Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
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Jun 17, 2010 at 12:02pm
Heads up: this week on the podcast, Andrew Klavan sits in the Steyn chair (Mark will be back, we promise) and Tucker Carlson and Jonah Goldberg join us for a wide-ranging and extra-entertaining conversation. It's coming in mere hours to Ricochet.com and your media player of choice.
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May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Drew Klavan is fearless! OK, so maybe you don't have to be fearless to take on soccer fans. You can pretty much just slap a palm on their forehead while they swing futiley at you. And you have the other hand free for a tasty beverage, while conducting a casual conversation.
I'm concerned, however, by Rob's metric-inspired Mac-using self-loathing. His description of the soothing properties of the buzzy sound and pretty pictures put me in mind of Edward G Robinson's euthanasia scene in Soylent Green. Don't follow the light Rob! Turn back!
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Regarding knowing Sarah Palin by her enemies: I get a definite Lovecraftian vibe from the horrified reactions. There's a story by H.P. Lovecraft wherein the protagonist learns that his (approx.) great-great-great-great grandmother was really--brace yourself--a gorilla. His response is to douse himself with kerosene, walk out into the rose garden in the backyard, and set himself on fire. (Yeah, I know. wrong on so many levels. This is Lovecraft we're talking about.) I almost wonder if the set-yourself-on-fire screams of terror we hear from certain people are prompted by their confronting the reality that--gasp!--they belong to the same human race that Sarah Palin does.
Does this make sense to anyone else? Or is this going to turn out to be another one of those bizarre analogies I post to the internet that I end up regretting later?
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
So is the verdict that soccer and government can equally be described as constant activity with little to show for it?
StockTwits TV is a model conservative would-be pundits might explore.
Being a conservative artist, like being a conservative scientific researcher, requires admitting to oneself that you have limits... that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Liberals tend to lazily accept any curiosity or idea as worth bringing to fruition. The right road is a tough one. I think that partially explains why artists tend to be liberal.
Obama is a commandante without the power; which is to say he would be if he could. Healthcare mandates, obscene financial oversights, cap-and-trade, joining the world against Israel -- these are not grand stretches, but his hopes diluted enough that he can pass them through a resistant government. Obama is as bold as his power allows. FDR sent small business owners to jail for charging prices that were too low. Obama is capable of at least as much. What we've seen is an Obama restrained.
The podcast was enjoyable as always. :)
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Hey, King gets response, why not Lovecraft? Who was a horrible racist, it should be noted, but so was Henry Ford. I seem to recall somebody on the Corner promoting Cthulhu 2008 (don't settle for the lesser evil)... Hang on a sec, I can get this back on topic, pinkie swear.
Ok, got it. I agree with Rob that the Divine Sarah maybe shouldn't be Prez. But 2008 was a weak year. Of the four candidates on the major tickets, she was the most qualified by far. And she's shown some keen political instincts since, in sharp contradistinction to the other three.
The visceral reactions provoked by Sarah will provide fodder for psychology classes for decades. Nobody can adequately explain it.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Kennedy Smith: You can pretty much just slap a palm on their forehead while they swing futiley at you. And you have the other hand free for a tasty beverage · Jun 17 at 5:56pm
Fredösphere: Does this make sense to anyone else? Or is this going to turn out to be another one of those bizarre analogies I post to the internet that I end up regretting later? · Jun 17 at 6:44pm
Oh, I'm getting misty eyed. I missed you two. I haven't listened to the podcast, yet, so I have absolutely nothing of substance to contribute. I'll be back.
Jun '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Rob: Where's our cool stuff (like crApple Macbooks)?
Answer: Our cool stuff is the dishwasher, or the food on the table, or that toilet. We don't really do wheat grass shots or organic shoes and homemade bikes because we know that these things don't make the world go round'. We make all the things that make American life possible. They used to call it industry I think...
Story: Back in college, I had a professor that was just going on a rant one day, "Why don't you conservatives participate in protests?" Silence followed. "No seriously, why don't conservatives go out to protest things?" he continued. Silence followed. "NO SERIOUSLY I want to know, why don't you conservatives come out to protests?!?"
Then, a response from the back of the room, "It's because we have jobs!"
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Samwise Gamgee: Rob: Where's our cool stuff (like crApple Macbooks)?
Answer: Our cool stuff is the dishwasher, or the food on the table, or that toilet. We don't really do wheat grass shots or organic shoes and homemade bikes because we know that these things don't make the world go round'. We make all the things that make American life possible. They used to call it industry I think...
Well, okay, I agree with you about all of this. Except: the Japanese make the best toilets.
