FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Mike And His Ilk. => Topic started by: fonpr on June 16, 2015, 07:22:45 PM
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Dear AP Mike,
What exactly is your relationship with Morty Lefkoe?
Signed,
Curious in New Port Richey
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12oz. or 16oz.?
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Dear AP Mike,
What exactly is your relationship with Morty Lefkoe?
Signed,
Curious in New Port Richey
No relationship. I replied to one of his tweets on twitter, I believe. Is he worth investigating?
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12oz. or 16oz.?
I prefer 12 oz. The mountains are still blue by the time you finish.
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Dear AP Mike,
What exactly is your relationship with Morty Lefkoe?
Signed,
Curious in New Port Richey
No relationship. I replied to one of his tweets on twitter, I believe. Is he worth investigating?
His ideas have changed my life profoundly. I was initially suspicious of his claims of being able to eliminate my fear of public speaking, but his ideas work.
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Dear AP Mike,
I know you're a big reader. Has there ever been a book that made you change your mind on a subject? Did it make you appreciate a person, philosophical stance, a band, a movie, etc that you dismissed before?
Thanks,
Jon
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Great question. Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality had a big influence on me when I read them in college. They helped finally liberate me from the baggage of my Catholic upbringing. They also got me to think for myself and question those who claim to speak with moral authority.
How about yourself?
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Great question. Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality had a big influence on me when I read them in college. They helped finally liberate me from the baggage of my Catholic upbringing. They also got me to think for myself and question those who claim to speak with moral authority.
How about yourself?
"The Blank Slate" by Steven Pinker. It made me realize that people are not malleable pieces of clay, and are far more hard-wired than we care to admit. The book also successfully debunks the myth of the "Noble Savage" that Rousseau was such a big fan of. I cannot recommend the book highly enough.
Also, Tom very kindly gave me a copy of Evel's autobiography. That book carpet-bombed my childhood hero. What a first-class goblin that guy was.
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I came across this comment on the Youtube:
Max Ember Smtih 2 years ago
It's people like Robert Christgau who save rock from rock fans. He has imagination beyond just the music, wit and a fearlessness of expression, as well as a broad taste. Without him, the cultural historians of the future in our society would write off rock n roll as being subscribed to by no one but luddites with narrow interests. Thanks to him, they'll recognise that it also was home to a lot of interesting, idiosyncratic characters. And thank God for that.
Would you please give your response?
Thanks in advance.
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So, Robert Christgau is responsible for making rock 'n roll interesting? I don't think so.
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So, Robert Christgau is responsible for making rock 'n roll interesting? I don't think so.
I read it as he focused on and championed the more interesting aspects of Rock and Roll.
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Yeah, but it makes it sound like regular fans are too dumb to figure it out on their own. I disagree.
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Yeah, but it makes it sound like regular fans are too dumb to figure it out on their own. I disagree.
I do think regular fans are not dumb but ignorant.
In support of the dumb idea let me point out the long-lasting success of the Eagles.
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I imagine when B_Buster writes his book it will feel a lot in spirit like A Fan's Notes
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I imagine when B_Buster writes his book it will feel a lot in spirit like A Fan's Notes
Ex is the best! Sort of.
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Favorite Dead years?
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Favorite Dead years?
69-70, 72-74, 77-78
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When I was deep into them a few years ago, 79 was where I had to stop. Never found compelling shows past there.
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When I was deep into them a few years ago, 79 was where I had to stop. Never found compelling shows past there.
That's what I tell people. If the 70s don't do it for you, you should probably move on.
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Dear Mike,
Do you have a preferred version of The Killers? The 1946 version with Lancaster or the 1964 version with Lee Marvin?
Signed,
Movie Guy in TX
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Favorite Herzog film aside from Stroszek?
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Dear Mike,
Do you have a preferred version of The Killers? The 1946 version with Lancaster or the 1964 version with Lee Marvin?
