TheModernMoron podcast

Another Moron Grab-bag. We each need to start taking responsibility for the news we read and where we read it. Whether it's a supposedly credible news source, Facebook or some moron's podcast, YOU need to do YOUR OWN checking.

To best exemplify this I have to go back to a Brady Bunch episode called the wheeler dealer where Greg buys his first car and ends up with a lemon. Remember that? Thank goodness for dad as Mike Brady told Greg Caveat Emptor - "Let the buyer beware". I think the same applies here only it's more important because our freedom of speech is at stake her.

Politicians have been lying about each other before the independence of our country. If you don't believe me watch Drunk History on Comedy Central.

I don't think people want to take the time to make up their minds anymore. They want it made for them. Especially, they don't want to take the time to "research" opposing viewpoint nor do they want to try and understand them. They know what they generally want and that's what they want to be fed. Part of it is laziness. "I don't want to take the time to understand you or respect your opposing views because that requires going into the grayness of an issue. That requires work and I'd rather take that time to watch 'Game of Thrones' or 'Housewives of Beverly Hills or Atlanta."

Also, Costco is getting into the Chicken ranching business so they can keep the price of their whole rotisserie chickens at $4.99. The ranch is in Nebraska. Some are for it, some are against it, of course… seems like every topic under the sun has GOT to be divisive to the point of protests and lawsuits.

And somewhere in this episode I squeeze in a reference to the 2008 Pixar movie Wall-E. It's relevant, I swear.

Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook caught Russia and Iran trying to interfere in 2020 - NBC News

Elizabeth Warren targets Facebook fact-checking policy with false ad saying Zuckerberg endorsed Trump - USA Today

It's only $4.99. But Costco's rotisserie chicken comes at a huge price - CNN

Welcome to another episode of the Modern Moron… flying solo this week so I'm gonna cram a bunch of stuff in and and NO POLITICS, because I just can't. It's just too much… I hope they all impeach each other and we all have to come up with someone new. That's it for politics.

Item #1 The Great Pacific Garbage Patch - They are finally picking up some trash in the Pacific Garbage patch! They being a non profit called The Ocean Cleanup dot com founded by Dutch inventor and entrepreneur Boyan Slat… I guarantee I pronounced that incorrectly. This kid is only 25 years old and he and they are doing it!

Item #2 - My Favorite Moron Award - Taking a break from Rudy Giuliani, this week's award goes to London climate change protesters called "Extinction Rebellion". These Moron's for Mother Nature had a fire truck with "fake blood" and were going to spray the side of the Government Treasury building. In one story the red stuff was referred to as paint. Another called if red food dye and another called it organic liquid beetroot. Was it paint? Was it food coloring? Either way isn't that pollution or at least wasteful? Nice work Extinction Idiots.

Item #3 Sleep Apnea - I have been diagnosed with mild to moderate sleep apnea which is like a version of snoring but you stop breathing which is generally not a good thing. So I have been given some options and I'm currently trying out a really sexy contraption called a CPAP device. I put it on, covering my nose and I look like a jet fighter pilot about to fly a tiny model airplane.

Item #4 Rudy I Can't Quit You - I thought I could go an episode without a Rudy Giuliani story… but, I can't. Someone in New York, let's say a genius, posted an ad on a subway with the main caption, " "Need A Lawyer? Call Crazy Rudy". The subway ad includes Rudy's selling points such as "Back Channel Deals, Cable News Appearances, Has NO Shame and Will Work for Free!"

Item #5 Judy Garland - The feminine side of me aka my gay alter ego simply must talk about the new Judy Garland film "Judy". Looking at the trailer it took me more than a second to realize it was Renee Zelwegger playing Judy Garland and the way she physically captures Judy Garland's frailness in some of her postures and strength in her singing performances is pretty cool. Not knowing all that much about the tragic details of her life I think I'll be able to suspend my disbelief but if you know Judy from the top of her brunette head to the tips of her ruby slippers you might be a little more critical.

Item #6 RIP Ginger Baker - Finally, last weekend the world of rock and roll lost one of it's greatest drummers of all time and unless you're into music and music history you probably will not recognize his name. Ginger Baker passed away at the age of 80. He was originally a jazz drummer who was also interested in African beats and rhythms. When he put the two together he became one of the most sought after recording session drummers in England. There were two other musicians of the same proficiency at their respective instruments and their names were Jack Bruce who played bass and Eric Clapton on guitar. I get it if you don't recognize Jack Bruce as well but if you don't know Eric Clapton then you're not allowed to listen any further or any more to this podcast. These three were considered the cream of the crop in the London music scene in the 60's and when they formed a band they called themselves Cream. They put out only four albums and it was their second album "Disraeli Gears" that put them at their peak of mixing blues with rock and psychedelia. A writer for the BBC said the album was, "a perfect encapsulation of the point where the blues got psychedelic and in turn got heavy."

