Light Banter

SmackDown at the Book Club, Every book club has rules. Some clubs cater to groups of super-serious readers while other clubs are more social in nature. This is a story of a club that's somewhere between relaxed and semi-serious with a newly installed club president determined to push the club to her rigid standards of greatness. It's also a story about how it all blew up in her face. Oh, and it's really funny.

Retail Store Theft and the Mall Cop Intervention, Lisa worked at few retail stores in a mall years ago. Her biggest recollection? The frequency and ingenuity of customer thievery. From common pilfering of clothes to more complex credit card schemes, including attempts to heist expensive chest sets, Lisa has acquired some great stories about the lengths and stupidity of the criminally minded. In one instance the improbable heroics of a young, inexperienced mall cop saves the day and gives us something to laugh about years later.

Is Jeopardy! in Jeopardy? How, when, and why did the institution that is Jeopardy! become such a shit show? Yes, we're talking about the man who would be king and failed, Mike Richards. Luckily the power monger's reign of control and intimidation wasn't long. "For the 2020–21 season, Richards succeeded the retiring Harry Friedman as executive producer of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!" (Source: Wikipedia.org). Alex Trebek was at one time a producer but never EP because he was often hosting multiple game shows simultaneously. Hopefully, there won't be more skeletons emerging from the annals of Jeopardy! folklore. However, there is an undeniable issue that Mike Richards fundamentally represents, which is that there's still a systemic infestation of inappropriateness festering not just in Hollywood, but many industries and corporations. Chalk one up for the ever-ubiquitous social media, which enabled old lawsuits and complaints about Richards to finally come to light, garnering the truthful attention they should've received years ago. Phew! At least for the sake of our beloved Jeopardy!, that was a close call. With Richards in charge, the show truly would be in jeopardy.

When Worlds Collide at Parties, Rebecca recently celebrated her milestone 35th birthday, which included a good-sized celebration with lots of friends from different parts of her life. The partygoers had at least one thing in common—Rebecca. The group shares some fun memories of when social groups collided in mostly good, but sometimes awkward ways. While flattering, it's sometimes hard being the center of attention.

The Dynamics of Movie Night, How do you pick a movie that satisfies everyone in a group? Whether it's family or friends it's almost impossible to please everyone. Oh, sure some apps claim to have the answer, but inevitably some in the group bow to the majority for the sake of togetherness. Why do we watch movies together? Why can't it be like enjoying a good book that gets discussed once all parties have read it? Yes, there's the whole giant screen issue but like it or not the industry is firmly entrenched in digital streaming. If you want to see visually stunning movies like Nomadland or the upcoming Dune, it's probably time to invest in a huge screen for your home. In that case, you can actually pause the movie for bathroom breaks or when somebody insists on asking questions during the movie. Sorry movie fanatics, streaming just makes sense.

Hilarious Tales From A Mortician's Daughter, Erika's father is a retired mortician and sometimes coroner. Erika's mother is a huge collector of dolls, especially the Lee Middleton spooky AF life-like dolls. Because she was absent from our "Dolls are Scary" episode, we turn the spotlight on Erika with some burning questions about her father's occupation, her mother's hobby, and her six-feet under family lifestyle. We also get to the bottom of whether or not the souls of the dearly departed are being housed in the scary doll collection. Erika's true-life mortuary stories are hilarious.

Big Houses with Gift Wrapping Rooms, Browsing Apple News on her iPhone recently, Quinn came across a real estate listing story about a Beverly Hills Mansion called Villa Firenze with a ginormous asking price of $165 million. Scoffing incredulously while reading the story, Quinn thought, "Hey I've been in that house." Doing a quick bit of research (aka Google), she realized she had in fact had lunch with a new church friend 20 years ago. What Quinn most remembered about that lunch? A huge gift wrapping room.

Vote for Sarah Silverman, The attempt to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom surged after he was caught ignoring covid restrictions while dining indoors with a group of friends at the Uber elite French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley. What the heck was Newsom thinking? California was loosening up restrictions in a matter of weeks so why not wait just a little longer. No one is safe from hubris or bad behavior in this modern age of iPhones and social media. Now there's a serious threat of recall with the very scary possibility of one out of 45-plus wingnut replacements. What's a Californian to do? Vote no and then use the ballot's write-in option. Quinn is voting no and then writing in Sarah Silverman as her candidate of choice just in case. It seems appropriate to vote for a comedian when the recall is a total joke.

Maple Syrup and Spaghetti, Chrys is preparing to audition for the Fort Collins Children's Theatre fall production of "Elf the Musical." We're all so happy for Chrys and know she'll be perfect for many roles. Although we are secretly hoping to announce that Mrs. Claus will be joining our podcast team shortly. As Chrys tries to channel her inner elf, thinking of songs and monologues for her audition. Lisa--a card-carrying SAG/AFTRA veteran--offers her some sage yet hilarious acting wisdom you don't want to miss. Good luck Chrys!

Stealth Camping, The Academy Award-winning, Nomadland depicted a world of a woman in her sixties who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. While the movie was beautifully shot, edited, and acted it also gave viewers an important look at how many elders have adjusted, even thrived living on the road. The nomad lifestyle isn't new. Just go to YouTube and search for stealth camping and you'll discover a new movement of people of all ages wanting to live their life off the grid.