Signed,
Movie Guy in TX
Having just watched the 1964 version, I prefer the 1946 version. Too much car racing in the 1964 version for me.
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Favorite Herzog film aside from Stroszek?
The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser.
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Hey AP Mike
What are you currently reading? Do you recommend it?
:-*
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Hey AP Mike
What are you currently reading? Do you recommend it?
:-*
Elmore Leonard's Glitz. It's good so far.
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Teddy Magyk and Mr. Majestyk have to be among Leonard's less inspired character names.
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Two questions. Are you familiar with this version of this song?
Do you have any idea why I would be asking you the previous question?
The Ad Libs - The Boy From New York City (with lyrics) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TPYmeSqLjc#)
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Is there a Bayonne connection? I vaguely remember a conversation about this song.
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Is there a Bayonne connection?
Boom!
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Have you seen this before? http://photosandfun.com/Humor/DrunkvsYoga.php (http://photosandfun.com/Humor/DrunkvsYoga.php)
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Hey AP Mike
What are you currently reading? Do you recommend it?
:-*
Elmore Leonard's Glitz. It's good so far.
I just myself started reading Leonard. Do you have a favorite?
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LaBrava is a good one. Glitz was good as is Freaky Deaky which I'm currently reading. The Library of America put out 2 vols. of Leonard recently. They include his best from the 70s and 80s. I haven't read them all, but you probably can't go wrong with any of them.
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The few that I've read are really fun. I have a big collection of his westerns that I need to start.
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but you probably can't go wrong with any of them.
Very true. Even lesser Leonard is still Leonard.
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What's the most out of hand someone has ever gotten at Massa's?
No idea why I am asking.
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What's the most out of hand someone has ever gotten at Massa's?
No idea why I am asking.
That is a great question, Jon.
It doesn't matter why; you followed intuitive inspiration.
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What's the most out of hand someone has ever gotten at Massa's?
No idea why I am asking.
I've had a couple close calls with fights almost breaking out (fortunately, I was able to prevent one and a customer was able to prevent the other). Once, a guy spit on the floor because he said this was acceptable behavior at another bar. I had to remind him that it wasn't the case at Massa's. A couple weeks ago a guy blew up the shithouse and didn't have the courtesy to clean up after himself (and by blowing up the shithouse I mean I've never seen anything like it before--there was shit everywhere, even under the toilet seat. How is it even possible to get shit under the toilet seat if you're sitting on it?! Was it gravity defying shit? Did he use the seat to wipe his ass?! I realize I'm asking questions that will never be answered). Anyway, that stunt got him banned again (this was his second banning--he was previously banned for cadging cigarettes and asking other patrons for money).
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caging cigarettes
What's that behavior? Is it how you hold your hand?
I could use the Urban Dictionary but I'd prefer your definition.
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Far be it from me to respond on Mike's behalf, but I believe he was referring to "cadging."
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Far be it from me to respond on Mike's behalf, but I believe he was referring to "cadging."
I think that clears it up, Buff.
Cadging means bumming, right?
You know how Lemmy got his nickname?
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Far be it from me to respond on Mike's behalf, but I believe he was referring to "cadging."
I think that clears it up, Buff.
Cadging means bumming, right?
You know how Lemmy got his nickname?
No, I didn't know. That's funny.
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Far be it from me to respond on Mike's behalf, but I believe he was referring to "cadging."
I think that clears it up, Buff.
Cadging means bumming, right?
You know how Lemmy got his nickname?
No, I didn't know. That's funny.
I try.
Even though I don't watch enough television.
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I apologize for the misspelling. I don't smoke.
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You need to title your future album AP Mike: Blowing up the Shithouse....with Love.
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You need to title your future album AP Mike: Blowing up the Shithouse....with Love.
Available exclusively on Massa's Records and Tapes.
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What's the most out of hand someone has ever gotten at Massa's?
No idea why I am asking.