TheModernMoron.com

Sources:

Ocean cleanup device successfully collects plastic for first time - The Guardian, a british publication that leans pretty hard to the left.

How the oceans can clean themselves: Boyan Slat at TEDx - YouTube

Climate change activists hose 'fake blood' at UK Treasury from fire engine - Reuters

Do Sleep Trackers Really Work? - Hopkinsmedicine.org

Crazyrudylaw.com/

Judy Garland Wikipedia Page

Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream

Ginger Baker: 10 Tracks That Show His Drumming Genius - Rolling Stone

Beware of Mr. Baker Trailer

Report: 250 Million Americans Still Need Guests On Their Podcasts This Week - The Onion

Unless you're doing a podcast live or daily it's impossible to keep up with the news cycle these days so anything I do on our current craziness in Washington will only be different the next day, consequently… as of this recording I'm going back to last week's scandal which at one point was being referred to as Ukraine-gate? Seems old doesn't it?

I speak with my Ukraine comrade about the president of Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky. He was the star and creator of a comedy in Ukraine called "Servant of the People". The name of the show has become an official political party in Ukraine and this year Zelensky won the presidency by a landslide claiming over 73% of the popular vote. Think about that. When was the last time a US president won an election by that margin?

Zelensky is a comedian who helped create the show where a school teacher goes on a rant about the corruption in Ukraine. A student records it on their phone, the video goes viral and the teacher becomes the president.

In talking with my comrade he tells us a couple of stories of what the president has been up to in his country besides a phone call with DonALD-ymire TrumP-Uutin. Say that three times fast.

The audio in this episode is not perfect as for security purposes we recorded it in a concrete bunker located a half mile below ground. Actually it was recorded in an office but it sounds much more dramatic the other way doesn't it? At some points there are news clips from Ukrainian news that my friend is loosely translating for us and they are playing in the background. It seems this scandal which has prompted an impeachment inquiry will not bode well for either our president or the democratic front-runner Joe Biden.

Sorry this is a long one (that's what she said)

My radio co-host is back and during her time on the radio she also reported the news. Here are some of the idiiotic people, rabbit holes and topics we talk about:

1. Alexandria Ocasio "I'm in My Rookie Year" blah,blah,blah says that it's a national scandal that the democratic party isn't moving to impeach Trump. Remember what happened when we impeached Clinton? Yeah, nothing. AOC is just trying to get attention and get re-elected.
2. Rudy Giuliani…he is every late night talk show host's dream in terms of the moronic things he says. I play a clip from an interview he did with Chris Cuomo on CNN where he says within about 10 seconds that he both DID NOT and then DID ask the Ukraine Government to investigate Joe Biden and his son. I don't know what to call it other than idiotic. He gets the My Favorite Moron award for this episode.
3. Somehow O.J. Simpson comes up and I never knew that Fox had produced a special interview with OJ where he basically confesses to the murders…. And they never aired it. Link at the bottom of the description for that not very pleasant clip.

Then we talk briefly about NPR and ABC journalist Cokie Roberts. She passed away in Mid September and she was special to me and I can't quite say how considering I don't really have much of an affection for politics. But she had an affection for politics and presented it in a way that I never felt there was an angle or anything other than that she was helping me understand the chaos of our political system. Along with Linda Wertheimer and Nina Totenberg, they came to be known as The "Founding Mothers of NPR". There are many tributes and articles on Cokie Roberts and I will post a couple of them after the episode description.

We also hit upon the ridiculous Corey Lewendowski Hearing. If you missed it good for you, because it makes one ashamed of our current political process. Lewendowsky is Trump's former Campaign manager and democrats are after him regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. The hearing was a stonewalling. It was a contest to see which politician can talk the longest without caving in and acknowledging someone else said something. It shows that Politics has become and probably always has been a yelling contest.

We wrap up by talking about the wrapping up of this decade. Definitely a decade of learning how to use technology. Now we're able to see in more personal ways, the effects of propaganda. Getting to the truth is now so much more difficult. For journalists and for the public who is now a generator of propaganda along with foreign countries. I never thought I would be this friggin' up to my neck in politics! And when did you ever think the Ukraine would be such an influence in U.S. politics? It just keeps getting crazier.

LINKS:

Giuliani says 'of course' he asked Ukraine to look into Biden seconds after denying it - The Hill

Volodymyr Zelensky Wikipedia Page

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky Presentation

OJ Simpson The Lost Confession? "Hypothetical" - Fox Network

"Best" Moments From The Lewandowski Hearing - The Daily Caller (RIGHT biased news source according to mediabiasfactcheck.com )

'She Touched Their Lives': Friends, Family Gather To Remember Cokie Roberts - NPR

Public invited to reception, funeral Mass for legendary journalist Cokie Roberts - ABC News

Welcome to another episode of the Modern Moron. An episode that you may enjoy? Or you may find quite boring. If you're off the scale in either direction maybe you'll contact the Moron?

