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I will put aside the fact that the graphic representation put together by EJ is actually about a shootout in AZ…
I didn’t get a chance to comment on Peter’s post from this weekend, so I thought I’d take a moment to say that Josh is as eloquent speaking about Texas as he is writing about it.
I skimmed the comments and didn’t see this mentioned, so I’m going to mention it. One thing that has always impressed me about Texans historically is their sheer toughness. Much of Texas, back when it was settled (and is still today, were it not for AC) is nearly uninhabitable: Little water, extreme and unpredictable weather, dangerous creatures–large and small. Yet settlers made it, settled it, created a country from it.
We lived in the country, on a farm, with an electric water pump for our wells and a couple of window units in our house and a grocery store to go to. My family just squeaked out a living that way. I cannot imagine the backbreaking work and toughness it must have taken just to get food on the table in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Great podcast gentlemen. This is a bit of colliding worlds for me, as a Ricochet member and a daily listener to the Carolla podcast. Excellent work!
DutchTex – Deadlines and graphic needs do funny things to you. In the words of Mythbuster Adam Savage, “I challenge your reality and reserve the right to substitute my own!”
Tell me about it! With Prager, Carolla and Ricochet teaming up lately, my head is exploding in excitement.
Thanks! Trevino’s twitter feed is hilarious, and I’m a big Carolla fan, can’t wait to listen!
p.s. Adam will be thrilled to learn that Ricochet’s comment spell-check system (or is it my computer doing it itself, i don’t know) insists his name is misspelled and suggests Corolla or Carola.
I can’t believe Rob and Adam didn’t discuss their mutual hatred of the revolting substance known as goat cheese.
James – You are an aficionado of old radio, so we’re going to have to pull a Harlow Wilcox on this podcast and find a way to work the commercials in like old Waxy.
And no one mentioned using Texas Rangers as a graphic. Hmmm.
While James is right that a lot of improv is just plugging in previously used material, Peter was (perhaps unwittingly) right in praising Carolla’s improv ability. ( Did he do more homework? )I listen to Adam enough to have witnessed his improv brilliance time and again. James – he’s pretty much known as one of the best. Take it back!
p.s. Adam will be thrilled to learn that Ricochet’s comment spell-check system (or is it my computer doing it itself, i don’t know) insists his name is misspelled and suggests Corolla or Carola. ·2 hours ago
Haha! Good to see a real fan like yourself caught that!
EJ: my mentor and guiding spirit, ol’ Harlow, but I can never match his monomaia. The guy talked about floor wax like he drank it with seltzer, and I still think he founded a religion devoted to the worship of Autolite Stay-Full batteries.
That said, I’m not a big Fibber fan. Never really got it. Few radio comedies hold up, except Benny, which is timeless; Lum & Abner, which was deceptively brilliant, and Gildersleeve, which had heart and a great long story to tell.
Oh, and Dickie Beals died, but that’s another post. We now return you to the Ricochet Podcast Comment Show.
James, you are a delight and I’ve tried nearly 12 times and in 12 different ways now to get you as a guest on the AEI podcast. So I’m taking to the Comments section for my final appeal! I was born in Minneapolis and grew up reading The Star Tribune over my late grandpa’s shoulder. So in many ways, we’re already old friends.
What’s it gonna take for us to Skype?!?!
If you like Benny, how about its spinoff? The Alice Faye-Phil Harris Show was great, too. Elliott Lewis as Frankie Remley… Ain’t a big call for left-handed guitar players…
But, your shameless begging is admirable.
RJ – I’m in! I must have missed those 12, but #13 did the trick. Drop me an email at first-name @ last-name.com. If you know what I mean.
EJ: love Phil Harris. Big ol’ breezy blaring’ Mouth of the South. Side note: he has a walk-on in a Lum & Abner movie. But that’s another post.
Thanks for having Adam on. His podcast is right up the with The Bleat on my list of Internet necessities. Agree with Franco–Carolla often returns to the same themes and personal anecdotes, but he is brilliant at improvisational humor.
Just finished the section with Adam–Excellent! Please have Adam on more. Or at least people like him (if such an animal exists).
Having you three and Adam on was a wonderful experience.
I have to weigh in here and say this was my least favorite Ricochet Podcast episode. First half great, but Adam Carolla is not my cup of tea. I’ve tried his podcast and I found it crude, unfocused, and not particularly funny.
Peter’s question about Texas was a very good one, and one that we need to continually ask: what makes the Lone Star State different. As a “damn yankee” who attended Texas A&M, I saw the state through outside eyes. It’s a delightful culture, but very complex. It’s not all self-sufficient oilmen and ranchers. Just as many progressives there as elsewhere, they just can’t get hold of the levers of power.