I've had a couple close calls with fights almost breaking out (fortunately, I was able to prevent one and a customer was able to prevent the other). Once, a guy spit on the floor because he said this was acceptable behavior at another bar. I had to remind him that it wasn't the case at Massa's. A couple weeks ago a guy blew up the shithouse and didn't have the courtesy to clean up after himself (and by blowing up the shithouse I mean I've never seen anything like it before--there was shit everywhere, even under the toilet seat. How is it even possible to get shit under the toilet seat if you're sitting on it?! Was it gravity defying shit? Did he use the seat to wipe his ass?! I realize I'm asking questions that will never be answered). Anyway, that stunt got him banned again (this was his second banning--he was previously banned for cadging cigarettes and asking other patrons for money).
I am thoroughly satisfied by that answer. And "blew up the shithouse" is a turn of phrase that is too good to keep. I will be using it within a week's time.
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Favorite filmmakers? Off the top of my head, I'm also curious how you feel about Kieslowski and any of the Shawn/Gregory collabs (Dinner With Andre, Vanya, Master Builder)?
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Favorite filmmakers? Off the top of my head, I'm also curious how you feel about Kieslowski and any of the Shawn/Gregory collabs (Dinner With Andre, Vanya, Master Builder)?
Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Terence Malick, Mike Leigh, Roy Andersson, Ulrich Seidl, David Lynch, the Coen Brothers, Orson Welles, Bela Tarr, Yasujiro Ozu, Douglas Sirk, Akira Kurosawa, Vittorio De Sica, Werner Herzog, Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Budd Boetticher, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Raoul Walsh.
Kieslowski is fine but his movies don't really knock me out. It's been a while since I've seen the trilogy and I haven't made it through all of The Decalogue yet. Can you make a stronger case for him?
Dinner with Andre and Vanya were fine. I haven't seen Master Builder.
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Dear AP Mike,
Other than Naked, where should I start with Mike Leigh? Also, are you excited about the upcoming releases from Malick and the Coen Brothers? Knight of Cups looks particularly great.
-CD
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High Hopes, Life Is Sweet, and Secrets & Lies are all top notch Mike Leigh.
What's not to like about new Malick or Coen brothers?
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Knight of Cups was the first Malick to get a negative to non buzz and reviews here (The Netherlands), as a result of which it disappeared from theaters before I got a chance to go.
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Favorite filmmakers? Off the top of my head, I'm also curious how you feel about Kieslowski and any of the Shawn/Gregory collabs (Dinner With Andre, Vanya, Master Builder)?
Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Terence Malick, Mike Leigh, Roy Andersson, Ulrich Seidl, David Lynch, the Coen Brothers, Orson Welles, Bela Tarr, Yasujiro Ozu, Douglas Sirk, Akira Kurosawa, Vittorio De Sica, Werner Herzog, Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Budd Boetticher, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Raoul Walsh.
Kieslowski is fine but his movies don't really knock me out. It's been a while since I've seen the trilogy and I haven't made it through all of The Decalogue yet. Can you make a stronger case for him?
Dinner with Andre and Vanya were fine. I haven't seen Master Builder.
Solid. I just missed a week-long screening of "Nashville" here in Cleveland and regret it.
The trilogy is great, but I've never made it through the Decalogue either. I feel like the trilogy succeeds at what the Decalogue sometimes struggles at accomplishing (using film to explore a philosophical idea w/o judgement or comment). I know Criterion is doing some of his earlier works and the Decalogue has long been in their pipeline. I had to work this week and miss a screening of "A Short Film About Killing." A lot of Polish/Czech/random Europeans leaves me cold, like I don't really know enough context to fully grasp the work. "Blue", though, is a top five favorite movie.
I bought the Shawn/Gregory box but haven't opened "Master Builder." I watched a documentary about Andre Gregory that his wife made and it really soured me on him for a minute. It could have been fascinating, but there's so little footage of his early "groundbreaking" work that it was mostly reduced to people just talking about it.
