June » 2009 » I Heart Talk Radio

Manga is a big part of nerdlore

Real quick…

My favorite nerdcast, Low Budget Radio, paid homage to Oprah and did a “Favorite Things” episode, which included things like domestic beer and pictures of whales. I couldn’t resist making a list of my own.

(They started at 7 so I guess I will too.)

7. British TV shows

6. Steve Martin novels, movies and banjo CDs (don’t think I didn’t just buy that CD)

5. Alan Rickman

4. Queen Elizabeth I

3. Severus Snape

2. Trader Joe’s

And my number 1 favorite thing…

Post-its!!!

(I’m afraid I may have out-nerded Marc and Tod.)

Who are these people? And what kind of life am I living?

I love Real Simple magazine. I love the “New Uses for Old Things” feature. Did you know you can use your old (but clean and beautifully multi-colored) rubber bands to tether your stemware in the dishwasher so it doesn’t tip over? Of course, I don’t have a dishwasher but does that matter?

I love the common sense reminders. For example, you should, when taking inventory of your belongings for insurance purposes, take care to record the value of your artwork. (Like $.19 for printing the photo at Walgreens plus $9.99 for the Target frame?)

I love the recipes. 38 Ways to Serve Salmon? Sign me up. (Do you think you can substitute canned tuna? Or hot dogs? They’re on sale this week.)

I’ve been listening to KNX a lot this weekend. Not sure why. Maybe because the majority of the weekend hosts on KFI are supremely annoying.

Anyway, I listened to Food News with Melinda Lee. A major topic of discussion was stem ware. (Does she know the rubber band in the dishwasher trick?)

How can you get your glasses extremely clean? Like so clean you didn’t even realize they were cloudy until you bought new glasses and placed them side-by-side in the sunlight. And vinegar just doesn’t cut it – the glasses need to be cleaner than that. You need to special order some miracle cleaning product. Because just wiping the water spots off is SO not enough.

I learned that if your silverware (actual silver, not that cheap stuff you peasants buy at Ikea) has micro-scratches, you should have it all monogrammed because, not only is that beautiful, but it hides the scratches.

And if your crystal water goblets have chips, you can have them filed to restore them to their perfect pre-World War II condition.

Melinda Lee has also taught me about having my fireplace cleaned. (I don’t have a dishwasher, did you think I’d have a fireplace? I’m no Randy Wang.)

All very valuable life lessons.

That reminds me… I really need to get someone out here to clean my upholstery and window coverings.

Oh…well…look…don’t be a dumb-dumb

Al Rantel has retired.

After fighting a long battle with cancer, he made the decision to leave talk radio, at least for a while. Last night was his final show on KABC.

I was only able to listen to the last few minutes, but Al sounded good and hopeful about the future. I haven’t been able to find the podcast of this show. KABC isn’t the best about posting their podcasts in a timely manner.

Make sure you keep up with Mike Mendoza on Talk Radio One. He is a good friend of Al’s and has indicated he might be a guest soon.

In the mean time, watch out for all those Liberals running around!

Caballeros del amor

Or, I’m the brand new Andy Rooney.

Do you ever wonder where podcasts are recorded?

Adam Carolla records in his super garage or warehouse. The Pretty Good Podcast – Randy’s studio apartment in Valley Village. Low Budget Radio – a garage in Korea Town.

Frosty, Heidi and Frank rent studio time at a real recording studio. The former bobsled recorded in Brian Whitman’s backyard in Toluca Lake. (BTW, I could never live in Toluca Lake. It sounds OK, but Toluca is radically ugly when typed.)

So I listened to April Winchell’s newest podcast today. (It’s great – definitely check it out.) When Talk Radio One was in its infancy, April would sit on the couch with a towel over her head and Skype with Marc.

But just as the Jeffersons moved on up to that de-luxe apartment in the sky, April has upgraded her podcasting set-up. Like a modern-day Mary Tyler Moore (What’s with all the ’70s TV references?), she’s thrown that oppressive towel in the air and now sits unencumbered in an actual chair.

In the closet.

Who can turn the world on with her smile…

Zapruder humor is timeless

So what’s going on in podcast land?

Brian Whitman (Website still hacked. Randy, please help him out. For old times’ sake. Pleeeease. Is Don on the phone?)

This guy flamed out on a pretty cool bodcast. Now he’s decided he needs about 50 jobs.

Glenn Beck Voices, producing, writing.

www.rick.com Hosting a morning music show.

Fake Leykis Podcast (only one so far) Brian, PLEASE turn off comments on your website. You’re only asking for trouble.

Pay him $20 to give your outgoing voicemail message.

April Winchell

New podcast today! I don’t know if this will be a regular thing, but enjoy it while it lasts.

Pretty Good Podcast

This really is a pretty good podcast. Check out the Jennifer Conway episode. It’s great – I’ve listened to it twice.

Low Budget Radio

These guys are real nerdy. Listen to the “Dear Gina Grad” episode for some funny George Noory humor. And when isn’t George Noory funny?

KLSX riff-raff podcasts

Randy Wang has become the king of the fringe podcast. He’s producing (OK, he’s recording and posting) a bunch of new podcasts.

Malibu Dan and Chrysta

The Single Life Podcast

AdaMacaDocious Podcast (I’m copying Randy’s capitalization here, don’t blame me.)

