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.

We are revisited by Stand Up comedian Christine Lederman.  She will be at Comedy Works in Denver on Wednesday August 7th… so if you are within 750 miles of the Denver, Colorado area it will be worth the trip.  Besides this podcast she has been listening to a True Crime Podcast called “To Live and Die in L.A.” which tells the story of a young girl from Eastern Europe who comes to Hollywood to become a star.  She goes missing and a journalist and a detective find out what happened. She brings it up because it reminds her of some personal stories about her own experiences while in Los Angeles and the entertainment business and she shares a couple of them.  The stories pertain to men trying to take advantage of women in the same vein of the Harvey Weinstein cases, domestic abuse and sexual assault.  And while they are to be taken deadly serious, Christine is also a comedian and she manages to find humor from time to time. So, please try to understand that any humor from these stories can also be viewed as a coping mechanism of sorts similar to the firefighters we’ve interviewed in the humor they sometimes use to cope with difficulties.  True, firefighters choose their profession whereas women do not choose to be assaulted. My point is that any humor in this show is not intended to diminish the severity of any violence or misconduct by anyone.  

We wrap up on the lighter side by revisiting Christine’s psychic abilities and  that any lack of psychic ability is somehow my fault. A review of “To Live & Die in L.A.” more me too and some brief psychic abilities demonstrated on The Modern Moron...

To Live and Die in L.A. Podcast

Welcome to another episode of the Modern Moron.  Today I hook up again with my old radio partner to discuss the “My Truck My Rules” Mississippi Gubernatorial candidate  Robert Foster and his refusal to allow female reporter Larrison Campbell on a ride-along interview without providing an additional male in attendance.  It really seems like a sign of the times however I think both individuals are thrilled with the attention each of them have received. 

This leads to a discussion of the me-too movement, Harvey Weinstein, Woody Allen, Louis CK, Kevin Spacey, etc.

I’m pretty sure I’m going to owe an apology by the end of this episode and I’m sure that opology will not suffice, but that’s what happens when you listen to a moron.

Then we try to end on a lighter note by discussing what we’re watching in movies and TV and GOD are we behind the times (think Spiderman with Tobey McGuire and The FX show “Rescue Me”) but it does offer an idea for a new Game of Thrones podcast!  Yay!  

But before we kick that off we have a quick chat about what else… the weather and the record temperatures experienced around the globe over the past couple of weeks.

Thanks for listening…

Rescue Me Theme Song by The Von Bondies 

Game Of Thrones Theme 

Without going into too much detail we find out generally what the structure was of the Senator’s marriage encounter retreat and a little bit about what the process was like as always from the perspective of a moron  and by they way this moron is a two time loser in the marriage game.

Before we get to the marriage retreat stuff there’s a quick blip about Mexico’s President Obrador… we mispronounce his name... claiming that he wants the 14 Billion dollars that El Chapo made selling drugs in the United States.

Also.. no surprise here… the Senator was an  hour late again for our appointed recording session.  When he did log on to the session I simply remained quiet so he thought I was late to the session so he proceeds to entertain himself by calling me a pussy even though I was there the whole time… I did that just for you…  here it comes… enjoy and thanks for listening.

I really do love that guy and the technical difficulties he has with his mouth.  He’s off on his backpacking trip so I’ll have another guest next week on the show… maybe it’ll be you!  

Also, I have to start remembering the business stuff… we’re available on all the usual outlets, most recently you can find us on i-Heart radio believe it or not… We have a Modern Moron Podcast page on Facebook @themodernmoronpodcast … no spaces.  And on twitter we’re just @TheModernMoron still no spaces. Why two different names? Because I’m a Moron and I can’t figure any of this shit out.  

Have a great week, weekend or day and thank you for listening.

You know my friend the Senator has a lot going on this summer… he’s on a Marriage retreat, he’s preparing for a 12 day hike around the Lake Tahoe rim trail and in that preparation he tells us about an encounter with a snake and somehow he thinks that if a poisonous snake bites you it dies.  Seriously… again, the word Moron is in the name of this show for a reason. Somehow this snake story brings up Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Remember that show? Was it on Saturday afternoons or Sunday afternoons? With Marlon Perkins sitting in the helicopter while Jim Fowler did all the goddamn work wrestling the alligators and boa constrictors.

Then we wrap up with a parenting story where the tough love has to prevail.  We hate doing it but sometimes being a parent is not a popularity contest. It’s Rattlesnakes, Wild Kingdom and Water Polo on the Modern Moron!  Thanks for listening.

Please forgive this lengthy intro as we really cover some ground in this show.  We talk about how great local neighborhood 4th of July parades are and how the Senator really brought a nice afternoon party to a screeching halt by reading the declaration of independence aloud… some nice work there…

We quickly talk about your FRA… or Full retirement age.  You can start claiming at 62 but you’ll get 25 to 30% less for the rest of your life, so you might want to wait until 67 and get the full amount.

The Senator then confesses he is going on a retreat for married couples and we all support and commend him for doing that… it’s definitely outside his comfort zone and that is where the growth lies.

And we wrap up by talking about his dad who is in his mid 80’s and the difficulties in caring for and dealing with that situation.  It’s a subject that’s perfect for our demographic as we have parents who are in need of additional care in their waning years but may not want it.  Tough subject but we’ll be talking about it today and in the future.  

Democrats, Republicans, Feminists and Sexists Unite… as we start this episode by celebrating the U.S. Women’s World Cup and their second consecutive championship and their 4th overall.  What an achievement. We also get super sexist in talking about how much prettier The U.S. team is versus their opponents. 

While the senator mentioned women’s cup champion Alex Morgan as being SMART as well … he did not mention why: she attended Cal Berkeley which is a pretty elite university academically and she graduated a semester early with a degree in political economy.  She has also partnered with Simon & Shuster publishers to author a series of middle-grade books about four teen soccer players called “The Kicks.” She is also quite savvy with the endorsements and back in 2015 she was ranked by Time magazine as the top-paid American women's soccer player.  AND last year she was in a movie called Alex & Me where she plays a fictitious version of herself.  It was on Nickelodeon and is now on dvd or probably streaming so….yeah, Alex Morgan is definitely paying the bills.

When talking about familiarity with the U.S. Men’s World Cup team this moron remembers “That guy on Seattle’s MLS Team” that I thought I knew was Clint Dempsey and he retired from soccer last year.  I remembered him from the 2010 men’s world cup team… that’s how far back I have to go to even recall a face of a Men’s U.S. World cup player. Is that a statement about the U.S. men’s team or about me as a moron?... Probably the latter.