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Mike: Did you see The End of the Tour yet and if so, your thoughts? Given this is not an M. Night Shyamalan film, I am not giving much away when I say that McDonalds product placement plays a pretty big plot point. Not sure what David Foster Wallace would have thought of that, but it made me want to kick the screen in. Other than that, I thought it was pretty good.
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Mike: Did you see The End of the Tour yet and if so, your thoughts? Given this is not an M. Night Shyamalan film, I am not giving much away when I say that McDonalds product placement plays a pretty big plot point. Not sure what David Foster Wallace would have thought of that, but it made me want to kick the screen in. Other than that, I thought it was pretty good.
I just saw it. It was OK. It could have gone deeper, I thought. I read a few pages of Infinite Jest after seeing it. It did not make me want to continue.
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Happy Birthday!
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Happy Birthday!
Really? Happy Birthday, Mike!
Mike Birthday Spa - Happy Birthday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDI4BBqIfbQ#)
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There's a pretty strong psychological theory that says human beings really only care about hearing/seeing their own names. My friend says that is the sole reason for the existence of local newspapers.
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Mike: Did you see The End of the Tour yet and if so, your thoughts? Given this is not an M. Night Shyamalan film, I am not giving much away when I say that McDonalds product placement plays a pretty big plot point. Not sure what David Foster Wallace would have thought of that, but it made me want to kick the screen in. Other than that, I thought it was pretty good.
I just saw it. It was OK. It could have gone deeper, I thought. I read a few pages of Infinite Jest after seeing it. It did not make me want to continue.
Funny you point this out Mike. I have a running discussion with a good friend where I point out to him that I have tried - in earnest - to read Infinite Jest perhaps on six or seven different occasions, and still have not made it past the first 30 to 40 pages. In addition I am unable to explain the reason why, oddly, other than possibly the book's length. Which is of course one of the more lame excuses, eh?
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Infinite Jest is great, although I've never finished it.
I think DFW's death has really made some awful awful fans come out of the woodwork and help turn his writing into some kind of sickly sweet "how to live a meaningful life" garbage that, while present in his work, isn't the main focus of it. I blame that Kenyon speech going viral for some of that as well.
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What do you make of this, Mike?
Here Is a Song About You, Ap Mike Lisk (Per Your Tweet) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFtIpmuloyY#)
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Being a Pynchon fan, I figured Mike would have liked Infinite Jest.
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Hey Mike, are you interested in getting together for another Skype gathering?
P.S. They took my $10 credit. Did they get yours as well?
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Hey Mike, are you interested in getting together for another Skype gathering?
P.S. They took my $10 credit. Did they get yours as well?
Sure, why not. When's a good time?
Yeah, it looks like they took mine as well, the dirty rats.
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Hey Epic, when's a good time?
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Hey Epic, when's a good time?
Any night except the 10th
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Hey Epic, when's a good time?
Any night except the 10th
That's a rather vague response, but I can work with it. Mondays are good for me. Can we enlist some social media savvy Skypers to help get the gang back together?
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Have you ever read Suttree by Cormac McCarthy Mike? It's like a weird, tragicomic semi-autobiography about a guy and the weird encounters he has in Tennessee and I figured if you ever put together a book of all the stories you've built up it'd be like the Bayonne version of that book. I don't mean that in the sense that your life is tragicomic or something, but a lot of your stories (like the porno store clown) certainly are.
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I have read Suttree. It's great. It's right up there with Blood Meridian as my favorite Cormac McCarthy book.
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I have read Suttree. It's great. It's right up there with Blood Meridian as my favorite Cormac McCarthy book.
Yeah it's one of my favourites too. I love the way he can describe mundane things but the way he phrases stuff makes it seem magical. Like the part in Blood Meridian where they're riding through the desert and the lightning's striking all around.
Have you got a least favourite McCarthy book?
I read Child of God about a year ago and man, I loved it but I felt like I had to take a shower after finishing it. I read it in two sittings and just being in that world for that amount of time was a little too much.
