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lherman

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Posts posted by lherman

  1. Posted

    Ok serious request: can we have a Scotty and PFT spinoff podcast where they just analyze the shitty toys of their youths? The Mr Microphone bit and the toy they talked about this year were a few of my favourite bits of banter (and that says a lot because their interactions are gold all the time!)

    • Like 8

  3. Posted

     

    So, all that, I'm on board with, for the most part. Where I got confused was with her whole crediting six monkeys instead of one thing. So I listened to that part of the podcast again, and I think I understand. This is the best I can do to summarize her point:

     

    If we as a society watch movies like this, and then we see in the movie's credits that one single monkey did all the "acting," then we as a society will get a mistaken impression about the capabilities of monkeys, and this in turn will feed the dangerous trend of anthropomorphizing animals. Anthropomorphizing animals is dangerous because if we judge animals by human standards, we might think of the animals as pests, or even "sinful" murderers, when ultimately, animals do things for animal reasons that have nothing to do with good or evil. Ultimately, when a Franken-monkey kills your ex-girlfriend, it's humanity's fault for making a Franken-monkey in the first place.

     

    Or put somewhat more succinctly: This movie teaches the wrong lesson, which is that animals who do bad things are just as culpable as humans who do bad things, and the credits, which give the mistaken impression that one monkey did all this work instead of six, lend credence to our belief in monkeys' agency to do human-like harm.

     

    I think...?

     

     

    this is exactly what i was thinking too as i tried to wrap my head around this argument. a classic HDTGM exchange!

  5. Posted

    I also noticed that conversation between the maintenance workers (about the missing gloves leading the other to ask "what are you, afraid of the dark?"

     

    I also loved how people responded to things in really weird ways. Like the kid says "the bales tower hotel is the second tallest hotel in North America" (or something like that) and fin just says "exactly". Another favourite line of mine is the kid talking about his boarding school (further proof they love in or near NYC): "it's built like a brick prison".

  6. Posted

    Jeff, you are a class act all the way.

     

    To share with the readers here, 2 years ago, some friends and I decided to sponsor $100 for a friend's birthday. Jeff emailed me back directly and arranged the shout out. Then, when there was an unfortunate technical snafu with the recording, he emailed me with his personal phone number so I could call him and discuss how he would make it right. He offered to refund the money (I refused, because as someone who works in media, I know that sh*t happens sometimes, and it was important that we still wanted to support Earwolf. I wasn't going to be petty because of a mistake/technical problem). Instead, he sent my friend a poster and a couple of shirts, and had Howard and Kulap (obviously we had sponsored Who Charted) record a personalized greeting to my friend and emailed me the audio recording. Needless to say, my friend was thrilled by this.

     

    Jeff - your actions earned a permanent fan. I always remember the integrity of Earwolf and try to support you guys, whether it's by buying one of the "I (heart) podcasts" shirts, or going to the CBB live show and buying the live shows from the other cities.

     

    All the best in your future endeavours!

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    It wasn't until the end that I realized Lee was really Howie. It was like the usual suspects.

     

    what??? lol, just kidding :)

     

    my all-time fave howie moment was when kulap asked him if he stays in touch with Zooey Deschanel after their Funny or Die video:

    "we don't really keep in touch, but we DO...not keep in touch at all"

    • Like 2

  11. Posted

    interesting topic this week. i was reminded of someone i know who is into "alternative" medicine and believes in a grand conspiracy by "big pharma". this person also believes the claims by a very shady sounding guy who pushes essential oils. so she takes one guy's claim at face value with only anecdotal evidence, refuses to accept real evidence about the effectiveness of regulated medications and doesn't hold this scammer up to the same level of scrutiny...it's maddening!