Marc Germain

Marc had Teresa Strasser (I love that you can type her entire name with your left hand. If you don’t use capital letters. Or if you have radical control of your little finger.) on as a guest last week.

Tonight’s guest is Bethenny Frankel from Real Housewives of New York City. This guy has a major Real Housewives jones, man.

If Randy is the king of the riff-raff, Talk Radio One is a haven for people who were fired from KABC. Who knew there would be such a market?

Un-Skype this lad, please.

This American Podcast – Act III

Podcasts 8, 9 and 10 were fairly worthless and a waste of time.

8. The Stuff of Genius

About 1.5 minutes of how the video game console was invented. Why bother? Oh, and it’s a video podcast. I’ll pass.

9. ROFL

Another video podcast – random stand-up comedy bits. I can tell you one thing… I was certainly not rolling on the floor laughing.

10. Real Time with Bill Maher

Now here’s a real time-waster. A three-minute clip of Real Time with Bill Maher? Why?

So now we’re back to number 4 – Car Talk.

Listening to this podcast took real commitment. I’m not at all interested in cars. Or in crazy anachronistic brothers with crazy laughs. Maybe you are.

www.ihearttalkradio.com oversight by our boss, Mr. Torey Malatia, who is looking forward to the Fake Leykis Podcast and gives this advice to men trying to woo women, “I would…uh…smell good. And I would be wearing…uh…tennis shorts.”

Attention Radio Bulls

So if you listened to KFI at all today (or any day in the last month) you probably know that Bill Handel got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today.

This morning’s show was peppered with live and recorded messages from KFI veterans. The best one being the Paul T. Wall (aww…don’t you miss him?)! Oh yeah, and Stephanie Miller, Bill Press, Vic the Brick Jacobs, Jodi Becker, Capt. Dale Dye, Wayne Resnick (he’s “a guitar god and a great talk show host”), George Noory, Jesus Christ, John Kobylt, and others.

I didn’t hear Daryl Gates, Tom Leykis, Phil Hendrie, Joe Crummey, Hugh Hewitt, John Ziegler, Karel, Tammy Bruce, Rabbi Mentz, April Winchell, Maria Sanchez, the hot tamales, or Scott or Casey.

So download those podcasts if you’re a loser like me and want to hear from these lunatics.

This American Podcast – Act II

4. Car Talk

Umm… This is where I started to regret my so-called “great idea.” I decided to listen to this podcast last. So I will write about it last, too.

5. Stuff You Missed in History Class

Wow. This is the number 5 podcast? It was exactly like listening to Delicious Dish, only not funny. And hosted by the Delta Delta Delta girls.

6. Fresh Air Podcast

Not too much to say about this one. It was not a breath of fresh air, if that’s what they mean by the title. It was like a story from This American Life, only longer. And without Ira Glass.

7. The Adam Carolla Podcast

Ahhh, an old friend. I know I’ve complained about the sound quality of this podcast, but it’s better than it used to be – Adam’s not doing that inadvertent Daffy Duck impression anymore. Listening to it on the heels of Stuff You Missed in History Class and the Fresh Air Podcast is like going to Disneyland after eight hours of traffic school. (Because in Orange County you can’t do online traffic school!)

www.ihearttalkradio.com oversight by our boss, Mr. Torey Malatia, who was overheard saying, “Get it on! Got to get it on. Nothing left to do but to get it on.”

This American Podcast – Act I

1. This American Life

It’s easy to see why This American Life is number 1 – it’s just a quality podcast. Very interesting and diverse topics presented in a compelling and unique way. Seriously, if you are one of the few who don’t listen to this (Brian, I’m talking to you here), you have to try it.

2. Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me

Some sort of game show/news of the week/1950s radio show/Regis and Kelly trivia contest podcast. If Lucy Ricardo had popped up as a guest, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But it was fairly enjoyable.

3. Stuff You Should Know

Just a couple of geeks telling you stuff. Interest solely depends on the topic. The episode I listened to was about spontaneous human combustion. The hosts were… Well, imagine you’re eating your carrots at the lunch table with Anthony Michael Hall’s friends in Sixteen Candles, but Anthony Michael Hall’s not there. Because he’s too cool for you.

www.ihearttalkradio.com oversight by our boss, Mr. Torey Malatia, who in a decidedly un-Tim Conway, Jr. manner says, “I’ve never bagged a babe. I’m not a stud.”

This American Podcast – Top 10 edition

Sometimes I get carried away. For example, a couple weeks ago I went to the International House of Indigestion with my son and brother. (BTW, if you just want an omelet for breakfast, they throw three full-size pancakes at you. Are you kidding? Who can eat all that?)

Anyway… I suggested we go out to breakfast more often, like once a month. That quickly became a club – The Breakfast Club, of course. (I get to be Ally Sheedy, my son Anthony Michael Hall, and my brother Judd Nelson.)

Next thing you know, we’re eating breakfast in our beds and Skyping each other. (What was that dumb satellite sisters show on KABC? Kinda like that.)

This American Life is almost always the number one podcast on iTunes. This week they crafted a show based on the classified ads from one Sunday edition of the Chicago Sun-Times and one edition of the Chicago Reader.

A lightbulb went off.

What if I listened to every podcast in the top ten, captured at a single moment in time (around noon…Monday, June 1, 2009)?

Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, it is until you get to number four.