The first one I ever read was No Country, right after I saw the movie which I was just so struck with, but in retrospect I think it's one of my least favourite of his books. It's still great, and after seeing the movie again recently I was really impressed by how well the Coens adapted the feel his prose into film (if that makes any sense), but it's just not as engaging or as mythic-feeling to me.
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It's not a book, it's a screenplay: The Counselor. You could say McCarthy went a bit off the rails with that one. But I still love it.
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It's not a book, it's a screenplay: The Counselor. You could say McCarthy went a bit off the rails with that one. But I still love it.
How do you rate the Border Trilogy? I love the Crossing but might put All the Pretty Horses and Cities of the Plain toward the bottom of the Cormac McCarthy canon (though they're still pretty good, generally).
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I liked The Border Trilogy (more so because a friend helped me with all the untranslated Spanish). I'd put them above his first two where the Faulkner influence was a bit too heavy for my taste.
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It's not a book, it's a screenplay: The Counselor. You could say McCarthy went a bit off the rails with that one. But I still love it.
I've not read the book yet, but I liked the film. I wasn't surprised that a lot of the public didn't like it, but i was surprised by how badly received it was by critics. I've not read the sunset limited either, cause my usual stance is it's a waste of time reading a play.
It's interesting with the first couple of his books to see his style come into its own. The Orchard Keeper has much more in the way of long sentences and punctuation than his later works.
I don't know what it is with McCarthy's books where they can be so miserable a lot of the time but I still want to read them. I remember putting down A Song of Stone by Iain Banks because all of the characters were just unpleasant and the way the book was going it was just going to end badly for all of them, but not in a cathartic way.
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I know you like Intervention but have you seen My Strange Addiction? I caught an episode of it the other day being run on some junky UK channel and there was a lady addicted to eating her husband's ashes. One of the craziest things I've seen.
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I know you like Intervention but have you seen My Strange Addiction? I caught an episode of it the other day being run on some junky UK channel and there was a lady addicted to eating her husband's ashes. One of the craziest things I've seen.
Sounds like a self-correcting problem, no?
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I mean you'd think so. At one point she says "I need serious help!... I'm gonna run out soon!".
I think the main problem was she'd already eaten a pound of the ashes, and she said if she ran out of ashes she'd have to kill herself.
The real kicker here is that embalmed remains contain chemicals that cause psychosis. I didn't realise they embalmed people they burned, but apparently they do, so while she's trying to get less crazy she's actively eating craziness chemicals.
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I have read Suttree. It's great. It's right up there with Blood Meridian as my favorite Cormac McCarthy book.
I found Sutree so frustrating, something almost happens then the story meanders away and almost does something else. Rinse and repeat.
I was driven so mad I had to give up when he was tripping and wondering through the forest with only 30 pages left, did I miss anything?
Blood Meridian is tops, though.
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There's an episode of My Strange Addiction about a lady who is addicted to her puppet. Someone keep an eye on Wally Wackiman.
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Now that you wear cowboy hats, has Massa's gone country? Do you now have chickenwire over the stage in the corner, and do they throw beer bottles at the band if they don't know "Wreck of the Old 97"?
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I like the concept of AP Mike being the Fisher King of Massa's.
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What do you think of Jonathan Franzen? (This is a serious question)
A year or so ago I read The Corrections and was not terribly impressed (how often do we neglect novels with only one read?). Now I am reading his new book Purity and it reminds me (in a positive fashion) of Douglas Coupland (I'm from the Slacker generation).
Thanks ~
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What do you think of Jonathan Franzen? (This is a serious question)
A year or so ago I read The Corrections and was not terribly impressed (how often do we neglect novels with only one read?). Now I am reading his new book Purity and it reminds me (in a positive fashion) of Douglas Coupland (I'm from the Slacker generation).
Thanks ~
Douglas Coupland he wrote a book about Marshall McLuhan, one of the "Extraordinary Canadians" (along with Dougald).
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It's completely unfair, but I always get Marshall McLuhan mentions (here and, uh, elsewhere) mixed up with this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Applewhite.