     

    oh, and as a Torontonian, loved the mention of rob ford. i've been listening to his supporters scream about bias and conspiracies against him for almost 4 years now and they just won't accept that their guy is just unfit to be mayor. one thing i don't recall hearing addressed on the podcast, though, was the technical difficulties associated with trying to fake this stuff. the crack video, for example, would have been extremely difficult to believably fake. we see theatrical films with $100 million+ budgets and complain about phony looking effects, so how would some schmo in his basement effectively create a video that would trick journalists and police?

    • Like 1

  12. Posted

    The sheriff is definitely one of my favorite Adomian characters and I'm glad he's still doing it although it's rare. They mentioned that it doesn't go over well sometimes, and I think that's due the the crowd. The character is basically an excuse for James to sexually harass everyone, but when the crowd is on board it fucking WORKS even when he is "merely chewing scenery."

     

    agreed. i was fortunate to see Adomian perform as Nottingham in Montreal in 2012 and it was hilarious to see how he interacted with the audience members in their various levels of discomfort and embarrassment. a great character, but he performs it in a very visual way, so i can see how it doesn't always work on an audio podcast (especially when it's in studio)

  13. Posted

    IT'S BEEN...great revisiting these top 15 of 2013! too bad there wasn't enough exposure to the live eps to garner enough votes because there were some amazing moments during the tour. but at least the toronto show got a shout out with the sean cullen "it's been" debacle!

     

    happy 2014 Earwolf and fellow commenters, here's to another great year!

    • Like 2

  16. Posted

    Our homepage doesn't work well right now. We have to address it soon (but we've been really busy with other stuff). The way it works though is that every new show is on the homepage, but the biggest shows on in the featured slider instead of the list below. So check that out. We aren't trying to get anyone to make extra clicks, it just doesn't work they way we thought when we made the change and have to change it again. Thanks for the question!

     

    i think the earwolf site is great. i love the way all guests and hosts are cross-referenced for appearances and photos, and the interface is very clean and simple. so whatever else you may be fixing in the future, i hope you'll be keeping the overall feel of the site the same :)

     

    quick question...earwolf shows have ventured up to Canada on the west coast, but how about some love for us east coast fans? i saw Paul F Tompkins at Just For Laughs in Montreal last year, but would love to see a live Who Charted, CBB, or HDTGM in Toronto or Montreal!

  17. Posted

    as disappointed as i am to hear of the reduced schedule for the show, at least i'll have more time available to listen to my other favourite earwolf shows! and it's a relief to know that the show will go on. take a cue from another of my favourite podcasters, Stephen Tobolowsky...his show is infrequent, but when a new episode comes up, it's always a treat!

     

    Dave and Jeff...best wishes to you both in the new year, and i can't wait to see Anchorman 2!

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    i know i'm a week late to this, but i wanted to share my 3 fave WC moments (in no particular order):

    1) "how old are you, Howard?"

    2) "this is Ku-Ku and the Dragon!"

    3) Howard on Zooey Deschanel: "We don't really keep in touch, but we DO not keep in touch at all". that is my go-to line whenever i tell someone about Who Charted and what kind of...quirky personality Howard is

     

    and i'm going to cheat and add #4, which was this week's episode with the hilarious Jessica St. Clair for her calling out Howard on his weirdness :)

     

    amazing 2012, i look forward to another great year of Whooch and Twooch!

    • Like 1

  19. Posted

    i wasn't offended by the SanterClanz throat-slitting, but i did have trouble laughing at the idea of kids being killed, particularly in light of the recent events. i don't know if i would have found it funny otherwise...maybe i would have, out of the sheer ridiculousness of it, but at this time, it didn't work for me :/

     

    the rest of the episode was great, always enjoy hearing harris wittels and paul rust, as well as the rest of the regulars try to outdo each other!

  20. Posted

    well, consider me a new fan of Jason Sklar! i've heard about the Sklar bros, but have never really actually heard them (maybe has something to do with having a couple of kids and work occupying much of my time and limiting my podcast listening!). his son sounds a lot like my older son, and i think the "talkabouts" is very cute, and actually a great idea for bedtime. i'm all for anything that involves them and gives them a goal to reach before bed.