As I listened to this podcast in dreary, rain-drenched Vermont, a Vermont sick with the bloated idiocy of a certain flatlander Senator from Brooklyn (“flatlander” is Vermont code/Native Vermonter dogwhistle speak for “Ain’t born here”), it was interesting to have VT noted as one of the few states that was first born a Republic prior to joining the Union, just like Texas. The 1st Republic, actually, and the 14th State – so Texas is just lagging way, way behind.
Trevino’s points are well taken, regarding the paths that other states have taken, and now look at the ditch they’re in. The states are a microcosm of what’s been happening in Europe, when decades of indulgence funded by others has allowed them to rot from the inside out, and yet they still stand and demand more from the countries that haven’t made the same lazy choices as they have. We’re not there yet, in terms of the states, because the USG acts as the Bailout of Last Resort (which was the stimulus in many ways, for many states), but we’re almost there. We’re almost there.
Maybe I’m getting a little bit of burnout, but the main podcasts haven’t seemed as good in the past few weeks. As for Corolla, I’ve tried his podcasts, and language concerns aside, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Douglas — Tell us where you think we’re not fulfilling expectations for you. Always happy to take notes and suggestions on how we can improve.
This is all just my opinion, so take it for what it’s worth, but it seems like a couple of things are different. When I first joined, I loved the main podcast so much that I went back and listened to all the previous podcasts that I missed, one by one (listening to some of them several times). There seemed to be a humor and an energy that seems to be lacking lately, at least to me. Part of it, I think, is that some of the conversations with the guests haven’t been all that great (maybe because some of the recent guests themselves… sans Prager… aren’t all that great in this format?). To my ears, the gang just doesn’t seem as into it as they used to be. Maybe they’re just tired or it’s become routine to them. It happens. Everyone’s pretty busy, after all. I’ll listen to some older episodes to see if I can spot something concrete. Again, could just be me.
Thanks for the thoughtful notes, Douglas. I’ll pass them on and we’ll try to do better!
Blue Yeti – and everyone else –
My thoughts on podcasting, prompted by Rob Long’s comments is here. Please have a look.
I listen to Corolla now and then, and I like his podcast, but I don’t think he fit well on Ricochet. He did cheat a little and pull in some routines he’s used before, like his comments about being able to feed your kids. He’s probably just used to being in control and doesn’t seem to like fielding questions and watching his language.
Prager, on the other hand, was great when he was on, even if I couldn’t connect with the classical music part of the discussion!
Get Steyn and Sajak back on and that’ll pep it up a little. And I think it should be a requirement that Peter Robinson does a Presidential impersonation each show – loved his Nixon on the latest Uncommon Knowledge.
Carolla is not my cup of tea either. With so many important political and cultural events happening this summer, I was heartily disappointed to see/hear that my favorite podcast was investing time in a man whose largest claim to fame is hosting MTV’s Loveline. Sigh…
Ricochet is clearly doing an admiral job of drawing members of all stripes: from strongly religious social conservatives to atheistic libertarians. I understand how this spectrum can lead to some tension here and there and to inviting guests from one end that might not be all of our ‘cups of tea’, but Adam Carolla’s schtick was decidedly out of place. Frankly, his appearance was (best case) a reach and (worst case) a gimmick — hopefully the former.
My big peeve is the soda thing.
If you don’t want all the soda, don’t drink it. Some of us like being able to water everyone on a single “small” soda, and think ahead far enough to bring small cups for the kids.
Businesses do that because the flavored water costs less than the cup, lid and straw.
See also, truck stops with signs like: “fill your own mug: (third of the price of a cup) Fill your own thermos: (half the price of a cup) fill a mug the size of a thermous that we sold you five years ago: 50c.”
Can’t bear the thought of wasting all that liquid? Bring your own cup and ask them to fill it. If you want water, the girls will usually look at you, look at ItsyBitsy, laugh at the money in your hand and give you the kid’s cup full of water with a little ice.
Other than that? Meh. Favorite-show-does-flashback-episode type meh.
If the mountain dew at taco bell wasnt so watered down you wouldnt need the huge cups.
Finally got around to listening to this! (It was a busy week.) And didn’t like Adam Corolla at all. I feel I can say this freely since he’s obviously a fan of frankness. I don’t think I laughed once during that segment, and while I admire Peter’s ability to always find something good in a guest, it doesn’t seem to me that it takes that much talent to ramble onto a favorite anecdote instead of answering a question.
I will admit that, for me, the mean-spirited libertarian persona isn’t particularly appealing, just in general.