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It's completely unfair, but I always get Marshall McLuhan mentions (here and, uh, elsewhere) mixed up with this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Applewhite.
That's screwed up.
And unfair.
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Mike, please tell me you are just taking a week off to cool down. We'd hate to see you leave.
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I second that.
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Mike, please tell me you are just taking a week off to cool down. We'd hate to see you leave.
Can someone give me the CliffsNotes on what has happened? I'm not on Twitter.
(The naïve one in the forum.)
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I took the week off for a prior commitment (job related). I wasn't benched.
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What do you think of Jonathan Franzen? (This is a serious question)
A year or so ago I read The Corrections and was not terribly impressed (how often do we neglect novels with only one read?). Now I am reading his new book Purity and it reminds me (in a positive fashion) of Douglas Coupland (I'm from the Slacker generation).
Thanks ~
I haven't read The Corrections, although I own it. From articles I've read by Franzen, I've gotten a bad vibe.
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Hi Mike,
Any plans on releasing a new song or two this year?
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I had a couple ideas for new songs. One is called "Misery." The flip side is called "Yoga Pants Dust-up." They're currently gestating.
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Frances Ha was a book?
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Frances Ha was a book?
My mistake.
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What was it like being chased off by Gary the Squirrel on his alleged "broadcasting bootcamp"?
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What was it like being chased off by Gary the Squirrel on his alleged "broadcasting bootcamp"?
Gary is a pint-sized bully. Everyone knows that. The fact that he would create a "bootcamp" is no surprise at all.
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Hey Mike,
If you had the inclination to write a comical book or graphic novel, what type of book would you go for? I'm betting some sort of almost Lynchian noir thriller.
Respectfully,
Another Mike
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Hey Mike,
If you had the inclination to write a comical book or graphic novel, what type of book would you go for? I'm betting some sort of almost Lynchian noir thriller.
Respectfully,
Another Mike
A light-hearted romp about a talking rabbit.
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Hey Mike,
If you had the inclination to write a comical book or graphic novel, what type of book would you go for? I'm betting some sort of almost Lynchian noir thriller.
Respectfully,
Another Mike
A light-hearted romp about a talking rabbit.
In the vein of Harvey?
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Gary is a pint-sized bully.
A furry little Trump?
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Mike I am curious to hear your thoughts; so if you wouldn't mind: in one sentence and in your own words describe the current presidential race.
Thanks ~
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Rudy Van Gelder is dead!
Your response?
And what about your response to the question above mine?
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Mike I have started catching up on Criterion Collection classic films on Hulu, and wondered if you might recommend any in particular. I recall you guys were talking about Criterion (or was it Kurosawa?) on a recent HHOP. (Thus far I have finished Breathless and Alice In The Cities; just started Rashomon)
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In this episode of Expanding Mind: http://expandingmind.podbean.com/e/expanding-mind-american-heads-072816/ (http://expandingmind.podbean.com/e/expanding-mind-american-heads-072816/) Jesse Jarnow (WFMU) mentions Grateful Dead lyricists Robert Hunter and John Perry Barlow deciding to focus on writing "wisdom poetry" not dogma to sidestep the cultish element surrounding the band. You can skip to the 22 minute mark to get to the specific mention.
I also have a follow up question that I'll save for later.
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Mike I am curious to hear your thoughts; so if you wouldn't mind: in one sentence and in your own words describe the current presidential race.
Thanks ~
How 'bout one word: disgusted.
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Rudy Van Gelder is dead!
Your response?
And what about your response to the question above mine?
Any recording engineered by Rudy Van Gelder is worth purchasing. It's a guarantee of quality.
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Mike I have started catching up on Criterion Collection classic films on Hulu, and wondered if you might recommend any in particular. I recall you guys were talking about Criterion (or was it Kurosawa?) on a recent HHOP. (Thus far I have finished Breathless and Alice In The Cities; just started Rashomon)
Badlands and Short Cuts.