on these forums, I’ll just say that everyone’s Christmas wish will come true. But I was curious when this episode will drop. The next scheduled episode is the 20th, the night this show will be recorded. Will we get a regular episode on the 20th and then this one on January 3rd? Will they delay the release and drop this the week of Christmas? Will this be a bonus episode? Or a Stitcher Premium exclusive?

I just finished watching this. This is DEFINITELY a strong contender for an HDTGM episode. It's nutso. Actual line from the movie, "You like a little bizkit?"

Pour one out for Sal. Danny Aiello died last night .