Feb '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Samwise Gamgee: Rob: Where's our cool stuff (like crApple Macbooks)?
Answer: Our cool stuff is the dishwasher... or that toilet...
Rob Long: Well, okay, I agree with you about all of this. Except: the Japanese make the best toilets.
I'm making too many mental associations now. It's too late to stop! Mac... crApple... Japanese toilets... takes me back to a 1999 Japanese parody of the original iMac design:
The images above are just a couple from a full brochure that explained every feature of the toilet. The whole parody was well done to the last detail. Even the slogan... let's just say that several Asian languages pronounce the 's' sound as 'sh' when it comes before an 'i' sound. And... it's based on an actual product line from a real company of the same name (scroll to the bottom of the linked page).
As for the poor guy who made the parody? This is what he looked like after Apple's lawyers were through with him.
Edited on Jun 19, 2010 at 2:12amMay '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
If I heard him correctly, I take exception to a contributor comment that conservatives don't create much. 2 things come to mind. 1st is Southern cuisine. Only conservatives could create a uniquely American cuisine founded on inexpensive and seemingly undesirable ingredients. Secondly, I'm reminded of my 99 year old grandfather, who in a recent conversation proclaimed that the last Democrat he voted for was FDR. Some years ago, he typed up stories for me from his childhood during the Dustbowl and Great Depression. In one story he described how he and his father built a wind turbine generator to power the house and barn. I've never understood the liberal argument that gov't should invest in alternative energy technology development when technology and resources are already available to the average joe do it themselves.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Busy System Admin
Samwise Gamgee: Rob: Where's our cool stuff (like crApple Macbooks)?
Answer: Our cool stuff is the dishwasher... or that toilet...
Rob Long: Well, okay, I agree with you about all of this. Except: the Japanese make the best toilets.
I'm making too many mental associations now. It's too late to stop! Mac... crApple... Japanese toilets... takes me back to a 1999 Japanese parody of the original iMac design:
The images above are just a couple from a full brochure that explained every feature of the toilet. The whole parody was well done to the last detail. Even the slogan... let's just say that several Asian languages pronounce the 's' sound as 'sh' when it comes before an 'i' sound. And... it's based on an actual product line from a real company of the same name (scroll to the bottom of the linked page).
As for the poor guy who made the parody? This is what he looked like after Apple's lawyers were through with him. · Jun 18 at 11:38pm
This is great! His apology page is brilliant!
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Loved the latest podcast. But you guys were way too hard on world cup soccer!
Rob Long and Mark Steyn seem to be sharing one mind on the Hillary idea - from Mark's latest OC Register article:
"Memo to Secretary Rodham Clinton: Do you find yourself of a quiet evening with a strange craving for chicken dinners and county fairs in Iowa and New Hampshire, maybe next summer? Need one of those relaunch books to explain why you're getting back in the game in your country's hour of need?
"It Takes A Spillage.""
Divide and conquer, baby.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Fredosphere,
Either you're not totally crazy or we both are. I think you're onto something with the Lovecraft reference... Guess some of us have an easier time than others embracing our inner gorilla.
May '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
That was a great podcast; just an amazingly entertaining, funny our of audio.
Jun '10
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
re recent podcast
the Mac as a liberal threat??? Please!!!!
i couldn't believe my ears on the last podcast, where despite your apparent satisfaction (great satisfaction, actually) with Apple products, you folks were uniformly dismayed the conservatives couldn't generate up that kind of pizzazz and cool. yet i can think of nothing more conservative than Apple.
a company founded in a garage, almost destroyed by corporate civil service types, then resurrected by the founders to give us the ipod and itunes (truly revolutionary), mac os-x, the iphone (revolutionary, again), ipad, these guys hustle and work. what's wrong with that?? Apple is the world's leading consumer electronics business, consistently laying down marker after marker for competitors to meet. what's wrong with this? you don't like this?
and those kids that work in the apple store? private sector, probably scraping by, but that builds character, and we'll need that. i'll take my chances with them versus the staff at the local public school any day.
Apple as a liberal threat?? i can't think of a more Adam Smith experience in modern America. we need a lot more Apple, tons more.
Re: Ricochet Podcast #21: Soccer is a Mac
Dear Kyle, as you can see, Peter agrees with you. Please do your part and come to his aid over there.
And Peter, I totally and utterly agree. In fact, I wish I had thought of it that way during the podcast. You're totally right: the nerdy crew at the Genius Bar is so much more reassuring and competent than the crew at the DMV, the Post Office, or the local public school staff. The story of Apple is the story of entrepreneurial risk and reward, and a testament to the truth that ferocious competition in a free marketplace brings terrific, revolutionary products to the customer.