     

    i also wanted to weigh in on the college debate. i remember when Jeff said in an early episode that he is pretty much against the idea of Arden (did i spell that right?) going to college, so his bias was fairly clear here. i'm pretty much in the middle, and thought Jason had some excellent points. in my career, i haven't really made full use of my university degree, but i value the experience i had over those 4 years. i do somewhat regret not living on campus and fully experiencing that life, but that wasn't that big a deal for me.

     

    the last thing i wanted to mention was how it really hit home with me when you guys were discussing how you wonder what kind of person your child will be...i think about that a lot, and it's thrilling and scary at the same time!

     

    great, great episode!

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    maybe it's just me, but to me, i don't care if the show changes its format, or if it becomes semi-regular...just keep it going! i've enjoyed both the "regular" episodes with Dave, and the ones with guest co-hosts. it's the conversation that matters, and in every episode i've gleaned some great information. maybe if it comes to it, someone else can host the show, but Jeff can still be involved!

     

    also, to get political for just a moment, i really liked the comment about the core value of "society" vs "every man for himself". it's too bad more people don't think in shades of gray like that, only that it's "socialists" vs. "libertarians"...like everything else, there has to be a middle ground!

  23. Posted

    there is a very interesting episode of the NPR podcast "Planet Money" from back in the summer where they spoke to a guy named Joshua Gans, who's a parent and economist and wrote a book called "Parentonomics". He speaks about giving incentives to kids for behaviour and task completion, and how the kids learn to game the system. He also had an interesting scheme that I'm considering once my kids are old enough for an allowance (anyone have thought about what age to start that??): he has a tax/subsidy that he offers; for example, if the kids want to spend their allowance money on candy, they pay a tax to him. if they spend it on something with educational value, he subsidizes it.

     

    it's an interesting way to look at things, and i think it falls in line a bit more with what Jeff was saying in this episode.

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    i loved Jerry's comment about his kids behaving 90% of the time, as in: good for 9 minutes, then misbehaving the 10th. that's the biggest challenge i have with my kids...except mine will play nicely with each other for about 3 minutes, and the other 7 are antagonizing each other.

     

    i'm starting to try a variation of what Jerry did to deal with his son not trying hard enough in his sports. i told my older son that if he's not behaving, i'm not going to talk to him. this morning, he was procrastinating and not getting dressed, and i tried ignoring him, and sure enough, within 2 minutes he got himself dressed!

  25. Posted

    Dking27: i agree that generally, if you start exercising, other healthy habits can follow (this year, i got back to bike riding after having not ridden much since my first son was born 5 years ago...and i've cut back quite a bit on the junk food). but i also see Jeff's point, considering my father-in-law claims to be a health nut, exercising regularly and eating healthy, but he's also a heavy smoker and drinker! (and, having said that, isn't in particularly good shape anymore)

     

    Jeff and Dave, i've really been enjoying the podcast. i just caught up tonight, and it's so refreshing listening to you guys talk about fatherhood. i've been having a bit of a rough time lately...my two boys (5 & 2) are both wonderful, sweet and smart kids, but they also drive me crazy all the time! they fight with each other, and whine and throw temper tantrums when they don't get their way. we're a single-income household, and my work schedule is pretty hectic, so it puts a lot of pressure on me. and of course, because of that hectic work schedule, they don't get to see me as much as they'd like, so when i'm home it's "daddy daddy daddy!" and that causes me to get less sleep, and be more stressed out and more irritable...just a vicious circle!

     

    sorry for rambling, all this is my long way of saying that listening to you guys puts things into perspective a bit: none of us are perfect, but our goals are commendable: we WANT to be good dads, and that means a lot, considering there are a lot of people out there who don't even seem to want that. i think just about every episode has given me at least a nugget of wisdom to carry forward. keep up the great work!

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