We have a double barrel moron episode this week as The Senator, aka the Great Liker comes back to talk about his favorite subject: himself.

What is a "Liker". You know those fishermen that tell those wild fish stories. This is the same thing only in this case it applies to hiking.

We talk about his hiking trip around the Lake Tahoe rim trail. His account of the trip and the accounts I have received about the trip are very different and unsurprisingly the Senator recalls the trip... where he had to drop out for several days, full of laughs.

About halfway through this episode I get tired of his hijacked hiking stories and I ask him about the dialoguing sessions from his marriage retreat-follow-up-work he and his wife have been working on and it seems like a pretty big-time commitment even for the most devoted couples. Then, being a moron, I make the mistake of going back to the goddamn hiking trip.

Maybe this trip will be one of those that no one ever finds out what really happened. I have reached out to one of the individuals that also was on the trip. They have placed the value of their friendship with the senator over being interviewed on this riveting podcast. So I don't think we'll ever find out. I will just have to take what the senator says in accordance with the reputation he has earned which is that he is full of bullshit.

Riders On The Storm - The Doors WMG (on behalf of Rhino Elektra); ASCAP

DUELING BANJOS ~ Guitar & Banjo Song ~ Deliverance

In this pt. 2 episode we talk more about Tim's father and some of the men he worked with as an L.A. cop in the late 70's and 80's. I refer incorrectly to an article I read about police officers with college degrees being less likely to draw their weapon than officers without a degree. I'll address that in the close along with a link to the actual article below the description.

We discuss the ways our fathers and men of the 60's and certainly through the 70's and 80's dealt with their emotional issues themselves as opposed to now in what Tim calls the post psycho-therapy era. How do you deal with your emotions? How do you deal with PTSD? How does law enforcement and other first responders deal with some of the horrific things that they see on a weekly basis? Fun and hilarious stuff like that.

We talk about the different ways Tim might tell his father's story visually in terms of a feature film versus a long form content like television… not broadcast television but the binge watching type of content we've become used to like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Dexter and on and on and on. See how much TV you watch?

And we start out this session by wrapping up our discussion of Megan Leavey, the marine corporal from the movie of the same name. Apparently her purple heart had been stolen and returned to her in a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Plus her dog Sgt. Rex's very different reactions to two Yankee players; Nick Swisher and Alex Rodriguez. Apparently Rex can sniff out Steroids as well as bombs. The link to that video will be at the bottom of the description as well.

The Modern Moron talks about feelings and television and police work… all the good stuff with hardly any laughs! Thank you for listening.

Corporal Megan Leavey and Sgt. Rex Honored at Yankee Stadium

U.S. Police: Education levels and the use of force - MSNBC 2014

Today my guest is professional screenwriter and amateur Political Scientist?, Tim Lovestedt...

We talk politics. Not because of a particular political figure… or a political issue… or the next presidential election next year… but because Tim has a bachelor's degree in Political Science. So technically he has a BS about BS'ers.

I really don't know any more about politics than I do anything else, so I have some questions. On this program there is no such thing as a stupid question. In fact that's my bread and butter.

He's also a writer who started out writing sketch comedy, moved to writing a LOT of essays and theme papers and position papers for his college degree and then screenwriting. They say write what you know … Tim and I talk about a project he is currently working on that is very personal and it really takes a lot of bravery to expose that, not only to the world but to put it in front of executives like movie studio executives and network executives who get paid a lot of money to have expert opinions but don't know a goddamn thing more than anyone else… no bitterness or resentment here.

But it does take courage and he is in the process of getting it out on paper. And we'll hear a little bit about what it was like having a father who was a homicide detective in Los Angeles during the late 70's and 80's. But we probably won't get to that until the episode after this one.

We also talk about a screenplay and film he worked on called "Megan Leavy" starring Kate Maura, Edie Falco and Common the rapper? Yeah, I knew Common was a rapper.

Also, at the end of this episode, I'll have some details on the rest of this "season" if that's what you want to call it, and what we'll be looking at in those episodes as we wrap up this pretty crazy decade.

It's a thumb in the eye of Poly- Sci … Plus the Movie Meagan Leavy on … the Modern Moron.

#PoliticalScience, #MeganLeavy, #KateMaura, #EdieFalco

Today I talk with a dear friend, collaborator and writing partner from my time in L.A. We met while studying improvisation in the early 90's at the Groundlings Theatre and we performed in the theatre's Sunday Company in the late 90's.

We chat for a while about creating characters for radio which inevitably leads to a conversation about Phil Hendrie. If you don't know who Phil Hendrie is and you enjoy talk radio you need to look him up. I worked at the same radio station he did 97.1 KLSX Los Angeles. This was in the late 80's, Phil Had not started the show he does now and Howard Stern was years away from syndication in L.A. I'll have links at the bottom of the episode description. You should look him up because he truly creates theatre of the mind with characters and no sound effects.

We also talk about some of the lame humor I attempted when I was on the radio and how I got some mileage out of terrible writing material. Also my guest's various jobs during his time in hollywood and some of the great comedy clubs in L.A. that are not stand up but Improvisation like The Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade, Improv Olympic West and Second City Hollywood. You might try any of those theatres if you're headed there for work or play and I think you'll find it interesting and different from the usual touristy excursions.

We wrap up our improv conversation with a class he will be teaching and how rewarding it is to see the growth in a student who takes the plunge and is brave enough to get up in front of their piers.

Maybe you've seen the show Drew Carey used to host "Whose Line Is it Anyway?" but if you've never seen live improv before you really should. Theatre seems like it's becoming one of the last shared live experiences and improv is even more so because the audience not only participates, but the show you see will never be seen again in that iteration and that makes for a truly unique experience. This Moron highly recommends it. Even Tina Fey recommends Improv and there is a link in the description from her book "Miss Bossypants" about her rules of Improv and how it can change your life and remove belly fat.

Click yay (is there a "yay"button?), subscribe send money all that stuff but mainly thank you for listening to The Modern Moron.

Oh, also we start off after both of us have just spent 40 exasperating minutes trying to work out the glitches with our microphones and headphones.

The World of Phil Hendrie on Apple Podcasts

https://www.philhendrieshow.com/

Phil Hendrie Wikipedia Page

First Coast Technical Community College - Introduction to Improv Comedy in St. Augustine FL

Tina Fey's Rules of Improvisation That Will Change Your Life and Reduce Belly Fat*

Welcome to a global episode of the Modern Moron. On this episode I speak with a friend and a colleague who immigrated to the United States with his family from The Ukraine when he was 9 years old in the early 90's. Do I ask him about his views on immigration and the Trump Southern border wall? Of course not. That would have been an intelligent question though wouldn't it? (moron)

We talk about life growing up in The Ukraine and how he relates that childhood to that of us baby boomers with a Black & White TV and 3 channels,

He works in IT and we have a chat about data and how YOUR data is being collected which is reminiscent of our last episode and the documentary "The Great Hack" on Netflix. That was your homework assignment and I assume you did it. Don't tell me your dog ate it.

We also talk about Russia and how they have been causing divisions in this country for decades, not just the last election. We discuss Google and it's contemporaries who are collecting a whole lot of data about us around the clock and what you can do about it by using a VPN which stands for Virtual Private Network.

Don't be a-scared of it, it's just another service like your wireless bill and I'll tell you at the close how using a VPN can save you money on Airline tickets and hotels if you travel much. I'll have more info on that at the close as well. There are a LOT of links at the bottom of the description to this episode. I hope you find even one of them useful.

We discuss Social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon and how they are constantly tailoring your experience to give you what they think you want… and they're good at it. Why? So you will enjoy their experience more than another app and because we've become accustomed to having information we don't like sifted out even if part of what you don't like is reality. So please be careful, or at least try to be conscious of what's being funneled at you when you use these applications.

My Comrade is a conservative and he has some interesting points such as:

• "It increasingly takes more effort to think for yourself" when it comes to news.
• He refers to Donald Trump as a "byproduct of our politicians over the past ten or twenty or a hundred years. I think Trump would love to be referred to as a 'byproduct" don't you?
• He was an "F-U" vote to the political system, maybe it was

Also, I recorded this on my phone outside and it doesn't have quite the quality we're used to but I think it works okay. I'm Eating Borscht for breakfast with my comrade from The Ukraine on The Modern Moron!

benefits of using a VPN

Best VPN Services for 2019 - C|net

https://thebestvpn.com/ (this site agrees with C|net recommending NordVPN )

https://www.privatetunnel.com/pricing/

How to protect your personal data from Facebook profiteering If it's 'free,' then you're the product. (NBC News)

http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2018/06/Global-Peace-Index-2018-2.pdf

The World's Cheapest, Safest Retirement Countries - Investopedia

We talk about Jeffrey Epstein the billionaire sex trafficker to the rich and famous… or maybe just the rich. There are more protests in Hong Kong and apple is coming out with a new phone.

Also, Taylor Swift and Kidd Rock are in a Twitter War

Also, The Great Hack featuring Birttany Kaiser founder of #OwnYourData who worked for Cambridge Analytica (Alexander Nix). I also talk about Password Managers, specifically LastPass. Use it.

and I stumble across a story about vaginal steaming and I'm just baffled. I guess vaginas baffle me .. And everything that's attached to them.

It's a Moron catch all on the Modern Moron and thank you for listening.